South Africa: Government takes urgent steps to implement energy action plan

Government continues to implement the countrys energy action plan in earnest, with the long-term goal of securing continuous, credible energy supply.

As a country we must acknowledge that there is no immediate panacea to this crisis. However, citizens must note that work is underway to ensure full and effective implementation of the Energy Action Plan, Minister in the Presidency, Mondli Gungubele, said on Sunday.

To respond to the severe impact of load shedding on households, small businesses and the economy as a whole, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a range of measures in July 2022 to improve the performance of existing power stations and add new generation capacity as quickly as possible.

The Energy Action Plan was developed through extensive consultation and endorsed by energy experts as providing the best and fastest path towards energy security.

While Government understands the frustration and the inconvenience that loadshedding is causing, it has reiterated that loadshedding is implemented only as a last resort in view of the shortage of generation capacity and the need to attend to breakdowns.

Government has assured citizens that work is underway to improve the performance of power stations to reduce stages of load shedding while driving work to bring more capacity onto the grid as quickly as possible.

According to the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS), progress has been made in several areas since the adoption of the Energy Action Plan.

These include the relaxation of some requirements, which will enable quicker procurement, and the removal of licensing requirements for generation projects to enable private investment.

As part of rebuilding technical capacity in Eskom, 18 skilled specialists have been brought back into the utility, including three former power station managers who will assist at Kendal, Koeberg and Medupi.

There have also been collaborative efforts with external stakeholders who have displayed willingness to assist Eskom. Additional focus is being placed on prioritising maintenance at the top six stations (Duvha, Kendal, Kusile, Majuba, Matla and Tutuka). These stations were specifically selected as they are amongst the highest contributors to unplanned load losses, GCIS said.

There is also a process underway to establish a One Stop Shop, which will be a single entry point for energy projects through Invest SA.

A business case has been developed outlining resource and operational requirements.

Furthermore, timeframes have been significantly reduced for regulatory approvals in the areas of land-use authorisation, registration process, and embedded generation projects.

These examples of interventions that are underway demonstrate the urgency that is being put into fixing the energy challenges. These cannot be implemented overnight; however, as a nation, we will overcome as we did with many challenges before this.

The Action Plan addresses 10 focus areas which will result in improving people, plant and process performance. If we all play our part, even in small ways, we contribute towards the bigger goal of improving generation to at least 70% by the year 2025, Gungubele said.

In an effort to both ease load shedding and ensure energy security into the future, South Africa will need to enable the construction of substantial new generating capacity.

Some of this power will be bought by Eskom through the renewable energy programme, which has been expanded and accelerated. In the last six months, agreements have been signed with independent power producers for 26 projects, which together will generate around 2 800 MW, the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) said in a statement.

Another major source of new generating capacity will be solar panels on the roofs of houses and businesses.

Work will soon be completed on a pricing structure that will allow customers to sell surplus electricity from rooftop solar panels into the grid. That way, they can meet their own power needs and help increase the amount of electricity on the grid.

Like the COVID-19 pandemic, the current energy crisis raises the necessity for a societal response. All parts of society need to pull together and play our respective roles if we are to overcome the electricity crisis. The energy crisis we are facing is not unique to South Africa. There is currently a global energy crisis, and therefore we must work together to address the crisis, the Minister said.

Meanwhile, government has welcomed 25 arrests that have been made recently in connection with sabotage, theft and fraud at Eskom.

Crimes against the national grid often involve a combination of so-called insiders and criminal value chains involving private individuals or corrupt businesses. Organised crime is being confronted by our multi-agency approach, GCIS said. SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2023-01-29. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
China to boost economic rebound, stabilize foreign trade, investment

Xinhua) 08:00, January 29, 2023

This aerial photo taken on Jan. 13, 2023 shows a view of the container terminal of Haikou Port in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province. (Xinhua/Pu Xiaoxu)

BEIJING, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- China will consolidate and expand the momentum of economic rebound, accelerate consumption recovery and stabilize foreign trade and investment, according to the decisions made at the State Council executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang on Saturday.

Noting the continuing trend of economic recovery and rebound, the meeting stressed the need to implement the decisions of the Central Economic Work Conference and focus on ensuring stability in growth, employment and prices, to keep the economic performance within a proper range.

Solid steps will be taken to ensure effective implementation of the policy package for stabilizing the economy and its follow-up measures. Key projects and equipment upgrading and renovation supported by fiscal and financial policy tools will be advanced to generate more physical gains.

Policies to extend the duration of VAT relief for small-scale taxpayers and inclusive loans granted to micro and small businesses will be effectively implemented.

It is imperative to remain firmly committed to consolidating and developing the public sector, and to encouraging, supporting and guiding the development of the non-public sector, to protect the lawful rights and interests of private businesses and foster a market-oriented, world-class business environment governed by a sound legal framework. The platform economy will be supported in pursuing sustained and sound development.

The meeting underscored the need to facilitate a speedy reopening of businesses and production after the Spring Festival and to provide good services for migrant workers in returning to their work or landing new jobs.

"We need to step up efforts to deliver on the policies for expanding consumption," Li said.

Noting the pressing challenge of lackluster demand, the meeting urged timely measures to promote an early recovery of consumption as the main economic driving force, steadfastly advance opening-up, and stabilize and upgrade foreign trade and investment.

Consumption will be further boosted. Policies for supporting consumer service businesses and self-employed individuals and promoting the consumption of cars and other big-ticket items will be fully implemented. Various activities will be launched to stimulate consumption and facilitate the early recovery of contact-based service industries.

Consumer loans will be increased as appropriate. The policy toolkit will be harnessed following a city-specific approach, to meet people's basic housing needs and the need for improved housing conditions and ensure the delivery of pre-sold homes.

"Boosting consumption is a key step to expand domestic demand. We need to restore the structural role of consumption in the economy," Li said. "The greatest potential of the Chinese economy lies in the consumption by the 1.4 billion people."

The meeting reaffirmed China's commitment to the basic national policy of opening-up and called for more concrete measures to stabilize foreign trade. Efforts will be made to promote the resumption of in-person exhibitions at home, and support enterprises to participate in exhibitions overseas.

Policies concerning export rebates, credit loans and credit insurance, among others, will be earnestly implemented, and the RMB exchange rate will be kept generally stable at an adaptive, balanced level. Enterprises will be supported to further explore market opportunities by making full use of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

Development of cross-border e-commerce and overseas warehouses will be further promoted. The competitiveness of foreign trade will be enhanced. Import will be expanded as appropriate.

Active efforts will be made to attract foreign investment. The new Catalogue of Encouraged Industries for Foreign Investment will be put into effect at a faster pace. Local governments will be supported in attracting businesses and investment. The role of pilot free trade zones and other platforms will be better leveraged.

Facilitative measures on cross-border travel will be earnestly implemented. Sustained efforts will be made to improve services for foreign-invested enterprises, and promote the earlier delivery of major projects.

"We must fully leverage our competitive advantages, improve our business environment and stabilize foreign trade and investment by opening wider to the world. Opening up is in China's fundamental interests," Li said.

The meeting urged relevant departments to make comprehensive plans in early February and ensure a greater sense of responsibility at all levels to promptly start spring plowing and farming preparations, in order to lay a solid foundation for bolstering food supply and stabilizing consumer prices.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Celebrity

The lead vocalist of New York City band Television is confirmed by his ex-partner to have passed away at the age of 73 in the Big Apple after battling a 'short illness.'

Jan 29, 2023

AceShowbiz - Tom Verlaine has passed away at the age of 73. On Saturday, January 28 2023, the punk star - who was famous as a frontman of the New York City rock band Television alongside Billy Ficca, Fred Smith, and Jimmy Rip - died following a "short illness."

"He died peacefully in New York City, surrounded by close friends. His vision and his imagination will be missed," ex-partner Patti Smith confirmed the news.

Jesse Paris Smith - who is the daughter of Patti Smith - led the social media tributes. Jesse wrote on Instagram, "Dearest Tom. The love is immense and forever. My heart is too intensely full to share everything now, and finding the words is too deep of a struggle."

"The feeling inside is so heavy, though your spirit is light and lifted, it is everywhere, completely and truly free. I love you always and forever, and will always remember and hold close the touch of your hand - hands of a beautiful creator and of a love more warm, tender, delicate, and true that one can ever dream."

"There has never been another like you and there never will be. What a blessing and gift I was given to share my time on earth with you. I will be grateful to the end of my life, and we will see you again beyond that, meeting you there wherever you've gone. Thank you for leading the way."

The "Prove It" rocker founded Television in 1973 with school friend Richard Hell and, after recruiting Richard Lloyd, they began gigging around clubs the following year and, following the departure of Richard and the addition of Fred Smith, eventually released their debut album "Marquee Moon" in 1977, which is - despite selling fewer than 80,000 copies in the US and barely cracking the Top 30 in the UK - is generally thought to be one of the defining releases of the punk era.

Their second album "Adventure" landed at No. 7 in the UK but a wait of 14 years occurred before the group released their third and final album, "Television", but they have continued tour the world ever since.

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Teen Dating Violence

Teen dating violence, which includes stalking, harassment, physical or sexual abuse, affects approximately 10% of all teenagers between the ages of 12 to 18. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, youth who are victims of dating violence are more likely to experience symptoms of depression or anxiety, and are more likely to think about suicide.

Relationship Red Flags

There are a number of behaviors that can be considered signs of an abusive or unhealthy relationship, including but not limited to:

Excessive jealousy or insecurity

Explosive temper

Invasions of privacy

Pressuring a partner into unwanted sexual activity

False accusations

Physical violence

What Can You Do?

If you think you are in an abusive relationship, consider reaching out to someone you trust --- a parent, a friend, a school counselor or a therapist. You can also call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-SAFE (7233) for help.

Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month

Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month, observed in February, is an opportunity to educate young people about dating violence, as well as about the ways they can develop healthy relationships. There are a number of resources available at Teen Dating Violence to help youth, parents and educators raise awareness and educate their loved ones.

Additional Resources
In The Offering, earnest and well-meaning Jewish filmmakers Hank Hoffman and Jonathan Yunger conjure up a demon in order to show that Hasidic communities are more relatable than most Jews and non-Jews think. Director Oliver Park offers predictable horror movie jumps and special effects.

Unfortunately, they lost control of their demon, and the Hasidic community as they depict it comes across as ill-equipped to face both death and life, let alone to live a life of joy in observing the ethical and ritual mitzvot (commandments) that bring one closer to God.

In this film, Art Feinberg (Nick Blood) returns to his old Hasidic neighborhood with his pregnant non-Jewish wife, Claire (Emily Wiseman). Ostensibly, Art is seeking to reconcile with his father, Saul (Allan Corduner), who owns the local Jewish funeral home and lives in a spooky home over the morgue.

Wouldnt such a living arrangement preclude as house guests or Sabbath guests the descendants of priestly families, kohanim, who are not allowed by biblically rooted Jewish law to be near dead bodies? After fifteen minutes into this movie, one wishes that the priestly prohibition extended to obsessing over dead bodies, and that all Jews were kohanim.

Art is hoping that the prospect of becoming a grandfather will soften Dads opposition to the choices of his prodigal son. Yes, Saul appropriates that expression from the New Testament even though the film is intended to show Christians that Judaism has unique resources to draw upon. And yes, Art is prodigal in the sense that he has failed in the real estate business and wants his father to sign the mortuary residence over as collateral lest Art, who has lied to everyone including his pregnant wife, lose his house. Even worse, Art is irresponsible when he offers to help his dad in the mortuary, breaking and then sweeping essential personal effects under the rug, or rather, into the drainpipe.

The filmmakers also claim to have broken from Christian themes in the horror genre so as to dispel anti-Semitism by creating Hasidic characters whose deaths would elicit sympathy and care for Hasidic men whom [sic], in the media landscape up to now, have been depicted as chauvinists and tyrants devoid of humanity and love, as Shiryn Ghermezian writes in The Algemeiner.

Yet the film begins with an elderly Jewish man, a kabbalist, committing suicide with a knife linked to the binding (akedah) of Isaac, a biblical story understood by Jews as a protest against human sacrifice and by Christians as prefiguring the vicarious atonement of Christ. In effect, the writers suggest that demon-infested people must appoint themselves Christ figures and die by their own hands in order to seal up the evil spirit. Such a notion is offensive to both Jewish and Christian theology.

Religious Jews and Christians are appalled at the glorification of suicide for any reason, as the monotheistic faiths regard the giving and taking of life as the Divine prerogative, with few exceptions. But the filmmakers render suicide a sacred ritual in order to lock in, as it were, a demon improperly invoked -- in this case, by a supposedly pious Jew who wants to communicate with his deceased wife, in violation of a strong and clear biblical prohibition against consulting with familiar spirits (Deut. 18:11) Surely pious Christians would also be respectful of biblical teachings and values with regard both to conjuring spirits and committing suicide. The altars built in this film in Jewish homes in order to fight the demon violate biblical concerns that there be but one altar even for God (Deut. 12:5), lest pagan (and demon?) worship proliferate. The films characters are admonished to stay in such altar circles, staples of horror movies in general.

Hoffman and Yunger have declared that they wanted to show that there is holiness in the women andin the men.

But none of the male characters is particularly likable, even those with baby blue eyes. There are sibling rivalries even when the adversaries are not siblings. Saul does not come across as a very principled Hasid. No Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) father would say what he tells Art: I should have gone to your wedding. When you see the world a certain way, its not easy to accept change. Would such concessions be put into the mouth of a member of the Amish community, which is still respected enough in film to be spared from such disclaimers?

Papa Saul goes even further, apologizing for Jewish particularity: Were a very misunderstood people. Its the burden of investing so much in internal meaning. Its hard for outsiders to see. An Hasidic plea for intersectionality?

The Hasidic women here are way in the background, except for an old woman and a young girl who are spectral and demonic. The little girl suggests finding a child to sacrifice to the demon (a life for a life, she says). Even though that would likely be a Jewish child, the overtones are those of the medieval blood libel that Jews use the blood of Christian children for making matzah -- here, for staving off demons -- despite the biblical prohibition against using or consuming even animal blood (Genesis 9:4), let alone human blood.

For a religious man who runs a funeral home, Saul seems to be very awkward about death. Indeed, the widowers in this movie cannot let go of their deceased wives. Years after his loss, Saul continues, in front of a photograph, the traditional Friday night custom of serenading ones wife with Proverbs 31. Despite their stated desire to teach about Jewish customs and beliefs, the writers do not identify the verses from Proverbs nor do they indicate that Psalm 23 is chanted (albeit badly) toward the end of the movie.

Hoffman and Yunger regard the chanting to the photograph as romantic rather than morbid.

In an actual Hasidic community, a widower would have been encouraged to remarry as soon as possible. Art offers as his excuse for leaving the Hasidic community that his father could not comfort him at the loss of his mother, telling him to go to the synagogue to pray, leaving him to conclude that God, love and holiness is a lie [grammar, anyone?]. By this point in the film, we dont trust Arts judgment, anyway. He can be counted on to be unreliable. But like all the others he is obsessed with death. Little wonder that biblical law did not want the priestly families to be death-oriented like the Egyptian rites in the pyramids.

In various interviews, Hoffman and Yunger state that their goal was to demonstrate that Jewish demons are different from Christian ones because Jews emphasize freedom of choice and that only we determine how much good and evil enter the world.

In the film a young Kabbalist preaches: Only we determine how much good and evil enter our lives. We must trap it [the demonic].

Yet Christians also believe in freedom of choice (within the context of the dogma of original sin) and Classical Judaism has understood that the evil forces in the human psyche and in society are not so easily controlled, and are ultimately in need of Divine redemption. Why such evil exists in Gods creation is a question long asked by sacred texts in Judaism. Kabbalists have regarded the demonic as a byproduct of the divine qualities of strict justice and judgment in a world that cannot be perfect because it is not God. Evil, they have taught, will ultimately be vanquished by divine grace in response to human embrace of Gods commandments, thereby making the world worthy of divine redemption.

The Holocaust and other historical evils challenge any platitudes about the capacity of human decision alone to set limits on horrors. Indeed, the filmmakers themselves dont seem to trust the effectiveness of their own bumbling kabbalist(s). The movie would have been more gripping had the demonic realm found its own way to harass a community that did not invoke it but then had to overcome it, with Gods help, through the unique spiritual resources available to them.

The filmmakers choose to represent the demon as a goaty/sheepy-faced monster. While probably not deliberately intending to offend, they therefore (mis)appropriate some of the biblical sacrificial offerings in the ancient Temple (for the restoration of which Orthodox Jews still pray) and the Christian concept of Jesus as the Lamb of God and ultimate sacrificial offering. The Offering therefore puts demonic spirituality in direct competition with ancient Jewish and Christian rituals. Ironically, the Passover offering, a lamb, was intended to show the ancient Israelites that the God of Israel was the Source of life and freedom, transcending the sacredness of the lamb in ancient paganism. In this film, the lamby/goaty-headed demon definitely gets the last laugh.

This movie goes out of its way to suggest that rituals common to Hasidic and other Jews are not comforting or redemptive and that they actually enable the demonic to prevail. The tefillin (straps worn in morning prayer to affix Scriptural verses to the head and biceps in fulfillment of Exodus 13:16 and Deut.6:8) are featured only to have Art slough them off. A mezuzah on the doorpost (see Deut. 6:9) is cracked by the demon, even though an authentic Kabbalistic passage teaches that, regarding demons, God tells the Jewish People: Occupy yourselves with serving Me and I shall protect you outside [with the mezuzah], and you shall be safe in your houses inside. (Zohar III, 266a)

At the beginning of the film, the writers pontificate that they extensively researched certain cross-cultural legends about a female child-stealing or miscarriage-inducing demon. But instead of focusing on Talmudic and Kabbalistic legends which speak of such a demon named Lilith, they suggest that their demon is more authoritative precisely because its name, Abyzou, was more global and multicultural, known in the Middle East and in Europe. In any case, Abyzou was never depicted as goat or sheep like. So why glorify New Age mixing and matching of demons and spirits in such a way as to compete with biblical concepts of sacrifice and offering? Maybe their demon made them do it.
Riots broke out in Memphis and are rapidly spreading through the usual urban areas. The purported rationale is the horrific beating to death in Memphis of Tyre Nichols captured on video and released by the police. As Glenn Reynolds (Instapundit) observes, Nichols beating was administered by Black officers in a majority Black city with a Black police chief.

The officers involved have been criminally charged, but the media to which every Black killed by a cop is just proof that we are still in the Selma, Alabama world of decades ago -- another case of some innocent Black person victimized by racist oppressors.

The odious Joy Reid at MSNBC highlighted a guest who blames Nichols death on white supremacy and CNNs Van Jones opined The police who killed Tyre Nichols were Black. But they still may have been driven by racism.

To the contrary, I blame the death on those who actually administered the beating and the lack of rapid medical treatment, but people like Reid and Jones who refuse to acknowledge the murderous consequences of a savage urban Black culture which time and again ends on tragedy and who stir up absurdly conjured racism are also at fault.

As the deans of colleges and heads of k-12 schools pen their usual pap about this, and the overpaid professional consultants start scheduling conferences and workshops on ending systemic racism, it is a good time to review some facts which they steadfastly ignore.

Over at the Manhattan Institute, always a good source of unbiased information, Heather MacDonald sets out the too often ignored facts on police killings, facts which do not support reducing or defunding law enforcement.

Among the highlights of her work are these:

the evidence does not support the charge that biased police are systematically killing Black Americans in fatal shootings. Much of modern policing is driven by crime data and community demands for help. The African American community tends to be policed more heavily, because that is where people are disproportionately hurt by violent street crime. In New York City in 2018, 73% of shooting victims were Black, though Black residents comprise only 24% of the citys population. Nationally, African Americans between the ages of 10 and 34 die from homicide at 13 times the rate of white Americans, according to researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Justice Department. Community requests also determine police deployment, and the most urgent requests often come from law-abiding residents of high-crime neighborhoods.

As weve grown to expect from past riots, the rioters will cause most damage in Black communities, destroying homes, shops, and neighborhoods of the responsible people who live there. So MacDonalds observation cannot be startling to anyone who paid attention: Blacks want more police in their neighborhood.

She also refutes the sensational media coverage which creates the false impression that there is an epidemic of police shooting of unarmed Blacks,

For the last five years, the police have fatally shot about 1,000 civilians annually, the vast majority of whom were armed or otherwise dangerous. Black people account for about 23% of those shot and killed by police; they are about 13% of the U.S. population. As of the June 22 update, the Washington Posts database of fatal police shootings showed 14 unarmed Black victims and 25 unarmed white victims in 2019. The database does not include those killed by other means, like George Floyd. The number of unarmed Black shooting victims is down 63% from 2015, when the database began. There are about 7,300 Black homicide victims a year. The 14 unarmed victims in fatal police shootings would comprise only 0.2% of that total. Ideally, officers would never take anyones life in the course of their duties. But given the number of arrests they make each year (around 10 million) and the number of deadly-weapons attacks on officers (an average of 27 per day in just two-thirds of the nations police departments, according to a 2014 analysis), it is not clear that these 1,000 civilian shooting deaths suggest that law enforcement is out of control.

A study by Harvard economists showed that when police who were accused of racism, pulled back from protective policing in six cities there were almost 900 excess homicides and almost 34,000 excess felonies.

This is not to say, that continued efforts to improve police practices should stop. Nor does it justify refusing to remove from law enforcement ranks bad cops, it is however, a strong basis to resist the propaganda that excuses Black crime and would increase it by hamstringing law enforcement from neighborhoods which most need it.

I dont know how active BLM is these days after causing so much havoc in Black neighborhoods. Their officers seem to have pocketed most of the contributions to the organization for their own personal use and are rather quiet these days, but the white privileged brats of Antifa surely seem to be gearing up. Tucker Carlson reports that Antifa is coordinating riots on both coasts and in between, including Seattle, Portland, Oregon, New York City, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Frederick, Maryland. He asks, whos organizing these troops whom he dubs a political militia? Who indeed thrives in mayhem and chaos?

The video of Nichols beating is not pleasant viewing, but as my Facebook friend Randy Bock reminds us Certainly Nichols life is tragically gone, but if you run from the police you are bringing personal vendetta into it. Thats not a good thing and the police should be professional but unfortunately theyre human beings and literally overkill happens. You might think this is inappropriate but Chris Rock covered this topic fairly well in a comedy sketch 15 years ago."

I dont know a better way to scotch these persistent riots except a clear-eyed view of the facts, and ask most sincerely that you help share these with those whose only source of news is the deliberately false and inflammatory media accounts.
First, They Came for the Bump stocks, and I did not speak out

because I did not own one

Then they came for the pistol braces, and I did not speak out

because I did not own one

Youve probably heard of the federal fiasco that is the new pistol brace rule and wondered why you should care. Our little homage to First They Came for the Gun Owners should suggest where all of this is going. Lets start, though, by breaking the latest horrible developments into manageable bites.

To begin, what exactly is a pistol brace, and who would use one?

Pistol braces were originally developed for disabled veterans. The brace is designed to clamp around the shooters forearm to help stabilize the weapon. Visually, they resemble a conventional rifle stock. The ATF originally approved them but then reversed course, making up new rules with the force of law as it went along.

Image: ATF badge. Public domain.

So, why is this an issue?

All of this harkens back 89 years ago to the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA). During its initial legislative sausage-making stages, the act was going to ban handguns. To that end, the act also made it illegal to cut down a rifle or shotgun to make it concealable like a handgun, all so that criminals wouldnt be able to get around the pistol prohibition.

This is why there are length requirements for rifles and shotguns and case law on sawed-off shotguns and the like. Later on, the bills sponsors removed the handgun ban was taken out of the NFA to garner enough votes and to pass constitutional muster.

Most recently, because a pistol brace could also act as a shoulder stock, the ATF decided in its bureaucratic wisdom to reclassify the braces as Short Barreled Rifles (SBR) and require owners to register them under the NFA. Those 40 million pistol brace owners, if they do not or cannot get them registered in time, will become felons overnight--or at least 120 days after ATF formally publishes the rule in the Federal Register.

According to the ATF, whats the difference between a regular rifle and an SBR?

In most free states, if youre buying a handgun, rifle, or shotgun of the appropriate length, there are no minimum length requirements for these purchases. You simply fill out a 4473, provide the appropriate ID and, once you pass the NICS check, you take your purchase home. You can let someone else touch or even use the weapons without additional paperwork, and you can sell your piece of private property without the need for permission from the government.

(By the way, its illegal for the ATF to accumulate records of those sales because Congress specifically banned said accumulation. But, apparently, theyre doing it anyway. What happens when law enforcement breaks the law?)

The normal process to acquire an SBR is far more invasive.

You must provide a lot more information along with fingerprints, photographs, and permission from local law enforcement. You must also buy a $200 tax stamp (a princely sum in 1934, when it was equivalent to $4,429.81 in todays dollars).

There are other draconian rules for items covered under the NFA Only you can touch them, and you need the governments permission to bring them across state lines. Youre one missed interstate exit away from committing a felony.

Because the ATF changed its mind midstream about pistol braces by abruptly turning them into SBRs, the ATF has graciously decided to give everyone who has these innocuous pieces of plastic a break. Instead of instantly becoming a criminal, youll have 120 days after the rule is published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale of the government. Additionally, the ATF will waive the $200 fee so that you can set yourself up for an early morning no-knock gun confiscation SWAT raid, and it wont cost you a red cent.

It just warms the cockles of your heart, doesnt it?

Whats even worse than this abrupt decision to expose people to criminal liability is the fact that, having backed existing pistol brace owners into SBR status, essentially reversing the ordinary process, theyve also reversed the enforcement.

Normally, you get the ATFs permission before purchasing an item covered under the NFA. However, in this case, because people already possess an item thats suddenly prohibited without a license, everything is upside down. Now, you send them all your information, including a photo of the weapon, and then hope that they agree to issue you that license.

An attorney for Gun Owners of America (GOA) has reported that, if this check is delayed more than 88 days, its automatically rejected, by which time youve already helped the ATF build the case against you. If youre not lucky, youll get to have a long all-expenses paid vacation in Club Fed. But thats only if the local authorities in some regions dont arrest you first for having an assault weapon.

That is just for starters. Word has it that the pistol brace is automatically verboten if its made of foreign parts, no matter what you do.

So go back to that moment when the rule is published, and the owners of an estimated 40 million pistol braces dutifully send in their applications so that they can be made legal within 88 days. Given that the ATF moves at the speed of government, does anyone want to guess how long itll take them to get through all of those potential NFA applications?

So, why is this important to everyone else, the ones who dont own braces or guns?

At this point, with an administration proudly boasting about its desire to crack down on privately owned weapons, everyone should be mindful of the quote from Atlas Shrugged:

Did you really think we want those laws observed? said Dr. Ferris. We want them to be broken. Youd better get it straight that its not a bunch of boy scouts youre up against... Were after power and we mean it... Theres no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there arent enough criminals one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws.

Even if you dont own a gun or never heard of pistol braces, this brings up an important fact aside from the fascist far-lefts progress towards tyranny.

Even if you hate guns, you should be mindful of the fact that those guns also protect you and your liberty. You might not care about obscure issues such as pistol braces or safe storage laws. But you should understand how vital it is to hold the line against government encroachment now that the bureaucrats are obsessing over banning gas stoves and have already banned plastic straws and bags all over the place. The slippery slope in controlling your private property started with guns and has spilled out into every other aspect of your life.

This is why the leftist gun-grabbing ghouls keep hammering on their desire for (unconstitutional) control of private property with universal background checks and safe storage laws. This goes along with the unconstitutional red flag gun confiscation dictates as an instant process punishment mechanism, without having to deal with all those pesky Bill of Rights due process and civil rights issues that are the foundations of a free society.

So, those of you who dont have any guns will be affected by this issue in one way or another. Because the precedent the leftists gain by banning something dangerous will be all too attractive to our homegrown socialists. Theyre going to look around at what else they can do to make progress toward their authoritarian Utopia.

D Parker is an engineer, inventor, wordsmith, and student of history, the director of communications for a civil rights organization, and a long-time contributor to conservative websites. Find him on Substack.
If you are trying to make sense of how our nation has become so toxic, a good starting point is the Supreme Courts 1964 decision in New York Times v. Sullivan. That case radically altered existing law so that, for the first time in our history, it was impossible for any public figure to bring a successful defamation suit. There can be no better example of the horrid effect of that decision than a recent race-based defamation against Governor Ron DeSantis.

Recently, the DeSantis administration sent a letter to the College Board informing it that the State of Florida would not allow a proposed AP African-American Studies curriculum to be taught within the state. The rationale was that much of the course was nothing more than a highly politicized and radical ideology dressed up as a history course, something illegal in Florida.

Despite the lies from the Biden White House, Florida rejected an AP course filled with Critical Race Theory and other obvious violations of Florida law. We proudly require the teaching of African American history. We do not accept woke indoctrination masquerading as education. pic.twitter.com/Anw7Ui2JJv  Manny Diaz Jr. (@SenMannyDiazJr) January 20, 2023

Factually, nothing DeSantis did was racistthat is, he did not treat Blacks differently because of their skin color. Nor did anything DeSantis say or do support White supremacythat is, he did not promote White Americans as being inherently superior to Black Americans. And yet, the race hustlers instantly went on the attack:

Since the 1960s, progressives have been using the race card to demonize and defame their ideological opponents.

In that vein, it would be hard to imagine a more classically defamatory article than that penned the other day by Renee Graham, an associate editor of the Boston Globe: Ron DeSantiss Fear of American History. Graham outrageously slanders DeSantis by claiming that racism motivated him. She compares DeSantiss refusal to allow the wildly ideological African American Studies AP Course to be taught in Florida to the actions of a slave owner who refused to allow his slaves to learn to read. It is, she says, an act of white supremacy.

Graham paints DeSantis as an evil and immoral person. This relieves her of the burden of addressing the substance of the DeSantis Administrations complaints about the College Board course. It is enough that she labels him a racist and white supremacist.

What Graham has written could not be more divisive for our nation. She abandons reason and substitutes defamation posing as reasoned argument. This approach defines post-modernism. (See a perfect example here.)

Professors are teaching students that the term American citizen is a racialized term and associated with whiteness because America was built on white supremacy pic.twitter.com/wqrMUruLj7  Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) January 25, 2023

This style utterly permeates all the victims studies programs in academiaand increasingly all of academia itself. There, for six decades, victim studies programs have been allowed to grow cancerous, free of any academic rigor. There is no better example than to point out that charges we deemed ridiculous in 1960 because they were devoid of fact are today embraced as truth in the scurrilous 1619 Project, a calumny on the country itself.

With academia as ground zero for post-modernism as argument, leftists charge that anything or anybody challenging them is racist or white supremacist. Doing so dangerously balkanizes America but gives leftists political power.

This could not be more toxic, yet it only gets worse with every passing year. Race relations in this nation were good and improving before 2008. Today, after almost two decades of relentless attack by progressive race hustlers with a political agenda, race relations are decaying rapidly and significantly. That is truly evil.

So how do race hustlers like Graham get away with their defamation? Why arent they being sued into penury and our national conversation being forced into one of substance, not demonization?

For millennia, Western civilization has used the law of defamation to blunt baseless lies and calumnies from destroying reputations and whole societies. That law allows a person who has been falsely maligned to sue.

The laws roots go back to Ancient Rome, where, over 2,000 years ago, a Roman citizen could sue anyone who had made a false accusation against him, using an action for Calumnia (from which we today get the word calumny). This law passed into Englands legal system during the Roman Occupation. Before 1964, in an unbroken line under Roman, Anglo-Saxon, English, British or American law, there was no appreciable period where defamation law was unavailable to stop false accusations.

It changed in 1964 when a progressive Supreme Court, in its infinite wisdom, gutted this nations defamation laws in New York Times v. Sullivan, a case that arose because proponents of racist laws and treatment were successfully using charges of defamation to shut down legitimate criticism. In 1960, the New York Times published an advertisement supporting Martin Luther King. Because the advertisement had several minor factual inaccuracies, an Alabama Police Commissioner sued in state court for defamation and won a $500,000 judgment against the Times by using irrelevant errors to silence substantive criticism.

The Supreme Court, rather than acting with judicial restraint and limiting its holding to protect innocent parties on both sides of the issue (i.e., those who are falsely defamed and those who make legitimate criticism), came up with a different principle, unheard of in Western civilization. It held that public figures can sue for defamation only under unique and extraordinary circumstances.

The practical effect is that, in America today, a public figure has no recourse at law when defamed. The Court effectively led our nation into a bold experiment where people are free to lie and demonize their opponents without fear theyll be held liable.

Thanks to that holding, people like Ms. Graham can hurl the race card with abandon, making horrible and false accusations against a politician; Joe Biden can tell blacks that white Americans want to put yall back in chains; the Southern Poverty Law Center can accuse innocent organizations and people of hate simply for taking positions at odds with progressives; and George Soros can attack critics of his policies by claiming the critics are really just antisemitic. These attacks will, at best, silence those making legitimate points or taking reasoned stands and, at worst, will ruin their lives.

There is only one justice on todays Supreme Court who seems to have the courage to revisit this disaster created by the Court: Justice Clarence Thomas. Six months ago, he wrote the following in a dissent:

New York Times and the Courts decisions extending it were policy-driven decisions masquerading as constitutional law. [Citation omitted.] Those decisions have no relation to the text, history, or structure of the Constitution. [Citation omitted.] This Court has never demonstrated otherwise. In fact, we have never even inquired whether the First or Fourteenth Amendment, as originally understood, encompasses an actual-malice standard. [Citation omitted.]

He is right, even if the rest of the Court is willing to ignore this disaster.

Others see different ways to address the problem. For example, Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit draws a road map for reforming defamation law that would leave New York Times v. Sullivan standing but alter its impact.

I see a global change as preferable, one that challenges and blunts the Supreme Courts constitutional overreach, which makes it the most dangerous branch of government. Progressives have treated the Supreme Court as a politburo over the past century, using it to advance policies that could never be passed through the ballot box. That situation, like the gutted law of defamation, cannot last if America is to survive.

Congress should treat the New York Times v. Sullivan decision and its progeny as being applicable only to the common law tort of defamation. Congress should exercise its unique authority as our nations only authorized legislative body (U.S. Const. Art. 1  1) to craft a statutory defamation law that would return the tort, in large measure if not entirely, to its pre-1964 standards. Only then can we rid this nation of the race hustlers who have used the gutted defamation law to fill the nation with toxic rhetoric, causing untold damage.

Image: United States Supreme Court by Joe Ravi. CC BY-SA 3.0.

You can read more from Wolf Howling (a pseudonym) at Bookworm Room.
A United Nations body apparently thinks nuclear war may be imminent. Tim Newcomb of Yahoo News writes:

A new World Health Organization (WHO) report calling for an increased global preparedness for radiological and nuclear emergencies doesnt spell out any particular current conflict, but it doesnt need to. The world has become fully aware of the increased dangers of radiological and nuclear threats. In the just-issued report, the WHO updated its list of medicines that governments should stockpile for these types of emergencies, including medicines that either prevent or reduce exposure to radiation or treat injuries once exposure has occurred. In radiation emergencies, people may be exposed to radiation at doses ranging from negligible to life-threatening, Maria Neira, WHO acting assistant director-general of the Healthier Populations Divisions, says in a news release.

I am so old that I remember leftists driving around with bumper stickers that read One nuclear bomb can ruin your whole day. I wonder what happened to them. I guess that when their Volvos hit the junkyard they didnt put the same bumper sticker on their next car.

Make no mistake: With the supply of German-made Leopard tanks and US-made Abrams tanks to Ukraine, the US and NATO are escalating the war in Ukraine. In a pattern all too familiar to those of us who watched the US involvement in Vietnam expand, US advisors are already on the ground in Ukraine, and with the provision of more sophisticated weaponry, their role can only increase. Skeptics believe that US service members and contractors already are operating weapons systems, in effect fighting a war against Russia.

Vladimir Putin, whom some characterize as deranged, has warned that war against Russian territory would be an existential threat, yet there is talk of an offensive to regain Crimea for Ukraine, which is territory that Russia regards as part of its homeland. Biden regime figures loosely talk of regime change in Moscow as the goal of this war.

It is not unreasonable to fear that if Vladimir Putin is cornered and fears regime change that would almost certainly involve war crimes trials or death for him, he would use nuclear weapons to defend against an existential threat.

I am sorry, but I dont see defending a corrupt regime in Kyiv that helped stage an impeachment against President Trump as worth risking nuclear war. But thats just me. A nuclear bomb exploding over San Francisco would certainly ruin my whole day, and all the days to follow.

Photo credit: Image: ChristianIS via Pixabay, Pixabay License.
Some are saying that the death of Tyre Nichols was due to bad policing or perhaps affirmative action hiring.

Neither is truly the main reason.

The Tyre Nichols tragedy was due to a spiritual void where the perpetrators have no conscience.

You dont behave so viciously toward anyone unless you have it in your soul, your being, to be that way. And because the human race is fallen, deeply prone to bad behavior, born to be bad, so to speak, human beings default to that evil fallen state.

As the Bible warns, they do what is right in their own eyes.

But it is Gods eyes they should be concerned with. People are without conscience if they are psychopaths. They also behave without conscience when they believe no one will hold them accountable. They are like all of us born into sin. Perhaps this sounds overstated. It is not; the Spirit of God inhabits those who believe in Him and walk with Him. That Spirit of God is absent in others, and so they have no fear, no love, no respect for what God has told us clearly He wants of us. God forbids murder, for example. Those cops murdered Nichols.

Culturally, we see this lack of spiritual health everywhere. Its in our schools, especially, with the teaching of debased perversions, but it is everywhere else as well.

Some police departments are bypassing the usual screening processes in favor of hiring those who are not qualified. Its a hiring method akin to no-bail, retributive justice, and affirmative action  it all lowers the standards and invites miscreants and mischief.

Supposedly, the lowered standards help to hire qualified blacks, but those blacks are not qualified; so new standards are created for them, which are lowered standards.

That may be how five black police officers managed to murder a young black man in cold blood, seemingly without provocation, perhaps even premeditatedly.

But even if we stipulate that the black officers were qualified, how did the Tyre Nichols murder even happen?

As Dan Bongino keeps asking, Who does this? Those who do this are without conscience.

It isnt complicated. I watched the video and kept asking, Why is this happening? All I saw coming from the five officers was rage, a red haze. This is a spiritual matter  men and women without God are defaulting to their fallen state of anger, malevolence, and evil. There is no other word for this but evil.

How do you explain such evil? Its not hard to explain if you view this spiritually: Evil is the default state of mankind. Its a disfiguring birthmark. Only a healthy fear of God can lift the spiritual cloud over the Orginal Sin that hovers over this nation and her people.

God alone can prevent people from surrendering to their base instincts. God alone can confer a conscience upon fallen people. Tyre Nichols would be alive today if those officers truly believed in the God of the Bible and behaved accordingly.

Image: Conscience by Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 via Pix4free
Joe Biden put together a sneaky plan to get the illegal border crossing numbers down, yet continue to allow millions of illegal immigrants into the country.

It isn't working out the way he said it would.

News reports say that the Miami and San Diego ports of entry are being flooded with new waves of migrants seeking to take advantage of these new ways to get in. Well gee, who could have anticipated that?

The app is overloaded and the prospect of lawsuits over the law's inherent illegality has prompted sudden crushes of migrants desperate to get in over the line before the whole thing gets shut down.

According to the Associated Press:

TIJUANA, Mexico (AP)  Hours before sunrise, migrants at one of Mexicos largest shelters wake up and go online, hoping to secure an appointment to try to seek asylum in the U.S. The daily ritual resembles a race for concert tickets when online sales begin for a major act, as about 100 people glide their thumbs over phone screens. New appointments are available each day at 6 a.m., but migrants find themselves stymied by error messages from the U.S. governments CBPOne mobile app thats been overloaded since the Biden administration introduced it Jan. 12. Many cant log in; others are able to enter their information and select a date, only to have the screen freeze at final confirmation. Some get a message saying they must be near a U.S. crossing, despite being in Mexicos largest border city. At Embajadores de Jesus in Tijuana, only two of more than 1,000 migrants got appointments in the first two weeks, says director Gustavo Banda.

According to Fox News:

Hundreds of migrants flew into the Miami International Airport Thursday and Friday from Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Haitiall coming to the United States legally under the parole program. Under the new immigration plan, the U.S. will allow 30,000 migrants from four countries to enter each month. Migrant families are now coming to the United States earlier than expected after the lawsuit  fearing the program could end. "My family particularly thought that if we couldn't push up the flight, she wouldn't have the chance. We made a decision to do it really fast because you know, we really just have one chance to do it and if we didn't do it now we couldn't ever bring her back," Yazmin Reyes said.

And of course, 'asylum' is not really about actual asylum from government persecution, that's just a magic word. Here's what one of the migrants says it's really about:

"My grandmother... we really need her, and we wanted to take the opportunity to take her here so that she would live a better life," Reyes said. "Because in Cuba, it's not the best place to live, and it's really hard to get a job or find food."

Old granny has lived in Cuba for what, seventy or eighty years, with no problem from the Castro regime, and now is coming in as an asylum case for supposedly defying the government and being persecuted as a result?

This isn't about asylum. It's a backdoor means of letting more economic migrants, particularly the public charges in.

Biden's White House minions put together their 'asylum' cell app called CBPOne so that migrants could use them on their cell phones. (Even in Cuba, they apparently all have them). The Bidenites also expanded "parole" into the country, complete with a free two-year work permit, for some categories of illegal migrants where the incoming crush was particularly high.

In his January 5 speech on illegal immigration, Biden described his "solution" to the open-border crisis he created like this:

First, if theyre seeking asylum, they can use an app on their cell phone called CBP One  O-N-E  CBP One  O-N-E. Thats to spell it out, not the number 1. To schedule an appointment at a port of entry and make their asylum claim there without crossing the border unlawfully and have a decision determined by an asylum officer, do they qualify. Second, in October, we worked with the Mexican government to launch a new parole program. Theres another program called the  you all know it, but the public may not  called the parole program that immediately showed results by reducing the number of people crossing the border unlawfully. The way this parole program works: One must have a lawful sponsor here in the United States who agrees to sponsor you to get here. Then, that person has to go  undergo rigorous background checks and apply from outside the United States and not cross the border illegally in the meantime.

He assured us that letting tens of thousands of would-be illegal migrants in this way would go a long toward "fixing" the border crisis, which was an obvious political liability for him:

We anticipate this action is going to substantially reduce the number of people attempting  attempting to cross our southwest border without going through a legal process.

Well, he's just managed to create a new wave of migrants, illegally waving them into the country on the magic word 'asylum,' which means "open sesame" in migrantese, all to cynically get his illegal-crossings numbers down. The app doesn't work, the illegal nature of the 'parole' is a starting gun for a new border rush, and now the illegal border crossings numbers are higher than ever. In December, those numbers hit a record all-time high at 250,000 "encounters," and now we see the new chaos and jammed airports in the wake of Joe's January speech.

Nice going, Joe. You just made the border mess worse.

As Barack Obama used to say: "Don't underestimate Joe's ability to f*** things up."

Image: U.S. Customs and Border Protection printable screen shot // government work public domain
The behavior of the White House Press Corp offers proof that most of the U.S. mainstream media is part of the establishment.

Some say the news media has a Democrat bias. That claim assumes that the news media and the Democrats are independent entities and that the Democrats are somehow controlling the media.

That is simply not true.

For decades, most of the mainstream media had functioned as a PR wing for the Democrats. Their LinkedIn profiles may state their place of work to be the NYT or the WaPo or MSNBC or NBC News etc. but they report to the Democrat party leadership.

For any given news, their opinions are indistinguishable, they even use identical terminology. The only variation is some willing propagandists go the extra mile toward the left to please their masters while others stick to the script.

During the Trump presidency, the White House Press Corp became vicious rottweilers ready to bite first and ask questions later.

They knew their petulance would earn them prominence. Former CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta, the perpetually sullen self-righteous CNN propagandist, is a perfect example of this. Acosta made a name for himself getting publicly humiliated by President Trump. This enabled a book deal and a show on CNN.

The ferocious rottweilers from the Trump presidency devolved into perpetually tail-wagging poodles during the Biden administration.

But sycophancy seldom earns respect.

Hence, despite the silence on issues and tacit support, the White House Press Corp is frequently humiliated by the Biden administration; even their access to key events at the White House was restricted.

WATCH: President Biden, during meeting with Indian PM Modi:



The Indian press is much better behaved than the American pressI think, with your permission, you could not answer questions because they wont ask any questions on point. pic.twitter.com/VppL7973ma  RNC Research (@RNCResearch) September 24, 2021

The first White House Press Secretary under Biden was Jennifer Psaki who usually had two responses to any questions -- the first of which was, I cannot comment on that right now, and the second, I will get back to you regarding that, which she never did.

Many thought it was a sign of Psakis incompetence. That may have been part of it, but it was the Biden administration's arrogance and entitlement.

They were telling the press you wont get any information and you have no choice but to accept it.

This attitude reflects Bidens mindset.

Biden is usually enraged even when the poodles of the press ask him elementary questions.

Bidens next White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, made Psaki look like an omniscient wordsmith. Jean-Pierre is usually clueless, speechless, patronizing, and averse to any questions she deems adversarial.

Enter Simon Ateba, a reporter from Cameroon, who works for Today News Africa, a news outlet that focuses on U.S.-Africa ties.

The suppression of the news about Bidens mishandling of classified documents for almost two months was scandalous. It was meant to protect the Democrats during the 2022 midterms.

The suppression continues even now with the Biden administration refusing to divulge any more information.

It took Ateba to state the obvious which is an act of rebellion during these times of emergency.

During a briefing last week, he told Jean-Pierre that she didnt seem a good fit for her job. As always he was ignored.

#WATCH | Reporter slams WH Press Sec over #ClassifiedDocuments scandal:



You don't seem a good fit for this job. pic.twitter.com/6CO8As7lFz  El American (@ElAmerican_) January 25, 2023

So what caused Ateba to be so blunt with Jean-Pierre?

We go back to a time not so long ago.

Last December, Ateba asked Jean-Pierre why she wasnt taking questions from him, a journalist from the African continent, when a three-day summit with 49 African leaders was scheduled to occur soon.

This incurred Jean-Pierres disapproval, and she rejected Atebas claim about not taking his questions. She pretended to answer his question but in seconds moved on to the next reporter, claiming that Ateba had shut her down, for a follow-up question.

When the heat got to be too much, she stormed out of the press room, implicitly blaming Ateba for causing such chaos.

Last November, Ateba challenged Jean-Pierre after she brushed off another reporter's question about the origins of COVID during Dr. Anthony Fauci's final briefing.

'She has a valid question about the origin of COVID,' rightly said Ateba, urging Jean-Pierre to bring the Fauci, standing at the side, to the podium. 'Dr. Fauci is the best person to answer!'

Jean-Pierre responded by calling Ateba 'disrespectful' and refused to answer the question.

Last August, White House Director of Strategic Communications for the National Security Council, John Kirby, had two testy exchanges with Ateba.

On one occasion, Kirby asked Ateba to be more respectful.

Back in December 2021, Ateba challenged Psaki about the travel ban of southern African countries due to the Omicron variant of COVID-19 when the same variant was found in 57 countries, including countries in the EU.

Moment of chaos in the White House Briefing Room as, for the second time today, Today News Africa's Simon Ateba goes full Jim Acosta on Jen Psaki, demanding he be called on to denounce the Biden administration's travel ban on countries in southern Africa pic.twitter.com/FczAZi8f1s  Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) December 2, 2021

And it happened a third time. Needless to say, Jen Psaki and Simon Ateba won't be confused as being BFFs pic.twitter.com/3nsv1YyMqU  Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) December 2, 2021

Ateba appeared on Tucker Carlsons show multiple times to narrate his experiences of poor treatment during the White House press briefings.

For Democrats, Carlson is the second worst person in the world, after President Trump, of course. This explains why Atebas relationship with the White House has worsened.

Ateba says Jean-Pierre has not called on him at briefings in more than four months, which explains why he has to shout out questions over his colleagues, which usually are ignored.

Ateba said he attempted to have a meeting with Jean-Pierre to resolve whatever problems she may have, but she has refused to meet with him until 2024. This means that for the rest of the Biden administration, Ateba is effectively banned.

His offense was asking tough questions.

A consistent theme in the White Houses response to Ateba is that he needs to be more respectful.

Perhaps they forget that in a democracy, the press must hold the powerful accountable and is under no obligation to be polite or deferential when asking questions or when the powers make an attempt to suppress or misstate facts related to the national interest.

If Jean-Pierre thinks the Ateba is disrespectful, she should watch the BBCs Jeremy Paxman:

In a democracy, a government serves the citizens and is obliged to be transparent with the people they serve. Since the very beginning, the Biden administration has consistently violated myriad inviolable norms with its unprecedented lies and obfuscation.

Let's look at it the way the Democrats would.

A person of color is being discriminated against in Biden's White House for doing his job.

Had this happened during the Trump administration, Ateba would have been a national hero. He would have been a contributor on MSNBC and would have been offered a book deal. But since he is speaking truth to Democrats, he has become a pariah.

Simon Ateba is among the very rare members of the White House press corps who is doing his job and deserves to be congratulated for doing his job, but instead, he was unofficially banned.

This is another affront that the Biden administration is engaging against democracy in the U.S.

Hopefully, the Trump administration will welcome him back in January 2025.

Image: Screen shot from Fox News video, via YouTube
When it comes to the Biden document scandal, Fox News, as the opposition media, should not be banging the same gong that the leftist media outlets are striking with fervor. And yet it is. Thats not good news.

President Bidens days as a politician are numbered, not because some confidential documents were discovered in suspicious circumstances, but due to the Big Picture. If you want to understand what is going on, start with the result the leftist globalists desire and work back to the event at hand. Right now, they want Biden out because he no longer serves their goals.

For the four years after 2016, Democrats failed to promote anyone who could beat Trump. By 2020, they had no qualified (meaning able to win) candidates in the wings. They were stuck nominating and sheltering Biden solely to defeat Trump, boosting him in the primaries and through to his victory. Other acts towards Trumps permanent defeat were the Russia hoax, the two sham impeachments, the January 6 committee, and the Mar-a-Lago raid.

Biden, though, is imperfect, and Democrats must move Biden out. He is no longer needed; his purpose is fulfilled. But how to do it?

Whoever ends up completing Bidens term is the incumbent in the 2024 election. Dems understand that it cannot be Kamala for obvious reasons. Wait and see how creative the pressure will be on her to resign.

But moving Biden out is fraught with trouble. If just a fraction of the allegations about Biden are true, he can be impeached on many fronts. The problem is that other people are involved in those matters. Those crimes cannot be used without damaging some players in the Deep State, the party, or the intelligence services, and possibly exposing just what they have been doing.

Image: Joe Biden. YouTube screen grab.

So you must destroy Joe with a solo act that touches no one; namely, illegally possessing classified documents. Think about itBidens lawyers found the first batch of documents and turned their own client in! Then, like a childs game of Whack-A-Mole, documents keep popping up, some from the same places in which previous documents were found! With the deluge of new finds swatting him almost daily, Joe must feel a bit like Tippi Hedren in Hitchcocks The Birds, just wishing it would all stop.

The leftist media have picked up this ball and, instead of defending Biden, as is their wont, are ensuring Bidens downfall. This should be a major clue for those paying attention.

Oddly, Fox News, which should be the political opinion opposition, dutifully reports each of these new findings with breathless glee as if electricity were just discovered.

What Fox is doing makes no sense because Joe is toast. There is no nullification benefit for the opposition to making him toastier. The left is already doing the job of removing him from office. Nevertheless, Fox News is playing the role of the Democrats huckleberry. (If youre wondering, the phrase Im your Huckleberry means Im your guy/gal, and I understand your goals, and Im here to help.). Why is it doing this?

Its good (important, even) that Fox reports the facts about the documents. However, the amount of time devoted to focusing on the document issue means Fox is amplifying a story that can only support the Democrat agenda. And lets them avoid having to delve into the true story of the power of the leftist globalist agenda that drives it.

In that agenda, we are seeing a slow-motion coup of a sitting presidency so that those pulling the strings can manipulate their desired candidate into office in 2024 while not harming any of their players. That is the big story and is a subset of the global Big Picture.

We should not be gleeful that Biden is being taken down but should be alarmed that our entire system is showing there really is a man behind the curtain, as Dorothy Gale learned in Oz. Whats happening behind the curtain is not a friend to America or to freedom. That is the story.

While this action is expected from the usual suspects in media, it indicates that Fox News is going soft on its role of being opposition media. This trend got a noticeable start in April 2022, when the station stopped interviewing Trump.

Foxs embrace of the mainstream narrative does not bode well for America, and thats true whether Fox is on board with or afraid of the agenda. Were in trouble if Fox abandons its long-standing role as a major media outlet pushing back against globalism, and attacks on the constitution, family, and faith.

The dogs bark, but the caravan moves on.

Lewis Dovland is the nom de guerre of a passionate observer of Americas future direction with a focus on exposing the Big Picture end goals of the progressive Marxist movement and how we can prevail. Email at Lewis.Dovland@gmail.com.
I am not a fan of Ilhan Omar. Shes an anti-Semite. Shes a bigot. Shes a racist. Shes a socialist. In saying this, Rep Nancy Mace (R-SC) is absolutely correct. Where she errs is in calling Rep. Omars removal from the House Foreign Affairs Committee cancel culture.

The work of the House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) is to consider legislation that affects the diplomatic community, which includes the Department of State, the Agency for International Development, the Peace Corps, and the United Nations, and enforcing the Arms Export Control Act. The HFAC takes on seriously weighty issues critical to our national peace, affluence, and security. The members tackle subjects of importance to every region and country in the world. Tough work. The kind of work that requires dispassionate, serious, well-rounded, thoughtful, honest people dedicated to advancing Americas priorities and ensuring that American citizens can enjoy life, dwell in liberty, pursue happiness, and freely exercise all their inherent rights.

Peace, economic stability, and national security for all nations are goals we work toward if doing so strengthens us too. HFACs work, especially on the budgets of the State Department, USAID, and our portion of the UNs funding, is critical to that goal. Rep. Omar is simply not the right person to be assigned such work.

Of course, her First Amendment rights are secured to her, as much as they are to any of us. And she certainly has exercised her freedom of speech. The thing about exercising our rights, however, is that this is not done in a vacuum. We reveal ourselves, we act, and all such revelations and actions bring with them the personal responsibility of dealing with the consequences.

Image: Ilhan Omar. YouTube screen grab.

September 11 changed this country and the world. It affected all forms of transportation everywhere. It altered our budgetary priorities further into the future than I will be around to witness. Nothing has had a greater impact on how business is conducted in our world in my lifetime. Yet, Omar treated this event flippantly: some people did something, she said. Is she even aware that the totality of the HFACs efforts was rearranged by that fateful morning? Does she comprehend its meaning? Based on the evidence, it does not appear so.

Two days ago, Omar tweeted, Republicans say they believe in freedom of speech and debate. But if you dont agree with their policies, they will try to forcibly remove you from a committee you serve on.

Omar is an unserious person. For this statement to be true, nearly all Democrats would be in the process of being removed from their committee assignments. If this were true, she would call all Democrats serving on committees closet Republicans.

Just before that, Omar tweeted, They [GOP] just hate an African refugee who is Muslim having the power to shape policy in our country. This odious and patently false accusation against tens of millions of Americans, as well as more than half of her House colleagues, shows that she is anti-American at heart. As such, she isat her coreunable to carry out the most fundamental duties of a member of the HFAC.

Omar unloaded on Trump, yet again, over an Executive Order from March 2017, in which he halted most travel from seven countries to the United States. It was a 90-day temporary suspension in response to multiple terrorist attacks in Western countries and to those seven countries being unable or unwilling to properly document their citizens. The pause was made to evaluate and reinforce our ability to suss out terrorists applying for visas and other means of legal entry into the United States.

Instead, Omar claimed it was based on religious discrimination. If that had been the case, every Muslim-majority population would have been prohibited, and not just for 90 days. Her inability to address the substance of this issue truthfully should be disqualifying.

Rep. Omar consistently condemns Israel for defending itself against rocket and other attacks on its citizenry without commensurately condemning the initial attackers. President Trump demonstrated with the Abraham Accords that good relations, including commerce and transportation, between Israel and her neighbors are the key to peace in that region. Anyone unwilling to work collaboratively on this issue has shown herself unfit for an HFAC assignment.

Rep. Mace and others who are not inclined to concur on removing Rep. Omar from the HFAC, please consider this: It is not about Rep. Omars First Amendment rights because those guaranteed rights do not include a seat on this or any other committee. It is about her unsuitability for such an assignment.

Omar does not bring the required strengths and skills to the table. Shes had a couple of terms now to show that she is up to it and, sadly for her and for all of us really, she has not risen to the requirements. Perhaps she will come to love this country with all its diversity and value its priorities. Today, however, the last thing we need when addressing our place in the world and with other countries is a dismissive scold.

Anony Mee is the nom de blog of a retired public servant.
Since California wants to tax people who don't live in California with a wealth tax, and since Biden and other Democrats don't think they should negotiate on the debt ceiling, the public should see quotes from Ronald Reagan on taxes:

1. Governments view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it. 2. We dont have a trillion-dollar debt because we havent taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. 3. Republicans believe every day is the Fourth of July, but the democrats believe every day is April 15. 4. No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life well ever see on this earth! 5. Simple fairness dictates that government must not raise taxes on families struggling to pay their bills. 6. Government does not tax to get the money it needs; government always finds a need for the money it gets. 7. You cant be for big government, big taxes, and big bureaucracy and still be for the little guy. 8. The American people are not undertaxed, the government in Washington is overfed. 9. Whenever we lower the tax rates, our entire nation is better off.

The current government debt is 31 times higher than when Reagan was President and to Democrats, we haven't spent enough.

How many times have we heard politicians say they are paying for the new programs they are proposing yet we have run up $30 trillion more in new debt.

In 2009, when Democrats passed Obamacare without reading it, the CBO and Democrats promised it would be paid for. Part of the fiction was that the government would make money by taking over student loans. Now, they want to forgive student loans. Of course, they never ask colleges to reduce their costs. Spending cuts are never a solution for Democrats.

Policies that have paid for themselves include tax rate cuts. No matter how many times this has happened, the CBO, Democrats and the media always claim they cost the government money. Facts never matter. Even though the tax rate cuts from Trump have not cost the government money, many in the media and other Democrats, like Biden, claim they cost the government trillions and also lied that they were only for the rich.

The latest Congressional Budget Office report released earlier this month calculated that the federal government collected $4.9 trillion of federal revenue last year. This was up -- ready for this? -- almost $1.5 trillion since 2017, the year before the tax cuts became law.

In other words, revenues were up 40% in five years. The evidence through the first three years of the tax cut finds that the share of taxes paid by the wealthiest 1% rose as well. So much for this being a tax giveaway for the rich.

I compared these numbers with the estimates of what the Trump tax cuts were expected to "cost." Instead of an expected $1 trillion revenue "loss," the tax receipts over this period were almost precisely what they would have been if we didn't cut taxes at all. And remember, that estimate in 2017 never anticipated the two-year hit to the economy from COVID-19 lockdowns -- which depleted the Treasury.

In other words, there was a giant Laffer Curve effect from Trump's tax cut. We got higher growth and higher tax payments with lower tax rates. This shouldn't be a giant surprise. The same thing happened when Democratic President John F. Kennedy cut tax rates in the 1960s and when Republican President Ronald Reagan cut tax rates in the 1980s. Lower rates and more revenues.

Democrat policies are always the same. Big government is always the solution and they always want to confiscate more money from the people who earn it.

Photo ceedit: Michael Evans public domain
That virtue-signaling paragon of writing excellence, the AP Stylebook, recently tweeted: We recommend avoiding general and often dehumanizing the labels such as the poor, the mentally ill, the French, the disabled, the college-educated. Instead, use wording such as people with mental illnesses. And use these descriptions only when clearly relevant. (But never write or say, the people with mental illnesses, as that would be offensive!)

You know youve gone too far down a road that ought not have been traveled when the word the is verboten. The AP Stylebook is now to language as Michael Moore is to NASCAR racing.

The AP Stylebooks advice is mindful of a comment Winston Churchill supposedly made when a young Foreign Office secretary-- who had the job of vetting the then Prime Ministers peerless speeches-- decried the P.M.s habit of ending sentences with prepositions. Churchill, tiring of the functionarys didactic assaults on his magnificent writing and oratory, allegedly sent a correction back to the Foreign Office with a notation in red ink stating: This is the kind of pedantic nonsense up with which I shall not put! (The job of vetting Churchills writings/speeches would be akin to one requiring the vetting of Beethovens composing.)

As for the French, their embassy response made the AP look like idiots:

After that, the AP got ratioed on Twitter by thousands of users, making fun of their wokester ethic and delicate political sensibilities. They put their tails between their legs and put this tweet out to clarify:

The use of the French in this tweet by @AP was inappropriate and has caused unintended offense. An updated tweet is upcoming.  The Associated Press (@AP) January 27, 2023

Notice that it isn't a full surrender in their war on the word 'the.' They remain wedded to that political correctness instinct.

The woke abuse of the English language has gone too far. The word the is dehumanizing?

What the hell? How dumb are the folks at the AP Stylebook? This is the last straw!

And the dumbest thing Ive ever heard of.

Update: The AP has apologized for its idiocy:

The Twitter account for the Associated Press apologized for a recent tweet suggesting that "the French" was a "dehumanizing" term, acknowledging that it "caused unintended offense." The AP official account tweeted Friday morning, "The use of the French in this tweet by @AP was inappropriate and has caused unintended offense. An updated tweet is upcoming." (snip) The intense mockery prompted the news agency to delete its tweet in addition to providing the apology. It then subsequently posted a revised version of its controversial post that omitted any reference to French people.

Image: Screen shot from Google Fonts / public domain

Editor's note: This post has been updated.
Lady Susan Hussey joined the King and the Princess Royal at a church service at Sandringham, two months after resigning in a racism row.

The 83-year-old was pictured smiling after attending St Mary Magdalene Church on the royal familys Norfolk estate on Sunday.

It comes after she stepped down from an honorary role after asking Ngozi Fulani, a black British domestic violence campaigner, where she really came from at a Buckingham Palace event in December.

Lady Susan Hussey arrives at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham to attend a service with the King and Princess Royal (Joe Giddens/PA)

Lady Susan wore a dark-coloured coat and hat and in one photo appeared to be clutching a white rose and grinning, as members of the public looked on.

The Prince of Waless godmother resigned from the royal household and apologised after she repeatedly challenged Ms Fulani, when she said she was British, at the Queen Consorts reception highlighting violence against women and girls.

Lady Susan later apologised in person to Ms Fulani, founder of the charity Sistah Space, after she expressed shock at her treatment by the late Queens lady-in-waiting.

Lady Susan Hussey leaves St Mary Magdalene Church after the service (Joe Giddens/PA)

In December, the two women met at Buckingham Palace again, with an official statement saying: At this meeting, filled with warmth and understanding, Lady Susan offered her sincere apologies for the comments that were made and the distress they caused to Ms Fulani.

Lady Susan has pledged to deepen her awareness of the sensitivities involved and is grateful for the opportunity to learn more about the issues in this area.

Ms Fulani, who has unfairly received the most appalling torrent of abuse on social media and elsewhere, has accepted this apology and appreciates that no malice was intended.

The King and the Princess Royal arrive at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham (Joe Giddens/PA)

It added: The Royal Households will continue their focus on inclusion and diversity, with an enhanced programme of work which will extend knowledge and training programmes, examining what can be learnt from Sistah Space, and ensuring these reach all members of their communities.

Both Ms Fulani and Lady Susan ask now that they be left in peace to rebuild their lives in the wake of an immensely distressing period for them both.

They hope that their example shows a path to resolution can be found with kindness, co-operation and the condemnation of discrimination wherever it takes root.
Nadhim Zahawi has been fired by Rishi Sunak for a serious breach of the Ministerial Code, following days of controversy over the Conservative Party chairmans tax affairs.

Mr Zahawi, who was appointed to the role by the Prime Minister last October, had been facing calls to stand aside after Mr Sunak ordered an ethics inquiry into the former chancellors tax affairs.

The Tory chairman had faced damaging reports that he had settled an estimated 4.8 million bill with HM Revenue & Customs while he was chancellor, including paying a penalty.

Pressure on ministers grew after HMRC boss Jim Harra told MPs there are no penalties for innocent errors in your tax affairs.

The rapid conclusion of the investigation by Sir Laurie Magnus, the Prime Ministers independent adviser on ministers interests, came after Mr Sunak resisted calls to sack his party colleague immediately and instead stressed the need for due process.

But in a letter published on Sunday morning and following Sir Lauries inquiry, Mr Sunak told Mr Zahawi that he believed he had committed a serious breach of the Ministerial Code.

As a result, I have informed you of my decision to remove you from your position in His Majestys Government.

The letter from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to Nadhim Zahawi, sacking him as Conservative Party chairman (10 Downing Street/PA)

In the letter, Mr Sunak told the Tory MP: When I became Prime Minister last year, I pledged that the Government I lead would have integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level.

He paid tribute to Mr Zahawis contribution to the Government, including his role as vaccines minister during the pandemic.

As you leave, you should be extremely proud of your wide-ranging achievements in Government over the last five years.

In his reply to the Prime Minister, Mr Zahawi did not explicitly refer to the findings of the inquiry.

The row surrounding Mr Zahawi had centred on a tax bill over the sale of shares in YouGov  the polling firm he founded  worth an estimated 27 million and which were held by Balshore Investments, a company registered offshore in Gibraltar and linked to Mr Zahawis family.

Mr Zahawi, who has been MP for Stratford-upon-Avon since 2010, had said that HMRC concluded there had been a careless and not deliberate error in the way the founders shares, which he had allocated to his father, had been treated.

He had also insisted he was confident he had acted properly throughout.

On Sunday, he told Mr Sunak that he was concerned about the conduct from some of the fourth estate in recent weeks, in a reference to the media.

He said: It has been, after being blessed with my loving family, the privilege of my life to serve in successive governments and make what I believe to have been a tangible difference to the country I love.

In comments which appear to indicate that the former chancellor holds out little prospect of returning to office in the years to come, he said: You can be assured of my support from the backbenches in the coming years. Your five priorities are the right priorities, and I will do whatever I can to help you deliver them.

Sir Lauries four-page report, dated January 29, said the technical details of the HMRC investigation were outside his scope.

Sir Laurie Magnus carried out an investigation into Nadhim Zahawi (David Parry/PA)

Instead, he considered Mr Zahawis handling of the matter in light of his responsibilities as a minister.

In that regard, he found that the Tory chairman had shown insufficient regard for the general principles of the Ministerial Code and the requirements in particular, under the seven Principles of Public Life, to be honest, open and an exemplary leader through his own behaviour.

Among the findings, he notes omissions from Mr Zahawi that amount to a serious failure to meet the standards of the Ministerial Code.

He said: In the appointments process for the governments formed in September 2022 and October 2022, Mr Zahawi failed to disclose relevant information  in this case the nature of the investigation and its outcome in a penalty  at the time of his appointment, including to Cabinet Office officials who support that process.

Without knowledge of that information, the Cabinet Office was not in a position to inform the appointing Prime Minister.

The sacking came as Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove toured broadcast studios on behalf of the Government.

Because someone commits a lapse or a sin, that shouldnt be automatically taken as an opportunity to damn an entire organisation or a way of working, he told the BBCs Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme as news of Mr Zahawis dismissal broke.

There are always people who will fall short, whether its in politics or other parts of public life, or professional life, or in any area.

Mr Sunak is unlikely to appoint a new Conservative chairman by the end of Sunday, the PA news agency understands.

Stephen Massey, the partys chief executive, will step in as interim chair.

Shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson said the Prime Minister should have sacked the Tory MP a long time ago.

Its vital that we now get answers to what Rishi Sunak knew and when did he know it. We need to see all the papers, not just have the Prime Ministers role in this brushed under the carpet.

The Liberal Democrats also called on Mr Zahawi to go a step further and leave parliament.

But Mr Gove rejected calls for Mr Zahawis departure from politics, telling Times Radio that he should absolutely not quit as an MP.

Former Cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg was quick to float Boris Johnson as a possible replacement.

He has all the right attributes for a party chairman. He is charismatic, he rallies the troops. Hes a sort of fully loaded Conservative. So I think that type of personality would be a very good one for a party chairman, he told GB News.

George Osborne, the former Conservative chancellor, said that Mr Sunak was being pulled down by hangovers from the era of Boris Johnson.

The big question for the Rishi Sunak premiership was whether his high ratings could pull the Tory party up, or the Tory partys low ratings would pull him down.

And at the moment, he is being pulled down by a series of scandals which do not directly involve him, are kind of hangovers, if you like, of the Johnson era. But he needs to do something pretty quickly, he told the The Andrew Neil Show on Channel 4.
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Ukrainian soldiers have landed in the UK to learn how to use British Challenger 2 tanks against their Russian invaders.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) shared photographs of people exiting an RAF plane on Sunday to announce the arrivals.

The troops will begin training on Monday, the Government said.

Ukrainian tank crews have arrived in the UK to begin training for their continued fight against Russia. The UK will provide Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine alongside global partner nations  demonstrating the strength of support for Ukraine, internationally.#StandWithUkraine pic.twitter.com/OLKtllePzN  Ministry of Defence  (@DefenceHQ) January 29, 2023

The MoD tweeted: Ukrainian tank crews have arrived in the UK to begin training for their continued fight against Russia.

The UK will provide Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine alongside global partner nations  demonstrating the strength of support for Ukraine, internationally.

On Thursday, defence minister Alex Chalk told the House of Commons the UK would begin teaching Ukrainian soldiers how to use and fix the tanks next week, on Monday.

Soon to be a regular sight prowling the fields of Ukraine.  A Challenger 2 and a Leopard 2 on exercise in Poland.  #WeStandWithUkraine pic.twitter.com/X14aH6cPxE  Ministry of Defence  (@DefenceHQ) January 25, 2023

He said the intention is for the Challenger 2s to arrive in Ukraine at the end of March.

Before then, Mr Chalk said there will be a really significant programme of training, not just for the tank crews who are to operate this vehicle but also for those who will be charged with maintaining it.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has pledged to send around 14 Challenger 2s to Ukraine.

Delighted Germany joins the UK, France & Poland in sending tanks to Ukraine. It is time for Russia to realise that the International community is increasingly determined to help Ukraine resist their barbaric and illegal invasion.     Rt. Hon Ben Wallace MP (@BWallaceMP) January 25, 2023

After weeks of diplomatic deadlock, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday approved the supply of German Leopard 2 tanks to Kyiv.

Germany also allowed other allies operating Leopard 2s to re-export them to Ukraine.

The US said it will send 31 M1 Abrams tanks.
Pamela Anderson visits "The Howard Stern Show" on Jan. 25 at SiriusXM Studios in Los Angeles. (Photo: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for SiriusXM)

Pamela Anderson and producer Jon Peters were only married for 12 days but her effect on his life  and his on hers  has lasted much longer.

"I will always love Pamela, always in my heart," Peters told Variety for a story published Friday. "As a matter of fact, I left her $10 million in my will. And she doesn't even know that. Nobody knows that. I'm just saying it for the first time with you. I probably shouldn't be saying it. So that's for her, whether she needs it or not."

Their relationship hasn't always been so clear-cut.

Peters, the producer of both the 1976 and 2018 A Star Is Born movies, plus blockbusters like 1988's Rain Man and Tim Burton's Batman the following year, met Anderson at the Playboy Mansion in 1990. She'd only been in the city for a day.

According to Variety, Anderson was soon living with Peters, and he gifted her with cars and clothes and all things sparkly. Both told the publication that their relationship was not romantic at the time.

Producer Jon Peters and model Pamela Anderson attend the premiere of "Glory" on Dec. 11, 1989, at the Cineplex Odeon Cinema in Century City, Calif. (Photo: Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)

Fast forward to January 2020, and the two married in a private ceremony in Malibu, Calif., only to end their union less than two weeks later.

Peters told the New York Post's Page Six that the marriage ended as soon as he had paid off some of his new wife's debts, because she was "broke."

Peters disputed rumors going around at the time that Anderson ended things because he was "too controlling," and that she knew she had "made a terrible mistake" within two days of the ceremony.

He said that, despite reports, the Baywatch actress was the one who had initiated the marriage.

"Needless to say that when she texted me that she wanted to get married, it was kind of a dream come true even though I was engaged to someone else and the lady was moving in," he told the newspaper. "I dropped everything for Pam. She had almost $200,000 in bills and no way to pay it so I paid it and this is the thanks I get. There's no fool like an old fool.'"

Meanwhile, she reportedly tweeted that the legal paperwork was never filed, so there was neither a marriage nor a divorce. She called Peters a "lifelong family friend" with whom she'd had a "bizarre theatrical lunch." Anderson said she had "no hard feelings." And the 200K? She said that was untrue.

But in the new interview, the Love, Pamela author described Peters as "great," someone who has "been a huge influence on my life." She added, "I love him to death."
Four white men with white supremacist ties were sentenced in federal court in Seattle Friday for a 2018 assault on a Black DJ at a bar in the suburb of Lynnwood.

Judge Richard Jones sentenced the men to varying prison terms, the Daily Herald reported.

Jason Stanley, of Boise, will serve four years. Under a plea agreement, prosecutors and the defense recommended just over three years. Jason DeSimas, of Tacoma, Washington, had the same plea deal. Jones sentenced him to four years, as well.

Randy Smith, of Eugene, Oregon, got 3 years in prison. And Daniel Dorson, of Corvallis Oregon, got 2 years.

All four were previously convicted of committing a hate crime and making false statements. The man they attacked, Tyrone Smith, said outside the courthouse Friday that his life is forever changed.

The judge also ordered the defendants to pay nearly $171,000 in restitution to cover lost wages and medical bills. He called the attack that of a modern day unhooded KKK.

Smith said the defendants actions changed him from an outgoing person who DJed for his friends for fun, to someone who struggles with anxiety and uses a cane.

As we can all see, its been a long road for me, Smith said. But I had enough courage to come down and make sure this process was handled and justice was actually served.

On Dec. 7, 2018, DeSimas and others traveled to Lynnwood on the way to visiting the site of a Whidbey Island cabin where Robert Jay Mathews, the neo-Nazi leader of the violent hate group The Order, died in a gunfight with federal agents on Dec. 8, 1984. It has become a far-right holiday, known as Martyrs Day.

That night, DeSimas attended a gathering with other white supremacist sympathizers, prosecutors said. Shortly after midnight, about a dozen of them went to the Rec Room Bar and Grill. Some wore jackets with patches indicating their white supremacist beliefs and some had similar tattoos, including some depicting swastikas, prosecutors said.

At some point, Stanley messed with Smiths DJ equipment. Smith pushed him away. In response, DeSimas and others surrounded Smith, using racist slurs while kicking, punching and stomping on Smith, prosecutors said. Witnesses who tried to intervene were also attacked.

The men then left the bar and went to Whidbey Island, where they attended the Martyrs Day event.

Federal prosecutors indicted the men in December 2020. Citing insufficient evidence, Snohomish County prosecutors declined to charge six other men who were at the tavern the night of the attack.

DeSimas wrote in a letter to the judge that he was ashamed of his actions, saying he no longer shared the views he previously held.

Dorson wrote in a similar letter that he was disgusted by the fear I took part in creating.

Nick Brown, the U.S. Attorney for Western Washington, said seeking consequences for the attack was a high priority for the Justice Department and the FBI.

Rick Collodi, the FBIs special agent in charge of Seattles field office, said the defendants tried to conceal their actions, but the truth came out.

The four defendants admitted to being members of a white supremacist group, Collodi said. While they have the right to believe what they want, they do not have the right to commit a crime.
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP)  Increasingly it feels like America is at war with itself.

In New Orleans, just days into the new year, a 14-year-old girl was shot to death, along with her father and uncle. A few days after, in a Virginia classroom, a six-year-old boy pulled out a gun and shot his first-grade teacher. That news was eclipsed by a mass shooting at a California dance studio last weekend that left 11 people dead. A day later and a few hundred miles away, a farmworker opened fire in a beachside town, killing seven coworkers. Three more were killed and four wounded in a shooting at a short-term rental home in an an upscale Los Angeles neighborhood early Saturday.

Just keeping track of all the shootings has become overwhelming, with the locations, circumstances and the names of the victims running together into a seemingly endless trail of bloodshed and grief.

And many Americans are deeply pessimistic that anything will soon change. When President Joe Biden signed a bill last year to fight gun violence  the first such measure to pass Congress in a generation  a substantial majority supported it. But 78% said they believed it would do little or nothing at all, a survey by the Pew Research Center found.

The sheer number of killings and the glacial pace of the political response breeds a sense of powerlessness and despair, said Pedro Noguera, the dean of the school of education at the University of Southern California and a sociologist who has studied gun violence for more than two decades.

"I dont think anybody feels good about where we are at  even gun enthusiasts, he said.

But if all that might make you think America has gone numb to gun violence, Zeneta Everhart would disagree. Fiercely.

Everharts then-19-year-old son, Zaire, was working his part-time job at a Buffalo supermarket last May when a gunman stormed in, looking for Black people to kill. Ten died in the attack. Zaire was shot in the neck but survived.

I dont think that the country is becoming numb to it, but I think that the country is frustrated, she said. I think that people are tired.

You know, we dont want to hear about this. We dont want to hear about our children dying by gun violence, and we dont want to hear about our seniors who were killed in the California studio attack. How awful. How heartbreaking.

But that makes Everhart and others even more determined to find ways to stem the violence.

The month after the supermarket shooting, she and other victims relatives went to Washington, D.C., testifying before a House committee about the need for gun safety legislation. Two weeks later, Biden signed the gun violence bill.

That success, and her sons continuing recovery, keep her energized.

But in a country where attitudes about guns and violence are often contradictory, charting a course of action makes for uneasy calculus.

Overall, 71% of Americans say gun laws should be stricter, according to a 2022 poll by the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. But in the same poll, 52% said it is also highly important to protect Americans' right to own guns for personal safety.

Last year's gun violence law was designed to incrementally toughen requirements for young people to buy guns, deny firearms to more domestic abusers and help local authorities temporarily take weapons from people judged to be dangerous. Most of its $13 billion cost would go to bolster mental health programs and for schools.

This year, though, the number of shooting deaths are already deeply discouraging.

The nation's first mass shooting last year happened on Jan 23. By the same date this year, the nation had already endured six mass shootings, leaving 39 people dead, according to a database compiled by The Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University. It tracks every attack in the U.S. that has claimed at least four lives, not including the shooter's, since 2006.

Unfortunately, I think we have become immune to it, said Mark Gius, a professor at Quinnipiac College who studies gun violence and public policy. Its become a part of life.

Fred Guttenberg, whose 14-year-old daughter Jaime was killed when a gunman rampaged through a Parkland, Florida high school in 2018, knows too well how overwhelming the violence can be.

The immediate instinct to these shootings, he said, is to think Here we go again. But it doesnt end there.

Its not that Americans dont care. Its that weve let it go too far, he said. America is paying attention. People are more engaged on this issue than theyve ever been.

For years, hes been pushing in Congress and Florida for legislation known as Jaimes Law, which would require people buying ammunition to undergo the same background checks required to buy a gun. The bills have stalled repeatedly, but hes not giving up.

While mass killings like Parkland grab much of the attention, more than half of Americas roughly 45,000 annual firearm deaths are from suicide.

Of gun killings, the vast majority leave only one or two people dead. Many of those deaths get no attention, beyond from the authorities and the people left behind.

Thats the sad thing, said USC's Noguera. It almost takes being directly impacted to understand how dangerous the situation is right now.

It has created a situation where even people who detest guns can find themselves wondering if they should buy one.

Its understandable, he said. People think: If the state cant protect us, then we must protect ourselves.

Eight months after the Buffalo supermarket attack, doctors have been unable so far to remove all the bullet fragments lodged inside the body of Everhart's son, some of them dangerously close to vital organs. But his survival motivates her to keeping pushing government for change, and she urges others not to give up fighting when they hear about yet another shooting.

"Dont be numb to this, she said. This should hurt you. You should feel something."

___

Associated Press video journalist Robert Bumsted contributed to this story. Sullivan reported from Minneapolis.
Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said ahead of a meeting with President Biden this week that cuts to Medicare and Social Security are off the table in talks around raising the debt limit.

McCarthy has said that Republicans want commitments to spending reductions in exchange for raising the debt limit but has been unclear about what exactly the GOP would be willing to cut. While he said Medicare and Social Security slashes are off the table in his interview on CBSs Face the Nation on Sunday, he essentially said everything else, including defense spending, is under the microscope.

I want to make sure were protected in our defense spending, but I want to make sure its effective and efficient, McCarthy said. I want to look at every single dollar we are spending, no matter where it is being spent.

McCarthy came under fire from some in his party for possibly eyeing defense cuts. In order to become Speaker, he made a deal with some Republican holdouts that he would roll back defense spending to 2022 levels. The agreement drew the ire of some conservatives, who said any cut to defense spending would be irresponsible.

Youre gonna tell me inside defense theres no waste? McCarthy asked on Sunday. We shouldnt just print more money. We should balance our budget.

The White House has said that it will not negotiate with Republicans on spending cuts, but McCarthy sounded more optimistic about the possibility that Biden would make concessions on spending in a meeting with the Speaker on Wednesday.

I know his staff tries to say something different, but I think the president is gonna be willing to make an agreement together, McCarthy said.

The U.S. reached its statutory debt limit of around $31.4 trillion earlier this month, but the Treasury Department is taking measures to be able to pay the governments bills until sometime in June. Lawmakers must either raise the debt limit or come to an agreement on a short-term extension of the limit.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Odds 'very high' of U.S. military conflict with China, top Republican says FILE PHOTO: U.S. Representative Michael McCaul (R-TX) arrives at Trump Tower to meet with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in New York

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A top Republican in the U.S. Congress said on Sunday the odds of conflict with China over Taiwan "are very high," after a U.S. general caused consternation with a memo that warned the United States would fight China in the next two years.

In a memo dated Feb. 1 but released on Friday, General Mike Minihan, who heads the Air Mobility Command, wrote to the leadership of its roughly 110,000 members saying, "My gut tells me we will fight in 2025."

"I hope he is wrong ... I think he is right though," Mike McCaul, the new chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives, told Fox News Sunday.

The general's views do not represent the Pentagon but show concern at the highest levels of the U.S. military over a possible attempt by China to exert control over Taiwan, which China claims as a territory.

Both the United States and Taiwan will hold presidential elections in 2024, potentially creating an opportunity for China to take military action, Minihan wrote.

McCaul said that if China failed to take control of Taiwan bloodlessly then "they are going to look at a military invasion in my judgment. We have to be prepared for this."

He accused the Democratic administration of President Joe Biden of projecting weakness, after the bungled pullout from Afghanistan, that could make war with China more likely.

"The odds are very high that we could see a conflict with China and Taiwan and the Indo Pacific," McCaul said.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said earlier this month he seriously doubted that ramped up Chinese military activities near the Taiwan Strait were a sign of an imminent invasion of the island by Beijing.

On Saturday, a Pentagon official said the general's comments were "not representative of the department's view on China."

(Reporting By Ross Colvin; Editing by Nick Zieminski)
In his first campaign trip since announcing a 2024 White House bid, former President Donald Trump began his effort to consolidate support in the state that holds the First in the South primary.

In the second floor lobby of the State House between the House and Senate chambers and in front of a crowded space of news media, invited and invited guests, Trump announced his leadership team, which includes Gov. Henry McMaster and U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of Seneca.

I respect these people so much, ... and the state so much and God bless you. We need the blessings from God, the country is in big, big trouble, Trump said. Well turn it around and well turn it around fast.

While many Republican lawmakers are still waiting to see how the race shakes out before aligning with a candidate, Trump still has support from a handful of statewide elected officials.

Trump was joined by U.S. Reps. Joe Wilson, Russell Fry and William Timmons of South Carolina; Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette; former U.S. Attorney Peter McCoy; former ambassador to Switzerland Ed McMullen and former Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer.

How many times have we heard, we like Trump policies, but we want somebody else, Graham said. There are no Trump policies without Donald Trump.

Fry, in his remarks introducing the former president, pointed to how Trumps event drew attendance from several lawmakers to counteract a narrative that Trump has lost support in the state.

Never before in the history of the South Carolina Republican primary has a presidential candidate received this much support this early in the game, said Fry, who called the state Trump Country.

Among those in attendance were state Reps. Thomas Beach, R-Anderson, Cal Forrest, R-Saluda, Heather Ammons Crawford, R-Horry, and Bill Chumley, R-Spartanburg, and state Treasurer Curtis Loftis.

Beach, who is a member of the House Freedom Caucus, said he is backing Trumps 2024 bid.

I think he did a wonderful job, Beach said of Trump. Im sure were going to have some really great candidates and iron sharpens iron. But hes done the job. Im so proud of him and cant wait for him to go back to the White House.

Former President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event at the South Carolina Statehouse, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023, in Columbia, S.C. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., right, and South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, second from left, look on. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Despite the notable names in attendance, many other elected Republican lawmakers did not attend, citing other commitments on a Saturday afternoon away from the state capitol. They included state Sen. Greg Hembree, R-Horry.

Trumps visit to South Carolina comes while he has been unable to consolidate support from the GOP establishment. Other candidates, including former S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley and U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of Charleston, are considering jumping into the presidential race.

Former state Rep. Katie Arrington, whose unsuccessful Republican primary challenge of Lowcountry Congresswoman Nancy Mace was endorsed last year by Trump, also attended. Arrington stood in line outside of the State House waiting to get in.

Senate President Thomas Alexander, R-Oconee, and Speaker of the House Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, also attended. Smith came with his family, and he told reporters his appearance Saturday was not an endorsement of Trump.

State Sen. Penry Gustafson, R-Kershaw, attended out of respect for the former president.

But Trump acted confident he would get more state lawmakers to back him.

Were going to be announcing it over the next couple of weeks, Trump said. We have tremendous support. I think we have really tremendous support all over the country.

Trump won the 2016 South Carolina Republican presidential primary. Winning the Palmetto State is key in the presidential election cycle as GOP primary voters in South Carolina have voted for every eventual nominee since 1980 except in 2012 when Mitt Romney won the nomination.

Trumps weekend of campaigning included a stop in New Hampshire Saturday before he traveled to South Carolina.

No other candidate is working this early to win every last vote and save America from (President Joe) Bidens destruction, Trump wrote in a fundraising email sent Saturday.

But early polling is mixed, and some believe the GOP may look to move on from the former president.

A South Carolina Policy Council poll found 47% of Republican respondents in the Palmetto State wanted to nominate someone else for president. Trump only had 37% in the poll. In a head-to-head matchup with Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor had 52% of the support to Trumps 33%.

But a Trafalgar Group poll released Friday shows Trump leading in South Carolina with 43.4%. DeSantis had 27.8% of the support, followed by Scott with 14.3% and Haley at 11.6%.

A January poll of 450 likely primary voters in South Carolina conducted for the Conservative Policy Research Network found Trump leads individual head-to-head matchups against DeSantis, Haley and Scott. Trump also gets a 41% plurality of the support when respondents were asked who they would support if the field included the former president, Haley, DeSantis, Scott, and former Vice President Mike Pence.

If there are people that are not 100% on board, well, its prudent to take your time with your options. But Im just a big fan, and I firmly believe Trump will do another awesome job, Beach said.

During his speech, Trump touched on some of his classic issues including drugs coming into the country, rising crime, the Afghanistan withdrawal, high gas prices, the southern border, and election integrity.

Trump also questioned the prioritization of electric vehicles by the Biden administration.

Were going to be sitting on the highway, Trump said during the 52-minute event. Theyre going to be looking for a little plug-in. Does anybody have a plug-in? My car just stopped? Ive been driving for an hour and 51 minutes? Ridiculous. They say gas is better, so use whatever you want, but have alternatives. If you want an electric car or an electric stove or range. Its crazy what theyre doing.

McMaster has been pushing to grow the electric vehicle industry in the state. In the last several months, McMaster and several businesses announced billions of dollars in investments from the electric vehicle industry. The investments include BMW shifting to making all-electric vehicles at its Upstate facility and two electric vehicle battery component companies opening plants, one in Florence County and one in Berkeley County.

Trumps event drew others outside

As people waited outside for the doors to open, they lined up along Gervais Street. The Daily Shows Jordan Klepper and a crew were outside the State House filming a segment for the show.

At one point, a vehicle drove by with the driver blasting the cars horn and passengers giving the middle finger to those waiting to enter the State House.

Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event at the South Carolina Statehouse, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023, in Columbia, S.C. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, listens at left. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

While hundreds of Trump supporters flocked to the outskirts of the State House on Saturday, only a handful of protesters gathered, suggesting few critics seemed to care that the former president was in town.

A strong economy, better housing and more jobs were some of the reasons supporters lined up Saturday to tout Trumps presidency.

Eggs today are $7 compared to 99 cents under Trump, said Ida Martin, chairwoman for the Republican Party in Williamsburg County, who added that besides being excited to hear Trump speak, she was happy he was running again.

Another supporter said he tries to follow Trump wherever he goes.

He owes no one any favors, most people owe him favors and I believe he is the only person on Earth that can clean up Washington D.C., said Don Bowne, 75, of Myrtle Beach.

A few protesters, however, opposed Trumps arrival.

Trump is the guy who tried to undo democracy in our country, said Columbia resident Tom OBrien, 51, who said he rallies at the State House monthly, working to remove the statue of Benjamin Tillman, the former governor and U.S. senator who was one South Carolinas most racist politicians.

Other protesters said they came out to support the Black Lives Matter movement, saying that Trump being allowed to speak at the public State House was disgraceful.

Trump promoted racism and called the people in Charlottesville very fine people on both sides, so its an insult to people who want racial equity, said Heather Hawn of Columbia.

Even though some of Trumps supporters also like Haley and Scott, the former president is their first choice.

I love (Scott and Haley), but its still Trumps time, said John Peterson who, although not invited to hear Trump speak, drove up from North Charleston. President Trump has a track record as president and I thought he did a fantastic job in securing the border.
YEREVAN, JANUARY 29, ARMENPRESS. Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan described his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah el-Sisis visit to Armenia as a "historic event."

We are happy to host you at the Presidential residence. This is a historic event. This is the first time that the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt is visiting Armenia, and I thank you for that, President Khachaturyan said during the enlarged meeting of the delegations after a one-on-one meeting with President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

Photos by Hayk Manukyan

The Armenian president presented details from his meeting with the Egyptian president.

The President of Egypt presented the issues of his country and region, and I presented the issues of Armenia and the region. Its no secret that Egypt is a superpower in its region and it is also known that it has vast experience in mediating mission, and most importantly it presents the interests of the peace agenda, it is like-minded in terms of living peacefully with neighbors, peaceful coexistence. And we are very much alike in this regard. The policy of the Republic of Armenia is to achieve peace in the region, and to live a peaceful and prosperous life with neighbors, the Armenian President said.

President Khachaturyan said Armenia will need Egypts experience in establishing peace and stability in the region.

I personally need the Egyptian presidents advice, because he has faced big challenges in his political and military past, hes seen wars and achieved Egypt becoming a stable and developing country. I once again thank you for your visit. I am sure that our discussions today will be productive and will contribute to the development of our two countries, President Khachaturyan said.
At the Angelus, Pope Francis issues an appeal after blood is shed in Jenin and outside a synagogue in Jerusalem. Speaking about the blockade of the Lachin corridor in the South Caucasus, he calls for peaceful solutions for the good of the people. The pontiff also urges the faithful to pray for his upcoming trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, countries also marked by serious conflicts,

Vatican City (AsiaNews)  In todays Angelus, Pope Francis issued a strong appeal for peace in many wounded regions of the world before the faithful gathered in St Peter's Square.

The plea follows the latest wave of violence in Palestine and Israel, but also the "inhumane conditions" faced by the Armenian civilian population in the South Caucasus caused by the blockade of the Lachin corridor by Azerbaijan, which is now in its 50th day.

The pontiff also spoke about the conflicts in the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, the two African countries that he will visit this week, as well as war-torn Ukraine.

On the Sunday when Francis welcomed the caravan of peace organised by Romes Azione Cattolica youth, the latest news from the Holy Land led him to focus on the fresh bloodshed.

The pontiff expressly referred to the 10 Palestinians, including a woman, killed on Thursday during Israeli counterterrorism operation in Palestine and the seven Israeli Jews killed Friday night by a Palestinian and three others injured while leaving a synagogue near Jerusalem.

"The spiral of death that increases day after day does nothing other than close the few glimpses of trust that exist between the two peoples, he said.

From the beginning of the year, dozens of Palestinians have been killed during firefights with the Israeli army. I appeal to the two governments and to the international community so that, immediately and without delay, other paths might be found that include dialogue and a sincere search for peace. Brothers and sisters, let us pray for this.

The pope put again the spotlight on the serious situation in the Lachin corridor in the South Caucasus, on the region of Nagorno Karabakh claimed by both Armenia and Azerbaijan, which has been blockaded for 50 days, with very serious suffering for the civilian population.

I am near to all those who, in the dead of winter, are forced to cope with these inhumane conditions, he said. Every effort must be made on the international level to find peaceful solutions for the good of the people.

The pontiff also addressed youth from Romes Azione Cattolica, thinking of the war-torn Ukraine, our commitment and our prayer for peace must be even stronger.

In announcing his trip to Africa, the pontiff urged the faithful to accompany him in prayer. His visit, which starts on Tuesday, will take him to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, two countries also deeply marked by conflicts..

At the Angelus, Francis mentioned that today is World Leprosy Day, a date chosen by Raoul Follereau, to raise public awareness about leprosy or Hansen's Disease.

"Unfortunately, Francis said, the stigma associated with this disease continues to cause serious violations of human rights in various parts of the world. I express my closeness to those who suffer from it and I encourage the commitment toward the complete integration of these brothers and sisters.

In his commentary on the Gospel of the Beatitudes before the Angelus, the pope focused on the beatitude of the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Mt 5:3).

Those who are poor in spirit treasure what they receive. Therefore, they desire that no gift should go to waste, Francis noted, pointing to three challenges: not wasting the gift that we are, not wasting the gifts we have, and not discarding people.

For him, Every person is a sacred gift, every person is a unique gift, no matter what their age or condition. Let us always respect and promote life!
On the 150th anniversary of the birth of the patron saint of missions, an exhibition in Paris tells the story of a woman intellectual, seeker of meaning with a section dedicated to her relations with the missionaries of the MEP and the spread of her spirituality in Asia.

Paris (AsiaNews)  "Woman intellectual, seeker of meaning is the title of a new exhibition dedicated to Therese of Lisieux, which opened on 17 January at the headquarters of the Missions etrangeres de Paris (MEP), rue du Bac, in the French capital, with particular focus on Asia.

The initiative, which is part of the celebrations marking the 150th anniversary of the birth of the Carmelite nun, patron saint of missions, also displays a series of unpublished documents from the Institut de recherche France-Asie (IRFA) and the archives of the Carmel of Lisieux centred precisely on the relations between Therese and the MEP.

The basis is the universal message of the saint of Lisieux. And the exhibition is part of a series of events also sponsored by a secular institution like UNESCO designed to celebrate her as an "educator and writer" who in her lifetime shared knowledge and encouraged exchange between peoples.

The first part of the exhibition focuses on Therese's message of love for everyone: for her family, friends, the saints, and especially the Lord Jesus, with whom she identifies completely; but also love for the men and women of her time  the murderer Pranzini, whom she called "my first son", her brother priests, the Carmelite Sisters, the distant world of the missions  and love for all humanity, manifested even after her death in 1897 through many healings and conversions across the world, and the extraordinary success of her diary Story of a soul.

The second part of the exhibition is centred on the relationship between Therese and MEP missionaries.

In 1896, Fr Adolphe Roulland (1870-1934), a native of the Diocese of Bayeux-Lisieux, was able to get the prioress of the Carmel of Lisieux to spiritually attach a religious sister to his ministry while preparing to leave for China.

The choice fell on Therese and the two began corresponding regularly, for a total of 14 letters, in which the Carmelite defines herself as "the little sister of a missionary". For the first time, these letters are on display together with a "pall" (a liturgical item) Therese embroidered for Fr Roulland.

In her correspondence, the Carmelite also mentions Fr Theophane Venard (1829-1861), a member of the MEP who died a martyr in Vietnam, beheaded after less than 10 years spent doing mission work. Declared venerable by the Church in 1879, he greatly impressed Therese and left a rich correspondence with his contemporaries.

Therese sent Fr Roulland a poem she wrote, titled "A Theophane Venard", in which she expressed her desire to become, like him, a "spring flower that the Lord will soon pick.

And it is always to Fr Roulland that Therese confided her possible departure for the Carmel of Hanoi. The Carmelites prayed to Fr Venard to entrust him with this project, but at the end of a novena, Thereses worsening health forced her to remain in Lisieux. On 6 September 1897, she was able to receive a relic of the missionary martyr as a gift that she kept close to herself until she died.

Lastly, the exhibition looks at how "Story of a soul" and the spirituality of Therese of Lisieux spread in Asia thanks to the missionaries printing presses, in particular the one in Hong Kong.

A selection of pictures and manuscripts from before 1940 shows the dynamism of the missionaries that allowed Therese to reach even the remotest places in a few years, creating a bond that has resisted the test of time.

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Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured.  Mr. Tweet (@elonmusk) August 7, 2018

In April 2022, District Court Judge Edward M. Chen ruled that the tweet in which the Tesla CEO said he was considering taking Tesla private was false and reckless. The trial to decide if that was a security fraud is currently happening in California, but the investors lawyer was not happy with Musks defense strategy.According to Bloomberg, they filed an emergency court filing asking the judge to warn the jury about what he decided Musks tweets were. If Chen accepts to do that, it will be the third time the judge warned the jury that the starting point for their decision is this: the Tesla CEOs tweets were false and reckless.Chen's decision stated that the court held that he (Musk) recklessly made the statements with knowledge as to their falsity. The investors attorneys wrote that on no less than ten occasions, Mr. Musk testified to the accuracy and truthfulness of the funding secured tweets. Moreover, even though this court already held Mr. Musk acted with recklessness, he testified that his intentions were pure. For them, Musk and his lawyers have tried to confuse the jury with that strategy because that is no longer under discussion.The central prayer for relief in this lawsuit requires defendants to pay damages sustained by Plaintiff and the Class by reason of the acts and transactions alleged herein. In other words, the discussion seems to be very similar to the one the jury for the Owen Diaz lawsuit will have: how much money Musk and the other defendants in the case will have to disburse to compensate anyone who bought Tesla shares and faced losses due to Musks tweets. Thats why the petition also asked for the lawsuit to be a class action.If the judge already ruled that the tweets were false and reckless, we must learn for sure what are the next steps in this lawsuit. Considering it does not seem to have any criminal implications, determining if it was a security fraud or not does not seem to be crucial unless that helps to determine the fair compensation for stockholders affected by the Tesla CEOs tweets. Only a lawyer could answer our questions at this point, and we will try to talk to one who is familiar with the whole lawsuit. If you happen to know the following steps, feel free to share that with us in the comments section below.
ICE

EV

BEV

Where did the zero-emission rumors originate from? There are two possible answers to this question, starting with the C8 . Long before the Stingray was revealed in 2019 as a 2020 model, certain voices in the rumor mill reported hybrid assistance for at least one variant of the eighth-gen Vette.The hearsay then snowballed into General Motors will make an electric Corvette, and thats pretty much the gist of it. Codenamed Y2, the platform on which the mid-engine Corvette is based isnt compatible with full electrification.At most, its good for a plug-in system. The Corvette E-Ray, for example, is a hybrid with an electrified front axle, batteries in the center tunnel, a small block out back, and an eight-speed transaxle of the dual-clutch variety. Later on, the flat-plane crankshaft V8 of the Z06 will receive a couple of turbos to create the ZR1, then the Corvette ZR1 will receive the E-Rays electric drive unit to create the Corvette Zora.Back in August 2022, the California Air Resources Board proudly announced that it would ban newvehicles from sale by 2035 in favor of EVs and plug-in hybrids. If the C9 does indeed arrive in 2028 for 2029, that means the C8 will be retired after an eight-year production run. 2028 plus 8 equals 2036, so yeah, theres a case to be made for internal combustion in the upcoming Corvette, even in California.The second possible answer comes in the form of the all-electric sedan and sport utility vehicle that will proudly flaunt the Corvette badge. Neither will rock the Y2 platform of the C8, but rather an evolution of the BEV3 thats currently used in the Cadillac Lyriq and Chevrolet BlazerGM Authority understands that General Motors will employ thePrime architecture, dubbed as the more premium sibling of the BEV3. The Corvette e-SUV will reportedly be assembled at Lansing Grand River Assembly in Michigan.The Corvette e-sedan is a bit of a mystery for the time being. Other than the badge and its zero-emission powertrain, all we know is that its due by 2025 for the 2026 model year.Last but certainly not least, the cited publication doesnt mention where their information on the C9 originates from. Considering that General Motors recently confirmed the imminent arrival of the sixth-generation small block, the report could be based on this information. At press time, we dont know anything concrete about the Gen VI small block other than where it will be made: Flint Engine Operations.
Photo: BMW

Photo: Stellantis

Photo: BMW

I agree that there are differences in propositions and features, but the proportions and general lines made me check one of them and think I had already seen it elsewhere. The headlights have the same light stripes at the same angles, even if the BMW presents only two and the Peugeot has three. The concept sedans show a truncated rear that is more truncated in the Inception, making it look like a two-and-a-half box design, as people used to joke about the Ford Escort. The thick and inclined C-pillar is another common design element.When you observe just the profile of these concepts, another car comes to mind: its the Nissan IDx , introduced ten years ago at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show. Despite earning the publics enthusiasm and critics' approval, the Japanese company never put this car on production lines. What is it about this shape that was so popular so many years ago and makes a comeback with two different companies at the same event? I decided to investigate that.When cars start to look pretty much alike, there are generally two primary explanations: legislation or aerodynamics. I immediately discarded the legislation hypothesis. Regarding aerodynamics, more streamlined shapes are usually a consequence of legal requirements for more efficiency and lower emissions.Another possibility for designs to be too similar among cars from different brands is often badge engineerings fault. That does not apply to concepts, and I dont remember ever hearing of BMW and Peugeot collaborating on anything, so I ignored that cost-cutting measure and concentrated on the similar shapes these concept cars present.That said, my two main starting points for this investigation were something related to aerodynamics or a design trend that I was not aware of, so I contacted two specialists in each of these areas.I spoke to Wouter Remmerie about the possibility that this design offers aerodynamic benefits that could not be that obvious. After all, most cars with that goal have shapes that suggest seamless airflow. The AirShaper founder told me he did not see how aerodynamics could have played a role in this coincidence.The body layout and sometimes sharp edges around the nose/greenhouse are not really a great starting point for aerodynamics (although much can be mitigated). So neither car looks to be optimized for aerodynamics, at first glanceAs the similar shapes could not be explained by aerodynamics, I decided to ask Joao Marcos Ramos about the similarities I thought the concepts had. Ramos worked at Ford for 20 years in Brazil and the U.S., where he helped design the interior of the Ford Bronco. In Brazil, he was in charge of the Ford Ka and EcoSport. I was careful enough to ask him first if he thought the two concepts were similar. The designer didnt.I honestly did not think these two cars look alike, apart from being sedans. The BMW clearly has a retro design, with 1970s language and very defined and primitive lines. Even so, it lacks personality. As for the Peugeot, it has convoluted lines without a well-defined language. Exaggerated surface transitions that suggest something crumpled, such as the body side, do annoy me. I did not like it.For Ramos, the IDx also follows a retro styling but uses a famous reference that may explain why people loved it so much: the 1968 Datsun 510. Could these two modern concepts also draw inspiration from the Datsun or a similar vehicle from the past? Perhaps, but Ramos did not relate them to any known design.In the end, there seemed to be nothing to explain why these designs looked so similar to me. Talking to Ramos was helpful to have an experienced design professional analyze the styling and tell me how wrong I probably am. As grateful as I am for his help, I still see the two concepts as more similar than they should be, for the reasons I already exposed above. Without an explanation to give, I decided to share my impressions just to check if I am alone in that feeling that these two concepts could be seen as two versions of the same thing.In the gallery, I have joined the images that made me think these vehicles were similar in a sequence that will show first the BMW , then the Peugeot. I invite you to play with the gallery and give your verdict in the comments. Do not refrain from doing just like Ramos and sharing your honest opinion on these CES stars. You may end up with the same impression I still have.
Lets get things straight: solar cars arent feasible yet

Photo: Wikipedia

Does a solar EV even make sense?

EV

A really big IF

Photo: Sono Motors

Photo: Aptera

The solar range conundrum

Sions body is covered with 456 solar half-cells that sum up around 6 square m (64 sq ft) and can generate a maximum of 1.2 kW power

Lightyear 0 has almost 800 solar cells on the hood, the roof, and the tailgate, totaling 5 square m (54 sq ft), and can generate more than 1 kW

Aptera is covered by only 3 square m (34 sq ft) of diamond-shaped 700 watts solar cells, and some of them are also on the dashboard

Sion is promising up to 245 km (152 miles) per week in ideal conditions, while the average solar range throughout the entire year is estimated at 112 km (70 miles) per week. This gives us a daily estimate of 16 to 35 km (10 to 22 miles)

Lightyear 0 presumably can add 70 km (44 miles) per day of solar range in ideal conditions

Aptera can travel a maximum of 64 km (40 miles) per day solely on Suns energy in ideal conditions

Photo: Lightyear

How much would I save with a solar EV?

kWh

Photo: Tesla

Dude, did you hear about solar concentrators?

Photo: Nina Vaidya, Stanford University

Almost every year I have friends asking me something like Dude, what do you know about a car that can travel solely on the Suns energy? How much does it cost and when will it be available?Thats because every year mass media and social media are filled with click-bait titles presenting CARS that break range records on some sort of race for solar CARS.Never mind these are like UFOs on bicycle wheels , developed by young engineers all over the world, and have nothing to do with proper cars. They are perceived by the public as CARS that are powered by solar energy only.Ten years ago I came across a story about someone who converted an old 66 VW minibus to electric power and fitted ten solar panels on a platform on the roof. The platform was much longer than the car, and some of it hung over the front and back.It looked funny, its 20 miles (32 km) range was hilarious, and its acceleration was ridiculous. But, hey, it worked! The only issue was it lacked usability for a daily commute, so a battery was fitted for powering the electric motor. The solar panels were good to charge a bit of the battery while the sun was shining.Actually, the idea of a solar car officially started at the General Motors Powerama Auto Show in Chicago, Illinois, in 1955. This is where engineer William Cobb showcased a 15-inch (38 cm) long diecast model named Sunmobile. It was fitted with 12 photovoltaic cells that generated electrical current from a flashlight and was powered a small electric motor.At that time, GM experts stated that even if the photovoltaics were 100% efficient  if they could transform into electricity all the energy they captured from the Sun  they could provide a maximum of 10-12 hp power. Which is not enough for a real car.Todays most advanced commercial solar panels efficiency is between 15 and 20 percent, much more than what it was half a century ago. But the efficiency is too much related to how close to perpendicular the sunbeams are to the photovoltaic cells surface or how many clouds are there in the sky and so on.Besides, the low voltage that solar panels put out simply cant allow propelling a safe and comfortable vehicle weighing at least a ton, with no battery whatsoever. So it seems that a truly workable solar CAR powered solely by Sun energy is feasible only for the stoned characters of Ashton Kutcher and Seann William Scott from the 2000 comedy Dude, wheres my car?.Yes, it does. But there is a catch. Or better, a contradiction. For a longer solar range, the electric car must be as light as possible (good luck with that, because batteries are usually pretty heavy), while its usable body area must be as large as possible to fit as many solar cells as possible.A small car, which is lighter, can fit much fewer solar cells, so the small gain in the solar range isnt worth the effort and cost. A bigger car can be lighter if advanced materials are used for its body, but this can make the car too expensive and cancels the benefit of the solar range increase.The most common scenario for a solar please notice Im not using the term solar car anymore  is the Suns light will charge the batteries a little either when the car is parked in an open space during the day or when the car is driven in a sunny day.This way the battery will require full charging from a charging point less often than a similar EV with no integrated solar panels. It could lead to pretty good savings or it could mean the commuting car requires a smaller battery.Today, there are three startups that are trying to convince people the solar car has a future. Well, this is strike number one: what most people expect from the solar car syntagma simply cant be done. Maybe its time to use more appropriate terms, like solar EV or solar battery car. This way you dont set unrealistic expectations.I really appreciated the pragmatic approach of the German startup Sono Motors for their first model , the Sion. Its a 5-seater family electric van correctly advertised as an electric vehicle that generates additional range through the power of the Sun.Unfortunately, the starting price tag of 29,900 doesnt seem to attract the number of buyers needed for Sion to become a viable proposition. At the beginning of 2023, the startup is still struggling to get the funds necessary to start mass production of the car.Their bad luck was an opportunity for Dutch startup Lightyear to boldly advertise their first car as the world's first solar car. And it seems this trick was enough for almost 1,000 customers to pre-order the Lightyear 0 with a whopping 250,000 ($296,000) tag price.It is a technological pinnacle : for instance, it has four in-wheel electric hub motors and holds the record for the most aerodynamic production car. Unfortunately, at the end of January 2023, Lightyear suddenly suspended production because of overcoming challenges.Its true contender will be the new Lightyear 2, which by January 2023 has already surpassed 40,000 pre-orders. It is scheduled for launch somewhere in 2024 at a starting price of around 40,000 ($42,438). That's six times less than the 0 (Zero), but we have yet to see if the startup will survive.In the meantime, Aptera Motors, an American startup, is also struggling to raise money for its first car to be finally produced. Wait, did I say car? Actually, I like their description: the world's first Solar Electric Vehicle that requires no charging for most daily use.Its a bit of a marketing trick, but its all right for advertising this three-wheeler. Yes, Aptera only got three wheels and two seats, while its UFO appearance is a love it or hate it experience  I appreciate its originality, but it really is more of a contender for an electric Smart ForTwo. And they both dont suit my needs.It has a composite body and its drag coefficient is even lower than that of Lightyear 0, so the starting price of only $25,900 (23,800) makes sense. If youre fine with a two-seat electric vehicle. But this Aptera is still very far away from what I think the definition of a solar EV for the masses is.In fact, what worries me most is that today, at the beginning of 2023, none of the aforementioned solar EVs has passed the mass-production exam. Sion needs $105 million (96 million) to start production, Aptera is looking for $50 million (46 million) to finally start production, while Lightyear is yet to see if it can overcome investors reluctance.In order to harvest Suns energy, each of the three electric EVs is fitted with a number of solar cells, as follows:Recent statistics show that the average American commutes 41 miles (66 km) a day to and from work, while in Europe the commuting distance varies from 10 to 40 km (6 to 25 miles). If the solar range of a solar EV can cover these needs , theres your selling point.The maximum estimated solar range that these three vehicles provide in ideal conditions is as follows:To my surprise, these values match the statistics. So, the solar range really is something! And Im like Dude, now I wish my electric car was a solar EV! But when I tried to figure out how to convert my Dacia Spring, I came to the conclusion that, at this point, the DIY project would cost me more than buying a much better VW ID.3.My daily commute home-work-home is at most 50 km (31 miles), and sometimes  maybe once a month  I have to drive my EV for around 100 km (62 miles). So, Im one of the 23.3% of Europeans who travel on average further than 40 km each day.As I speak, my small electric car is in the yard, slowly charging its under-30battery from the 220V outlet on the wall. Because its winter time, I have to fully charge it every 2 or 3 days, as its range drops to 120-140 km (75-87 miles) from more than 200 km (125 miles) in the summer, when I fully charge it every 4 or 5 days.If it were a solar EV and its solar range were on par with any of the three solar EVs mentioned before, I estimate my costs would slash in half. Im already paying four or five times less than a similar gasoline city car, so it would be like commuting in a less than 1 liter/100 km (more than 235 mpg) car. Outrageous, isnt it?Moreover, the battery would require charging only once a week, instead of two or three times a week. It's just a detail, but it matters a lot to the whole convenience equation. And when I will finally have those solar panels installed on the roof of the houseDude, using a car solely on Suns energy suddenly looks like free riding is not impossible at all! And the big investment upfront is paying off rather reasonable. I mean, the solar panels on the house are also powering the appliances, so theres more to the solar lifestyle than meets the eye.AGILE is an acronym for Axially Graded Index Lens and it was created by Stanford University engineers. It's basically an optical concentrator that captures rays from all angles and concentrates light at the same output position.In 2022, researchers created a prototype using 3D printing and different mixes of polymers and glasses. The complex inversed pyramid they built was able to capture 90% of the light that hit the surface, while the output was three times bigger than the incoming light.Now imagine this state-of-the-art light concentrator fitted on a solar cell. In theory, it could boost three times its efficiency. With a solar EV, this could mean a triple solar range. Can you imagine 100 miles (161 km) a day using solely the sunlight?For years, all over the world scientists have been creating and testing several photovoltaic concentrator solutions. The basic principle is increasing the diffraction rate of the light being absorbed by these concentrators.There is only a matter of time  a decade, at most!  until the first workable design and manufacturing technique for such a solar concentrator becomes commercially available. Im sure that solar EVs will be high on the list of priorities for deploying this technology.At around the same time, solid-state batteries will become more and more popular. One of the advantages they promise is they need half the size and weight of nowadays lithium-ion batteries to offer the same range.I can easily imagine a small electric vehicle for in-city car-sharing programs, that is light, has a small solid-state battery , and is fitted with high-efficiency concentrators for the solar panels embedded in its body panels, its windows, and in its upholstery.Such a solar EV vehicle could harvest not only sunlight but any source of light in the city. So it could be powered entirely by light energy, with no need to charge from an external outlet. All you need is love, err, light (sorry, Beatles hit just popped up in my mind for no reason).I can even start imagining proper solar cars or trucks and buses that could rely most of the time solely on the Suns energy. At this point, you are probably like Dude, are you stoned, like the guys in that movie?But maybe, just maybe, you are more like Dude, what if hes right and the solar car for the masses can really become reality? Now that is surely worth the waiting.
Americas armed forces, perhaps much more so than those of its adversaries, are constantly training. It does so both alone, and in cahoots with global allies, as it tries to maintain the upper hand in case of a serious conflict. Over in Japan, where the American presence has been quite robust ever since the end of the Second World War, theres no shortage of training events, including some that may sound funny in name, and theyve started already for this year.One of the biggest such drills to be held there is called Flight of the Flock. Its first iteration just concluded earlier in January at the Kadena Air Base in the country and over the Okinawa coast, and another drill of this type is expected to take place later this year.2023s first Flight of the Flock involved several military units and installations, both Japanese and American, but were mostly centered around the 1st Special Operations Squadron ( 1st SOS ). The unit is part of the 353 Special Operations Group, deployed at Kadena as the only U.S. Air Force (USAF) Special Operations Command unit in the Pacific.1st SOS took advantage of the event and, for the first time, it deployed its entire fleet of seven MC-130J Commando IIs in a single exercise that involved everything from low altitude flying to formation flying, and specific missions  those would include training for infiltration, exfiltration and resupply for allied forces in austere environments.The main tool of the 1st SOS is, as said, the Commando. The airplane was put together by Lockheed Martin, which introduced it in 2011 at the Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico. The contract for the delivery of the airplane is still ongoing, with the USAF expecting to have a complete fleet of 57 units in 2025.The plane is powered by four Rolls-Royce turboprop engines capable of delivering 4,591 shaft horsepower each. Its main mission is not the transport of soldiers and materials in plain sight, but rather in a stealthy manner right into hot zones.To be able to do its dangerous job and allow its pilots to fly it in the dark (it mostly performs missions at night) or restricted air spaces, the plane comes with digital avionics, HUDs, defensive systems, refueling pods, you name it. Capable of penetrating hot zones located at a distance of up to 3,000 miles (4,828 km), the Commando can easily carry a 42,000 lb (19,000 kg) payload.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

ICE

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Kia North America sourced the warranty-returned fuel tanks, but rather than investigating them in the United States, the safety boffins preferred to send them to Kia Corporation in South Korea. The reason for that is pretty simple, namely the supplier of said fuel tank operates a facility in South Korea.The supplier in question is TI Automotive, better known as TI Fluid Systems. Headquartered in the United Kingdom, the supplier is present in South Korea where it supplies the Hyundai Motor Group ( Kia and Genesis brands inclusive).On January 17, the mothership in South Korea informed Kia North America of the investigations results. TI Automotive was blamed for the leakage, caused by the suppliers improper molding of the fuel tank. The Sorento Plug-In Hybrids tank is referred to as P/N 31150-P4800.Documents filed with thereveal that the leakage is caused by improper molding at the seam. The issue occurred from April 7, 2022, to April 9, 2022, at the suppliers South Korean facility.The potentially defective fuel tanks may have been installed in Sorento Plug-In Hybrid crossovers produced from April 12, 2022, through April 26, 2022. That very same day, Kia started using properly molded fuel tanks without being aware of the aforementioned concern. Both the defective and properly molded fuel tank feature the same part number.For the U.S. market, only 34 vehicles are believed to have been produced with defective tanks. The vehicles in question were sold for the 2022 model year. Dealers will be informed of this problem on March 16, whereas affected owners can expect Kia-branded notifications to arrive by March 22.Slotted between the compact Sportage and family-sized Carnival and Telluride, the Sorento is a three-row crossover that currently kicks off at $30,090 for the-only LX. A hybrid powertrain is available at $36,690 sans destination.The plug-in hybrid subject to this recall is the most expensive powertrain available in the Sorento nowadays, for it comes in one well-equipped trim level. SX Prestige is what its called, and customers are presented with no fewer than seven choices for the exterior color and two interior colors.Rather than a naturally-aspirated engine, the Sorento Plug-In Hybrid rocks a 1.6-liter turbo. The four-cylinder lump is joined by a small electric motor and a 13.8-battery, which offer up to 32 miles (51 kilometers) of driving range in all-electric mode.Good for 261 horsepower and 258 pound-feet (350 Nm) at full chatter, the Sorento Plug-In Hybrid doesnt feature a continuously variable transmission but a torque-converter automatic with six forward ratios. Given its $49,990 starting price, all-wheel drive is standard.
Trademarked by the Milwaukee company, the term Softail described over the years both successful models, like the Breakout, and others that were less so, like the Cross Bones.The Rocker breed falls into the not-so-successful category as well. Born in 2008, this type of Softail proved immensely appealing for a very select group of customers, but not enough to convince the company to keep it in production past the 2011 model year. Thats just three years on the market, making these bikes very sought after in some circles.One such circle is the custom industry, where whenever a Rocker surfaces its bound to catch all the attention. Sadly, that tends not to happen all that much these days, given the age of these machines. So youll have to look a bit to find a Rocker worth bringing under the spotlight.We did, and came across on such a great build somewhere in Japan, in the garage of a crew that goes by the name Bad Land . The re-shaped two-wheeler, originally born in 2009, now hides there under the name Oscar, which it borrowed when the build was completed, in 2014.We dont know the reasoning behind the choice of the Oscar name, but we do know a thing or two about the bike itself, or more specifically about what makes it so special.Starting from the ground up, we get German-sourced wheels, coming from a crew weve featured here before, No Limit Custom . The front one comes in at 21 inches, while the rear one is just 18 inches in diameter, but 260 mm wide.The front wheel is held in place by an AS Industries fork, which continues further up with a Bad Land triple tree and a headlight made by the same crew. The handlebar visible over all that, but also the fenders spread over the two wheels, are born in Japan as well.The stock engine of the bike draws the liquid it needs to run from a Bad Land fuel tank, and breaths out through a downward-facing exhaust system made in-house.Oscar uses Performance Machine front and foot controls, and comes to a halt thanks to braking hardware supplied by the same company. Holding the whole thing in place at the rear is a Legend air suspension system.As said, the Harley-Davidson Oscar (or bike number 75 in the Bad Land lineup) was first presented some eight years ago, so its impossible to know its current whereabouts. The price of the project is also a mystery, given how thats a detail Bad Land was never willing to share.
However, there are also remarkable achievements bearing the "Made in USSR" badge  not necessarily in the word's positive sense, but rather in the out-of-(mainstream) logic. In many fields, the Soviets were pioneers, but the costs of their conquering explorations were sometimes unquantifiable.Modern aviation is one of the domains where the USSR put its mark with unquestionable authority, sparking a revolution in air transport. But, like most revolutions (particularly Soviet- and Russian-related ones), this also took a heavy toll on human lives.In the early 50s, airlines were acquainted with the new wonder kid of flight, the jet engine. Although the technology had been in use since WWII, it was a military affair, by and large. That was until the Brits flew the De Havilland Comet in 1952, the first commercial airplane that ditched pistons in favor of the turbojet.In a strange coincidence, that same year saw the rise  literally  of one of the USSR's most praised jets : the Tu-16 nuclear bomber. Seeing how the "profit-hungry imperialists" pulled away in the technological development race, the Soviet leadership quickly reacted.Naturally, the Tupolev design bureau swiftly came up with a solution  a modified Tu-16 bomber adapted for carrying the proletariat around the vastness of the world's largest country. So, in 1953, Andrey Tupolev, the legendary aircraft designer and builder, presented his proposal for the jet airliner.Two years flew by (pun intended), and the Tu-104 prototype took off in June 1955. By 1956, the revolutionary airplane was the undisputed king of civilian skies . Why undisputed? Because the Comet had already been grounded on safety grounds (after a series of crashes), and there was no one else.The Soviets were more than happy to acknowledge the failure of the Western imperialists while simultaneously promoting communist superiority. In 1957, the Tu-104 stole the Paris Air Show simply by showing up  the first non-Western-built airplane to attend such an event (and a commercial jet, at that).It even served as a diplomatic slap-in-the-face when it touched down in Washington, D.C., a few months after the Paris show-off. It was a monumental "Say Uncle!" moment that should have shut the Occident's mouth for good. And, just like all Soviet enterprises, it failed spectacularly.The airplane was built in the most communist manner  "Make it work. And have it done by last year!" Picture this: the De Haviland Comet took almost nine years from concept to first flight. The Tu-104 was developed at three times the pace.Sure, it helped that a nuclear bomber served as a parts donor: the wings, engines, avionics, landing gear, and instruments were transplanted on a larger fuselage. The pilots were transferred from the doomsday-bringing Tu-16 to the pride-of-the-Soviet-Heaven-on-Earth Tu-104, which sped up the testing phase.Job done; there's the brand-new, capitalist-overcoming, marvel-of-Soviet-superior-engineering airplane (except for a couple of issues with it). In the genuine communist manner, for every one thing that worked, at least three didn't. The Tu-104 gained a grim record: one in every five aircraft built was lost in crashes.The rear-swept wings were designed to allow high-speed flight, which posed a challenge when the plane closed in for a landing. Also, the larger hull had its center of gravity closer to the tail than the slender nuke carrier did. And this turned into a deadly flaw at 30,000 feet in the air (9,000 meters).Because of this relative instability, the plane would suddenly raise its nose midflight  under specific weather conditions  and increase the angle of attack beyond its calculated values. As a result, the plane would stall, roll, and nose-dive to the ground.During the plane's three-decade service, 1,137 people lost their lives in Tu-104 incidents. The issues had been known since the late 50s (soon after the aircraft's official debut). It took a catastrophe of apocalyptic magnitude to convince the communist leaders to retire it.In February 1981, with a long list of obituaries strapped to its fame, the Tu-104 gave a fatal blow to the Soviet military. Forty-four high-ranking Naval commanders (including 16 admirals) of the mighty Pacific Fleet of the USSR flew to Leningrad from Vladivostok. A 4,000-mile trip (6,400 km) for an annual meeting of the nation's Navy top-tier leaders.A week later, the same airplane took off for the return flight. Eight seconds after it went airborne , the plane crashed; there were no survivors. The Soviet Army immediately went on high alert as this cataclysmic tragedy nearly sunk the USSR's Far East fighting capability.The authorities suspected spy mischief from the other side of the Iron Curtain, internal sabotage, and many different causes, but the sad reality was almost mind-blowing. The pride of the Soviet Navy, the Pacific Fleet, was decapitated by a most un-communist shopping spree performed by high-ranked socialist officers.The military men used the trip to the western part of their mother country to go (shopping) big and go home. They bought whatever they could get their hands on, from oranges to fridges, filling the airplane's cargo bays to the brim.Remember the infamous design flaw about the shift in the center of gravity that resulted in numerous accidents early in the plane's commercial career? This time, the payload capacity had been surpassed, and the jet was very tail-heavy, but the pilot was ordered to take off no matter what.Because the aircraft's aft was much heavier than it should have been, the plane pitched up its nose before reaching takeoff speed. As a result, the massive plane became airborne  without any action from the pilots!  at a much steeper angle of attack and a dangerously low speed. A fatal combination that ultimately caused the overloaded Tu-104 to plummet to the ground.It was the final blow to the already bad-luck-stricken Tu-104 , and the airplane would fly no more. Its service record, checkered by praise and doom alike, ended soon after the 1981 tragedy.Perhaps its most outstanding achievement was the zero-gravity training flights undertaken with Soviet cosmonauts. The aircraft prepared the daring pioneers for the historical first-ever spacewalk of 1965, a monumental step in space exploration . As grim-reaping as it may have been, the Tu-104 served to speed up the transition toward the era of jet-engine commercial flight, even if it did so at a tremendous cost.The commercial derivative of a nuclear bomber, the Tu-104 jet plane could carry between 50 and 115 passengers (depending on the variant) over a maximum distance of almost 1,500 nm (1,700 miles, 2,750 km). Its initial service ceiling was an ambitious 39,000 feet (12,000 meters), but it was later revised to just 30,000 feet (9,000 meters).The 40-meter-long (131-foot) airplane had a wingspan of 34,5 m (113 feet) and stood 12 meters tall (39 feet). The military-grade parts made it quite heavy for its size - nearly 44 tons of dry weight. It could carry 26 tons of fuel and up to thirteen tons of payload (passengers and cargo).The two Mikulin AM-3M-500 turbojet engines developed 43,000 lbf of thrust between them (190 kN), enough for a top speed of 950 kph (590 mph, 510 knots). Typically, the Tu-104 cruised at around 850 kph (530 mph, 460 knots).At its maximum takeoff weight of 78 tons, the Tu-104 needed an airstrip 1.4 miles long (2.2 kilometers). And, because it lacked reverse thrusters, the full-stop landing was achieved over a length of 4,500 to 6,000 feet (1,4501,850 meters) without brake parachutes. This drawback determined a major worldwide change in aviation: building longer runways to accommodate the new generations bigger, heavier jet planes of the following decades.
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It still has the OEM lines running across its length, and one of the things that has changed is the color, which is a chameleon-like shade that changes its hue depending on the light and viewing angle. Likely achieved via a wrap, as we dont think anyone is crazy enough to repaint the Italian supercar for no good reason, this mod is joined by a fresh set of wheels.Looking not that different than the stock ones, which is always good in our book, they have a Y-spoke pattern, dedicated center caps, and a gold finish. The wheels are brand new, as they were just launched by ANRKY, and they are dubbed the X|Series S3-X0. At the time of writing, the wheel maker hasnt revealed the asking price, or the sizes available, and what models they fit, so if youre interested in adding them to your ride, then you should get in touch with the company to see if it is possible, and how much you will have to fork out for them.Besides the special wrap, and the new wheels, this Lamborghini Countach LPI 800-4 also sits a bit closer to the ground than the stock one. As a result, it is the only one of its kind to feature these mods, or so ANRKY claims in their social media post anyway. And as much as wed want to hate it for sporting that intricate color scheme, we cannot do that, because it suits it rather well, and in case you forgot, supercars are supposed to be flashy  just dont tell this to Mansory , as they have the ability of ruining the appearance of some of the most expensive vehicles on the planet, and none of them deserve that, not even the modern-day Countach.We reckon that if a power boost was part of the makeover, then they would have said something about it, but they didnt, so chances are that it retains the stock output and torque. Thanks to the 6.5-liter naturally aspirated V12 engine, hooked up to a seven-speed automatic gearbox, and backed up by a supercapacitor, the Countach LPI 800-4 has 803 hp (814 ps/599) on tap, and it can do the 0-62 mph (0-100 kph) as fast as the Aventador SVJ, in 2.8 seconds. Keep the right pedal pinned to the floor long enough, and the exotic will eventually run out of breath at 221 mph (355 kph), the official spec sheet of the car reveals.
Sony wants a piece of the EV pie

Photo: Sony Media

Companies love subscription plans

Photo: Car and Driver

Afeela is too pricy for its own good

Photo: Sony Media

EV

With cars becoming more like computers on wheels than vehicles with a brain, it was only a matter of time before IT and electronics companies wanted to enter the fray. And enter they did, pledging billions to develop smart electric vehicles with the goal of making them drive autonomously at some point in the future. Were not talking about Apple, which may or may not be developing their own car.But what is so enticing that almost all technology companies want to make cars ? Were pretty sure its not the oily bits, otherwise, we wouldve seen a Sony-branded vehicle long ago. Its the software that attracts the IT and electronics companies like a moth to a flame. More specifically, self-driving software. Theres a common belief that the autonomous-driving sector might be worth trillions. And this segment could be a boon to any software-centric company, which explains why electronics companies are keen to take a swing at it.Sony took everyone by surprise in January 2020 when it unveiled the VISION-S EV prototype during CES. The concept was very mature, sporting an enticing design and cutting-edge technology. Since then, Sony has habitually updated the world with the cars development with every CES edition. In 2022, Sony displayed the VISION-S 02 prototype , a crossover that could compete with the Tesla Model Y and the Ford Mustang Mach-E. For the first time, Sony admitted it wanted to enter the automotive business.In March 2022, Sony announced that it was partnering with Honda to further develop its car project, which mustve been a mistake, in my opinion. Honda is a reputable car manufacturer, but has almost zero experience developing and producing electric vehicles. If anyone badly needed this partnership, it was Honda rather than Sony.The relationship between the two companies was made clear during this years CES because the electronics company had the upper hand and handled all communications. If anything, the Afeela concept presented was a step back compared to the previous Vision prototypes, and some might even call it an uglier Honda Civic. It also marked the transition from the Magna platform to Hondas e:Architecture.I won't be delving into Afeelas characteristics since we've done that already. Theres one little detail that prompted me to write this piece, and this is the new sales model that Sony and Honda have imagined for the new brand. Specifically, Sony has claimed it sees a long car ownership cycle for the Afeela, which might need an equally long lease contract. Although this was spun as a subscription contract, its nothing but.Subscriptions are becoming more popular with companies because they allow an uninterrupted revenue stream with little effort. When its done right, otherwise, you end up being mocked, as happened to BMW or Toyota. Subscriptions are normally used for software features that require server-side operability. Nevertheless, the same model is growing with car manufacturers, some offering their vehicles on pay-as-you-go subscription plans.Its something that Volvos sister company Link&Co pioneered and is now becoming more popular with other car companies. One characteristic is that the plans are usually very flexible, with contracts for as little as one month. You can switch cars based on your needs and pay for what you use, or you can just return the vehicle and be done with it. When this flexibility is missing, were talking about a normal lease contract. From this point of view, Afeela will lease its cars, not offer them on a subscription, as others and Sony have said.What is highly unusual with Afeela is the long lease plans that Tesla wants its clients to commit to: up to ten years. This is woefully long for a car you might hate a few years later. The industry is changing fast, and new features are added all the time. Why would anyone get stuck with a decade-old car? Especially when they pay the same amount others pay for a new car. This is something Sony and Honda still need to figure out.They admit that the car is too pricey for an upfront payment. Sony knows nobody wants to buy a dud for a lot of money, but a monthly payment might be more palatable. Sony and Honda assure us that the technology inside the car is well worth the steep price, with tremendous computing power and the promise of Level 3 and Level 4 autonomous driving Replacing the car every three to five years is a very traditional methodology, said Sony Honda Mobility Chairman and CEO Yasuhide Mizuno at CES. But now, big change. This car is always updating; therefore, we try to utilize customers over five to 10 years.Afeela is not the only company that thinks cars should offer a longer life cycle than they offer today. Peugeot detailed similar plans in its medium-term strategy . The French carmaker wants its vehicles to stay relevant for 20 to 25 years, although they do not expect customers to pay that long for ownership. They instead offer to refurbish the cars with every new owner, making them like new again. As for the money problem, Peugeot does offer pay-as-you-go subscription plans. Unlike Afeelas 10-year commitment, Peugeot customers will be able to upgrade their cars or return them whenever they wish.Im not sure whether Sony Honda Mobility will get to manufacture the Afeelaat all. But Im almost certain very few people would sign a ten-year contract for a car they dont know. Especially when competing products are better-looking, more technologically advanced, and with more flexible purchasing options. What do you think, would you pay ten years to drive a car like the one in the pictures?
Photo: SpaceX

Photo: SpaceX

Photo: SpaceX

If we've learned something about humans, it's that we're an extremely resilient species, and we'll do anything to ensure our survival. As the global population continuously increases, we're using up our Earth's resources faster than ever. Even though we have some renewable energy sources, they're currently not enough to support our species' development. Consequently, some people are looking to outer space as an alternative resource.As with any new industry, it takes time to obtain results  space exploration is becoming increasingly popular, especially since private companies like SpaceX, Virgin Galactic, or Blue Origin have popped up. Asteroid mining has been around for decades, but only as an idea  recently, technological advancements have made it a real possibility.One of the companies looking to develop this industry is AstroForge  last May, it secured a $13M (almost 12M) seed round to jumpstart its vision of becoming the first commercial company to mine an asteroid and bring the materials, specifically platinum-group metals, back to Earth Other companies, such as Planetary Resources Inc. and Deep Space Industries Inc., formed about a decade ago with the goal of mining steroids. However, neither managed to reach any asteroid and ultimately suffered financial struggles. They ended up being acquired and moved on to other purposes.As with any space endeavors, there's a lot of work to be done  AstroForge will have to put in lots of effort to prove that their business can work. Material collection from an asteroid has been done before, although in tiny quantities. The most considerable amount ever collected at once was 250 grams from NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission, which by the way, is on its way back to Earth and will arrive this year.AstroForge hopes to reduce the massive carbon dioxide emissions resulting from mining our planet's elements, as well as reduce the cost of mining. The critical part of the process is that refining happens on-site, on the asteroid itself, so waste doesn't end up on Earth. The company announced its initial demonstrator flight is readying for launch, with the first mission planned for April 2023.Astor Forge partnered with SpaceX and an in-orbit service provider, OrbAstro, to make this feat possible. The first mission will take place aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. It aims to demonstrate Astro Falcon's refinery capabilities and validate its technologies and zero-gravity extractions. A small, standardized satellite will be among numerous payloads aboard SpaceX's Transporter rideshare missions. The spacecraft will be pre-loaded with an asteroid-like material, and the refinery payload will extract the components once it's in space.If everything turns out successful, the second mission is planned for October 2023, on a SpaceX rocket carrying a lunar lander from another startup, Intuitive Machine. The company will again be collaborating with OrbAstro, as well as in-space propulsion company Dawn Aerospace.AstroForge will piggyback on the deep-space destination of the Intuitive Machines flight by sending its vehicle into lunar orbit. Afterward, AstroForge's 100-kg (220 lb) spacecraft will head toward the target asteroid. The company has yet to announce the exact target, but it will probably do so after the mission is done.The aim is to head to deep space to observe the target asteroid as it prepares for the first retrieval mission. AstroForge claims this will be the first commercial deep-space flight outside the gravity well of our planet, excluding one previous example.The CEO of AstroForge, Matthew Gialich, explained that the only other example is Elon's Tesla  he referred to SpaceX's Falcon Heavy mission into deep space in 2018. He also said it's not really a mission because he launched the rocket to space with a Tesla Roadster attached to it, with no plans of the spacecraft ever returning.According to Bloomberg, if these two flights are successful, AstroForge plans a third mission in February 2025 to touch down on the scouted asteroid, followed by a fourth mission to land, extract, and refine the metals, and then head back home to Earth.However, as we've all seen, it takes a lot of work to respect deadlines when it comes to space exploration. And rightfully so, as so many factors and details need to be covered, that it's almost impossible to correctly estimate how long it will take to get the work done. Still, if the missions succeed, AstroForge will open the doors to brand-new possibilities for mining  it's not so important whether it happens three years from now, five years from now, or even more.
Soon after the CHP Golden Gate Air Operations rescue, the police developed probable cause to believe this incident was an intentional act. Patel was arrested on attempted murder and child endangerment charges. The investigators are yet to disclose a motive in the case or what evidence led them to book the Model Y driver, but we can imagine a few.There probably are no visible skid marks on the asphalt showing Patel tried to brake the car. Everybody was conscious, so the police may have already talked to Neha and the 7-year-old and 4-year-old children of the couple to understand what happened. The driver himself must have been able to tell his version of the facts. This is probably what must have made the San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe want to rule out that issues in the Model Y did not cause the crash.According to the Los Angeles Times, Wagstaffe said in an interview: Did the brakes fail ? Were the brakes working? Were there any other mechanical malfunctions that would have led to him not being able to stop the vehicle? Were having the car looked at from top to bottom.A forensic analysis should help clarify what Patels neighbors, friends, and co-workers have failed to explain so far. The Los Angeles Times and ABC7 talked to some of them and defined Patels family as idyllic. Everyone describes the Providence Holy Cross Medical Center radiologist as a good guy who is always present and friendly with his neighbors and colleagues. That is not the description that would fit someone trying to kill his entire family by driving them off a cliff. There are no records of aggression or domestic violence related to Patels family, and the family apparently faces no financial difficulties.Patel was transferred from Stanford Hospital  where his family is still being treated  to the San Mateo Medical Center, where the police are waiting for him to recover so that they can arrest him. According to Wagstaffe, the investigations on the car are still in an early stage. He may have been transferred to prevent any contact with his wife and kids.Although the investigations may just want to discard mechanical or software issues the Model Y could have presented, the case could turn into something pretty damaging for Teslas already shaken reputation. On April 19, 2021, Zhang Yazhou climbed on top of a Tesla Model 3 at Auto Shanghai 2021 with a T-shirt that said Brakes Lost Control and Invisible Killer in Chinese. She accused Tesla of selling her a Model 3 with brake problems, and her protest became world-famous.On December 11, a taxi driver in Paris was getting back from a restaurant with his family when his Model 3 allegedly started to accelerate and did not brake. The incident hurt 20 people and killed a biker. The taxi driver is currently suing Tesla. On November 5, 2022, a former professional driver known only as Zhan claimed to have another sudden unintended acceleration (SUA) episode with his Model Y that ended only after 2.6 kilometers (1.6 miles). Two people died in the incident.These cases show that Tesla vehicles have repeatedly been accused of braking issues. Patel has not spoken publicly about what happened, but we do not doubt that he may claim that this was the case. If that is the truth and he has been unfairly accused of trying to kill his family, that damage will be really hard to repair.
Photo: Kimberley Kampers

Photo: Kimberley Kampers

Photo: Kimberley Kampers

Photo: Kimberley Kampers

Photo: Kimberley Kampers

Photo: Kimberley Kampers

What do you think about when you hear Australia? Well, personally, the first things that come to mind are rugged off-road campers. We're all familiar with the challenging Australian environment, so of course, Aussies need capable vehicles if they wish to explore their country. In fact, Kimberley Kampers' name is inspired by an area within Australia called the Kimberley  it's an immense landscape full of gorges, waterfalls, and beaches. But as beautiful as this area is, it's just as challenging to access. This inspired the company to create a range of vehicles that can tackle this kind of environment and provide the comforts and convenience of a home.And that's how Kimberley Kampers was born in 1994  since then, more than 8,000 vehicles have been delivered to owners worldwide. The company claims more than 95% of these units are still in use today; that's an impressive statistic. Furthermore, more than 45% of owners trade up to a new Kimberley Kamper when the time comes to upgrade  that speaks volumes for the company's dedication, attention to detail, as well as customer satisfaction.Oh, by the way, there's a significant advantage for this brand  most Aussie companies are limited to local deliveries. Kimberley Kampers have delivered to 17 countries worldwide, including the United States The brand has divided its vehicles into three categories: campers, hybrids, and caravans. This isn't the first time I've covered a product from Kimberley Kampers  the last one I discussed is the Kruiser E-Class, the top-of-the-range. The one I'm presenting today is the company's entry-level caravan, the Kruiser S-Class, which is also the smallest in the range.The Kruiser S-Class is available in two versions: Classic and S3. Before we go any further, let me tell you how much you can expect to pay for this mobile home. The Classic variant comes at a base price of $103,899 or A$122,890, while the S3 costs $136,268 or A$157,250, excluding fees, registration costs, or shipping. That's quite a hefty price tag, but let's see if it's justified.Both Kruiser S-Class variants come in four floor plans, sleeping from two to six people. Today, I'll be covering the two-person floor plan, but keep in mind that if you're looking to hit the road with your family, Kimberley Kampers has you covered.Even though this trailer is relatively compact, it maximizes the available space. The S-Class measures 6,640 mm (261 inches) in length and 2,270 mm (89 inches) in width, with a height of 2,890 mm (114 inches). It's built out of high-grade alloy, high molecular weight thermoplastic, and marine-grade stainless steel, all combined into a lightweight build. To be specific, it has a tare weight of 1,950 kg (4,299 lbs.), but it can carry up to 975 kg (2,150 lbs.), making its ATM (Aggregated Total Mass) 2,925 kg (6,449 lbs.).Kimberley has used 3D CAD (Computer Aided Design) to create strong interlocking tabs for its vehicles' bodies and laser-cutting to achieve maximum accuracy and build precision. This also applies to the Kruiser S-Class - its body sits on hybrid alloy and galvanized steel chassis.As I mentioned above, this RV is meant to tackle challenging environments  a critical component that allows for this capability is the suspension. It features custom air springs connected to a remote control and big 2-inch mono-tube off-road racing shocks, with the possibility of upgrading to Kings Racing Shox.Many Aussie trailer campers, such as the Provincial Senator , come with a similar design, looking like a box on wheels. Well, the Kruiser campers stand out with modern, almost spaceship-inspired styling.I'll start by presenting the exterior features of this deluxe trailer camper, from its front to the back. There's a front storage box where you can also find all the electrical componentry, such as airbag controls, a 12 V isolator switch, a 2,600 W inverter, a charger, and a 240 V fuse box.Another key detail, especially compared to its larger sibling, the Kruiser E-Class , is that this RV comes with a spacious tunnel boot, which the E-Class lacks. It's the perfect place to store a foldable table, chairs, poles, and whatever you need to set up your space outside.Enjoyable outdoor living for its customers is something that Kimberley Kampers keeps in mind regarding their vehicles  on the trailer's side, you'll find an outdoor cooking setup in the form of a slide-out kitchen. It comes equipped with a sink system, a two-burner gas stove, and a portable induction cooker powered by a nearby plug.So, imagine you just found a quaint spot outdoors  you can park the trailer, remove the seats and table from the tunnel boot, slide out the kitchen and get on cooking. If the weather isn't too friendly, you can pull out an awning that covers a significant part of the trailer's side.Another useful exterior feature you can find on all Kimberley campers is a positive pressure fill for the water tanks. Using a simple manifold, you can select which tank you want to fill  it also allows water to be pulled from a stream and directed to the hot water system to be used in an outdoor shower.Let's move on inside, where you can really tell how this camper takes luxury to the next level. As soon as you enter, you'll notice the S-Class interior looks like a high-end studio. I'll start with the bedroom area, which you can discover toward the front of the interior.One of the defining traits of this mobile home is maximizing the space available for storage. This detail is also reflected in the bedroom area  by lifting the queen bed, you'll discover boot spaces on each side and two drawers in the center. Furthermore, you can use the hanging spaces on each side of the bed to store your clothes, as well as boot spaces above the head, where you can put some of your books, make-up, and other small stuff.For convenience, you'll find USB outlets to charge your devices and magazine racks on each wall beside the bed. A nice touch is that you have a drink bottle holder right next to the bed, something you don't see on many campers.Besides the bedroom, the lounge area and kitchen are where you'll spend most of your time inside this RV. The space is nicely arranged not to feel cramped, and the sizeable windows add to the feeling of openness. You can even open them wide to let some clean airflow inside.Even though you have cooking options outside, this trailer camper is still fitted with a premium indoor kitchen. It features a sink, all sorts of storage options in the form of cabinets, drawers, a pantry, a portable single-plate induction cooktop, and a 34-gallon (130-liter) fridge with a freezer section.The lounge area offers plenty of space for two people to sit together and enjoy a meal, watch some TV, or work on their laptops, and the table is easily adjustable. Customization is also possible  you can choose between 14 colors for the cushions' vegan leather, or you can opt for genuine leather for an extra cost (it's standard for the S-Class S3 variant).Lastly, the bathroom comes with a shower separated by a sliding door, a waterless composting toilet, and a sink, surrounded by many storage spaces. A critical feature is a washing machine, which is always nice to have.Before I wrap things up, I'd like to mention some utility systems and features that make life more enjoyable in the Kruiser S-Class. The RV is fitted with a 200 Ah battery pack as standard for the Classic version, with the possibility of upgrading. 300 W ultra-thin roof solar panels also provide power to the vehicle.You'll also find a diesel air heater system, a diesel water heater, and a dual hot water system with 18-gallon (68-liter) front and 32-gallon (121-liter) rear tanks. You can monitor them, as well as battery capacity and current voltage, on the Smart Touch Screen system.Keep in mind that there are genuinely too many features for me to list here, especially for the better-equipped S3 version. If you'd like to learn more about the Kruiser S-Class, you can check out Kimberley Karavans' website . Whether you want to hit the road on the weekend, move into it full-time or escape from society and adopt an off-grid lifestyle, the Kruiser S-Class is an excellent option, especially if you're not that limited financially.
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Ryan Malloy is set to return to EastEnders next month after almost seven years (BBC/Adam Pensotti/PA)   BBC

EastEnders Ryan Malloy is set to return to Albert Square for a short stint next month.

Ryan, who first appeared in the BBC One soap opera in 2009, will once again be played by Neil McDermott over three episodes airing in February.

Having first landed on screens as Whitney Deans half-brother, Ryan spent two drama-fuelled years in Walford during which time he married and divorced Janine Butcher, fathered a baby, Lily, with Stacey Slater and served a short prison sentence for the accidental killing of Rob Grayson.

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Following his departure in 2011, Ryan returned to the Square for a number of surprise appearances.

Having last briefly reprised his role in November 2016, when he returned to Walford for Whitneys wedding to Lee Carter, Ryan is set to head back to Albert Square following news that his 12-year-old daughter Lily  played by Lillia Turner  is pregnant.

Speaking ahead of his characters return to the beloved soap, McDermott, 42, said: When I heard what the story was I was really pleased that the stars aligned and I was able to revisit Ryan and set foot back on the Square.

It was so lovely to see so many old friends and to work with Shona and Lacey again, as well as to meet and work with Ryans daughter, played beautifully by Lillia.

EastEnders executive producer Chris Clenshaw said: Its wonderful to welcome Neil back to the role of Ryan Malloy.

Although we havent seen Ryan for some years, his character is still intertwined in the history of two of the shows major characters, Stacey and Whitney.

We couldnt be more thrilled to have him back for a short while as hes thrust into the heart of the drama.

Three episodes of EastEnders featuring Ryan Malloy will air on BBC One next month.
Nile Wilson has secured the highest Dancing On Ice score of the series so far during the competitions musical-themed episode (Jonathan Brady/PA)   Jonathan Brady

Nile Wilson has secured the highest Dancing On Ice score of the series so far during the competitions musical-themed episode.

The Olympic gymnast topped the ITV celebrity skating competitions leaderboard with a score of 33.5 on Sunday evening.

Wilson, 27, opened the episode with a Chitty Chitty Bang Bang-themed performance alongside his professional skating partner Olivia Smart.

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After flipping out of an old motorcar on the ice, Wilson left the judges in awe  with Christopher Dean describing the routine as bang-banging fantastic.

Ashley Banjo added: It was jam-packed full of content but you made it look easy That is next level, my friend.

Elsewhere in the third episode of the show, Darren Harriott offered a Bugsy Malone-inspired performance alongside his professional partner Tippy Packard.

Following the comedic routine, which was skated to Fat Sams Grand Slam and saw Harriott, 34, finish with a custard pie to the face, the judges awarded the comedian and presenter a score of 27.

Jayne Torvill said: It was a great performance. You have got the skating skills Now you need to pay attention to detail to finish off the moves completely.

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Banjo added: I thought the skating looked even more solid this week. The energy is always on point.

The Vivienne also impressed the judges with their performance to Dont Cry For Me Argentina.

In an Evita-inspired display, the Ru Pauls Drag Race UK star stunned the judging panel with an elegant routine alongside their professional partner Colin Grafton.

After The Vivienne secured a score of 32.5 from the judging panel, Oti Mabuse said: I dont even think I have enough time to tell you how much I loved that. That was so graceful.

Dean added: Thats quality on ice tonight. That skating was superb.

Dancing On Ice continues on ITV1 and ITVX.
Descending into Madeira, Im not sure what impresses me most: the rugged terrain framed by the Atlantic Ocean or the name gracing the airport, Cristiano Ronaldo. Emerging from the busy building and passing the bust of this local football player, I scan my mind wondering whether anyone so young  and alive  has been bestowed such an honour.

Cristiano Ronaldo is very popular in Madeira, my driver, Luis, reveals.

He owns plenty of property and is often here. He has invested lots of money and has done much to promote the island internationally.

Regardless of their sporting status, Im sure all the 260,000-strong population are eager to showcase Madeira to the world. Volcanic in origin and colonised by Portuguese settlers around 1420, the island is truly a delight  becoming a firm favourite with British and Irish tourists, thanks to its offering of both slow- and high-paced activities.

Madeira has even earned a place in the Guinness Book of Records for its huge New Years Eve fireworks display. But, as Im quickly discovering, the island also sparkles on every other day of the year  naturally.

Ahoy! Ahoy!

Fort of Sao Tiago, Funchal

Capital Funchal, located on the south coast, is lined with lush parks and eclectic buildings, such as the Fort of Saint James or the turreted Bank of Portugal. The city also doubles as a leading port and stopover for cruises.

I feel like the luckiest person in the world  look at my office, jokes Luis Fraga, co-owner of boating company Happy Hour Madeira, as we venture out onto the sun-kissed sea, passing some of these colossal ships.

As I admire the Cabo Girao cliffs, which boasts Europes highest cliff skywalk, Luis reveals the company offers a variety of tours, but todays gastronomy-themed option is his favourite, as it provides passengers with the full Madeiran experience.

Happy Hour Madeira

Throughout the decadent afternoon, renowned chef Filipe Janeiro serves a selection of delicious canapes, including beetroot tartare, tuna escabeche and pork in wine and garlic.

I enjoy exploring Madeiras unique flavours while adding some international touches, Filipe explains, adding that the island currently enjoys a global reputation for its cuisine.

Later, after dining in esteemed restaurants such as Funchals trendy Akua or fine-dining Galaxia Skyfood  located in my accommodation, the five-star Savoy Palace  I immediately understand the fuss.

Pastel de Nata at Savoy Palace Hotel

The concept of Galaxia Skyfood is to highlight the cuisine of Madeira, respecting its traditions and produce, says executive chef Carlos Goncalves.

Whats unique about the island is that the production of certain products extends all year round due to our microclimate.

Carlos uses these local ingredients  and the presentation of dishes  as tools to showcase Madeiras landscape. For instance, Galaxia Skyfoods menus utilise local fruit, vegetables, flours and fish, while the wagyu beef sits on laurel sticks  a familiar sight on the island.

But its not just the food that makes the Savoy Palace one of Madeiras most popular hotels. In addition to its spacious suites, the Art Deco interior and spa  the largest in Portugal  is an army of staff, warmer than the weather outside.

Savoy Palace Hotel

Swiss cheese and wine

This friendly hospitality is evident during another activity  exploring the islands distinctive terrain with Celso Otmar of Mountain Expedition Tours.

Because so many tunnels were built over the past few decades, islanders say Madeira looks like Swiss cheese, he quips with a delightful deadpan delivery.

Venturing from south to north  where banana trees give way to the eucalyptus varieties  Celso adds that these tunnels have been transformative for locals navigating the island, significantly reducing the length of journeys.

Domhnall enjoying a Jeep safari

This fun tour, taking place in a Jeep, sees us traverse corkscrew routes and bumpy, rocky tracks (Its a free massage, Celso jokes), with pit stops at Insta-friendly points, including Ponta do Sol, Paul da Serra plateau and the impressive sea stacks at Ribeira da Janela.

Along the way, we pass several hikers, cyclists, cows  and sugar canes.

Celso explains that Madeira was once a significant sugar producer; today, theyre primarily used for syrup and rum.

In addition to this potent tipple, Madeira is, of course, famed for its fortified wine. However, the island is also developing a reputation for its red, white and rose table variety. I visit vineyard Quinta do Barbusano, where my guide, Gina, reveals the winery produces 100,000 bottles each year, with most sold locally.

Our volcanic soil is rich in minerals, giving our wine acidity, resulting in rich and fruity flavours, Gina says when I ask what distinguishes Madeiran wine from other regions.

Verdelho is an important variety here.

Surrounded by hilly landscapes, Quinta do Barbusano has built a traditional wine press where I sample its full-bodied produce before soaking it up with espetada (skewered beef) along with salad and potatoes, which are just as popular here as in Ireland.

Quinta do Barbusano

Nature in all its glory

Nature is again perfectly showcased in my second hotel, the eco-friendly resort Socalco Nature Calheta, which combines rural tourism, gastronomy and farming in one captivating experience.

Across the dreamy premises  etched into the rocky landscape and claiming some of the most magical sea views imaginable  are caves, plants and fruit trees. Guests are encouraged to get their hands dirty by participating in a cooking class or farm chores, such as making jams and bread.

Theres no fixed menu, a waiter reveals in the restaurant that evening as the pink-apricot sunset illuminates the sky around us.

Its always changing, depending on whats fresh on any given day.

As I make light work of pumpkin and chestnut soup, Iberian pork and chocolate brownies, I discover the venture is the brainchild of well-known chef Octavio Freitas, whose lifelong goal is to develop Madeira as a gastronomic destination.

I think he  and the other chefs I meet during my stay  can safely say theyre succeeding in doing precisely that.

Rooms at the Savoy Palace Hotel and Socalco Nature Calheta start from 195 (170) and 87 (76), respectively. See visitmadeira.com for more information.
Alliance Party Leader Naomi Long has called for talks to discuss the reform of Stormont (Mark Marlow/PA)   Mark Marlow

All-party talks should take place immediately to discuss the reform of the Stormont powersharing institutions and the return of the Assembly, Alliance Party leader Naomi Long has said.

It is approaching a year since the DUPs Paul Givan resigned as first minister as part of his partys protest at the Northern Ireland Protocol, plunging the devolved institutions into chaos.

In May, Sinn Fein emerged as the largest party in Stormont elections, but the DUP has refused to back the election of speaker, which prevents the Assembly from sitting.

It is almost a year since Paul Givan resigned as first minister (Liam McBurney/PA)   Liam McBurney

Mrs Long said a roundtable discussion between all parties on the issue could build on a previous desire expressed by them all to reform the institutions so they could better deliver for people here.

She said: There is no doubt the lack of an Executive has exacerbated the cost-of-living crisis and problems in our health service.

It is welcome to see some other parties have come onboard with the realisation reform of the institutions is key to not only restoring the Assembly and Executive but securing their long-term viability.

All of the main parties have talked about the need for reform of the institutions, with some even including it in recent manifestos.

Despite some differences over the nature of that, I am keen to see us working together to firstly restore and then improve how the Assembly and Executive deliver for the people of Northern Ireland.

A roundtable discussion on reform can be the next step in that process. The deadlock we are witnessing serves nobody at all.

Mrs Long added: As we approach the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, it is shameful the institutions are not currently functioning.

We need to preserve and protect the spirit of the agreement by reforming it, and stopping the constant cycle of ransom politics, so it can deliver for the next 25 years as well.

The Stormont powersharing institutions are not operating due to a DUP protest against the NI Protocol (Liam McBurney/PA)   Liam McBurney

The DUP has made clear it will not allow devolution to return unless major changes to the protocol are delivered.

Talks remain ongoing between the UK and the EU over the protocol, part of the post-Brexit deal which keeps Northern Ireland aligned with some EU trade rules, effectively placing a trade border in the Irish Sea.

Many unionists are fiercely opposed to the treaty which they claim has weakened the regions place within the union.

Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris has previously organised roundtable talks involving the main parties to discuss the political stalemate.

However, Sinn Fein refused to attend the last round of talks, in which Foreign Secretary James Cleverly also participated, after party leader Mary Lou McDonald was not invited.
Daithi Mac Gabhann tells Secretary of State Ill see you on Wednesday as he thanks politicians for support

The Secretary of State has received a special welcome home message from Daithi Mac Gabhann after returning from the USA.

The six-year-old, who has been waiting for a transplant for most of his life after being born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, seems very excited about a meeting with Chris Heaton-Harris due to take place on February 1.

It was set up to discuss a way forward with stalled legislation on organ donation in Northern Ireland.

And going by a video posted on Twitter on Sunday, it looks like Daithi mean business.

Hi Everybody," he says while waving enthusiastically.

Its Daithi Mac Gabhann.

I just want to thank the politicians who signed my letter.

I hope you enjoyed America Mr Heaton-Harris  Ill see you on Wednesday.

But remember, it is time for action.

The NI Secretary was in the USA to meet political and business stakeholders last week and travelled to Washington, Boston and New York during his five day stay.

Mr Heaton-Harris also met with the new US Special Envoy to Northern Ireland for Economic Affairs Joe Kennedy III.

This week he will meet Daithi who has been waiting for his transplant for most of his life due to being born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome.

Family and community run Campaign group Donate4Daithi  organised by the boys parents Mairtin and Seph  has been calling for urgent action on organ donation laws here.

Legislation introducing an opt-out system in line with the rest of the UK was supposed to be passed at Stormont this spring.

However, it faces a delay due to a lack of functioning Assembly.

Daithis family have previously pointed to legislation that has been rushed through the House of Commons and asked why it cant be done for organ donation.

It can be done! Is Daithis Law not a priority? the campaign previously posted.

It comes after Northern Irelands Kidney Care Ambassador wrote an open letter to Secretary of State pleading with him to fully implement organ donation legislation on behalf of people waiting so anxiously for a transplant.

Former UUP MLA Jo-Anne Dobson, who is a kidney donator herself, said the delay in legislation is crucially important" for people affected by kidney disease and the wider transplant community right across Northern Ireland and brings hope to those waiting for a transplant.

Last week Donate4Daithi expressed frustration over Mr Heaton-Harriss response to a question by Alliance MP Stephen Farry in Westminster asking if the Secretary of State will take steps to introduce #DaithisLaw.

However no clear commitment was given.
A mural on the side of a house of the 14 people who died during Bloody Sunday (Brian Lawless/PA)   Brian Lawless

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood has said he will nominate the families of Bloody Sunday victims for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Mr Eastwood said it would be a fitting tribute for the families long fight for truth and justice.

Thirteen civil rights protesters were shot dead by British soldiers and 15 injured in the Bogside area of the city on January 30 1972.

Another man shot by paratroopers that day died four months later. While many consider him the 14th victim of Bloody Sunday, his death was formally attributed to an inoperable brain tumour.

Colum Eastwood MP, leader of the SDLP, said he would nominate the Bloody Sunday families for the Nobel Peace Prize (Liam McBurney/PA)   Liam McBurney

An immediate inquiry, led by then-lord chief justice Lord Widgery, was labelled a whitewash after it largely cleared the soldiers of blame.

After years of campaigning by victims families, then-prime minister Tony Blair ordered a new inquiry in 1998.

The Saville Inquiry concluded in 2010 that none of the casualties were posing a threat or doing anything that would justify their shooting and then-prime minister David Cameron apologised in the House of Commons, saying that the killings were unjustified and unjustifiable.

Last year prosecutors recommenced a case against a former soldier, known as Soldier F, charged with two counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder on Bloody Sunday.

Mr Eastwood was among those attending 51st anniversary commemoration events in Londonderry on Sunday.

A remembrance service was followed by the unveiling of a plaque dedicated to the Derry Corps of the Order of Malta, a voluntary ambulance organisation.

The SDLP leader said: The Bloody Sunday families have gained respect and admiration from across the world over their 51-year battle for truth and justice.

They have faced down the might of the British establishment who tried to cover up the events of that dreadful day, blackening their loved ones names in the process, but they never stopped fighting for whats right and remain an inspiration to oppressed people everywhere.

Derry and the North has come a long way from the events of Bloody Sunday and with the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement approaching we should be proud of our achievements.

He added: These people have been put through a horrendous ordeal, but throughout they have shown no bitterness and kept on with a quiet dignity and the assurance of one who is just in their cause.

No matter what has been thrown at them, they have never given up hope and have used their platform to support and educate others advocating civil rights, peace, justice and reconciliation.

Simply put, the Bloody Sunday families embody the spirit that is needed if we are ever to come together and build a truly shared society and better future for us all in a new Ireland and I can think of nobody more deserving of being honoured for their immense contribution to life here over the past five decades plus.
Former special envoy to the US, Trevor Ringland. Credit: Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX   Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX

The former envoy to the United States says he is proud of the work he did in the US to show Americans a different side of Northern Ireland.

Speaking on BBCs Sunday Politics, Trevor Ringland said his main aim in his former role was to speak to as many people as possible.

Theres a good story going on in Northern Ireland, and people needed to hear that, he said.

The solicitor and community activist was the first special envoy to promote Northern Ireland across the US administration, Congress and within the Irish American community.

As special envoy, Mr Ringland was tasked to work with US firms and investors with an interest in Northern Ireland.

He said during his role, he wanted to make Americans aware that Northern Ireland is in a much better place than where it was pre-Good Friday Agreement.

He also said that US companies have a really good experience when they come to Northern Ireland, and that they recognise Northern Ireland is a beautiful place.

This place is doing really well, but it could be doing better, he said.

He was then questioned by host Mark Carruthers if Northern Ireland was doing better in light of the cost of living crisis.

In response, Mr Ringland said Northern Ireland has major problems like most of the rest of the world but that he still thinks the province is doing better than it was previously during the Troubles.

Mr Ringland, who formerly served as Vice-Chairman of the Ulster Unionist party, also lauded Robin Swann for his efforts as Health Minister.

He did his job for the benefit of all the people, said Mr Ringland.

Mr Ringlands role lapsed at the end of October and the role was not renewed.
26-year-old Samuel McAuley, who died after being hit by a bus in Belfast on Saturday.

Police have confirmed the name of a man killed after being hit by a bus in Belfast city centre.

Samuel McAuley, 26, from the Belfast area, died after the collision on Donegall Square West shortly before 7.40pm on Saturday.

Police say the driver of the bus was spoken to at the scene.

South Belfast SDLP councillor Gary McKeown said he was deeply  shocked and saddened by the news.

"My thoughts are with his family and friends, he added.

It is terrible that someone lost their life, and Im sure the incident was very upsetting for people in the area at the time.

"This location beside Belfast City Hall is generally very busy with buses and pedestrians using the same space, so it will be important to find out what happened. I would urge anyone who witnessed the collision to please contact the police. I would also like to thank the emergency services who attended the scene."

Sergeant Amanda McIvor has appealed to anyone who witnessed the collision, or who has dash-cam footage or mobile phone footage which could assist officers with their enquiries to contact the Collision Investigation Unit on 101.
Stormont Assembly member Alex Easton at a Service of Thanksgiving for his parents Alex and Ann Easton at Bangor Abbey. Photo by Brian Lawless/PA   PA

Independent MLA Alex Easton has posted an emotional message of thanks for the support he has received after the death of his parents.

He posted the message to his social media after his parents funeral on Saturday.

Mr Eastons mother and father died following a fire at a property in the Dellmount Park area of Bangor on Monday morning.

It read: I just want to take this moment to say thank you to everyone for their kind words of support and encouragement. I would pay tribute to all the emergency services for all they did for us and also my Mum and Dads carers who helped look after my parents with much love.

Alec and Ann Easton, who were aged in their 80s, were treated for their injuries but both died at the scene.

Thank you to Ronnie Nesbit and my brother for taking the service and my sister Lorraine for her reading. I cant say how grateful I am to everyone and you will always be in my heart, Mr Easton added.

Political leaders, including Sir Jeffrey Donaldson and Michelle ONeill, attended the funeral.

Speaking at a service of thanksgiving in Bangor Abbey, Alex Easton said the emergency services would always have a place in the hearts of his family for their efforts in trying to save his parents.

A number of politicians, including North Down MP Stephen Farry, the Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly Alex Maskey and TUV leader Jim Allister also attended the funeral service.

Several members of the DUP, of which Alex Easton was formerly a member, were in the congregation.

Alexs brother Canon Christopher Easton, the rector of Armoy, led the service and paid tribute to his parents.

He said: This is not at all how I ever imagined this day would be. Mum and dad met and married in their late teens and they were together ever after that.

Dad had been sent from his father from South Africa, where he was born, to Belfast to Harland and Wolff on an apprenticeship as an engineer.

Mum worked in the Ulster Bank in Belfast and they met quite literally over the counter in the bank.

It wasnt long before they fell in love and they began a journey, which was long and eventful together and has just ended.

Or perhaps, I would prefer to say, this chapter has ended and another has begun for them because they were believers in Jesus.
Nadhim Zahawi has been sacked as Conservative Party chairman following several days of pressure and speculation (PA)   Victoria Jones

Rishi Sunak has sacked Nadhim Zahawi following the conclusion of an ethics inquiry and several days of intense pressure.

The Prime Minister dismissed the Tory Party chairman who was also in the Cabinet as minister without portfolio, saying that with the inquiry concluded it is clear that there has been a serious breach of the ministerial code.

The controversy had centred on a tax bill over the sale of shares in YouGov, the polling firm Mr Zahawi founded. The shares, worth an estimated 27 million, were held by Balshore Investments, a company registered offshore in Gibraltar and linked to Mr Zahawis family.

The controversy predated Mr Sunaks premiership, but as more information emerged in the media, the Prime Minister ordered an investigation by his independent adviser on ministers interests, Sir Laurie Magnus.

Those findings were published on January 29, 2023, and set out a clear timeline, previously not fully known, of events that had been taking place.

 April 2021

Sir Laurie said HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) interactions with Mr Zahawi over the tax issue began in April 2021, when he was a business minister.

 June 2021

Mr Zahawi and his advisers met with officials from HMRC in June 2021, according to Sir Laurie.

The ethics adviser said: Mr Zahawi has told me that he had formed the impression that he and his advisers were merely being asked certain queries by HMRC concerning his tax affairs.

 July 5 2022

Mr Zahawi becomes Chancellor of the Exchequer.

According to Sir Lauries findings, after his appointment Mr Zahawi completed a declaration of interests form, but it contained no reference to the HMRC investigation.

A later form acknowledged (by way of an attachment) that Mr Zahawi was in discussion with HMRC to clarify a number of queries, Sir Laurie added.

 July 9 2022

The Independent reports that HMRC officials were investigating Mr Zahawi and his tax affairs.

The Observer newspaper also reports that a flag was raised by officials about the financial affairs of the Tory MP before he was promoted to the high-profile role that included responsibility for HMRC.

 July 11 2022

In an interview with Sky News, Mr Zahawi said that he was being smeared.

I was clearly being smeared. I was told that the Serious Fraud Office, the National Crime Agency, HMRC, were looking into me.

Im not aware of this. Ive always declared my taxes  Ive paid my taxes in the UK, he said.

Sir Laurie said Mr Zahawi did not correct the record until January 21 2023, and concluded: I consider that this delay in correcting an untrue public statement is inconsistent with the requirement for openness.

Nadhim Zahawi, then-chancellor ran for the Tory leadership in July 2022   Stefan Rousseau

 July 15 2023

Mr Zahawi received a letter from HMRC, which according to the account he provided to the investigation much later, changed the then-chancellors view.

The impression that he and his advisers were merely being asked certain queries by HMRC concerning his tax affairs had persisted until he received a letter from HMRC on 15th July 2022 (dated 13th July), Sir Laurie said of Mr Zahawis account of the matter.

The ethics adviser said that after the letter, Mr Zahawi updated his declaration of interests form, acknowledging that his tax affairs were under investigation, but provided no further details other than the statement made previously that he was clarifying queries.

An HMRC investigation of the nature faced by Mr Zahawi would be a relevant matter for a minister to discuss and declare as part of their declaration of interests, he said.

 August to September 2022

Mr Zahawi and HMRC resolved that tax was owed and a penalty should be applied, with a resolution in principle in August, and a final settlement signed in September, according to the ethics adviser.

And Sir Laurie added: Mr Zahawi failed to update his declaration of interest form appropriately after this settlement was agreed in principle in August 2022.

Mr Zahawi was replaced as chancellor when Liz Truss became prime minister on September 6, moving to the Cabinet Office.

 October 2022

Mr Zahawi failed to disclose relevant information about the investigation and his penalty during the appointments process for new roles in Government in September and October, according to the ethics adviser.

Sir Laurie said: Without knowledge of that information, the Cabinet Office was not in a position to inform the appointing prime minister.

 January 14 2023

The Sun on Sunday reported that Mr Zahawi had agreed to pay several million pounds in tax to settle a dispute with HMRC.

A spokesman for the Conservative Party chairman said that his taxes were properly declared, that he has never had to instruct any lawyers to deal with HMRC on his behalf, adding that Mr Zahawis taxes are properly declared and paid in the UK.

 January 16 2023

Mr Zahawi submitted his declaration of interests form in relation to his role as minister without portfolio and Conservative Party chairman, and included detail of the outcome of the HMRC investigation, according to the independent ethics adviser.

But Sir Laurie added: At the time of my investigation this declaration was under consideration by the permanent secretary and had yet to be submitted onward to me for consideration.

Given the seriousness of this matter, I would have expected Mr Zahawi to attend to his submission much more rapidly and to have notified Cabinet Office officials at the time of his appointment.

 January 18 2023

The Prime Minister and Downing Street defend Mr Zahawi over the allegations.

At Prime Ministers Questions, Mr Sunak said the Tory chairman has already addressed this matter in full and theres nothing more that I can add.

Downing Street said Mr Sunak had full confidence in the Stratford-on-Avon MP, having taken him at his word over the matter.

 January 19 2023

Labour wrote to HMRC over Mr Zahawis tax affairs, claiming that the public requires answers.

HMRC said it cannot comment on identifiable taxpayers.

 January 20 2023

The Guardian newspaper reported that Mr Zahawi paid a 30% penalty as part of the dispute, with estimates that he paid 4.8 million in total.

Labour called on Mr Zahawi to be sacked.

Rishi Sunak speaking at PMQs in January 2023   House of Commons

 January 21 2023

Mr Zahawi admitted paying a settlement to HMRC after a careless and not deliberate tax error related to his fathers shareholding in YouGov.

He said that when he set up the YouGov polling company in 2000, his father took founder shares.

Twenty-one years later, when I was being appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer, questions were being raised about my tax affairs. I discussed this with the Cabinet Office at the time.

Following discussions with HMRC, they agreed that my father was entitled to founder shares in YouGov, though they disagreed about the exact allocation. They concluded that this was a careless and not deliberate error.

So that I could focus on my life as a public servant, I chose to settle the matter and pay what they said was due, which was the right thing to do.

Mr Zahawi said the matter was resolved and all my tax affairs were up to date by the time he became Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster last September.

 January 23 2023

Mr Sunak ordered an investigation by his new ethics adviser into Mr Zahawi.

The PM acknowledged that clearly in this case there are questions that need answering.

 January 24 2023

Tory MP Caroline Nokes, chairwoman of the Commons Women and Equalities Committee, suggested Mr Zahawi should stand aside as party chairman until this matter is all cleared up.

 January 25 2023

Mr Sunak was grilled by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer about Mr Zahawi during Prime Ministers Questions.

Mr Sunak told the Commons that while it would have been politically expedient to sack the Tory chair, due process meant that the investigation into his tax affairs should be allowed to conclude.

He also acknowledged that he had not been given the full picture of Mr Zahawis tax affairs when he told MPs that the senior Conservative had given a full account.

Conservative peer Lord Hayward joined Ms Nokes in calling on Mr Zahawi to stand aside while the inquiry takes place, and senior Tory Tobias Ellwood said the situation was a distraction.

 January 28 2023

Downing Street denied reports that Mr Sunak received informal advice in October that there could be a reputational risk to the Government from Mr Zahawi and his tax affairs.

The Observer newspaper, citing sources, said that government officials gave the new Prime Minister informal advice as he drew up his Cabinet in October regarding the risks from the HMRC investigation settled only months earlier.

A Number 10 spokesperson said: These claims are not true.

 January 29 2023

Mr Sunak sacked Mr Zahawi as Conservative Party chairman after the ethics inquiry found a serious breach of the ministerial code.

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Sir Lauries four-page report found that the Mr Zahawi had shown insufficient regard for the general principles of the ministerial code and the requirements in particular, under the seven Principles of Public Life, to be honest, open and an exemplary leader through his own behaviour.

Sir Laurie also said an individual subject to the HMRC process faced by Mr Zahawi should have understood at the outset that they were under investigation.

He also concluded: I consider that by failing to declare HMRCs ongoing investigation before July 2022 Mr Zahawi failed to meet the requirement to declare any interests which might be thought to give rise to a conflict.

Mr Sunak, in his letter to Mr Zahawi sacking him, said: It is clear that there has been a serious breach of the ministerial code.

Mr Sunak also said Mr Zahawi should be extremely proud of his wide-ranging achievements in Government over the last five years.

In his reply, Mr Zahawi did not explicitly mention the findings of the ethics inquiry. Instead, he outlined his concern at the conduct from some of the fourth estate in recent weeks  a reference to the press.

He also suggested that he will continue as an MP, saying: You can be assured of my support from the backbenches in the coming years.

Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats said it is vital that the public gets answers about what and when Mr Sunak knew about the controversy.
Friends and volunteers have gathered to say goodbye to Andrew Bagshaw, a dual New Zealand-British citizen killed in Ukraine while he and another volunteer, who also died, tried to evacuate people from a frontline town.

Mr Bagshaw, 47, and British volunteer Christopher Parry, 28, vanished this month while heading to the town of Soledar, in the eastern Donetsk region, where heavy fighting was taking place.

Volunteers spoke of their memories of Mr Bagshaw and read tributes from his family at Kyivs St Sophias Cathedral on Sunday.

Nikolletta Stoyanova, a friend in Ukraine, shared tales of his bravery, saying: Even if no one wanted to go to Soledar, they can do that. Because if he understood that someone needs help, they need to do this help for these people.

People lay flowers to commemorate the volunteers (Efrem Lukatsky/AP)   Efrem Lukatsky

Mr Bagshaws father, Phil, told reporters in New Zealand his son wanted to do something to help.

He was a very intelligent man and a very independent thinker, he said. And he thought a long time about the situation in Ukraine and he believed it to be immoral. He felt the only thing he could do of a constructive nature was to go there and help people.

Ukrainian police said on January 9 they lost contact with Mr Bagshaw and Mr Parry after the two headed for Soledar. Their bodies were later recovered. A Ukrainian official said on Wednesday the defending forces made an organised retreat from the salt-mining town.

In a January 24 statement, Mr Parrys family said he was drawn to Ukraine in March in its darkest hour. They said he had helped those most in need, saving over 400 lives plus many abandoned animals.

Friends said the mens bodies will be handed over to relatives in the UK.

People light candles at the service (Efrem Lukatsky/AP)   Efrem Lukatsky

In the south of Ukraine, Russian forces on Sunday heavily shelled the city of Kherson, killing three people and hurting six others, the regional administration said. It said the shelling damaged a hospital, school, bus station, post office, bank and homes.

Among those reported injured were two women in the hospital at the time: a nurse and a cafeteria worker. Russian forces retreated across the Dnieper River from Kherson in November but still hold much of the province of the same name.

On Sunday, Russias Foreign Ministry accused Ukraine and its western allies of war crimes in connection with the shelling of two hospitals in Russian-held parts of Ukraine.

Russian officials said 14 people died on Saturday when a hospital in the eastern Luhansk province settlement of Novoaidar was hit. They said shells also fell on the territory of a hospital in Nova Kakhovka, a Russian-occupied city in Kherson province where a strategically vital bridge across the lower reaches of the Dnieper is located.

The deliberate shelling of active civilian medical facilities and the targeted killing of civilians are grave war crimes of the Kyiv regime and its western masters, the Foreign Ministry said.

The lack of reaction from the United States and other Nato countries to this, yet another monstrous trampling of international humanitarian law by Kyiv, once again confirms their direct involvement in the conflict and involvement in the crimes being committed.

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Russian forces have shelled hundreds of hospitals and other medical facilities in Ukraine since the war began, reducing more than 100 of them to rubble, according to the Ukrainian Health Ministry.

Russian state TV aired footage of what it said was the damaged hospital in Novoaidar. It said rockets hit the paediatric department of the two-storey building.

There are no military factories here. There are no military vehicles. No tanks. Who did you shoot at? Olga Ryasnaya said in an interview on Russian TV, which identified her as a paediatric nurse.

Luhansk province, where Novoaidar is located, is almost entirely under the control of Russian forces or Russian-backed separatists. Russian and separatist officials alleged the hospital was deliberately targeted. The movements of journalists are restricted in areas of Ukraine under Russian control.

The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said Ukrainian forces were likely increasing strikes on Russian positions deep inside Luhansk province, closer to the Russian border, in an effort to disrupt Russian logistics and ground lines of communication. It said the strikes could be part of preparations for a future counteroffensive.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced a series of punitive steps against the Palestinians, including plans to beef up Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, in response to two shooting attacks that killed seven Israelis and wounded five others.

The announcement cast a cloud over a visit next week by US secretary of state Antony Blinken and threatened to further raise tensions following one of the bloodiest months in the West Bank and east Jerusalem in several years.

Mr Netanyahus Security Cabinet approved the measures in the wake of two shootings, including an attack outside an east Jerusalem synagogue on Friday night in which seven people were killed.

Mr Netanyahus office said the Security Cabinet agreed to seal off the attackers home in preparation ahead of its demolition.

It also plans to cancel social security and health benefits for the families of attackers, make it easier for Israelis to obtain weapons and step up efforts to collect illegal weapons.

The announcement said that in response to public Palestinian celebrations over the attack, Israel would take new steps to strengthen the settlements this week. It gave no further details.

There was no immediate response from Washington. The Biden administration, which condemned the shooting, opposes settlement construction in east Jerusalem and the West Bank  lands sought by the Palestinians for a future state.

The topic is likely to be high on the agenda as Mr Blinken arrives on Monday for talks with Israeli and Palestinian officials.

The weekend shootings followed a deadly Israeli raid in the West Bank on Thursday that killed nine Palestinians, most of them militants.

In response, Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired a barrage of rockets into Israel, triggering a series of Israeli air strikes in response.

In all, 32 Palestinians have been killed in fighting this month.

It remains unclear whether the Israeli steps will be effective.

Palestinians in Gaza City celebrate after a shooting attack near a synagogue in Jerusalem (Fatima Shbair/AP)   Fatima Shbair

The attackers in the weekend shootings, including a 13-year-old boy, both appear to have acted alone and were not part of organised militant groups.

In addition, Mr Netanyahu could come under pressure from members of his government, a collection of religious and ultranationalist politicians, to take even tougher action.

Such steps could risk triggering more violence and potentially drag in the Hamas militant group in Gaza.

If its even possible to put this violent genie back into the bottle, even for a little while, this would require the reinforcement and proper deployment of forces  and carefully managing the crisis without being guided by the widespread calls for revenge, wrote Amos Harel, the defence affairs commentator for the Haaretz newspaper.

Fridays shooting, outside a synagogue in east Jerusalem, left seven Israelis dead and three wounded before the gunman was killed by police.

It was the deadliest attack on Israelis in 15 years.

Authorities published the names of four of the victims.

They included 14-year-old Asher Natan; Eli Mizrahi, 48, and his wife Natali, 45; and Rafael Ben Eliyahu, 56.

An Israeli policeman secures a shooting attack site in east Jerusalem (Mahmoud Illean/AP)   Mahmoud Illean

Ella Sakovich, an aunt of Natali Mizrahi, said that her niece had been celebrating the Jewish sabbath with her husband and his father when they heard gunfire outside on Friday night.

While eating, she and her husband wanted to help and went out of the house to treat the wounded; they shot both of them, Ms Sakovich said in a statement released by Hadassah Hospital, where Natali Mizrahi worked serving food to patients.

In response to the shooting, Israeli police beefed up activities throughout east Jerusalem and said they had arrested 42 people, including family members, who were connected to the gunman.

But later on Saturday, a 13-year-old Palestinian boy opened fire elsewhere in east Jerusalem, wounding an Israeli man and his son, aged 47 and 23, paramedics said. Both were fully conscious and in moderate to serious condition in hospital, the medics added.

As police rushed to the scene, two passers-by with licensed weapons shot and overpowered the 13-year-old attacker, police said. Police confiscated his handgun and took the wounded teenager to hospital.

The Biden administration condemned Friday nights shooting and has called for calm on all sides, but given few details on how it expects to promote these goals.

The attacks pose a pivotal test for Israels new far-right government.

Palestinians clash with Israeli forces following an army raid in the West Bank city of Jenin, on Thursday (Majdi Mohammed/AP)   Majdi Mohammed

Both Palestinian attackers behind the shootings on Friday and Saturday came from east Jerusalem.

Palestinian residents of east Jerusalem hold permanent residency status, allowing them to work and move freely throughout Israel, but they suffer from subpar public services and are not allowed to vote in national elections.

Residency rights can be stripped if a Palestinian is found to live outside the city for an extended period or in certain security cases.

Israel captured east Jerusalem, along with the West Bank and Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Middle East war.

The Palestinians seek all three areas for a future independent state.

Israel has annexed east Jerusalem in a step that is not internationally recognised and considers the entire city to be its undivided capital.

Israels new firebrand minister of national security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has presented himself as an enforcer of law and order and grabbed headlines for his promises to take even stronger action against the Palestinians.

Speaking to reporters at a hospital where victims were being treated, Mr Ben-Gvir said he wanted the home of the gunman in Fridays attack to be sealed off immediately as a punitive measure and hit out at Israels attorney general for delaying his order.

Israeli border police force secure the site of a shooting attack near a synagogue in Jerusalem (Mahmoud Illean/AP)   Mahmoud Illean

In my opinion this is awful. In my opinion, it cant be like that, he said.

Overhauling the justice system in the country, including the attorney generals office, has been at the top of the agenda of the new government, which says unelected judges and jurists have overwhelming powers.

The divisive issue helped fuel weekly protests by Israelis who say the sweeping proposed changes would weaken the Supreme Court and undermine democracy.

Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in the central city of Tel Aviv on Saturday evening for a new protest.

Some raised banners describing Mr Netanyahu, Mr Ben-Gvir and other members of the government as a threat to world peace.

The marchers also held a moment of silence in memory of the Jerusalem shooting victims.

Israelis in Tel Aviv protest against the plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus new government to overhaul the judicial system (Tsafrir Abayov/AP)   Tsafrir Abayov

The Israeli army said it had deployed another battalion to the West Bank on Saturday, adding hundreds more troops to a presence already on heightened alert in the occupied territory.

The Palestinian leadership in the West Bank, meanwhile, upheld its decision to halt security co-ordination with Israel to protest over the deadly raid in Jenin.

After a meeting headed by President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, the Palestinian Authority called on the international community and the US administration to oblige Israel into stopping its raids and operations in the West Bank.

Last year, as the Israeli military intensified its arrest raids following a string of deadly Palestinian attacks within Israel, at least 150 Palestinians were killed in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem.

It was the highest annual death toll for more than a decade-and-a-half.

More than 30 people were killed in Palestinian attacks against Israelis last year, according to Israeli figures.

Israel says most of the dead were militants.

But youths protesting against the incursions and others not involved in the confrontations have also been killed.
Belfast art historian on becoming first female director of the National Gallery of Ireland: I think for a long time I had a sort of imposter syndrome
Bill Irvines mobile returned after cops raided home

A convicted drug dealer whose house was raided by cops investigating West Belfast UDA criminality says he is in the clear.

Bill Irvine had his phone seized during the Paramilitary Crime Task Force operation at his Riga Street home, off the Shankill Road on January 11.

The 50-year-old  who served a previous five-year prison sentence for dealing cocaine, ecstasy and cannabis  was handed back the mobile last Thursday.

After the phone was returned, he told Sunday Life: The real truth is I havent sold drugs for almost two decades. The detective that was dealing with the case said that all investigations into me are over and the only activity I had on my phone was general day to day stuff thats normal.

Irvine claims to have received amazing support from his neighbours and the police raid should never have happened in the first place.

The PSNI warrant issued to search his home, and seen by Sunday Life, details how cops were looking for firearms. A police spokesman said: Detectives from the taskforce investigating criminality linked to the West Belfast UDA carried out a search of a property in the Riga Street area on January 11. One item was seized for further examination and enquiries are ongoing.

Loyalist sources explained how Irvine started working for the West Belfast UDA in the early 2000s. This was after he was assaulted by UVF members for selling drugs on their turf in the old Kellys nightclub in Portrush.

With the UDAs protection Irvine ended up one of the biggest dealers on the Shankill Road until he was jailed in 2008 for possessing cocaine, ecstasy and cannabis with intent to supply.

Sentencing him, Judge Finnegan said: It is clear from your record that you have been supplying drugs from 1993 at least.

Your involvement in supplying drugs has arisen from your own addiction so if you kick your own habit your criminality might come to an end.

Irvine claims to have disavowed drug dealing after his release from prison and to have found God. He now describes himself as a Christian, however loyalists on the Shankill are taking his born again boasts with a large pinch of salt.

One said: Bill was one of the first people to bring cocaine onto the (Shankill) road. He made a fortune through the years dealing drugs, and he was able to do it because he had the protection of the West Belfast UDA.

But Irvines relationship with the terror gang has not always been cordial. Twenty years ago its leaders planned to murder him after a gun was recovered by the police and he was blamed on causing the find.

However the shooting was called off at the last minute. This was after UDA members had dug a shallow grave to dump Irvines body.

A UDA source added: If Bill had any sense he would cut any remaining ties he has with the UDA.

They have caused him nothing but trouble, and his house is still being raided by the police 20 years after he first got involved with them.
Murderers who fled to the Republic now back behind bars

A laughing killer who sparked a cross-border police manhunt when he went on the run while on a prison pre-release scheme is suspected of dealing drugs to other criminals.

Stephen McParland (54) fled the Thompson House hostel in north Belfast last weekend and boarded a train to Dublin with fellow convicted murderer Alison McDonagh (49).

According to jail sources, the pair went on a five-day bender in the Irish capital before crossing the border into Newry, where they were arrested by the PSNI.

Both are now back behind bars, but security insiders are questioning why they were on pre-release in the first place.

While staying at Thompson House, 54-year-old McParland is suspected of selling drugs to other criminals, while McDonagh has previous form for fleeing pre-release schemes.

It is well known that McParland was suspected of involvement in the sale of drugs while at Thompson House, a source said.

There is a flat in Sandy Row he would have visited to get drugs.

McParland could have been recalled to jail on the basis of this intelligence long before he went on the run.

CCTV footage of McParland and McDonagh

Sources believe that McParland and McDonagh, despite her being held at Hydebank womens prison, were in a relationship and that their decision to escape to Dublin was pre-meditated.

They had been planning to flee for weeks. Thats why they showed up at Lanyon train station with a trolley filled with bags of clothes, added the insider.

When the drugs and drink wore off and the money ran out, reality kicked in, so they went to Newry to be arrested.

What is interesting is they havent been charged with any crime, although itll be a long time before they go back on pre-release.

McParland was jailed for life in 1997 for the murder of east Belfast man Gary Alexander McKimm following a row over 20.

A court was told he laughed and shouted Die, die, die, you b*****d while he kicked his helpless victim.

Imposing a minimum 16-year tariff, former lord chief justice Sir Brian Kerr described the attack as prolonged and merciless, saying: We have been quite unable to detect evidence of genuine remorse on his [McParlands] part, or any real recognition of the enormity of his crime.

Alison McDonagh

McDonagh fled with McParland after being freed from Hydebank womens prison for three hours to go shopping in Belfast.

She was originally jailed for a minimum of 12 years in 2006 for the murder of drinking friend George McDowell at a flat in the Rathcoole estate in Newtownabbey.

Her trial heard how she arranged for her victim, who she had only known for a week, to stay at the property. She later ordered him to leave, stabbing the 47-year-old in the neck when a row broke out.

At the time of her conviction, McDonagh was known as Alison Michelle Martin.

The latest incident is the third time she has gone on the run, having fled two previous pre-release schemes in 2016 and 2017.
Northern Ireland is almost evenly split on whether Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald should be included in all-party talks on the protocol.

An exclusive new poll for the Belfast Telegraph and Sunday Life shows that people are starkly divided down unionist and nationalist lines on the issue.

The LucidTalk survey of almost 1,500 people from across Northern Ireland asked whether the TD for Dublin Central should be included or excluded in future all-party talks in Northern Ireland.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and NI Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris

Earlier this month, Ms McDonald was told she could not attend a meeting between Stormont party representatives and the Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris.

Ms McDonald claimed she had been deliberately excluded and Sinn Fein withdrew from the talks but Mr Cleverly said it was for reasons of diplomatic protocol.

She described the move as beyond bizarre while the government pointed out that Ms McDonald had not attended a meeting in Belfast in December with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

The SDLPs Matthew OToole said the decision was absolutely daft, while Alliance MLA Paula Bradshaw called it was a distraction and DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said he did not want to intrude on their (Sinn Feins) grief on that matter.

The survey found that of those asked who identified themselves nationalist/republican an overwhelming 91% said the Sinn Fein leader should be included in any future all-party talks.

Of those who said they were unionists only 12% agreed while those in the Alliance/Green Party/Others designation some 56% said she should be included.

The strongest section in favour of not inviting Ms McDonald to the talks table were unionist with 83% against the idea.

Just 7% of nationalist/republicans took the same stance while 29% of Alliance/Green Party/Others also believe she should continue to be excluded.

The overall results for Northern Ireland were 48% in favour of inviting her back to all-party talks with 47% against.

Results for the Dont know/Not sure/No opinion response were 5% for unionists, 2% for nationalist/republican, 15% for Alliance/Green/Others and 5% for Northern Ireland overall.

The same poll also revealed that a majority of unionists would vote against the Good Friday Agreement if the same referendum were held today. Only 35% of those who identified as unionist said they would back the deal while 95% of nationalists would vote Yes.
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In August 2020, state police raided a Savoy home, after its heavy use of electricity drew suspicion.

More than two years later, its owner, Bin Huang, pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and received two years of probation  along with forfeiting $11,138 in cash found in the house at 72 Jackson Road and the building and property itself. Huang had originally been charged with marijuana trafficking of more than 100 pounds but less than 2,000 pounds. State police said in 2020 they seized 3,598 cannabis plants at the house, weighing 560 pounds, worth more than $3 million on the street.

Huang was ordered to clean up the property  which he bought for $200,000 in 2017  to the state's satisfaction. The Eagle visited the property to document its appearance. The order requires that Huang remove all materials, inside and out. That had not happened as of Friday.

Huang also agreed to surrender 40 percent of the cash in a Chase bank account. That account was said during court proceedings to have a balance of $101,000.

Meantime, two men found by police at the site in 2020, Deming Wu and Yebin Mai, stand accused of trafficking in marijuana and operating what the state termed a "large-scale illegal marijuana cultivation operation." They deny having committed crimes and will go to trial next July, in proceedings assisted by a Cantonese interpreter. Mai is accused of trying to bribe an Eversource employee.
NORTH ADAMS  On Saturday afternoon, Pam Tworig stood inside Mass MoCA's Building 6 holding a post card that read, "I [HEART] NORTH ADAMS," thinking about how to respond to the prompt.

"I have to sit down and think about it," she said. That's not because she had nothing to say, but more because she had limited space. "I tell everyone I am North Adams' biggest cheerleader."

Since moving to the area in 1979 as a teenager, Tworig, who now lives in Stamford, Vt., has been closely watching changes in North Adams. "It's been amazing to watch and be part of the transformation that's occurring," Tworig, a real estate agent, said, pointing to increasing tourism in the area as an example.

Nearby, Andrew Fitch and Nicholas Rigger sat behind a table covered in bright blue postcards that say "I [heart] NORTH ADAMS" for people to fill out during Mass MoCA's free community day. Fitch and Rigger were kicking off a valentines for North Adams project as part of February's First Friday downtown event. After filling out their cards, people could drop them in a mailbox next to the table. "Tucked in the far corner covered in dust," the mailbox was found in the basement of Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Gallery 51, said Rigger, assistant director of Arts and Culture at the college. Why exactly the gallery had it, Rigger wasn't sure, but event organizers cleaned it up for the project.

What's to love about North Adams?

"The gorgeous sunrises and all the friendly people among these gentle mountains," one person wrote on their valentine.

"The beautiful historic houses and mills," one postcard read. "I love the 'small town' feel and [that] everyone works together to help better the area!" someone else wrote.

Nine-year-old Amelie Whitehead filled out a postcard while walking through the museum. "I love coming to Mass MoCA," she said she wrote.

Aretha Whitehead, a Pittsfield resident, wrote about the museum too, and the Roots Teen Center.

Fitch estimated by mid-afternoon that they had collected several hundred postcards. The valentines will be put up on the windows of downtown business in time for February's First Friday event on Feb. 3. The event, themed "I Heart North Adams," features live music at Heart's Pace Tea and Healing Arts Lounge. During First Fridays, downtown business are encouraged to stay open late, until 8 p.m.

Started in 2021, First Fridays is one of the changes Tworig loves. While walking down Main Street Saturday with a friend, she said, "I can't believe the energy and things this group of young people has done in the past year," she said, pointing to First Fridays regular festivities, like a community dinner in the middle of Eagle Street in early September. "These things didn't occur before," she said.
Tonight's rundown:

 Talking Points Memo: Joe Biden continues to decline with the world watching and remains out of the press reach

 Presidential Historian Larry Cook weighs in on how Bidens relationship with the press compares to past presidents

 US Special Forces have been confirmed to be in Ukraine

 OReilly describes Democrats hosting the DNC in Chicago as Crazy Arrogant

 The trial of Fox News gets underway

 58% of Americans are now living paycheck to paycheck even as inflation begins to cool off

 Smart Life: Utilizing Kelly Blue Book when searching for a new car

 This Day in History: FDR dies in office

 Final Thought: what to do when someone is disrespectful to you

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Chinese mainland Taiwan affairs official meets former KMT chairperson

Xinhua) 08:21, January 29, 2023

XIAMEN, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- Song Tao, head of both the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, met on Saturday with Hung Hsiu-chu, former chairperson of the Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) party, in Xiamen, east China's Fujian Province.

Conveying Spring Festival greetings from Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, to Hung, Song said that the 20th CPC National Congress held in October 2022 made plans for the mainland's work related to Taiwan at present and in the near future, and has a significant and far-reaching impact on the development of cross-Strait relations and the course of national reunification.

"We will thoroughly implement the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress, and respect, care for and deliver benefits to Taiwan compatriots on the basis that 'the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are of one family,'" Song said.

The mainland will encourage and support more Taiwan compatriots' efforts to take part in the process of modernization, national rejuvenation and national reunification, he said, expressing the hope that Hung will continue to contribute to the causes.

Appreciating Xi's greetings, Hung said the Chinese modernization is the modernization of both the mainland and Taiwan, and Taiwan should not and cannot be absent from the cause of national rejuvenation.

The compatriots on both sides of the Strait should strive together for completing the causes of both national rejuvenation and national reunification, she noted.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Staying with the Jane Hume interview, the Liberal senator said her side of politics was not saying no to an Indigenous Voice to Parliament but was critical of the governments approach.

ABC radio host Rafael Epstein, interviewing Hume, said the proposal for the Voice to Parliament arose out of extensive consultation with First Nations people under the previous Coalition government.

Hume pointed out the Coalition had been saying there should be constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians for over a decade and the consultations occurred because they wanted to find the most appropriate way of doing that.

Liberal senator Jane Hume said there should be a pamphlet for the upcoming referendum on the Voice to Parliament. Credit: Luis Ascui

If this debate is to occur in an adult way without either ignorance or deliberate or wilful misinformation or bigotry or any of those things, this is a big conversation and its an important one to have properly, which is why we want the government to take the lead and provide that clear information to Australians, Hume said. Some of them are basic questions and some of them are

complicated.

Hume said the first thing that had given her disquiet was that there wasnt even a pamphlet and there wasnt even a yes or no campaign thats been given equal funding.

We havent had a referendum without a pamphlet since Phar Lap won the Melbourne Cup and this is a very basic way where households get a sense of what a yes model looks like and what no looks like, Hume said.

This is how they can be better informed with official information, not misinformation, not disinformation, but official information about what a referendum means. The fact that this government is denying a basic pamphlet to their households, suggests to me that they dont want to share information and I think thats rather disingenuous.

Epstein asked why a pamphlet was different to the hundreds of pages of official information already available online. Hume said it was a big ask to expect ordinary Australians to sift through hundreds of pages and work out what is official and what is not.
Five weeks after the Chinese-launched satellite was lost about 1000 kilometres out in space, its manufacturer, the Hughes Aircraft Company, has revealed that villagers near the remote town of Xichang, In Chinas south-west, have been stumbling on space Junk.

An isolated community of Chinese peasants has taken a giant step toward solving the mystery of the ill-fated $250-million Optus satellite that was to have brought pay-TV to Australia. Much of it, it seems, simply came back to Earth.

That lost satellite: Optus picks up the pieces in China

First published in The Age on January 31, 1993

A spokesman for Hughes, Mr Richard Barlow, said the Chinese were at first unaware of the importance of the strange, high-strength debris they were finding around their mountainous neighbourhood.

But, after several search parties, the companys Los Angeles headquarters has recently taken delivery of several tonnes of the former satellite from Xichang, in Sichuan province, birthplace of the Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping.

Mr Barlow said he did not know if there had been any reports of injuries caused by falling space junk.

Optus planned to use the satellite, Communications B2, to provide pay-TV to Australia within the next two years. But, just as the Federal Governments pay-TV policies have been plagued by controversy, the satellites sudden disappearance on 22 December marked another setback.
Group tutoring should be rolled out in all schools to help shrink the vast learning gap between disadvantaged students and their advantaged peers which grows wider with every year of schooling.

New analysis of 2022 NAPLAN data reveals disadvantaged teenage students are more than five years behind in reading and four years behind in maths compared to pupils from wealthier backgrounds.

A new report released by the Grattan Institute calls for small group tutoring in all Australian schools. Credit: Eddie Jim

In a report released by the Grattan Institute, the think tank calls for a national program of small-group tuition in all Australian schools to allow teachers to work with students in intensive sessions over one or two terms.

Grattans principal education adviser and the reports co-author, Julie Sonnemann, said it was a myth that all the impacts of disadvantage happened before children start school.
A 55-year-old man has died and several people have been rushed to hospital after fire broke out at a high-rise residential complex in Clayfield, in Brisbanes inner north.

Emergency services were called to the unit complex on Bonney Avenue about 5am on Monday.

Footage taken from another apartment complex about 7am showed smoke rising from the building.

The mans death is not believed to have been caused by the fire. Police do not consider his death suspicious.
Disadvantaged year 9 students are five years behind in reading ability and four years behind in maths compared with their advantaged peers, more than double the gap found in year 3.

A new report by the Grattan Institute says small-group tutoring should be rolled out in all Australian schools to help close this learning gap, which grows wider with every year of schooling.

The Grattan Institute says tutors working with small groups of students over one or two terms would boost literacy and numeracy. Credit: iStock

Co-author Julie Sonnemann, principal adviser of education at Grattan, said the gap was a disgrace.

Education is supposed to be an equaliser, but the gap widens when children get to school, she said.
On Monday, Veronicas death is set to be at the centre of calls for bail and prison health care reforms when wide-ranging coronial findings into her passing are made public. Her family is urging the state government to act urgently and implement change, as the Indigenous community is all-too familiar with deaths in custody. Veronica Nelson died in jail in January 2020 after calling for help about 40 times. Her family has given permission for her photograph to be used. She always protected everyone and never let anyone go without, Aunty Donna says. Thats the way we were raised. In prison, they all ignored her. She was nothing to them. The cover-up, conspiracies, around how she died, they make it harder. My lifes not the same no more. A mothers not supposed to bury her child.

Those closest to Veronica say as a child she was inquisitive and fascinated with Indigenous culture. It seemed fitting that at age four, in the backyard of her Morwell kindergarten, she coined the nickname Poccum as she stared into the trees searching for an animal she struggled to pronounce. My sister used to take her out and say there was a possum in the tree. But Veronica couldnt say possum and would say poccum. Thats how she got her nickname, Aunty Donna says with a smile. Donna Nelson, wrapped in possum fur, last year outside the inquest into her daughters death. Credit: Joe Armao The young girl with a love of animals grew into a fierce and intelligent woman who absorbed knowledge about her culture and shared it with others. The death of her father  a respected didgeridoo maker in NSWs Riverina region  prompted her unravelling and, as a young woman, she turned to heroin to help cope with the pain. Over the following years Veronica lived in public housing in Collingwood and had contact with police for stealing items such as vitamins from chemists.

Aunty Donna believes her daughter was on her way home to Yorta Yorta country when she was arrested outside Southern Cross Station after getting off a tram with brother Duane on December 30, 2019. Police thought Duanes duffle bag appeared suspicious, but it was Veronica who was ultimately arrested and went before Melbourne Magistrates Court the next day. She appeared in court without a lawyer and was refused bail. She was taken to the maximum-security womens prison, the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre. Veronica Nelson (left) in the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre on December 31, 2019. At 33 kilograms and withdrawing from heroin, Veronicas skeletal frame immediately drew the attention of prison staff. A medical practitioner conducted a 13-minute examination, and the 37-year-old was put into a holding cell in the medical wing, her health records laden with errors.

Over the following hours, as she vomited and her hands and feet cramped, Veronica called for help on an intercom buzzer about 30 times. She was given Panadol and the anti-nausea drug Maxolon and told nothing more could be done. As her condition deteriorated, she was moved to a cell in the mainstream population. Video and audio footage played to the inquest found Veronica made nine further calls for help through the prisons intercom system during her final hours, including two described by investigators as haunting, as she wailed in distress. Prison staff told her to stop because her cries were keeping other prisoners awake. I need help ... badly, she cried, shortly before 4am on January 2, 2020.

Three hours later, Veronicas cold and naked body was found on the floor, the shower running and the cell flooded. She was in a fetal position with her hands clenched like claws. Attending paramedics believed she had been dead for some time. On the door of her cell was a sign that read: Do not unlock. A still from a video released during the inquest showing Veronica Nelson inside a prison cell. An autopsy found Veronica had the undiagnosed medical condition Wilkies syndrome, a rare but life-threatening gastrointestinal disorder. Written into a subsequent review of the death, prison general manager Tracy Jones said she was proud of the way Veronica was treated in her final hours and that staff sensitively managed the intercom calls.

Fearing the circumstances of Veronicas death were being covered up, her family pushed for an inquest. What they uncovered was a litany of errors and missed opportunities to save her life. Over five weeks, coroner Simon McGregor learnt a bungled bail form had incorrectly labelled Veronica as being a danger to others, even though she had no history of violence. CCTV footage shows prison staff outside Veronica Nelsons cell in the hours before her death. Prison health records were missing or incomplete, it was revealed that prison staff responsible for taking care of inmates did not have keys to their cells, and staff admitted that they had failed in their duty of care. The inquest also discovered the night nurse on duty during Veronicas final hours had sat in an office watching films on her computer as illness ravaged Veronicas body. Witness statements that were critical of the care Veronica received werent included in a Justice Health report to the coroner.

Robinson Gill Lawyers principal lawyer Jeremy King says that without an inquest, there is no doubt the community and Veronicas family would never have learnt the truth of what happened. It shows these things can potentially get swept under the rug and thats pretty alarming, King says. The policies and processes in place at the time were woeful and unilaterally failed. More than 500 First Nations people have died in custody since findings from the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody were handed down in 1991. Indigenous Australians are 17.3 times more likely to be arrested than the rest of the population, Human Rights Commission data shows, and one-third of all female inmates in Australia are Indigenous.

In Victorian prisons, the number of First Nations people being held inside has tripled in the past decade alone. Though they make up less than 1 per cent of the states population, one in 10 female inmates are Indigenous. There are two types of inmates among the prison population: those convicted of a crime and serving out their sentences, and those  like Veronica  who are being held on remand for offences and whose cases are yet to be decided in court. Aunty Donna Nelson believes her daughter was on her way home when arrested in Melbourne on December 30, 2019. Credit: Chris Hopkins While time served on remand is included in prisoners sentences, King says in Veronicas case her alleged crimes  shoplifting and bail offences  would never have resulted in jail time even if she was found or pleaded guilty. Thats the utterly devastating part of all of this. Veronica was being held in prison for a crime she would have never been imprisoned for, King says.

More than 200 kilometres north of Melbourne on Yorta Yorta land, Aunty Donna remains isolated by grief in her modest home. Loading Her daughters body is now buried 65 kilometres north, an hours drive by car, on the banks of the Murray River at Cummeragunja mission. Until now, Aunty Donna has made do with the newly discovered letter she keeps close and a makeshift memorial at her front door where, among the photographs and funeral pamphlets, everything has its place. Despite the circumstances of her daughters death, the mother is confident the coroner will make powerful findings and hopes any future changes to legislation can be named Poccums Law in honour of Veronica.
University of Sydney professor Julie Leask said the shift in attitude on vaccination was not about complacency but a lower sense of risk among many Australians and a change in their motivation about getting a further booster shot. Im not so focused on coverage rates for the over-30s for the fourth dose, for example, because we need to be most concerned about the 24 per cent of those over 65 who havent had a fourth dose, she said. As well, Leask said, 34 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and 33 per cent of people on the NDIS have had four doses. Loading The latest Resolve survey found that most Australians expected the pandemic conditions to stay the same or improve, with 53 per cent saying case numbers would stay the same, 9 per cent expecting a decrease and 12 per cent expecting a significant decrease before the numbers come back again.

Only 12 per cent said they expected an increase in case numbers with conditions getting worse, compared with 18 per cent who said the same in December. While 44 per cent of all respondents said in August they had received three doses and were likely to get a fourth, that fell to 16 per cent in October and 6 per cent in January. This reflected the fact that some of this group had chosen to take up the fourth jab during that period, but Resolve director Jim Reed said many thought the worst of COVID was over. Our polling finds a very clear decline in peoples likelihood of seeking out the next vaccination available to them over the last six months, especially among those who paused at their first or second jab, said Reed. If you havent had your third jab yet, youre basically not booking an appointment for the next one. The latest government figures show that 33.6 per cent of the eligible population has had four doses and 35.9 per cent has had three doses.

About 20 per cent have had only two doses and the remainder have had one or none. Monash University associate professor James Trauer said there was a lack of urgency about vaccination when people should be thinking not so much about whether they had a fourth or fifth dose but how often they had a booster. Younger people dont need to worry as much, but we need to work on our public health messaging to the older and more vulnerable groups, he said. Its time now to move away from thinking about how many doses weve had and to think about how long it was since vulnerable people were last vaccinated.

If they havent been vaccinated in the last six months, for example, then we do need to think about topping up their immunity. And this will be the case for any waves that occur this winter and for future waves. Leask said the figures on vaccination should be treated with care because it would be wrong to think nobody is vaccinating even though there were significant challenges in helping people with lower incomes and lower education levels. Loading There has been a plateauing in vaccine uptake overall since about September last year and if you look at it demographically, there are particular disparities by region, she said. For example, theres very low coverage for third doses in Queensland, at around 40 per cent, versus Perth with around 90 per cent coverage, and thats a real cause for concern.
The Greens are threatening to use their power to overturn the rules of the governments key climate policy, the so-called safeguard mechanism, unless it is overhauled to remove fossil fuel projects from the scheme.

Labor wants to let coal and gas buy their way out of Australias climate policy and the Greens want to stop new coal and gas, Greens leader Adam Bandt is expected to say in a speech at Smart Energy Council conference on Monday.

Adam Bandt is threatening the government over climate reforms. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

The government is likely to need the Greens backing in the Senate for the safeguard rules, which are a disallowable instrument, and to pass the enabling legislation currently before the parliament.

So there will be a fight over new coal and gas this year. Labor wants to open new coal and gas mines. The Greens want to stop them.
ONeil said that following the series, border security officials had already cancelled visas, turned around people at the border, withdrawn licences from migration agents, and more. But the minister said Nixons appointment was about looking at the root cause. Christine Nixon will help us understand how this occurred. She is as tough as nails, nothing gets past her. She is the ideal person to work with me to tackle the conditions that allowed these problems to fester for so long, ONeil said. Christine Nixon is a former chief commissioner of Victoria Police. Credit: Michael Clayton-Jones The Australian Border Force-led Operation Inglenook, which was launched after Trafficked, has also cancelled the government migration agent licence of political donor Jack Ta, a visa specialist with migration offices around the nation, and which Trafficked revealed had helped more than a dozen drug offenders to remain in Australia over several years. Ta had also boasted of cosy meals with Coalition ministers and donated more than $25,000 to the campaign fund of former Liberal assistant home affairs minister Jason Wood.

Wood was the chair of parliaments migration committee when the donations took place and he hosted Ta on at least two occasions to dine with now Opposition Leader Peter Dutton when he was home affairs minister. There is no suggestion that Wood or Dutton were aware that Tas firm had been used by drug offenders to remain in Australia or was systemically rorting the migration system. This masthead has also confirmed that Ta attended the launch for ONeils election campaign when she was a shadow minister and bought items at an auction worth $5200. The funds were donated to a charity after Tas conduct was exposed. Liberal MP Jason Wood, Immigration agent Jack Ta and then-home affairs minister Peter Dutton. Earlier this month, the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority found Ta had acted with a blatant disregard for  the migration law and the visa programs in general and made misleading, deceptive or inaccurate statements and otherwise acted dishonestly. OMARA also declared that Ta was not a person of integrity and not a fit and proper person to give immigration assistance.

The failure of the Department of Home Affairs to act on years of allegations about Tas misconduct is almost certain to be scrutinised by Nixon. Trafficked revealed how state and federal agencies have spent years issuing confidential warnings of migration rorting involving syndicates gaming the visa system to bring criminals or exploited workers into Australia. Operation Inglenook is also continuing to hunt for human trafficking boss Binjun Xie, who entered Australia despite being jailed for serious criminal activity in the United Kingdom and set up a nationwide underground sex racket. Police intelligence has linked Xies syndicate to the exploitation of vulnerable female workers, money laundering and visa fraud. After Trafficked revealed his operations and criminal past in October, ONeil moved urgently to cancel his visa and issued a deportation order. But Border Force officials have been unable to locate Xie in Sydney. While Peter Dutton was busy talking tough on our borders, a convicted criminal walked straight into our country and set up a human trafficking ring right under his nose, ONeil said. In a statement, the ABF said Operation Inglenook had profiled more than 175 persons of interest to determine complicity in exploiting the temporary visa program and some 92 foreign nationals are currently of interest to the operation.

Action has occurred against known facilitators, including six associates refused immigration clearance, three offshore visa cancellations preventing return travel to Australia as well as other activities that cannot be disclosed for ongoing operational purposes, the ABF said in a statement. It is evident that there is continued exploitation of foreign workers in the sex industry and that exploitation of visa holders is being supported by migration agents, some of whom directly receive a financial benefit including through overcharging. Loading ONeil blamed the rorting of the migration system on the failures of the previous government. The abuses highlighted by [the Trafficked series] ... were grotesque, some of the worst crimes imaginable. These cases of worker exploitation, human trafficking and organised crime have all resulted from Peter Duttons failure to protect our borders.
People opposing the proposed referendum for an Indigenous Voice to parliament should remember its pathway was identified five years ago, according to Queensland minister Leeanne Enoch, herself a Quandamooka woman and traditional owner.

Enoch, whose traditional lands encompass much of Moreton Bay, said the Voice process was identified in 2017 as part of the Uluru Statement from the Heart.

Noel Pearson signs the canvas for the Uluru Statement from the Heart in 2017 at the First Nations National Convention. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

She said plenty of information was already available for people to read and understand before a referendum in the second half of 2023.

First of all, hundreds of First Nations peoples joined together in Uluru [in 2017], bringing together all of their wisdom, all of their ancient knowledge and connections to that conversation, she said.


Curefoods which commenced operations in 2020 said it is now the second-largest cloud kitchen player in India in terms of footprint with the largest manufacturing capability in the fresh food space. A 'cloud kitchen' is one that does not offer a dine-in facility and accepts food orders only through an online ordering system Ankit Nagori, the former Flipkart executive and co-founder of India's largest gym chain, Cult.fit, is betting big on expanding the network of cloud kitchens across the country through his new venture Curefoods.



We are moving towards profitability very fast and will turn profitable in by June this year, said Ankit Nagori, founder of Curefoods, in an interview. We will be ready to go public in two years. In 2023, the firm aims to open 50 kitchens in about 7-8 cities. It is targeting to expand in 50 cities in the next 5 years and maintain its profitability. It plans to hire about 500 more people to strengthen its workforce this year.



Nagori said the company is at an annual recurring revenue (ARR) of $63 million. He said the company is expecting to reach Rs 1,000 crore ARR by the end of this year. Curefoods said it has over 150 cloud kitchens across 15 cities in India. It manages about 40,000 orders a day. The aim is to manage 75,000 orders a day by the end of 2023. The firm crossed about 1.1 million orders a month last year in December.

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The company competes with players such as Rebel Foods, Biryani By Kilo, Box8, and FreshMenu. When asked about plans to raise a new round of funding, Nagori said the company is well-funded with $110 million in equity and $20 million in debt. It is backed by investors such as Iron Pillar, Chiratae Ventures, Sixteenth Street Capital, Accel Partners and Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal.



About 70 per cent of its orders are fulfilled by Zomato and Swiggy. The rest are provided through its own delivery network. It expects its own network to be about 40 per cent by the end of 2024. The firm has five manufacturing units in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Pune. From these locations, it supplies almost 70 per cent of its finished products to its cloud kitchens.



EatFit manages 450,000 orders a month and Cakezone manages 250,000 orders a month. These online-only brands are expected to become very large brands and the company hopes to grow 4-5 times in the next five years. Categories such as desserts, pizza, and biryani contribute to most of its business. Curefoods houses brands like EatFit, CakeZone, Nomad Pizza, Great Indian Khichdi, Sharief Bhai and Iceberg Ice creams.



For us, it means that we also need to be super careful about how we market our products, said Nagori. We also don't want to do a lot of experiments and rather focus on what's already working for us. When asked about the impact of the uncertain economic environment on the cloud kitchen segment, Nagori said that the category wouldnt have much impact due to the slowdown as the demand for food at home as well as outside is huge. But he said there is a decrease in discretionary spending. Some of the factors include the slowdown in the growth rate of the overall industry slows, job losses and issues related to profitability.

The food delivery market will triple over the next five years according to the experts. It will reach 8-9 million orders a day from the current three million figure.


In a 413-page document, Adani retaliated against the American short-seller, saying the document was a malicious combination of selective misinformation and concealed facts relating to baseless and discredited allegations to drive an ulterior motive. Terming Hindenburg Research's conduct a securities fraud, the Adani group on Sunday night said it was shocked and deeply disturbed to read the report published by the Madoffs of Manhattan. It further said the report by Hindenburg Research was nothing but a lie.



The mala fide intention underlying the report were apparent given its timing when Adani Enterprises Limited is undertaking one of the largest ever further public offerings of equity shares in India, the group said. This is rife with conflict of interest and intended only to create a false market in securities to enable Hindenburg, an admitted short seller, to book massive financial gain through wrongful means at the cost of countless investors. It is tremendously concerning that the statements of an entity sitting thousands of miles away, with no credibility or ethics has caused a serious and unprecedented adverse impact on our investors, the Adani group statement said.

"This is not merely an unwarranted attack on any specific company but a calculated attack on India, the independence, integrity and quality of Indian institutions, and the growth story and ambition of India," it said.

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ALSO READ: Hindenburg report 'gas and fire', our FPO, investment plans on track: Adani The company said there are three key themes from the Hindenburg Report like selective and manipulative presentation of matters already in the public domain to create a false narrative.







ALSO READ: Rebound in Adani group stocks key to Rs 20,000-crore FPO's success The Adani group said the report has been put out with the admitted intent of Hindenburg (holding short positions in various listed companies of the Adani portfolio through US traded bonds and non-Indian-traded derivatives, along with other non-Indian-traded reference securities) to profiteer at the cost of its shareholders and public investors. The report completely ignored or deliberated disregard the applicable legal and accounting standards as well as industry practice and showed contempt for the Indian institutions including the regulators and the judiciary, the group's statement said.

Hindenburg has not published this report for any altruistic reasons but purely out of selfish motives and in flagrant breach of applicable securities and foreign exchange laws," it said. "The report is neither 'independent' nor 'objective' nor 'well researched'."
Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Sunday posted a video of his interaction with Kashmiri Pandits in Jammu and posed a question that the community is asking the Central government about being used for political gains.

He tweeted, "Today, Kashmiri Pandits are asking the BJP government - what have you done for us except using us politically? Do you have any answers, Prime Minister."

Rahul Gandhi had a conversation with the group in Jammu where Kashmiri Pandits complained about the apathy they were facing from the government.

In the video, the Pandits are seen saying that the BJP wants the issue to be alive and that there have been no welfare measures after the Manmohan Singh government at the Centre.

In Kashmir, the yatra has got overwhelming support and leaders of National Conference Omar Abdullah and PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti joined the yatra.

--IANS

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miz/dpb
A fresh application has been moved before the Supreme Court urging that the matters related to alleged forcible religious conversions be taken up by a larger bench of five judges as they involve the interpretation of the Constitution.

A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud is scheduled to hear the batch of pleas on Monday against anti-conversion laws of several states regulating religious conversion due to interfaith marriages and on matters related to alleged forcible conversions.

The fresh application is filed by advocate Ashwini Upadhyay, who is among the petitioners. He has asked the court to refer the petitions to a larger bench saying there are several questions of laws involved which require the interpretation of the Constitution.

He raised questions like whether the previous judgments of this Court interpreting Article 25(1) of the Constitution are grossly erroneous in so far as they upheld the word propagate would include entitlement to convert.

"Whether the word "propagate" needs to be construed in a manner which is not detrimental to fraternity, unity, dignity and national integration...," Upadhyay's fresh plea said.

It should also not lead to communal conflagration on account of religious communities trying to convert the weaker section of other religious communities and "attempting to make demographic changes as witnessed in the nine states/UTs (Ladakh, Lakshadweep, Kashmir, Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Manipur, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh) and around 200 districts of India", the application said.

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In another application, Upadhyay has sought modification of the order dated January 9 in which the apex court had directed that the matter be listed under the title of "In Re: The issue of Religious conversion" to the original title.

On January 16, the top court asked the parties challenging the anti-conversion laws of several states to file a common petition seeking the transfer of cases on the issue from various high courts to the apex court.

It had asked senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for one of the parties, to file a common petition seeking the transfer of all the pleas from high courts to the top court.

The top court had taken note of the submission of senior advocate Dushyant Dave that one of the petitions, filed by Upadhyay, casts aspersions on Christians and Muslims and asked senior lawyer Arvind Datar, appearing for Upadhyay, to file a formal plea for deletion of the objectionable portions.

Datar, however, said he was not pressing the alleged contents.

The plea by Upadhyay against alleged forceful religious conversions was earlier being heard by another bench led by Justice MR Shah before it was transferred to the bench headed by the CJI recently.

Attorney General R Venkataramani, who is assisting the bench in one of the matters, had said the high courts should be permitted to continue with the hearing of petitions challenging the local laws.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had challenged the locus of NGO Citizens for Justice and Peace' of activist Teesta Setalwad, who is one of the petitioners.

Mehta, however, did not elaborate on the reasons for questioning the locus of the NGO.

The top court had noted that there were at least five such pleas before the Allahabad High Court, seven before the Madhya Pradesh High Court, two each before the Gujarat and Jharkhand High Courts, three before the Himachal Pradesh, and one each before Karnataka and Uttarakhand High Courts and said a common petition for their transfer can be filed.

Besides those, two separate petitions have been filed by Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh challenging the interim orders of the respective high courts staying certain provisions of their law on conversion.

Earlier, a bench headed by Justice M R Shah had said religious conversion was a serious issue that should not be given a political colour.

It had sought the assistance of the attorney general on the plea filed by Upadhyay.

Another bench headed by the CJI had on January 2 sought to know the status of cases pending before different high courts challenging controversial state laws regulating religious conversion due to interfaith marriages, and said if all cases are similar in nature it may transfer them all to itself.

It had asked NGO 'Citizens for Justice and Peace' and the states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh to apprise it about the status of cases challenging the state laws on conversion through marriage.

The apex court had on January 6, 2021 agreed to examine certain controversial new laws of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand regulating religious conversions due to such marriages.

The controversial UP law relates to not only interfaith marriages but all religious conversions and lays down elaborate procedures for any person who wishes to convert to another religion.

The Uttarakhand law entails a two-year jail term for those found guilty of religious conversion through "force or allurement". The allurement can be in cash, employment, or material benefit.

The plea filed by the NGO alleged the legislations violate Articles 21 and 25 of the Constitution as they empower the state to suppress an individual's personal liberty and the freedom to practise the religion of one's choice.

Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind has also moved the Supreme Court challenging the anti-conversion laws of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, saying they have been enacted to "harass" interfaith couples and implicate them in criminal cases.

The Muslim body, in its PIL filed through advocate Ejaz Maqbool, said the provisions of all the local laws of the five states force a person to disclose their faith and, consequently, invade their privacy.
Electronics manufacturing in the country is expected to cross Rs 1.28 lakh crore in the next financial year, Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar has said.

The minister, in an interview with PTI, said the government is now going to broaden and widen the electronics manufacturing ecosystem with a new production-linked incentive scheme for hearable-wearable, IT hardware and component makers.

"Electronics manufacturing as a whole, we see next year that we will at least do Rs 1.28 lakh crore. I have already said that we will see mobile phone production reaching Rs 1 lakh crore in 2023-24," Chandrasekhar said.

There has been a focus on mobile phones because it is the fastest-growing segment in electronics across the world, he added.

"Value addition in manufacturing is a function of scale. First, you need to hit the scale. The component industry is the one which does value addition. Components will not come if the scale of manufacturing is not there. The next stage of our PLI is to get components PLI, hearable-wearable PLI and the IT server PLI," the minister said.

The government will do 100 per cent hand-holding of component players to boost the local ecosystem, he noted.

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Electronics components makers body ELCINA has requested the government to allocate USD 10 billion (about Rs 80,000 crore) for 8 years to boost the manufacturing of electronic components and key modules other than semiconductors.

It has sought a four-year extension to the Scheme for Promotion of Manufacturing of Electronic Components and Semiconductors (SPECS), with an increased outlay of Rs 16,000 crore in the Union Budget for 2023-24.

According to ELCINA, the upgraded PLI will facilitate investments of around Rs 64,000 crore with a targeted output of USD 24 billion (about Rs 1.95 lakh crore) for all components other than semiconductors.

The industry body has also sought reinstatement of income tax relief for the investment made in research and development.

It has also asked for a PLI scheme with a focus on domestic electronics manufacturing services companies.

India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA) has requested the government to convert the PLI scheme into a design-led manufacturing scheme and impose an import duty of 10 per cent on any imported electronics equipment and assembled printed circuit board (PCB) to boost local manufacturing.
An Iranian official has vowed that the legal pursuit of former US President Donald Trump and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will continue until justice is done for the assassination of Iran's top commander Qassem Soleimani.

Pompeo's "horror is quite serious and real," as he, along with Trump and all the other "criminals," must be tried and punished in a just court on the charge of assassinating Iranian and Iraqi officials, said Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei, who heads a special legal committee tasked to investigate Soleimani's assassination, in a Twitter post on Saturday.

In early January, Pompeo said he was intimidated by Iran's warnings of exacting revenge on him and Trump for the assassination of Soleimani, calling on the incumbent US government to provide him with protection, Xinhua news agency reported.

On January 3, 2020, the US military, at the order of Trump, assassinated Soleimani and the deputy commander of Iraq's paramilitary Hashd Shaabi forces Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis near Baghdad International Airport. The assassination was condemned by Iran as "state terrorism".

--IANS

int/khz/
The foreign ministers of Sweden and Finland reiterated in separate interviews published Saturday that the process for the two Nordic nations to join NATO is continuing despite Turkey's president saying Sweden shouldn't expect his country to approve its membership.

Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrm acknowledged in an interview with Swedish newspaper Expressen that Turkish anger over recent demonstrations and the burning of the Quran in front of the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm had complicated Sweden's NATO accession.

To admit new countries, NATO requires unanimous approval from its existing members, of which Turkey is one. Despite this, the Swedish government is hopeful of joining NATO this summer, Billstrm said.

It goes without saying that we're looking toward the (NATO) summit in Vilnius, Lithuania's capital, in July, Billstrm told Expressen when asked of the timetable for Sweden's possible accession.

Hungary and Turkey are the only countries in the 30-member Western military alliance that haven't signed off on Finland's and Sweden's applications.

While Hungary has pledged to do so in February, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Thursday that a planned meeting in Brussels to discuss Sweden and Finland's NATO membership was postponed.

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Such a meeting would have been meaningless following the events of last weekend in Stockholm, Cavusoglu said. They included protests by pro-Kurdish groups and the burning of Islam's holy book outside the Turkish Embassy by a far right Danish politician, Rasmus Paludan.

Expressen quoted Billstrm on Saturday as saying that the work to get Sweden and Finland into NATO was not on hold.

The NATO process has not paused. The (Swedish) government continues to implement the memorandum that exists between Sweden, Finland and Turkey. But it is up to Turkey to decide when they will ratify, he said.

Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto echoed his Swedish counterpart and said the two countries planned to continue making a joint journey toward NATO.

In my view, the road to NATO hasn't closed for either country, Haavisto said in an interview with Finnish public broadcaster YLE.

He said that Ankara's announcement to defer trilateral talks with Finland, Sweden and Turkey for now represents an extension of time from the Turkish side, and that the matter can be revisited after the Turkish elections set for May 14.

Haavisto said he was hopeful that time frame would allow for Finland and Sweden's membership to be finalized at the July 11-12 NATO summit in Lithuania.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Sunday fired one of his Cabinet ministers and Conservative Party chairman, Nadhim Zahawi, after he was found to have been in "serious breach" of the Ministerial Code on how he handled his personal tax affairs.

Zahawi, who was a minister without portfolio as the chief of the governing Tory party, had faced fierce pressure in recent days to quit over questions about his finances after it emerged that he had agreed a 4.8 million pounds penalty settlement with His Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) department.

Sunak had ordered an independent investigation into the 55-year-old Iraq-born former Chancellor's tax affairs amid growing Opposition demands for him to sack Zahawi.

His independent ethics adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus, submitted his assessment on whether the HMRC settlement amounted to a breach of the ministerial code.

When I became Prime Minister last year, I pledged that the government I lead would have integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level, writes Sunak in his letter to Zahawi, released by Downing Street.

"Following the completion of the independent adviser's investigation the findings of which he has shared with us both it is clear that there has been a serious breach of the Ministerial Code. As a result, I have informed you of my decision to remove you from your position in His Majesty's government," he said.

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He added that Zahawi should be "extremely proud" of his "wide-ranging achievements in government over the last five years", particularly crediting his "successful oversight of the COVID-19 vaccine procurement and deployment programme".

In the correspondence to Sunak, also released by Downing Street, Magnus said his overall judgement was that "Mr Zahawi's conduct as a minister has fallen below the high standards that, as Prime Minister, you rightly expect from those who serve in your government".

Earlier this week, Zahawi said he welcomed the investigation and looked forward to "explaining the facts of this issue" to Magnus the UK Prime Minister's Independent Adviser on Ministers' Interests.

"In order to ensure the independence of this process, you will understand that it would be inappropriate to discuss this issue any further, as I continue my duties as chairman of the Conservative and Unionist Party," Zahawi said at the time.

The minister has insisted he "acted properly throughout" and any tax error was due to being careless and not deliberate.

The Opposition parties and even some members of the Conservative Party had called for Zahawi to step down as Tory chairman amid too many unanswered questions.

In his report, dated 29 January, Magnus notes: "Given the nature of the investigation by HMRC, which started prior to his appointment as secretary of state for education on 15 September 2021, I consider that by failing to declare HMRC's ongoing investigation before July 2022 despite the ministerial declaration of interests form including specific prompts on tax affairs and HMRC investigations and disputes Mr Zahawi failed to meet the requirement to declare any interests which might be thought to give rise to a conflict."



He adds: "I also conclude that, in the appointments process for the governments formed in September 2022 and October 2022, Mr Zahawi failed to disclose relevant information in this case the nature of the investigation and its outcome in a penalty at the time of his appointment, including to cabinet office officials who support that process.

"Without knowledge of that information, the Cabinet Office was not in a position to inform the appointing Prime Minister."



Labour's shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson, said Zahawi should have been sacked "a long time ago" but the prime minister was "too weak to act".

"The reason this keeps happening is we have a government whose only principle is party first, country second," she said.

The Scottish National Party's Kirsty Blackman said: "Sunak still has questions to answer over this whole affair about what he knew about the settlement and what advice he received about Zahawi's tax on his appointment.

"The UK government is riddled with sleaze and scandal and the only way Scotland can escape is by becoming an independent country," she said.

Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper said Zahawi should "do the right thing" and resign as an MP.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath held a meeting with his cabinet colleagues here on Saturday and said the ministers should visit the districts under their charge at regular intervals, according to an official statement.

Agriculture Minister Surya Pratap Shahi has been put in charge of Ayodhya and Azamgarh districts. Sugarcane Development Minister Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary has been given the responsibilities of Aligarh and Etawah. Tourism and Culture Minister Jaiveer Singh has been made the in-charge of Varanasi and Bareilly. Forest and Environment Minister Arun Kumar Saxena has been allotted Bulandshahr district. They will be in charge of these districts for a year.

Adityanath said after the formation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state, a positive message was sent to people through the circle tours of the group of ministers with the spirit of "Sarkar Aap Ke Dwaar".

The ministers in charge of the districts should be updated about the situation in their regions and should visit the areas at regular intervals, Adityanath said.

He also instructed the ministers to communicate directly with the public during their district visits.

Along with law and order, aspects related to women's safety, police patrolling, child sexual abuse, problems of businessmen, action on gangsters, traffic management, efforts for revenue collection etc. should be reviewed during these visits, the chief minister said.

Also Read CM Adityanath receives death threat on UP police's WhatsApp helpline Yogi Adityanath invites Tata group to participate in investor summit Yogi Adityanath asks officials to clean up Ganga before Kumbh 2025 CM Yogi Adityanath calls for maximum participation in G20 conferences in UP Medical colleges in each district of UP this year: CM Yogi Adityanath Will always fight for women empowerment: CM Dhami on 30% reservation bill AAP holds 'padyatras' in Delhi against BJP for delaying MCD mayor polls Doctors' salaries were stopped to influence MCD polls: Delhi Dy CM Sisodia Nitish asks Upendra Kushwaha to quit amid rumors of being in touch with BJP AAP misleading people, has no faith in Constitution, alleges Delhi BJP

If there is an aspirational development block in a district, then the minister concerned should review the situation continuously, he added.

"Today, the entire country is celebrating the Millet Year under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi," Adityanath said.

He added that a dinner of coarse grain dishes was organised at the chief minister's residence on Saturday.

Similarly, all ministers should organise such dinners for public representatives and intellectuals in their respective areas, Adityanath said, adding that people should be made aware of the importance of millets.

He said the Global Investors Summit will be held from February 10 to February 12 and all the districts of the state will be connected with the main function.

"This will be the first time that investments will be made in all the 75 districts of the state simultaneously. The doors to immense possibilities will open for all the districts," the chief minister said.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Saturday said that the decision to implement 30 per cent reservation in jobs for women in the state was very "a difficult one" and achieved after a long legal struggle in the Supreme Court.

"I had always maintained that we will fight for women's empowerment," Pushkar Singh Dhami said at a "Thanksgiving Ceremony" at Mukhya Sevak Sadan in the state.

CM Dhami further said that the Supreme court has its own rules and regulations. Arguements and discussions took place on different matters in the court. "Then a decision is announced".

Earlier in the month, Dhami congratulated the women of the state and appreciated them for their hard work and sacrifice.

"When High Court put a stay on the bill, we decided to fight against the order and took the matter to the Supreme Court. This is a victory for every woman. I congratulate every mother and sister for this victory and appreciate them for their contribution, sacrifice and hard work," Dhami told ANI earlier in the month.

Earlier in November, the Supreme Court, in an interim order, stayed the Uttarakhand High Court order which had put on hold the government's decision to provide 30 per cent reservation to women domiciled in Uttarakhand in State civil services.

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A bench of Justices S Abdul Nazeer and V Ramasubramanian also issued notice on the Uttarakhand government's plea which challenged the August 24 order of the High Court.

The Raj Bhavan later approved the bill, which has now been shaped into a law. In the last assembly session, CM Dhami took an initiative to enact a law for reservation in jobs for women which was later approved by the House.
by Xinhua writer Zhu Shaobin

NAIROBI, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- High-ranking U.S. officials are heading to Africa, hot on the heels of the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit held last month for the first time in eight years. Following U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's trip to the continent earlier this month, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield kicked off her Africa tour Wednesday.

The United States is signaling its "return to Africa" with these trips. But what is its true intention? Is it to promote cooperation with Africa or an attempt to pressure the continent to counter "China's influence"?

During their visits, U.S. officials have attempted to drive a wedge between China and Africa by raising concerns about African debt. The so-called "debt trap" has long been a narrative trap set by the West to smear China-Africa cooperation.

During his recent visit to Africa, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang pointed out that Africa's debt problem is essentially an issue of development. The solution to the problem requires addressing not only the symptoms but also the root causes.

Qin said that China has always been committed to helping Africa ease its debt burden, and the country is an active participant in the Group of 20 (G20) Debt Service Suspension Initiative. China has signed agreements or reached consensuses with 19 African countries on debt relief and has suspended the most debt service payments of any G20 member. The country has also been actively engaged in the case-by-case debt treatment for Chad, Ethiopia and Zambia under the G20 Common Framework.

Data from the World Bank showed that multilateral financial institutions and commercial creditors hold nearly three-quarters of Africa's total external debt. They could and should take more robust actions to relieve the debt burden of African countries. China calls upon all parties concerned to contribute to alleviating Africa's debt burden.

Meanwhile, China's financing cooperation with Africa has been mainly in infrastructure construction and production capacity to enhance Africa's ability for independent and sustainable development.

Over the years, China-Africa cooperation has met the urgent development needs of African countries. Driven by the Belt and Road Initiative, China-Africa cooperation in infrastructure has yielded fruitful results. Statistics showed that since the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation was founded 23 years ago, Chinese companies have built or upgraded more than 10,000 km of railways, nearly 100,000 km of roads, roughly 1,000 bridges and 100 ports, and several hospitals and schools in Africa, creating more than 4.5 million jobs.

It is worth noting that the airports where the U.S. officials landed and the roads and bridges their convoys passed during their Africa visits were likely built in cooperation with Chinese companies.

Who is sincerely helping Africa to develop? The African people are best qualified to answer the question.

A survey issued last year by the Inter Region Economic Network, a Kenya-based think tank, found that China takes a substantial lead in decision-making and timely completion of infrastructure projects such as roads, power dams, railways and bridges in Africa. Facts and figures in the study showed that through efficient action, China tangibly contributes to Africa's development.

Worried that the United States is not genuinely interested in helping Africa or Zambia but cares more about advancing its interests where it feels it is losing ground, Fred Mutesa, a Zambia-based expert on governance, development cooperation and poverty alleviation, said that "we hope that the United States will not take advantage of its renewed friendship with Zambia to score points against China."

Africa should not become an arena for a great power rivalry. Instead, let Africa become a land of win-win cooperation for all, especially Africans. 
Well, it took Geely Philippines long enough. About two years after we said they needed a sub-compact crossover to penetrate the local market...
Photo: Jamil Jutha Tesla driver kicks out window to escape car fire in North Van

An investigation into an electric vehicle fire in which a Tesla caught fire while it was being driven in North Vancouver has ruled out the car battery as a cause of the blaze, according to Transport Canada.

In May, Jamil Jutha was stopped at a light at the intersection of Mountain Highway and Hunter Street in North Vancouver when all of a sudden his vehicle felt as though it lost all power.

Jutha told the North Shore News shortly after the fire he tried to put on his hazard lights, but they didnt work. That was when he noticed smoke coming into the car through the drivers side vent, said Jutha.

Jutha said he tried to open his door with the electronic button and roll down his windows, but those didnt work either.

As smoke began filling the car, he panicked and kicked out the drivers side window.

Jutha said once out of the vehicle, he immediately called 911. Within two or three minutes, he said, the whole car was on fire. The whole thing just burst into flames.

But the electric battery that powers the Tesla wasnt the cause of the fire, said authorities.

After the fire, the burnt vehicle was inspected twice  on June 8 and Aug. 19, 2022, by Transport Canada inspectors along with ICBC officials, engineering consultants representing ICBC and Tesla representatives. A North Vancouver fire investigator also attended one of the inspections.

It was confirmed that the fire does not relate to the high-voltage battery in the vehicle, said Sau Sau Liu, spokesperson for Transport Canada.

Investigators determined that the car fire started in the left half of the dashboard, in the vicinity of the left body control module.

During the second inspection, several components from under the instrument panel  including the left body control module, the steering column assembly, and the car computer  were removed for more in-depth inspection. The car computer was also retained as it may contain some recorded data that could be helpful, said Liu.

Detailed examination of those components and information from the cars computer are ongoing, she said.

Liu said Transport Canada is not aware of any other similar incidents of Teslas catching fire while being driven.

After the incident, Jutha said he wanted other Tesla drivers to be made more aware of the emergency door release in the electric vehicles.

While there is a mechanical override to open the drivers door in a Tesla, Jutha told the North Shore News after the fire hed never had to use the emergency door release  a latch that the driver can pull up, located under the door panel containing the window controls  in the eight months that he owned the vehicle  a Tesla model Y 2021  and didnt know where to find it.

Most of the other Tesla owners he spoke with after the fire also had no clue where the mechanical lever is, said Jutha, adding he wants other Tesla owners to get familiar with the system.

What if I was an older person who couldnt kick out the window? he said. It was terrifying.
ISLAMABAD, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- A terrorist was killed in a counter-terror operation in North Waziristan district of Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the military said on Saturday night.

The security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation on Saturday in Mir Ali area of the district, the military's media wing Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.

"During conduct of the operation, intense fire exchange took place between own troops and terrorists, resulting in the killing of a terrorist," the ISPR said.

Weapons and ammunition were also seized from the killed terrorist, it added. 
An older home at Falling Water was destroyed by fire on Saturday afternoon.

At 4:37 p.m., Dallas Bay Fire & Rescue was dispatched to a residential structure fire at 825 Roberts Mill Road.





First arriving units confirmed a working residential fire with heavy first floor involvement and rapidly spreading. Entry was attempted, but floors had already burned through forcing a defensive attack.





Residents were not home at the time.Two dogs were saved, but, unfortunately, two cats were lost. The home is a total loss, but the resident is insured and will be staying with family.





Dallas Bay crews were assisted by Mutual Aid companies from Red Bank Fire Department and Mowbray Volunteer Fire Department. Also assisting were Hamilton County EMS and deputies with the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office.

The house was built in 1930.

It was valued at about $300,000.




Some celebrities are making moves to the Sun Belt region. Showbiz Cheat Sheet reached out to celebrity real estate expert Ari Rastegar to find out more about this and why the rich and famous are choosing to move to this area of the country.

Celebrities in the Sun Belt region

House with a pool | Digital Marketing Agency NTWRK via Unsplash

The Sun Belt is a region made up of 15 states. Some of the states in this region include Alabama, Arizona, southern California, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, North Carolina, and Texas.

Celebrities who reside within the Sun Belt region include Cardi B (Georgia), Julia Roberts (California and New Mexico), and Sandra Bullock (Georgia and Louisiana). Back in 2019, Cardi B made headlines when she and her husband, Offset, purchased five properties in the Atlanta, Georgia area. (Cardi B also made news when she landed her first Las Vegas residency that same year.)

Why so many celebrities are moving to the Sun Belt

Modern home | Ralph (Ravi) Kayden via Unsplash

Why are so many celebrities moving to the Sun Belt region? Rastegar, founder of Rastegar Property Company, says this area offers many perks for homebuyers, such as tax advantages. He also says the sunny weather doesnt hurt, either. A mixture of great weather and financial benefits prompted some stars to pack up and move. Most are relocating from New York and the parts of California located outside the Sun Belt.

One of the main reasons is getting more bang for your buck and more importantly, the tax advantages, Rastegar tells Showbiz Cheat Sheet. So, the two major states in the Sun Belt that people and celebrities are moving to are Texas and Florida. The main cities are Austin, Texas and Miami, Florida. By moving there and having those state income taxes, these celebrities that are typically in New York and California are saving enormous amounts of money just by moving.

Rastegar adds, And the house and location in general is much larger and theyre able to have their money go a lot further. Thats the main reason, and also fair-weather climate and a slew of other reasons.

The top Sun Belt cities

If youre thinking of following the celebrities and heading for the Sun Belt, you might wonder which areas are best. According to Rastegar, the top Sun Belt cities are Austin, Texas; Miami, Florida; Nashville, Tennessee; and Phoenix, Arizona. Some of Nashvilles famous residents include Nicole Kidman, Dolly Parton, Keith Urban, and Oprah Winfrey. (Parton revealed the sneaky way her husband makes sure no one lingers outside their house.)

What to consider when relocating to a new city

Rastegar offered a few relocation tips. He says one of the things to consider is whether the new city makes sense for your career.

You need to make sure if youre relocating that it still works for your profession, Rastegar tells us. A lot of celebrities, certainly actors and musicians, the musicians especially, can work from whatever studio theyre in. This can work if some of the other people they work with in the studiostheir sound engineers, etceteraare able to work with them. But most of that can be done remotely. And the actors, when they have to be on set, they move to go on set.

Follow Sheiresa Ngo on Twitter.
HGTV fans know Chip and Joanna Gaines for their incredible work on Fixer Upper. Since the show ended, theyve expanded their horizons  and they even bought a castle in Waco, Texas. Heres what Joanna Gaines posted about Cottonland Castle in January 2023, including information about the guest room in the basement.

Joanna Gaines said overnight guests at Cottonland Castle sleep in the guest bedroom in the basement

Chip and Joanna Gaines | Desiree Navarro/WireImage

Cottonland Castle has a history dating back to the late 1800s. And it was Chip Gaines dream to own and restore it. It sits in the center of a neighborhood downtown, so if you live nearby, youve driven past it hundreds of times, Chip said of the castle in Waco, Texas, according to House Beautiful. Ownership changed every few years, and I would make an offer every time it was listed.

Chip and Joanna Gaines made a bid for the castle in 2019  and the owners accepted. While restoring the castle proved to be a lifetime undertaking, the Gaines family grew excited to bring the natural beauty back to the property.

In a blog post on Magnolia from January 2023, Joanna gave more insights into the castle setup. And she explained that the guest bedroom is in the basement. She posted a photo of the room showing a large bed with white bedding and pink pillows. The room includes a green and blue floral wallpaper, two gold lamps, and a white overhead light fixture.

Its hard to believe this delicate, inviting guest room is in the basement  which was undoubtedly the oddest part in the castle, she wrote. Now the basement is set up with a family room, laundry, a card room, and this bedroom for overnight guests to enjoy. The floral wallpaper nods to the wallpaper elsewhere in the house, and the statement light fixture and headboard bring the whole room together.

The Fixer Upper star likely uses these tips to make the basement cozy

Chip and Joanna Gaines renovations to Cottonland Castle impressed fans. And they even made the basement of the gigantic property welcoming to outsiders. Joanna likely employed some of her bedroom furnishing tips.

According to Country Living, Joanna is a stickler for good pillows in a bedroom. Just basic, good pillows to lay your head on at night, she said. These are the pillows that you dont see. Theyre what you lay your head on. I think so many times I was investing in the bedding that I was like, Oh, well throw whatever pillow there.

Joanna also suggests purchasing bedding thats practical, but also pretty, and a good throw. Given the photo of the guest room at Cottonland Castle, its clear the star took her own advice, as theres a throw blanket at the bottom of the bed.

The Fixer Upper star also recommends plenty of lighting in a bedroom. Lamps are great for making it feel even warmer, she said.

How much did Chip and Joanna Gaines pay for the castle?

Chip and Joanna Gaines put their blood, sweat, and tears into Cottonland Castle. According to JustNje, the castle was listed for over $400,000 when they first purchased it. After their renovations, it now holds a value of over $1 million. Most recently, the property was appraised at $1,127,470

Joanna wrote on the Magnolia blog that she secretly hoped Chips castle offers wouldnt go through. Meanwhile, with every offer that wasnt accepted, I took a breath of relief, she wrote. Not because I didnt want Chips dream to come true or because I didnt want to step into this castles legacy and write our own chapter in its unfolding story. Thats the kind of work Chip and I live for. But tackling a project like this  one at that scale with 130 years worth of history  felt daunting. Until one day in 2019 when Chip surprised me with a call  his offer had been accepted, and the castle was ours.

For more on the entertainment world and exclusive interviews, subscribe to Showbiz Cheat Sheets YouTube channel.
TL;DR:

A drummer said The Rolling Stones Honky Tonk Women made him a big fan of the band.

He said Honky Tonk Women sounded like a funk song.

The drummer said the track features the bands seismic moment.

The Rolling Stones Mick Jagger| Evening Standard/Getty Images

A drummer who worked with Keith Richards for many years said The Rolling Stones Honky Tonk Women featured the bands seismic moment. Notably, The Rolling Stones released the song shortly after Brian Jones death. Subsequently, the tune played an interesting role in a memorial service for the rock star.

A drummer who worked with The Rolling Stones was initially more of a fan of The Beatles

According to a 2021 Rolling Stone article, drummer Steve Jordan worked with Keith Richards for 35 years before touring with The Rolling Stones. He was asked when he became a Rolling Stones fan. Probably about eight, he said.

I was more of a Beatles fanatic than a Stones fanatic at that age, he added. You had to choose between them. You couldnt be a fan of both bands. It was forbidden. But the good songs broke through that.

Subsequently, Jordan explained how he became more interested in The Rolling Stones. I first became a real fan of the Stones when I heard Honky Tonk Women,' he said. I thought that was an incredibly funky track. It was like funk. I said, Wow, this is funky now. Wow, the fusion of the guitars with the drums  Thats when I became a Charlie Watts fan.

Steve Jordan discussed the part of The Rolling Stones Honky Tonk Women that amazed him

Jordan elaborated on the instrumentation of the track. Its really Keith Richards and Charlie Watts and Jimmy Miller on the cowbell, he said. Thats what youre hearing. Youre not hearing anything else besides those three elements, and, of course, the lead vocal.

But even before Mick comes in, you hear Keith, Charlie, and the cowbell, he continued. And its all over. End of discussion, end of story. Boom. Thats the seismic moment for me with the Stones.

Jordan isnt the only one who really liked Honey Tonk Women. During a 1989 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards both said Honky Tonk Women was one of the best songs in the bands catalog. Richards went so far as to say it was one of The Rolling Stones 10 best songs.

Honky Tonk Women played a role in a memorial concert for Brian Jones that took place shortly after his death

Honky Tonk Women was significant beyond its quality. According to Stereogum, The Rolling Stones released Honky Tonk Women in the United Kingdom the day after founding member Brian Jones died.

The next day, The Rolling Stone played a free concert where they released butterflies in honor of Jones. All the volunteers who helped clean up following the concert received copies of Honky Tonk Women. Notably, the tune became the groups final chart-topper in the U.K.

Jordan is a big fan of Honky Tonk Women and he was not the only one.
TL;DR:

A drummer for The Rolling Stones said The Beatles Love Me Do sounded sad at first.

He said Ringo Starr changed the song considerably.

The drummer for The Rolling Stones said the final version of Love Me Do was joyous.

The Beatles | V&A Images / Contributor

A drummer whos worked for The Rolling Stones on tour was asked his opinion of The Beatles Love Me Do. He felt the original version of the song sounded like a sad song in a different genre. Subsequently, the drummer discussed how Ringo Starr transformed the track.

A drummer for The Rolling Stones was originally more interested in The Beatles

Steve Jordan is a drummer with a fascinating career. Hes been a member of the Saturday Night Live Band, The Blues Brothers, and the John Mayer Trio. According to a 2021 Rolling Stone article, he worked with Keith Richards for 35 years before being asked to tour with The Rolling Stones. He took over for Charlie Watts due to Watts health issues.

Jordan revealed he was initially a fan of The Beatles more than he was a fan of The Rolling Stones. He said (I Cant Get No) Satisfaction got him interested in The Rolling Stones. In Jordans recollection, the track was so good that people enjoyed it even if they were more interested in other bands.

Steve Jordan said the original version of The Beatles Love Me Do was so slow

In a 2022 article, The Guardian celebrated the 60th birthday of The Beatles Love Me Do. In the article, Jordan discussed his feelings about the song. On the original demo of Love Me Do featuring Pete Best on drums, the tempo is so slow it comes across as a melancholy country song, he said. By the time The Beatles recorded the original 1962 Parlophone single version, Ringo had joined.

He thinks like a composer, so he picked up on the hook from the guitars and accentuated it on drums, and the song developed, he added. However, George Martin  who was new to making pop records  wasnt happy with the drums. Ringo had only just joined the band and unlike the others had no studio experience.

Steve Jordan said John Lennon and Paul McCartney didnt do a great job on Love Me Do at 1 point

Jordan said John Lennons and Paul McCartneys performances on the early version of Love Me Do werent stellar. He said this was because they had to do it live in the studio. Subsequently, the band recorded the track again.

Jordan said the new version of Love Me Do is the version that became famous. The drumbeat is executed better, but its still Ringos and he is part of Love Me Dos creative DNA, he said. Over the course of the three versions, it becomes the joyous debut we know today. Shortly afterwards, Ringo got the Ludwig [drum] kit hes famous for, got the sound he wanted and the rest is history.

Jordan mightve collaborated with Richards but he can still see Ringos genius.
John Lennon, like the rest of The Beatles, grew up in Liverpool, England. He got his start playing shows throughout the city, and he lived there with his family until The Beatles found widespread success. The band was incredibly successful, and whenever The Beatles returned, they were treated as hometown heroes. Lennon found this embarrassing and did not like going home.

John Lennon | Harry Benson/Express/Getty Images

John Lennon grew up in Liverpool

Lennon was born in Liverpool in 1940. While he initially lived with his mother, Julia, and his father, Alfred, his parents separated when he was a toddler. His aunt, Mimi Smith, took custody of Lennon after reporting Julia to Social Services. According to Paul McCartney, Lennons life with Smith was posh.

John's Aunt Mimi was born #onthisday 24 April 1906. Here's John with Mimi, Uncle George and Sally the dog in the back garden of their Liverpool home at 251 Menlove Avenue in 1947. #HappyBirthdayMimi pic.twitter.com/7GSIwm1ls4  John Lennon (@johnlennon) April 24, 2021

He was in Menlove Avenue and I was off an avenue called Madison Avenue, McCartney told Lennons son Sean on BBC Radio 2 (via Express). Compared to the rest of us in The Beatles, he was the posh one.

These days, the home Lennon lived in with Smith is a stop on the National Trusts tour of The Beatles childhood homes.

John Lennon was embarrassed to return to Liverpool

After playing shows at local Liverpool venues and residencies in Hamburg, Germany, The Beatles found mainstream success. They embarked on national tours, and whenever they had a break, they would return home to Liverpool. According to Ringo Starr, they used these homecoming visits as an opportunity to gloat.

We went around boasting, Starr said in the book The Beatles: The Authorized Biography by Hunter Davies. Professional group, you know. Most groups were still going out to ordinary jobs.

Lennon didnt have the same experience. He admitted that he was embarrassed to be seen as a sellout.

We couldnt say it, but we didnt really like going back to Liverpool, he said. Being local heroes made us nervous. When we did shows there they were always full of people we knew. We felt embarrassed in our suits and being very clean. We were worried that friends might think wed sold out. Which we had, in a way.

He was reportedly planning a trip home shortly before his death

After moving to New York with Yoko Ono, Lennon went a decade without returning to his hometown. He dealt with immigration issues and worried that if he left the United States, he wouldnt be able to return. According to his half-sister Julia Baird, he had been planning a trip home shortly before his death, though.

"The first thing we did was to proclaim our Liverpoolness to the world, and say 'It's all right to come from Liverpool and talk like this'. Before, anybody from Liverpool who made it, like Ted Ray, Tommy Handley, Arthur Askey, had to lose their accent to get on the BBC." pic.twitter.com/5QAGR0Ovrt  John Lennon (@johnlennon) August 2, 2019

The last time I spoke to him, actually, was on Nov. 17, just before he died, Baird said on the Beatles City podcast. John had talked of coming home to Merseyside and was even planning a reunion in Rock Ferry at Ardmore, a large house that had been in the family for many years.

Tragically, Lennon was murdered before he could make the trip back home. In 2001, his hometown honored him by renaming the citys international airport the Liverpool John Lennon Airport.
When it comes to musical legends and icons, the industry is in no short supply. Beyonce, Paul McCartney, and Madonna are just a few of the artists who have dominated charts and hearts over the years.

Duran Duran performs on stage during the Times Square New Years Eve 2023 Celebration | Roy Rochlin/Getty Images

Nick Rhodes, a member of Duran Duran, shared that the best piece of advice he received from a fellow musician came from the one-and-only Mick Jagger.

Nick Rhodes opened up about the best advice Duran Duran once received from the iconic Mick Jagger

Andy Cohen, a well-known TV host, has a bit of a way when it comes to getting celebrities to talk. In an episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Cohen asked Rhodes, What was the best advice you received from a fellow musician?

Without hesitation, Rhodes responded, stick together. Cohen, sitting down with the cohesive band 40 years later, was impressed that Rhodes seemingly took the advice, but, as the Duran Duran member added, Well, it was from Mick Jagger, so I had no choice. It is safe to say that people everywhere truly get it.

The origin story of Duran Duran

"On July 16th, 1980 @duranduran debuted its latest line-up at the Rum Runner club in Birmingham Its almost unbelievable to us that forty years later we are celebrating this anniversary with a show at @BSTHydePark." https://t.co/emtoq1c2G1 pic.twitter.com/ahODIgpxvj  Duran Duran (@duranduran) April 2, 2020

It all started back in 1978 in Birmingham, UK. Interestingly enough, the band was named after the villain from the 1968 sci-fi film Barbarella. After some experimenting and trial and error, Le Bon, John Taylor, Roger Taylor, Andy Taylor, and Rhodes were the names and faces behind Duran Duran.

Duran Duran didnt wait around for a big break to come to them. They took their demo tapes to Paul and Michael Berrow, the owners of a local club named Rum Runner. The Berrow brothers, who would later go on to manage Duran Duran and start a record label, let Duran Duran use their space to rehearse and perform.

Planet Earth, the bands first single, definitely put Duran Duran on the map, but it was just the beginning of everything that was still to come. 45 years later, Duran Duran is still together and still producing top hits.

Just a few weeks ago, the legendary band performed during Dick Clarks New Years Rockin Eve With Ryan Seacrest. Not to mention, Duran Duran was recently inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Duran Duran has been credited for being a crucial part of the New Romantic musical era, and the band continues to remain successful and relevant today.

Duran Duran was extremely successful

The English rock band Duran Duran has a reputation that speaks for itself. In October of 2021, Simon Le Bon and Roger Taylor, two of the iconic groups original band members, sat down with Lorraine to discuss the release of Future Past, Duran Durans 15th album. With well over 40 years of experience and success in the music industry, the well-known band clearly knows what they are doing.

1981s Planet Earth was Duran Durans first top hit. That same year Girls on Film was released and also quickly became a fan-favorite. The bands fame and recognition continued to grow, and Duran Duran became worldwide celebrities when they released their sophomore album, Rio.

Hungry Like the Wolf and New Religion were two popular tracks from the 1982 album. Duran Duran did it again when they delivered The Wild Boys, a 1984-fan favorite, and shortly after, Notorious followed.

Over the years, the bands lineup has been known to change around, but the quality of their music never faltered. However, 2001 marked the ultimate reunion for what British press dubbed the Fab Five, and the original core members of Duran Duran have been together and back at it ever since.
Its not telling if The Real Housewives of New Jersey stars Teresa Giudice, and her brother and sister-in-law, Joe and Melissa Gorga, will ever reconcile. Fans have watched their family drama play out for more than a decade. But after the Gorgas opted to skip Giudices wedding, it appears they may be at the point of no return. Their children have been close cousins despite the family hiccups. But after so much negative press, fans wonder if the Giudice and Gorga children have been able to ignore their parents issues.

(L-R) Gabriella Giudice, Gia Giudice, Teresa Giudice, Milania Giudice and Audriana Giudice | Manny Carabel/Getty Images for ABA

The Giudice children unfollow Joe and Melissa Gorga on social media

Teresas daughters, Gia and Milania Giudice, have been outspoken about their upsetness with their uncle Joe over his comments about their father, Joe Giudice. Since Joe Giudices deportation back to Italy, Joe Gorga has been vocal about his disdain for Joe Giudice. According to Joe Gorga, his former brother-in-law caused years of estrangement between him and his now-deceased parents. Joe Gorga also accuses Joe Giudice of mistreating Teresa, which Teresa denies and says her ex only acted out in front of the cameras.

Source: YouTube

In recent seasons, both Gia and Milania have confronted their uncle over the comments, calling them disparaging and disrespectful. Joe Gorga feels Gia has been disrespectful in his approach. Despite such, he vowed never to speak ill of their father again to keep the peace, but reminds his family and viewers of the hurtful comments Joe Giudice has made about him over the years.

Amid the recent feud between the adults since the wedding debacle, Reality Blurb reports that Gia and Miliania have unfollowed Joe and Melissa on Instagram. The unfollow came after Gia told Us Weekly that she was trying her hardest to keep her distance from the drama, noting that she was trying to be the bigger person. but with so much bad press between the family, its clear the Giudice girls are loyal to their mom.

Melissa Gorga says her daughter is staying out of the adults drama

According to Melissa, while the Giudice kids have said negative things about her and Joe over the years, her three children would never act in such a way. She says she raised her children never to disrespect their aunt and uncles, no matter how old they are. In fact, she prefers that her children stay out of the adults disagreement.

Source: YouTube

Melissas daughter Antonia has always had a close relationship with her cousin Milania. Their playdates have been shown on the show, and as theyve aged, theyve shared special messages about one another on their respective Instagram pages.

Melissa insists Antonia doesnt want any part of the family feud. After noticing two of the Giudice girls unfollowed her parents, Melissa revealed on her On Display podcast that Antonia spoke to her about it.

[Shes] unfazed, Melissa said, noting Antonia told her, You know what, Mom? Not your problem, theirs. Melissa added: Its so crazy that shes just a drama-free [person]. She almost giggles at the drama.

Teresa Giudice and Melissa Gorga throw jabs at one another in their taglines for Season 13 of RHONJ

The drama between the Gorgas and Giudice will be the main event of Season 13. Even the estranged sisters-in-laws taglines reveal their issues. The 43-year-old Envy by Melissa Gorga owner says in her opener: Youll never see how toxic someone is until you breathe fresher air. She previously accused Giudice of spreading toxicity in their family.

Giudice, 50, shares her shade, hinting at her finally doing away with the family drama in favor of her new in-laws. Blood may be thicker than water, but its hard to clean when it spills, the Namaste B$tches podcast host states.
Fans will never forget the scene in the 2008 Sex and the City movie when Mr. Big (Christopher Noth) leaves Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) at the altar. It was as devastating for the audience as it was for Carrie. Despite nursing a broken heart, she takes her besties  Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall), Miranda Hobbs (Cynthia Nixon), and Charlotte York (Kristin Davis)  on her would-be honeymoon to Mexico. The funny thing is that the filming location wasnt in Mexico or even a resort.

Carrie Bradshaws non-honeymoon in Sex and the City the movie

The cast of Sex and the City | James Devaney/WireImage

In the Sex and the City movie, poor Carrie is in bad shape after Big leaves her (again). After arriving at the honeymoon resort with her friends, she can barely get out of bed or eat. But her besties take good care of her and let her grieve.

She slowly ventures outdoors with the others but remains miserable. She wonders if shell ever laugh again, and they tell her she will when something really, really funny happens.

It happens. Despite obsessively avoiding drinking the water in Mexico, Charlotte accidentally opens her mouth in the shower. She gets an awful case of Montezumas revenge, which Carrie thinks is hilarious. And just like that  she laughs.

The Mexican resort in the Sex and the City movie was a private home in California

In reality, the water wasnt an issue because the ladies were never in Mexico in the Sex and the City movie. The entire Mexican honeymoon was shot in Malibu, California, in a private home (albeit a massive one).

The mansion is at 4400 Encinal Canyon Rd. The blogger iamnotastalker went in search of the house and found it. She wrote that the property is absolutely stunning in person, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that there was quite a lot of it visible from the street.

She looked further. Even the pool area, which was the part of the house featured most prominently in SATC, can be seen from the road! Love it! Quite a bit of the property can be seen from the Pacific Coast Highway as well.

Then there was the hotel restaurant, which was really a ballroom at an equestrian compound called Hummingbird Nest Ranch in Simi Valley.

Why did the Sex and the City producers create a fake Mexican resort? Possibly because they were already filming some of Samantha and her boyfriend Smiths scenes at a beach house in Malibu.

Carries bad joke kept the crew from filming in the Caribbean

Sex and the City writers penned plenty of puns for the ladies throughout the TV series and films. Some were funny, some were not so funny, some didnt age well, and some were downright cringe-worthy.

Carries pun in the Sex and the City movie landed between no-so-funny and cringe-worthy, but the writers liked it so much it prevented the crew from filming in the Caribbean.

When Carrie emerged from her room in Mexico, she wanted to go out for dinner. She explained it by telling the girls she wanted something to pull her out of her Mexi-coma.

It turns out the producers had an opportunity to film the honeymoon scenes at a resort in the Caribbean, but they loved Carries pun so much they kept the setting in Mexico.
Christine and Kody Browns 26-year-old daughter, Mykelti Padron, gives her perspective on her familys recent Sister Wives drama. Here are the interesting bits of information she revealed regarding how her family operates behind the scenes.

Mykelti Padron Brown, Sister Wives | TLC

Mykelti opens up about her childhood

The 26-year-old mom of three has recently opened up to fans on the internet via her Patreon account she shares with her husband, Tony Padron. In doing so, Mykelti shared some revealing information about how she was raised. She said that her dad, Kody Brown, was a better father when she was younger but is even a better grandpa now.

While Kody was rarely with Mykelti as a child, she said that about once a week, hed come over and spend time with them. During the weekly visits, they would watch movies together  usually the ones he would choose.

Aspyn, Gwendlyn, Kody, Christine, Truely, Mykelti, Ysabel, and Paedon Brown, Sister Wives | TLC

She mentioned that before living in the big house in Lehi, Utah, they were living in Wyoming. During this time, the family was living off bread and the stockpile of MREs they had. She said the familys financial struggle made it so the three-day-old discarded bread from Kodys familys bakery on their Wyoming ranch was the only food they could afford.

Mykelti defends Kody and Robyn

Many Sister Wives fans have labeled Kody and his wife, Robyn Brown, the shows villains. However, Mykelti has a special relationship with Robyn and defended her on her Patreon.

Mykelti and Tony claim Sister Wives editing purposefully tries to paint Kody and Robyn as the villains. She said the editing makes them look worse than they are. Because of this, she tries to base her opinions on her personal interactions rather than what is shown on the show.

When a fan asked Mykelti to give her honest opinion about Kodys multiple failed marriages, she defended her dad. She thinks that hes a good guy but that hes human and makes mistakes. She believes the show takes many things out of context, but she agrees that he hasnt treated all of his wives the best. Mykelti thinks that the wives also had their faults. She believes Kody was Christines soulmate but that Christine wasnt Kodys soulmate.

As for Kody forgetting his son Gabriel Browns birthday, Mykelti and Tony dismissed this experience by stating that its difficult for her dad to remember all of his 18 childrens birthdays.

Mykelti claims TLC gave the Brown family a list of COVID-19 rules

In Sister Wives Seasons 16 and 17, Kody enforced many regulations to protect the family from coronavirus (COVID-19). The way Kody enforced his rules caused the family to divide into two parts and permanently damaged his relationships with many of his children and his wives.

In a shocking revelation, Mykelti claims that Kody never created the rules but that TLC gave them a list of rules at the beginning of the pandemic. She claims that Janelle Brown had the rules early on, despite what she said on the show, but then backtracks and says that wiping the mail off with disinfecting wipes was added to the list by Kody.

Mykeltis perspective on Meris abuse allegations

On January 11th, Paedon Brown insinuated that Meri Brown was abusive toward them as children in an interview with John Yates. His sister, Gwendlyn Brown, confirmed the allegations on her Patreon account, claiming she witnessed Meri being violent once with Mykelti.

Meri Brown of Sister Wives | TLC via YouTube

Soon after, Mykelti posted a video of herself reading her statement regarding Meri on her Patreon account. She stated that this is only her personal experiences and opinions of Meri, not those of her siblings.

Mykleti said she doesnt recall Meri being physically abusive to her. She was very emotionally and verbally abusive to all of us when we were younger, Mykelti claimed.

As for Kody, she doesnt think hes the abusive type of person but believes that both he and Meri were likely emotionally abusive toward each other in their marriage.

She also weighed in on her fathers decision to divorce Meri. She said its not fair for Meri to be upset about Kody leaving her since she was the one who cheated first, referencing Meris catfishing scandal back in 2015.

The Brown family is currently filming Sister Wives Season 18. In the meantime, fans can subscribe to Mykelti and Tonys Patreon account for more Brown family gossip.
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We recently discovered an amazing organization that kept families fed and restaurants in business during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The residents of Sacramento, California, were some of the people who found themselves at a loss for what to do when everyone in the state was ordered to stay at home for their health and safety in the middle of March of 2020.

As many can recall, the stay-at-home order led to the hospitality industry, especially local restaurants, entering panic mode.

Clay Nutting, owner and operator of multiple Sacramento restaurants, wrote in a Medium blog post about how the day after the order, a small group of restaurant operators met to brainstorm ways to save their businesses, take care of their employees, and as the need became more apparent, be of service to the community during this extraordinary time.

That was when they came up with Family Meal. Family Meal is an organization that turns local restaurants into micro-commissaries to provide food for at-risk populations while also benefitting the restaurants, their staff, their local purveyors and farmers.

The model of their mission is similar to the one proposed by Chef Jose Andres of World Central Kitchen, who wrote an opinion piece for the New York Times claiming that these kinds of approaches would help economically benefit the industries that have taken a hit due to the pandemic, and feed people who are in need.

So how exactly does Family Meal work?

Multiple restaurants are hired to create meal kits, which cost $40 to create. The kits are carefully designed so that one can feed four people or one person for four days.

The kits are also crafted to ensure that they are efficient both logistically and economically. The food in each kit is sourced by a local network of farmers and purveyors.

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Church leaders condemn radical Jewish attack on Armenian restaurant in Jerusalems Christian quarter

Christian leaders in the Holy Land have condemned an assault on an Armenian restaurant in the Christian quarter of Jerusalem by a group of radical Israelis, warning that the radical aggression is aimed at imposing an exclusively Jewish character on the city.

Thursdays attack was caught on CCTV footage and showed the group shouting and carrying Israeli flags as a shoving match ensured and chairs were thrown violently toward patrons outside the Taboon Wine Bar restaurant. One agitator was seen with an aerosol can spraying an unknown liquid at those gathered outside the restaurant. Police reportedly arrived at the scene an hour after they had been informed about the attack. While they ordered the attackers to leave the area, none were arrested.

This unprovoked violence instilled fear in the shopkeepers and residents of the Christian quarter as well as visitors, the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land, which brings together the leaders of the various Catholic churches in the region, said in a statement.

It is only the latest in a series of episodes of religious violence that is affecting the symbols of the Christian community and beyond.

The Christian leaders said they condemn such attacks and express our concern for the escalation of violence in the Holy City.

They noted that the incident took place in the street which leads to the Holy Sepulcher, the most sacred Christian place in the world, and in the Christian Quarter which hosts many monasteries and churches.

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher is built on the spot where Catholics and Orthodox Christians believe Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected.

It is a priority that the political and religious authorities work according to their own responsibility to bring the civil and religious life of the city back to greater serenity, they said. Jerusalem must remain the homeland of believers of all faiths and not hostage to radical groups.

The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, paid a visit to the restaurant owner as well as the owners of nearby shops that were also affected, as a demonstration of support in the face of what he described as a growing threat to the Christian presence in Jerusalem.

The Orthodox Jerusalem Patriarchate also strongly condemned the incident.

The Old City, which is part of East Jerusalem in Israel, has sites sacred to Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Last January, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem said Israeli radical fringe groups were seeking to drive the Christian community out of the city.

Our presence in Jerusalem is under threat, Theophilos III, the patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, wrote in an op-ed in The Sunday Times (U.K.) at the time.

Our churches are threatened by Israeli radical fringe groups. At the hands of these Zionist extremists the Christian community in Jerusalem is suffering greatly. Our brothers and sisters are the victims of hate crimes. Our churches are regularly desecrated and vandalized. Our clergy are subject to frequent intimidation, he continued.

Last June, the Office of the European Union Representative in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip warned that the heritage and traditions of the Christian community and the established religious equilibrium in the Old City of Jerusalem were at risk after Israels Supreme Court legitimized the takeover of Greek Orthodox properties by a Jewish settler group.

The court ruled Jewish settler group Ateret Cohanim legally purchased the Little Petra Hotel and Imperial Hotel in the Old City of Jerusalem in 2004. The properties are located in the Jaffa Gate area, which lies on the pilgrim route to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Mark Houck jury deadlocked, to resume Monday as pro-lifer faces up to 11 years in prison

The jury deciding the fate of Mark Houck was "deadlocked" after two-and-a-half hours of deliberation Friday in a case that could see the pro-life advocate imprisoned for up to 11 years if found guilty of a federal violation for pushing an abortion clinic escort in a verbal dispute. Jurors will reconvene on Monday.

Houck, a father of seven, is facing a federal FACE Act violation for pushing Planned Parenthood abortion clinic escort Bruce Love who verbally confronted him as he stood across the street from the clinic to counsel women about alternative options to abortion.

The pro-lifer is accused of pushing Love twice on Oct. 13, 2021, after the clinic escort walked across the street to confront Houck and his son, who was 12 years old at the time. A security camera caught the altercation that showed Love falling to the ground, injuring his elbow.

Defense attorneys requested a motion to dismiss the federal indictment Thursday. Both Houck and his son, Mark Houck Jr., testified Friday, the third day of the trial at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Pastor Bill Devlin, who has been present at the court proceedings, told The Christian Post on Thursday that he has ministered with Houck for over 20 years and is familiar with The Kings Men, of which Houck is president.

We are deep brothers in the faith, and Ive come alongside to undergird and support him because its the presumption of innocent until the government can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Mark Houck violated the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, Devlin told CP.

On Thursday, Houcks attorneys, Brian McMonagle of the law firm McMonagle, Perri, McHugh, Mischak & Davis, alongside Peter Breen of the Thomas More Society, a nonprofit law firm, argued before Judge Gerald Pappert that the federal government had not made the case to prosecute Houck.

According to Devlin, McMonagle said Houck's actions were not a violation of the FACE Act, which prohibits violent, threatening, damaging, and obstructive conduct intended to injure, intimidate, or interfere with the right to seek, obtain, or provide reproductive health services.

After hearing McMonagles motion to dismiss, Devlin said he heard the judge say, It appears to me that the U.S. government is stretching the statute of the FACE Act.

Devlin told CP that federal prosecutors argued that Houck committed two violations of the FACE Act by allegedly preventing someone from entering the abortion clinic and causing bodily injury by pushing Love, the clinic escort who fell to the ground.

McMonagle argued, according to Devlin, that the shove which resulted in Love falling to the ground was initiated by Love, who, as the defense attorney noted, was in violation of the non-engagement policy described in Planned Parenthoods volunteer escort manual.

The volunteer manual instructs escorts not to engage with the pro-life sidewalk counselors outside the clinic. McMonagle argued that Love caused the altercations by violating the clinics nonengagement policy.

Devlin said the defense attorney argued that the case never should have been brought to federal court and the fact that it was brought to federal court is a disgrace.

The first interaction between Houck and Love took place on the opposite side of the street from the Planned Parenthood clinic where Houck was attempting to talk with two women who had already left the facility when Love ran up to them and interrupted, appearing to violate the non-engagement policy.

The U.S. Department of Justice has claimed that Houck violated the FACE Act during the altercation in which he twice pushed Love, who had walked across the street to confront the pro-life counselors.

Houck maintains that he was defending his son from the clinic escort, who was reportedly behaving in an aggressive manner toward the boy and had gotten in his sons face after he tried to walk away from Love.

Devlin said that during every court recess, he would take people outside and lead them in prayer. Many are also fasting in addition to praying that God will bring the victory now.

We're hoping and praying that reason and common sense will prevail, that the jurors, the 12 jurors, and the two alternates will understand that this case should never have ended up in federal court.
Beloved Washington pastor, grandfather charged with drug-trafficking, money laundering

Just over a year ago, as he was pictured on Facebook officiating a wedding, Washington pastor and grandfather Steve Parker was praised as an amazing man of God. Earlier this month, however, detectives in Skagit County arrested Parker, who allegedly had a stockpile of guns and drugs, after getting a tip that he was on his way to becoming a high level drug dealer, and his clean-cut family knew nothing about his double life.

On his Facebook page, Parker, 57, introduces himself as a new convert, a soul in the midst of spiritual growth. A fish on the line. He also lists himself as the director at NEST Ministries and founder and executive director of Omni-Manna Services, which is a supportive employment and housing service.

We work within Snohomish County for those who have had troubled pasts, addictions, or just down on their luck. With the help of ProviderOne we are able to help find employment and low cost housing while counseling our clients through the process, the Omni-Manna Services website says.

On Facebook, there are wholesome photos of Parker with family and friends and even a video of him belting out an inspiring rendition of Andrae Crouchs The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power.

In court records reviewed by The Christian Post, the Skagit County Interlocal Drug Enforcement Unit said they got a tip from sources in November 2022 that Parker had been distributing controlled substances in the counties of Skagit, Snohomish and Whatcom.

Information obtained from these sources is that Steve Parker has started to become a higher level drug dealer and that he possesses firearms, and deals fentanyl powder, fentanyl pills, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine, an affidavit of probable cause explains. Sources told detectives that Steve Parker is a pastor and that he has a business that helps people with addiction problems by assisting them with housing and jobs, although he deals drugs as well.

On Jan. 19, as he drove his 2002 Subaru in Mount Vernon, police swooped down on Parker and found him with approximately two ounces of fentanyl powder and a loaded handgun. Deputies also noticed he had a live feed camera on his phone, and he turned it off as they were contacting him.

Acting later on a search warrant, detectives searched the Subaru and discovered more than 2.7 pounds of methamphetamine, some 2,000 counterfeit pills, another ounce of fentanyl powder and cocaine.

Parker admitted the drugs were cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl. Detectives also located packaging material commonly used in the distribution of drugs along with drug scales, the affidavit says. Parker also admitted he knew fentanyl was a very dangerous drug, and he has provided Narcan to an overdose victim in the past.

Parker further told police that he needed multiple drug suppliers because he sources were not consistent and bragged about being a good drug dealer, saying he is good at business.

He also confessed to leading a double life and having two houses where he kept his godly life and criminal behavior separate.

The house in Tulalip is where he conducts his criminal behavior and has a girlfriend. During the search warrant, detectives located several firearms and discovered there were surveillance cameras both inside and outside the home, court records note.

At the second home, Parker lived with his wife and mother-in-law, along with approximately 14 other people living on the property.

Parker said they did not know about his criminal activities. That was confirmed by detectives while servicing a warrant at that home, investigators note.

A total of 30 firearms were recovered from both homes.

In a Jan. 20 appearance at the Superior Court of Washington County of Skagit, Parker was charged with possession with intent to distribute cocaine as well as fentanyl and methamphetamine which both came with a firearm enhancement. He was also charged with counterfeiting controlled substances, maintaining a vehicle for drug trafficking; money laundering and conspiracy to deliver methamphetamine, fentanyl and/or cocaine. All the charges are felonies.

Bail was set at $750,000. He is set to appear in court again on Feb. 2 at 9:30 a.m.
Pastor, 3 other Christians killed by Islamic extremists in pre-dawn attack in Sudan

NAIROBI, Kenya  A church pastor and three other Christians were killed in Sudan on Monday when suspected Islamic extremists shot them to death, an area source said.

Four of the victims traveling companions were wounded when the assailants opened fire on the team at the facility where they were spending the night in Kadugli, the capital of Sudans South Kordofan state.

Sudanese-American Pastor Ibrahim Kandr, Ismail Osman, Bashir Almaak and Ayoub Ibrahim were spending the night in Kadugli en route to their home area of Um Durein when the assailants shot them between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m., an area church leader said.

Islamic extremists who have been terrorizing people in the area since 2011 monitor movements in and out of town and likely saw the ministry team arrive for the night, said the church leader, whose name was withheld for security reasons.

Wounded in the attack were Imtiyas Marhy Jabdool, 29; Fadul Musa Al Haraba, 23; Zakaria Butros Al Haraba, 34; and Mujahid Hassan 19, the source said.

Sudanese Christians expressed their shock and sympathy for the victims families on social media.

My condolences to the family of the servant of God Ibrahim and the rest of the victims, wrote one Christian who identified himself only as Komi.

The bodies of the four slain Christians were transported to Khartoum for burial.

In southwestern Sudans South Darfur Province, two Christians were arrested on Jan. 8 in Nyala town by masked men believed to be national security personnel, local sources said. They were released without charges the same day.

The two converts, whose names are withheld for security reasons, were arrested by men in a government vehicle at 7 a.m. from an area home, said a source. Muslim sheikhs (teachers) had accused them of evangelizing Muslims and had warned them to stop doing so.

Following two years of advances in religious freedom in Sudan after the end of the Islamist dictatorship under Omar al-Bashir in 2019, the specter of state-sponsored persecution returned with the military coup of Oct. 25, 2021.

The Christian population of Sudan is estimated at 2 million, or 4.5 percent of the total population of more than 43 million.

After Bashir was ousted from 30 years of power in April 2019, the transitional civilian-military government had managed to undo some Sharia (Islamic law) provisions. It outlawed the labeling of any religious group as infidels, and thus effectively rescinded apostasy laws that made leaving Islam punishable by death.

With the Oct. 25, 2021, coup, Christians in Sudan fear the return of the most repressive and harsh aspects of Islamic law. Abdalla Hamdok, who had led a transitional government as prime minister starting in September 2019, was detained under house arrest for nearly a month before he was released and reinstated in a tenuous power-sharing agreement in November 2021.

Hamdock had been faced with rooting out longstanding corruption and an Islamist deep state from Bashirs regime  the same deep state that is suspected of rooting out the transitional government in the Oct. 25, 2021 coup.

Persecution of Christians by non-state actors continued before and after the coup.

In Open Doors 2023 World Watch List of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian, Sudan was ranked No. 10, up from No. 13 the previous year, as attacks by non-state actors continued and religious freedom reforms at the national level were not enacted locally.

Sudan had dropped out of the top 10 for the first time in six years when it first ranked No. 13 in the 2021 World Watch List. The U.S. State Departments International Religious Freedom Report states that conditions have improved somewhat with the decriminalization of apostasy and a halt to demolition of churches, but that conservative Islam still dominates society; Christians face discrimination, including problems in obtaining licenses for constructing church buildings.

The U.S. State Department in 2019 removed Sudan from the list of Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) that engage in or tolerate systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom and upgraded it to a watch list. The State Department removed Sudan from the Special Watch List in December 2020.

Sudan had previously been designated as a CPC from 1999 to 2018.
Hillsong Church founder Brian Houston and wife Bobbie selling clothes, furniture online

Shortly after selling their $4.5 million home in Australia, embattled Hillsong Church founders Brian Houston and his wife, Bobbie, are now hosting a fire sale of their used designer clothes, furniture and other home goods described as pre-loved online.

The sale was announced by Bobbie Houston on Instagram Wednesday, in a message that directed her followers to ClosetBabyCloset where an array of couches, boots, jackets, bags, cushions and designer shirts are on display.

ITS NO SECRET THAT WEVE SOLD OUR HOME. We have gifted & donated things our entire lives, and will continue to do so  a good friend will help get some of these items to college students & local charity drop offs  but right now we are selling in order to move things properly and efficiently, Bobbie Houston said in her announcement of the sale.

The sale comes days after she shared a photo of her injured and bloodied eyebrow on Sunday, telling her followers that she had taken a wee tumble a day earlier.

Fell down my stairs and landed amongst a stack of Cmas decorations! No head or facial damage, just a few bruises & a wee gash. I do have a 2mth old stress fracture in my foot (of course), so maybe that compromised my wondrous agility and finesse on the stairs, she explained.

The Houstons put their home up for sale in September 2022, only months after Brian Houston formally resigned on March 23, 2022, as global senior pastor of Hillsong Church in the wake of revelations that two women had made serious complaints of misconduct against him in the last 10 years.

Brian Houston, who is now fighting criminal charges in Australia that he covered up his fathers child sexual abuse, has since blamed public statements made by the churchs board for his abrupt resignation instead of any mistakes he made in ministry.

He argued that the board's statements led to public speculation and allowed peoples imagination to run wild and draw their own conclusions about his departure from Hillsong.

I want to be clear. The media and others incorrectly say I resigned because I breached the Hillsong code of conduct, but thats just not true. I didnt resign because of my mistakes. I resigned because of the announcements and statements that had been made, which Bobbie and I felt made my position untenable. And I spelled out my reasons for my resignation in my resignation letter to the Hillsong Church board, Brian Houston said in a Facebook video last November.

He added that when he offered to resign last March, he was expecting the board to reject it and fight for him, understanding how much pressure he was facing at the time.

I guess a big part of me hoped that the board, knowing the pressure I was under, would reject my offer and continue to fight for me, but that was not to be, he said. We certainly did not want to just abandon the Hillsong congregation, as some have suggested. We adore the people of Hillsong Church, and to be honest, we miss you all terribly.
Over 1,800 churches left United Methodist Church in 2022

The United Methodist Church lost over 1,800 congregations in 2022, mainly due to the denomination's ongoing schism over homosexuality, according to a recent report.

Church disaffiliation data recently compiled by UM News shows a cumulative total of 1,825 congregations had their disaffiliation votes approved by their respective conferences last year.

This includes 308 churches granted disaffiliation during the regular process in 2022, plus 1,517 granted disaffiliation during special sessions held last year by various regional bodies.

Factoring in churches granted disaffiliation since 2019, the total number of churches that have left the second-largest Protestant denomination in the United States goes up to 2,003.

The data was compiled through a UM News review of U.S. annual conference reports and reports from the 17 special annual conference sessions. The UMC General Council on Finance and Administration, the denomination's finance agency, also collects data on disaffiliations and church closures.

However, the agency's count on disaffiliations "lags behind UM News' data because it must wait for annual conferences to submit official reports," according to UM News.

For the 2022 special sessions, the Texas Conference had the most significant loss of congregations, as 294 congregations voted to disaffiliate. The North Carolina Conference was not far behind, with 249 congregations disaffiliating from the UMC.

The North Georgia Conference had 71 congregations leave during its regular 2022 session, but then leadership decided to pause the disaffiliation process, claiming that churches were being misled about the issue.

Other Conferences that saw large quantities of churches leave as part of special sessions last year included North Alabama (198 disaffiliations), Northwest Texas (145 disaffiliations), Indiana (105 disaffiliations), Central Texas (81 disaffiliations) and West Ohio (80 disaffiliations).

Over the past several years, the UMC has been embroiled in a divisive debate over whether to change its official stance labeling homosexuality "incompatible with Christian teaching," which includes a ban on the blessing of gay unions and prohibiting noncelibate homosexuals from becoming clergy.

Although efforts to change the UMC Book of Discipline's stance on these issues have failed, many theological liberal leaders in the denomination have either refused to follow or enforce the denomination's rules.

For example, last November, the UMC Western Jurisdiction voted to make the Rev. Cedrick D. Bridgeforth of the California-Pacific Conference a bishop, even though he is in a same-sex marriage.

Frustrations over the debate led many conservatives to conclude that it would be better to form their own Methodist denomination or become nondenominational.

Last year, the Global Methodist Church officially launched as a theologically conservative alternative to the mainline Protestant UMC.

While most of the departing congregations have opted to join the GMC, some, including the megachurch White's Chapel of Southlake, Texas, have become nondenominational.

"Today, we are experiencing the UMC as a broken institution. As well, the alternatives we have been given don't seem to align with our context or our theology. These are reasons we are exploring a 'realignment,'" explained White's Chapel in a document released in advance of the vote to leave.

"We hope to align with other Methodist churches in a cooperative manner in both mission and ministry. We envision a new form of connectionalism, defined by shared ministry, equal accountability, and practical governance."

In some cases, church votes to leave the UMC have been rejected by regional bodies. In December, the First United Methodist Church of Jonesboro, Arkansas, filed a lawsuit against the Arkansas Conference after the conference voted to reject the church's disaffiliation and suspended its pastor. First UMC was among three congregations that had their disaffiliation voters rejected by the conference in November, although it approved the disaffiliation requests of 35 other congregations.

Last July, over 100 churches filed a lawsuit against the UMC Florida Annual Conference, claiming that it requires departing congregations to pay a "sum of money" to retain control of their church properties.

The lead plaintiff is Grace United Methodist Church of Lawtey, which contends that it should not have to pay the conference for property it purchased long before the UMC was founded in 1968.
Expert offers tips for passing faith to children as most parents don't think its 'very important'

A Christian parenting expert has offered his thoughts on new polling showing that about a third of American parents say that passing their religious beliefs to their children is essential to their parenting.

The Pew Research study, released on Jan. 24 titled "Parenting in America Today," is based on responses from 3,757 U.S. parents with children under the age of 18 conducted from Sept. 20 to Oct. 2, 2022. Most respondents took part in Pew's American Trends Panel, an online survey panel recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses.

The study shows that 35% of parents said that it was either "extremely" or "very" important to them that their children have beliefs similar to their own. Twenty-two percent said that it was "somewhat" important, while 43% said that it was "not at all" or "not too" important that their children share religious beliefs similar to their own.

White Evangelical Protestant parents (70%) are much more likely to say passing on their faith to their children is "extremely" or "very" important. By comparison, 29% of white non-Evangelical Protestant parents, 53% of Black Protestant parents, and 35% of Catholic parents said the same.

In an interview with The Christian Post, Daniel Huerta, the vice president of parenting and youth at the Colorado Springs-based Evangelical parachurch ministry Focus on the Family, discussed what the findings could indicate about how most parents have approached faith with their children.

"In parenting circles, I believe there is a general fear of the side effects from being labeled a Christian," Heuerta said. "Our culture tells kids that Christians are offensive, controlling or uncool. But what if the focus of passing on a foundational, life-giving faith was about being a loving parent rather than a controlling parent?"

"Faith in Christ is all about relationship," he added. "Our understanding of a relationship with Christ begins with our family relationships."

Focus on the Family offers resources to help families thrive with biblical principles. Huerta stresses that healthy marriages are more likely to lead to healthy children.

"A healthy relationship between parents and their kids leads to a higher likelihood of maintaining the core beliefs of the home into adulthood," Huerta said.

"The difficulty is that healthy relationships require humility, teachability, empathy, compassion, patience and self-control. Each of these ingredients requires time and attention from parents that are often tired and distracted."

Huerta said passing faith to the next generation should be no different than how parents were taught by their own parental guardians.

"Parents need wisdom, intentionality, steadfastness, and grace and forgiveness to build the necessary foundation in a child's life to pass on faith," he said.

"But many parents are so overwhelmed that they don't have the energy or time to focus on these foundational pieces in a child's development."

Huerta warned that it's up to parents to take up the responsibility to lead their children toward Christ.

"We recognize that parents are uniquely positioned to pass on a life-giving faith to their kids. Why not do so diligently, with steadfast love and grace?" he added.

The Pew study finds that when thinking about the kind of people they hope their children will be as adults, parents place the most emphasis on their children being honest and ethical.

"About two-thirds of parents (66%) say it's extremely important that their children grow up to be honest and ethical adults. About half (48%) say the same about their children being hardworking, while about four in ten say it's extremely important to them that their children become the kind of people who are accepting of people who are different from them (42%) and who help others in need (40%)," the study states.

"A smaller share (27%) place this level of importance on their children being ambitious as adults. Majorities ranging from 65% to 94% say it is at least very important that their children have each of these traits as adults."
Girls raped, face life of sexual exploitation after dedication to Hindu goddess

An Indian woman described how she was routinely sexually assaulted as part of a socially accepted Hindu practice called Devadasi, which involves parents coercing their young daughters into an elaborate wedding ritual with a Hindu deity followed by a life of prostitution. The centuries-old practice has long been condemned by organizations dedicated to the eradication of sexual exploitation and slavery.

The woman, who was raised in the south Indian state of Karnataka, recounted how girls, called Devadasis, are required to live a life dedicated to Hinduism and are prohibited from marrying. At puberty or even earlier, they are forced to have sex with an older man in exchange for monetary compensation or gifts.

Two Devadasis, identified as Huvakka Bhimappa and Sitavva D. Jodatti, recounted their ordeal in a recent interview with AFP.

Bhimappa wasn't yet 10 years old when she was raped by her uncle and made a Devadasi.

The woman, who is now in her late 40s, said after her mothers brother raped her, years of forced prostitution began. Her family profited off her sexual exploitation in the name of serving the Hindu goddess Yellamma.

Bhimappa eventually managed to leave her status as a Devadasi but has since experienced economic hardship and ostracization in her community. Due to her lack of education, she has only earned a daily wage of a dollar as a manual laborer.

If I was not a Devadasi, I would have had a family and children and some money. I would have lived well, she was quoted as saying.

The other woman, Jodatti, who is now 49, was forced into a life of sexual exploitation when she was 8 years old. Later, when her father fell ill, she was expected to allow men to violate her body to help pay for her father's treatments.

By the age of 17, I had two kids, she is quoted as saying.

The Exodus Road, a nonprofit dedicated to combatting human trafficking, says the Devadasi practice is illegal, yet it successfully draws thousands of young girls  some as young as 5 or 6  into Indias sex trade every year.

According to Indias National Commission for Women, at least 44,000 Devadasis are active in India.

The actual number could be as high as a quarter million, says the nonprofit.

In 2017, Reuters estimated that India has about 20 million commercial sex workers, of which 16 million were female victims of sex trafficking.

The Devadasi system has been in existence for centuries in southern India and is deeply rooted in Hindu beliefs and social customs.

The Devadasi tradition originated in the sixth century when a queen from the Keshari Dynasty decided that accomplished women trained in classical dance should marry deities, the nonprofit says. These women were highly respected and considered goddesses themselves, tasked with caring for the temple, performing religious rituals, and dancing for royalty in the name of the goddess Yellamma.

However, it adds, with the arrival of Islamic rulers, Hindu temples were destroyed, resulting in the loss of patronage and social status for the Devadasis. Forced to find alternative work, dancing and prostitution became linked and the Devadasis became mistresses of priests, kings, and eventually wealthy landowners.
Pakistani Christians fear heightened persecution as lawmakers pass bill expanding blasphemy laws

LAHORE, Pakistan  Pakistans lower house of parliament has passed legislation to make the countrys blasphemy laws stricter even as their blatant misuse again came to light in a threat to falsely charge a Christian woman.

The woman, a Catholic widow, was terrified after a Muslim colleague threatened to file the false blasphemy charge because she refused his demand to commit wrongdoing in their work, she said.

Samina Mushtaq, a security official with Pakistans Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), said a Muslim CAA facilities official, Muhammad Salim, on Jan. 7 demanded she allow an unauthorized vehicle into the parking area of the cargo terminal at Karachis Jinnah International Airport.

Salim threatened to accuse me of blasphemy when I refused to surrender to his illegal demand, she told Morning Star News. He said he would call clerics and cut me up.

Mushtaq began video-recording Salims threats as proof that she was being falsely accused if he acted on his threats, she said, adding that she uploaded the video on social media.

The CAA initiated an inquiry and temporarily suspended Salim from duty.

I dont know what would have become of me had I not recorded Salims threats on my phone and shared the video on social media, Mushtaq said by telephone. This is not the first time Ive faced challenges at my workplace due to my Christian faith, but when Salim openly threatened to entrap me in a blasphemy case when I was only doing my job, I have become very fearful about the security of my family.

Mushtaq said she is under intense pressure from Muslims to reach a reconciliation agreement with Salim. Such agreements usually further deprive members of minority religions of rights.

The Pakistan National Assemblys passage on Jan. 17 of legislation that would expand blasphemy statutes has raised fears among Christians and rights activists. The unanimously passed Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill would increase punishment for insulting the companions, wives and family members of Islams prophet, Muhammad, from three years to no fewer than 10 years along with a fine of $4,314 (1 million rupees).

The legislation, under Section 298-A of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), also would make the charge of blasphemy an offense for which bail is not possible. The legislation is expected to pass unanimously also in the Senate, and then it would require the presidents signature to become law.

Anglican Church of Pakistan Moderator/President Azad Marshall said the lower chambers unanimous approval of the legislation was worrisome for Pakistani Christians.

The existing blasphemy laws have encouraged religious persecution for decades, and this new legislation is bound to exacerbate the problems for our people, Marshall told Morning Star News.

Marshall said the church has repeatedly protested blatant misuse of the blasphemy statutes against Christians, and the new amendments would only lead to more abuse.

Time and again we have demanded stricter punishment for false accusations of blasphemy as a deterrent to curb the misuse of the laws, but our pleas have fallen on deaf ears, he said. The unanimous passage of this bill shows that the political parties are not inclined to protect citizens from false charges and are instead focused on appeasing their Islamist vote bank.

Lahore-based Center for Social Justice Executive Director Peter Jacob called the amendment an unfortunate development.

Laws violating religious freedom are not debated in our legislatures and are passed unanimously without even allowing anyone to examine the bills and their implications on society, he said.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan also expressed its deep concern over the latest legislation.

Given Pakistans troubled record of the misuse of such laws, these amendments are likely to be weaponized disproportionately against religious minorities and sects, resulting in false charges, harassment, and persecution, the group said in a statement.

The commission said increasing the penalty for alleged blasphemy will aggravate misuse of the law to settle personal vendettas, as is often the case with blasphemy allegations.

When Maulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali of the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami party presented the bill in the lower house of parliament, he said the punishment for disrespecting figures held to be sacred who were close to Muhammad had been negligible.

Due to capital punishment under Section 295-C, the ratio of people involved in blasphemy against the holy prophet is very low, Chitrali said. However, the fact may be observed that disrespecting a companion of the holy prophet and other sacred personalities not only promotes terrorism and disruption in the country but also hurts people belonging to all walks of life.

He added that since it was a bailable crime and only resulted in imprisonment of three years along with a nominal penalty, it encouraged people to commit the same crime again.

Such lenient punishment also leads to people taking the law into their own hands, resulting in violence, he told lawmakers.

Zahid Akram Durrani, deputy speaker of the National Assembly, called the legislation historic as he congratulated the Muslim lawmakers for carrying out what many saw as their religious duty.

False accusations

Blasphemy accusations in Pakistan often provoke mob violence and lynching of suspects, while penalties are light for those who make such false accusations.

The Center for Social Justice noted in a recent report that at least 1,949 persons had been accused under the blasphemy laws between 1987 and 2021. Eighteen more cases were reported up to July 14, 2022. Among those accused, 47.62 percent were Muslims, followed by 32.99 percent Ahmadis, 14.42 percent Christians, and 2.15 percent Hindus, while the religion of 2.82 percent was not confirmed.

Taking a stand on the blasphemy issue can also be dangerous. In 2011, Salmaan Taseer, the governor of Punjab province, was fatally shot by one of his own bodyguards. Taseer had been an outspoken opponent of the blasphemy laws and had campaigned for the release of Aasiya Noreen, better known as Asia Bibi, a Christian mother convicted of insulting Islams prophet.

Shahbaz Bhatti, a federal minister and a Christian who had also opposed the death sentence imposed on Bibi, was fatally shot the same year.

Bibi, who left Pakistan in 2019 after her conviction was overturned by the Supreme Court, continues to receive death threats.

Pakistan ranked seventh on Open Doors 2023 World Watch List of the most difficult places to be a Christian, up from either the previous year.
Archbishop of York says gay sex is OK if in committed, stable, faithful relationships'

The Church of Englands Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, responded to pressure to answer whether homosexuality and same-sex marriage are sinful by saying the CofE's new stance on the issue is that it's OK, as long as couples are in "committed, stable, faithful relationships," adding that same-sex married couples will be "welcomed fully into the life of the Church, on their terms."

This comes on the heels of the denominations recent decision not to officiate same-sex marriages but to offer blessings for same-sex couples in civil partnerships within its churches.

BBC Radio Fours William Crawley asked the archbishop whether the CofEs recent decision not to officiate same-sex weddings while allowing gay marriages to be blessed was a bit of a fudge.

Cottrell responded, I see it as a way of holding together a church which doesnt agree on this issue and it takes us to a place where LGBTIQ+ people, people entering into same-sex marriages, people in civil partnerships are able to come to the Church of England and those relationships and marriages can be acknowledged and celebrated.

Crawley then asked if the denomination believes gay sex is sin, to which the archbishop replied, Well, what we are saying is that physical and sexual intimacy belongs in committed, stable, faithful relationships and therefore where we see a committed, stable, faithful relationship between two people of the same sex, we are now in a position where those people can be welcomed fully into the life of the Church, on their terms.

Crawley said the CofE must be blessing same-sex unions because it believes it to be good.

Archbishop Cottrell replied, As I say, we believe that stable, faithful, committed, loving relationships are good. They are the place for physical intimacy 

Crawley again asked, And not a sin?

The archbishop then responded, But well, that  thats what Im saying  were looking to focus on the good in relationships and we want people to live in good, stable, faithful relationships.

The group Christian Concern said Cottrells statement confirms the CofEs departure from its own biblical teaching on human sexuality which states that marriage is: in its nature a union permanent and lifelong, for better for worse, till death them do part, of one man with one woman.

Andrea Williams, Christian Concern's chief executive who was also a member of the general synod for 10 years, said Cottrells comments embody the compromised position of the Church of England on human sexuality.

The role of the Archbishop of York is to lead in explaining Gods beautiful pattern for human life and relationships, not to preside over a convoluted process of compromise. Sadly, it has been a failure of leadership from the start by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York. For this, they will answer to God, and we must pray for them. It is not loving or kind to hide the truth from the culture, she said.

What we have needed for so long on these issues is spiritual leadership from the Church of Englands hierarchy. Sadly, however, what we have seen is a relentless and determined capitulation to the spirit of the age from the Archbishop of York, among others. The church and Christians are called to be distinct from the world around them and yet the Archbishop has shown he is ashamed of the clear teachings of Jesus Christ.

Earlier this month, CofE bishops apologized to the LGBT community for their rejection and exclusion within the denomination, saying they were now welcome and valued within the denomination.

The CofE also announced its support for a proposal allowing same-sex couples to receive Gods blessings.

We want to apologize for the ways in which the Church of England has treated LGBTQI+ people  both those who worship in our churches and those who do not, the bishops said in a statement.

"For the times we have rejected or excluded you, and those you love, we are deeply sorry. The occasions on which you have received a hostile and homophobic response in our churches are shameful, and for this we repent."

"As we have listened, we have been told time and time again how we have failed LGBTQI+ people," the statement continues. "We have not loved you as God loves you, and that is profoundly wrong. We affirm, publicly and unequivocally, that LGBTQI+ people are welcome and valued: we are all children of God."

Williams of Christian Concern said in a statement the apology could prove to be a "turning point" and signal the decline of the denomination.

"Christianity teaches that sexual expression is reserved for marriage between one man and one woman. Any other form of sexual relationships are sexually immoral," Williams said.
Nat'l Prayer Breakfast to be 'smaller,' 'more intimate' in return to its origins; the Family no longer hosting Event will have 2 surprise guest speakers, no international guests

The National Prayer Breakfast will undergo changes this year to its format, including renowned Christian ministry no longer being in charge of the annual observance and a much smaller guest list.

An annual tradition that goes back to 1953, the Breakfast is held every first Thursday in February and often features speeches by special guests and the president of the United States.

A new organization known as the National Prayer Breakfast Foundation will oversee the event, with the attendees being limited to members of Congress, the Biden administration, their families and constituent guests.

This year's event will also be held at a facility that is part of the Capitol Complex in Washington, D.C., rather than a hotel, as has been customary in past years.

Mark Pryor, a former Arkansas attorney general who served in the U.S. Senate from 2003-2015, serves as president of the board of the new Foundation.

In an interview with The Christian Post, Pryor explained that the changes were made as the result of ongoing discussions in the House and Senate for more than 10 years.

There's been conversations about whether we should take the National Prayer Breakfast and set it up in a single purpose entity. Before this, it was never an entity, he said. It legally wasn't an entity, it wasn't a corporation, it wasn't a nonprofit, it wasn't a foundation, it was  what was it? It was just an event.

The Congress decided to establish a legal entity that will hold the National Prayer Breakfast and so that was really the origin of this."

Although past breakfasts could have as many as 3,500 guests, Pryor noted that the present confirmed attendance was around 250, with RSVPs still coming in, with no international figures being invited.

Pryor told CP that this was not really anti-international as much as a reflection of Congress desire to return the National Prayer Breakfast back to its origins.

Back with President Eisenhower really was just the president and just members of Congress, House and Senate. And so, that's what they wanted to get back to, explained Pryor.

Pryor described the intended setting as being smaller, more intimate, with this following the wishes of the House and Senate to restore it back to what it used to be."

As with past national breakfasts, next weeks event will still be live streamed online and on C-SPAN, with two still to be announced guest speakers scheduled to give remarks.

Pryor was optimistic that the event will still be a time of unity, as well as nonpartisanship, adding that this country needs some moments of unity and hopefully this will be one of those.

And so, we think its going to be a very nice event and we think its going to be meaningful and we hope that thousands maybe millions of people around the country and around the world will have a chance to watch it, he added.

Originally called the Presidential Prayer Breakfast, the National Prayer Breakfast was first held in 1953 under President Dwight Eisenhower, with the encouragement of the Rev. Billy Graham.

While the event has never garnered any serious litigation against it, some church and state watchdog groups have voiced concerns about the governments ties to the religious gathering.

For decades, the event was organized by a secretive Christian group, sometimes known as the Fellowship or the Family, which had been overseen by influential evangelist Doug Coe from 1969 until his death in 2017.

In August 2019, the Family was the subject of a Netflix documentary series, which included interviews and perspectives from both supporters and critics of the D.C.-area ministry.

For this year, the group, which is also called the International Foundation, will be hosting a separate observance, known as The Gathering, which will include multiple events over two days.
Rabbi uses ChatGPT to write sermon; theologian warns of AI 'idolatry'

In what might be the latest sign of things to come, a rabbi in New York has become the first Jewish teacher to deliver a sermon written entirely by artificial intelligence.

Before teaching on Genesis 44, Rabbi Joshua Franklin of the Jewish Center of the Hamptons in New York, told his congregation that his AI-written sermon was, in fact, written by ChatGPT, according to the Times of Israel.

Were going to do something new tonight, maybe something at first youre going to say is unethical, but Im going to do it anyways, Franklin said during the message in early January.

The rabbi began reading the lesson on Genesis 44:18, when Judah pleads with Joseph for the release of Benjamin, offering himself as a slave instead. Joseph then reveals his true identity to the brothers who betrayed him.

When he was finished, he revealed the truth.

Artificial intelligence wrote that. It constructed it. Look, if I read that, I would know the various faux pas. There are distinctive markers that aren't how many rabbis would speak, he told the congregation.

Following the crowds reaction and applause, Franklin said the real issue is how AI will impact what the world considers spiritual.

How does spirituality function in a world thats driven by data and driven by information? Franklin asked.

Thats a question that theologians have grappled with for decades as AI has leapfrogged from the simple task management of Siri and other gadgets to being used to design self-flying planes, paint works of art and even consider moral dilemmas for AI-driven driverless cars.

But when it comes to the pulpit, most pastors are unlikely to be left unscathed by the age of AI, according to theologian and bestselling author Wallace Henley, who said he was stunned to learn about the rabbis sermon.

Ive certainly used the computer to do research and develop outlines, Henley told The Christian Post. But when it comes to doing a full manuscript as the machine itself, putting together all of those elements, Im stunned.

The great question is, what are we going to allow the machines to do to and for us, and what are we going to govern ourselves? And so, it stuns me that an entire sermon can be developed, not just the research.

Who Will Rule The Coming Gods?: The Looming Spiritual Crisis of AI

In a recent CP column titled Can artificial intelligence worship God?, Henley warned that the Church faces a coming spiritual crisis that will be grounded in what he calls the ultimate idolatry, which is the worship of the machine.

We've got to understand the spiritual crisis that's coming, and the spiritual crisis is going to be the ultimate idolatry, which is the worship of the machine. And already, we've seen many signs of that, he wrote.

Henley told CP the context for that looming crisis will be the potential for a world brimming with AI-gleaned data but lacking the spirit which comes from God alone.

We human beings are wired for transcendence, we are spirit, soul and body. You can make a machine that has a kind of body, you can even attribute some level of soul to a machine, that is, by putting in certain values that it's supposed to think about before it does anything, but you cannot put a spirit in that machine, he said.

This is what distinguishes a human being ... that spirit hungers for God like the body hungers for water and for oxygen.

In 2020, a New York-based engineer created an AI algorithm programmed to read passages of Scripture from the King James Bible "and nothing else.

George Durendal used a natural-language processing system that ultimately led the AI to read, speak and write using nothing but the Bible," the engineer wrote in August 2020.

So where does that leave pastors and ministers whose entire livelihoods are based on teaching and preaching the Word of God?

While Henley believes AI can help communicate the Gospel more efficiently and research how to do so, he warns about potentially unexpected consequences.

If we begin to allow the AI machine to shape our theology or drive the ethical values and so forth and dictate that to us, then were in trouble, he said. Yes, the church must use and accept AI as a means of helping its performance task, but the Church must not become an idolater ... in the sense of fresh revelation or a substitute for the Holy Spirit.

That will never satisfy us.
When bad things happen to little people

People frequently ask me how I deal with the death of children. The answer is simple: I cry. I often tell our very tough martial arts therapists, When you stop being able to cry, then you quit.

The greatest tragedy to me, however, is not the death of a child after 10 years or five years, or even two years. These children, in their short time in this world, spread an illumination well beyond their lifespans. They have lived long days.

The greatest tragedy to me is being with a dying nonagenarian who does not have a clue why he or she inhabited this planet.

A poet once wrote that one's life is not about the year of birth or the year of death engraved upon the tombstone. Its about the dash between those two dates. There are two-year-old children whose dash continues to influence the world. There are others whose dash never really began, their 90 years are like the life of a mayfly.

Today, cancer is more curable than it was in the past, and no age group has made greater progress in beating it than children. Michael Hunt was a student in our very first Kids Kicking Cancer class at Children's Hospital of Michigan in the summer of 1998. He had been diagnosed with a nasty rhabdomyosarcoma and had several of his ribs removed, after which he was fitted with a special mold to protect his torso.

Michaels mother asked the doctors if the mold would have to be replaced when he reached the age of 20 and had grown more. The doctors were not concerned by that possibility. They didnt believe that Michael was going to make it to 20 years old.

Instead of following that pessimistic assessment, Michael kicked his cancer. He is now doing wonderfully in college, getting his degree so that he can teach children, and he serves as an instructor at Kids Kicking Cancer.

But even for years before that, Michael has been teaching our students about how he was able to limit his pain medications because his breathing helped him to focus. Our program is filled with these amazing children who, because they have walked the walk, are superbly equipped to talk the talk. Michael has been transformed by the program, and now he is helping so many other kids to do what he did.

Even though they are a small minority, there are still too many children whose cancers do not respond to treatment or who are pulled down by numerous ancillary medical challenges. The tragedy of their stories would be greater if we could not share some of their heroism and light.

The goal is not to be afraid of death, but to invest in every day of life.

It is in the context of facing mortality that the question known as theodicy, or why bad things happen to good people, emerges. Although this question continues to stump many a philosopher, our children are often able to respond like sages.

Chaya Mitchell was a happy and talented young lady. After her senior year in high school, her headaches began. It did not take long before medical staff supplied the harrowing report that she had a substantial brain tumor.

When I heard the news, I called Chaya's mother and offered to help teach her daughter the breathing and meditation techniques that we successfully employ with our Kids Kicking Cancer students. I have already tried going down that road with her, she replied. But she told me that it was not her thing.

I certainly understand, I said. But tell her if I could teach her our techniques, she would be an awesome teacher for other children in pain.

It didn't take five minutes before Chaya called me back. Could you come to Chicago to teach me? she asked. I want to help other children with cancer.

Chaya did amazingly well with the meditations and breath work, which made her significantly more comfortable even after the surgery. Her type of brain tumor had a protocol that followed the surgery with several weeks of radiation. But in the midst of those radiation treatments, her tumor grew back 150%. She was going to need another surgery, and her pain was back in double dosage.

Despite the circumstances and the way she was feeling, she had a wonderful smile as she continued to teach others by video. Her head, now wrapped in a kerchief, was clearly bald, but the beauty of this child was effervescent. As the camera focused on Chaya, I asked, Could you please tell other people how they can handle adversity in their lives?

I really don't know how to answer that question, she responded slowly. You see, I've never really had any adversity in my life. Even this brain tumor is just an opportunity for me to grow.

I have a personal rule in Kids Kicking Cancer: I won't cry in front of the children unless they themselves are crying. In this case, I excused myself and walked outside to make a phone call. I had just heard a teenager answer the question of why bad things happen to good people. She refused to accept her situation as bad. It was just a challenge, and she was standing up to that challenge.

We are too often stuck in a world that highlights our problems. The more our brain focuses on that which seems to be falling apart, the greater the ongoing secretion of stress chemicals that guarantee that they will. For this reason, our children learn to see their challenges as incredible opportunities.

By blowing out the tightness of stress, they become master teachers to those around them. We adults have a lot to learn from them.

Adapted from A Perfect God Made an Imperfect World Perfectly by Elimelech Goldberg. Copyright  by Elimelech Goldberg. Used with permission from The Heroes Circle.






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"China Today" arts week held in South Australia

Xinhua) 08:34, January 29, 2023

Song Yanqun (L), minister-counselor for culture at the Chinese embassy in Australia, visits an exhibition with Frances Adamson, governor of South Australia, during the "China Today" arts week in Adelaide, Australia, on Jan. 28, 2023. (Photo by Lyu Wei/Xinhua)

ADELAIDE, Australia, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- The "China Today" arts week was launched in Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia, on Saturday in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Australia.

Co-hosted by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, the Chinese embassy in Australia, the Consulate-General of China in Adelaide and the Adelaide Festival Center, the arts week runs till March 19.

It features an exhibition of ceramic artwork from China's Jiangxi province and paintings and prints from the northeastern Heilongjiang province.

The 50 items from Jingdezhen, a world-famous porcelain town in Jiangxi, were created by three generations of inheritors of an intangible cultural heritage, while the 39 works chosen from traditional Chinese paintings, oil paintings, prints, watercolor and other forms of art showed the scenery of northeastern China as well as people's life there.

Frances Adamson, governor of South Australia, said in her speech that having worked in China for years, she had developed an appreciation for Chinese art forms.

"Previously as a diplomat and now a governor, I have seen the important role the arts can play in diplomacy, and strengthening people-to-people relations," she said.

Douglas Gautier, CEO of the Adelaide Festival Center, noted that cultural collaboration between China and Australia helped enhance understanding between peoples.

"Our audiences here get to see those wonderful items. And equally, the whole cultural sector of Australia over years has been taking Australian artists to China," he added. "That collaboration is a positive thing."

"Culture works as a bridge," said Song Yanqun, minister-counselor for culture at the Chinese embassy in Australia.

He believed that the exhibition, launched for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties and during the Chinese Lunar New Year, had special significance, hoping that many Australian people could visit.

Frances Adamson, governor of South Australia, delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of "China Today" arts week in Adelaide, Australia, on Jan. 28, 2023. The "China Today" arts week was launched in Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia, on Saturday in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Australia. (Photo by Lyu Wei/Xinhua)

Douglas Gautier, CEO of the Adelaide Festival Center, delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of "China Today" arts week in Adelaide, Australia, on Jan. 28, 2023. The "China Today" arts week was launched in Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia, on Saturday in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Australia. (Photo by Lyu Wei/Xinhua)

This photo taken on Jan. 28, 2023 shows ceramic artwork displayed during the "China Today" arts week in Adelaide, Australia. The "China Today" arts week was launched in Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia, on Saturday in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Australia. (Photo by Lyu Wei/Xinhua)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Overcoming a cannabis conviction to enter Canada Julia Hornstein Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif

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In order to understand foreign cannabis convictions, you must determine whether they have an equivalent in Canadian law. Some foreign convictions that are no longer illegal in Canada, such as possession of limited amounts of cannabis, should not be a problem.

Schedule a Free Legal Consultation with the Cohen Immigration Law Firm

However, several foreign cannabis charges or convictions can render a person inadmissible to Canada. The most common are:

Possession of more than 30 grams of dried cannabis (or equivalent in other forms)

Driving under the influence (DUI) of cannabis

The illegal sale or distribution of cannabis (serious criminality, punishable by up to 10 years in prison)

How to overcome inadmissibility

There are three main ways to overcome criminal admissibility if you are looking to travel to Canada:

Submit a Temporary Resident Permit Application

Submit a Criminal Rehabilitation Letter

Legal Opinion Letter

Temporary Resident Permit (TRP)

A Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) is an option for an individual considered criminally inadmissible as it grants temporary access to Canada for a certain period of time. A TRP should only be used in situations where a traveler has a valid reason for entering Canada, such as for business purposes or an emergency. The benefits of their entry must outweigh any risks to Canadian society.

A TRP application can be granted for up to three years, depending on the reason of entry. A person can apply for a TRP at any point and does not require the completion of a criminal sentence. A TRP can allow one entry to Canada or permit multiple re-entries. Once in Canada, an individual with a TRP may apply to extend the duration of the permit.

Criminal Rehabilitation Application

The Canadian Government offers the opportunity to submit a criminal rehabilitation application to permanently clear your past criminal history for the purposes of entering Canada. The criminal rehabilitation application is a one-time solution that, unlike a TRP, does not require renewal. If an individual is granted approval for criminal rehabilitation, they are no longer considered inadmissible and would not require a TRP for entry into Canada.

In order be eligible for criminal rehabilitation, you must meet the following criteria:

Must have committed an act outside of Canada that would be equivalent to an offence under the Canadian Criminal Code,

Must have been convicted of or admitted to committing the act, and

Five years must have passed since the sentence has been completed. This includes jail time, fines, community service or probation.

Legal Opinion Letter

A legal opinion letter is a document that a Canadian immigration lawyer prepares that contains details concerning a marijuana conviction or charge and the lawyers legal opinion on the situation. The letter would identify relevant Canadian law and suggest alternate infractions that would not render the individual inadmissible to Canada.

Schedule a Free Legal Consultation with the Cohen Immigration Law Firm

 CIC News All Rights Reserved. Discover your Canadian immigration options at CanadaVisa.com.
Working in Canada as a business visitor Vimal Sivakumar Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif

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Business visitors to Canada are afforded some special work privileges that are not given to all international persons coming to this country for work. One of those privileges is an exemption from requiring a Canadian work permit.

Why Canada allows business visitors to come to Canada without work permits

Canadas economic prosperity benefits greatly from allowing businesspeople from around the world to conduct business in Canada. This is because Canada upholds an economy that thrives on cooperation and relationship-building with countries around the world. From trade agreements to economic partnerships, Canada has reciprocal relationships with many countries that allow Canadians to enter their countries for business. Accordingly, Canada operates much the same way, as reciprocity is key to Canadas economic development.

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For instance, as a member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and the G7, among other things such as the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA, formerly known as the North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA), Canada places great emphasis on ensuring that international business can easily and smoothly be conducted in Canada.

Again, for that reason, some business visitors to Canada can arrive and perform their duties without requiring a work permit first.

Note: Business visitors to Canada may still need a Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) or an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) to conduct business in this country.

What are the criteria that foreign nationals must meet to qualify as business visitors to Canada?

For a foreign national to visit Canada and conduct business, there are certain things they must display to Canadian authorities. For example, prospective business visitors must:

Demonstrate that they intend to stay in Canada for less than six months

Prove that they have no intention of entering the Canadian labour market

Show that their main place of business, as well as their main source of income and profit, is outside of Canada

Present requested supporting documents for their application

Meet Canadas basic entry requirements

Pertaining to the final bullet on the above list, Canadas basic entry requirements include the following.

Having a valid travel document (ex. passport)

Possessing enough money to stay in Canada and return home

Having a plan to leave Canada at the end of their visit

Proving not to be a criminal, security, or health risk to Canadians

Now, the following two sections will provide some necessary clarity on the specific ways that Canada divides prospective business visitors coming to this country.

Who is not considered a business visitor in Canada?

It is important that we first clarify the circumstances under which a foreign national coming to conduct business in Canada is not considered a business visitor.

Individuals coming to Canada to perform duties involving hands-on building and construction Individuals coming to this country to work under a service contract negotiated by a third party (not either the Canadian company or a foreign organization working together) after the signing of the initial sales or lease/renal agreement Foreign nationals performing work in Canada not covered by a warranty If the foreign employee entering Canada is working for an international company that was directly contracted for service by a Canadian organization. In this case, a contract between a Canadian company and a foreign organization signifies an entry into the Canadian labour market.

Ex. Should a Canadian company contract the services of a U.S. organization, and the U.S. company were to send a team to work on-site in Canada, that would mean that the U.S. team members are both working in Canada and the international firm is being compensated for their role in the work. In this situation, the American nationals would not qualify as business visitors.

Who is considered a business visitor in Canada?

Conversely, here are a few examples of situations in which foreign nationals coming to Canada are considered to fall into the countrys definition of a business visitor.

Individuals repairing and servicing, supervising installers, and setting up (not including hands-on installation such as pipefitting) and testing commercial or industrial equipment (ex. computer software) Individuals looking to repair or service equipment purchased or leased outside Canada, so long as the services being performed are part of the original or extended sales/lease/rental agreement or warranty Individuals performing a software upgrade for previously sold or leased equipment Individuals installing, configuring, or training others on upgraded software Individuals coming to Canada to handle warranty and service agreements, in the case that contracts for this work have been negotiated as part of the original sale/lease/rental agreement or are an extension of the original agreement

What can eligible business visitors do while they are in Canada?

In line with the above-outlined information, here are some different activities that a business visitor to Canada can engage in during their time in the country. Business visitors can:

Attend business meetings, conferences, conventions, fairs

Buy Canadian goods or services on behalf of a foreign entity

Take orders for goods or services

Provide after-sales service (excluding hands-on work in the construction trades)

Receive training from a Canadian parent company for work outside of Canada

Provide training to employees of a Canadian subsidiary of a foreign company

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 CIC News All Rights Reserved. Visit CanadaVisa.com to discover your Canadian immigration options.
Dear Amy: My husband and I have been married for 10 years.

We each have two grown children from previous marriages.

My children love and accept my husband as family.

My husbands children have never accepted me.

I met their father years after their parents divorced, so I was in no way a cause of their break-up.

An example of their behavior toward me is when they visit for Christmas each year, they bring their father a Christmas gift and wish him a Merry Christmas, while they completely ignore me.

I am left sitting there with a feeling of disbelief.

Ive spoken to my husband about my feelings, but it doesnt really help.

He says his family is dysfunctional.

What should I do?

 Simply Hurt

Dear Hurt: Your husbands astute observation is that his family is dysfunctional.

I assume youre thinking: Thats right, Einstein.

But an accurate description is not a solution.

Your husband seems to be passively standing by while his children humiliate you  and in your own home.

You also seem to have lost your own voice.

His children obviously want to have a relationship with him, so he should convey to them that he wont tolerate this rudeness toward you. If he had done this at the outset of your relationship, they might have been retrained by now.

Youve asked what you should do about their behavior.

You have absolutely nothing to lose, and so you might take advantage of this post-holiday period to email both of them and say, Ive been married to your father for 10 years. I had no role in the breakup of your parents marriage, which happened before he and I met. I regret that Ive been tolerating your rudeness toward me for a decade. Id like to have a positive relationship with you, but at the very least I do expect you to be polite toward me when youre a guest in our home.

Dear Amy: My 98-year-old father died recently.

At the graveside service, our long-time business associate (and family friend) of 45 years would not shake hands with my sons boyfriend.

My son had to introduce his boyfriend twice before our family friend eventually shook his hand.

Ive always suspected that he is homophobic, though he has never said anything out loud.

I did not witness the interaction, but I know how disrespected my son felt.

It was an added anguish to an already stressful day.

And of course, I am outraged and want to contact the family friend and question him about this blatant bigotry.

He usually seems to appear kind and thoughtful, in all other interactions.

My question to you is how should I respond/deal with a close business associate and family friend who demonstrates behavior that I believe needs to be called out?

I am considering sending an email to him, but would like your advice.

 Incensed Mother

Dear Incensed: I can think of a couple of legitimate reasons (aside from homophobia) for why someone might choose not to shake someone elses hand, but your son obviously interpreted this choice as stemming from homophobia  and you do, too.

If you continue to stew on this, you should contact your friend, tell him what your son has told you, tell him that this is upsetting to you, and ask for an explanation.

He might tell you that he didnt hear your sons introduction, or that he is reluctant to shake hands these days for fear of passing along or contracting an illness.

You should accept whatever explanation he has offered, with the understanding that you have already conveyed your distress about this.

Dear Amy: Thank you for the comic relief with all of the questions about brides forcing wedding guests to dress a specific way.

Almost 59 years ago, I walked down the aisle to start a life with my hubby.

We were in our late teens.

Naysayers thought we were doomed from the start.

Even my parents disagreed with my choice to marry. I paid for my own modest church wedding.

Afterward, as I looked at the amateur pictures, I caught a glimpse of the pastors wife in curlers.

She thought there would be a need for a witness at this teen marriage. (The church was full.)

Were still married, and I still smile at that memory.

My advice is for guests to come as you are, and to be supportive.

 A Sweet Home Bride

Dear Bride: These goofy questions would be flat-out funny, if they werent so oppressively sad.

(You can email Amy Dickinson at askamy@amydickinson.com or send a letter to Ask Amy, P.O. Box 194, Freeville, NY 13068. You can also follow her on Twitter @askingamy or Facebook.)
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 29)  The Philippine Army is now looking for members of a general court martial that would try relieved Brig. Gen. Jesus Durante III and other military personnel over the killing of Davao-based model and businesswoman Yvonette Yvonne Chua Plaza.

Naghahanap muna kami ng members who will constitute the GCM (General Court Martial)Nagpe-prepare lang kami pero merong pre-trial investigation pa, Army chief Lt. Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. confirmed to reporters on Sunday.

[Translation: Were now looking for members who will constitute the GCMWe are preparing since the pre-trial investigation is still ongoing.]

Brawner said he issued the order on Saturday as he anticipates within this week the recommendations of the Judge Advocate Generals Office and the Office of the Provost Marshal General, which are studying if Durantes case needs a general court martial.

He said he already forwarded to the offices the results of the investigation of the 10th Infantry Divisions Board of Inquiry, which already recommended to try the military officers via court martial.

The Davao Region Police earlier implicated Durante, the commander of the 1001st Infantry Brigade in Davao de Oro and six other enlisted military personnel in Plazas murder, which was established as a crime of passion.

Durante, who was the former Presidential Security Group commander of Rodrigo Duterte, was the alleged mastermind, according to police investigators.

On Friday, Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesperson Col. Medel Aguilar said five of the military officers are already under its custody, including Durante and his deputy Col. Michael Licyayo.

He added they are still trying to locate the other two personnel.

The court martial proceedings will tackle the administrative aspects of the cases filed against the army personnel, including their ranks and benefits. The criminal aspects, on the other hand, will be handled by civil courts.

Representatives of Gabriela, ACT Teachers, and Kabataan are also seeking a House committee investigation.

CNN Philippines senior correspondent David Santos and digital producer Jelo Mantaring contributed to this report.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 29)  The wake of slain overseas Filipino worker Jullebee Ranara began on Sunday at her home in Las Pinas, with some government officials visiting to condole with the bereaved family.

I grieve for you. Justice will prevail. #Justice4Jullebee God bless you, Jullebee, Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Susan Toots Ople said in a social media post after visiting the wake.

Ranaras remains arrived in the country from Kuwait on Friday and underwent an autopsy conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation the next day upon the request of the family. Her burnt body was discovered in the Kuwaiti desert on Jan. 21.

Kuwaiti authorities have arrested the primary suspect in the killing  the 17-year-old son of Ranara's employer.

The DMW earlier said it will send a fact-finding team to Kuwait next week to investigate the case and look into the situation of OFWs there in order to establish measures and prevent further abuse.

According to officials, the Ranara family has requested privacy in their time of grief.

Gusto kong mabigay sa kanila yung privacy na magluksa. Kung sa atin man mangyari ito, na paulit-ulit ikukwento yung nangyari sa mahal mo, masakit 'yun eh. Unawain na lang natin, said Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) chief Arnell Ignacio, who visited the family earlier and during the wake.

Kabayan Party-list Representative and House Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs Chairperson Ron Salo came on Sunday afternoon. He condoled with the family and vowed to make sure that justice will be served.

On calls for deployment ban

When asked about calls for a deployment ban to Kuwait, Salo said more research and consultations are needed.

Mabigat kung magkaroon tayo ng ban. Kailangan pag-isipan ng maigi dahil may implications yun. Baka siyempre yung mga iba gustong mag-renew, hindi naman makakapag-renew. Yung iba naman na gustong makapunta doon, hindi makakapunta, he told reporters.

[Translation: It will be tough if we have a (deployment) ban. We need to think about it thoroughly because it has implications. There may be some who would want to renew (their contracts) but they wouldnt be able do so. Others who want to work abroad may also not be able to do so.]

Instead of a ban, Salo says he will push for the proactive monitoring of OFWs by recruitment agencies to make sure that cases like that of Ranaras would not happen again.

READ: DMW not considering Kuwait deployment ban after OFW slay, eyes additional safeguards

CNN Philippines' correspondent Paige Javier contributed to this story.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 29)  President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. approved the implementation of a value-added tax (VAT) refund program for tourists, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said.

Marcos will issue an executive order to implement the tax refund program, which is also being carried out in other countries, the PCO said on Sunday.

If enacted, foreign travelers will be refunded the 12% VAT imposed on goods and services in the Philippines.

Some countries that currently offer tourist VAT refunds include Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Switzerland, Italy, and Spain.

However, tourists can only avail of the refund if they spend above a minimum amount, which varies among countries.

The Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) Tourism Sector Group said the Philippines tourist VAT refund program could be implemented by 2024.

It was one of the Quick Wins recommendations the PSAC made to Marcos last Thursday in a bid to enhance the Philippine tourism industry.

The PSAC also pitched the inclusion of India in the countrys visa-upon-arrival list, removal of the One Health Pass, and the improvement of Philippine airport facilities.

Marcos ordered the inclusion of Chinese, Indian, South Korean, and Japanese nationals in the e-visa program.

READ: Marcos wants Chinese, Indian, South Korean, Japanese tourists included in e-visa program

For this year, the Department of Tourism is targeting 4.8 million international tourist arrivals, which could generate 2.58 trillion in revenues, the PCO said.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 29)  The seven-day positivity rate for COVID-19 in Metro Manila has slightly increased, OCTA Research Group said on Sunday.

In a tweet, OCTA Research fellow Guido David said the positivity rate in the National Capital Region (NCR) rose to 2.4% on Jan. 27 from 2% on Jan. 26.

The independent pandemic monitor reported a 2.5% positivity rate in the metropolis on Jan. 20.

RELATED: PH logs nearly 2,000 COVID-19 cases from Jan. 16-21, down 35% from prior week

We will monitor this over the next few days to see if the trend continues upward, David said.

Positivity rate refers to the percentage of tested people with positive results. The World Health Organization (WHO) has set a positivity rate benchmark of below 5%.

The Department of Health (DOH) recorded 199 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, bringing the total infections to 4,072,844 since the pandemic started.

Its data showed that NCR topped the list of provinces and regions with the most number of new coronavirus infections as it recorded 72 cases on Saturday. It was followed by Negros Occidental with 16 and Davao del Sur with 12.

Meanwhile, a WHO committee has yet to announce its decision on whether the COVID-19 pandemic is still a global health emergency.

In his opening remarks during the Jan. 27 committee meeting, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the global response remains hobbled as life-saving tools are still inaccessible to vulnerable sectors in many countries.

Tedros also noted the spike in deaths in China after it lifted its COVID-19 restrictions.

RELATED: DOH: PH ready should WHO lift public health emergency for COVID-19
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 29)  Following the gruesome death of a Filipina domestic helper in Kuwait last week, Senator Raffy Tulfo on Saturday proposed a total labor deployment ban in the Gulf state.

Tulfo wants to gradually pull out overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Kuwait and send them instead to work in places where they are properly compensated and treated with respect, like Guam.

Guam is a new market for OFWs currently needing thousands of skilled workers. In fact, Guam, a United States Territory, reportedly prefers to hire more Filipino workers, he said in a statement.

Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Susan Ople earlier dismissed calls for a deployment ban, saying it might hurt international relations with other countries.

If you impose a deployment ban, you are sending a message that Kuwait is not suitable for workers, she said in a press briefing on Saturday.

READ: DMW not considering Kuwait deployment ban after OFW slay, eyes additional safeguards

Instead, Ople prefers a review of the bilateral labor agreement with the Kuwaiti government to enhance safeguards and protection for OFWs.

The DMW said it will also look at the recruitment and screening process of OFWs.

Mayroon ngayong direktiba na tingnan din, suriin din ang sistema ng pagre-recruit para mas lalong protektado ang mga OFWs to Kuwait, DMW Undersecretary Hans Leo Cacdac said during the press briefing.

[Translation: There is now a directive to review the recruitment system to better protect OFWs to Kuwait.]

But according to Tulfo, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Migrant Workers, bilateral talks between the Philippines and Kuwait could still be done after a deployment ban.

To ensure that employers are fit to hire Filipino workers in their homes, Tulfo wants a tight screening process and psychiatric exam for employers, including members of their household, in "high-risk countries."

The 35-year-old Jullebee Ranara was killed last Jan. 21, allegedly by her employer's 17-year-old son.

READ: DMW imposes preventive suspension on employer of OFW killed in Kuwait

Ranara's remains arrived in the Philippines on Friday.

Tulfo also wants the Kuwaiti government to issue a public apology not just to Ranaras family but also to the Filipino people.

READ: DMW: Case vs. recruiters of slain OFW in Kuwait to be filed next week
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 29)  Presidential son Vincent Vinny Marcos is being mentored at the House of Representatives as an intern, Speaker Martin Romualdez office said on Monday following reports that the 25-year-old has been designated as the latters special assistant.

The office said Vincent, Romualdez nephew and the youngest son of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., has been working for the House Speaker since Monday last week and will undergo legislative training.

He will be mentored on the daily grind at the House of Representatives, including the role and interaction of various committees and departments on the legislative processes, as well as strategies to help expedite the passage of vital bills and other measures for the benefit of the Filipino people, it said.

Romualdez himself is expected to oversee Vincents training, it added.

In a statement on Sunday, Minority Leader and 4Ps party-list Rep. Marcelino Libanan said they were advised that the presidential son has been working as a special assistant to Romualdez, and that the speaker asked them to brief Vincent on the work of the House minority bloc.

Based on Libanans Facebook posts, Vincent first met with Romualdez, Majority leader Rep. Mannix Dalipe, Libanan, and other lawmakers on Jan. 23 when Congress resumed session after the holiday break.

He met with Libanan and the House minority on Jan. 25 to discuss the blocs priority measures for 2023.

We must stress that even if the majority and minority blocs have differing views, we in the House can all agree to disagree without being disagreeable, Libanan said.

Vincent worked as a software engineer in Singapore before he returned home to help his father in the 2022 elections, the lawmaker added.

According to his office, Romualdez also supervised the legislative training of Vincent's eldest brother, Ilocos Norte 1st District Rep. Sandro Marcos.

Sandro is currently the senior deputy majority leader at the lower chamber, which makes him the vice chairperson of the powerful Committee on Rules that handles all matters relating to the House rules, procedures governing legislative inquiries and impeachment, order of business, and referral of bills, resolutions, and committee reports.

READ: House elects new minority leader; Marcos's son gets post

In the Senate, presidential sister Sen. Imee Marcos chairs the committees on cooperatives, electoral reforms and peoples participation, foreign relations, and social justice, welfare and rural development.
(CNN)  Five Russian men who fled the country after Moscow's military mobilization order last September have been stranded at South Korea's Incheon International Airport for months after authorities refused to accept them.

Three of the men had arrived in October, with the remaining two in November, said their lawyer Lee Jong-chan.

Lee said that their applications for refugee status were denied by the South Korean Justice Ministry -- leaving them stranded at the departure area for months while awaiting a ruling on their appeal. "They are provided with one meal a day, which is lunch," Lee told CNN. "But for the rest of the day they live off bread and drinks."

The men are able to shower but have to wash their clothes by hand and are unable to leave the departure and duty-free areas, he added.

"They have limited access to medical care (and) no support for their mental health which is important considering their precarious situation," he said.

The "partial mobilization" of Russian citizens to fight in the country's war on Ukraine generated angry protests and prompted a mass exodus when it was announced last September. Many scrambled across land border crossings or bought air tickets out of the country.

Collective data showed that more than 200,000 people fled Russia for Georgia, Kazakhstan and the European Union in the first week after mobilizations were announced.

"I don't support what's going on so I just decided that I had to leave right away," one man who left for Belarus previously told CNN.

"It feels bad because a lot of my friends, a lot of people don't support the war and they feel threatened by what is going on, and there is no democratic way to really stop this, to even declare your protest," the man had said.

Men up to the age of 60 with no criminal record are eligible for military conscription. Prior military experience is not always required.

Soldiers who refuse to fight and return to the front line are reportedly held in basements in occupied Ukrainian territory and face charges of desertion, according to their families.

Only those convicted of sex crimes against minors, treason, spying or terrorism are exempted from conscription.

South Korea's Ministry of Justice has dismissed the men's applications as "not being worthy of evaluation" -- on the grounds that refusal of conscription was not a reason for refugee recognition, according to their lawyer Lee.

Their refusal to serve in the Russian military "should be recognized as a political reason" considering that Russia's invasion of Ukraine was "condemned by international law," Lee said.

Rights groups have called on the South Korean government to accept the men as refugees.

"Those who apply for refugee status upon escaping political and religious persecution from their home countries have rights to protection under international law," read a statement from a South Korean rights advocacy group. It was highly likely that the men would be "detained or forcibly drafted" if they returned home, the group added.

"They are political refugees who face persecution."

The men have appealed the decision and three of them are set to face their first ruling on January 31 -- during which a court will decide if their case is "worthy of evaluation," Lee their lawyer said.

If the court rules in their favor, the Justice Ministry will then have to review the men's applications for refugee status.

Military conscription is a sensitive issue in South Korea, where military service is mandatory for all able bodied men between the ages of 18 and 35.

Not even the country's athletes or K-pop superstars are exempted from military service. Conscientious objection, which was illegal for decades, was not allowed until a landmark ruling in 2018. However, religious groups have continued to voice concerns about forms of "alternative service" that involve working in correctional facilities for three years.

This story was first published on CNN. "Five Russian men fleeing military conscription have been living at a South Korean airport for months"
(CNN)  Three people were killed and at least four injured in a shooting in Los Angeles, the city's fire department said Saturday, California's fourth mass shooting in a week.

The Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a call for help at 2:35 a.m. on a residential street northwest of downtown, a spokesperson said.

Responders found three people dead and two injured, which were taken to a hospital, the fire department said. Two others took themselves to a hospital, the spokesperson said.

CNN affiliate KCAL said the shooting occurred just outside of Beverly Hills in the Beverly Crest community. Three victims were shot inside a car and other four while standing outside a home.

Police said the first call came in about an "assault with a deadly weapon," the station reported.

The four people hospitalized are reportedly in critical condition, the station said.

A week of bloodshed

This was the third mass shooting in California since January 21, when a gunman entered a dance studio in Monterey Park, in metro Los Angeles, and killed 11 people.

Seven people were killed Monday on farms in Half Moon Bay in northern California.

Hours later, five people were shot in Oakland. One man, 18, died.

Correction: A previous version of this story misstated the number of recent mass shootings in California. The shooting in the Beverly Crest community is the 4th mass shooting this week.

This story was first published on CNN. "3 killed and at least 4 wounded in overnight shooting in Los Angeles"
(CNN)  The West's decision to finally send tanks to Ukraine has caused some to ask the uncomfortable question: Does this mean that NATO is now in direct conflict with Russia?

This narrative, which is being pushed hard by the Kremlin, undoubtedly helps Russian President Vladimir Putin and his allies deflect from the fact that Russia launched an unprovoked attack on Ukraine and illegally occupied parts of a sovereign state.

It also, perhaps more conveniently for Putin, gives the NATO allies pause for thought when it comes to deciding exactly how much military assistance they should give Ukraine.

First things first: the consensus among experts is that no NATO member is anywhere near what could be considered to be being at war with Russia by any internationally accepted legal definition. Therefore, the idea that the alliance is at war with Russia is a non-starter.

"War would require strikes carried out by US or NATO forces, in uniform, attacking from NATO territory against Russian forces, Russian territory, or the Russian populace," explains William Alberque, from the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

"Any fighting by Ukraine -- with any conventional weapons, against any Russian forces -- is not US/NATO war on Ukraine, no matter how much Russia wants to claim it so," he adds.

Alberque points to the United Nations Charter, which states that nothing "shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations, until the Security Council has taken measures necessary to maintain international peace and security."

Russia is a permanent member of the UN Security Council and has used its veto to block condemnation of its actions in Ukraine.

The Kremlin has certainly sought to exploit certain grey areas that are inherent in any modern warfare to incorrectly claim that NATO is the chief aggressor in the Ukraine conflict.

Those grey areas might include the use of Western intelligence to carry out attacks on Russian targets.

They could also include the US launching the war on terror and invoking NATO's Article 5 after the 9/11 attacks, in which America was attacked by terrorists rather than a nation state.

Russia's Security Council secretary, Nikolai Patrushev, has claimed that the West is trying to "destroy" Russia. Anatoly Antonov, Russia's ambassador to the United States, has said that the US administration is pushing Ukraine to "carry out terrorist attacks in Russia."

Of course, whatever slim merit there might be to these dubious claims, they pale in comparison to the documented brutality and illegal actions of Russian forces in Ukraine since Putin ordered the invasion.

But the fact that they exist and are being taken seriously by analysts and commentators outside of Russia, including in Washington DC, plays into the Kremlin's hands in more ways than one.

John Herbst, former US ambassador to Ukraine and senior director of the Eurasia Center at the Atlantic Council, explains that promoting the idea of this being a NATO-Russian war helps explain to Putin's domestic audience why the invasion has not succeeded as quickly as Russia had hoped.

"Because the Russian military has been such a failure in Ukraine, it is helpful to explain this as a war with NATO rather than Ukraine. This also helps justify whatever steps Putin might take next, and Russia has been very keen to play up the idea that this might mean going nuclear," Herbst told CNN.

Herbst believes that Russia's information war on the West has been more successful than its military campaign, in the sense that it has caused credible and rational people in Washington, DC to self-deter from backing increased military support to Ukraine because they overstate the prospect of Putin using nuclear weapons, which would be disastrous for Russia too.

"I can't tell you how many experts have said we really can't provide Ukraine with certain weapons because Putin will go nuclear. What we've seen in the past six months is Russian think-tankers contacting their colleagues in the West to say that Putin could really do it. Sadly, Washington and Berlin, especially, allowed themselves at times to be deterred by this threat," he says.

The reason long-term Putin-watchers think there is little threat of Russia escalating to the point of provoking NATO to respond with force is simply that Moscow knows it couldn't survive the confrontation.

"One of the few objectives that the Russian and US leadership share at the moment is avoiding a direct conflict between the two powers," says Malcolm Chalmers, deputy director general at the Royal United Services Institute think tank in London.

"Russia knows that a conventional confrontation with NATO would be over very quickly for them. However, there is some sense in ratcheting up the idea that it is willing to take that risk, if it means it can extract more concessions from the West," he adds.

Multiple European officials and NATO sources agreed with the analysis that Putin going nuclear was unlikely, though the possibility had to be taken seriously and avoided. The question is, avoided at what cost?

Ukraine will very likely continue to ask for more weapons and greater support from its allies the longer the war drags on. Each time, every NATO member will have to weigh up whether or not it's worth the risk, or if dragging its feet actually plays into the Kremlin's hands.

Herbst believes that the Russian invasion of Ukraine has served as a sharp reminder of what dealing with an aggressive Kremlin is like and that Western officials had temporarily forgotten the tactics of the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

"The soft-headedness of the West has happened because we've had peace between the great powers for the best part of 30 years," he says. "We are currently in the process of discovering stuff that we knew in our bones at the height of the Cold War. And the only reason why we are seeing this now is because one of the great powers has decided it doesn't like the world order that now exists."

As the war progresses, the West and NATO are being forced to learn hard lessons in real time.

But each time Russia warns of escalation -- either by itself or NATO -- Western capitals must keep sight of the fact: Russia is the aggressor in this conflict and the West is nowhere near being at war with Russia.

And no matter what noises Kremlin officials make about the West trying to destroy Russia, only one sovereign state has invaded another sovereign state and illegally claimed parts of its territory by force.

This story was first published on CNN. "Does the West's decision to arm Ukraine with tanks bring it closer to war with Russia?"
A Stamford man has been charged on federal counts with robbing three banks in 2020, according to federal authorities.

Francesco Pensiero, also known as Frank Pensiero, 50, was arrested on a federal criminal complaint charging him with robbing the three Connecticut banks in October 2020, according to federal authorities.

Authorities, citing the federal complaint, said Pensiero and an associate allegedly robbed the Chase Bank on Main Street in Stratford on Oct. 13, 2020, during which Pensieros associate allegedly displayed a handgun on the teller counter and presented the teller with a note that read this is a robbery give me all your money.'

The teller gave Pensieros associate about $1,000 and the two left the bank, authorities said,

However, on the same day, Pensiero also allegedly robbed the then-Peoples United Bank on Kings Highway Cutoff in Fairfield, authorities said. Pensiero allegedly pulled out a handgun and gave the teller a note that said, This is a robbery. Pensiero left the bank with $5,458, authorities said.

Then, on Oct. 28, 2020, Pensiero and his associate allegedly robbed the then-Peoples United Bank on Main Street in New Canaan, authorities said.

Pensiero displayed a handgun, provided the teller with a note demanding money, verbally threatened to kill the teller and other employees, and ordered the bank employees to lie on the floor., according to federal authorities. Pensiero and his associate stole $9,130 during the robbery, and fled from the bank in a red Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS. The following day, the car was set on fire on Green Avenue in New Canaan.

Pensieros associate, who was not named, was charged with, and convicted of, related state offenses stemming from the robberies, according to federal authorities.
MONTANA

Feds send $930 million to curb 'crisis' of US West wildfires

BILLINGS  The U.S. is directing $930 million toward reducing wildfire dangers in 10 western states by clearing trees and underbrush from national forests, the Biden administration announced Jan. 19, as officials struggle to protect communities from destructive infernos being made worse by climate change.

Under a strategy now entering its second year, the U.S. Forest Service is trying to prevent out-of-control fires that start on public lands from raging through communities. But in an interview with The Associated Press, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack acknowledged that the shortage of workers that has been plaguing other sectors of the economy is hindering the agency's wildfire efforts.

He warned that "draconian" budget cuts floated by some Republicans, who control the U.S. House, could also undermine the Democratic administration's plans to lower wildfire risks across almost 80,000 square miles of public and private lands over the next decade.

The work is projected to cost up to $50 billion. Last year's climate and infrastructure bills combined directed about $5 billion to the effort.

Vilsack said that fires on public lands will continue to threaten the West, after burning about 115,000 square miles over the past decade  an area larger than Arizona  and destroying about 80,000 houses, businesses and other structures, according to government statistics and the nonpartisan research group Headwaters Economics.

The idea is to remove many trees and other flammable material from hotspots that make up only a small portion of fire-prone areas but account for about 80% of risk to communities. Vilsack said officials will seek to restore " old-growth forest conditions "  meaning fewer but larger trees that can be resilient against fires.

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman said he was glad to see the Biden administration taking "long-overdue action" and streamlining forest management rules. But Westerman questioned why more money will be spent this year even as new projects include fewer acres compared with last year, according to administration documents.

NEW MEXICO

Mexican gray wolf that roamed beyond recovery area captured

ALBUQUERQUE  A female Mexican gray wolf that roamed beyond the endangered species' recovery area into the more northern reaches of New Mexico has been captured, authorities said Jan. 23.

The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish used a helicopter to locate and capture the wolf a day earlier.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials in Albuquerque said the wolf will be held temporarily in captivity and paired with a male Mexican wolf "for transfer as a pair to Mexico later this year."

They said the female wolf first moved north of the arbitrary Interstate 40 boundary in New Mexico on Jan. 2 and then showed no signs of returning to the experimental population recovery area.

Authorities said last week that a map showed the wolf near Taos and south of the Colorado border.

The wolf, from the Rocky Prairie Pack of Arizona, was named "Asha" by school children.

Her roaming reignited 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.

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.

Lawmakers aim to attract hydrogen investments

SANTA FE  New Mexico state lawmakers will consider public incentives aimed at attracting investments in hydrogen production and distribution as a potential new source of industrial employment and an alternative for vehicles and factories that rely on climate-warming fossil fuels, as the legislature convenes in January.

Democratic state Rep. Patricia Lundstrom of Gallup, the lead House budget negotiator, said she planned to introduce a bill aimed at setting aside money for public-private partnerships for hydrogen projects.

New Mexico has teamed up with Wyoming, Utah and Colorado to vie for a slice of federal funds set aside to support regional hydrogen hubs that would step up hydrogen production and distribution.

Lundstrom says her initiative is aimed at giving New Mexico a competitive edge in its bid to attract federal and private investments.

A similar proposal from Lundstrom last year stalled amid withering criticism from environmentalists who are wary of the impacts of producing hydrogen from natural gas, a process that creates greenhouse gases including carbon dioxide.

The 2021 federal infrastructure law included $8 billion for the U.S. Department of Energy to fund the regional hubs.

Legislators are desperately searching for new sources of employment as New Mexico reels from the recent retirement of coal-fired power plants, amid efforts to fight climate change by requiring more carbon-free sources of electricity.

WYOMING

Bill allocating $10 million for school crosswalks advances

CHEYENNE  The Wyoming Senate advanced a bill that would allocate $10 million for school crosswalk improvements and pedestrian bridges after passing the Senate Appropriations Committee on Jan. 18.

The legislation is sponsored by the Joint Judiciary Committee, which studied crosswalk safety as an interim topic in response to statewide community concerns. Pedestrian accidents were brought to legislators' attention, including the death of a junior high student in Cheyenne who was struck and killed while using a crosswalk outside of his school more than a year ago.

Sen. Tara Nethercott, R-Cheyenne, said the bill was the result of the surprising statistics surrounding the number of children who were coming into contact with traffic on Wyoming roads.

The bill has been backed not just by Cheyenne lawmakers seeking improved safety for students, but the Wyoming Department of Transportation. Officials have focused on a crosswalk safety awareness campaign in the past year and are looking for ways to use the funding to improve their systems. This could be in the form of an underpass or overpass, a high-amplitude blinker system or additional signage.

Janelle Jones, the mother of the McCormick Junior High student who was killed, came before legislators to push for the funding. She started a nonprofit organization, ForMak, that was named in honor of her son.

KANSAS

Senator's reelection campaign scammed out of $690K

TOPEKA  Someone scammed U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran's reelection campaign out of $690,000 by getting the Kansas Republican's accounting firm to wire the money to fraudulent bank accounts, his office said Jan. 23.

Moran's campaign treasurer, Timothy Gottschalk, notified the Federal Election Commission by electronic letter Dec. 8 of "fraudulent activity by a third-party cyber-criminal." The letter said that after the campaign notified a local sheriff's office on Nov. 16, the case was forwarded to the FBI and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.

The letter said the campaign received two fraudulent invoices that appeared to be from SRCP Media Inc., a Washington area company hired to handle Moran's broadcast advertising. The letter said the campaign organization wired $345,000 on Oct. 25 and another $345,000 on Nov. 9.

The campaign's electronic letter to the FEC said that as of Dec. 8, the campaign had recovered $168,184.

Moran won his third six-year term in the Senate in November with 60% of the vote against Democrat Mark Holland, a former Kansas City, Kansas, mayor. His reelection campaign raised more than $7.3 million and spent more than $5.1 million through Nov. 28, according to a finance report it filed with the FEC, also on Dec. 8.
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Mary Mashburn, the longtime former executive director of the nonprofit Imagination Celebration, who was also widely known as the fairy godmother of the arts in Colorado Springs and the Pikes Peak region, died Saturday. She was 85.
Cora Mitchell is an Editor and Visual Journalist at The Columbia Missourian pursuing a Documentary Journalism major and a Film Studies minor at the University of Missouri. Mitchell has always loved photography and making videos since they were a kid, and believes the best way to tell the stories of under-served and marginalized communities is through the visual medium.

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Bailey Stover is a multimedia journalist with The Missourian. She is pursuing a double major in Journalism and Spanish and a double minor in Public Health and Sociology at the University of Missouri. She can be reached by email at bascnh@mail.missouri.edu.

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A man is being held on a $3 million bond after he allegedly tried to shoot the mother of his child Friday night in Meriden, police said.

Jose Esteves, a convicted felon, was charged with criminal attempt to commit assault in the first degree, criminal possession of a firearm, criminal use of a firearm, theft of a firearm and reckless endangerment, according to the Meriden Police Department.

On Saturday, a woman called police to report that her childs father had fired a gun at her the night before, police said.

The woman told police that she was out at a bar with friends when Esteves showed up at the same bar. He left before she did and was waiting for her in a parking lot near her home when a friend tried to drop her off later that night, police said.

When her friend tried to drive away from Esteves, he fired a single shot at the vehicle they were in. No one was hit by the bullet, police said.

The woman and her friend left Meriden, but Esteves continued to harass and threaten her all night, police said.

After interviewing the woman and witnesses, reviewing surveillance videos from the area and recovering evidence from the scene, an unmarked police vehicle was stationed outside Esteves house to keep an eye on him and a marked police vehicle was stationed outside the womans house.

Officers spotted Esteves leaving his house and followed him toward the womans home, where additional officers were headed to protect her, police said.

Officers pulled Esteves over when he pulled on to her street and placed him under arrest, police said.

Police said they found a loaded, stolen gun near where he was taken into custody. Since Esteves is a convicted felon, he is prohibited from having a gun.

Esteves was being held in lieu of a $3 million bond and a protective order was put in place, police said.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact the Major Crimes Unit at mpdtips@meridenct.gov or 203-630-6253.

Connecticuts Domestic Violence Hotline can be reached 24/7 by calling 1-800-774-2900.
Text:

The Indian villagers have the right to have an electricity connection like any other Indian in any place in the country.

The district administration should take immediate steps for water connection, road construction and rural health for villagers of Noudapara.

The BSF posted at Mamabhagina BOP should immediately allow the villagers to have access to it while installing a power connection.

The Government of India and the Government of West Bengal should abide by the Chapter III of the Indian Constitution where the fundamental rights of Indian citizenry are enshrined.

A disciplinary action should be taken against the BSF Company Commander of Mamabhagina BOP of 68 BN BSF and all others for imposing illegal restrictions upon the villagers and harassing them.

BSF should not restrict the life and livelihood of the villagers.

A senior civil rights leader has said that even after 75 years of Independence, the Noudapara area of Mamabhagina village of the North 24 Parganas district, West Bengal, has no electricity connection.Stating that the BSF has "prohibited power transmission at Noudapara", in a representation to the home department of the West Bengal government, Kirity Roy, secretary, Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), the action is "preventing education for children, treatment of sick persons, and other household activities where power connections are a necessity."He regretted, on November 1, 2022, 62 people from the Noudapara area submitted a mass petition with their demand at the SDO at Bongaon in the North 24 Paraganas district, yet nobody seemed to care.This letter requires your immediate attention to sufferings of Noudapara area of Mamabhagina village under Police Station & Block Bagdah of North 24 Parganas District in West Bengal accessible through Gate No 2/A managed by 68 Battalion B Company Border Security Force personnel posted at Mamabhagina Border Outpost.Noudapara area is the extended part of Mamabhagina village and mouza, which is on the other side of the border fence known as India Para having proximity to Daulatpur in Bangladesh. Even after 75 years of independence, the area of is still lacking the electricity connection, the basic living and livelihood are in distress. The BSF 68 Battalion at Mamabhagina BOP prohibited power transmission at Noudapara prevented education for children, treatment of sick persons, and other household activities where power connections are a necessity. In the area, nearly 18-20 families live with an estimated population of 65-70 who are living in penury.On 1st November 2022, 62 people from the Noudapara area of Mamabhagina village submitted a mass petition with their demand at the SDO at Bongaon in the North 24 Paraganas District. Villagers are stranded on the electricity issue -- the inactiveness of the BDO not responding to their demand and prohibition by BSF with their illegitimate order. Apart from the people deprived of government benefits and services, for a visit to a doctor and household needs they have to cross the border and have to travel to the closest area of Bangladesh. The nearest ICDS is at Bangladesh, where children from Noudapara goes for schooling as one Bangladeshi. In case of medical emergency and for further education, one has to travel one and half kilometer to India. The irony of the situation, that they are being Indian but for most of the services they have to visit Bangladesh. Hence, this Indian village is totally unprotected, BSF is not stationed at the international border. This villagers were not provided with facilities of safe drinking water, village road, etc. The arbitrary orders of BSF personnel of Mamabhagina Border Outpost, is not only challenging their life and livelihood but also violating Article 21 and Article 19 (1) (g) and 39(a) of the Constitution of India and Article 2, Article 12, and Article 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.The plight of the villagers and denial of their proper livelihood practices is against Articles 6 (Right to Work), 7 (Right to enjoyment just and favorable condition of work), 9 (Right to Social Security), and 11 (Right to Adequate Standard of living) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). Articles 13 and 17 of the UN Declaration on the rights of peasants and Goal No. 8 and 16 of SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) of the UN. In all these international instruments, the Government of India is a party and has taken a pledge to adhere.On 13th December 2022, upon spot enquiry to Mr. B Mallick, DE & SM, Bagda Customer Service Center of WBSEDCL, from whom the villagers came to know that if SDO, Bongaon pass an order of power connection immediately WBSEDCL is ready to act on itYou are being the head of authority of the district, so requesting your urgent intervention in this case by fulfilling the following demands of the people from Noudapara:I hope this letter clarifies the issue forced upon the villagers and which entails urgent resolution.
Hartford residents say they are beginning to see some promising movement in their quest to get the attention of state and federal agencies and officials about ongoing incidents of flooding and sewage backups in the citys North End.

This is after outrage and disappointment bubbled over when representatives of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency out of Boston canceled their planned Jan. 17 tour to meet and review the ongoing claims of flooding and sewage backups in the city. The agency said the tour was postponed due to unanticipated publicity.

Residents contacted the agency about the lack of action they contend could be tied to the location in the city, and the sewage and flooding incidents in their homes. Residents said they felt unheard by some elected officials and the Metropolitan District Commission.

Among the steps the EPA said it is taking are a review of MDC actions to address overflows, an EPA inspection of stormwater and sewage systems in the city and formulating a new plan to meet with residents who are impacted by the sewage and stormwater issues. Further, the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said it is holding the MDC accountable under various enforcement actions and consent orders that they have agreed to regarding Federal Clean Water Act goals.

Community activist Bridgitte Prince, who has been working to find a solution for residents in the North End, said she attended a meeting this week with the DEEPs Graham Stevens, EPA Region 1 Regional Administrator David Cash, EPA Civil Rights administrator Sharon Wells, and other community leaders, and an important step was taken by finalizing a date for the EPA to return to the city. The rescheduled meeting, set for Feb. 6 at 5:30 p.m. at The American Legion at 2121 Main St., is planned as a venue for residents who have faced sewage and flooding in their homes. A document provided to The Courant confirmed to meeting time and place.

The meeting with EPA Administrator Cash and Civil rights director Wells is definitely encouraging, They assured us that they will not be intimidated or manipulated by political influences in the Hartford area and that their mission is to is to identify environmental injusticeand to definitely correct it. So, its moving in the right direction, she said.

She hopes residents will come away with commitments and immediate action to get repairs done that will help control sewage and flooding they have experienced, as the MDC and city have identified what the problem is.

Its not just about them fixing it. Its about them making this community whole, because theyve just taken so much, Prince said.

Community Activist Bridgitte Prince holds a photo of herself in the Army from 1982 when she was at Fort Jackson South Carolina, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023. Prince lost many of her belongings from when she served in the Army after her fathers home in Hartford flooded years ago. Hartfords North End residents have been dealing with ongoing incidents of flooding and sewage backups for years.

In the federal agencys most recent statement provided to the Courant, the EPA said it is reviewing the MDCs work to address sewer overflows. The agency said its inspectors, along with staff from DEEP, conducted a two-day inspection of MDCs stormwater and sewer system last week.

During this inspection, the agency and DEEP reviewed MDCs work plans and schedules and MDCs reports of sewage backups to the state. EPA inspectors also intend to follow up with residents, the agency said.

The agency encourages Hartford residents to submit information on sewer backups and said that the inspection report from EPAs review will be made publicly available upon completion. The residents concerns have drawn the support of Mayor Luke Bronin and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal.

Stevens said DEEP is holding the MDC accountable under various enforcement actions and consent orders that they have agreed to, which includes bringing new technology to Hartfords network of systems, including a 2013 wastewater treatment plant project that added a significant amount of capacity.

He said the MDC is working on a storage tunnel, an underground tunnel that will collect and divert sewage and stormwater during wet conditions and, ultimately, pump it back to the wastewater treatment plant for treatment during drier conditions.

Right now  I think the last piece is building a pump station to connect the tunnel and the wastewater treatment plan. And then integrate the pipes that would otherwise go to the treatment plant to that tunnel. So thats, you know, a massive improvement, Stevens said.

Stevens also said that the MDC has committed to conducting maintenance and separation in the North End.

Under our current consent order with them, that work we should be seeing occurring now and through 2029. In advance of 2029, we will begin negotiating new actions that the MDC will have to take and the member towns will have to pay for, he said.

He said a lot of the backup situations residents face come from the MDCs old technology and while the aging systems were cutting-edge when they were created, they can easily become overwhelmed during intense rainstorms.

These systems are engineered, when they get too full, to discharge to watercourses, and thats whats being discharged as a mixture of stormwater and sewage. And so theres, as you can imagine, a significant amount of infrastructure in place that needs to be improved, replaced, repaired, Stevens said.

The MDC Bureau of Public Works also held a special meeting this week to discuss the sewer backups and street flooding. MDC Chief Executive Officer Scott W. Jellison said that it is stormwater that should be driving the discussions.

I do believe that after the Clean Water Act of 1974, we have a group of people at the EPA and DEEP that finally realize stormwater is the problem, its not the sewer, he said. We talk about this all the time. Dry weather flow from West Hartford is eight million gallons, wet weather is 80. Its not the sewer thats the problem. Its the stormwater thats creating problems.

There is a need to have the stormwater capacity to handle whatever development youre proposing and stormwater capacity simply means, how do you get that water out of the city? How do you get it out of the community, without flooding and causing damage to everyone else along the way? he said.

He stressed the need for partnership with the city to join them in working on an upcoming MDC study that will look at drainage areas in the Blue Hills area and Granby, while the city will study dredging of the north branch of the Park River.

When were all done, well know what we need to do on the separation side and what the city needs to do on the dredging side, he said.

The total cost of the MDC and city study is about $900,000 and the two will split the cost, Jellison said.

Residents with information on flooding are invited to submit concerns to R1_Hartford_Water_Concerns@epa.gov or EPAs Report-A-Violation system at https://echo.epa.gov/report-environmental-violations.
Several tattoo artists have been jailed around the world for attacks on clients

Women are using Instagram to speak up about sexual assault from tattoo artists

A Me Too movement is brewing in the tattoo industry with a growing number of male tattoo artists being accused and convicted of sexually assaulting their female clients.

Women are speaking out about their experiences in the chair as they allege their tattoo artists are abusing their positions when inking women's bodies in intimate places.

Tattoo artist Fidjit, who has been posting on Instagram about alleged sexual predators in the industry since 2015, told Cosmopolitan she has been overwhelmed by messages from women sharing their stories of harassment and assault by male artists who were inking their bodies.

The same report told the story of an anonymous woman who claimed a famous UK tattoo artist had sexually assaulted her while they were alone in a tattoo studio, after first joking he'd ink her skin for free in exchange for a sexual favour.

Is the tattoo industry going through a Me Too era? More and more women are speaking up about sexual assault at the hands of men who have tattooed their bodies. Christos Phitides, 32, was last week sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for 18 months, for sexually assaulting a female client at a tattoo studio in Knutsford in 2020

In India, a woman claimed on Instagram last year that she too had been sexually assaulted by her tattoo artist. She alleged he had asked her to remove her bra while he tattooed her ribs, but did not give her anything to cover herself with, and later alleged he 'groped' her breasts.

Writing two years after having her tattoo inked, the woman said: 'I feel and understand that I was sexually violated and molested.'

However, reflecting on how she felt at the time, the woman wrote: 'As a 20 year old and first timer, I was unsure if all of this was ok.'

A few weeks later, the woman posted an update to her followers which confirmed her alleged attacker had been arrested on suspicion of sexual assault.

Scott Pettitt, a tattoo artist from Edmonton, Canada, was jailed in 2021 for sexually assaulting three female clients

Paul Little was convicted of raping one client and sexually assaulting five others from the years 2013 to 2019

These are not the only incidents of male tattoo artists assaulting female clients while inking them.

Just last week a tattoo artist in Birmingham was given a suspended sentence after he pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a client back in 2020.

Christos Phitides, 32, asked the woman if she wanted 'any extra' during her tattoo appointment before he touched her inappropriately two years ago. When the woman filed a complaint almost immediately after the incident, Phitides booked a flight to Cyprus and fled the country to escape justice, but he was finally arrested at Birminham Airport last summer when he returned to the UK.

Manchester Evening News reported he was sentenced at Chester Crown Court to a 12 month jail sentence suspended for 18 months and given a 10 year Sexual Harm Prevention Order. He was also ordered to pay 2,000 compensation to his victim.

One Instagram account, labelled a 'survivor led safe space, working to raise awareness and prevent sexual abuse in the tattoo & piercing industry', shares posts like the one above

A statement from Cheshire Constabulary revealed how Phitides, also known as Kris Karma, assaulted the client at a tattoo studio in Knutsford while she was having a tattoo covered up.

The statement said: 'As he was working on the tattoo, Phitides began to talk to the woman in a sexualised manner and touched her inappropriately, asking 'do you want any extra'. She told him no.

'When the appointment finished, the victim spoke to the manager of the tattoo shop and disclosed the offence. Phitides was immediately told to leave, and within the hour, he had booked a return flight home to Cyprus which was scheduled to leave the next day.'

DC Andy Cole said: 'Phitides abused his position of trust as a tattoo artist and fled the country knowing full well what he had done but chose to avoid facing the consequences.'

A Me Too movement is brewing in the tattoo industry with a growing number of male tattoo artists being accused and convicted of sexually assaulting their female clients. Pictured, an Instagram post about the #TattooMeToo movement

In 2020, tattoo artist Paul Little was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison for raping one woman and sexually assaulting five others between 2013 and 2019.

The sex offender ordered his victims, who ranged in age from 18 to 49, to undress before he touched them inappropriately and exposed himself at tattoo studio Rabbit Tattoos, in Irlam, Salford, Manchester Evening News reports.

On one occasion in 2014, he raped one of his clients in the studio while she was admiring a tattoo on her body he had just completed.

Manchester Crown Court heard that Little locked the door of the shop while his victim was still inside and began making inappropriate comments, before cupping her breast and trying to kiss her during the tattooing process.

When he had finished the tattoo, he bent the woman over a bed and pulled down her underwear. He then 'momentarily penetrated her'.

Prosecutor Rachel White said: 'She says it happened very quickly and she bucked her upper body backwards a couple of times to push him away.'

In a victim impact statement, the victim said Little had 'ruined her life and her marriage'.

The court also heard how he groped an 18-year-old woman's breasts after ordering her to undress in the studio.

Sentencing Little to nearly a decade behind bars, Judge Elizabeth Nicholls described him as 'exploitative and opportunistic'.

As well as a jail sentence, Little was made the subect of a sexual harm prevention order and a restraining order was imposed upon him regarding one of his victims.

Another serial offender in Canada who sexually assaulted three female clients faced justice in 2021 when he was jailed for six and a half years.

Scott Pettitt, from Edmonton, Ontario, assaulted the women at his studio, Second Skin Custom Tattoos, between 2014 and 2018.

CBC News reported that in 2014, Pettitt supplied a woman with alcohol and strong painkiller Percocet while he was tattooing her legs. During the session, he put his hand between her legs and tried to insert his fingers into her vagina.

In a victim impact statement, the woman told the court the attack was 'the most humiliating, demeaning and scarring moment of my life'.

She added she suffers from anxiety and has frequent nightmares.

Pettitt assaulted two further women in 2018 when they went to his studio for tattoos.

Sentencing Pettitt, Justice Wayne Renke said he was predatory and his behaviour was intentional.

He said: 'This abuse had the pattern of taking advantage of vulnerable clients.'

Speaking to Cosmopolitan, Glasgow-based tattoo artist Fidjit said: 'Speaking out, telling your story, its a way for survivors to take some power back.'

If you have been a victim of rape or sexual assault, you can contact Rape Crisis for help and support
Despite excited Gen Z's best efforts, exclamation marks appear to be on way out

Last month, just before Christmas, the director of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence sent out a crisp missive to the museum's staff. 'The way people write on social media,' said Eike Schmidt, 'is dripping into the way they compose emails.'

The German boss, 54, had a list of demands for business correspondence: no bold text, no sentences in capital letters, no Oxford commas, no ellipses  and absolutely no repeated exclamation marks. 'I want emails to be more efficient and to the point.'

He's not the only one. Google Mail offers an extension that encourages users to delete exclamation marks from their emails. (The little flecks of enthusiasm are better used 'with your friends, not your co-workers or clients'.) And back in 2016, Britain's Department for Education instructed moderators of Key Stage 1 national curriculum tests to penalise pupils who used exclamation marks 'inappropriately'  which means any sentence that does not include a verb or start with 'Oh!' or 'How!'.

I love an exclamation mark. Or, rather, I love an exclamation mark! These punctuation characters can be perceived as saccharine overkill, or a female obsession with appearing 'nice', but they're fun! They're harmless! That said, the problem is that when someone sends me an email without exclamation marks, I assume they hate me. A full stop at the end of a text equals all-out war.

Twentieth-century writers hardly bothered with exclamation marks, full stop. In his 1952 novel The Old Man and the Sea Ernest Hemingway (pictured) used only one

According to Florence Hazrat, author of An Admirable Point: A Brief History of the Exclamation Mark!, the '!' has always been 'controversial'. Hazrat, 35, is an academic from Berlin, who has studied at Cambridge, St Andrews and Sheffield universities. In 2020 she was researching the history of the use of brackets in Renaissance literature and had to read endless papers about punctuation.

'I came across negative attitudes towards the exclamation mark again and again,' she says. 'I thought, somebody has to write a defence of this! We need a manifesto for the exclamation mark: to reclaim it, save it and help it recuperate.' (Pleasingly, when I email Hazrat to arrange our interview, her reply is full of exclamation marks. She is a woman of her word.)

In her book, Hazrat charts the history of the exclamation mark. It was introduced in the mid-14th century by the Italian scholar and poet Iacopo Alpoleio da Urbisaglia. He was fed up with people reading sentences, which were supposed to be 'exclamatory or admirative', in a way that sounded flat. '!' was his solution.

By the mid-18th century, this punctuation point had become more than just an oral instruction. When Dr Johnson wrote A Dictionary of the English Language in 1755, he said that the exclamation mark existed to define a 'pathetical sentence'  one expressing strong emotions.

This might be why it fell out of fashion. As emotional writing became less cool, so too did the excitable exclamation mark. Jane Austen is said to have filled her novels with them only for her steely  and almost always male  editors to remove most of them from the final draft.

Twentieth-century writers hardly bothered with exclamation marks, full stop. In his 1952 novel The Old Man and the Sea Ernest Hemingway used only one. In fact, for every 100,000 words of prose by Hemingway, there are an average of just 59 exclamation marks. John Updike was equally sparing  an average of 88 for every 100,000 words. And Cormac McCarthy once told an interviewer: 'I believe in full stops, in capitals, in the occasional comma and that's it.'

Somebody has to write a defence for this  we need a manifesto

Still, Salman Rushdie deployed a whopping 2,131 exclamation marks in Midnight's Children  an average of more than six a page  and that novel won the 1981 Booker Prize.

Unemotional writing styles aside, Hazrat says that there are practical reasons for the exclamation mark's demise. Until the 1970s, typewriters didn't have a key for it. If you wanted to use one, you had to press the full stop key, followed by backspace, then apostrophe. 'If you don't have an easy way to exclaim, you're much less likely to do it,' says Hazrat. And the people who could be bothered to type out exclamation marks were, probably, overzealous, loud and shrill. 'They had to do gymnastics to get an exclamation mark. So that's somebody who is really committed to exclaiming.'

It explains why older generations  who grew up using typewriters  are more likely to see '!' as a shrieky choice. Meanwhile, Gen X and Millennials are also hampered with anti-exclamation-mark sentiment. Hazrat thinks this could be because of SMS messaging  where every extra character in a text cost the sender more money. Punctuation had to be picked with caution; repetition was an extravagance.

Which leaves me, a Gen Z-er  born with a smartphone and positively pampered in my ability to use as many !!!!!!! and !?!?!? as I like. (If you're wondering, Hazrat says that the Gen Z habit of repeating punctuation is called 'flooding' in the grammar community. And the combination of a question mark and exclamation mark is called an 'interrobang'. Who knew?!)

And yes, maybe Gen Z should cool off on the whole 'full stops are aggressive' thing. But Hazrat is just happy to see a generation embrace the exclamation mark so fully. 'When we write, it's so disembodied. We don't have our facial expressions, we don't have our posture, the tone of our voice, gestures.

There's just so much in terms of communication that we lack when we have only words,' she says. 'But the exclamation mark brings tone, feeling and emotional presence into the text  just through one little mark. I think that's kind of magic!'

An Admirable Point: A Brief History of the Exclamation Mark! by Florence Hazrat is published by Profile Books, 12.99*

*To order a copy for 11.69 until 13 february, go to mailshop.co.uk/books or call 020 3176 2937. Free UK delivery on orders over 20.
'Girl power!' shouts Annie, aged 11, dancing around her house in a crop top. She has discovered the Spice Girls, and loves their music as well as their message. Annie will continue to believe in girl power for another five years, until a boy at a party drags her into a bedroom and does things she doesn't want him to do, her 'no' lost in the music thumping from the sound system outside. For years, Annie will blame herself. She'll never report the attack but she'll always wonder why the promise of 'girl power' didn't make it through to womanhood. Maybe her 'no' hadn't been loud enough.

Annie isn't one woman  she's the embodiment of the 84 per cent of sexual assault victims in the UK who never report their attackers to the police. She's the 99 per cent of rape cases that never result in a charge. She's the reason why the UK Victims Commissioner, Dame Vera Baird, has said, 'We are witnessing the decriminalisation of rape.' When the Spice Girls told us what they really, really want, it wasn't this.

As an adult, Annie will come to realise that she could have yelled her 'no' through a megaphone and still no one would have listened. The tens of thousands of Annies out there are the reason that Jennifer Robinson, 41, and Keina Yoshida, 37, have written their new book, How Many More Women  essential reading for anyone left wondering how, in 2023, women are still being silenced.

Their credentials are impressive. Yoshida specialises in international human rights and is a legal adviser for the Centre for Reproductive Rights, while Robinson, who is Australian, represented exiled West Papuan leader Benny Wenda while she was a Rhodes Scholar at Balliol College, Oxford (she still works for him pro bono). In 2020, she successfully defended Amber Heard in the libel case that Johnny Depp took against his ex-wife and The Sun, leading Heard to call Robinson 'the smartest person in the room'. That she is as well-connected as she is smart  Amal and George Clooney are close friends  brings Robinson more attention than she wishes for, not all of it positive.

The tens of thousands of Annies out there are the reason that Jennifer Robinson (left), 41, and Keina Yoshida (right), 37, have written their new book, How Many More Women

But first, here's why you should read this book  it's because, as Robinson points out, 'everyone needs to know that, the moment you suffer any form of gender-based violence, the law regulates what you can say to whom and when. There are legal risks at every turn, but most women don't understand that. This is not just about high-profile celebrity cases.'

Certainly, Nicola Stocker never wanted to be high profile. In 2012, 51-year-old Stocker befriended her ex-husband's new girlfriend online. During exchanges on the girlfriend's Facebook wall, Stocker wrote: 'Last time I accused him of cheating, he spent a night in the cells, tried to strangle me.' She didn't name him, but he still sued her for defamation, leading to a five-year battle in which Stocker appealed, and ultimately won, her case in the Supreme Court. Had she lost, she would have faced damages of 200,000. Which begs the question: what does the right to free speech mean if you can't afford to defend it?

It was while working on Stocker's case that Robinson and Yoshida first met, as junior barristers at London's Doughty Street Chambers. They have been fighting for women's freedom of speech ever since. In 2017, when The New York Times published an article accusing the film producer Harvey Weinstein of sexually harassing women, it reignited the decade-old Me Too movement, leading to thousands of women breaking their silence and sharing their own experiences of sexual misconduct.

But in the past five years, women have increasingly faced a different kind of silencing: the rise in survivors speaking out has led to a spike in legal actions against them.

'Me Too has been really important,' notes Yoshida. 'But as a part of the backlash against Me Too, we have seen shifts in the law, and the use of the law, to silence people.'

The most common method is a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), made infamous by the Weinstein case after it transpired that many of his victims were unable to speak out due to the legal constraints of having signed one, often while still traumatised. One of Weinstein's former assistants, Zelda Perkins, 49, is illustrative of this point: she wasn't even allowed a copy of her own NDA, and struggled to find a lawyer to take on her case, leading her to remark: 'This isn't just a Weinstein problem, but a law problem.'

The law is being weaponised, believe Robinson and Yoshida, to stop women speaking out against powerful and wealthy men not least because the expense of these cases is borne not by the state but by those facing the legal action. Amber Heard found this, to her cost, last December when she was ordered to pay $1 million to settle her long-running US defamation claim with ex-husband Johnny Depp, reduced from $10 million. (While Heard's defence case was successful against Depp's libel action in the British courts, where she was represented by Robinson, she was later sued in Virginia, after alleging she was a victim of domestic violence during their 15-month marriage.)

As one of the most bitter Hollywood divorces of modern times, the partly televised case brought worldwide media attention to Heard  and to her lawyer who was successful in her court action here. 'I'm happy to have represented Amber in the United Kingdom, where Mr Depp lost the case, so as a matter of English law, she is recognised as a survivor of domestic and sexual violence,' Robinson says now. 'In my opinion, it's absurd that a jury in the United States, on a more difficult standard of proof for Mr Depp, could come to the opposite conclusion.'

Asked how Heard is coping in the aftermath, Robinson says: 'I don't have instruction to be able to talk about her and how she is, but I'm in regular contact with her. It's a positive thing that the US case is now settled, and on terms that protect her ability to be able to speak about her experiences. And I'm very glad for her that this chapter is over, because it was incredibly traumatic to go through those two trials. No woman should have to do that.'

Amber Heard found this, to her cost, last December when she was ordered to pay $1 million to settle her long-running US defamation claim with ex-husband Johnny Depp, reduced from $10 million

Nor should anyone have to deal with the vile abuse Heard suffered online, which Robinson describes as 'devastating. Not just for the impact it has had on her personally, or on those of us who worked with her, who also faced online abuse ourselves, but for every single woman who has suffered domestic or sexual violence, and was considering speaking out. Watching how Amber was treated in that case has had a huge silencing effect. We know it because we're hearing it from our colleagues.'

Whose side people took in Depp v Heard is their choice, but what would Robinson say to those who chose to abuse Heard online because they didn't believe her? 'One in three women has suffered sexual violence  that means someone we know. How many of them will choose to tell you, or anyone else, about their experience, if they've seen Amber ridiculed? How many women will want to speak out? One of the most disappointing things for me was that I thought we were further ahead as a society than we currently are.'

Like Heard, Robinson continues to receive violent threats on social media (often accompanied by '#JusticeForJohnny'), and says it's crucial to recognise the psychological impact of online abuse. 'Women in any kind of public space face a horrendous amount. I've sought [professional] support, but I've also taken the decision to share some of these threats publicly. It's important that people see this is happening. We have to recognise that this is a form of violence against women. You are not in a law-free zone when you are tweeting and sending [abusive] messages.'

It's a fact that social-media influencer Andrew Tate and his ilk seem flagrantly to disregard. Tate, who garnered a vast online following, is currently detained in Romania as part of an investigation into allegations of human trafficking and rape, which he denies. 'We talk in the book about the rise of alt-right men's rights groups who are propagating deeply misogynistic views about women and gender-based violence online,' notes Robinson. 'It's something that we need to be aware of, and educating our children against.'

The murder of Sarah Everard in 2021, plus the revelation earlier this month that the serial rapist Met Police officer David Carrick was able to offend with impunity, has led to much discussion about how parents should 'educate their sons': do they consider this a useful phrase? 'We need to educate our daughters and our sons,' says Yoshida. 'We should have better sex education in schools. All boys and girls have the potential to become great gender-equality champions. We need strong male role models as well [as women] to step in and do the educating.'

They are full of praise for initiatives such as Everyone's Invited, launched by British student Soma Sara in 2020 as an online platform where users could post anonymously about sexual abuse they'd suffered at school or university.

'Encouraging women to share their stories anonymously puts the focus on the culture within those institutions, rather than on any individual woman or perpetrator,' notes Robinson. 'It encouraged more people to speak out, because it took away some of the risks that exist legally, culturally and reputationally, in coming forward. But it also highlighted how big the problem was.'

No matter how many women speak up, it's clear that the problem is bigger than anyone can ever know. Comprehensive as it is, with so much of their work being confidential and privileged, it's alarming to realise that the cases in Robinson and Yoshida's book are only the tip of the iceberg. Says Robinson: 'Every day we were writing it, new cases were popping up somewhere in the world. This is not an issue that's going away.'

Silenced women and the law: A global scandal

 According to the United Nations, in 2021, 43 countries still didnt have legislation criminalising marital rape, while 20 countries still permit a man to escape criminal prosecution for rape if he marries his victim.

 UN Women says that violence against women and girls is the most prevalent human rights violation in the world, suffered by one in three women, and a problem that disproportionately affects women of colour, First Nations women and those with disability  who are each far more likely to face abuse.

 When a woman is asked to sign an NDA as part of a settlement over sexual assault or abuse allegations, it doesnt just stop her speaking to the media  she is also unable to talk about her experience with her family, friends and sometimes even her therapist.

 In the UK between 2017 and 2019, British universities spent more than 90 million on settlements, which included at least one NDA related to sexual assault. The House of Commons uses NDAs in settlements with former staff.

 A false accusation of rape from a woman is an objectively unusual event  like, for example, a plane crash  that occupies an outsized place in the public imagination. In the UK, only 0.23 per cent of rape reports led to a false arrest, and only 0.07 per cent of rape reports led to a man being falsely charged with rape.

 In the UK, fewer than 40 per cent of practising barristers are women. Judges are typically selected from Kings Counsels, but only 18 per cent of these are women. In the UK The Bar Council has warned that at this rate, women will never take silk (become Kings Counsels) in equal numbers to men, which does not bode well for gender parity either at the bar or on the bench.

How Many More Women? by Jennifer Robinson and Keina Yoshida will be published on 2 February by Endeavour, 20*

*To order a copy for 17 until 13 February, go to mailshop.co.uk/books or call 020 3176 2937. Free UK delivery on orders over 20.
I think I am going to seed, like a three-month-old pot of basil. I committed a cardinal sin this week: I used body oil on my face. I keep looking out for signs that this action has gone against all the laws of physics, nature and beauty editors. Perhaps my face now needs to wear socks, or trousers. But no, nothing so far. No alarms have gone off in the Harrods spa or inside Space NK, forcing an intervention.

Until this new low, I have spent a lifetime doing what the beauty industry tells me. I wore ParaSol on my hair even aged 11 on a windswept holiday in Sidmouth. I always cleansed and exfoliated. I only ever moisturised my legs using upward sweeps.

I've had fortnightly pedicures. I have never sunbathed and still, to this day, in the Yorkshire Dales mid-ice age, wear factor 30 tinted moisturiser. I've never gone to bed without removing my make-up: Clarins eye make-up remover, which has the consistency of tears.

My teeth are professionally cleaned by Martine McCutcheon's Harley Street dentist; I have veneers, too. I've dyed my hair since I was 30. I never file my fingernails, as I read somewhere (Vogue?) that this damages the nail bed; instead, I clip them. I use growth serum on my lashes, which are professionally dyed.

I think I am going to seed, like a three-month-old pot of basil. I committed a cardinal sin this week: I used body oil on my face

I've had an eyebrow transplant; these, too, must be tinted to avoid me resembling the mad scientist from Back to the Future.

I have spent a lifetime doing what the beauty industry tells me

I've had fat from my thighs injected into the backs of my hands (my hands and feet are, according to my ex-husband, my best feature; thanks). The capillaries on my face have been cauterised with a powerful laser and shrunk with the crushed shells of snails (before I was vegan).

I've had laser eye surgery, as I read somewhere (Vogue?) that squinting causes wrinkles. I have got through an ocean of fake tan. I had some freckles on my torso, so a consultant at the Lister Hospital, opposite Battersea Park, removed them at great expense: I remember later spying Kate Moss's huge mole by her breast and thinking, 'WTAF! How can she even live with herself?!'

And, of course, I have never unconsciously, since the age of 11, when a sister remarked on the number of calories in the marmalade on my toast, placed anything in my mouth without wondering if it will make me fat.

Jones Moans... What Liz loathes this week Women who change their name when they marry. Im too busy and important to learn a new email address! A man you have never met messages to say, Quick call when you have time, please. What a cheek! I replied, saying, Who is this? Ironing Advertisement

And while I now, in a DPD non-delivery emergency, slather body oil on my face and decolletage, I still find eating very hard. I've just made pasta with chestnuts, thyme, lemon and hazelnuts, and most of it is still in the pan.

I might write in articles condemning skinny models that I am a 'recovering' anorexic, but that would be a lie. I wonder if I'm the very first sixtysomething sufferer? Someone should study me because there is no point to me being very thin. It doesn't make me attractive. It has never snagged me a man who is good enough for me, who appreciates me.

But it's a mindset that is hard to give up. I remember catching sight of my legs in a mirror, after I'd been confined to bed following my facelift, unable to eat anything, surviving only on pineapple juice drunk through a straw. I saw two long bones and suddenly the pain and the expense were all worth it.

Even today, I find myself making lists before I fly to Sydney: capillaries, brow tint, filler, Botox, hair, new clothes, moisturiser, Hanro underwear, pedi, waxing. I am like a magician, running from plate to plate to keep them from crashing, hairy and wrinkled, to the floor.

And when I land, Nige might not even be there. He might have married, again, given he got a lockdown puppy with his new girlfriend. He might think me a little bit ridiculous.

Which, of course, I am.
When Beyonce wore one of his jumpsuits to the 2013 Grammys, Osman Yousefzada became the go-to fashion designer for the likes of Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift and Emma Watson. Yet Yousefzada's seamstress mum could never grasp what all the fuss was about. 'She just couldn't understand why anyone would pay 500 for a dress,' he says with a smile. 'Who would pay that sort of money?'

Now 45, Yousefzada has come a very long way from his childhood, growing up with one brother and three sisters in a terraced house, which for his first seven years had no indoor bathroom, in a strict Muslim community he calls 'the most covered and the least integrated' in south Birmingham.

His parents were immigrants from the Pakistan/Afghanistan border region. Both were illiterate and barely spoke English. His mother was just 14 when she entered an arranged marriage with his father, and 15 when she had her first child. His father was occasionally violent. 'For a man of his times, a push, a slap and a shove was another kind of language,' Yousefzada says. 'As a kid I was scared of him.'

For years, as Yousefzada's fashion star rose, he was secretive about his background. 'I always felt I had to pretend to be something I wasn't,' says this gentle, smiley man. 'It's the Instagram world  most people want to show the glamorous part of themselves, not the struggle. I was hanging around with people who had a lot of money. I couldn't tell them my mum didn't even have a washing machine to clean her clothes with.

Now 45, Yousefzada has come a very long way from his childhood, growing up with one brother and three sisters in a terraced house, which for his first seven years had no indoor bathroom

'If I had to talk about my family I'd make out my father was a successful carpet-seller who imported rugs, that my sisters were studying, and my eldest sister was married to a very successful engineer, living in a house by a lake.'

In fact, Yousefzada's father was a carpenter who, like many in their community, lost his job as the northern factories they'd come to England to work in closed in the 1980s. Economic insecurity, fear and racism made them more insular. As was very common, Yousefzada's three sisters were taken out of school at the end of primary and, from then on, effectively confined to the house, rising at 5am to start cleaning and cooking, burqa-clad on the rare occasions they went out. When social services checked up on them, the family invented elaborate excuses for their whereabouts.

One sister, Banafsha, married at 17 and was later left by her husband to bring up three children. 'She still can't write, spell or read fully,' Yousefzada says. Another, Ruksar, ran away from home aged 20, after which the third, Marjan, entered an arranged marriage ('to save the family honour').

It was to celebrate his sisters  and other women like them  that led Yousefzada to write his autobiography, The Go-Between, a book described by Stephen Fry as 'one of the greatest childhood memoirs of our time'. It's a fascinating insight into his background, a world most of us know little about. What it most definitely isn't is a 'celebrity' memoir detailing the stars he's hung out with. 'I didn't want it to be about me,' he explains with a shrug. 'It's about the stories of those women.'

As a child, Yousefzada was allowed to mingle with women from outside the family and he listened with fascination to them chattering

Yousefzada's mother was a skilled seamstress and their house was a hub for local women who wanted her to make outfits for them to wear at home, since they were only allowed outside in black burqas  even fully swathed, visiting his family home was for them a rare outing; usually, says Yousefzada, 'they were afraid to open the door even to bring the milk in. Their husbands shopped for them exclusively in stores run by men, because contact with outsiders brought 'shame and dishonour'.'

As a child, Yousefzada was allowed to mingle with women from outside the family and he listened with fascination to them chattering. He heard of some happy marriages, but other houses were marked by 'terror, screams, daily fear', with women beaten or sent back to their homeland for failing to produce children, even when the husband was infertile. Yet no matter how they suffered, says Yousefzada, 'again and again, it was said you had to listen to your husband, no matter if he was wrong'. Inspired by the gorgeous fabrics his mother used, he started making outfits  among them pink burqas  for his sister's Barbie.

The family visited the mosque daily and weren't allowed to listen to music. Their father would feel the TV to check if it was warm (only he and his eldest son could officially watch it), 'which would confirm to him that we had been secretly watching it and might have been tempted by the devil'.

On turning 12, Yousefzada was forbidden to mix with women. Encouraged by an inspirational primary-school teacher, he found his escape in books: Enid Blyton, C S Lewis, Roald Dahl, old Beano and Jackie annuals. He collected as many as he could at jumble sales, while others he filched under his jumper from the public library. 'Reading was my obsession,' he recalls.

Models on the runway at the OSMAN show during London Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2016/17

But after he got caught stealing from the school library, a teacher came round and confiscated his entire collection. 'He took even the books I hadn't stolen from them and after that I wasn't allowed in the library. I could only see the books through the glass door. That was like torture for me.'

Yousefzada's primary-school friends won places at the local grammar school but he went to the local comprehensive, where, despite being bullied, he excelled, winning a university place to study anthropology. (He told his parents he was studying business, 'as they couldn't read the forms they never knew'.)

Moving to London for his course, Yousefzada was thrown into a completely contrasting student world. 'It definitely blew my mind,' he remembers with a laugh. 'I went completely crazy.' He began making clothes for himself and his friends to go clubbing in  embroidered hats and beaded chokers 'I could have easily worn to the mosque on special occasions.'

Yet he returned to Birmingham every other weekend to visit his parents, never telling them of his student life, while his new friends were ignorant about his background. 'I didn't know where I fitted in between the extremes of that old life and the new life I was creating.'

He went on to study fashion at Central Saint Martins, the prestigious art school, then to do an MPhil at Cambridge. When his father realised that he wouldn't return to Birmingham, the two men didn't speak for several years  and Yousefzada would travel to Birmingham secretly to visit his mother  but eventually they made a truce.

Over the years, he saw his younger sisters integrated with wider society. Marjan, who had married young to save her family's honour, left her unhappy marriage and worked her way up from being a dinner lady, to a classroom assistant, to university lecturer.

Ruksar, who ran away, put herself through university, going on to work for a government minister. When Yousefzada told his father he'd seen her ('hoping she'd also be able to come back from the wilderness'), he said, 'You should have killed her when you saw her.'

Yet they were also finally reconciled when he was dying of cancer in 2019. Yousefzada loves him and bears no anger towards him. 'I came to understand him. He had quite a tragic story. He was orphaned at the age of ten, he couldn't read or write, but he got himself to the other side of the world and provided for all of us. My journey would be very different if it wasn't for him.' After that, Yousefzada devoted more time to caring for his mother, who died last year. 'I could never put my mother in a home,' he says. 'That just isn't our culture.'

Much about his community has changed in the past 40 years. Girls often go to university and many men have professional jobs. 'They're straddling a British as well as a Muslim identity.' Yousefzada was able to symbolise the union of those two cultures in 2021, wrapping the Selfridges store in Birmingham with five tons of printed canvas. 'You could see it from our poor area, looming over you  it was quite mad,' he exclaims. 'Finally, I was bridging my two backgrounds.'

Yousefzada's upbringing has inspired and energised his creativity. London-based, he describes himself as 'a multidisciplinary artist and writer', staging exhibitions at places such as the Victoria and Albert Museum. He's also an activist, trying to make life better for people like his mother by supporting the charity Developments in Literacy Trust UK, which helps to educate women in rural Pakistan.

When his book was first published in hardback last year, 'it didn't go down brilliantly with all the family', he tells me. 'The community doesn't want to be put in the spotlight. But I wasn't nasty about anybody, I changed many names, and writing the book has given me a clean slate. I don't have to lie any more about where I come from.'

The Go-Between by Osman Yousefzada is published by Canongate, 10.99*

*To order a copy for 9.34 until 13 February go to mailshop.co.uk/books or call 020 3176 2937. Free UK delivery on orders over 20.
August Strindbergs Miss Julie, a classic of early Naturalistic theater written in 1888, is set in the kitchen of a counts mansion on a wild Feast Day in Sweden. Queen of Basel by young New York-based playwright Hilary Bettis is a modern variation of Strindbergs dark, suspenseful and abusive love triangle, written for an all LatinX cast and set in the present day during the international Art Basel fair in Miami.

Like Strindbergs play, Bettis intense 80-minute drama  which makes its New England premiere at TheaterWorks Hartford on Feb. 3-26  concerns a wealthy young woman named Julie who gets in heated discussions about race, class and sexual power with a couple of workers in a kitchen. Some of the changes are natural: Jean, a chauffeur, is now John an Uber driver. Strindbergs Julie is a counts daughter while Bettis Julie is a real estate heiress.

But there are big differences. Strindbergs setting is an old-world Swedish mansion; Bettis is a fancy hotel in Miami. But the biggest change is that while Miss Julie simmers with the threat of sexual violence and psychological torment, Queen of Basel has a feminist perspective and introduces themes of immigration, gender roles, charity and social power in ways that Strindberg didnt consider. In a review of the plays world premiere at Miami New Drama on the website Theatrical Musings, critic Aaron Krause asks Is it possible to write and stage an August Strindberg play adaptation thats #MeToo friendly? and declares that the answer is yes.

Bettiss script is bilingual, with dialogue in both English and Spanish. A different bilingual feminist drama about that deals with class issues, Espejos: Clean by Christine Quintana, is currently playing at Hartford Stage through Feb. 5, so both of Hartfords major regional theaters are simultaneously staging modern Spanish/English works by Latina playwrights. For TheaterWorks, this is its first modern LatinX-themed play since Fade in 2017. The motto for TheaterWorks current season is These are our stories, and the programming has a multicultural slant.

Queen of Basel is directed by young New York-based Latina director Cristina Angeles, who says that it was Bettis herself who recommended that Angeles helm the show in Hartford after TheaterWorks first expressed interest in doing the play. For this production, Angeles has assembled an all-LatinX design team of set designer Rodrigo Escalante, costume designer Harry Nadal, lighting designer Emma Deane and sound designer German Martinez.

Queen of Basel covers some very dark territory, but Angeles says the play can also be very funny.

Hilary does a great job of interweaving humor with the drama. There are issues of colorism in the LatinX community, class and race, but at the same time it can be really funny, she says.

Angeles was in Connecticut just last month as the assistant director for the national tour of the Broadway revival of the Black military drama A Soldiers Play, which was having its pre-tour technical rehearsals at the Shubert in New Haven. That and Queen of Basel are Angeles first Connecticut theater experiences. She hails from Northern New Jersey and is currently based in New York. In April, shell be directing Anne Carsons translation of Sophocles Antigone at Pace University in New York.

Shes clearly comfortable with classics, adaptations and new translations, but Angeles says her specialty as a director is primarily new works. Right after she finishes work on Queen of Basel, shell be doing a series of readings and workshops on new plays in New York. When asked if theres a dream play shed like to direct, she suggests that it probably hasnt been written yet.

Queen of Basel by Hilary Bettis, directed by Cristina Angeles, runs Feb. 3-26 at TheaterWorks Hartford, 233 Pearl St., Hartford. Performances are Tuesdays through Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 2:30 and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. $25-$60. twhartford.org.

Reach reporter Christopher Arnott at carnott@courant.com.
Meet the twilight TikTokers showing the world social media is not just for Gen Z

These are the twilight TikTokers showing the world social media is not just for Gen Z.

From teaching us life skills to participating in viral dances, 'granfluencers' are amassing millions of views and followers on the platform.

According to new data, 11 per cent of users on the platform are aged 50 or above - and they're attracting younger fans from around the world.

Here, MailOnline looks at some of the old age content creators taking TikTok by storm.

These are the twilight TikTokers showing the world social media is not just for Gen Z

Grandad Frank - 178 million likes

Frank Hackett has 7.2 million followers on TikTok and has amassed 178 million likes.

Under the handle 'Grandad Frank', the 77-year-old performs lighthearted skits and dances, sometimes alongside his 17-year-old granddaughter, Keira.

He's even lauded for his resemblance to actor Matt Smith in his youth and is now so famous on the app he's getting recognised in public.

'I love gaining millions of grandchildren,' he said in a recent video, which describes himself as 'the eldest, funniest and most famous member of the family'.

Kiera previously said: 'I usually scroll through TikTok and look for trends and if I see something where I know pops can smash and see if he can practice it and he does it well every time.'

TikTok superstar grandad Frank, 77, from Kent, gets 'noticed on the streets' after his wholesome dance routines with his granddaughter Kiera Hackett-Hall, 17, go viral

Under the handle 'Grandad Frank', the 77-year-old performs lighthearted skits and dances, sometimes alongside his 17-year-old granddaughter, Keira

Grandad Joe - 195 million likes

Joe Allington, 89, describes himself as a family friendly content creator from the UK. He reportedly earns upwards of 134,000 per year.

Joe previously told Femail he started making videos alongside his daughter and granddaughter despite not having 'any idea what it was all about'.

'It soon became apparent that I was quite popular as my followers grew very quickly, we were amazed and had no idea this would happen.

'We have so much fun making our TikToks, it has now become part of our daily routine and has given me a new lease of life.'

The viral dances are probably his least favourite video to film, but he gets plenty of content out of pranking the younger generation and 'playing the joker'.

Grandad Joe joined the platform in 2020 because his daughter Wendy thought it could be something fun they could do together

Joan & Jimmy O'Shaughnessy - 43 million likes

Joan and Jimmy O'Shaughnessy have been happily married for 49 years - and spent 20 of those years ballroom and Latin dancing.

Now, they've chosen to dedicate themselves to dancing for the internet instead, and if the 43 million likes they've amassed on TikTok are anything to go by, their fans are thrilled.

'We used to go dancing every week and all dance classes stopped with lockdown... we thought maybe we could do some dances on [TikTok] and it was a way to keep our dancing going,' the couple told GB News Breakfast this week.

'We've tried to pick up with all the current trends on TikTok now, we'll have a go at anything... within reason.'

They've been described by young followers as 'couple goals' with fans saying they hope to be as happy and in love after 49 years of marriage as the O'Shaughnessy's.

Joan and Jimmy O'Shaughnessy have been happily married for 49 years - and spent 20 of those years ballroom and Latin dancing

Joseph and Sylvia Dolan - 8.2 million likes

Joseph and Sylvia Dolan, from Doncaster, Yorkshire, took TikTok by storm when they started sharing footage of sweet dances they performed to classic songs.

They amassed more than eight million likes and a legion of fans, who were heartbroken when they learned Joe had died after a battle with cancer.

In a JustGiving page to raise money for Cancer Research UK, the couple's grandson said: 'He lit up the room as soon as he entered anywhere, loved a sing and dance, hes going to be greatly missed by all his family, friends and anyone that ever knew of him, far and wide.

'Through a few of his most recent TikTok videos he was finding it hard and struggling, but always wanted to make people smile.'

Daughter Jackie Broadbent - who created the account and often recorded the dances - revealed in April last year her mother is 'lost without him'.

Footage of the sweet moments are still going viral on the app and bringing joy to fans.

Joseph and Sylvia Dolan, from Doncaster, Yorkshire, took TikTok by storm when they started sharing footage of sweet dances they performed to classic songs

Jay Scott and Brian Kilgallon - 16 million likes

This father-and-son duo only started making TikTok videos together during the Covid lockdown - and they've already got some famous fans.

Beyonce, Lizzo and Jay Z are among Brian and Jay's biggest supporters, but Brian, 75, is just as chuffed about his fame on a local level.

Brian, who works as a lollipop man at a local school, told Birmingham Live students would stop to say hello and let him know that they watched his TikTok videos.

'I was quite famous because I work at a school and for one month in December, I was put on their billboard on main roads as one of the bostin' people, as they call it,' he said.

'The council has bostin' people that do good things for the community... I was a big celebrity.'

Jamie, meanwhile, was one of three Beyonce fans selected to perform a short four-second dance in one of her videos.

This father-and-son duo only started making TikTok videos together during the Covid lockdown - and they've already got some famous fans

@jayscotttttt take 2 of me & my 76 year old dad slaying another tiktok dance haha   original sound - DJ Ty Combs 

Grandpa Beppa - 38 million likes

Grandpa Beppa attracted 38 million likes and 1.1 million fans on the app before he tragically died in August 2022.

His granddaughter told fans he had made several videos before he died which he would want the world to see.

'I hope it brings some joy in the sadness,' she said.

He performed hilarious skits to trending sounds, make jokes about his skincare routine and the reality of ageing.

Grandpa Beppa attracted 38 million likes and 1.1 million fans on the app before he tragically died in August 2022

Jess and Norma - 19 million likes

Jess and Norma, from Yorkshire, have attracted 19 million likes and 750,000 followers on TikTok.

The grandmother-granddaughter duo share relatable content of their day to day lives.

In one hilarious video, Jess shows Norma a series of photos of celebrities, from Zac Efron and Justin Bieber to Pete Davidson, asking Norma to comment on the men 'she's kissed'.

And when asked by her followers for one piece of life advice, Norma said: 'I really think work hard and be true to yourself.'
A personal finance expert and TikTok star has revealed four money saving hacks that everyone should know about.

Poku Banks has more than 330,000 TikTok followers who are all mainly young people that are interested in how to save and spend their money.

Inspired by how Manchester United star Marcus Rashford spoke about teaching kids at school about personal finance to empower them, Poku made a video on TikTok to help people.

He says it is aimed at both teenagers and also adults.

Simple, easy and effective money saving tips from the finance expert which can help you battle the cost-of-living crisis

THE 1p saving challenge:

Who thought saving just 1p could help in a cost-of-living crisis?

Poku's first tip is an extremely simple and easy way to save money.

The process works by saving 1p on day 1, 2p on day 2, 3p on day 3, and so on.

By the end of the year, you can save 667.95 if done correctly.

If you're somebody that struggles putting aside a lot of money each month, this could be for you.

Poku Banks has 36,400 followers on Instagram where he posts money saving tips and financial advice

No spend weekends:

Although you may not want to hear this one, Poku says that staying in on a weekend and not spending money can massively help you save some cash.

The TikTok star added that you will soon start to realise how much you can save not going out.

An added bonus at least is you will feel fresh for work on a Monday morning!

In this particular Instagram video, Poku said he imagines the year in four quarters to help motivate himself

Overpay your mortgage:

From all the money that has been saved by the previous two tricks, here is where spending more money can actually save you some in the long run.

Roku's third tip is to make higher monthly repayments on your mortgage.

This in turn can reduce the interest in the future.

Ultimately, it all ends in you saving you money in the long run.

The TikTok star has released to the public essential money saving tips that you should know before you're 18

Understand credit scores:

Poku says that it is crucial to check your credit score with sites such as Experian.

A credit score basically tells lenders how well you manage debt and if your score is low, you should make it your priority to sort it out or you could be in trouble having to borrow for something like a car or house.

If you have a good credit score rating it also means that lenders won't charge you higher interest to borrow or reject you altogether.
Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands has been snapped looking sophisticated as she joined her parents Queen Maxima and King Willem-Alexander for an evening out during their official visit of the Dutch Caribbean Islands.

During day two of the two-week visit to the various countries and municipalities of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the royals attended an evening out at the Taste of Bonaire festival.

The Princess opted for a glamorous look during for her appearance, donning a yellow maxi dress with a tiered skirt and three quarter length sleeves, topped with a fresh white blazer slung over her shoulders.

She wore her blonde locks loose, with soft waves cascading down her back. Meanwhile, she opted for a sophisticated evening make-up look, pairing dewy skin with a bold brown smoky eye.

Catharina-Amalia (pictured, centre) cut an elegant figure as she joined her parents Queen Maxima and King Willem-Alexander at the Taste of Bonaire festival during their two-week visit to the various countries and municipalities of the Kingdom of the Netherlands

Her accessories finished the ensemble, with the princess opting for nude heels and a white clutch envelope bag, and a pair of dangling statement earrings.

Meanwhile, Queen Maxima opted for an all-white look, wearing a white sleeveless blazer with a coordinating sleeveless top and trousers.

In her typically glamorous style, she accessorised the classic outfit with statement jewellery, donning gold hoop earrings and a necklace with a large pendant. On her wrist, she wore a chunky gold statement bangle.

And the King was equally smart, donning a crisp pale pink shirt, which he paired with slacks.

The 19-year-old princess opted for a glamorous look during for her appearance, donning a yellow maxi dress with a tiered skirt

Catharina-Amalia (pictured) was glamorous in her evening ensemble, which she paired with loose flowing locks, and a smoky eye makeup look

Although the Netherlands is the largest and wealthiest part, the Kingdom of the Netherlands is actually comprised of four constituent countries - all of which have equal status.

Along with the Netherlands itself, the members are Aruba, Curacao and St Maarten, each of which has King Willem-Alexander as its head of state and its own parliament.

Three further Caribbean islands, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, are administered as municipalities of the Netherlands and as such, inhabitants are Dutch citizens with the same rights and responsibilities.

Until 2010, all the Caribbean islands, with the exception of Aruba, were part of the Dutch Antilles - an entity that was dissolved and its residents given the choice of independence or integration.

Queen Maxima opted for an all-white look, wearing a white sleeveless blazer with a coordinating sleeveless top and trousers for her evening out in Bonaire

Radiant: Queen Maxima opted for one of her typically stylish looks during the evening, pairing statement jewellery with an all-white ensemble

Meanwhile her 19-year-old daughter looked equally stylish matching her yellow maxi dress and blazer with a glamorous smoky eye makeup look

The royal family members appeared to be enjoying themselves during the Taste of Bonaire Special Edition last night

Greetings: the young royal was photographed meeting locals during the engagement at the Taste of Bonaire Special Edition last night

Raucous: meanwhile the king appeared to be roaring with laughter as he spoke to the one of the residents during the engagement in Bonaire

The arrangement is similar to that between the Commonwealth Realms, all of which have Britain's monarch as head of state but have separate directly elected parliaments.

Earlier in the day, the trio were snapped as they enjoyed touring Bonaire, visiting a number of locations including the Bonaire Mangrove reserve in Lac Bay National Park.

Photographs from the official visits show Catharina-Amalia looking sophisticated in a blue and white floral dress, teamed with cream heels and a dainty handbag.

Princess Catharina-Amalia has joined her parents Queen Maxima and King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands as they visit the Dutch Caribbean Islands

The 19-year-old looked stylish as she donned a weather-appropriate light blue frock during a day of royal engagements

Among the day's appearances, the trio visited a windsurfing demonstration at Sorbonne beach (pictured)

Earlier in the day, the family was snapped looking equally stylish while touring some of the sights of Bonaire (pictured L-R: Queen Maxima of The Netherlands and Princess Amalia)

Another engagement that day saw the royals visiting the cultural park Mangazine di Rei NOS Zjilea (pictured)

Princess Amalia of The Netherlands (pictured) visits the cultural park Mangazine di Rei NOS Zjilea

She left her hair loose and opted for a smattering of glamorous makeup, completing her smart but polished look.

Meanwhile, Queen Maxima opted for a colourful pink frock, cinched at the waist with a fashionable belt and featuring elegant button detailing down the front.

Finishing the outfit, she opted for a coffee-coloured headband to sweep back her locks, and a matching handbag and pair of heels.

And King Willem-Alexander made sure to appear just as smart as his family, sporting a pair of royal blue trousers and a crisp white shirt.

The family's trip will last for two-weeks. They are expected to embark on their third day of engagements today.
The Princess of Wales showed off her thrifty side when it comes to fashion, rewearing a 79 pair of earrings in photographs shared to launch her new early years initiative.

Kate Middleton, 41, selected the 18k gold plated Alia hoops crafted by Welsh female designer Hayley Jones for her brand Spells of Love as she set out her plan for 'Shaping Us', an ambitious long-term project in which she urges the nation to pull together to improve lives.

Photographs shared by the royal showcase the affordable jewellery, which she was snapped wearing during a 2020 visit to Wales, as she and Prince William, 40, made a series of visits in the country.

Alongside the recycled earrings, Kate donned a green pussy bow tie neck blouse, and black trousers. The images, which were taken at St John's Church of England School, a primary school in east London, also show the royal showcasing her trademark dark locks in a loose, wavy style.

Photos launching the awareness-raising campaign show the Princess of Wales (pictured) wearing 79 gold hoop earrings by Welsh female designer Hayley Jones

The brand is described online as crafting pieces with a mix of 'bohemian feminine influence' and 'trend-led modern aesthetic', with a focus on 'ethical production'.

And the hoops are described online as 'best selling' and are sent to customers in a '100 per cent plastic free and biodegradable bag.'

The campaign, which the princess outlined in a letter to the Mail On Sunday, aims to raise awareness of children's development before their fifth birthday.

In an open letter, Kate set out her plan for Shaping Us. She wrote the impassioned plea on her laptop as she was preparing for todays campaign launch  to be followed by a week-long publicity blitz in which she will be joined by celebrities and influencers from the worlds of music, media and sport.

The 18k gold plated Alia hoops (pictured) were crafted by Welsh female designer Hayley Jones for her brand Spells of Love

Images shared to launch the initiative show the royal speaking with children during a visit to a primary school in east London

The campaign will include both eye-catching videos and social media messages. A spokesperson for the Princess described it as her lifes work.

Kate gave a sneak preview of the Shaping Us campaign last night with a short video on social media.

In the 50-second film, her hands are seen opening a photograph album with a blank cover. Inside, next to a picture of an adult man she writes the question: What shapes us? On other pages we see photos of families, an ultrasound scan and a pregnant woman.

Princess Kate posted a video to Twitter teasing the campaign launch after she met her team of advisers on the subject for the first time earlier this week

When Kate removes a picture of a little girl from the album, it reveals the words: Our early childhood shapes the adults we become.

It is the start of what Kensington Palace is hoping will be a huge multi-media push to raise awareness of how our early years mould our lives.

The campaign is a bold, more public direction for the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, set up by the Princess, then Duchess of Cambridge, in June 2021.

Kate (pictured with Prince William) was previously snapped wearing the earrings during a 2020 visit to Wales (pictured)

Reports produced by the centre have revealed that the first five years shape future wellbeing more than any other stage of development, with our brains growing faster than at any other time. However, many people remain unaware of this fact.

Now the centre is taking its work to the wider public. It also hopes to break the cycle for parents who experienced difficult childhoods themselves.

Palace aides say the idea for the project began even before Kate became a mother.

The Princess explains in todays letter that as a society, we currently spend much more of our time and energy on later life.

I am absolutely determined that this long-term campaign is going to change that.
King Charles appeared in great spirits as he attended a church service in Norfolk today - after it was revealed he has asked the Archbishop of Canterbury to broker a deal to allow Prince Harry to attend his Coronation.

His Majesty, 74, was accompanied by his sister, the Princess Royal, as the pair made their way towards St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham.

Wearing a brown overcoat, the King was snapped holding an umbrella as he strode to the service. Meanwhile, his sister, Princess Anne, wore a coordinated outfit, also donning a brown coat, which she paired with brown slacks and boots.

The outing follows revelations published by the Mail On Sunday that Charles wants Justin Welby to strike an agreement with his warring sons that would allow Harry and his wife Meghan to attend the Westminster Abbey ceremony in May, according to senior sources close to Lambeth Palace.

King Charles and the Princess Royal arrive to attend a church service at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham

Speculation has been rife about whether the Sussexes would attend the high-profile event since they stepped away from Royal duties  and especially since the publication of Harry's tell-all memoirs, Spare, earlier this month, that contained a string of wounding attacks on senior members of the Royal Family.

The King is said to believe that Harry and Meghan's absence at the coronation would be a greater distraction than their presence, so is prepared to make concessions to persuade them to attend.

But William is understood to be concerned that his brother will use the event to stage a 'stunt' that would overshadow the event.

Sources say Harry could be guaranteed a high-profile seating position in the Abbey or an informal assurance that he will be able to keep his titles as an inducement to attend.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex pictured together in October 2018

Good spirits: At one point King Charles appeared to be smiling broadly as he walked alongside his sister in Sandringham today

The king's outing today, accompanied by his sister Princess Anne, follows reports that the monarch is keen for his son Prince Harry to attend his Coronation

The King is said to believe that Harry and Meghan's absence at the coronation would be a greater distraction than their presence

However, William fears that unless Harry's visit is tightly scripted, he could steal the limelight by, for example, going on a walkabout in a deprived London borough with Meghan.

One source said: 'The issue of substance is whether they attend the Coronation, and if they do, under what terms and conditions.

'The family is split, and all the indications are that Harry is being advised to agree to nothing at this stage and 'play it long' right up to the last minute, which is making negotiations with him very difficult.

'Harry's camp made clear that the idea that he would just attend the Coronation and behave himself but then be stripped of his titles was a total non-starter.

While the King is said to want Harry to attend the Coronation, reports say Prince William has concerns over the idea

Lady Susan Hussey arrives to attend a church service with King Charles and the Princess Royal at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham

Lady Susan Hussey leaves after attending a church service at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham

'While he might decide at some point to discard his titles of his own volition, he objects to the idea of being forcibly stripped of them.

'He resents being lumped together with Andrew in the public mind as the two 'problem Princes', when he considers the circumstances to be totally different.'

Last night, both Lambeth Palace and Buckingham Palace declined to comment, while a source close to Prince William said they were not aware of any such negotiations over the Coronation.

Mr Welby, who will officiate at the ceremony at Westminster Abbey, was first asked to act as an intermediary between William and Harry shortly after the Queen's death in September.

The King has asked the Archbishop of Canterbury to broker a deal to allow Harry to attend his Coronation

Charles, William and Harry at a 2017 military memorial event

He has previously been dragged into the soap opera surrounding the Sussexes when Meghan claimed in a TV interview that he had secretly married them before their official wedding in 2018  forcing him to clarify that the ceremony broadcast to the world was the legal marriage.

He was also forced to pull out of the Church's General Synod in July 2019 in order to baptise the couple's son, Archie.

Speculation over Harry and Meghan's attendance at the coronation comes after the release of the couple's Netflix docuseries and the Duke of Sussex's tell-all memoir, Spare.

Despite the King's dignified silence about the allegations aired in Spare, Royal insiders say he was 'livid' about his son's attacks on the Queen Consort Camilla, calling her 'dangerous' and a 'villain' in TV interviews to promote his book.
King Charles and Princess Anne also arrived at the church in Sandringham

Lady Susan Hussey was pictured attending the same church service as King Charles and Princess Anne on the Sandringham estate today.

The late Queen's lady-in-waiting, 83, was seen in public with the Royal Family for the first time since she resigned from her honorary role at Buckingham Palace after repeatedly asking black charity boss Ngozi Fulani where she came from.

Lady Susan, Prince William's godmother and one of Queen Consort Camilla's closest aides, was seen walking into St Mary Magdalene Church in Norfolk, a short distance behind the King and the Princess Royal.

It comes after Lady Susan met with Ms Fulani in December and offered her 'sincere apologies' for her comments. Prince Harry late openly expressed his delight at the reconciliation between the two in his ITV interview with Tom Bradby.

Lady Susan Hussey arrives to attend a church service with King Charles and the Princess Royal at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham

Smartly dressed in a navy blue coat and hat, and carrying a matching handbag, Lady Susan was spotted walking alongside three other people a short distance behind King Charles and Princess Anne.

His Majesty, 74, is believed to have been at Sandringham since Friday and looked in good spirits as he walked to church with Princess Anne, 72.

He was seen smiling as he strode along in a long brown overcoat, carrying a navy umbrella. Princess Anne wore a dark chocolate-coloured coat, with a navy scarf.

Lady Susan was embroiled in a race row and later resigned from her position after repeatedly asking Ms Fulani where she was 'really from' during a Buckingham Palace reception in November.

His Majesty, 74, is believed to have been at Sandringham since Friday and looked in good spirits as he walked to church with Princess Anne, 72

Lady Susan Hussey leaves after attending a church service at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham

She later met up with Ms Fulani, who was representing abuse charity Sistah Space at the event, and apologised.

In ITV's Harry: The Interview, Prince Harry backed Lady Susan, saying: 'I'm very happy for Ngozi Fulani to be invited into the palace to sit down with Lady Susan Hussey and to reconcile, because Meghan and I love Susan Hussey.

'And I also know what she meant  she never meant any harm at all.

'But the response from the British press, and from people online because of the stories that they wrote, was horrendous. (It) was absolutely horrendous, the response.'

His backing came in contrast to his brother, Prince William, whose spokesman condemned the comments made by Lady Susan as 'unacceptable' in the wake of the furore.

Lady Susan met with Ms Fulani in December (pictured) and offered her 'sincere apologies' for her comments

The 83-year-old stepped down from her honorary role 'with immediate effect' amid a furious outcry after Ms Fulani tweeted about her experience at the event.

Ms Fulani said she was left feeling 'violated' after Prince William's godmother, who served as the late Queen's right-hand woman for 62 years, 'interrogated' her about where she was from at the Palace reception, despite her making it clear she was British.

She also accused Lady Susan of moving her hair in order to look at her name badge and asked her: 'What part of Africa are you from?' when she replied that she came from Hackney.

Only when the domestic violence campaigner said she was of Caribbean descent and African origin did Lady Hussey stop, saying: 'I knew we'd get there in the end.'

Ms Fulani, 57, later posted a transcript of the exchange on social media, which led to a furious outcry, leading Lady Susan to quit her post.

In December Lady Susan met with the activist to express her 'sincere apologies', which Ms Fulani accepted.

Camilla, the Queen Consort, centre, attended the reception to raise awareness of violence against women and girls where the comments to Ngozi Fulani (circled in red) were made

Lady Susan Hussey (right), 83, Prince William's godmother and one of Queen Consort Camilla's closest aides, resigned from her honorary role at Buckingham Palace after asking Ms Fulani (centre, left image) where she came from

The Palace said shortly after the meeting: 'At this meeting, filled with warmth and understanding, Lady Susan offered her sincere apologies for the comments that were made and the distress they caused to Ms Fulani.

'Lady Susan has pledged to deepen her awareness of the sensitivities involved and is grateful for the opportunity to learn more about the issues in this area.

'Ms Fulani, who has unfairly received the most appalling torrent of abuse on social media and elsewhere, has accepted this apology and appreciates that no malice was intended.

'Both Ms Fulani and Lady Susan ask now that they be left in peace to rebuild their lives in the wake of an immensely distressing period for them both.

'They hope that their example shows a path to resolution can be found with kindness, co-operation and the condemnation of discrimination wherever it takes root.

Queen Elizabeth ll accompanied by her then lady-in-waiting Lady Susan Hussey in 2012

'It is the wish of both parties that, at the end of the UN's 16 days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, attention can now return to the important work of Sistah Space in supporting women affected by domestic abuse.

'Their Majesties The King and The Queen Consort and other members of the Royal Family have been kept fully informed and are pleased that both parties have reached this welcome outcome.'

The Palace said it took the incident 'extremely seriously' and had investigated immediately.

Lady Susan, who was married to former chairman of the BBCs board of governors, Marmaduke Hussey, enjoyed a particularly close relationship with Queen Elizabeth.

At the height of the coronavirus pandemic, Lady Susan was part of the 'HMS Bubble' at Windsor Castle, which only included a small team of trusted aides that lived with the late monarch and the Duke of Edinburgh.

In April 2021, she was chosen to accompany the Queen alone in her car as she was driven to the funeral of Prince Philip in Windsor.

So key was Lady Susan's role in the royal household that King Charles had kept her on as Lady of the Household after the death of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
The Prince of Wales made a surprise appearance at a memorial service in Snettisham this morning.

Prince William, 40, appeared smart in a blue jumper teamed with a matching check shirt as he chatted with members of the community who were gathered at Snettisham Memorial Hall to remember the victims of the 1953 floods.

England suffered one of its worst peacetime disasters when floods battered the east coast, claiming hundreds of lives on the night of January 31, almost 70 years ago.

The late Queen Elizabeth II visited the aftermath, witnessing the devastation caused by floods in the Norfolk area on February 2, 1953 - and now her grandson William, whose countryside home of Anmer Hall is near to Snettisham, appeared to want to pay his own respects.

The Prince of Wales made a surprise appearance at a memorial service in Snettisham this morning

Prince William joined locals at the Memorial Hall following a service at St Mary's Church, reported the Eastern Daily Press.

Reverand Dan Tansey, who did not know for sure if the royal father-of-three was going to attend the event, said: 'He was lovely, very friendly and very engaged. I think he spoke to everyone there.

'It was a lovely day. It was such an important day for the village, and the Prince was really glad to hear about the village and everything which had happened. He seemed genuinely concerned for the community and for the sorrowful day.'

Due to the floods in 1953, 307 people in coastal towns and villages lost their lives. Around 24,000 homes were damaged and more than 30,000 people were moved to safety.

The late Queen Elizabeth II (pictured left) visited the aftermath, witnessing the devastation caused by floods in the Norfolk area on February 2, 1953

Prince William, 40, appeared smart in a blue jumper teamed with a matching check shirt as he chatted with members of the community who were gathered at Snettisham Memorial Hall to remember the victims of the 1953 floods

Prince William joined locals at the Memorial Hall following a service at St Mary's Church

More than 200 lives were lost at sea, including fishermen and passengers on the Irish Channel ferry Princess Victoria. Around 1,000 miles of British coast, from Shetland to Kent, was affected by the storm.

Sea defences burst in more than 1,000 places. Coastal towns in Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Kent were devastated as sea water surged into the streets.

Many people spent a freezing night on rooftops, awaiting rescue by firemen, police and soldiers. At King's Lynn in Norfolk, a 6ft wave crashed through the centre of the town.

On Thursday, William congratulated the finalists of his Earthshot Prize as he met them for the first time at a retreat in the grounds of Windsor Great Park.

William joined the 2022 finalists at Cumberland Lodge. He met each finalist in turn, asking them what he could do to help them.

Reverand Dan Tansey, who did not know for sure if the royal father-of-three was going to attend the event, said: 'He was lovely, very friendly and very engaged. I think he spoke to everyone there.'
Of all the medical problems my patients have, chronic pain has to be one of the worst. People are often referred to me with this condition due to the crushingly low mood their pain causes and its heartbreaking to watch them in agony, unable to sleep and never getting any proper rest.

They often rely on strong painkillers just to get through the day. The pills, of course, can have equally debilitating side-effects and frequently dont really work.

The person cant fully engage with life as the pain is always front and centre, getting in the way. In fact, it can be so debilitating and isolating that it is considered to be an important risk factor for suicide.

One lady in her 70s I saw recently had degeneration in her spine that meant she could never get comfortable. She spent all night sitting in a chair in pain, alone and staring at the walls.

Someone who suffers with chronic pain may find it difficult to get through the day and could find themselves with crushingly low moods

She would get up and try to walk about, but was so unsteady on her feet shed suffered several falls. It was a living hell for her  was it any wonder she felt miserable and wondered what the point of going on was?

The causes of chronic pain are complex and we are still trying to fully understand how  and why  it manifests itself.

To complicate matters, there's sometimes considerable variation in the pain experienced by different people with a comparable underlying cause, such as a slipped disc. Its not clear why some people experience pain so differently to others.

Whats more, sometimes no underlying cause can be found at all. And yet the person is severely disabled by it.

Dr Max Pemberton (pictured) details how psychological steps to manage this pain could be taken and how they would work including going through five steps of addressing the problem

People with chronic pain are often surprised to find they are being offered psychotherapy, rather than simply more and more painkillers.

In fact, research last week from the Stress Illness Recovery Practitioners Association showed that many chronic pain conditions can be triggered or exacerbated by emotion.

Conditions such as sciatica and fibromyalgia can be the result of a complex interaction between physical and mental states.

Researchers argued that emotional and physical problems are processed in the same part of the brain, and that its likely chronic pain is actually a mindbody condition, with emotions playing an important part in triggering or exacerbating it.

One of the pioneers in this area, clinician and researcher Dr Howard Schubiner, has explored how pain can be made worse by the Five Fs  fear, focusing on the pain, attempting to fix it, frustration and fighting it.

Psychological steps to managing chronic pain often involve exploring and addressing each of these in turn. This chimes with what many clinicians know to be true  that how we feel mentally can have a big impact on how we experience pain.

We have actually known about this for many years, as it was first appreciated by the anaesthetist Henry K. Beecher during World War II, who observed that soldiers sent home to their families often didnt need painkillers, even if they had suffered amputations or horrific injuries. This puzzled Beecher, until he realised that  unlike the civilians he was used to treating  for the soldiers, a severe injury was actually a good thing: it meant they would be discharged from the Army and could return home.

Beechers breakthrough was that it is not necessarily the magnitude of the injury thats important for how a person experiences pain, but the circumstance in which it occurs. It was one of the first studies that clearly documented the power the mind has over the body.

However, I only know this story because an old, wily anaesthetist told me when I was at medical school  lamenting how, because of advances in pharmaceuticals, this aspect of pain management had been largely forgotten (except as a historical footnote in textbooks) in favour of exciting new pills and potions.

So Im delighted to see new studies shining light back on this complex and fascinating topic  we should not underestimate the power of the mind.

Sadly, it is true that its far easier to prescribe painkillers and allow the patient to toddle off out of the surgery clutching a prescription in their hand than to explore what might be happening socially and emotionally in their life that will be affecting their experience of pain.

I often think this is why complementary medicine  such as homeopathy, naturopathy, and types of healing like Reiki  is so popular with patients with these conditions, especially those for whom conventional medicine hasnt worked.

Its not just that people believe its going to work and, therefore, it does  the placebo effect  thats relevant, but the fact that the practitioner will sit down for a considerable length of time beforehand, talking to the patient in depth about their life. Its this interaction, I am convinced, that helps as much as anything else.

The real shame is that more psychological support isnt readily available for those with chronic pain. Too many are dismissed with yet more pills.

The problem with painkillers is that they are not always that effective in long-term use and have a multitude of side-effects, especially in higher doses.

Science is starting to show, though, that by providing sufferers with emotional support, their lives may be hugely improved.

Todays medics would do well to follow in Dr Beechers footsteps and remember that whats going on around the patient is as important as whats going on inside them.

Too many people are being sent to A&E because the computer algorithm NHS 111 uses is too risk averse, Dr Adrian Boyle, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, told MPs. I agree. So much of medicine is a judgment call based on experience and gut feeling. You cant put that into a tick box.

Were not all as lucky as Paris

Dr Max Pemberton says that although Paris Hilton (pictured) went public with the birth of her baby via a surrogate, we need to remember that this isn't possible for everyone

Paris Hilton has welcomed a baby boy conceived via a surrogate. The 41-year-old has made headlines around the world with the news. Of course, she paid for this herself and, usually, I dont think peoples reproductive choices are anyone elses business. But she is just one of a growing number of women in the public eye who have resorted to using a surrogate, and I wonder about the false expectations this sets up in young womens minds about when to start a family. Using a surrogate is a very expensive and complex way to conceive. No one likes to talk about the limitations of things such as IVF because there are many couples desperate to start a family and fertility treatment is their only chance. But, equally, we need to make young women aware that while their favourite celebrity might seem to be able to delay motherhood until their 40s or older, for most this is a pipedream.

Britain has got hooked on steroids, according to latest figures. Some 500,000 people are now routinely using them  a tenfold increase over the past decade. And no surprises whats to blame  social media, of course. It seems strange that a picture of a skinny, scantily-clad woman is now frowned upon, as it is acknowledged that such images set up unrealistic expectations about womens bodies. Pictures of topless, ripped men are considered fine, though. My 13-year-old godson says boys in his class are already wary of taking their tops off when changing for PE, worried they dont look muscley enough. Until we tackle the pernicious effect that reality shows such as Love Island, advertising and social media are having on impressionable minds, more young men will feel ashamed of their bodies and turn to things such as steroids, with potentially disastrous effects to their health.

Dr Max prescribes...

Orienteering

Dr Max Pemberton argues that orientation is good for the memory and could off-put cognitive decline

This used to be all the rage but seems to have fallen out of fashion in recent years. Yet new research shows that orienteering could help stave off dementia. The researchers argued that in the age of GPS, critical areas of the brain responsible for navigation and memory are not being used and this can speed up cognitive decline. So get out your maps and compasses and have a wander!
When she was told she was at risk of breast cancer, model Jade Power bravely chose to have a double mastectomy.

Now, only five months later, she is preparing to go back to work  to show women you can still be sexy and beautiful after surgery.

Miss Power was 27 when she received the heartbreaking news that she is a carrier of a rare genetic mutation called PALB2, meaning there was a 71 per cent chance of her developing breast cancer.

The mother of one chose to be tested after her sister Donna, 39, was diagnosed with the disease in 2020. Their eldest sister Claire, 44, did not carry the mutation.

Five months after her double mastectomy, Jade Power is preparing to go back to work to show women you can still be sexy' after surgery

Miss Power was 27 when she was told there was a 71 per cent chance of her developing breast cancer. Pictured: Miss Power, 29, with her one-year-old son Zander

Jade, 29, who is a former Miss Sussex, had her double mastectomy, under breast surgeon Hisham Hamed, at Guys Hospital in London on August 13.

And determined to raise awareness of breast cancer mutations, she is already planning her return to modelling  and she will not be shying away from underwear shoots. Her goal is to show women that they can still feel attractive following a double mastectomy.

Miss Power, who lives in London with her partner and one-year-old son Zander, said: After my genetic test result, I felt like my breasts were the enemy and could potentially kill me at any time.

My breasts were the enemy

Going through a double mastectomy, I was prepared to cry looking at myself in the mirror after the surgery  but Im actually so happy with how I look. I just want women to know that you can still be sexy and beautiful after going through something like this and life goes on.

I really do still feel I am all woman, and will still be doing lingerie shoots just like I did before.

Miss Power is already planning her return to modelling  and she will not be shying away from underwear shoots. Pictured: From left, sisters Claire, Donna and model Jade

Earlier this year, Miss Power told the Daily Mail how she hoped to become the new Angelina Jolie. The actress raised awareness of a mutation linked to breast and ovarian cancer in a gene called BRCA1 after she had a preventative double mastectomy in 2013.

Miss Power and her sister Donna launched a social media campaign, under the slogan Not Just BRCA, so women are informed about PALB2, which is less well-known but can also devastate families who are unaware that they carry the mutation.

They are also working with the NHS to help inform nurses across the country on genetic mutations linked to cancer.

Miss Power received implants after her surgery to restore her bust. She said: I am counting my blessings, safe in the amazing knowledge that I have a greatly reduced breast cancer risk now, and will still be dressing up like I always have.
We've made it through dank January  hurrah, big slap on our winter-clad backs  and I've begun to get excited about what's around the corner for spring/summer.

Suddenly, it doesn't feel that far away.

Embracing one or two new trends each season keeps us feeling fresh, playful and vibrant  and our closets looking current.

But working out what's just a fad and what's worth investing in can be tricky at the start of a new season. As the saying goes, fools rush in. So I've started to make a list of what's looking mighty tempting for spring

Embracing one or two new trends each season keeps us feeling fresh, playful and vibrant  and our closets looking current

The go-to denim

Let's start with the basics. We all love our jeans and this year thanks to Kate Moss  who walked down Bottega Veneta's spring/summer catwalk in the perfect loose-fitting pair  relaxed, slightly baggy cuts are a must for our denim repertoire. Throw in a check shirt and white tank top for off-duty-cool, couldn't-care-less Mossy vibes. I'm definitely invested in this trend and will be wearing my loose-fitting jeans with something structured on top, such as a blazer or boucle jacket, and heels.

The cargo update

Last year saw the return of cargo trousers and it seems the passion for pockets isn't going away. Enter the cargo jacket, which I'm already a big fan of, particularly in khaki and beige tones. Wear yours now with some tailored trousers, gold jewellery and a poloneck.

Update spring favourites such as the trench with new accessories

The classic remix

Rebooting spring favourites such as the classic trench coat with on-trend accessories is a terrific way to move forward into a new season. To update my trench, I'm loving Gucci's latest take on its iconic Jackie bag (see above)  named after the very stylish Jackie O who wore hers endlessly in the early 70s with her giant tortoiseshell glasses and windswept coif. Alternatively, you can pair your trench with bright knitwear in pinks and greens and team with tailored trousers for a fresh feel.

The way to shine

Grown-up glamour is back. After Covid and months of going nowhere there's a big appetite for dressing up. No more excuses for going to the theatre looking scruffy because this spring sees sequins and sparkle live on  rejecting the idea that shine is just for festive frolics. Head-to-toe black, which rose to the fore last season, is still going strong with designers standing firm on the coolest of all shades. After all, there's nothing more chic than a little black dress and a summer tan.

@thestylistandthewardrobe

@youmagazine

THE OUTLOOK IS BRIGHTS

Jumper, 135, cos.com

Liven up your winter darks with the latest basics from Cos. Its new bright but simple crewnecks and polonecks will look terrific with your existing tailoring. Jumper, 135, cos.com

FOR STATESIDE INSPIRATION

Drew Barrymore's former husband, art dealer Will Kopelman, is featured and has one of my favourite homes

I recently bought New York Interiors, a beautiful bright yellow hardback shot by top interiors photographer Simon Upton who has turned his camera on fashionable homes and people in all parts of the city. Drew Barrymore's former husband, art dealer Will Kopelman, is featured and has one of my favourite homes.

MY NEW CANDY CRUSH

Candy on Disney+ stars Jessica Biel as Texas housewife Candy Montgomery, who in 1980 was accused of murdering Betty Gore, her neighbour and the wife of her lover Allan

If true crime TV interests you check out miniseries Candy on Disney+, which stars Jessica Biel as Texas housewife Candy Montgomery, who in 1980 was accused of murdering Betty Gore, her neighbour and the wife of her lover Allan, by striking her 41 times with an axe. Added to the gripping storyline, Biel delivers a terrific performance in an array of jumpsuits and shades of note.
A comet is streaking back our way after 50,000 years.

The dirty snowball last visited during Neanderthal times, according to NASA. It will come within 26 million miles (42 million kilometers) of Earth Wednesday before speeding away again, unlikely to return for millions of years.

So do look up, contrary to the title of the killer-comet movie Dont Look Up.

Discovered less than a year ago, this harmless green comet already is visible in the northern night sky with binoculars and small telescopes, and possibly the naked eye in the darkest corners of the Northern Hemisphere. Its expected to brighten as it draws closer and rises higher over the horizon through the end of January, best seen in the predawn hours. By Feb. 10, it will be near Mars, a good landmark.

Skygazers in the Southern Hemisphere will have to wait until next month for a glimpse.

While plenty of comets have graced the sky over the past year, this one seems probably a little bit bigger and therefore a little bit brighter and its coming a little bit closer to the Earths orbit, said NASAs comet and asteroid-tracking guru, Paul Chodas.

Green from all the carbon in the gas cloud, or coma, surrounding the nucleus, this long-period comet was discovered last March by astronomers using the Zwicky Transient Facility, a wide field camera at Caltechs Palomar Observatory. That explains its official, cumbersome name: comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF).

On Wednesday, it will hurtle between the orbits of Earth and Mars at a relative speed of 128,500 mph (207,000 kilometers). Its nucleus is thought to be about a mile (1.6 kilometers) across, with its tails extending millions of miles (kilometers).

The comet isnt expected to be nearly as bright as Neowise in 2020, or Hale-Bopp and Hyakutake in the mid to late 1990s.

But it will be bright by virtue of its close Earth passage  which allows scientists to do more experiments and the public to be able to see a beautiful comet, University of Hawaii astronomer Karen Meech said in an email.

Scientists are confident in their orbital calculations putting the comets last swing through the solar systems planetary neighborhood at 50,000 years ago. But they dont know how close it came to Earth or whether it was even visible to the Neanderthals, said Chodas, director of the Center for Near Earth Object Studies at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California.

When it returns, though, is tougher to judge.

Every time the comet skirts the sun and planets, their gravitational tugs alter the iceballs path ever so slightly, leading to major course changes over time. Another wild card: jets of dust and gas streaming off the comet as it heats up near the sun.

We dont really know exactly how much they are pushing this comet around, Chodas said.

The comet  a time capsule from the emerging solar system 4.5 billion years ago  came from whats known as the Oort Cloud well beyond Pluto. This deep-freeze haven for comets is believed to stretch more than one-quarter of the way to the next star.

While comet ZTF originated in our solar system, we cant be sure it will stay there, Chodas said. If it gets booted out of the solar system, it will never return, he added.

Dont fret if you miss it.

In the comet business, you just wait for the next one because there are dozens of these, Chodas said. And the next one might be bigger, might be brighter, might be closer.

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
An Australian fashion designer has boasted about a pair of jeans that are made with comfort in mind to suit any body shape or size.

In her latest Instagram video, Brittney Saunders donned the 'ultra stretchy' $99 Axel Jeans in a size 12 from her own clothing brand FAYT The Label.

'If you've ever struggled to find jeans that not only fit you well in all the right places but are also so comfy that you can sit down or drive in them without feeling restricted?' she said in the clip.

'If that is you, say less because I have the perfect pair of jeans and I'm wearing them right now.'

Scroll down for video

In her latest Instagram video, Brittney Saunders (pictured) donned the 'ultra stretchy' light blue jeans that 'fit like a glove'. The $99 jeans from FAYT The Label are made with comfort in mind to suit any body shape or size

In the clip Brittney can be seen pulling the material beside she thigh outwards to show how much it can stretch.

'Can you see this? I've got curves and this is stretchy on my body. In no way is it restricting,' she said.

'It doesn't gape at the back but they sit nicely.'

She tests the design further by jumping and lifting her knees high towards her stomach.

'And you don't have to jump to get them on! These will literally just glide over your body like a glove. Trust me,' she added.

'Can you see this? I've got curves and this is stretchy on my body. In no way is it restricting,' Brittney said

According to the product description on the FAYT website, the wide leg jeans are made with functional front and back pockets, and made with from a cotton-spandex blend.

The video has since been viewed more than 153,000 times and hundreds were eager to buy a pair.

'I'M SOLD,' one person commented, another wrote: 'Obsessed with your jeans - all of them.'

'I have bought a couple of pairs of jeans from Fayt and the quality and fit is second to none. My ONLY wish is that you guys did 'slim fit' jeans too for when I want a skinny leg or more fitted look,' a third added.

Customers who have already bought the product raved about it in reviews.

'The COMFIEST jeans I've ever worn. The perfect amount of stretch, softest denim and the perfect high waist. Love love love,' one shopper wrote.

Brittney previously told FEMAIL how her business success started and offered her advice to those looking to follow in her footsteps. She's the proud CEO and founder of Fayt The Label, Staple Swim, Form Active, Fayt The Store, Outdo Collective and Outdo Espresso cafe

Brittney launched her first clothing brand Fayt The Label on September 14th, 2017 with no previous experience or knowledge. The label offers stylish clothing in a wide variety of sizes and high-quality fabrics, with sizes ranging from 6 to 24

Brittney previously told FEMAIL how her business success started and offered her advice to those looking to follow in her footsteps.

She's the proud CEO and founder of Fayt The Label, Staple Swim, Form Active, Fayt The Store, Outdo Collective and Outdo Espresso cafe.

Fayt The Label (pronounced fate) was launched in September 2017 while Brittney's YouTube career was in full swing.

The label offers stylish clothing in a wide variety of sizes and high-quality fabrics, with sizes ranging from 6 to 24.

'I'm a curvy girl myself so I understand the struggle of shopping for clothes, especially online, so that is something I take into consideration with every piece we design,' Brittney said.

Her other brands Staple Swim, Form Active and Fayt The Store are also retail-based, making it easier for Brittney to organise her time and prioritise jobs.

Her latest venture Outdo Collective and Outdo Espresso will be both a coffee shop and creative space for events, workshops and brand activation.

'People always ask me the question 'how do I start my own business', and my answer is always: Google,' Brittney said

But the path to success was often difficult at times and Brittney invested 'six figures' to get Fayt The Label up and running.

'I'll be completely honest with you, I had no idea what I was really doing. I had no guidance but feel as if though I have always had an entrepreneurial mindset,' she said.

'People always ask me the question 'how do I start my own business', and my answer is always: Google.

'I can confidently say I have learnt every single thing I know about business from Google and use it pretty much daily even now whenever I need to know something!'

Brittney's accomplishments show you don't need a 'million-dollar business idea' to run a successful brand while also demonstrating anyone can do it if they have the drive.
The publisher of some of the world's most prestigious scientific journals is investigating a study which claimed Covid vaccines have killed up to 280,000 people across the US.

The bombshell estimate has since been peddled by anti-vaxx groups across the planet, who used 'the truth' as ammunition to push for roll-outs across the world to be urgently suspended.

It was also shared by the likes of Jordan Peterson, a Canadian psychologist who has shared discredited views online.

Springer Nature told MailOnline it had now launched an investigation into the study, which was published in one of its underling journals.

The study was also shared by the likes of Jordan Peterson, a Canadian psychologist who has shared discredited views online

The study, published this week in the journal BMC Infectious Diseases , was authored by an economist at Michigan State University. Professor Mark Skidmore, who has posted a number of articles critical of Covid jabs on his personal blog, used an online survey of 2,840 people taken in December 2021 to make his estimate of Covid vaccine-related deaths in the US

Respondents of the survey were asked if they knew of someone who had suffered a severe health reaction from getting a Covid vaccine. Of the total 612 people (22 per cent) who claimed they had, 57 people (2 per cent) said that they knew someone who had died as a result

What's the truth about Covid vaccines and tremors? Viral videos of people violently shaking are shot down by experts who say they could be staged  or the result of 'emotional distress' Experts have cast doubts over the authenticity of a series of videos that claim to show patients violently shaking after a reaction to the Covid vaccine. In one of the more shocking clips, a female patient struggles to walk from the bathroom to her hospital bed while experiencing tremors. Advertisement

'Once the journal's investigation has concluded and we have the necessary information to make an informed decision, we will follow up with the response that is most appropriate and that provides clarity for our readers,' it said.

'This may include potentially taking editorial action.'

The study, published this week in the journal BMC Infectious Diseases, was authored by an economist at Michigan State University.

Professor Mark Skidmore, who has posted a number of articles critical of Covid jabs on his personal blog, used an online survey of 2,840 people taken in December 2021 to make his estimate of Covid vaccine-related deaths in the US.

Funding for the survey was provided by Catherine Austin Fitts.

A woman of the same name - the former assistant secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President George H.W. Bush - recorded a lengthy interview as part of the 2021 documentary film 'Planet Lockdown'.

The 90-minute video makes a number of unsubstantiated claims about the Covid vaccine programme and cause of the pandemic.

Respondents of the survey were asked if they knew of someone who had suffered a severe health reaction from getting a Covid vaccine.

Of the total 612 people (22 per cent) who claimed they had, 57 people (2 per cent) said that they knew someone who had died as a result.

These included deaths from heart attacks, strokes or blood clots.

Professor Skidmore then used the data to create a vaccine fatality ratio and extrapolated that data to the entirety of the US population that received Covid vaccines in the first year they were deployed.

Writing in the journal, Professor Skidmore said: 'The total number of fatalities due to Covid inoculation may be as high as 278,000.'

He claimed, however, that the actual death toll could be closer to the 330,000 mark, according to his calculations.

And Professor Skidmore, who is listed by his university as an expert on finances and the economics of natural disasters, stated the figure was 'after fatalities that may have occurred regardless of inoculation are removed'.

US health authorities have verified nine deaths reported via VAERs that are 'causally associated' to Covid vaccines after reviewing the information like death certificates, and autopsy and medical records

Experts raised concerns over the study's methodology.

Dr Simon Clarke, an associate professor in cellular microbiology at the University of Reading, told MailOnline: 'Any study on a self-selecting cohort of participants, like this one, automatically has a flaw in its methodology.

'They can never be said to be sampling a random selection of people, nor one that uses dispassionate participants. Put simply, people can lie to skew the findings.

'There's nothing wrong with a scientific journal publishing the work of an economist, but we should always be mindful of the limitations any study and just because it's been accepted by a scientific journal does not automatically mean it's right. Editors can make mistakes too.'

He added: 'It's incumbent on journals to ensure that what they publish is of interest to the reader and if the Editors believe a report to be sufficiently rigorous and conclusions justified.

'Pulling a paper after publication only usually happens if a fatal flaw is discovered after publication or if someone is found to have acted fraudulently.

'For me, the biggest problem with this paper is that fails to sufficiently highlight its own potential shortcomings and it was the job of the Editors to insist that they be included before they authorised publication.'

US health agencies have said they have received 18,769 reports of death related to a Covid vaccination, about 0.0028 per cent of the 667million doses administered.

These reports were made via the US's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), and doesn't conclusively mean a death is actually linked to a vaccine, as it could be a coincidence.

All Americans are urged to report any health problem they notice post-vaccination, even if they aren't certain the jab was to blame.

US health authorities have verified nine deaths reported via VAERs that are 'causally associated' to Covid vaccines after reviewing the information like death certificates, and autopsy and medical records.

The UK has a similar reporting mechanism in place, called the Yellow Card Scheme, where around 475,000 adverse events to Covid vaccines have been recorded.

Reports of flatulence, yawning and crying have been logged by vaccine recipients. But it does not mean that the jabs are to blame.

Under the surveillance system in the UK, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has received 19 UK reports of 'suspected adverse drug reactions with a fatal outcome' linked to the bivalent Covid Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and 32 reports for the bivalent Covid vaccine Moderna.

No fatal outcomes following the Novavax Covid vaccine have been reported.

The MHRA does not publicize the exact number of fatal outcomes linked with the AstraZeneca jab, which does not contain mRNA unlike the Pfizer and Moderna jabs.

A 2022 study led by academics at Imperial College London suggests almost 20million lives were saved by Covid vaccines in the first year since countries began rolling out the jabs, the majority in wealthy nations

Multiple real-world studies have repeatedly shown that Covid vaccines are safe and have saved lives in the pandemic.

Yet, like with every medicine, drug and procedure there are risks.

People can have allergic reactions to components of vaccines and can suffer from a rare but dangerous heart inflammation called myocarditis.

Some have even died from blood clots, a rare complication of AstraZeneca's jab that eventually saw it restricted for the over-40s. The side effect was so rare that it wasn't spotted in the initial trials involving tens of thousands of people.

But antivaxxers claim deaths from vaccine have also been underreported by global health authorities and masked as a mysterious rise in excess deaths. Such tolls have seen them call for jab roll-outs to be suspended.

Professor Skidmore himself said that the problems reported by survey respondents, including heart attacks and strokes, 'are consistent with Pfizer documentation about the potential risks of the Covid vaccine'.

Health chiefs have repeatedly dismissed fears that mRNA jabs are behind any rise in heart problems.

Latest official data, published earlier this week, shows the US has suffered nearly 300,000 more deaths than usual since the pandemic began that cannot be attributed to Covid.

Leading experts believe these are mostly made up of surges in deaths from cancer, heart disease, drug overdoses and firearms during the pandemic. However, a full analysis by the CDC is still likely weeks away.

Excess deaths across England have been on the rise since summer but have spiked in recent weeks, running a fifth above expected levels. Almost 3,000 more people died than usual during the first full week of January alone.

Experts have blamed the NHS crisis  which has seen record waits for ambulances and in A&E  as well as a brutal wave of flu and the freezing temperatures logged in December.

Charities, including the British Heart Foundation, have warned that 'significant and widespread disruption to heart care services' is to blame for excess coronary heart disease-related deaths.
Trying to make a profit from services for the vulnerable sounds like a recipe for disaster.

Over recent years, however, private sector investors have gone into areas including care for the elderly and children's homes. And a number of companies have been set up to invest in property for homeless and troubled adults.

This is sometimes encouraged, based on the theory that private investment can produce better quality and cheaper provision. But, as property investment trust company Home REIT shows, it is a minefield.

Minefield: Home REIT was launched on the stock market two years ago by two managers at wealth management firm Alvarium, who promoted it as a socially responsible venture

Home REIT was launched on the stock market two years ago by two managers at wealth management firm Alvarium, who promoted it as a socially responsible venture that would ease the homeless crisis.

The company is now in serious difficulty having been attacked by short-sellers betting that the shares will fall. Hedge fund managers have their own agenda, but they can serve as a canary down the coalmine.

Trading in Home REIT shares has been suspended because top firm BDO is carrying out 'enhanced audit procedures' and cannot sign off on its accounts. Shareholders, including small investors, have seen the value of their holdings plummet.

Home REIT says it is 'completely confident' in the integrity and financial soundness of its business and its 'beneficial impact' on reducing homelessness.

The affair raises concerns for taxpayers. Home REIT's business model is based on renting properties to charities, housing associations and community interest companies. Those tenant organisations are supposed to provide safe accommodation and additional care for residents including many vulnerable groups.

The housing benefit such residents can claim is exempt from the usual maximum limits, to cover their additional care costs.

However, a number of the charities are overdue with rent payments to Home REIT, adding up to millions of pounds.

One of the biggest, Lotus Sanctuary, which provides accommodation for women fleeing domestic abuse, has a 2.7m debt pile.

Home REIT is appointing a specialist manager to help with rent collection.

There have been previous episodes where the involvement of profit-seeking investors in the provision of care has come under scrutiny. A decade ago the UK's then largest elderly care company, Southern Cross, went to the wall following a period in private equity ownership.

In 2021, the Competition and Markets Authority warned that firms owned by investment barons were charging taxpayers excessive fees to run children's homes.

Failures in private equity-owned facilities resulted in children being sexually exploited, while others lived in accommodation where walls were covered in faeces.

Home REIT is not a private equity vehicle, but a Real Estate Investment Trust. These property rental companies have been popular with investors because they offer attractive returns and tax advantages.

The investment trust sector as a whole has been prey to scandals over the years, including the so-called split capital affair in the 1990s. Yet most are reputable savings vehicles. Financiers who seek to profit from the provision of services to some of society's most fragile individuals are in morally sensitive terrain.

They may aim to be responsible, but there is a glaring clash of values and culture.

The ethos of caring for the vulnerable should be all about support, warmth and empathy. That is the other end of the emotional spectrum from the beady-eyed calculation that makes for investment success.
Shareholders in Ladbrokes-owner Entain must have been struggling to read the runes last week.

First of all were the rumours, reported in The Mail on Sunday, that joint venture partner MGM Resorts is weighing a bid.

That was followed by the good news on Thursday that the joint venture in question, BetMGM had a buoyant 2022 with net revenues up 69 per cent to $1.4 billion (1.1 billion), ahead of guidance.

Confusion: Shareholders in Ladbrokes-owner Entain must have been struggling to read the runes

So far so good. Entain will issue an update on its own trading this week. But the talk is that any bid from MGM depends on a Government gambling White Paper due next month.

Also on Thursday, Gambling Minister Paul Scully indicated to the Betting and Gaming Council that there are 'still too many failings' and the Bill could be more draconian than they had hoped.

Investment bank Jefferies noted the 'negative tone', adding that further consultations seem likely 'thus adding uncertainty'.

Will that dampen MGM's ardour?

Political stance on UK battery industry positive

While the future of collapsed electric battery maker Britishvolt hangs in the balance, another firm has been quietly making progress.

The Government had refused to release funds to back Britishvolt.

However, the political stance on building a UK battery industry is still positive, a Liberum report said last week.

AIM-listed Ilika has won a place on the 330 million state-backed Faraday Battery Challenge, which aims to get electric tech off the ground.

Turbulent time at Direct Line

A turbulent time at Direct Line has not gone unnoticed. Having axed its dividend and issued a profit warning this month, short positions in the insurer last week hit their highest level in 10 years.

The FTSE 250 company's share price has crashed by 43 per cent in the past year, leading to the departure of chief executive Penny James last week.

Figures from the Financial Conduct Authority reveal the number of contracts out on loan for Direct Line has hit almost 3.5 per cent.

Short sellers will be celebrating this weekend, then, after the firm's value fell on Friday to 1.75, its lowest ebb in five years.

Contango showdown

Coming up in the latest round of AGM revolts, coking coal miner Contango Holdings could face a showdown with investors next week over concerns about its board.

Proxy advisers ISS and Glass Lewis have urged shareholders to abstain or vote against the re-election of directors at next week's annual meeting.

ISS cites, among several bugbears, that the two non-executive board members have too many share options to be considered independent.

Glass Lewis takes umbrage with the re-election of non-executive chairman Roy Pitchford because the firm does not have pay or audit committees.

Setting up these groups could be tricky with only three board members  but it is still City best practice.
Concern for patient welfare has been raised at two Scottish hospitals after an anonymous source spoke out about unwanted sexual encounters, including a man masturbating and urinating on her while she slept.

The 37-year-old woman, referred to only as 'Jane', has accused the NHS of a 'culture of cover up and keep quiet', after reporting incidents to staff who allegedly refused to call the police.

Jane claims the two encounters happened a year apart from each other in 2016 at Crosshouse Hospital and at the Woodlands View facility in 2017 - both facilities in Ayrshire.

The 37-year-old woman alleged that a man urinated and masturbated on her while sleeping at Crosshouse Hospital around six years ago

Speaking on her experience at Crosshouse Hospital, Jane said: 'A man came and urinated and masturbated on me in my sleep.

'I reported it to the nurses, they said they would deal with it and they never did.

'I was really unwell at the time and the thing that bothered me the most was the nurses were so unsupportive.

'It wasn't like an outrage, it was like "oh that's happened". They sounded used to it.'

The Ayrshire woman felt that it was important to speak out about her experiences to prevent this from happening again.

It was in 2017 that Jane claims she was also threatened with rape by a young man at Woodlands View in a room right next to the nurses station.

She stayed at the hospital for a month after suffering a chronic pain condition that induced depression.

Jane continued: 'A young guy, he was about 23 or 24, walked into my room and threatened me with assault and rape. The room I was in was right next to the nurses station as well.

Jane also alleged that in 2017 she was threatened with rape by a young man at Woodlands View in a room right next to the nurses station

'I managed to get past him to the nurses station. Their attitude was "oh we'll just move you then". There were lots of vulnerable women on that ward.

'Rather than isolate him they left him there. Rather than moving him to somewhere more secure instead they moved me and left other women with him.

'This was common, one woman told me he did the same thing to her in the hospital. Most of the women in the ward were attached to IVs and couldn't go anywhere- he wasn't.'

Jane alleged that the hospital nurses refused to call the police as it was not deemed necessary.

She added: 'The whole of Woodlands View is a black spot for mobile phones. You really are at the mercy of the staff.'

Jane's allegations come just two years after more than 1,000 sexual assaults were reported to have occurred in mixed-sex mental health wards.

Campaign group, For Women Scotland, said it was 'deeply disturbed by this report' and stressed that all patients should feel comfortable in NHS facilities.

A spokesman said: 'It is critical that patients feel safe while in hospital, especially as many will be in a vulnerable condition. If assaults - or any crime - occurs on the hospital estate, patients need to feel confident that incidents will be taken seriously, investigated properly and appropriate action taken.'

Scottish Conservative shadow public health minister Tess White MSP also expressed that the allegations put forward were 'deeply concerning'.

She said: 'These are truly horrendous and harrowing allegations. My thoughts are with the victim who has bravely come forward.

'Our hospitals should always be safe places and it is deeply concerning if the police were not called in relation to the claims that have been made by this woman.

'Clearly she has been hugely distressed by what reportedly happened to her and the lack of support she indicates she did not receive.'

NHS Ayrshire and Arran said it could not comment on the allegations given to privacy reasons.

A statement from Medical Director Dr Crawford McGuffie said: 'Due to confidentiality reasons, NHS Ayrshire and Arran cannot comment on individual patient cases.

'We would encourage anyone with any concerns about the care or treatment provided to contact us directly as we cannot investigate incidents which are raised anonymously.'
If you've ever struggled to understand the bizarre ramblings of so-called 'sovereign citizens' as police drag them out of their cars, help is at hand.

Australians grew increasingly tired of the their antics during Covid when they joined forces with various anti-vaxxer groups in breaking almost every health rule.

Social media was flooded with videos of them ranting at police or explaining their misguided manifestos, all using bizarre seemingly coded language.

With pandemic restrictions over, the fringe anti-government whingers mostly faded from view until several made news in the past week.

Helen Delaney was dragged from her car after police ripped her driver's window clean off at a traffic stop Pacific Highway in Coffs Harbour.

Helen Delaney was dragged from her car after police ripped her driver's window clean off at a traffic stop Pacific Highway in Coffs Harbour

She and her fellow sovereign citizen passenger Luke Simpson refused to recognise police authority and instead hurled abuse at them.

Mr Simpson had many other run-ins with police, each time insisting police had no authority over them and even challenged one to a fight.

Various flavours of sovereign citizens essentially believe they can 'detach' themselves from the Australian state and not be subject to its laws.

They believe police, the courts, and other government agencies can only compel them to do anything with their consent - which they rarely give.

However, they seem perfectly happy to continue using the power grid, public heath system, and in some cases Centrelink payments.

Ms Delaney and Mr Simpson went online a day after the traffic stop and explained to fellow sovereign citizens their point of view.

'Just to give the guys an idea of how belligerent and how unlawful this judicial system is, they continue to, in their eyes with what Helen has done in terms of reconveying herself and actually detaching, cutting the umbilical cords from the system itself,' Mr Simpson said.

'She is now foreign to the Australian corporation.

'Some of you guys on here might not actually understand what that means, but this operation on this continent is nothing but a corporation.

'Helen has now detached herself from the strawman, she has copyrighted her names and Helen is known now as Helen Mary, not as Helen Mary Delaney in capital letters.'

The 43-minute three-way videochat between the pair and a third sovereign citizen used many other terms such groups believe allows them to slip through legal loopholes, and attempt to confuse police with.

Here are some of the common terms and phrases they use, and why they employ them both with each other and in dealing with authorities.

Australian corporation

Sovereign citizens believe the government is actually just a huge corporation and therefore illegitimate and has no jurisdiction over them.

Explanations vary as to when and how this corporation was set up, but the sovereign citizens claim to be citizens of the 'true' state of Australia under common law.

This is a concept they frequently try to explain to frustrated police officers when they are stopped in traffic or for breaking another law.

Admiralty law/common law

Since governments are just corporations, sovereign citizens believe they run on commercial law, usually meaning admiralty law - the law of the sea.

As a result, they argue they can only be compelled to follow the government's laws if they consent to them.

Instead they follow common law that was around before the creation of the 'Australian corporation'.

Common law is a real thing, beginning with the laws that were imported from the UK during colonisation and continuing to evolve here via the judgments handed down by courts.

It differs from statute-based law in that it is not passed by parliament but is the product of legal precedent from judicial decisions.

Sovereign citizens essentially believe that since government is illegitimate, the statutes are not either, and only common law is real.

Engage in commerce

This buzzword is related to the supposed commercial law sovereign citizens believe the country operates under.

Since this law requires contracts and governs commerce, they will say police and other authorities are trying to get them to engage in commerce, and they do not consent.

Bodybuilder turned sovereign citizen James Bartolo, who rose to prominence during the 2020 Melbourne lockdown as a protest leader, regularly describes police as 'slaves trying to coerce him into commerce'.

Strawman

Many sovereign citizens go further and argue there are two parts to every person, their corporate shell or 'strawman', and their flesh and blood true person.

They believe the illegitimate corporation government sets up the strawman for every citizen at birth and uses it to 'enslave' them.

This legal construct is subject to the country's laws and the authority of police and so on, but the true person is not, they claim.

A darker extra element of this theory claims the corporation/government is selling each citizen as collateral to foreign investors.

Often this is said to have started when countries abandoned the gold standard and went broke, and so use actual people instead.

Sovereign citizens believe each strawman has a secret government bank account attached to it with $630,000 to $20 million in it, depending on their variant of the idea they subscribe to.

Therefore, citizens are enslaved to these foreign investors unless they separate themselves from their strawmen and reclaim their rights and freedom from the 'corporation'.

Character of my fiction

Ms Delaney used this term in the videochat, it is another reference to the strawman concept, drawing a line between the real person and their official legal identity.

Capital letter names

Because a person's name appears in all capital letters on forms, drivers licences, official documents and so on, that is viewed to be the strawman name.

To differentiate their 'true' person from the strawmen, and prevent themselves inadvertently acknowledging state authority, they will often use odd punctuation.

Names are often written with hyphens and colons between them, so for Mr Simpson it would be Luke-Simpson or Luke of the family Simpson.

Notable American sovereign citizen David Wynn Miller would write his name as David-Wynn: Miller - and even pronounce the punctuation when saying his name.

Mr Bartolo last week created his own ID card following similar ideas, the new one supposedly an 'upgrade' on an earlier version from July last year.

Prominent bodybuilder turned sovereign citizen James Bartolo last week created his own ID card following similar ideas, the new one supposedly an 'upgrade' on an earlier version

The first one names him as 'commonly knows as James of the Bartolo family', himself as a 'sovereign anarchist' his address as 'mobile', and substituted his birthdate for 'first breath'.

Mr Bartolo has more recently been referring to himself as 'James the Traveller' and his new ID card names him as such, along with his birthdate changed to 'arrival'.

Another sovereign citizen named Chloe Fisher used a similar ID card when she was pulled over in Gundagai, in rural NSW, but it did not go well.

Most sovereign citizens are non-violent, but an example of their ideology being taken to the extreme was Matthew James Evans, who menaced court officials with bomb threats.

Matthew James Evans's threatening letters made vile accusations against judges and threatened to 'blow-up the facts' with 'information bombs'

'The fact you have no jurisdiction or written authority to administer mine or All CAPS as we are both Executors, living men,' one read

His chilling letters made reference to various sovereign citizens theories, including their naming conventions.

'The fact you have no jurisdiction or written authority to administer mine or All CAPS as we are both Executors, living men,' one read.

He forwarded copies to courts in Beenleigh, Warwick, Stanthorpe and Goondiwindi over several days between February and March.

Each page was signed by him and fingerprinted with red ink, another hallmark of sovereign citizen correspondence.

Detaching

The process of separating oneself from the strawman is known by various terms including 'detaching' or 'transitioning'.

Mr Simpson described Ms Delaney as doing this in the videochat, and Ms Fisher told police she was 'transitioning'.

'I'm slowly removing myself from being under your corporation. You're actually a corporation. You actually just collect money,' she said.

'I'm just transitioning... getting all my certificates and everything I need to state that you have no authority over me.'

Sovereign citizen Chole Fisher told police: 'I'm just transitioning... getting all my certificates and everything I need to state that you have no authority over me'

The procedure for supposedly separating from the strawman differs depending on country and the brand of sovereign citizen they are, but usually involves filing forms declaring it with government offices, if they can be convinced to take it.

More controversially they take the licence plates off their car, often substituting them for fake ones declaring their supposed status.

One spotted recently in Queensland read: 'Private Property Non-commercial, Living Woman, Terra Australia Incognito, Removal of this incurs a $50,000 fine.'

Government IDs are often discarded in favour of the self-made ones, and taxes and registrations are no longer paid.

The illegal number plate was spotted on a vehicle in Queensland

Redemption

Not only do sovereign citizens refuse to pay taxes, registrations, and fines, they claim to be able to invoice them to the strawman bank account.

Their argument is that since the strawman has the supposed secret bank account the government opened, and is the only one of the two personas subject to laws, that money can be used to pay.

Meanwhile the 'true' person is exempt from payment and may continue along their merry way.

Many also claim this bank account can be used to pay bills and send them back marked 'Accepted for Value' or 'Taken for Value'.

Implied consent

Sovereign citizens conveniently argue that if anyone ignores or fails to argue with their claims, they consent to them.

This means an exasperated police officer sick of listening to them, or a court official who decides their psuedolegal claim doesn't warrant a response, have agreed with their position.

Sovereign citizens held rallies on Australia Day, including training sessions on how to separate from the strawman and what to tell police at traffic stops.

A woman explaining this on a whiteboard told her audience they just needed to say their were 'a living man or woman' three times.

'And the police says "give me your licence" and you say "am I a living woman" and if you ask three times and they haven't given you an answer and they stay silent, they've actually implied consent,' she said.

'So them consenting, yes, you are a living woman, takes you out of their jurisdiction.'

A sovereign citizen tutor gives a whiteboard lesson on what to tell police when arrested, saying all you do is say 'I am a living woman' three times

Travelling (not driving) and conveyance (not vehicle)

Sovereign citizens often describe themselves as 'travelling' somewhere (e.g. Mr Bartolo calling himself James the Traveller), not driving.

Because they don't have drivers licences or car registrations, they appeal to their right to travel as opposed to driving a car.

People are (generally) free to travel, but operating a vehicle is a different matter due to its capacity for death and destruction if not used correctly.

Similarly, sovereign citizens often refer to their vehicle as a 'conveyance' rather than an object that needs a registration to legally use roads.

Unite for White protestors gather on the banks of Lake Burley Griffin and hold their arms in the air, sing songs and hymns and chant slogans about conspiracy theories

Innerstand (not understand)

Finally, Mr Simpson in the videochat said 'innerstand' - though he reflexively started to say 'understand' before correcting himself.

This is among the more pedantic of their arguments against government authority.

They worry that if they say they 'understand' what an authority figure is saying, they are admitting to being 'under' their authority.

Other sovereign citizens will say things like 'I comprehend you' for the same reason.
The self-styled leader of a wealthy spiritual community in western Canada has been charged with sexually assaulting several of his followers after telling them a 'spirit' instructed him to engage in sexual activity with them, police in Edmonton have said.

John (Johannes) de Ruiter, 63, was arrested and charged on January 21 in four cases of sexual assault that allegedly occurred between 2017 and 2020, according to a police statement this week. His lawyer says he will 'vigorously contest these charges in a court of law'.

For decades de Ruiter has run an organization called the College of Integrated Philosophy, also known as the Oasis Group - which some accuse of being a cult.

De Ruiter is known for his piercing stare which he levels at followers at lengthy meetings, and posts bizarre videos including one in which he asked the viewer whether they drink cappuccinos with their 'mortal or immortal mind'.

John de Ruiter, 63, is a self-appointed spiritual leader who claims to have been 'fully absorbed into what we are after we die'

He tells his followers on his website to expect a heavy cost in following his teachings: 'Paying the cost for what you know is true means that regardless of how you are treated, regardless of what happens to you, you will not close or harden in

De Ruiter claims to have been 'irrevocably changed' at the age of 17 when he 'was awakened, immersed, and fully absorbed into what we are after we die.'

His website, which explicitly denies the College is a cult, adds he exists to be 'a resource for those who recognize and are given to the same.'

He holds regular meetings in person and online and has a sophisticated television and podcast output for which he charges a subscription fee.

The so-called spiritual leader is known for his icy stare with which he stares at followers during long minutes of reflection, and offers meetings and live streams for the faithful in Edmonton as well as 'spiritual retreats.'

In photographs shared by his followers online, 'seminars' with de Ruiter can be seen with dozens of people in attendance - most of them women.

Many of his followers regularly share 'inspirational quotes' supposedly said by De Ruiter, along with videos and podcast excerpts.

All Zoom meetings with him cost $10 Canadian dollars per person viewing the stream, while a subscription to his TV and audio outputs costs $32 Canadian dollars per month.

The College of Integrated Philosophy describes its purpose as 'to make John and his teachings available, furthering the evolution of human consciousness.' The College is the organisation that runs events and meetings between de Ruiter and his followers.

Despite his arrest, De Ruiter's own website still states he is planning on carrying out meetings with followers next week. Many take place in local venues in Edmonton, such as this one. His lawyer says he will 'vigorously contest these charges in a court of law'

De Ruiter claims his sexual interactions with women outside of his marriage are not motivated by desire, but by 'what is deeper in my being'

It offers no formal education or qualifications.

A statement from Edmonton Police said: 'The accused informed certain female group members that he was directed by a spirit to engage in sexual activity with them.'

De Ruiter is said to have told the women that doing that would help them achieve 'spiritual enlightenment'.

Authorities said they believe there could be other suspected victims and encouraged them to come forward and file a complaint.

Under a section of his site named 'Controversies', de Ruiter states: 'John did not and does not use sex as a means of control or submission over any person.'

He also addresses claims he has had sex with multiple women outside of his marriage.

De Ruiter states he has had 'consensual sexual relations with women beyond the traditional scope of marriage', adding he does this only 'according to a profound inner clarity.'

He claims his meetings with followers 'opens us to the meaning of sexuality' and that true sexuality is 'deeper than ourselves'.

He claims attraction to another person is a 'primary distraction'.

He adds: 'I have moved in being with women other than my wife. This means being together physically and sexually.

'It is independent of desire, and oriented to realization of what is deeper. Sexuality is so profoundly core to awakening, but in ways not known to convention.'

He claims he 'invites' women to enter into sexual relations with him, '[asking] nothing but that each finds a response that is deeply rested and true to their own clarity.'

De Ruiter said he does not 'navigate' these interactions based on the effect upon himself or others, instead claiming a 'thread of pure knowing' guides him.

He claims he 'knew' to pursue sexual relations with women 'independent of desire' due to 'what is deeper than my being.'

He says this is 'clearer than my entire existence', and 'it's clearer and more real to me than physical reality.'

Spokeswoman Zaba Walker said: 'Mr de Ruiter will be represented by legal counsel and intends to vigorously contest these charges in a court of law.

'This situation is deeply impactful for those who know Mr de Ruiter.'

She told MailOnline: 'John teaches that when you are gentled and quieted within you are naturally open and soft in your heart.

'Living that way at any personal cost is the key to the fulfillment of our purpose for being here.'

De Ruiter reportedly has a bail hearing on Monday. According to his website, he still has events planned with followers this week in Edmonton.
Birmingham Central Library was also torn down, and replaced with a concrete Brutalist structure

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From Euston Arch and the Coal Exchange to Birmingham Central Library and Sunderland Town Hall, some of the most stunning buildings of the Victorian era were torn down after the Second World War.

As recently highlighted in a recent thread on the hugely popular 'Cultural Tutor' Twitter account, many were demolished for no good reason, amid a craze for 'modern' architecture, including the notorious Brutalist style.

Although for others, such as Newcastle Town Hall or Manchester's Assize Courts, destruction was a preferred option because German bomb damage and decades of disrepair had left them in a sorry state.

Below, MailOnline delves into the some of the once-treasured buildings that have been replaced by largely concrete structures.

Euston Arch and Great Hall

Euston Arch, the original entrance to Euston station in Central London, had stood since 1837.

Officially known as the Doric Arch, it was demolished in 1962 - along with Euston's original Great Hall - so that the station could be redeveloped.

The move - which was insisted on by Conservative transport minister Ernest Marples - was made despite fierce protests from ordinary Londoners and campaigners from the Victorian Society.

An idea to dismantle it and re-build it after Euston's redevelopment was dismissed as being too costly and time consuming.

Writer, poet and broadcaster Sir John Betjeman was among the famous Britons who had wanted the arch to stay.

 Slide me  After the Second World War, dozens of Victorian and Georgian buildings were demolished in the capital. The buildings that were pulled down included the famous Euston Arch, which had stood since 1837 and had been the original entrance to Euston station. Above: The Arch in 1954, and the site today

 Slide me  Euston's original Great Hall was demolished in 1962 so that the station could be redeveloped. With its staircases leading down on to a grand concourse, it had formed the template for other imposing station ticket halls - as evidenced by New York's Grand Central Station

A group of students even climbed scaffolding around the arch as demolition of the 4,500-ton structure was due to take place and unfurled a banner pleading for it to be saved.

Its architect, Philip Hardwick, built it at a cost of 35,000 (2.5million in today's money) after being inspired by classical buildings in Rome.

However, the arch had not been popular in all quarters. Since its construction, some had denounced it as an eyesore.

The Daily Mail's report in 1961 that the Euston Arch was to be demolished

Euston station itself, which opened on July 20, 1837, a year before the arch was finished, was the terminus of the London and Birmingham Railway constructed by Robert Stephenson.

Around the same time that the Arch was pulled down, the station's Great Hall was targeted too.

With its staircases leading down on to a grand concourse, it had formed the template for other imposing station ticket halls - as evidenced by New York's Grand Central Station.

Coal Exchange

London's Coal Exchange, near the Old Billingsgate Market, had existed in three separate buildings since 1770.

The first structure was torn down in the early 19th Century, before its replacement made way for a third headquarters that opened in 1849.

The building was one of the first to be largely built with a cast iron frame and was described by one academic as the 'prime city monument of the early Victorian period.'

However, it was demolished in 1962 so that the nearby Lower Thames Street could be widened.

Other buildings that were victims of voracious post-war planners included the London Coal Exchange (seen left in 1911) in Thames Street. It was demolished to allow for the widening of Lower Thames Street (shown right)

Birmingham Central Library

The original Birmingham Central Library opened in 1865 but stood for just 14 years before a major fire destroyed much of the structure and its stock.

A new library was built on the same site in a renaissance style and opened in June 1882.

However, despite its striking interior, Birmingham's authorities had decided that it was too small by the late 1930s.

But because of the Second World War, it was not until the 1960s that its redevelopment was agreed.

The original Birmingham Central Library opened in 1865 but stood for just 14 years before a major fire destroyed much of the structure and its stock. A new library (above) was built on the same site in a renaissance style and opened in June 1882

However, despite its striking interior, Birmingham's authorities had decided that it was too small by the late 1930s

The 19th Century library was demolished in 1974 and replaced with a structure built in the then popular Brutalist style (above). It was criticised for its appearance, with King Charles saying in his 1989 book A Vision of Britain that it resembled a 'place where books are incinerated, not kept'. The library closed in 2013 and was demolished three years later

The library was finally demolished in 1974 to make way for a new version, which was an emblem of the then popular Brutalist style.

The structure was the largest non-national lending library in Europe but was criticised for its appearance, with King Charles saying in his 1989 book A Vision of Britain that it resembled a 'place where books are incinerated, not kept.'

The library's fate was sealed in the late 1990s when the site that it stood on was sold to developers.

A nearby site for a new building was chosen in 2007, leading to the construction of the Library of Birmingham, which opened in September 2013.

The old Central Library closed in June 2013, before the structure was demolished in 2016.

A nearby site for a new building was chosen in 2007, leading to the construction of the Library of Birmingham (above), which opened in September 2013. The old Central Library closed in June 2013, before the structure was demolished in 2016

Sunderland Town Hall

Sunderland's magnificent old town hall opened in 1890, after being designed by Ipswich architect Brightwen Binyon.

Its most eye-catching exterior feature was its beautiful clocktower, whilst inside it boasted a magnificent staircase.

However, council officials decided that the structure had become unfit for purpose by the 1960s.

Sunderland's magnificent old town hall opened in 1890, after being designed by Ipswich architect Brightwen Binyon

The Sunderland Civic Centre, its hexagonal red brick replacement, was opened at a site less than half a mile away in 1970.

Whilst there were calls from residents to keep the original town hall, planning permission was granted to demolish it and replace it with a hotel.

The building was torn down in 1970 and then it was not replaced for years because the hotel developers could not find an operator to run the site.

Plans for another hotel fell through in 1974, causing local anger.

Council officials decided that the structure had become unfit for purpose by the 1960s. The Sunderland Civic Centre, its hexagonal red brick replacement, was opened in 1970

The Civic Centre was itself demolished last year and replaced by another town hall just over a mile away

A new building was eventually built on the site. Today it houses Virgin Money and the Post Office.

Meanwhile the Civic Centre was itself demolished last year and replaced by another town hall just over a mile away.

Known as City Hall, the structure was built because of the estimated 5million costs to furbish the old Civic Centre.

Known as City Hall, the structure was built because of the estimated 5million costs to furbish the old Civic Centre

Newcastle Town Hall

Newcastle Town Hall opened in 1863 in the Italian neoclassical style.

However, the structure had to be vacated in the early 1960s because it had not been properly maintained.

After its tower had already been pulled down in the 1930s, the rest of the structure was demolished in 1973.

The council moved to the Newcastle Civic Centre, which was opened by King Olav V of Norway in November 1968.

Newcastle Town Hall (left) opened in 1863 in the Italian neoclassical style. However, the structure had to be vacated in the early 1960s because it had not been properly maintained

The council moved to the Newcastle Civic Centre, which was opened by King Olav V of Norway in November 1968

Manchester Assize Courts

When they were was built in 1864, the Assize Courts in Manchester was the tallest building in Manchester - a title it held for more than a decade.

The 270-foot high structure was built adjoining Manchester's Strangeway's Prison.

The building displayed ornate sculptures that depicted famous lawgivers from history.

When it was built in 1864, the Assize Courts in Manchester was the tallest building in Manchester - a title it held for more than a decade

Whilst other bomb-damaged buildings in the city were repaired, the Assize Courts were torn down in 1957 - a year after the assize court system had been abolished. The new Crown Court building opened in the city in the early 1960s. The structure was extended in the brutalist style in the mid-1980s

However, the structure was severely damaged in the Manchester Blitz in 1940 and 1941.

Whilst other bomb-damaged buildings in the city were repaired, the Assize Courts were torn down in 1957 - a year after the assize court system had been abolished.

The new Crown Court building opened in the city in the early 1960s. The structure was extended in the brutalist style in the mid-1980s.

Lewisham Town Hall

The original Town Hall in the south-east London borough of Lewisham was opened in 1875.

The grand Victorian structure, built in a Gothic Revival style, was among the most imposing buildings in the area.

But after being damaged by German bombs in the Second World War, the structure was demolished in 1968.

The original Town Hall in the south-east London borough of Lewisham was opened in 1875. The grand Victorian structure, built in a Gothic Revival style, was among the most imposing buildings in the area

But after being damaged by German bombs in the Second World War, the structure was demolished in 1968. The Civic Suite was erected in its place and opened by the Queen Mother in 1971

That was despite a campaign launched by 13-year-old boy William Norton to save the structure.

The Civic Suite was erected in its place and opened by the Queen Mother in 1971.

Birkbeck Bank

The old Birkbeck Bank, which stood near Chancery Lane tube station in London, opened in 1902.

It had been built with then new steel frame construction methods that are now common in modern architecture.

It had a beautiful entrance hall that was bigger than the one inside the Bank of England.

 Slide me  Birkbeck Bank, near Chancery Lane tube station, opened in 1902 and had a bigger hall than the Bank of England. Its hall was lined with Doulton terracotta and decorated with tiles and stained glass. The Victorian Society unsuccessfully campaigned to save it in 1964 when it was set to be demolished. The current office building on the site is seen above right

The hall was lined with Doulton terracotta and decorated with tiles and stained glass.

However, the structure was demolished in 1964 for no obvious reason, despite a campaign by the Victorian Society and others to save it.

The structure on the same site today is a nondescript office building.

Imperial Institute

The building that housed the Imperial Institute, on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, opened in 1893.

 Slide me  The building that housed the Imperial Institute, on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, opened in 1893. But the decision was made in the 1960s to partially demolish the structure to allow for the expansion of Imperial College

The Daily Mail's 1956 report on the potential demolition of the Imperial Institute

Designed by architect T.E. Collcut, it housed a library, conference rooms and exhibition galleries.

The building boasted three towers that rose above their surroundings.

But the decision was made in the 1960s to partially demolish the structure to allow for the expansion of Imperial College.

The demolition came despite the fact that the building was not in poor condition and there was significant opposition from the public and cultural institutions.

The only part of the building that remained was the central Queen's Tower, which still stands today.

The metal and glass rectangular structure that now occupies most of the site forms the heart of Imperial College.

Buildings that were SAVED

Manchester Town Hall

Manchester Town Hall, which opened in 1877, remains one of the northern city's most iconic landmarks.

Grade II-listed, It is regarded as one of the greatest examples of Neo-Gothic architecture in Britain.

Manchester Town Hall (pictured in around 1890), which opened in 1877, remains one of the northern city's most iconic landmarks

Its 280-ft clock tower boasts a 173-step staircase and also hosts 24 bells, with the largest weighing more than eight tonnes.

However, after the Second World War there were proposals to demolish the Town Hall and replace it with a modern structure.

It was regarded as sooty and dirty and 'not fit for purpose'.

Fortunately, the plan never made it beyond the drawing board.

Grade II-listed, It is regarded as one of the greatest examples of Neo-Gothic architecture in Britain

St Pancras Station

St Pancras station in central London is now regarded as a masterpiece of 19th century architecture.

The red brick structure was originally built in the 1860s to connect London to the Midlands.

It fell into disrepair after being damaged by bombs during the Second World War.

Changes to rail routes then meant it was not being used enough to justify keeping it running.

St Pancras station in central London is now regarded as a masterpiece of 19th century architecture. The red brick structure was originally built in the 1860s to connect London to the Midlands. Above: The Midland Hotel and the station are seen in the late 19th Century

By the 1960s, plans were afoot to tear it down. It took a campaign by Poet Laureate John Betjeman to save it from demolition.

In 1967, it was given Grade-I listed status, just days before the wrecking balls were set to move in.

However, the building continued to decline after being saved, with its hotel buildings ending up abandoned and its rail lines infrequently used.

It took nearly 13 years and around 800million to renovate the station, with the redevelopment opening in 2007.

Rather than a dirty, sooty exterior, the building was cleaned to reveal its stunning red-brick detail. And the old Midland Hotel was turned into the exclusive St Pancras Renaissance, which opened in 2011.

To honour his vital role in saving the building, a statue of Betjeman was installed in the station when it was redeveloped.
Donald Trump vowed Saturday to win in 2024 and 'complete unfinished business' of his presidency after failing to earn a second term.

Speaking from the South Carolina State House on Saturday before an intimate crowd of a few hundred supporters, Trump also said he would reverse much of the policies enacted by President Joe Biden.

He promised to kick illegal immigrants out of the country after millions flooded into the U.S. with the relaxed migrant policies put in place by the current administration.

Trump also said that he would stop people born male from competing in women's sports.

'Together we will complete the unfinished business of Making American Great Again,' Trump said to cheers from the few who were lucky enough to get tickets.

Donald Trump said that he would 'unfinished business of Making American Great Again' during remarks from the South Carolina Capitol on Saturday evening

Joining the former president, among others, was South Carolina was Senator Lindsey Graham

Trump told the group of South Carolina Republicans that they need to vote for him because he's the only one 'who can take on the whole system.' A campaign adviser said there were 400 people in attendance.

During his remarks, the former president was flanked by Senator Lindsey Graham, Governor Henry McMcaster and Representatives Russell Fry, Joe Wilson and William Timmons, among other state and local leaders.

Some supporters caused an awkward stir when they yelled 'Trump won 2020' when Graham took the microphone to throw his support behind Trump's 2024 run.

The shouts were in protest of Graham failing to embrace Trump's claim that he was the legitimate winner of the 2020 presidential election against Biden.

In January 2021, Graham said that challenging the 2020 election results in Congress as 'not going to do any good.'

Trump's speech Saturday was only his second public remarks since announcing his candidacy on November 15  and was seen as a lackluster start to his campaign by those expecting it to kick-off with a bang.

In remarks from New Hampshire earlier on Saturday, Trump reassured he would start up his larger rallies soon.

While the South Carolina remarks included several of Trump's 'greatest hits' attack-lines, it was formatted much differently than his famous mega-rallies, which he became known for in the 2016 and 2020 campaigns.

Usually, Trump rallies are open to the public, but his event on Saturday was invite-only and was organized like an event typical of other more traditional political campaigns.

Speaking just 20-feet from a statue of Confederate icon John C. Calhoun in the South Carolina State House, Trump repeatedly said having Biden in the White House is like it being April Fools every day.

The intimate group of approximately 400 supporters gathered in the South Carolina State House in Columbia, South Carolina for Trump's second remarks after announcing his candidacy on November 15

During his remarks, Trump was flanked by Senator Lindsey Graham, Governor Henry McMcaster and Representatives Russell Fry, Joe Wilson and William Timmons, among other state and local leaders

As attendees filtered into the South Carolina Capitol Building, smooth jazz and instrumental music played over speakers rather than the usual classic rock and pop hits along with theater stage staples played at rallies.

Republican Party members and other GOP groups in South Carolina were able to clinch tickets to Trump's only second public remarks since announcing in November after speaking earlier on Saturday in New Hampshire.

Trump put to bed rumors that his campaign has started off slow and speculation that he is ditching his mega-rallies.

The former president boasted that he is the first GOP candidate in the 2024 presidential race to campaign in both New Hampshire and South Carolina, which are early primary states.

'No other candidate is working this early to win every last vote and save America from Biden's destruction,' Trump wrote in a campaign email sent out between his remarks in New Hampshire and South Carolina.

Trump's event Saturday was not open to the public, like his usual mega rallies, but was invite-only in the intimate location with a capacity of approximately 300 people

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham took the microphone at one point to voice his support for Trump's 2024 run, but was met with some shouts from audience members saying 'Trump won 2020,' in reference to the senator's hesitance to embrace the 2020 election fraud claims

Attendees at Trump's remarks in South Carolina said they are more interested in having four-more years of the former president in the White House before having any other Republican be the nominee  this includes highly popular Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

Moms for Liberty chapter chair in Colleton County, South Carolina said that while she does support Trump she doesn't much care for his 'antics,' and said that DeSantis does propose a more 'poised' option.

Cyndi Roberts, 50, said Moms for Liberty is taking the lead from Florida, where the group was founded, to try and flip school districts across the state red and in favor of more parents rights in education.

'I don't like his antics,' the mother-of-three told DailyMail.com. 'I do like what he does for my pocketbook and what he does for education.'

A group of 10 Moms for Liberty were among the about 100 people gathered in the South Carolina State House for Trump's remarks on Saturday evening.

Despite Trump winning South Carolina by 14.9 percent against Hillary Clinton in 2016 and by 11.7 points in the general election with Joe Biden in 2020, it appears support for the former president is waning in the Palmetto State.

A South Carolina Policy Council poll released this week shows that 37 percent of Republican voters in the state want to see Trump as the GOP nominee compared to the 47 percent who want to see someone else win the spot.

Additionally, a head-to-head matchup with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis showed Trump losing by nearly 20 points.

A separate nationwide poll released by Emerson College last week shows Trump leading Biden in a hypothetical one-v-one by 3 points.

That same poll shows Trump leading DeSantis in a GOP primary by 26 percent, a commanding lead that contradicts some other polling.

Just hours before arriving in South Carolina, Trump spoke at his first high-profile 2024 campaign event in the first-in-the-nation primary election state of New Hampshire.

The remarks had him sounding more like a politician than he did during any of his 2016 or 2020 rallies  showing the ex-president may be ready to 'play ball' in his third presidential campaign.

He also said that Biden running the country makes every day feel like April Fools Day.

Donald Trump defended himself against claims he has been slow to start his 2024 campaign for president in his first high-profile event with a speech in first-in-the-nation primary election state of New Hampshire

Trump was speaking to the New Hampshire Republican Party at their annual meeting in Salem, New Hampshire. The first-in-the-nation primary election state is vital for those seeking the presidential nomination every four years

While Trump did resurrect some of his greatest hits during remarks at the New Hampshire Republican Party's annual meeting on Saturday afternoon, he mostly stuck to the script.

He did, however, make sure to reassure voters that he is still 'angry' and still invested in winning and promised the rallies are coming 'soon.'

'The rallies, which are starting very soon, even though it's very early,' Trump said. 'They're almost forcing me into the rallies. 'Why isn't he doing rallies two years early?'

'But we're going to do them soon. I think we should do a big one up here. Let's do a big one. They love our rallies,' Trump said in previewing a future rally in New Hampshire.

Some strategists and politicians have pointed to Trump's slow-to-start campaign to back claims that he's lost the spark or drive to get a second term in the White House  but the former president rebuked those claims.

'The fake news said when I announced that I just wanted to put my cards on the table. Like you know, when playing that very big game right now, the biggest game of all because it involves the country and the survival of the United States of America,' Trump said to a group of New Hampshire Republicans in Salem.

'But when I put the cards on  and then I said, 'alright let's go.' They said, 'he's not campaigning.' This is like about a month ago when I announced. I said, well, you know, 'I've got two years.'

'They said, 'he's not doing rallies, he's not campaigning, maybe he's lost that step.' Well, I'm more angry now and I'm more committed now than I ever was,' he insisted.

At his speech in the first-in-then-nation primary election state, Trump announced that outgoing chairman of the New Hampshire GOP Stephen Stepanek will come on as the senior advisor for his campaign in the Granite State.

With Stepanek on board, Trump says he actually has a chance to flip New Hampshire red.

Trump also said that if he isn't successful in 2024, 'that's going to be the end' and the 'communists and Marxists' would have won and will now rule the United States.

Trump announced at the event that he is brining on outgoing chairman of the New Hampshire GOP Stephen Stepanek (right) as the senior advisor for his campaign in the Granite State

'He's going to help us make sure we have a win in the Granite State in 2024,' Trump said of Stepanek. 'We stopped the communists, we stopped the Marxists, if we don't stop them this time, I think that's going to be the end.'

'Everyone in this room shares the one key mission  we're going to defeat Joe Biden and the radical Democrats,' the former president said. 'These are radical left people. I think in many cases they are Marxists and Communists. I used to say that seldom, and now I say that all the time.'

Trump spent a considerable amount of time pointing to Biden's failures, and said it makes him feel like every day is the April 1 jokester holiday April Fools.

Among the listed failures included the disastrous mishandling of the troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, which was widely criticized. He also mentioned the Defund Police movement leading to massive crime spikes, as well as migrant policies allowing drug smuggling and human trafficking to pour over the border.

'We have people in the midst of the greatest crime wave in history that want to defund the police. That's April Fools, isn't it, right?' Let's defund the police.' You can't even get your car  you go to New York, nobody ever gets prosecuted,' Trump accused.

'I'm the only one they go after. It's true,' he said to massive laughter. 'Nobody gets prosecuted, they go after me.'

As part of his attack lines against the current president, Trump brought his son Hunter Biden into his remarks.

Specifically, Trump questioned when President Biden would finally 'get mad' at his son for dropping off a laptop at a repair shop that had 'every crime you've ever committed' on it.

'At what point does the father [Biden] get angry? Like, 'this kid is not working out for me,' Trump said in reference to Hunter, 52.

When reimagining a hypothetical conversations between the Biden father-son duo, Trump said that the president would say: 'What's on the laptop son?'

To which Hunter would reply: 'Every crime you've ever committed, pa,' according to the former president.

Trump urged Americans to 'be careful' with the 'fragile' United States.

'It's crazy  this is a crazy world we're living in,' Trump said. 'And we have to be very careful because we have a very fragile country  this is a very fragile place.'
A dad-of-two has died after being bitten by a snake inside his Queensland home as neighbours recounted his wife's chilling screams while she waited for help.

Paramedics were called to a property on Eileen Court at Kensington Grove - in southeast Queensland's Lockyer Valley - at about 9.50am on Saturday to reports a man had been bitten by a snake.

The man, aged in his 60s, died at the scene. He is survived by his wife and two children.

Neighbours said the man was an experienced snake handler and had owned a number of pythons as pets.

Next-door neighbour Michelle Vedredi, who was at work when the tragedy unfolded, said she had received multiple calls and messages from concerned family and friends.

A father-of-two has died after he was reportedly bitten by a snake at his home in Queensland's Lockyer Valley

'They were asking if I was OK because the helicopter had been and there were four ambulances and cop cars,' Ms Vedredi told the Courier Mail on Saturday.

She said another neighbour had told her they heard the man's wife 'screaming through the fence for help before ambulances got there'.

Ms Vedredi said she had spotted an eastern brown snake - the second most venomous snake in Australia - slithering through her own backyard just days prior to the tragedy.

She had been 'shocked by how fast it moved'.

The snake had sped across Ms Vedredi's backyard before making its way under the fence to the late man's home.

Another neighbour said they had seen four eastern brown snakes on their property in recent weeks.

'This is a very tragic event and unfortunately a man has died,' they said.

Queensland Police confirmed a report would be prepared for the coroner.

Neighbours have reported multiple sightings of the highly venomous eastern brown snake in the area

The tragedy occurred on a property in the Lockyer Valley in southeast Queensland on Saturday

The neighbour urged people in the area to 'be prepared' for snakes on their property.

'You don't have to live rural for to have [snakes] around. They also frequent suburbia,' they said.

There has been an increase in snake sightings in Australia as the country faces its third consecutive La Nina weather system.

Lockyer Valley snake catcher Chris Jennings told Daily Mail Australia land development in the area meant the natural habitat of snakes was disrupted, causing them to seek shelter elsewhere.

He said recent hot weather had also contributed to snakes looking for shelter, including in people's homes.

He stressed the importance of education around snakes and snake bites.

'Snakes don't actually want to attack people,' he said.

'The best thing people can do is to is learn about the snakes in their area and get first-aid training'.

The last reported fatality in Queensland was in November after a woman in her 50s was bitten in North Burnett.
Federal prosecutors are trying to prohibit FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried from privately contacting current and former employees of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange to prevent potential witness tampering in a criminal case accusing him of bilking investors and customers.

The request, made in a letter filed late Friday by U.S. Justice Department lawyers, prompted an indignant response from Bankman-Frieds lawyer, who accused prosecutors of twisting the facts to cast the FTX founder in a sinister light ahead of his trial scheduled later this year.

The testy exchange prompted U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in New York to issue a Saturday order that included admonishment for the opposing lawyers in the case to refrain from pejorative characterizations of each others actions and motives.

Bankman-Fried, 30, has been under confinement at his parents home in Palo Alto, California, since pleading not guilty earlier this month to charges against him. He is accused of diverting massive sums of FTX customer funds to buy property, donate to politicians and finance risky trades at Alameda Research, his cryptocurrency hedge fund trading firm.

Federal prosecutors raised their concerns about Bankman-Frieds attempts to connect with potential witnesses in the case after discovering he sent an encrypted message over the Signal texting app on Jan. 15 to the general counsel of FTX US, according to their letter to Kaplan.

I would really love to reconnect and see if theres a way for us to have a constructive relationship, use each other as resources when possible, or at least vet things with each other, Bankman-Fried wrote to the FTX general counsel, dubbed Witness 1, in the prosecutors letter.

Federal prosecutors told Kaplan that Bankman-Frieds communications are a sign that he may be trying in influence a witness with incriminating evidence against him. As a safeguard, the prosecutors want Kaplan to revise the conditions of Bankman-Frieds bail so he cant communicate with current or former employees of FTX and Alameda Research outside the presence of a lawyer without a waiver from the Justice Department.

But Bankman-Frieds attorney, Mark Cohen, painted a much different picture in his fiery retort to the prosecutors. Cohen described Bankman-Frieds effort to reach the FTX general counsel as an innocuous attempt to offer assistance in FTXs bankruptcy process.

In his Saturday order, Kaplan demanded complete copies of Bankman-Frieds electronic communications to be provided by Monday.

Federal prosecutors also want Kaplan to change the conditions of Bankman-Frieds bail to prevent him from communicating through Signal, which has an auto-delete option to make messages quickly disappear in addition encryption technology to help shield the contents from outsiders.

Using Signal to contact potential witnesses increases the likelihood that detection of any attempt to obstruct justice by influencing a witness will itself be obstructed, the prosecutors told Kaplan.

But Cohen wrote that the message sent to the FTX general counsel didnt have an auto-delete feature. Cohen also assured the judge that Bankman-Fried has turned off the disappearing messages option in his Signal account.

The government cannot justify a bail condition based on an unfounded concern about what Mr. Bankman-Fried might do, when there is no evidence that he is, in fact, doing it, Cohen said.

Before prosecutors asked the judge to impose broad restrictions that would prevent Bankman-Fried from privately communicating with any current or former FTX employees, Cohen said the two sides had already been in negotiations to reach a reasonable compromise before prosecutors sandbagged the talks with their late Friday letter to Kaplan.

By Cohens estimate, FTX and Alameda Research have about 350 current and former employees who would be blocked off from Bankman-Fried by a blanket ban, including some that might have crucial information for his defense during a trial tentatively scheduled to begin in October.

Bankman-Fried was willing to voluntarily agree to a prohibition against him communicating with several top FTX executives in exchange for being allowed to remain in contact with others such as his father, his therapist still employed by the cryptocurrency exchange and a range of other unidentified workers who directly reach out to him.

Kaplan told federal prosecutors to respond to Cohens claims in his seven-page letter by Monday.
Surf lifesavers have to be ready for any emergency and that even includes wayward giant pink flamingos.

Five mates who took the five-metre wide inflatable a kilometre out to sea on Australia Day have spoken about their light-hearted rescue after they had to be towed back to Stanwell Park Beach, between Sydney and Wollongong on NSW's south coast.

The unusual craft, which cost the group $700, had started drifting towards sharp rocks when lifesavers realised the five mates needed to be rescued - whether they wanted to or not.

Flamingo owners, Blake and Kyle Lisk, and friends Mitch Loveday, Tye Barnes and Jayden Raval admitted they had gone out a bit further than initially planned.

Five men were brought back to shore on Australia Day after their giant pink flamingo inflatable appeared to be heading into trouble

Blake, who lives in Wollongong, said the group used swimming fins to propel the flamingo out past the breaking waves but then the shark buoy became an irresistibly inviting a mooring point.

'We kicked out with the westerly wind and we got one kilometre out with the shark buoy,' Blake, 24, told the Daily Telegraph.

'We hung out there for a bit but didn't see any sharks unfortunately.'

The flamingo, which was dubbed HMAS Flamingo, was an impulse purchase made by Blake and Kyle when they were 'bored out of our brain' during Covid lockdowns.

'It was pretty expensive  about $700  so Kyle and I went halves but we never took it out of the box until the public holiday after Mitch called and asked if we still had the flamingo,' Blake said.

The five-metre wide and three-metre high floatable proved a steady platform once out at sea for the friends to enjoy a beer, cheese and biscuits.

After an attempt to tow the flamingo didn't work, the men were given a ride back to the beach on jet skis

They were so comfortable on the flamingo they waved away an offer of a tow back to shore by a police boat.

However, as the wind picked up, the flamingo started to head south at a rate which made the lifesavers nervous the big bird was headed for the rocks.

After an initial unsuccessful attempt to tow the flamingo and those onboard back to shore, the five men were ferried to the sand by jet skis before the inflatable was brought in.

'If you were at the beach yesterday morning, you would have caught a glimpse of this now infamous giant flamingo heading south quicker than we believe they anticipated,' the Helensburgh-Stanwell Park Surf Life Saving Club posted on Facebook.

The 'infamous' pink flamingo sits safe and sound back on the beach after the Australia Day frolic

Blake, however, insisted matters were in hand.

'The original (and executed) plan was to float out from Stanwell Park to the Shark Buoy, then to have the NE wind pick up and push us to Coalcliff (beach),' he told the lifesavers.

Coalcliff surf lifesaver Rob Deakin said the rescue was 'preventative' on a busy day when 71 other rescues were made.

Blake called the voyage an 'excellent exhibition' and said the group was considering buying an even bigger inflatable for another 'adventure'.
A Florida mother has filed a lawsuit against her sons' school board after they outed her presence on OnlyFans and banned her from school grounds and field trips.

Victoria Triece, 31, is able to support her two children through the adult website and claims she did it so that she could have the ability to be in her child's life without being hampered by a nine- five job.

Triece - who has nearly 150,000 Instagram followers, 272,000 TikTok followers and 32,000 on Twitter - has sued them for violating her rights of free speech, free assembly and her right of privacy.

She alleges a Orange County school board member disseminated photos from the account to staff at the school back in 2021.

Sand Lake Elementary School banned her from volunteering after she'd spent five years and passed all other background checks.

Victoria Triece, 31, has filed a lawsuit against her sons' school board after they outed her presence on OnlyFans and banned her from school grounds and field trips

'I was humiliated, and I should not, and no one else should be concerned about what another parent does,' Triece told NBC6. 'I just love spending time with my kids and I have a great relationship with other parents and students.'

Speaking to DailyMail.com Saturday, Triece's attorney Mark NeJame said the school board was behaving like the 'morality police' and compared it to a parent who hunts endangered species or cheats on their spouse.

'If a teacher or a parent was having an adulterous relationship, many would consider that to be far less moral,' NeJame said. 'Does that mean that parents and teachers who have violated their marriage vows shouldn't be around children, is that immoral?'

He also alleged that Triece knows of other parents in Orange County who are involved with the adult website and says that most of the feedback he's gotten on the suit has been supportive.

'The obvious purpose of attempting to rally support for [the school board] ended up boomeranging on them,' NeJame added. 'They went ahead and distributed this, with nothing but evil or malicious intent. All that it would do was cast a scarlet letter on her. We've taken issue with that. '

Photos and videos of Triece show her in underwear, and embracing another scantily-clad woman on a bed, although she insists she never behaved inappropriately while working at the school.

The sex worker had assisted in organizing class parties and helped with lab assignments for her older son's class, something she said she wanted to do ever since she became a mother, and is outraged by the ban, having wanted to emulate her mother doing the same for her as a child.

Triece, 31, is able to support her two children through the adult website and claims she did it so that she could have the ability to be in her child's life without being hampered by a 9-5 job

Triece - who has nearly 150,000 Instagram followers, 272,000 TikTok followers and 32,000 on Twitter - has sued them for violating her rights of free speech, free assembly and her right of privacy

She alleges a Orange County school board member disseminated photos from the account to staff at the school back in 2021

'I was humiliated, and I should not, and no one else should be concerned about what another parent does,' Triece said . 'I just love spending time with my kids and I have a great relationship with other parents and students'

Sand Lake Elementary School banned her from volunteering after she'd spent five years and passed all other background checks

Photos and videos of Triece show her in underwear, and embracing another scantily-clad woman on a bed, although she insists she never behaved inappropriately while working at the school

The sex worker had assisted in organizing class parties and helped with lab assignments for her older son's class, something she said she wanted to do ever since she became a mother, and is outraged by the ban.

'I don't think any mom, any dad, anybody in the position that I'm in should be going through this,' Triece told Fox 35 Orlando. '[To] be told what you do in your private life will affect you seeing your children in any realm at all. It's just a, morally it's just wrong.'

NeJame noted that the controversy hasn't stopped her trying to help her children's school, having bought supplies for teachers who couldn't afford them, but only being able to give them to someone standing outside the school's front door.

'They're willingly and happily taking these donations but they're saying that she's not allowed to be there,' he added.

While they are seeking as much as an Orange County Jury will award her in monetary damages - the original suit was for $1million - the attorney wants to file the suit as a warning for other parents who may face this in the future.

Attorny Mark NeJame (pictured left) noted that the controversy hasn't stopped her trying to help her children's school, having bought supplies for teachers who couldn't afford them, but only being able to give them to someone standing outside the school's front door

Triece, 30, was banned from the classroom after an anonymous letter sent to school officials revealed her OnlyFans page, and now she's vowing to sue the school district for $1 million

Triece was officially kicked off campus after a parent anonymously tipped off school officials of her OnlyFans account, which is a subscriber-based adult-only website

Triece created her OnlyFans page over two years before the news came to light, and had even promoted the page on her public Twitter account, which was created back in 2016

'All things are on the table if the school board acts rationally. She knows multiple people who are in the school system who are on OnlyFans. What does this do to them?'

'Her concerns were that she wants to be able to enjoy being with her kids again and she wants to make sure it doesn't happen to anyone else, to make sure that others situated do not deal with this.'

A spokesman for the county schools has said they don't comment on pending litigation.

Triece said that she never dressed inappropriately while volunteering at the elementary school, with a handful of parents having reached out since her dismissal to her show their support.

She was still be allowed to chaperone field trips, according to her lawyers, but will not be allowed to work on-campus as a volunteer.

Triece said that she never dressed inappropriately while volunteering at the school, with a handful of parents having reached out since her dismissal to her show their support

Triece is one of several recent online adult entertainers to have been publicly shamed for their work

Triece created her OnlyFans page over two years before the news came to light, and had even promoted the page on her public Twitter account, which was created back in 2016.

'One minute of my job a day is not my whole life, it's not my life of being a mom or being a parent,' she added.

'I think everybody's just floored because they're like, 'We know you, we know who you are.'

Triece is one of several recent online adult entertainers to have been publicly shamed for their work, with a Sacramento mother telling the press in February that her kids were expelled from an area Catholic school after a 'mean mom' discovered her OnlyFans page.
Ron DeSantis' advisors are actively preparing for a 2024 presidential run and his team has already identified hires in key primary states, insiders have claimed.

The Florida governor is yet to declare his candidacy for the 2024 election but - following a triumphant performance in the midterms - he is widely believed to be preparing for a White House run.

Now, two Republicans with knowledge of such conversations have told the Washington Post his team met recently to discuss the election.

It was also revealed the DeSantis' political team has identified multiple potential hires in early primary states including New Hampshire and Iowa.

Recent polling has shown DeSantis, who is considered Donald Trump's main rival for the GOP nomination, pulling ahead of the former president.

Polls have also shown that DeSantis would defeat President Joe Biden if the election was held today.

Advisers for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are actively preparing 2024 run for the White House - and his team has already identified potential hires in primary states

The Florida governor is yet to declare his candidacy for the 2024 election, but he is widely believed to be preparing for a White House campaign. Pictured: DeSantis with his family after being sworn in for his second term during an inauguration ceremony in January 2023

One of the Republicans with knowledge of the conversations told the Washington Post that Phil Cox and Generra Peck are involved in ongoing talks about 2024.

Both were two key members in DeSantis's 2022 reelection team are expected to play critical roles in the governor's presidential run - if that should happen.

DeSantis has won praise for his November campaign for re-election as governor, which saw him win over voters even in Democrat strongholds such as Miami.

He is thought likely to announce his candidacy this spring, but has said little about his 2024 plans and has avoided questions about running.

Biden, meanwhile, is said by aides to be very seriously considering a shot at a second term - despite him being, at 80, the oldest person to ever inhabit the White House. Trump is the second oldest person ever inaugurated as president.

Trump announced his plans to run again in 2024 shortly after last November's mid-terms. He is hitting the trail this weekend with planned stops in New Hampshire and South Carolina.

Among others expected to fight for the GOP nomination are South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin and former Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley.

DeSantis would defeat Biden if the presidential election was held this month, according to poll

Polling has shown DeSantis, who is considered Trump's main rival for the GOP nomination, pulling ahead of the former president

Generra Peck (left) and Phil Cox (right) who were two key members in DeSantis's 2022 reelection team, are reportedly involved in ongoing talks about 2024 are expected to play critical roles in the governor's presidential run - if that should happen

DeSantis is helped by both his youth and by being a fresh face on the national political scene.

He is widely seen as embodying many of the right wing policies that made Trump so popular, but without the president's erratic and divisive behavior that alienated independent voters, as well as small-c conservatives.

Both Biden and Trump are now being investigated by special counsels for their handling of classified material, and Trump, who had more than 300 documents stashed at Mar-a-Lago and held onto them for months, could face charges.

Trump's continued hold over many other GOP members is seen as the key reason why no-one has dared announce their own campaign for the Republican nomination.

Former President Donald Trump engaged in his first high-profile campaign events Saturday with a stop in early primary contest states of New Hampshire and South Carolina. Pictured: Trump announced in Mar-a-Lago on Nov 15 his third consecutive bid for the White House

Trump could pick up some legitimate primary challengers from South Carolina as the state's Former Governor Nikki Haley (left), who also served under Trump as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, and Republican junior Senator Tim Scott (right) have been named as potential 2024 candidates

New Hampshire and South Carolina are both key states for those politicians looking to clinch that party's nomination for president  and are among the states where politicians head when they kick off their campaigns every four years.

The first-in-the-nation state where a primary contest is held is the Iowa caucuses, followed by the primary election in New Hampshire, the elections in South Carolina and then another caucus in Nevada.

All four states are closely-watched and serve as indicators of how well a primary candidate may fare in the rest of the nation.

In 2020, President Joe Biden performed poorly in the crowded Democratic primary race in both New Hampshire and Iowa, but was later able to gain ground in South Carolina when Representative Jim Clybrun threw his backing behind the now-president.

Despite Trump winning South Carolina by 14.9 percent to Hillary Clinton in 2016 and by 11.7 points in the general electron against Biden in 2020, it appears support for the former president is dropping.

A South Carolina Policy Council poll released this week shows that 37 percent of Republican voters in the state want to see Trump as the GOP nominee compared to the 47 percent who want to see someone else win the spot.

Additionally, a head-to-head matchup with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis showed Trump losing by nearly 20 points.
A couple have been charged after a man was found dead in their apartment and a woman was allegedly held captive for three days before she fled.

The 44-year-old woman had allegedly been detained at the apartment on Levitt Street at Wyong, on NSW's Central Coast, for three days after heading there for a get-together on Australia Day - January 26.

She managed to flee the unit on Saturday afternoon before getting a friend living nearby to contact police at 4.30pm.

A couple have been charged after a man was found dead in their apartment and a woman was allegedly held captive for three days before she fled (pictured, Sean Froggatt was found dead in the apartment)

The 44-year-old woman had allegedly been detained at the apartment on Levitt Street at Wyong, on NSW 's Central Coast, for three days after heading there for a get-together on Australia Day - January 26

The alleged victim told police she was worried for a 52-year-old man being held in an adjacent room with officers confirming her worst fears after finding his dead body.

He is alleged to have been bashed, burnt and held captive during the three-day ordeal.

The man has since been identified as Sean Froggatt with devastated friends and family describing him as a 'loveable larrikin'.

Daniel Hasapis, 30, was arrested at the unit and his girlfriend Bonnie Cullen, 33, was cuffed at a house on Charmain Street at Watanobbi.

NSW Police revealed on Sunday all four people knew each other and that the allegedly kidnapped woman had initially visited the unit of her own free will.

'I want to make it clear to the community, and give the reassurance, that all four people are known to each other and this is not a random (alleged) attack,' Superintendent Chad Gillies said.

Mr Froggatt had been living in the same complex and in an apartment on the level above the unit where his body was found.

One neighbour described him as a good guy who was friends with everyone.

Daniel Hasapis, 30 (pictured), was arrested at the unit, charged and refused bail

Bonnie Cullen, 33, was cuffed at a house on Charmain Street at Watanobbi

'It's just shocking...Sean, he wouldn't hurt a fly. He had epilepsy, so he seemed a bit slow and that, but he was smart and he was a good guy,' the neighbour said.

Officers set up a crime scene and detectives have launched an investigation into the incident.

The 44-year-old woman was taken to Gosford Hospital to be treated for multiple injuries including burns.

The arrested couple were taken to Wyong Police Station where they were charged.

Hasapis was charged in relation to the death of the 52-year-old man and alleged kidnapping of the 44-year-old woman.

His partner was charged with conceal a serious offence and the pair were refused bail and scheduled to front Wyong Local Court on Monday.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Two cops have been forced to ask tourists to help them get their Toyota Camry out of trouble after getting bogged at a popular Western Australia beach.

Beachgoers at Wharton Beach in the state's stunning Esperance region watched as the police officers desperately tried to free their two-wheel-drive car from the pristine white sand.

Luckily for the embarrassed officers, a white four-wheel drive with a canoe on its roof rack was more than happy to provide a helping hand, towing the bogged cop car out of danger.

Wharton Beach is popular with 4WD owners with drivers able to park right next to the water's edge if they have an appropriate car.

The video of the cops, posted to Bogged, quickly went viral with the police officers unanimously blasted for trying to drive their suburban sedan onto the sand.

Police officers were forced to ask tourists for help with getting their Toyota Camry out of trouble after getting bogged at a popular Western Australia beach

'Imagine having a Camry as a police car,' said one.

'I'd drive it onto the sand too, and just leave it there.'

Another said, 'Imagine trusting someone with a gun who drives a Camry on the beach'.

Commenters also had a lot of fun about the officers' experience, or perhaps lack of it.

'Oh it's OK. They're highly trained,' said one, with a replier adding 'They will tell you how trained they are after a nine-week course'.

'Why help them? Silly enough to drive a Camry onto the beach they can sit there and get it out.'

Plenty lacked sympathy for the officers' plight.

'Imagine being that special to think it can go on the beach,' said one.

Beachgoers watched on, amused and bemused, after the police car was stranded on the pristine white sand at Wharton Beach at Cape Le Grande National Park, Esperance

One poster imagined themselves as judge and jury and wrote 'reckless driving. Five points'.

Some commenters did defend the police officers' decision to drive onto the beach in the first place, and criticised those making fun of them.

'It's funny nobody thought that they may have rushed onto the beach to deal with an incident or save someone who's having a cardiac arrest,' they said.

'Maybe they just took the chance because they needed to get somewhere fast.

'Most of you keyboard warriors have never been in the situation where you had to put yourself second to save or help someone else.'

There were a lot of very snarky comments after the video went viral on social media

But that didn't stop the snarky comments from continuing thick and fast.

'See it's all just a ruse that you need a 4x4 to drive on the beach, all you need is police stickers on you family car and bam you can drive anywhere,' said one.
Haley and four of his fellow former officers charged in the attack on Tyre Nichols

A former Tennessee inmate accused one of the Memphis cops of beating him

One of the former Memphis police officers who has been accused of murdering Tyre Nichols allegedly beat up a prison inmate when he worked as a correction officer.

Demetrius Haley, 30, was accused in a 2016 lawsuit brought by Cordarlrius Sledge, 34, of partaking in a violent beating inside Shelby County Division of Corrections.

'That could have been me,' Sledge told one outlet. 'I could be dead. As it is, my body still hurts from the beating. It's gonna hurt for life.'

Haley is one of five former Memphis cops charged in the brutal killing of Nichols, 29, who was stopped by officers on January 7 as he was driving home before he was wrestled out of his car, Tasered, and ran away.

The officers then caught up with him several minutes later and and viciously beat him, holding his wrists as they pummeled him and kicked him.

Before his January 2023 arrest in the death of Tyre Nichols, Demetrius Haley, 30, was accused of a brutal assault on a prison inmate in 2015

Cordarlrius Sledge, 34, accused Haley of partaking in a violent beating inside the Shelby County Division of Corrections in May 2015

Haley is one of five former Memphis police officers who have been charged in the brutal killing of Nichols, 29, who was stopped by officers on January 7 as he was driving home

Video of the incident was released Friday by the Memphis Police Department and sparked nationwide outrage and protests over the beating.

Nichols was battered so brutally he died on January 10 in the hospital from injuries sustained.

In an interview with the New York Post, Sledge spoke out on the lawsuit he filed against the institution and the officers.

The former inmate alleged Haley was one of the most vicious attackers in the group. The attack in question took place inside the facility on May 16, 2015.

Sledge, who was serving a three-year sentence for aggravated assault, filed the lawsuit on his own, alleging the group of corrections officers beat him during a search for a cellphone.

'When they came in to do one of their little random pop-in search, they called me and two other guys to the shower area to be strip-searched,' Sledge told NBC News.

'I had some contraband on me and I was trying to flush it down the toilet but they didn't follow protocol. Haley was the most vicious,' Sledge said.

Haley joined the Memphis Police Department in August 2020

These are the five former police officers who were recently arrested and charged in the death of Tyre Nichols

The man accused another officer of slamming his face into a sink.

'That's when they started punching on me,' he said. 'They picked me up and slammed my head into the sink, and I blacked out.'

The former inmate said when he woke up after blacking out during the attack, he woke up in his bed with blood pouring out of his ear.

'There was so much blood on my pillow. It damaged my right ear for life,' he said.

Sledge told the Post he received an apology from the Shelby County Corrections Department warden but nothing from Haley.

The incident did not seem to impact the former corrections officer's career as he later moved on to the Memphis Police Department in 2020.

Former Memphis police officers Tadarrius Bean (left) and Emmitt Martin III (right)

Former Memphis police officers Justin Smith (left) and Desmond Mills Jr. (right)

Court papers show Haley denied the accusations regarding the beating by Sledge.

The lawsuit was later dismissed after the plaintiff failed to provide the court with evidence they had requested.

Despite the lawsuit being dismissed, Sledge said he couldn't believe it when he heard Haley had become a police officer.

'He got a promotion, from corrections officer to police officer,' Sledge said. 'I didn't believe my damn eyes.'

Haley, along with fellow former officers Tadarrius Bean, Desmond Mills, Jr., Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith were arrested and charged with second-degree murder on Thursday.

In addition to second degree murder the five were also charged with aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression.

Second-degree murder, described by the Memphis District Attorney as a 'knowing murder,' is punishable by 15 to 60 years in prison under Tennessee law.

Tyre Nichols is pictured in hospital after the incident. The 29-year-old from Memphis died on January 10 from cardiac arrest and kidney failure

On Thursday afternoon DA Steve Mulroy briefed the press, saying his team had moved 'swiftly, but also fairly' to review the case that led to the charges against the five officers.

All five former police offices were arrested and held on bonds of up to $350,000.

Nichols, a 29-year-old FedEx driver, was pulled over on January 7 by the Memphis police for what was initially reported as reckless driving.

That interaction led to a violent confrontation that put him in the hospital, where he would die three days later due to 'extensive bleeding caused by a severe beating.'

He reportedly suffered cardiac arrest and kidney failure following the allegedly brutal interaction with the officers.

WARNING: GRAPHIC LANGUAGE AND DISTURBING CONTENT

Nichols's car is seen being pulled over at 8:24pm in south eastern Memphis on January 7

Nichols scrambles to his feet and runs. One officer yells: 'Taser, taser!' Nichols continues running, taking his t-shirt partially off as he runs

Video was finally released Friday by the Memphis Police Department showing the beating.

The video shows Nichols crying out for his mother multiple times during the brutal January 7 assault, which took place just 80 yards from his home.

'Mom! Mom!' Nichols screams as he is pinned to the ground by multiple officers.

In one video, the FedEx driver is pepper sprayed in the face, kicked and punched in the head, and struck with a metal baton.

'Watch out - I'm going to baton the f*** out of you,' one officer tells Nichols. He beats him, then walks away at 8:35pm, baton still in his right hand.

Outrage over the video has led to police departments across the nation preparing for unrest, with protestors expressing their outrage over the man's death.

Officers wrestle with Nichols, lying on the ground

Nichols is seen propped up against the car, bloodied and barely conscious

Nichols is seem propped up against the car, with no one checking on him
Nationals leader David Littleproud has accused Anthony Albanese of bringing on the law and order crisis in Alice Springs by not listening to the community claiming it shows why an Indigenous Voice to Parliament will fail.

Mr Littleproud pulled no punches as he said the prime minister and Indigenous Affairs Minister Linda Burney had failed to listen to the Northern Territory's Alice Springs community on the 'foreseen' consequences of lifting Indigenous alcohol sale bans.

'They were warned on the ninth of June by community groups in Alice Springs to the minister saying 'do not remove, the community is not ready',' Mr Littleproud told Sky News on Sunday.

Nationals Leader David Littleproud has laid the blame for the escalating crime situation in Alice Springs squarely at the feet of the Prime Minister and Minister for Indigenous Affairs

'Anthony Albanese wants a Voice? Well he didn't listen before. It took a crisis for him to get on a plane and get out there.'

In response to the scenes of chaos coming out of Alice Springs, Mr Albanese made an impromptu visit on Tuesday.

Mr Albanese blamed the previous Coalition Government, led by Scott Morrison, for allowing alcohol restrictions to expire.

Alcohol restriction legislation expired in July, two months into Mr Albanese's time as prime minister, however parliament had not yet sat by the time they ended.

Since the 10-year Stronger Futures program - which restricted access to alcohol in a bid to tackle social issues - ended, the Alice Springs region has grappled with skyrocketing crime rates with bottle shops ransacked and youths wielding machetes running amok.

The outbreak of lawlessness at Alice Springs, as illustrated by this brawl outside a supermarket, has become a hot button issue nationally

Mr Littleproud said Mr Albanese's rushed trip, where he spent four hours talking to community and government representatives, showed why the Indigenous Voice to Parliament was the wrong approach.

'You don't need a Voice, you need politicians who do their job and get the bureaucracy to do what you tell them to,' he said.

Mr Littleproud also called on the Albanese government to reintroduce the cashless debit card, which restricts the purchase of alcohol with welfare money.

'The cashless debit card is the other failure of this government,' he said.

Mr Albanese was forced to make a rushed trip to the Alice Springs to address the growing mayhem there

'I think this takes courage and conviction to say it hasn't worked, just reimplement what was in there it was working to an extent.'

'It is not a right to get taxpayer's money, it is a privilege.'

Unlike Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, who has demanded to know more detail about how the Indigenous Voice to Parliament would work, Mr Littleproud said there was already enough detail to know it would be a failure.

He predicted it would go down the same path as ATSIC, which was a government body set up under the Hawke Labor Government in 1990 to advise the Commonwealth on Indigenous issues.

Mr Littleproud said that Indigenous Affairs Minister Linda Burney (pictured) was warned in June not to lift the alcohol bans

The Howard Liberal Government disbanded ATSIC in 2004 after it was accused of corruption principally surrounding its chair Geoff Clarke, who was accused of misusing ATSIC funds.

Mr Littleproud said the proposed Indigenous Voice will the make same mistake of picking a few representatives to represent hundreds of different Indigenous communities with different circumstances and needs.

'We've sent Indigenous Australians to Canberra before and it failed,' he said.

'History is repeating itself.'

Former chair of Indigenous policy advise body ATSIC Geoff Clarke has been embroiled in numerous corruption and criminal accusations

The Nationals leaders said Mr Albanese needed to be 'listening to more voices not just one or two voices that are sent to Canberra but sitting in town halls and listening to more voices'.

He claimed the Nationals had 'lived experience' of Aboriginal disadvantage and had 'genuine intent' to 'close the gap', meaning the disadvantage of Indigenous compared to the rest of the community.

However, he argued the federal government did not need an 'extra layer of bureaucracy', such as the Voice, to do this.

'That can be done with existing mechanisms the thousands of bodies that are giving the government advice now,' Mr Littleproud said.

He argued that establishing the Indigenous Voice to Parliament, which is going to a referendum later this year to see it enshrined in the Constitution, is 'an open-ended model that says we're never going to close the gap.

Mr Littleproud argued to aspire to something more concrete and said ideology was 'getting in the road' of practical realities, which should include setting ambitious targets.

'Why should there be a need to have a department of Indigenous Affairs by 2025 or 2030 because the gap is closed, we are all equal in this country and we have solved the disadvantage in these remote communities?' he said.
Hunter Biden appeared to have been using his father's Delaware home as an office, with classified documents stored within the walls.

The president's son, now 52, listed his father's Wilmington mansion as his home following his 2017 divorce from Kathleen Buhle.

In 2018 and 2019 he had bills registered at the house, The New York Post reported on Saturday, and he asked his assistant to ship crates of his office equipment to the residence.

'Have what's in storage sent to my parents' guest house,' he told his assistant, Katie Dodge, in a December 2018 text message.

Hunter Biden, pictured in July, appeared to have used his father's Delaware home as an office from 2017-19, while classified documents were stored inside

A box labeled 'Important Doc's + Photos' appears to have been left unsealed on a table in the Delaware home of President Joe Biden

Hunter Biden, now 52, was at the time exploring business and investment opportunities with partners in China, Ukraine and beyond.

It is now known that there was classified documents being stored in the house.

Jim Hanson, a national security consultant and president of WorldStrat, said Hunter's running a private business out of an office where government documents were illicitly stored was a recipe for disaster.

'Having access to U.S. classified material makes it much easier to leverage your business operations,' he told the paper.

'You know things others don't know or can't know. That's one very distinct possibility.'

He added that Hunter, whose had well-publicized problems with drugs and addiction, was also vulnerable to allowing outsiders access to the information.

'He's a degenerate junkie cavorting with foreign prostitutes,' Hanson said.

'How could that go wrong in a place where a bunch of documents are stashed everywhere?'

Hunter Biden registered his father's home (pictured) as his residence when he divorced his former wife in 2017

A special counsel has been appointed to investigate how classified documents ended up at Joe Biden's home and in the DC office of his think tank.

On Friday, NBC News reported that Joe Biden's personal notebooks were among the classified documents taken away.

The notebooks contained jottings relating to his official business as vice president, the network said, including details of his diplomatic engagements during the Obama administration.

The notebooks, of which there were many, a source said, did not have classified markings on them.

At least a few documents were found in Biden's garage at his Wilmington, Delaware home. Biden's sons, Beau and Hunter, rebuilt the car for him

Jason R. Baron, a former director of litigation at the National Archives, told NBC News that personal notebooks would be considered classified if they contained secret information, and were government property if they were shared with staff.

'Handwritten personal notes of a former president or vice president are only considered presidential records if they were shared or communicated with other White House or federal agency personnel for use in transacting government business,' Baron said.

'A former president or vice president has the right to take out of the White House personal notes  they are not official records that come into the legal custody of the National Archives at the end of an administration.'

When asked about the notebooks, a spokesperson for Biden's personal lawyer, Bob Bauer, said they were not commenting.

'As noted in the statement released on January 14, consistent with our view of the requirements of our cooperation with DOJ in this matter, we will not comment on the accuracy of reports of this nature,' the spokesperson said.
Harry Styles fans might spend many an idle hour listening to his hits and watching his videos.

And now they can claim it to be homework  as the former One Direction star has been added to the GCSE curriculum.

His solo single Adore You is now on the syllabus of the media studies course offered by the OCR exam board, with teenage pupils asked to analyse the eight-minute video that accompanies it.

Released in 2019, the film features Styles plucking a fish out of the ocean and befriending it, housing it in ever-larger vessels as it grows, until it bursts out of its tank and is returned to the sea.

His solo single Adore You is now on the syllabus of the media studies course offered by the OCR exam board, with teenage pupils asked to analyse the eight-minute video that accompanies it

The video has been added to OCR's list of 'media products' that pupils will study from September  to the dismay of traditionalists.

Critics claim the inclusion of 28-year-old Styles is a cynical move to lure students on to a frivolous 'Mickey Mouse' course.

Chris McGovern, chairman of the Campaign for Real Education, said: 'Harry Styles is a superstar whom the exam board is using as a poster boy to pull in punters for a discredited GCSE.

'No youngster in their right mind should be opting for a study of Harry Styles over serious academic subjects. The Harry Styles media studies GCSE should come with a 'trigger warning' that it is likely to be regarded by employers and universities as a disqualification for employment or any quality higher education course.'

Previously, pupils on the course had to study Little Mix's Black Magic video.

Other pop stars to have been on the OCR media studies syllabus have included Beyonce and Tinie Tempah, while rapper Dizzee Rascal and comedian Russell Brand have been added to the English A-level course. Previously, the AQA board featured British YouTuber Zoella, sister of 2018 Strictly Come Dancing finalist Joe Sugg, on their media studies GCSE course.

Previously, pupils on the course had to study Little Mix's Black Magic video (Pictured L-R Jade Thirlwall, Jesy Nelson, Perrie Edwards and Leigh-Anne Pinnock)

But she was dropped in 2021 after an article reviewing sex toys appeared on her website. One of AQA's current tests includes a question about gender representation in video games as well as asking pupils to comment on the Kim Kardashian: Hollywood and Lara Croft Go apps in their answers.

About 34,000 teenagers sat media studies GCSEs last summer  a figure that has halved since 2010.

A spokesperson for OCR said: 'We periodically refresh our GCSE media studies content. Such additions keep it engaging and relevant.'

They added that the subject helps pupils 'develop both practical skills and a critical understanding of this vital industry for the UK, which has a profound cultural, social and economic impact'.

Styles rose to fame 13 years ago when One Direction was formed for ITV's X Factor. The five members effectively disbanded in 2016.
A jilted partner who attacked his love rival in front of stunned spectators during a greyhound race has escaped with a police caution.

Electrician Neil Gargrow handed himself into cops after the confrontation which was beamed to betting shops across the country.

He was arrested on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm after the incident at Crayford Greyhound Track in Dartford, Kent, but prosecutors have decided not to press charges.

A Scotland Yard spokesperson said last night: 'The suspect accepted a police caution.'

This means Gargrow, 41, has admitted his guilt for punching trainer James Turner but will not face court over the relatively minor crime. It is understood his victim had declined to offer any evidence against him.

James Turner, 36, was attacked in the incident after becoming embroiled in a love triangle

Electrician Neil Gargrow handed himself into cops after the confrontation which was beamed to betting shops across the country. The love triangle involved Gargrow's ex-partner of 18 years Gemma Routley, who Mr Turner has named one of his dogs after

Agreeing to a caution is not a criminal conviction but could be used as evidence of bad character for any future wrong doing.

He had stormed onto the track before Wednesday's 12.24 race shouting: 'Where's James Turner?'

Mr Turner, 36, who was parading his dog at the time has struck up a friendship with Gargrow's ex partner Gemma Routley and has even named one dog 'Gemma is My One and Only.'

Ms Routley, 37, his partner for 18 years and mother of his two children, is a paddock steward at the stadium.

It is owned by Ladbrokes Coral who broadcast races online.

A clip of the love triangle spat clocked up many thousands of views.

Video footage shows a man in a blue jacket suddenly break from the edge of the course and attack the trainer from behind as the dogs were walked up towards the starting gates.

The attacker ran up behind Mr Turner, who was walking with two dogs at the time

The figure jumped on the trainer's back before appearing to attack him with punches and kicks, taking the trainer completely by surprise.

He then punched him in the head, causing the trainer to let go of the dogs as the other trainers scrambled to pull their own greyhounds away from the brawl.

Another member of staff behind Mr Turner managed to grab the leads of the greyhounds and pull them away too.

After the arrest, a pal of the separated couple said a 'red mist' had descended out of jealousy.

She said: 'Neil would never have done anything like this before, but it's too much for him. Even after all of this he still loves Gemma.

'It was like a red mist descended. He didn't know where he was or what he was doing.'

Mr Turner escaped serious injury and his dog Mythmaker went on to win at odds of 11/4.

A Ladbrokes spokesperson said: 'This was a deeply unsavoury incident and one the police are now dealing with.

'Our prime concern is the well-being of the individual who was the victim of this awful assault.

'We are making sure he is OK, which fortunately he seems to be, while also assisting the police with their investigation.'

When MailOnline approached Mr Turner's home in Holbeach Drove, near Spalding, Lincolnshire, a woman answering the door and tending to the many dogs, said: 'James is not here and he will not be discussing the incident in Kent.'
The Memphis Police Department has disbanded the special unit whose officers beat to death motorist Tyre Nichols.

Police Director Cerelyn CJ Davis said Saturday that she listened intently to Nichols relatives, community leaders and uninvolved officers in making the decision.

It is in the best interest of all to permanently deactivate the Scorpion unit, she said in a statement.

She said the officers currently assigned to the unit agree unreservedly with the step.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. APs earlier story follows below.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP)  The nation and the city of Memphis struggled to come to grips Saturday with video showing police pummeling Tyre Nichols  footage that left many unanswered questions about the traffic stop involving the Black motorist and about other law enforcement officers who stood by as he lay motionless on the pavement.

The five disgraced former Memphis Police Department officers, who are also Black, have been fired and charged with murder and other crimes in Nichols death three days after the arrest. The video released Friday renewed questions about how fatal encounters with law enforcement continue even after repeated calls for change.

The recording shows police savagely beating Nichols, a 29-year-old FedEx worker, for three minutes while screaming profanities at him in an assault that the Nichols family legal team has likened to the infamous 1991 police beating of Los Angeles motorist Rodney King. Nichols calls out for his mother before his limp body is propped against a squad car and the officers exchange fist-bumps.

The five officers  Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith  face up to 60 years in prison if convicted of second-degree murder.

Memphis Police Director Cerelyn CJ Davis has said that other officers are under investigation, and Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner said two deputies have been relieved of duty without pay while their conduct is investigated.

Rodney Wells, Nichols stepfather, said the family would continue to seek justice and noted that several other officers failed to render aid, making them just as culpable as the officers who threw the blows.

A Memphis police spokeswoman declined to comment on the role played by other officers who showed up at the scene.

Cities nationwide had braced for demonstrations, but the protests were scattered and nonviolent. Several dozen demonstrators in Memphis blocked the Interstate 55 bridge that carries traffic over the Mississippi River toward Arkansas. Protesters also blocked traffic in New York City, Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon.

Blake Ballin, the lawyer for Mills, told The Associated Press in a statement Saturday that the videos produced as many questions as they have answers.

Some of the questions will focus on what Mills knew and what he was able to see and whether his actions crossed the lines that were crossed by other officers during this incident, Ballin said.

The arrest was made by the so-called Scorpion unit, which has three teams of about 30 street officers who target violent offenders in areas beset by high crime, Davis said.

In an AP interview Friday, she said she would not shut down a unit if a few officers commit some egregious act and because she needs that unit to continue to work.

A few hours later, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland said the unit has been inactive since the Jan. 7 arrest.

The city was initiating an outside, independent review of the training, policies and operations of our specialized units, Strickland said in a statement.

Davis acknowledged that the police department has a supervisor shortage and said the lack of a supervisor in the arrest was a major problem. City officials have pledged to provide more of them.

Questions swirled around what led to the traffic stop in the first place. One officer can be heard saying that Nichols wouldnt stop and then swerved as though he intended to hit the officers car. The officer said that when Nichols pulled up to a red light, the officers jumped out of the car.

But Davis said the department cannot substantiate the reason for the stop.

We dont know what happened, she said, adding, All we know is the amount of force that was applied in this situation was over the top.

After the first officer roughly pulls Nichols out of the car, Nichols can be heard saying, I didnt do anything, as a group of officers begins to wrestle him to the ground.

One officer is heard yelling, Tase him! Tase him!

Nichols calmly says, OK, Im on the ground.

You guys are really doing a lot right now, Nichols says. Im just trying to go home.

Stop, Im not doing anything! he yells moments later.

Nichols can then be seen running as an officer fires a Taser at him. His mothers home, where he lived, was only a few houses away from the scene of the beating, and his family said he was trying to get there. The officers then start chasing Nichols.

Other officers are called, and a search ensues before Nichols is caught at another intersection. The officers beat him with a baton, and kick and punch him.

Security camera footage shows three officers surrounding Nichols as he lies in the street cornered between police cars, with a fourth officer nearby.

Two officers hold Nichols to the ground as he moves about, and then the third appears to kick him in the head. Nichols slumps more fully onto the pavement with all three officers surrounding him. The same officer kicks him again.

The fourth officer then walks over, draws a baton and holds it up at shoulder level as two officers hold Nichols upright, as if he were sitting.

Im going to baton the f out you, one officer can be heard saying. His body camera shows him raise his baton while at least one other officer holds Nichols. The officer strikes Nichols on the back with the baton three times in a row.

The other officers then appear to hoist Nichols to his feet, with him flopping like a doll, barely able to stay upright.

An officer then punches him in the face, as the officer with the baton continues to menace him. Nichols stumbles and turns, still held up by two officers. The officer who punched him then walks around to Nichols front and punches him four more times. Then Nichols collapses.

Two officers can then be seen atop Nichols on the ground, with a third nearby, for about 40 seconds. Three more officers then run up, and one can be seen kicking Nichols on the ground.

It takes more than 20 minutes after Nichols is beaten and on the pavement before any sort of medical attention is provided.

During the wait for an ambulance, officers joked and aired grievances. They complained that a handheld radio was ruined, that someone lost a flashlight and that multiple officers had been caught in the crossfire of the pepper spray used against Nichols.

Throughout the videos, officers make claims about Nichols behavior that are not supported by the footage or that the district attorney and other officials have said did not happen. In one of the videos, an officer claims that during the initial traffic stop Nichols reached for the officers gun before fleeing and almost had his hand on the handle, which is not shown in the video.

After Nichols is in handcuffs and leaning against a police car, several officers say that he must have been high. Later an officer says no drugs were found in his car, and another officer immediately counters that Nichols must have ditched something while he was running away.

During a speech Saturday in Harlem, the Rev. Al Sharpton said the beating was particularly egregious because the officers were Black, too.

Your Blackness will not stop us from fighting you. These five cops not only disgraced their names, they disgraced our race, Sharpton said.

Associated Press reporters Aaron Morrison in New York, Travis Loller in Nashville, Tennessee, and Rebecca Reynolds in Lexington, Kentucky, contributed to this report.
A crew of Filipino sailors have been stranded on an abandoned ship off the south-west coast of Victoria for four months and their maritime insurance is about to end.

There were originally 36 crew on the Liberian-flagged Yangtze Fortune container ship when it anchored in Portland on September 28.

It was supposed to deliver cattle to China but that journey was called off after a crack was discovered in its hull.

The federal government recently allowed 19 of the sailors to fly home to the Philippines - reducing the 'safe manning' level - while another man had already left.

But the immediate future of the remaining 16 men onboard is uncertain, with the ship's insurance due to run out on January 31 and $250,00 owed in unpaid wages.

There were originally 36 crew (pictured) on the Liberian-flagged Yangtze Fortune container ship that has been anchored in Portland in south-western Victoria since September 28

The Yangtze Fortune has been stranded off the coast of Victoria for months

With no supplies being provided to the crew by its owners, another looming date is February 10, when the ship will be sold by court order in an effort to recover debts.

Last month, the Federal Court of Australia found the Yangtze Fortune's Chinese owners abandoned the ship and its crew and owed a huge sum to creditors.

The vessel is under the care of a Federal Court Admiralty Marshal - someone who takes responsibility for ships when they are subject to court orders.

Another reason the situation needs to be resolved as soon as possible is the ship has become an obstacle for others waiting to dock at Portland.

With no further aid from the owners, the International Transport Workers' Union (ITF), The Seafarers Mission to Portland and the Salvation Army have helped the crew, including holding a Christmas Day party for them.

Matt Purcell of the ITF said the crew was in 'reasonable spirits' and were sometimes allowed to leave the ship to go to Portland.

'(But) we don't know when they're going home, and that must create an awful amount of pressure and stress,' he told the ABC.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said international conventions required a ship to be 'adequately resourced to relocate if the need arises, or to respond to emergency situations'.

Stranded crew members (pictured left and centre) are bing helped by the International Transport Workers' Union, The Seafarers Mission to Portland and the Salvation Army

'International guidelines require that both the vessel's flag state and insurers act in cases of abandonment to ensure the continued welfare of the crew onboard,' a spokesperson said.

ITF Australian Inspectorate coordinator Ian Bray said some workers' salaries had previously been paid through methods such as increased leave entitlements.

'We allege (the ship's owner) has unethically, morally and probably illegally been taking from their funds to pay them and that needs to be replaced as well,' he said.

His colleague Mr Purcell said 'when the insurance runs out, the Port of Portland and any other port for that matter, won't want to take them alongside because of the issues with non-insurance'.

He said in the case of an accident or a to the ship or the crew, after January 31 they will not be covered.

The Federal Government recently allowed 19 of the sailors (pictured) to fly home to the Philippines, while another man had already left

Mr Bray said a vessel cannot be allowed to be floating around in the ocean when nobody can pay its bills.

'I would imagine AMSA would have a view that it would go to anchor and remain at anchor until these issues get resolved. That would be the pragmatic approach to it,' he said.

Former sailor June Villadolid has been working with the Yangtze Fortune's crew and said they have probably been told not to speak publicly about what is happening.

He said seafarers are told by the captain or owners not to speak to the media, and that doing so could lead to them being blacklisted and not getting work in future.

In July, 2018, the Yangtze Fortune was reported for having more than the allowable amount of animal fatalities on board during a 20-day journey from Portland to Ningbo in China.

Of the 2,192 cattle onboard, 33 died, which was above the recommended rate of 1 per cent animal fatalities for voyages longer than 10 days.
A former Google executive has claimed he was fired from the tech giant after he rejected his female boss's advances when she allegedly groped him at a swanky dinner which prompted her to accuse him of 'microaggressions.'

Ryan Olohan, 48, a married New Jersey father-of-seven, alleges Tiffany Miller rubbed his abdominals, told him he had a nice body and that her marriage lacked 'spice,' according to a lawsuit filed in November.

Miller, who is Asian, told Olohan she knew he liked Asian women  referring to his wife, who is also Asian.

The alleged incident happened at Manhattan's Fig & Olive restaurant in December 2019, which Olohan said he reported to human resources the next week, but nothing ever came of the complaint. And that it was only the beginning of the harassment.

Olohan claims Miller began retaliating against him by reporting him to human resources for 'microaggressions.' He claims harassment went on until he was ultimately fired in August 2022 after 16 years with the company.

Former Google executive Ryan Olohan, 48, claims he was fired after he rejected advances from his boss Tiffany Miller who allegedly groped him at Manhattan's Fig & Olive restaurant

Google executive Tiffany Miller is accused of rubbing Olohan's abs, telling him he had a nice body and that her marriage lacked 'spice,' according to a lawsuit filed in November

Olohan had just been promoted to managing director of food, beverages, and restaurants and joined a new management team that included Miller, when the alleged incident happened at the company outing.

The New Jersey father said he was initially uncomfortable bringing it up because many of his colleagues had been 'drinking alcohol excessively.'

When he suggested later that night that Miller may have had 'too much to drink,' he was told that it was just 'Tiffany being Tiffany.'

Olohan reported the incident to Google's Human Resources department who 'openly admitted that if the complaint was 'in reverse'  a female accusing a white male of harassment  the complaint would certainly be escalated,' according to the lawsuit.

There was no discussion or investigation about the incident and Olohan claimed in the lawsuit there was retaliation from Miller after he filed his complaint with HR.

In two instances mentioned in the lawsuit in which Miller allegedly criticized him and reported him to human resources for 'microaggressions,' there were managers present.

Google's Human Resources Business Partner, Jacky Schiestel agreed that Miller was 'being petty' in both instances and that there were no microaggressions from Olohan.

Olohan said Miller's retaliation and hostility caused him anxiety and made him feel like he was on probation.

Olohan had just been promoted to managing director of food, beverages, and restaurants and joined a new management team that included Miller, when the alleged incident happened at the company outing at Fig & Olive restaurant at 420 W 13th Street in Manhattan

The New Jersey father said he was initially uncomfortable bringing it up because many of his colleagues had been 'drinking alcohol excessively.' Pictured: Fig & Olive in Manhattan

When he suggested later that night that Miller may have had 'too much to drink,' he was told that it was just 'Tiffany being Tiffany'

It continued at an event that was hosted by Google in December 2021, in which Miller drunkenly rebuked him front of numerous Google employees, loudly telling Olohan that she 'disagreed with him 70 percent of the time' and 'did not like him 70 percent of the time.'

Miller later apologized to Olohan and admitted that she was 'very drunk.'

But 'although Google was aware that Miller's continued harassment of Olohan stemmed from his rejection of her sexual advances, it again took no action,' the suit claims.

Olohan said he began feeling increasing pressure from his supervisor Adam Stewart, who told him in February 2022 that there were 'obviously too many white guys' on his management team, according to the lawsuit.

Alleged retaliation by Miller continued and in an incident in April 2022, Olohan claims he was drunkenly berated by Miller during a company outing at a karaoke bar.

The suit claims Miller mocked him in front of Google employees and reiterated that she knew he preferred Asian women over white women.

Following his firing, Olohan joined the Klick Group as the executive vice president of growth. He also owns an ice cream shop in New Jersey

Ryan Olahan, former Google Managing Director of Food, Beverage & Restaurants, with wife Anne Lee Olohan and Michelle Obama in a photo posted Sept. 1, 2022 on his Facebook page

In June 2022, Schiestel informed Olohan that an employee had complained to Human Resources about him and approximately three weeks later, Olohan informed Schiestel that the complaint was made at Miller's behest in retaliation for his refusing her sexual advances.

In June, Olohan was told to only hire female applicants for the team and in July, he was encouraged to fire a male employee to make room on his team for a woman, the suit claims.

The following month, Google fired Olohan, ending his employment after 16 years at the company.

During a videoconference call, Olohan said he was told by the Google Employee Investigations team that he was being fired because he was not 'inclusive.'

Google's Employee Investigations team explained that he had shown favoritism towards high performers, which it considered 'non-inclusive,'and commented on employees' walking pace and hustle, which it considered 'ableist.'

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and names both Google and Miller as defendants accusing them of discrimination, retaliation, and fostering a hostile work environment.

Following his firing, Olohan joined the Klick Group as the executive vice president of growth. He also owns an ice cream shop in New Jersey.
A total of 75,000 people hoping to travel on Flybe faced chaos after the airline collapsed into administration and cancelled all flights yesterday.

News that it had ceased trading, with nearly 300 staff later made redundant, came in the early hours as customers prepared to head to airports.

It is the second time in under three years Flybe has gone bust. Some 2,500 people hoping to fly yesterday were told not to travel to airports unless they had booked an alternative.

Most will be stuck at UK airports but about 300 were due to return from Geneva or Amsterdam, Flybe's overseas destinations, yesterday and today.

(File Photo) Customers were upset Flybe was taking bookings, and add-ons for luggage and seat upgrades, right up until going bust

The 75,000 affected are booked on flights in coming weeks and months. The regional airline, which was relaunched last April, is not arranging alternative flights.

Rival Ryanair is offering 29.99 'rescue fares', British Airways is doing the same for 50, plus taxes, and easyJet is charging 49 for domestic routes and 79 for flights abroad. Train company LNER let Flybe customers travel free yesterday and will do so again today.

Customers were upset Flybe was taking bookings, and add-ons for luggage and seat upgrades, right up until going bust. Most will not get any money back. Linda Morrison, 62, from Belfast, booked a flight to Leeds-Bradford for a wedding in York in March.

She said: 'They let us book a flight at 9pm on Friday, only to go into administration three hours later. It's disgraceful.

'We will have to book another flight for March but don't have the money right now.'

Aviation experts reassured Britons that this was not the start of a summer of turmoil for airlines and holiday firms.

Nicky Kelvin, head of travel website The Points Guy UK, said: 'With a quick recovery coming to the travel and aviation industries post- pandemic, the collapse of Flybe is unlikely to be the start of a domino effect.

There is still a faint hope a buyer might step in. If not, Interpath will look to find a buyer for Flybe's assets, which include valuable flight slots

'Flybe needed to expand its fleet quickly to match its network ambitions but it was plagued by supply chain issues, especially with delays to new aircraft.

'The passenger demand seemed to be there, which is a good sign for other airlines.

'But because capacity and network size were stifled, Flybe didn't have much of a chance.' Administrators at Interpath have taken over the company, which was due to serve 17 destinations across the UK and Europe this year.

Belfast City, Birmingham and London Heathrow handled the most flights.

Over the next week, starting tomorrow, it was scheduled to operate 292 flights  around 22,700 seats. Flybe went bust in March 2020 with the loss of 2,400 jobs as Covid ravaged the travel market.

The company was bought in April 2021 by Thyme Opco, which is linked to US hedge fund Cyrus Capital.

Interpath's David Pike blamed a series of 'shocks', including the late delivery of 17 planes. Covid travel restrictions also hampered the relaunch.

Attempts to find fresh investment or a buyer had failed, said Mr Pike.

There is still a faint hope a buyer might step in. If not, Interpath will look to find a buyer for Flybe's assets, which include valuable flight slots.

Interpath said 277 of Flybe's 321 staff have been made redundant, with the remaining 44 retained to help wind up the company or assist if a buyer can be found.

Belfast, its main hub, was home to 138 staff, with another 99 at Birmingham airport, 69 at its Birmingham HQ and the rest at other sites. Flybe operated eight leased planes.

The Government said its priority was supporting anyone trying to get home and those who have lost jobs.

A spokesman said: 'The majority of destinations served by Flybe are within the UK with alternative transport arrangements available.'
Composer spurned intimacy but often fell in love with women he encountered

He was inspired to write musical masterpieces by the women he loved  but Ludwig van Beethoven died a virgin, a major biography claims.

The composer spurned intimacy  which he considered sinful  although he repeatedly fell in love with women he encountered, according to author Norman Lebrecht.

'We can be absolutely certain Beethoven never had sex within a relationship,' he says.

'We can be 98 per cent certain that he never had sex at all. He needed love as a stimulus for creation but he avoided intimacy, regarding it as a tantamount to a sin, a violation of shining ideals.'

Ludwig van Beethoven's greatest works were inspired by love, but the composer died a virgin, a major biography has claimed

Mr Lebrecht reached his conclusion after studying hundreds of pages of historical records and the 'conversation books' which the German composer  who was deaf from the age of 30  used to communicate with his visitors.

The classical music expert said there was no doubt Beethoven 'serially fell in love', but these infatuations never translated into a physical relationship. He believes Beethoven's obsession with his work, his deafness and complex psychological factors meant he never consummated his passion.

At 41, composer was shabby and malodorous

The author said: 'Beethoven comes from two generations of alcoholics. His father was quite brutal and violent both towards him and his mother. Beethoven felt protective of his mother.' He added that after the composer's mother Maria died, she lived on in his mind as 'an untouchable ideal, as a female who has to be protected from male violence  and of course part of male violence can be sex'.

Mr Lebrecht believes an incident in the composer's early life, when he made a pass at a friend's daughter, is telling.

He said: 'One finds tracings of earlier fumblings, nothing more. The point is he is way over the top in the horror of his own conduct.

The composer spurned intimacy  which he considered sinful  although he repeatedly fell in love with women he encountered

'As it happens, the girl forgives him and remains his lifelong friend. But that's how he is with women  he doesn't trust himself with them.'

Mr Lebrecht believes the sensitive Beethoven was also appalled by the moral depravity he encountered on arriving in Austria at the age of 21, saying he was 'repelled by Viennese carnality and the corruption of the rich. This is a city where wealthy people would buy pubescent daughters from their musicians so they could personally deflower them.

'It was Sodom and Gomorrah. One of Beethoven's contemporaries could only have sex with his wife if they visited a brothel. When Beethoven was invited by a friend to a brothel, he makes it clear that he has no intention of attending.'

Mr Lebrecht said previous claims the composer may have frequented such places were probably the result of mistranslations  saying that 'a lusthaus' was a cafe at the time, not a brothel as the name implies.

Mr Lebrecht said Beethoven tended to fall in love with unobtainable women. He said: 'He falls in love serially in his late 20s, then sort of forgets about it.

'Then, as he turns 40, he starts falling in love again serially both because he needs it as a romantic stimulus for the work he is doing and because he realises he doesn't have family. He is alone in the world. But by this stage he is a man who is 41, shabby and malodorous.'

lMr Lebrecht's book, Why Beethoven: A Phenomenon In 100 Pieces, is published by Oneworld on Thursday.
Floral tributes and letters left to girl named locally as 'Holly' in town centre

Moving tributes have been left to 'the most beautiful girl in the world' at the scene of a horrific stabbing in Hexham as it emerged the 15-year-old victim was killed on her way home from school.

Messages, floral tributes and teddy bears were laid at the scene in her memory in the Priestpopple area yesterday.

A 16-year-old boy has since been arrested on suspicion of murder after the girl, named locally as Holly, was stabbed to death in Northumberland.

A tribute left by loved one reads: 'All our love to the most beautiful girl in the world. We will miss you forever Holly'.

Floral tributes left at the scene in Hexham, Northumberland on Saturday morning after a double stabbing which saw a 15-year-old girl die from her injuries

Another letter left at the scene read: 'Lots of love Holly. The best big sister in the world,' ChronicleLive reports.

And another letter left by those close to the teenage girl read: 'To our baby Holly. Our hearts hurt so much right now. We love you so much'.

Northumbria Police was called shortly after 5.10pm on Friday to a report of a teenage boy and girl injured in the Priestpopple area of Hexham.

Emergency services attended where the boy and girl - aged 16 and 15 respectively - suffered serious injuries 'consistent with having been caused by a bladed article'. They were both taken to hospital, where the girl died later that evening - the boy suffered serious, non-life-threatening injuries.

The force said: 'Both of their families are being supported by specially-trained officers at this devastating time. An investigation was launched, and a 16-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of assault, and later on suspicion of murder. He remains in police custody.

'Our thoughts are with all loved ones at this awful time, and we are supporting them in every way we can. We are determined to find out what happened & bring anyone involved to justice. '

Chief Superintendent Sam Rennison, of Northumbria Police, said it is 'tragic news' and that police believe all those involved are known to each other.

Specialist search team carry out their investigation at the scene

A 16-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of murder having initially been arrested on suspicion of assault

At a press conference on Saturday, she said: 'First and foremost, our hearts go out to her loved ones at this truly devastating time.

'A 16-year-old boy who was also injured during the incident remains in hospital in a stable condition.

'He and his family are also very much in our thoughts. An investigation was immediately launched and while this is at the very early stages, we do believe all those involved are known to each other.

'We would like to thank the public for their continued support and co-operation.

'In particular, those who tried to provide assistance yesterday to the injured boy and girl at the scene.'

Police were spotted at the location of the attack alongside ambulance crews on Friday night

Derek Kennedy, mayor of Hexham, told PA: 'It's an absolute tragedy, the town is in complete shock, to lose one of our children who attends a local high school is just horrendous.

'Parents are really anxious for the health of their children because they're all a part of this community, the schools are all really anxious that their children are really feeling the pain and suffering and shock of such an awful incident.

'In the Hexham community we have a very low crime rate, generally, it's a community that looks after one another, we were awarded the happiest place to live in Great Britain last year.

'It's a very warm and loving community so for a tragedy such as this to happen, we always find it much more difficult and it's knocked everyone for six.

'To happen to such a young person and the alleged perpetrator to be a young person, in the high street at 5pm, is just shocking, everyone is just shocked and struggling to come to terms with it, it will ruin so many lives.'
The Prime Minister is heading for a 'civil war' with the country's most senior law officer over plans to hold migrants without a hearing into their claim and strip them of their right to claim asylum, senior Home Office sources say.

With Tory MPs increasingly fearful that the Government's failure to tackle the small boats crisis will cost them the next election, Rishi Sunak is planning to write the revolutionary measures into the forthcoming Illegal Migration Bill to overturn decades of asylum law.

However, the sources say that Attorney General Victoria Prentis has warned No 10 that moves to allow migrants to be detained without having their case heard for three months  when the maximum permitted for terrorism suspects is 28 days  would 'never get through the courts'.

Rishi Sunak is planning to write the revolutionary measures into the forthcoming Illegal Migration Bill to overturn decades of asylum law

Separately, Home Office officials are understood to have argued that plans to disapply the right of migrants to claim asylum when they have arrived here illegally would break international laws established with the 1951 Refugee Convention.

This defined 'refugee' as someone unable or unwilling to return to their country of nationality 'owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion'.

'Rishi's determined to push this through, but with judges and civil servants so opposed it could turn into civil war,' the Home Office source added.

The Government argues that the majority of those using small boats on the Channel to enter the UK are economic migrants.

The Mail on Sunday revealed last week that officials have warned that as many as 80,000 could illegally enter the UK on small boats this year, nearly double last year's tally.

Sources say Attorney General Victoria Prentis has warned no 10 that these moves would 'never get through the courts'

This comes as measures are being introduced to stop criminal migrants from using the legal protections awarded by modern slavery rules to block their removal from the UK.

Under the Nationality and Borders Act 2022, Home Secretary Suella Braverman will be able to deny the modern slavery protections to foreign criminals who have committed a serious offence or been sentenced to 12 months or more, as well as individuals who pose a national security risk.

The move comes after Mr Sunak held a 'migrants summit' with his predecessor Theresa May in a bid to secure her support for his plan to tackle the Channel migrants crisis  which involves rewriting the modern slavery laws she introduced.

As Home Secretary, Mrs May brought in the Modern Slavery Act in 2015 to help the 10,000 in Britain living in domestic servitude or who had been trafficked for sex.

Mr Sunak declared at the end of last year that tackling the migrant problem was a priority, pledging to clear the backlog of asylum claims by the end of 2023, create a new dedicated small boats operational command and embed Border Force officers at Tirana airport under an agreement with Albania.

From Monday, the National Referral Mechanism (NRM)  the UK's framework for identifying and protecting victims of modern slavery  will be strengthened to make it tougher for people to exploit the system.

It was revealed last week that officials have warned that as many as 80,000 could illegally enter the UK on small boats this year, nearly double last year's tally

The Home Office will then take over the lead responsibility for tackling the crossings, following the creation of the Small Boats Operational Command (SBOC) which brings together the Government's response to small boats.

Ms Braverman said: 'I am determined to crack down on those abusing the generosity of the British public and taking our country for a ride.

'The Nationality and Borders Act laid the foundation for tougher action, including against those who do everything they can to prevent removal from the UK by pretending to be victims of modern slavery.

'It is totally unfair that genuine victims of this horrific crime may be left waiting longer to receive the protections they need due to the flagrant abuse of the system.

'We have seen cases of foreign criminals go on to commit abhorrent crimes including rape, while they are claiming to be victims of modern slavery.'

A source close to Ms Braverman added: 'She is 100 per cent clear that we must stop the boats. The British people won't tolerate sticking plasters or forgive failed plans.

'She is determined to drive through reforms which will have a real impact on illegal migration and bring a stop to this patently unfair asylum system.'
Canada's top taxpayer-funded theatre has sparked fury by holding a 'blacks only' performance - and banned white and Asian people.

The National Arts Centre in Ottawa will hold the event in the middle of Black History Month on February 17, with a performance of 'Is God Is' at the Babs Asper Theatre.

The 897-seat venue will be open exclusively to an 'all-Black identifying audience' with people of other races being told to attend the play on any of the other eight shows from February 9 to 18.

The Centre has said the purpose is to 'allow for conversation and participation to be felt throughout the theatre.'

The National Arts Centre in Ottawa, intends to hold a performance of the play 'Is God Is' at the Babs Asper Theatre at which only black people can attend in the middle of Black History Month

The 897-seat venue will be open exclusively to an 'all-Black identifying audience' with people of other races being told to attend the play on any of the other eight remaining shows

The theater says those coming will self-identify based on an honor system and no one will be turned away at the door.

'There will be no checkpoints for Black Out Night ticket holders and no questions will be asked about anyone's identity, race or gender,' the theatre explained.

The venue says the decision to create such an evening was inspired by something similar held in the fall of 2019 for Jeremy O'Harris' Slave Play on Broadway.

'A Black Out is an open invitation to Black Audiences to come and experience performances with their community.

'The evenings will provide a dedicated space for Black theatregoers to witness a show that reflects the vivid kaleidoscope that is the Black experience,' the theater explained in a press release.

The decision by the theater to hold such a night did not go down well with many on social media.

''A dedicated space for Black theatregoers' There's so much wrong with this. It's not progressive. By definition it's racism.

'At the National Arts Centre. I'd also call into question the value of content of the event, but that is for another tweet,' wrote one Twitter user.

Another described the decision as 'Cultural Apartheid.'

The decision by the theater to hold performance for black people only did not go down well with many on social media with one suggesting white people might sabotage the event

'The identitarian left proudly appropriates an oldie but goody. Canada is starting to make the USA seem like Hungary,' stated David Rieff.

Another social media user suggested that others were trying to sabotage the event.

'During Black History Month the NAC is hosting a Black Out night performance of 'Is God Is'.

'Prepare not to be shocked: even though there are many other performances available to them, white losers are purchasing tickets to Black Out night in protest.'

The play, Is God Is, was written in 2016 by American playwright Aleshea Harris and tells the story of twin sisters who travel from the South to the California desert to exact revenge on their abusive father.

The Centre is also planning to hold another 'Black Out' night on May 5 for a performance of 'Heaven,' a play about the African-Canadian settlement of Amber Valley, Alberta

The Centre is also planning to hold another 'Black Out' night on May 5 for a performance of 'Heaven,' a play about the African-Canadian settlement of Amber Valley, Alberta.

No other ethnicities have been given their own night of dedicated performances by the National Arts Centre however those who self-identifying as Indigenous people can obtain tickets for shows at $15.

Black Out Nights have already been put on by other theater groups including Toronto-based company Theatre Passe Muraille.

Their website even stated what would happen if patrons who are not black arrive at a show.

'If someone self-identifies as a non-Black person and demands to enter the room, a member of our staff will be present to chat with this person.

'We try our best to have this labour land on a non-Black staff member and we will have non-Black front-of-house, leadership, or technical and production team members present in the lobby to help de-escalate such situations.'
A mother of three from Novosibirsk said: 'We are living in a Soviet hell'

Russians are reporting their own children to the police for opposing the war in Ukraine in a chilling echo of the Stalinist era.

A mother of three from the Siberian city of Novosibirsk told The Mail on Sunday: 'We are living in a Soviet hell, with friends reporting friends to police, parents disowning their children. The level of heartache is very hard to describe.'

In Moscow, a father reported his daughter to the police for allegedly opposing the war online.

Elmira Khalitova, a student and blogger living in the Russian capital, was held by police after her father falsely claimed that she had written Instagram posts calling for Russians to be killed.

Her father, who was drunk, called the police station and insisted the officers broke into her apartment to arrest her.

Elmira Khalitova, a student and blogger living in the Russian capital, was held by police after her father falsely claimed that she had written Instagram posts calling for Russians to be killed

Officers brought her in for questioning and took her phone to try to find the incriminating evidence on Instagram  but could not open the app because it is blocked in Russia. She was released because of a lack of evidence.

Ms Khalitova said: 'He thought it was his duty to go to the police and file a report. He'd found another enemy of the people and was bringing them to justice.'

Speaking to Vice World News, she added: 'It's disgusting that all this is encouraged. That the government encourages people to do this.'

In Siberia, a father is said to have informed on his son to the police for allegedly discrediting the Russian armed forces.

It is also reported that a husband in Moscow told police that his Ukrainian wife was against the war.

A ten-year-old schoolgirl in Moscow was taken from her classroom to a police station after the headmaster reported her for using a social media profile picture with the colours of the Ukrainian flag. Pupils at other schools have reported their teachers for criticising the war in Ukraine.

Carnage: A resident at the scene of a Russian strike in Kostiantynivka yesterday

No teachers have been jailed yet, but some have been forced to resign.

In the Soviet Union, which collapsed in 1991, ordinary citizens commonly reported each other to the authorities for criticising the Communist Party. Now history is repeating itself.

Historian Sergey Radchenko told BBC's Today programme: 'This practice goes back to Joseph Stalin, but it is also very common in dictatorial regimes to report on your neighbours and sometimes even your friends.' The reports are a frightening echo of Stalin's campaign of terror in the 1930s, which caused citizens to denounce their friends, neighbours, bosses and even their own children. Millions were sent to labour camps and hundreds of thousands died.

Ukrainian officials last night accused Russia of striking a residential district in the eastern city of Kostiantynivka, killing three, while Russia claimed an attack on a hospital in Russian-held eastern Ukraine, which killed 14, was a war crime.

In his daily broadcast Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky reported major battles under way for Vuhledar, to the south-west of Donetsk, and Bakhmut, to the north-east.
Trans offender got apology and 140 offer saying it had an 'emotional effect'

Rapist Isla Bryson claimed to have demanded 5k from BT for using 'dead name'

Trans double rapist Isla Bryson demanded a 5,000 payout from BT after the sex offender was called a man, a report claims.

The telecoms company reportedly addressed letters to the 31-year-old criminal by former name, Adam Graham.

Bryson, who still has a penis, then demanded the 5,000 payout over the 'second class citizen' treatment, in a letter written from prison almost a year ago in an extraordinary rant about the 'ordeal'.

The rapist - who was convicted at the High Court in Glasgow - is said to have written, 'I have been asked them to change my name for almost a year but I keep letters with my dead name on it,' in a letter to the Sun's Scottish office.

Isla Bryson, 31, (right), who was born Adam Graham (left), was convicted of raping two women while a man

Embattled Nicola Sturgeon is plunged into fresh trans prisoner row Advertisement

Bryson reportedly complained that BT were 'still addressing me as Mr' after sending them 'proof of my gender identify'.

The prisoner reportedly said they eventually got an apology and an offer of 140 in compensation, but rejected the offer saying 'I'm so so sick of being a second class citizen'.

Bryson reportedly claimed the issue had a 'seriously emotional effect on me' and instead demanded a whopping 5,000 in compensation - but complained that lawyers 'just won't take my case'.

Bryson was originally sent to all-female prison Cornton Vale, but the sex offender - who raped two women while living as a man - was later moved out after furious backlash.

Bryson, named Adam Graham until 2020, was removed to a male wing of a prison on Thursday afternoon.

A vehicle believed to be transporting Bryson was pictured leaving Cornton Vale jail in Stirling at around 2.30pm and it arrived at a replacement facility at 5.20pm.

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon revealed the U-turn just 24 hours after her own justice secretary Keith Brown backed the Scottish Prison Service's decision to put the transgender double rapist with female inmates in Cornton Vale.

Bryson's estranged wife Shonna Graham, 31, told MailOnline her former partner's transition was a 'sham for attention' and he was 'bull******** the authorities' to avoid a male prison. Critics said the rapist was a threat to female inmates.

A prison van believed to be transporting Isla Bryson to a men's prison was pictured leaving Cornton Vale women's prison in Stirling at 2.30pm on Thursday afternoon

Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed Isla Bryson will not remain in a women's prison while speaking to the Scottish Parliament on Thursday

It comes after Nicola Sturgeon was condemned for a 'disgusting and desperate' attack on her gender reform critics after she called them homophobic and racist.

The First Minister claimed some politicians have used the issue of women's rights as a 'cloak' to cover up their transphobia and claimed they are also misogynistic, often homophobic and sometimes racist.

Opponents accused her of using 'baseless' attacks rather than engaging with those who oppose her Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill.
Sir Keir Starmer's Labour picked a fight with the biggest teachers' union last night by rejecting its calls to scrap schools inspectorate Ofsted.

Days before Wednesday's planned strike by the National Education Union, party sources confirmed they would defy the union further by increasing the watchdog's power.

Shadow Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson is set to propose a 'beefed-up' Ofsted with greater ability to sanction failing schools. She will also aim to end the system whereby teachers can conduct audits of other schools in their region.

The Labour Party has a section of its website dedicated to 'BAME' communities which contradicts Parliament's Unconscious Bias training (Pictured: Labour leader Keir Star

Shadow Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson is set to propose a 'beefed-up' Ofsted with greater ability to sanction failing schools

75,000 students to sue over university strikes More than 75,000 students have joined legal action to demand compensation of up to half a billion pounds from top universities for lost learning over strikes and Covid. It comes as around 70,000 academics across 150 universities walk out on strike this week. The number of students joining the legal action by the Student Group Claim has risen dramatically from just 20,000 last year. Eighteen universities have received letters notifying them of the lawsuit. Advertisement

A Labour source said: 'Teachers are conducting inspections of schools where they have friends on the staff. We have found teachers are in competition to attract pupils from schools in the same area, so they've been marking down rivals.'

A senior Labour source said last night: 'Bridget will not tolerate anything which gets in the way of us delivering for young people and that includes unions who want Ofsted abolished.'

The move, ahead of the planned walkout by 100,000 teachers at 23,000 schools, will spark fury from NEU members.

Last night NEU joint general secretary Kevin Courtney said it would 'engage with Labour' on reforms but he added: 'Ofsted needs to be replaced with a system that is fair and supportive.'

Ms Phillipson's move prompted fresh protests from party Left-wingers at Sir Keir's alleged 'betrayal of our values', as Labour's 2019 manifestos put forward by Jeremy Corbyn included a pledge to replace Ofsted.

One former shadow minister said: 'This shows that the Blairite takeover of our party now appears to be complete.

'It also shows that the Left-wing platform that Sir Keir stood on for party leader has been well and truly abandoned.'

Sir Keir doubled down on his aim of burying the Corbyn era yesterday by telling the party's London conference: 'Our message at the next Election must be that we're different to the party that Britain rejected in 2019.'
Pandemic proves to be learning curve

By Li Lei in Xi'an (China Daily) 08:37, January 29, 2023

Tourists visit Great Tang All Day Mall in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi province, Dec 30, 2022. [Photo/Xinhua]

The past three years have been a steep learning curve in handling COVID-19 patients for Dang Shuangsuo, an epidemiologist in Xi'an, Shaanxi province.

At the outset of the pandemic, when the deadlier variants of the virus were sweeping the globe, just a few antivirus drugs and herbal medicine prescriptions commonly used for seasonal flu were available for Dang to treat COVID patients.

He and his colleagues were then not so sure about what parameters to monitor in patients so that they could intervene before mild symptoms morphed into life-threatening conditions.

In the beginning, he recalled, no diagnosis and treatment plans had yet been tailor-made for specific age groups, such as elderly patients and young children.

Adhering to the country's consistent principle of always putting people's lives and health first, Dang and his peers have witnessed the systemic evolution over the past three years of measures in terms of virus containment, treatment knowledge, response procedures, drugs and vaccines, thanks to tremendous resources mobilized by the authorities at all levels.

By the time China optimized its COVID-19 control measures at the end of last year in light of the decreasing virulence of Omicron subvariants, Dang, the director of the infectious diseases department of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University in Shaanxi province, said that the Chinese medical community was much better equipped and experienced to tackle novel coronavirus infections compared with three years ago.

COVID medicines such as the domestically developed Azvudine, the Pfizer-made Paxlovid, and Molnupiravir manufactured by Merck& Co have been approved for clinical use in China, while more efficient and convenient vaccines, including an inhalable one, were made available last year for people seeking an extra layer of protection.

Rules have been clarified over when antibiotics can be used on COVID patients, promoting the proper use of drugs and reducing antibiotic resistance.

Meanwhile, efforts to add more critical care beds and to raise the inoculation rate among older adults were also picking up.

In addition, a newly released diagnosis and treatment plan for severely ill COVID patients listed blood oxygen saturation under 93, among other body indexes, as a warning sign of a deteriorating condition, making it easier for doctors to take action before it's too late.

"Over the past three years, COVID-19 changed from an unknown virus into a better-known one," said Dang, who is also vice-chairman of Shaanxi's expert panel for the prevention and treatment of major infectious diseases.

Dang was well aware that being cautious in terms of COVID-19 control policy is an inevitable choice for the Chinese government, given the country's vast population, fast-aging demographics and the uneven distribution of medical resources.

Due to the country's large population, China's hospitals are susceptible to being overstretched if outbreaks spread unchecked.

In addition, National Bureau of Statistics figures showed that China had 280 million people aged 60 and over by the end of last year, and this is the age group that the National Health Commission said this month accounts for almost 90 percent of severely ill COVID cases.

For much of the past three years, China was under tremendous pressure to abandon its stringent COVID-19 control measures.

As the virus' lethal variants interrupted life worldwide, some Western - countries, where factories were forced to shut down as workers fell sick - attempted to shift the blame to China, where lives largely returned to normal due to strict controls over infections - for disrupting global supply chains.

However, China stood its ground and kept its border controls in place until January. By this time, the dominant Omicron subvariants were much less deadly than their predecessors, and more than 90 percent of the Chinese people were vaccinated.

On Jan 8, China downgraded the management of the virus, so that inbound travelers no longer have to undergo quarantine or take a nucleic acid test upon arrival.

The three years of strict control of international travel, together with efforts to nip every domestic outbreak in the bud, have bought precious time for experts such as Dang to learn more about COVID-19 as they approve new treatments, develop more effective vaccines and make new diagnosis and treatment plans for COVID-19 patients.

Fine-tuning measures

"China has taken very small steps, but it has never stopped fine-tuning its COVID control measures as the virus mutates," he said, echoing comments made in November by Vice-Premier Sun Chunlan.

The authorities in China have maintained that the nation was taking "small but nonstop steps" in fine-tuning its COVID response strategy, while staunchly adhering to the ultimate mission to safeguard people's health and lives.

The gradual nature of the change was manifested in the 10 editions of pandemic control plans released over the course of three years, as well as the landmark documents colloquially known as the "20 measures" and the "10 new measures", unveiled in November and December, respectively.

Since February 2020, the first six of the contagion control plans were published in slightly more than a month, when understanding of the virus was still unclear and little clinical data was available.

On Jan 7, China released the 10th and latest edition, highlighting vaccination and personal protection.

Just two days ahead of the eve of Spring Festival this month, health officials appeared at a news conference on Jan 19 with an encouraging message.

Guo Yanhong, director of the National Health Commission's medical emergency department, said the number of COVID-19 patients had declined significantly at health facilities nationwide, from fever clinics and emergency centers to critical care wards. Meanwhile, the overwhelming majority of outpatients and hospitalizations were seeking treatment for conditions other than COVID-19.

Data provided by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention showed that the positive test rate dropped from 29.2 percent to 5.5 percent between Dec 25 and Monday. The number of deaths from COVID-19 infections in hospitals nationwide dropped 79 percent from the peak on Jan 4 to 896 on Monday.

To bolster the treatment capacity in rural regions, Dang had championed a simplified treatment plan for grassroots doctors, so that they can quickly identify COVID patients and ensure their condition does not worsen.

His efforts, coupled with the central authorities' moves to bolster investment in the healthcare system in the countryside and beyond, managed to tide the rural population over a surge of infections last month, and helped contribute to China's success in keeping its COVID death rate among the lowest in the world.

According to the National Health Commission in July, despite the intense challenges resulting from the pandemic, China's average life expectancy continued to rise amid the pandemic, from 77.93 years in 2020 to 78.2 years in 2021.

Meanwhile, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, which is part of the United States' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, average life expectancy in the US fell over the same period from 77 years in 2020 to 76.1 years in 2021. The total number of COVID-related deaths in the US reached 1.1 million by January, according to the CDC.

Pointing to China's record in handling the pandemic over the past three years, Dang pointed out that,"Protecting vulnerable groups is a mission for a socialist society."

(Web editor: Cai Hairuo, Liang Jun)
Although state education officials have trumpeted the success of a program targeting chronic absenteeism, the problem is still at critical levels, especially among students without high needs.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, chronic absenteeism has doubled in Connecticut, from 12.2% in 2019-20 (until mid-March, when nationwide lockdowns began) to over 25% at the beginning of the current academic year, according to state data.

That percentage translates to approximately 125,000 children (out of Connecticuts 496,000 total students) who arent regularly showing up to school.

Generally, where we are today is how we end up at the end of the year, said Ajit Gopalakrishnan, the chief performance officer for the state Department of Education, at a Jan. 11 meeting of the state board of education. But Im keeping my fingers crossed that this year, actually, that trend is going to be different.

Chronic absenteeism is defined as a student missing 10% of in-class instruction time, which is 18 days of a 180-day academic calendar. At this point in the 2022-23 school year, a student who has already missed around six days of school is considered chronically absent.

This academic year, chronic absenteeism has declined among most high needs students, data show  meaning that students who are English learners, students with disabilities, those who receive free lunches or those who are experiencing homelessness are coming back to the classroom, though nowhere near pre-pandemic percentages.

Gopalakrishnan said that 88,000 students with high needs were chronically absent last year; the number has since declined to 82,500.

However, absenteeism trends among students without high needs are continuing. Only 6% of students without high needs were deemed chronically absent in the 2019 school year, but that number has steadily increased to 7.2%, 12.4% and now 17.6% over the last three years.

Data from the first three months of this school year shows a jump from 29,000 to 41,000 chronically absent non-high-needs students.

Education officials say the trend can be attributed in part to a triple threat health issue, which includes COVID-19, the flu and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus).

Students may be out for a few days in these initial months, and if youre out for six days, as of now, youd be deemed chronically absent, Gopalakrishnan said. With COVID now, its an up to five-calendar-day quarantine, so with weekends, its possible it might really be two or three days a kid misses from school, so well have to see how this plays out in the long run.

Gopalakrishnan didnt explain at the board meeting why students without high-needs are the only category thats rapidly increasing as other groups are seeing a slight decline.

To help combat the student chronic absenteeism crisis, the state launched a new program called the Learner Engagement and Attendance Program, or LEAP, in April 2021 for 15 Connecticut school districts including Bridgeport, CREC, Danbury, East Hartford, Hartford, Manchester, Meriden, New Haven, New Britain, New London, Norwich, Stamford, Torrington, Waterbury and Windham.

The program, supported by $10.7 million of the states federal COVID-19 funds, asked school districts to identify its chronically absent students. With the help of school personnel or community organizations, at-home visits were staged with the children and their families.

Around 8,690 students received interventions.

The LEAP approach is very different from what weve had in the past with truancy. It focuses on relationships first, before talking about grades, or your childs behavior, or their attendance, or how theyre not coming to school. We want to create a connection with families of trust and relationships, said Kari Sullivan Custer, an attendance and engagement consultant for the program.

The LEAP home visits are targeted and are two tier supports for students and families who are disengaged from school, Sullivan Custer continued, adding that the home visits usually last around 45 minutes and initial conversations begin with the families strengths and capabilities, as well as the students aspirations.

A lot of times what were learning from home visits is that the family is struggling with many, many different barriers, Sullivan Custer said. There may be several children in a home with a single mom, and theres transporting, I cant get the kids to school and get to work at the same time, and another person helping them work through those issues and come up with regular routines  helps both the family and the student be more secure about going to school every day.

The program continues with multiple visits over the course of several months and provides different resources based on family needs.

At a recent press conference, the state Department of Education lauded a study that interviewed over 100 of the LEAP participants  and analyzed quantitative data for the over 8,600 students who were a part of the program on a state level  claiming that there was a significant increase in their rates of attendance overall relative to pre-intervention rates, according to a recent report from the Center for Connecticut Education Research Collaboration.

[The Department of Education] is seeing [attendance] as a binary variable, so either youve missed 10% of the school year or more, or you havent, said Steve Stemler, a researcher who contributed to the report.

Maybe they were absent, you know, 20% of the school year, but  if they got the LEAP intervention, for example, that may push them up to missing only 12%, Stemler said.

The report claims that attendance rates increased by about four percentage points in the month immediately following the first LEAP visit and highlighted Hartford Public Schools for attendance rates increasing by nearly 30 percentage points in the six months or more after treatment.

The report also said New Haven Public Schools didnt see any impacts after the school district didnt implement the LEAP program as designed, and rather than one-on-one meetings, canvassed neighborhoods that were identified as having high concentrations of chronically absent students.

Though Stemler defended the programs success toward attendance rates, its direct impact on chronic absenteeism showed mixed results.

Seven of the 14 Alliance districts, excluding CREC, had worsened in chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 school year through the first three months of this academic calendar:

Hope for the programs success rests on the fact that in the seven LEAP districts where chronic absenteeism didnt improve, the increases averaged under 1%  except for Norwich and Bridgeport, which increased by more than 8 and 4 percentage points.

Relatively speaking, in 22 school districts that werent testing LEAP, 13 also saw jumps in their chronic absenteeism numbers, by an average of 5%.

However, the results of the program remain notably inconsistent after the report from the Center for Connecticut Education Research Collaboration said New Haven didnt improve its attendance problem through its use of the program, yet the school district still improved when looking at chronic absenteeism, as it dropped from 58.1% to 45.4%.

Likewise, although theres a statewide decline in chronic absenteeism for English language learners from 32.7 to 29.7% this year, the report from LEAP conceded that ELL students had only half of the treatment effects from the program compared to students from different demographic and socioeconomic backgrounds  which makes it unclear what parts of the program are successful versus other efforts and initiatives schools are using that are effective.

I think its fair to say, you know, there are still open questions  about this [program], Stemler said, citing COVID spikes and general miscommunication between districts and families between hybrid, remote and in-person learning, as potential factors in mixed results.

Jessica Harkay is a reporter for The Connecticut Mirror (https://ctmirror.org/ ). Copyright 2023 (c) The Connecticut Mirror.
The Government has been accused of 'appeasing Beijing' after a leaked email revealed that a top Treasury official had warned Downing Street against 'antagonising' China.

The mandarin emailed a senior official in the Cabinet Office to criticise a drive by Japan against China's economic bullying of smaller countries.

This month Japan took over the presidency of the G7 rich countries' club and is trying to co-ordinate a major international push to stand up to Beijing.

Japan accuses China of 'economic coercion' by refusing to do business with smaller countries that don't support its policies  and is holding one-on-one calls with other G7 nations.

Japan accuses China of 'economic coercion' by refusing to do business with smaller countries that don't support its policies. Pictured: Chinese President Xi Jinping

The Government has been accused of 'appeasing Beijing' after a leaked email revealed a top Treasury official had warned Downing Street against 'antagonising' China

But the Treasury official, who is responsible for Britain's response to the G7 plan, warned Downing Street that it risked angering China without benefiting the UK.

The official wrote in the email: 'As I suspected, the Japanese agenda is more words than outcomes and we'll need to fix that with the others. In some ways all talk without concrete action is the worst of both worlds as we would have antagonised [China] without having strengthened our resilience and preparedness.'

All talk without action is the worst of both worlds

Last night, former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith told The Mail on Sunday the leaked email showed that 'deep in the heart of the British Establishment, Operation Kowtow is in full effect'.

Mr Duncan Smith  who has argued that the Government is too keen to pander to China despite its aggressive foreign policy and violation of human rights  added: 'Not content with appeasing Beijing, it seems the Treasury is also keen to limit international efforts to curtail its abuses.'

Tokyo said earlier this month that it wanted the G7 countries to take a co-ordinated approach aimed at preventing the 'economic coercion' China has applied to some of its trading partners, such as suspending the imports of Taiwanese pineapples and Australian wine.

Yasutoshi Nishimura, Japan's minister of economy and trade, said he expected 'effective responses to economic coercion' to be 'a major item' at this year's G7 summit.

Beijing hit back by accusing the G7 of protectionist measures to prevent its economic rise, including the US controls on the export of semiconductors to China.
Around 440 child asylum-seeker children who arrived in UK in 2021 are missing

The father of the 18-year-old asylum-seeker said his disappearance was planned

The father of one of 200 teenage asylum-seekers missing from Home Office hotels last night admitted he disappeared so he could not be returned to Albania.

The 18-year-old talks to his father every day and is sending money earned from working on a London building site back home to North West Albania, where The Mail on Sunday tracked him down. However Orgito Luka, who was 17 when he disappeared in May last year, is still officially considered missing.

The MoS has discovered the names of a dozen Albanian teenagers who went missing from Home Office-approved hotels last year

Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick told MPs last week that of the 4,600 unaccompanied child asylum seekers who arrived in the UK since 2021, 440 had gone missing and only half had returned. Of those still missing, 186 claimed to be either 16 or 17 years old and 176 are from Albania, a safe country.

The MoS has discovered the names of a dozen Albanian teenagers who went missing from Home Office-approved hotels last year, most of whom were soon to turn 18.

Some of the names do not appear in Albanian records, suggesting they may have provided false details or errors were made. Others seem to have active social media accounts showing off designer clothes, expensive restaurants and luxury cars.
A Texas retiree has resorted to putting threatening signs outside her home after she became besieged by men mistakenly believing her house was a brothel.

Elaine White, 66, suspects that the men are victims of an online scam, which provides her address as a meeting place for sex.

She said the men began appearing a year ago, asking variously for Nikki, Kelly and Rhonda.

'I'm frustrated. I'm irritated and I'm beyond done,' she told NBC 5 News.

'How can a grown man go to a house in a neighborhood thinking they're gonna get sex?

'As many hookers and prostitutes there are - go get one. Leave me alone. I'm not here for that.'

Elaine White, 66, said around 25 men have turned up on her door, mistakenly believing they were going to find a prostitute

White said she estimates 25 men have arrived at her house hoping to find a prostitute - with one having travelled from as far afield as Laredo, 450 miles away.

She told the channel the men were all ages and ethnicities, and some showed up with cases of beer.

White installed a Ring video doorbell camera to record them and send it to the police, and surrounded her home with signs warning that she was armed, and the home was protected.

She even painted a sign, reading: 'Kelly DOES NOT live here.'

The Ring camera footage shows men knocking her door, then quickly leaving when White confronts them.

One man is caught on the Ring camera saying he is looking for 'Rhonda'

The men quickly leave when they are told it is the wrong house

White said the callers were all ages and ethnicities - many arriving carrying beer

One man is filmed telling her he is looking for 'Rhonda'.

White asks: 'For drugs or sex?'

He replies: 'Umm, second one.'

White tells him: 'Well, you know what? This is a bait house and you have 10 seconds to get away from it or the cops are gonna getcha.

'You better hurry.'

White said she has called the police several times, but they are yet to make any arrests.

White has put up a sign informing callers that 'Kelly', a name frequently given to the prostitute, was not at the house

She said she opens the door with a loaded handgun ready

White said the signs had not dissuaded the callers, and police have not made any arrests

She said at least two men have said they were sent by Thai Massage of North Dallas, which does not appear to exist.

'Police told me that there are trafficking rings going around, and my address may have been used out of the sky,' said White.

'That it's off of some sex website where nasty old men go and look for sex. They pay Venmo for the services and then they get my address and they come here.'

She said she kept her gun close.

'Yes, I have my Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum loaded 4-inch barrel next to me,' she said.

'And I answer the door with it.'
Funerals have been held in Israel for the victims of the Holocaust Day terror attack at a synagogue in east Jerusalem.

Friday's shooting, outside a synagogue in east Jerusalem on the Jewish sabbath, left seven Israelis dead and three wounded before the gunman was killed by police. It was the deadliest attack on Israelis in 15 years.

Authorities published the names of four of the victims. They included 14-year-old Asher Natan; Eli Mizrahi, 48, and his wife Natali, 45; and Rafael Ben Eliyahu, 56. Funerals for some victims were scheduled Saturday night.

Mourners lit memorial candles near the synagogue on Saturday evening, and in a sign of the charged atmosphere, a crowd assaulted an Israeli TV crew that came to the area, chanting 'leftists go home.'

In response to the shooting, Israeli police beefed up activities throughout east Jerusalem and said they had arrested 42 people, including family members, who were connected to the shooter.

It comes as Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday announced a series of punitive steps against the Palestinians, including plans to beef up Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, in response to a pair of shooting attacks that killed seven Israelis and wounded five others.

Relatives and friends carry the body of 14 years-old Asher Natan, a victim of a shooting attack in east Jerusalem

Family and friends of Eli and Natali Mizrahi, who were killed in a shooting attack in Jerusalem, mourn during their funeral

The announcement cast a cloud over a visit next week by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and threatened to further raise tensions following one of the bloodiest months in the West Bank and east Jerusalem in several years.

Netanyahu's Security Cabinet, which is filled by hard-line politicians aligned with the West Bank settlement movement, approved the measures in the wake of a pair of shootings that included an attack outside an east Jerusalem synagogue on Friday night in which seven people were killed.

Netanyahu's office said the Security Cabinet agreed to seal off the attacker's home immediately ahead of its demolition. It also plans to cancel social security benefits for the families of attackers, make it easier for Israelis to get gun licenses and step up efforts to collect illegal weapons.

The announcement said that in response to public Palestinian celebrations over the attack, Israel would take new steps to 'strengthen the settlements' this week. It gave no further details.

There was no immediate response from Washington. The Biden administration, which condemned the shooting, opposes settlement construction in east Jerusalem and the West Bank - lands sought by the Palestinians for a future state. The topic is likely to be high on the agenda as Blinken arrives Monday for talks with Israeli and Palestinian officials.

Relatives and friends mourn during the funeral of 14-years-old Asher Natan

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir investigate the crime scene

The weekend shootings followed a deadly Israeli raid in the West Bank on Thursday that killed nine Palestinians, most of them militants. In response, Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired a barrage of rockets into Israel, triggering a series of Israeli airstrikes in response. In all, 32 Palestinians have been killed in fighting this month.

Early Sunday, the Israeli military said that security guards in the West Bank settlement of Kedumim had shot a Palestinian who was armed with a handgun and released a photo of what it said was the weapon. There were no further details on the incident or the alleged attacker's condition.

It remains unclear whether the Israeli steps will be effective. The attackers in the weekend shootings, including a 13-year-old boy, both appear to have acted alone and were not part of organized militant groups.

In addition, Netanyahu could come under pressure from members of his government, a collection of religious and ultranationalist politicians, to take even tougher action. Such steps could risk triggering more violence and potentially drag in the Hamas militant group in Gaza.

'If it's even possible to put this violent genie back into the bottle, even for a little while, this would require the reinforcement and proper deployment of forces - and carefully managing the crisis without being guided by the widespread calls for revenge,' wrote Amos Harel, the defense affairs commentator for the Haaretz newspaper.

Yesterday, a 13-year-old Palestinian boy opened fire elsewhere in east Jerusalem, wounding an Israeli man and his son, ages 47 and 23, paramedics said. Both were fully conscious and in moderate to serious condition in the hospital, the medics added.

As police rushed to the scene, two passers-by with licensed weapons shot and overpowered the 13-year-old attacker, police said. Police confiscated his handgun and took the wounded teen to a hospital.

Palestinian gunman shot dead seven people on the outskirts of Jerusalem, and another shooting attack in the city on Saturday wounded two people

Friday's attack outside a synagogue was the deadliest in the Jerusalem area since 2008

Blinken is expected to arrive in Israel on Monday. The Biden administration condemned Friday night's shooting and has called for calm on all sides, but given few details on how it expects to promote these goals.

The attacks pose a pivotal test for Israel's new far-right government.

Both Palestinian attackers behind the shootings on Friday and Saturday came from east Jerusalem.

Palestinian residents of east Jerusalem hold permanent residency status, allowing them to work and move freely throughout Israel, but they suffer from subpar public services and are not allowed to vote in national elections.

Residency rights can be stripped if a Palestinian is found to live outside the city for an extended period or in certain security cases.

Israel captured east Jerusalem, along with the West Bank and Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Mideast war.

The Palestinians seek all three areas for a future independent state. Israel has annexed east Jerusalem in a step that is not internationally recognized and considers the entire city to be its undivided capital.

Israel's new firebrand minister of national security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has presented himself as an enforcer of law and order and grabbed headlines for his promises to take even stronger action against the Palestinians.

Speaking to reporters at a hospital where victims were being treated, Ben-Gvir said he wanted the home of the gunman in Friday's attack to be sealed off immediately as a punitive measure and lashed out at Israel's attorney general for delaying his order.

Overhauling Israel's justice system, including the attorney general's office, has been at the top of the agenda of the new government, which says unelected judges and jurists have overwhelming powers.

The divisive issue helped fuel weekly protests by Israelis who say the sweeping proposed changes would weaken the Supreme Court and undermine democracy.

Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in the central city of Tel Aviv Saturday evening for a new protest. Some raised banners describing Netanyahu and Ben-Gvir as 'a threat to world peace.'

The marchers also held a moment of silence in memory of Jerusalem shooting victims.

The Palestinian leadership in the West Bank, meanwhile, upheld its decision to halt security coordination with Israel to protest the deadly raid in Jenin.

After a meeting headed by President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, the Palestinian Authority called on international community and the U.S. administration to force Israel to halt its raids in the West Bank.

Last year, as the Israeli military intensified its arrest raids following a string of deadly Palestinian attacks within Israel, at least 150 Palestinians were killed in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem. It was the highest annual death toll for more than a decade and a half. Over 30 people were killed in Palestinian attacks against Israelis last year, according to Israeli figures.

Israel says most of the dead were militants. But youths protesting the incursions and others not involved in the confrontations also have been killed.
More than 75,000 students have joined legal action to demand compensation of up to half a billion pounds from top universities for lost learning over strikes and Covid.

It comes as more than 70,000 academics across 150 universities will walk out this week in the largest strikes in the history of British higher education.

The number of students joining the landmark legal action by the Student Group Claim has risen dramatically from just 20,000 last year after further action was announced.

If successful, the legal action could trigger a torrent of claims from anybody who attended university after 2018 seeking an average of 5,000 per person in compensation.

More than 70,000 academics across 150 universities will walk out this week in the largest strikes in the history of British higher education

More than 75,000 students have joined legal action to demand compensation of up to half a billion pounds from top universities for lost learning over strikes and Covid

Full dates of university strike action Week one: Wednesday February 1 Week two: Thursday February 9 and Friday February 10 Week three: Tuesday February 14, Wednesday February 15 and Thursday February 16 Week four: Tuesday February 21, Wednesday February 22 and Thursday February 23 Week five:- Monday February 27, Tuesday February 28, Wednesday March 1 and Thursday March 2 Week six: Thursday March 16 and Friday March 17 Week seven: Monday March 20, Tuesday March 21 and Wednesday March 22 No strike action is due to be taken on the week commencing March 6. Advertisement

Eighteen universities, including University College London, Imperial College London and the Universities of Manchester and Leeds, have received legal letters notifying them of the lawsuit.

UCL will appear in court for the landmark hearing this week - the same day that millions of schoolchildren will be affected by over 100,000 teachers from the NEU walking out.

Lawyers for the university - which paid its vice chancellor a record 589,000 last year - are set to attempt to block the proceedings by arguing students should go through the university's internal processes.

But lawyers for the students say this is simply a delaying tactic to avoid facing a High Court judge. They argue students deserve compensation for a 'breach of contract' over lost teaching by the 18 universities - who boosted their coffers by 1billion during the pandemic.

Jowita Maniak, a former crime and forensic science postgraduate at UCL, said: 'We should have been compensated from the start. Open University, which is online only teaching, is a fraction of the price.'

David Hamon, who studied a master's degree in international public policy at UCL, said that while he supports the lecturers' strikes, it is wrong that students should 'bear the burden of the disruption rather than the universities who, unlike us, have thrived financially'.

The Student Group Claim is being handled by solicitors Asserson and Harcus Parker.

Shimon Goldwater, partner at Asserson, said: 'Students at UCL and across the country simply did not receive the service they paid for, and, like any other consumer, they deserve fair compensation for the loss they have suffered.'
A firm part-owned by the Chinese state had access to secret information about Britain's nuclear weapons by providing wi-fi to the UK's military headquarters and 45 other defence bases for three years.

Experts fear the security bungle, exposed by The Mail on Sunday, has allowed China to build a 'comprehensive understanding of British military operations' and access personal information that could be used to blackmail troops to reveal state secrets.

Telecoms company Media Force has supplied internet to the Armed Forces for nearly two decades and currently provides wi-fi to 46 British military bases across the army, navy and air force.

This includes the UK's main military HQ at Northwood, which manages Britain's nuclear deterrence programme and is also used by Nato.

Between September 2017 and November 2020, the firm was managed by PCCW  a Hong Kong-based tech company that is partially owned by the Chinese state

But between September 2017 and November 2020, the firm was managed by PCCW  a Hong Kong-based tech company that is partially owned by the Chinese state.

PCCW's second-largest shareholder is a Chinese state-owned telecoms operator called China Unicom, which has an 18 per cent share in PCCW.

Chinese companies are bound by law to 'support, assist and co-operate' with state intelligence work.

Bosses working at PCCW also held senior positions at the Chinese government tech firm when it managed the internet networks at British military bases.

In 2017 PCCW's deputy chairman Lu Yimin was president of China Unicom, while two non-executive directors also held senior positions at China Unicom.

Non-executive directors at PCCW continued to hold high roles at China Unicom until November 2020, when PCCW sold Media Force to British company Wifinity.

Former security officer Philip Ingram described the bungle as an 'intelligence gold mine', adding: 'It is shocking that the Ministry of Defence allowed this to happen.

'The Chinese government will have built up a comprehensive understanding of British military operations and potentially had access to sensitive information about our nuclear deterrence deployments.

Sir Iain Duncan Smith said: 'This is yet another shameful example by the Government of a complete and total failure to take security seriously'

'They could also have obtained details of work and private mobile phones for a large proportion of the military, leaving them vulnerable to approaches from hostile intelligence services including the Chinese.'

Former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, who is also co-chairman of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, said: 'This is yet another shameful example by the Government of a complete and total failure to take security seriously.'

A spokesman for Wifinity said: 'Media Force is wholly owned by Wifinity, an independent UK-based company. There is no direct or indirect ownership by any companies associated with the Chinese state.'

The MoD said: 'This issue relates to an historic contract and an organisation no longer involved with Media Force.

'We take information security extremely seriously and as a matter of urgency, will be investigating how this contract was enabled.

'All sensitive material on MoD IT devices is protected via encryption, with our most sensitive information held on systems which are not accessible through wi-fi.'
Theresa May's former adviser Nick Timothy is to return to the Home Office to undertake a 'nuts and bolts' review of the under-fire department.

The former chief of staff to the then prime minister has been called in to look at the effectiveness of the operation, the Mail on Sunday has learned.

It comes ahead of an imminent overhaul of immigration laws to deliver on Rishi Sunak's pledge to stop small boats.

Theresa May's former adviser Nick Timothy is to return to the Home Office to undertake a 'nuts and bolts' review of the under-fire department

Nick Timothy's review comes ahead of an imminent overhaul of immigration laws to deliver on Rishi Sunak's pledge to stop small boats

Mr Timothy has been brought in to 'review the effectiveness of the department' by Home Secretary Suella Braverman.

The aide, who also worked in the Home Office when Mrs May was Home Secretary, will carry out an overview to see where the department can be improved.

The wide-ranging review comes after a series of scandals at the Home Office.

Last year, thousands of people were prevented from leaving Kent immigration processing centre Manston, leading to overcrowding and outbreaks of disease.

Mrs Braverman was accused of refusing to allow hotels to be booked for the new arrivals.

She has recently been reappointed to the job she was sacked from after admitting leaking government documents.

This week, the Home Office admitted that 200 unaccompanied children seeking asylum had disappeared from hotels.

Immigration minister Robert Jenrick is expected to visit the Brighton hotel at the centre of the reports next week to get to the bottom of the issue amid claims that civil servants had not kept ministers informed about the problem.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman called in Nick Timothy after a series of department scandals

Last month, Mr Timothy wrote a think tank report calling for a major crackdown on asylum seekers who enter Britain illegally.

He suggested that human rights laws should be changed and said the country should leave the European Convention on human rights 'if necessary' to stop the small boats.

Mrs Braverman welcomed the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) report, but said she did not agree with all aspects of it.

Mrs May's aides Mr Timothy and Fiona Hill - known as 'Nick and Fi' - were her gatekeepers when she was both home secretary and prime minister and were feared and respected across Westminster.

Mr Timothy was branded Rasputin by MPs due to his resemblance to the Russian mystic and his hold over Mrs May.

He was forced to quit after the disastrous 2017 election having penned Mrs May's manifesto which included the fatal 'dementia tax' policy.

In a speech last year, Mr Sunak vowed to pass new laws that would prevent anyone who arrives illegally in Britain to not be able to remain.

He said this new law would mean that people could be 'detained and swiftly returned' to their home country or somewhere else - including Rwanda.

The imminent changes to the immigration system are expected to be less of a 'rabbit out of a hat' and more a radical new approach by those working on them.

They are expected in the coming weeks.
Comedian and podcast host Bill Maher has clashed with actor Bryan Cranston over the controversial issue of critical race theory, after the Breaking Bad star said the woke issue should be taught in schools.

The pair were debating whether CRT should be taught in schools on Maher's podcast Club Random.

The topic came up after the pair discussed slavery, which saw Maher expressing his belief historical figures such as former presidents should not be 'canceled' for having owned slaves.

Maher said he felt former Presidents Thomas Jefferson and George Washington should not be chastised since it was not uncommon to own slaves at that the time, both at home and overseas.

Actor Bryan Cranston, pictured, stated that he believes critical race theory is essential in schools in order to understand the systemic racism in the country

But Bill Maher, pictured, argued CRT is a catch-all term and that teaching children that they are oppressors is introducing ideas that are not appropriate for their age

Cranston argued that critical race theory is 'essential' in schools, as it examines how race, racism and the slave trade have affected government and social activities.

'It's 400 f**king years that we've dealt with this, and our country still has not taken responsibility or accountability,' Cranston said.

'For what?' Maher asked.

'For the history of the systemic racism that's in this country.'

'What should we do more?' Maher asked.

'Well, I mean, for one thing, critical race theory, I think is essential to be teaching.'

'It depends on what you mean by that,' Maher said.

The teaching of CRT in schools has proved to be controversial often leading to protests (file)

'I mean, teaching how the race trade and racism is systemic in everything we've done in government, in social activities,' Cranston responded.

'It's like, for example, why the Second Amendment really has to do with, in a country where you were keeping a hostile people in chains, you needed guns to keep the lid on that. So that's a lot to do with why other countries don't have a Second Amendment the way we do,' Maher said.

Maher said he felt that critical race theory is a 'catch-all term' and that the notion that America is irredeemable is incorrect.

'Critical race theory, I mean, it's just one of these catch-all terms, if you mean we should honestly teach our past, of course, if you mean more what the 1619 book says, which is that it's just the essence of America and that we are irredeemable, that's just wrong.'

'Yes, I agree with that,' Cranston said. 'But, even teaching our past and being honest, and owning up to who we are as a country and the history?'

'Most schools are doing that,' Maher said.

The 1619 Project aims to reframe American history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of the national narrative. The project was developed by journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones, pictured above

'In Florida they want to do away with critical race theory, and a lot of other states, because sometimes it veers off into things that are really not appropriate in schools,' Cranston said.

Maher expressed concerns about teaching children that they are oppressors suggesting that it is effectively 'introducing ideas about race that are inappropriate for kids that age who can't understand it.'

Maher noted that common sense is 'lacking in this country.'

CRITICAL RACE THEORY: WHAT DOES IT MEAN? The fight over critical race theory in schools has escalated in the United States in recent years. The theory has sparked a fierce nationwide debate in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests around the country over the last year and the introduction of the 1619 Project. The 1619 Project, which was published by the New York Times in 2019 to mark 400 years since the first enslaved Africans arrived on American shores, reframes American history by 'placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the center of the US narrative'. The debate surrounding critical race theory regards concerns that some children are being indoctrinated into thinking that white people are inherently racist or sexist. Those against critical race theory have argued it reduces people to the categories of 'privileged' or 'oppressed' based on their skin color. Supporters, however, say the theory is vital to eliminating racism because it examines the ways in which race influences American politics, culture and the law. Advertisement

Despite their disagreement, both Cranston and Maher agreed that some 'woke' topics should not be taught in schools.

Critical race theory is a way of looking at how race and racism affect society and how it's interwoven with other forms of oppression like class and gender, in order to maintain systems of power and privilege.

It is a framework that emerged in the 1970s as a critique of traditional civil rights approaches, which focused on individual discrimination and legal equality, instead CRT looks at ways in which racism is built into the very structures of society.

The 1619 Project, referred to by Maher, is a Pulitzer Prize-winning initiative by the New York Times, which aims to reframe American history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of the national narrative.

The project was developed by journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones and it was published in August 2019, on the 400th anniversary of the arrival of enslaved Africans in the British colonies.

The project includes a series of essays, poems, photographs, and a podcast that examine the long shadow of slavery on the United States, including the economy, politics, education, and culture.

The project also presents the case that the true founding of America was not in 1776, with the signing of the Declaration of Independence, but in 1619, when the first enslaved Africans were brought to the colonies.

The 1619 Project will continue to spread in media circles with the debut of a six-part documentary that will stream on Hulu later this year, produced by Oprah Winfrey.
A man allegedly armed with a knife has been accused of keeping his girlfriend locked inside a bathroom after a routine welfare check turned into an hours-long siege that only ended when heavily-armed police forced their way in and arrested him.

The alleged siege occurred on Bradman St in the southern Brisbane suburb of Sunnybank Hills on Friday.

Police allege officers attended the property for a welfare check at about 10am that day when the man, allegedly armed with a knife, barricaded himself and a 26-year-old woman in a bathroom.

Police were forced to break into a bathroom to end an four-and-a-half hour Brisbane siege on Friday

After hours of unsuccessful negotiations, specialist police stormed into the bathroom and arrested the man.

He was treated for injuries to his leg, while the woman was taken to hospital suffering shock.

The man was charged with one count each of torture, deprivation of liberty and contravention of domestic violence order (DV offences), as well as three counts of serious assault police.

Police had been sent to the home on Thursday following a call from a neighbour alleging they had seen a woman being assaulted in a car, Detective Superintendent Andrew Massingham told the Courier Mail.

A 25-year-old man has been arrested over the incident and charged with torture, depriving liberty and assaulting police

When police arrived at the property neither the man nor woman could be found, he said.

Police returned on Friday to conduct a welfare check and upon gaining entry to the home found a 25-year-old man allegedly armed with a knife, as well as a 26-year-old woman.

A 26-year-old woman was transported to hospital suffering shock after allegedly being held captive by a 25-year-old man in a Sunnybank Hills home (pictured)

Police allege the man was 'threatening harm' to the woman.

The house's owner, Theresa Avison, who sublets a room in the house, told the publication she was concerned for the people inside.

'There's no word to describe my feeling', she said.

The man remains in custody and is expected to appear at Richlands Magistrates Court on Monday.
Border Patrol working in the north of the US have reported a 743 percent rise in migrant encounters compared to the same period a year ago.

Robert Garcia, the chief patrol agent for the Swanton Sector - which covers Vermont, New York and New Hampshire - said he was troubled by the increasing popularity of the people-smuggling route.

He warned traffickers are exploiting desperate asylum seekers with potentially lethal consequences, amid freezing temperatures and dangerous passages.

Meanwhile the Grand Forks sector, which covers Minnesota and North Dakota, has reported 90 apprehensions in the three months since October 1.

The figure is more than for the whole of the 2022 fiscal year, when 80 were apprehended between September 30, 2021 and October 1, 2022.

It comes as a surprise as officials focus on clogging the southern border, which has reached crisis point as thousands migrants seek entry from Mexico.

Migrants are seen wading through deep snow along the U.S.-Canada border in a photo shared by the Border Patrol

The deadly consequences were laid bare a year ago when an Indian family of four was found dead just north of the Grand Forks sector.

At the beginning of January, a Haitian man, Fritznel Richard, died just north of the Swanton Sector, having frozen to death while trying to reach his wife in the US.

Fritznel Richard, from Haiti, was found dead in January just north of the border and north of the Swanton Sector, trying to rejoin his wife in the U.S.

'Swanton Sector's greatest concern in carrying out our mission of border security is the preservation of life - the lives of community residents we are sworn to protect, the lives of our Border Patrol Agents carrying out the mission day-in and day-out in the field, and the lives of the individuals, families, and children we are charged with apprehending as they attempt to circumvent legal processes for entry,' said Garcia.

'Unfortunately, the transnational criminal organizations that stand to profit from the increased flow of human traffic care only about profits and have no concern for the welfare of those whose plight they seek to exploit for financial gain.'

Border Patrol said the number of migrants encountered in the sector during the 2023 fiscal year - which began in October - had already surpassed the 12 months of 2022's fiscal year. In December, a record 441 people were apprehended in the sector, a CBP source told Vermont news site The Center Square.

A migrant is seen trying to make his way across the Canadian border into the United States

Garcia shared images of migrants walking along the border at night

The Border Patrol chief said they were concerned that migrants could perish amid plummeting temperatures

The latest data 'represent a sustained increase in illegal border crossings as we head into the harshest winter months,' they said.

Overnight temperatures in the zone regularly drop to 12F, and have dropped below zero in previously years.

'Unpredictable storm fronts bring ice and significant snow accumulation throughout the extended winter season,' the Border Patrol warned.

'These geographic and weather features can make traversing unfamiliar territory perilous.

'Additionally, the risk of hypothermia from sustained or even brief outdoor exposure to near-freezing temperatures in wet or windy conditions is significant.'

Garcia tweeted: 'In less than four months, Swanton Sector's apprehensions have surpassed the COMBINED two prior years (FY2021-2022).

'In the face of this adversity, our #BorderPatrol Agents remain steadfast in their portrayal of our ideals: Vigilance, Integrity, & Service to Country. #HonorFirst.'

Kathryn Siemer, acting patrol agent in charge of the station in Pembina, North Dakota - one of seven stations in the Grand Forks sector - said the sharp spike in encounters was due in part to Canada loosening its COVID restrictions.

Migrants have been able to make their way to Canada, and, if unsatisfied by their life there, try their luck in the US.

Another factor driving the increase is Canada placing increasing barriers on migrants, said Frantz Andre, an immigration consultant who runs an organization that helps asylum seekers.

He told CBC migrants believe they may have better chances of working without papers in the US.

Siemer told Global News she remained haunted by the thought of the Indian family of four, who died north of her sector last year.

The parents and two children trudged through waist-deep snow in a blizzard for 11 hours before they perished.

Jagdish Patel, 39 and Vaishailben Patel, 37 were found dead with their children Vihangi, 11 and Dharkmik, three, in a field north of the US border on January 19, 2022, as temperatures plummeted to as low as -40F.

Steve Shand, 57, from Deltona, Florida has been charged with human smuggling and an investigation into the family's deaths continues.

The family, originally from Gujarat, is believed to have made their way into Manitoba province from Toronto, where they initially entered Canada on January 12, 2022.

Pictured: The Patel family, including Jagdish Baldevbhai Patel, 39, Vaishaliben Jagdishkumar Patel, 37, Vihangi Jagdishkumar Patel, 11, and Dharmik Jagdishkumar Patel, three

RCMP officers searching the area where the Patel family froze to death near Emerson, Manitoba province

Shand was arrested in North Dakota at a border patrol stop, just feet away from where the bodies of four Indian nationals were found

On the southern border, meanwhile, the border city of Yuma, Arizona, says it is is at breaking point - with the unprecedented flow of migrants leaving the community at the brink of collapse and hospitals and food banks overloaded.

Yuma County Supervisor Jonathan Lines criticized the Biden administration for its handling of the border crisis and said his county will crumble as it can't support the arrival of more migrants.

Customs and Border officials say some five million migrants have crossed over the U.S. southern border since January 2021 when the Biden administration took over.

After Yuma County's Border Patrol saw a 171 percent increase in migrant crossings between 2021 and 2022, Lines warned that the situation will only get worse.

Large numbers of migrants continue to cross into the United States at the Yuma, Arizona southern border

Migrants wait to be processed after crossing the border Friday, Jan. 6, 2023, near Yuma, Arizona

Yuma County Supervisor Jonathan Lines (pictured at the county's border) slammed the Biden administration for its handing of the border crisis

'They're coming because they said that Biden told them to come,' Mr Lines said. Pictured: President Biden in the White House, Washington, January 20, 2023

'Policies need to be changed when you see an unprecedented amount of people coming across the border that even supersedes what we saw under any of the other presidents for the past 30 years,' he told Fox News.

He called the surging increase in crossings 'ridiculous'.

'They're coming because they said that Biden told them to come, that we have an open border.'

Yuma is known as the 'sunniest city on Earth', but over recent years it has become known as the US' hotspot for migrant crossings that has stretched its Border Control to the limit.

Facilities along the border are being pushed to breaking point due to the increasing migrant flow, with residents reportedly unable to access the only hospital in the city.

The number of migrants crossing over the US southern border since January 2021 when the Biden administration took over the White House has surged

The unprecedented flow of migrants as left Yuma at the brink of collapse and hospitals and food banks overloaded. Pictured: Migrants serve food donated by a resident at the southern border, December 21, 2022

Large numbers of migrants continue to cross into the United States through Yuma, December 27, 2022

Migrants are coming from Central America in hope of a better life for them and their families, but locals and critics of the current immigration policy view the current numbers as unsustainable.

Most of the migrants are drawn to the area by the relative ease of crossing the border, officials say.

According to Yuma Mayor Douglas Nicholls, there are 50 breaks in the border wall along the 126-mile Yuma sector, including the infamous 'Gap'.

Huge container-sized gaps in the 30ft border wall allow migrants to walk right through, aided by a thinly-spread Border Patrol.

Construction is currently underway to fill some of the gaps.

To add to the surge, Fox News reported that their sources confirmed 1.2million illegal migrants had escaped the Border Patrol force since January 2021.

Border counties like Yuma are trying to balance the needs of residents with the migrants queueing

Construction workers stand at a jobsite in the U.S.-Mexico border, where the work to fill border gaps, previously filled by shipping containers, has begun in Yuma, Arizona, U.S., January 12, 2023

Immigrants line up to present themselves to U.S. Border Patrol agents after spending the night camped alongside the U.S.-Mexico border fence on December 22, 2022

Asylum-seekers line up to be processed by US Customs and Border Patrol agents at a gap in the US-Mexico border fence near Somerton, Arizona, on December 26, 2022

Asylum-seekers attempt to warm up next to a small fire as they wait to be processed by a US Customs and Border Patrol agent near the US-Mexico border fence near Somerton, Arizona, on December 26, 2022

A strain has also been put on the city when it comes to food, with migrants walking across crop fields risking a pillar of the community's local economy.

Yuma is the winter lettuce capital of the US due to its famed all-year-round sun. It produces 93 percent of the country's lettuce during the winter months.

Local farmer Alex Muller told Fox News: 'Our fields are monitored and audited and tested for different pathogens. You can't have people walking through the field.'

County Supervisor Lines called on the Biden administration to act to relieve the pressure on border counties, and to visit Yuma to witness the strain that has been placed on the community.

'Please come and see for yourself,' Lines said. 'I've invited them several times, and I would invite them again right now,' he added.

A bipartisan delegate from Washington DC, led by Senators Kyrsten Sinema and John Cornyn visited Yuma earlier this month. But officials complained that they saw a 'sanitized' version of the border crisis.

Biden's migration headache EXPLODES: a record 242 million people across Latin America now want to leave, many eyeing the US, as border crisis intensifies

Share of would-be migrants jumped from 18 to 37 percent this past decade

Latin America now on par with sub-Saharan Africa for numbers seeking an exit

Survey comes after record 251,487 encounters at southern border in December

The number of people in Latin America and the Caribbean who wish to migrate has jumped this past decade to 242 million, many eyeing the US, heightening fears about the border crisis.

In 2011, only 18 percent of people in Latin America and the Caribbean wanted to permanently leave their homes. By 2021, that had risen to 37 percent of the region's 655 million people, Gallup polling shows.

The desire to migrate rose faster in South America than anywhere else in the world. By the end of 2021, the share of Latinos wishing to migrate was on par with those in poverty-wracked sub-Saharan Africa.

In some South American nations  Honduras, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic  as much as half of the total population expressed a desire to move and live abroad permanently.

In 2011, only 18 percent of people in Latin America and the Caribbean wanted to permanently leave their home countries. By 2021, that had risen to 37 percent of the region's 655 million people, a Gallup survey shows

The survey comes amid record numbers of migrants trying to enter the US irregularly from Mexico, with Republicans criticizing President Joe Biden, a Democrat, over what they call his 'loose' or 'open' border.

Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a right-leaning advocacy group, said the survey revealed 'enormous pent-up demand' to migrate north to the US.

'We can see how President Biden has created a dangerous and volatile situation as every month, millions more formulate the intentions and plans to try to move,' Stein told DailyMail.com.

Migrants come from South America and the Caribbean in search of a better life for them and their families. Many are fleeing corrupt and inept leftist governments in such nations as Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua.

But border locals and critics of the immigration policy view the current numbers as unsustainable and balk at the prospect of hundreds of millions more also laying plans to head north.

Globally, the desire to migrate has reached 'decade-high levels' in Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia and other regions, said Gallup, which polled 127,000 people aged 15 and older across 122 countries last year.

The US remains the favored destination for the world's migrants, though the share eyeing America has fallen slightly this past decade to 18 percent

In some South American nations  Honduras, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic  as much as half of the total population expressed a desire to move and live abroad permanently

Asylum-seeking migrants from Venezuela cross the Rio Bravo river to turn themselves in to US Border Patrol agents to request asylum in El Paso, Texas, late last year

President Biden, in the White House this month, is under fire over his border policy

Still, not everyone with a desire to migrate is able to do so, researchers added.

The US remains the favored destination for the world's migrants, though the share eyeing America has dropped slightly to 18 percent this past decade. Canada, Germany, Spain and France round out the top five destinations.

In previous surveys, Gallup has found that America was the favored end point for more than a third of Latin America and the Caribbean's would-be migrants.

The survey was released on Tuesday amid a surge of Cubans and Haitians traversing the Caribbean by boat to reach Florida's shores, and record flows of people trying to cross the southwestern border.

The border city of Yuma, Arizona, is at breaking point with the unprecedented flow of migrants leaving the community at the brink of collapse and hospitals and food banks overloaded, local officials say.

Yuma County Supervisor Jonathan Lines has slammed the Biden administration for its handling of the border crisis and said his county will crumble as it can't support the cascading flow of migrants.

Customs and Border officials say there were 251,487 migrant encounters at the border in December. That's the highest figure for a single month ever, and brings the latest three-month total up to 717,600.

Thousands of Venezuelans rallied against the government of Nicolas Maduro and demanded salary increases in Maracaibo this week. Millions have spilled across the country's borders in recent years

Military police frisking a group of men at a checkpoint during a special operation against criminal gangs in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, last month. Many people wish to escape poverty and insecurity across Central America

Last month saw a surge in unauthorized immigration due to uncertainty over Title 42, a Trump-era policy that has expelled migrants at the border since the start of the pandemic.

Some 5 million migrants have crossed over the US southern border since January 2021 when the Biden administration took over the White House, according to the agency.

The Biden administration has launched new schemes to allow more Latinos into the US legally and advised unauthorized migrants to stay at home, but Republicans still blame him for unruly scenes at the US-Mexico frontier.

Stein said Biden's plan to 'parole in more people' was no solution.

'That merely incentivizes more to come until conditions in the US replicate those of the sending nations,' he told DailyMail.com.
Early in her teaching career, Patricia Nicolari was harassed by her students, who assumed she was a lesbian. Some sneered I have a dyke for a teacher. A vandal scratched lez in big letters on her car.

Then in 1997, she came out of the closet. It changed everything. I allowed myself to no longer be the victim, Nicolari said. When students harassed me, now I could address it. When someone graffitid a slur against her on a restroom wall, instead of staying silent, she chided them for spelling dyke incorrectly.

Bracelets for attendees at a school choice event hosted by PROUD Academy and Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023. PROUD Academy, an acronym for Proudly Respecting Our Unique Differences has a goal to open as a private school the fall of this year.

I finally felt I was in control, she said.

Nicolari wants LGBTQ students to feel the same freedom she felt. Youths are not whole if all the time they are not allowed to be themselves, she said. So many kids dont feel safe at school. They feel alone and isolated because no one understands them.

Nicolari is the founder and executive director of PROUD Academy, a small private school that aims to open in September in New Haven. When it opens, PROUD will be the first school in Connecticut developed specifically for LGBTQ youths, and for youths whose families have LGBTQ members.

We set up booths at Pride events in Westport, Darien, New Haven, and surveyed youths. Their priorities were they wanted an inclusive curriculum and teachers who get them, Nicolari said. They dont want to have to explain why they dress the way they do, why they use the pronouns they do, why they have two moms.

Heterosexual students from traditional families are welcome at PROUD, too, if they prefer a more queer-inclusive environment than they experience at their current school.

Four other schools  in New York, Wisconsin, Ohio and Alabama  have opened to embrace youths in the LGBTQ community.

An event on Thursday night at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven introduced PROUD Academy to interested families. The event was held in conjunction with School Choice Week.

People browse tables of information during a school choice event hosted by PROUD Academy and Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023. PROUD Academy, an acronym for Proudly Respecting Our Unique Differences has a goal to open as a private school the fall of this year.

Unsafe in school

Nicolari said at those Pride events, 95% of surveyed students responded that they dont feel safe in their schools. Testimony from kids who came to the event, who are all considering enrolling at PROUD, illustrated that fear.

Tarin Degnan, who called himself a transguy, addressed the crowd about his experiences as the first person to openly transition at his school. It started on the day he came out to his classmates.

One kid immediately went, Im going to pretend I didnt hear that. That was just detrimental, said Degnan, who lives in Killingworth. That goes with being ignored, or deadnamed or misgendered.  The idea of not being able to pass or be accepted as a preferred gender can make such a large impact on people. It can lead to the simplest life tasks being difficult.

Later, some students took pictures of him in the hallway. Other classmates were more threatening.

I was chased down the hall by two boys who tried to follow me into the bathroom. They didnt realize that I had ducked into the womens, not the mens, he said. I could hear them through the wall, opening stall doors, asking each other where did that freak go?'

Adrian Kratzsch, 13, of Farmington came to the event with his mother. Kratzsch came out two years ago.

Ive experienced a lot of hatred towards being LGBTQ. The school talks a lot about diversity but they dont do anything to stop the bullying, he said. I wish I was more accepted, but Ive come pretty far being who I am.

Beau Berube of Newington, also 13, identifies as nonbinary and transmasculine. He was outed in 2021 by someone he considered a friend and has been homeschooled ever since. I dont get bullied like I would if I was at a normal school, he said.

His mother, Amy Berube, has been homeschooling her son. But he wants to go a school for eighth grade. She considered sending him back to public school but has hesitated so far. The thought of going in and making arguments about where he can go to the bathroom, and about the gym, I wasnt up to that yet, she said.

Celeste Lecesne, the co-founder or The Trevor Project, a 24-hour crisis intervention lifeline for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth, attends as keynote speaker at a school choice event hosted by PROUD Academy and Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023. PROUD Academy, an acronym for Proudly Respecting Our Unique Differences has a goal to open as a private school the fall of this year.

Life-changing

Brandon Iovene, a member of the PROUD board of directors, understands the kids experiences. Iovene, 23, is a graduate of Haddam-Killingworth High School. He got a bachelors degree at SCSU and is currently pursuing his masters degree there.

I had a really challenging experience in school, with bullying and harassment, Iovene said. Then I enrolled in SCSU and I felt I could be my authentic self. I felt I had the capacity to do good. This is what I wanted my whole life.

He called PROUD Academy a solution to a life-or-death situation.

For queer youth, that is the reality. Bullying and harassment destroys you both educationally and socially. Not giving kids a safe and affirming environment is not doing anyone any favors. As a kid, a school like this would be absolutely life-changing.

Connecticut State Treasurer Erick Russell, the first openly gay Black person elected to a statewide office in the country, addressed the crowd and expressed agreement with Iovenes sentiments.

Being yourself is a remarkable thing. It sounds so easy, but it never is, especially for young people, and especially for members of the LGBTQ community, he said. Every kid deserves to feel accepted, safe and totally themselves. Without structures in place to provide those supports, the consequences can be tragic.

Each kid that is let down, abandoned or falls through the cracks of the systems built to protect them makes everything we do more fragile and unreliable, Russell said.

According to a 2022 annual poll by The Trevor Project, 42% of LGBT youth, and 53% of trans and nonbinary youth in Connecticut have seriously considered suicide and 11% have made an attempt.

Celeste Lecesne, the co-founder or The Trevor Project, a 24-hour crisis intervention lifeline for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth, attends as keynote speaker at a school choice event hosted by PROUD Academy and Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023. PROUD Academy, an acronym for Proudly Respecting Our Unique Differences has a goal to open as a private school the fall of this year.

Organizers and supporters

PROUD, which stands for Proudly Respecting Our Unique Differences, aims to open this fall with 125 students in grades seven to 10. The school will serve kids through 12th grade.

Nicolari, who holds four degrees from SCSU, has worked as a teacher, school administrator, director of a mentoring program for justice- and DCF-involved youth, has been a foster parent and has served on the Governors Prevention Partnership LGBTQ+ Advisory Board.

The schools board of directors includes LGBTQ activists, professionals with teaching, school administration, social work, psychology and grant-writing expertise, and John Rose, the first lawyer of color to have worked in a large law firm. Nearly half are people of color.

Nicolari has a site in mind for the school, she said, and has had interest from parents throughout the state and out of state. She also has received many job applications from teachers. She is developing the schools curriculum in partnership with Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network and a number of experts.

The co-founder of The Trevor Project, Celeste Lecesne, attended the New Haven event. Lecesne  who also founded The Future Perfect Project, an arts initiative focusing on LGBTQ kids  will be a consultant with PROUD Academy on arts curriculum.

We want to amplify the voices and the self-expression of queer young people. Its a declaration of a perfect future for everybody, Lecesne said. If they do well, we all do well.

CSCU President Joe Bertolino speaks during a school choice event hosted by PROUD Academy and Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023. PROUD Academy, an acronym for Proudly Respecting Our Unique Differences has a goal to open as a private school the fall of this year.

Lecesne, 69, said he is inspired by the self-confidence of the current generation of LGBTQ youths.

This generation has a social-justice component that Ive never seen before, that connects them to one another. They are emboldened to be themselves, Lecesne said.

SCSU also will consult with PROUD Academy, offering help with curriculum development and mentorship. CCSU President Joe Bertolino, who also is openly gay, said he understands the discrimination.

When I began my career, I was told to stay closeted. I was told there was a gay glass ceiling, he said. At first, I believed that.

In addition to education, the school will have a strong mental-health support component.

PROUD Academy enrollment forms are at form.jotform.com/223175419183154. To donate to PROUD Academy, visit proudacademyct.org/donate. The schools website is proudacademyct.org.

Susan Dunne can be reached at sdunne@courant.com.
A 10-year-old boy who survived the deadly Sea World helicopter crash is now able to speak as he makes a miraculous breakthrough in his recovery.

Nicholas Tadros is now able to verbally communicate with his family in a major turning point for his health since the horrific accident on January 2.

His mother Vanessa was among four people killed when their joy flight crashed into another helicopter near the Gold Coast theme park.

Nicholas was pulled from the wreckage with horrific injuries and spent days on life support in a critical condition as he fought for survival.

A 10-year-old boy who survived the Sea World helicopter crash is now able to speak as he makes a miraculous breakthrough in his recovery

His mother Vanessa was among four people killed when their joy flight crashed into another helicopter near the Gold Coast theme park

His priest Father Suresh Kumar provided an update on Friday on the young boy's battles saying the 10-year-old has been able to speak with his father Simon.

'A billion thanks to God. He doesn't have a brain injury,' he wrote on Facebook.

'Simon is able to talk to him and Nicholas responds very clearly with names, dates, though his voice is bit slurred. He is still on partial sedation.'

'His mum Vanessa might have grabbed his head and protected him at the impact.

'She is a hero. Nicholas will be able to tell us when he is able to recollect. May Vanessas soul rest in peace.'

Father Kumar said Nicholas' kidney function had appeared to improve after fears were raised he could go into renal failure.

'Doctors have been trying to save this right leg which is shattered very badly,' he wrote.

'We have got to keep praying that his leg is not amputated as the danger of losing his leg is still looming.

His priest Father Suresh Kumar provided an update on Friday on the young boy's battles saying the 10-year-old has been able to speak with his father Simon

'Most probably, the doctors will decide about it by next week as the virus infection is still severe.'

He thanked the public for their well-wishes and said their ongoing support had helped the family.

'You know very well, how bad his condition was and it is because of our prayers he is taking baby steps in his health,' he wrote.

'Overall, our little champ is fighting the good fight (remember he knows karate as well) and keeps improving.

'I can assure you that it is because of our prayers, Nicholas is able to achieve this.'

The 10-year-old has been receiving treatment in hospital for weeks after surviving the horror crash.

His current state meant he was unable to attend his mother's funeral and say his final goodbye.
A two-year-old boy has been shot in the face and a man has died after a gunman opened fire on a car and bystanders in Baltimore.

Three other people - including a female driver, a six-year-old passenger and another adult - were also injured in the chaos of the exchange at 6.39pm.

The shooter, who has yet to be identified, remains on the run, cops confirmed in a press conference.

Officers found two men with bullet wounds and down the street the woman with two boys - aged six and two - in the vehicle after it crashed into a pole.

A city councilmember confirmed that the two-year-old boy had been shot in the face, with the six-year-old believed to have been injured in the crash.

One person is dead, while a two-year-old, six-year-old and two adults are critically injured after a shooter - who remains on the run - fired into a car that eventually crashed in west Baltimore Saturday night

The two-year-old is in critical condition, while the woman was is in critical condition as well after both being shot and injured from the crash.

The six-year-old was also injured by the crash but wasn't hit by a bullet.

One of the men shot was eventually pronounced dead at a local hospital, while another is in stable condition at a local hospital.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott gave a pointed statement at a press conference after the shooting, according to CBS News.

'To black men in Baltimore. I see a lot of folks trying to be acting like they tough. Were they really weak because Only weak people shoot somebody when you know children are right there,' said Scott, who is black.

'And if you're harboring that person, and that's your homeboy, that's your that's your man and that's your cousin. I don't care who it is, then you're weak too.'

Scott also expressed 'thoughts and prayers' to the families and victims, but said that 'more than anything, it should be anger for all of us.'

The incident occurred around 6:39 p.m. Saturday night at the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and Laurens Street, with cops responding to reports of multiple gunshots

When officers arrived, they found not only two men with bullet wounds but down the street, a woman who had crashed her car into a pole with two boys, ages six and two, in the car

Police Commissioner Michael Harrison (pictured) said that they aren't sure who the intended target of the shooting was

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott (pictured) gave a pointed statement at a press conference after the shooting

Baltimore police are still on the lookout for the shooter and suggested that there may have been more than one gunman.

The BPD's Homicide unit have taken control of the investigation, according to WMAR.

Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said that they aren't sure who the intended target of the shooting was, according to WBAL.

Anyone with information is urged to contact detectives at 410-396-2100.
Donald Trump has branded Ron DeSantis 'very disloyal' for reportedly considering a run for the White House.

As Trump kicked off his 2024 bid with stops in New Hampshire and South Carolina, he once again took credit for helping DeSantis in his bid for Florida governor in 2018.

'Ron would have not been governor if it wasn't for me,' Trump told reporters aboard his plane on Saturday. 'So then when I hear he might run, I consider that very disloyal.'

The former president also slammed DeSantis for closing Florida for a 'long period of time' during the COVID-19 pandemic when other Republican states did not, claiming the governor and his team are 'trying to rewrite history.'

Trump's stops in the early-voting states this weekend marked the first campaign appearances since announcing his latest run more than two months ago.

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As former President Donald kicked off his 2024 White House bid on Saturday, he took a jab at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, calling the potential presidential run by his rival 'very disloyal'

The former president also slammed DeSantis for closing Florida for a 'long period of time' during the COVID-19 pandemic when other Republican states did not

After his South Carolina speech, Trump said it would be 'a great act of disloyalty' if DeSantis opposed him in the primary and took credit for the governor's initial election.

'If he runs, that's fine. I'm way up in the polls,' Trump said. 'He's going to have to do what he wants to do, but he may run.

'I do think it would be a great act of disloyalty because, you know, I got him in. He had no chance. His political life was over.'

Trump initially endorsed DeSantis in the governor's 2018 primary campaign, but said on Saturday that he hasn't spoken to him in a long time.

He has since called DeSantis an 'average governor' and 'Ron DeSanctimonious.' On Saturday, Trump slammed the Florida governor's COVID response.

'There are Republican governors that did not close their states,' Trump told reporters. 'Florida was closed for a long period of time. They're trying to rewrite history,' he added.

'I had governors that decided not to close a thing and that was up to them,' he said, defending his choice to leave it up to the governors of each state.

Trump also criticized DeSantis' shifting posture on vaccines, saying the Florida governor had 'changed his tune a lot.'

While Trump remains the only declared 2024 presidential candidate, potential challengers, including former Vice President Mike Pence and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who was Trump's ambassador to the United Nations, are expected to get their campaigns underway in the coming months.

Trump, who initially endorsed DeSantis in the governor's 2018 primary campaign, said that it would be 'a great act of disloyalty' if he opposed him in the primary

Trump's stops in the early-voting states this weekend marked the first campaign appearances since announcing his latest run. Pictured: Trump announced on November 15 his third consecutive bid for the White House

Trump told reporters on Saturday that Nikki Haley recently called him to let him know that she was considering launching a 2024 presidential bid.

'I talked to her for a little while, I said, 'Look, you know, go by your heart if you want to run,' Trump said. 'She's publicly said that 'I would never run against my president, he was a great president.'

Trump said he told Haley that she 'should do it.'

In New Hampshire, Trump promoted his campaign agenda, including immigration and crime, and said his policies would be the opposite of President Joe Biden's.

He cited the Democrats' move to change the election calendar, costing New Hampshire its leadoff primary spot, and accused Biden, a fifth-place finisher in New Hampshire in 2020, of 'disgracefully trashing this beloved political tradition.'

'I hope you're going to remember that during the general election,' Trump told party members. Trump himself twice won the primary, but lost the state each time to Democrats.

Later in South Carolina, Trump said he planned to keep the state's presidential primary as the 'first in the South' and called it 'a very important state.'

Trump told reporters on Saturday that Nikki Haley recently called him to let him know that she was considering launching a 2024 presidential bid

In his speech, he hurtled from criticism of Biden and Democrats to disparaging comments about transgender people, mockery of people promoting the use of electric stoves and electric cars, and reminiscing about efforts while serving as president to increase oil production, strike trade deals and crack down on migration at the U.S-Mexico border.

Trump's campaign, in its early stages, has already drawn controversy, most particularly when he had dinner with Holocaust-denying white nationalist Nick Fuentes and the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, who had made a series of antisemitic comments. Trump also was widely mocked for selling a series of digital trading cards that pictured him as a superhero, a cowboy and an astronaut, among others.

He is the subject of a series of criminal investigations, including one into the discovery of hundreds of documents with classified markings at his Florida club and whether he obstructed justice by refusing to return them, as well as state and federal examinations of his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, which he lost to Biden.

Still, early polling shows he's a favorite to win his party's nomination.
He has beeen transferred to a Sydney hospital

A man was attacked by a crocodile in the NT

A crocodile egg collector viciously mauled on the job has been rushed to Sydney following a deterioration in his condition.

The 29-year-old man on Thursday was savaged by a monster croc near a station along the Daly River, south of Darwin.

He suffered serious injuries when the crocodile clamped down on his leg before he managed to free himself from its deadly jaws.

The man was flown by a private helicopter out of the remote area and then transported to Royal Darwin Hospital by St John Ambulance.

The 29-year-old man suffered serious injuries when a crocodile clamped down on his leg (stock image)

Northern Territoty Police initially said the man's injuries were not considered life-threatening and that he was undergoing emergency surgery in hospital.

On Friday however, a spokesman for NT Health said the man's condition had dramatically worsened, now listing him as critical.

He has since been transferred to Sydney's Royal North Shore Hospital.

A hospital spokeswoman said he remained in a serious but stable condition.

It is understood the man was employed by a croc egg harvesting operator and NT WorkSafe are investigating the incident.

The man was attacked while collecting crocodile eggs (pictured, stock image), which can be obtained by licensed harvesters in the NT

The harvesting of estuarine crocodile eggs was made legal in 2018 under a commercial wildlife harvesting licence subject to strict requirements.

Croc egg collectors can earn $30 an egg, which can bring in $1,800 from a single nest of up to 60 eggs.

The licensed harvesters are usually lowered on lines from helicopters to pluck out the eggs from nests, which appear as piles of mulch on riverbanks.

They are then transported to crocodile farms where they are raised and then killed to make luxury crocodile leather products.

The crocodile egg collector was savaged by one of the giant reptiles near a station along the Daly River, south of Darwin (stock image)

Luxury French fashion houses such as Hermes have contracts with a number of NT croc farms.

According to the NT Government's Crocwise campaign, while crocodile attacks are rare, they do happen and the risk is greater from nesting season between September and May if the animal feels they or their nests are being threatened.

A cast member of adventure television series Outback Wrangler show who died last year in a Northern Territory helicopter crash was hanging from it on a sling to collect crocodile eggs.

Chris Wilson, 34, was killed on February 28 when the helicopter collided with trees and the ground in West Arnhem Land, in the northeast corner of the NT.

Mr Wilson was attached to the line using a harness so he could harvest eggs from difficult to access crocodile nests.

The NT is home to the world's largest wild crocodile population, with more than 100,000 of the giant predators in the wild.
Drivers experienced a kind of road hazard few would complain about on Saturday morning when they were splashed with hundreds, maybe thousands of $100 notes.

It sounds like a scene from a B-grade Hollywood movie, but it really happened at the Kenwick Link overpass in Perth at around 11.30am on Saturday, with one person reportedly gathering $10,000.

A bag containing a huge amount of cash was thrown, or fell, from a vehicle travelling west on the Roe Highway in the south-east of the city.

'The cash  in the form of notes  was scattered around the location, with reports people were stopping vehicles to collect it,' Western Australia Police said.

Drivers experienced the kind of driving hazard they didn't mind on Saturday morning, when they were splashed with hundreds, maybe thousands of $100 notes. Pictured is a stock image of $100 notes

As drivers parked and tried to gather as many of the notes blowing around as they could, one drove off $10,000 richer, according to reports.

Police arrived at the bizarre scene shortly after to pick up the remaining notes not already pocketed by passersby.

One officer was seen carrying a brown paper bag as she crossed the busy highway.

More than 24 hours later, the police refused to say if the money was deliberately thrown or if it somehow came loose from a car.

They also did not reveal if anyone came forward to hand back the money they picked up, or if they know who lost or threw out the big notes in the first place.

The WA Police's Facebook post on the money shower got hundreds of comments, with many hoping for a similar situation.

'OK that's it, I'm sick of me not being at the right place at the right time,' one wrote.

A second asked 'why doesn't this happen when I'm on my way to work?'

One police officer was seen carrying a brown paper bag as she crossed the busy highway after picking up some scattered $100 notes

Another commenter may not have been entirely serious in their concern for what legal implications the cash dumpers might face.

'So will they fined for littering & maybe not securing a load?' they asked.

There were also some comments speculating as to where the money had come from.

'Probably from armed robbery the offenders trying to get rid of the evidence,' said one poster.

Detectives at the Cannington police station are investigating the raining money drop and have asked anyone who saw what happened to get in touch.

Mobile phone or dashcam vision can be uploaded directly here.

Anyone with information or wishing to return the money they picked up are urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or can get in touch here.
After a year that saw her joyously welcome her new baby brother Fritz, Fiona - Cincinnati Zoo's superstar hippo - celebrated her sixth birthday with a cake to match the occasion.

The oft-viral Nile hippo - who has over 17,000 followers on Instagram - enjoyed a birthday cake made out of frozen fruits and whipped yogurt icing.

She starts on the outside with some of the cake dressing, before diving right in and devouring the rest as onlookers sing 'Happy Birthday.'

At six, Fiona is now in the age range - four to seven - when female hippos are considered mature.

After a year that saw her joyously welcome her new baby brother Fritz, Fiona - the Cincinnati Zoo's superstar hippo - celebrated her sixth birthday with a cake to match the occasion

Mark Tewes, the Cincinnati Zookeeper, told WMUR: 'We are seeing Fiona come into her maturity as an adult hippo.'

However, the cake may help achieve one of Tewes and the zoo's goals for the hippo this year.

'She's pretty much just a normal hippo at this point, luckily, we're still looking for her to gain a little bit of weight, she's still kind of at the smaller end.'

Fiona is believed to be the smallest Nile hippo ever to survive. She became a global celebrity after she was born on January 24, 2017, weighing in at just 29lb.

That is well below the average birth weight range of 55 to 120 pounds.

Speaking in 2020, Cincinnati Zoo director Thayne Maynard said: 'Fiona won the hearts of Cincinnatians when she fought to survive after being born six weeks early and terribly underweight.

'Three years later, people all over the world are still crazy about this normal, healthy hippo.'

The oft-viral Nile hippo - who has over 17,000 followers on Instagram - enjoyed a birthday cake made out of frozen fruits and whipped yogurt icing

She starts on the outside with some of the cake dressing, before diving right in and devouring the rest as onlookers sing 'Happy Birthday'

Fiona became a viral superstar when she was born in 2017

He said: 'She has taught us a lot.'

A zoo staffer hand-milked her mother Bibi, and Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington helped develop a special formula. Nurses from Cincinnati Children's Hospital were enlisted to put in a hippo IV.

He continued: 'We were a nervous wreck every day.'

The zoo has released a book about Fiona to tell children about the against-the-odds story of survival.

It also includes many hippo facts, including the fact they are herbivores, but can be dangerous to humans as they are fast and will weigh up to 5,000 pounds.

Fiona, pictured, is world famous after she survived being born six weeks premature and required groundbreaking levels of care involving nurses from Cincinnati Children's Hospital

In 2021, Fiona was caught taking an underwater nap in her tank - and snoring out bubbles

He added: 'Part of the zoo's mission is public education. (The book) is reaching kids and families with a message of hope ... never giving up.'

In 2022, Fiona met her days-old little brother for the very first time.

Fritz was born at Cincinnati Zoo, Ohio less than a month ago, with footage posted by zookeepers showing his shiny pink skin as smooth as silk.

But older sis Fiona doesn't seem jealous of the attention Fritz is getting from their mother Bibi.

In fact, she seems thrilled as she greets the new member of the family from inside her cage.

They were then filmed swimming together and playing outside.

The zoo's animal care director Christina Gorsuch said: 'This first intro went very well. [Mom] Bibi was appropriately protective of Fritz but was not aggressive toward Fiona.

'The exposure was brief but a great first step.

[Fiona] took took her cues from her mom ... and backed off when Fritz got almost close enough for a nose boop.'

'We will continue to put Fiona, Fritz, and Bibi together for short periods until we're confident that the three are comfortable together.

'The next step will then be to add [father] Tucker to the mix. We don't have an exact timeline for when that will happen.'

Last year Fiona was filmed napping underwater in her tank - and snoring out bubbles.

Hippos can close their nostrils and hold their breath for more than five minutes while submerged, even sleeping underwater.

The massive herbivores use a reflex which raises them up for a breath of air without waking up.
A St Louis police officer was sexually harassed by her supervisors, sent a pornographic video on Facebook, and told to lose weight while she was six months pregnant, according to a lawsuit filed in the city this week.

Officer Amanda Signorino joined the force in December 2015 and dated her boss, Lt. Jeff Hoots, on and off for several years.

They split up in January 2017 and then, according to Signorino, her troubles began.

She was subjected to 'continuous and unreciprocated sexual harassment, intimidation, bullying, practical jokes and advances,' according to the suit.

Lt Jeff Hoots, who retired in April 2022, is pictured in January 2017 with Officer Amanda Signorino - the post was made around the time they split up

Signorino joined the St Louis police in December 2015. She is now suing for sexual harassment

'I have been sexually assaulted, harassed and discriminated against based on my gender,' she wrote in the letter submitted to the court along with the lawsuit, obtained by St Louis Today.

'After reporting the discrimination, I was retaliated against, transferred, and demoted.'

She noted that in December 2022 she was told to lose 13lbs by her boss, while six months pregnant. It is not clear from the reports who is the father of the unborn child, or who allegedly told her to lose the weight.

Signorino said that Hoots was transferred to another precinct, the Park Rangers, after they split up.

But in 2019 a colleague of his, a sergeant, sent her pornographic material on Facebook.

A colleague of Signorino's reported it, and she was called into a senior officer's room to discuss it, without being allowed to bring her union representative with her, she claims.

Hoots was transferred from Signorino's precinct to the Park Rangers, which he joined in July 2017

Signorino (pictured) said she was sent pornographic material by one of Hoots' allies once their relationship ended

Signorino said the officer tried to downplay the Facebook message, and convince her that she was twisting what had happened with Hoots.

Signorino was eventually transferred to another precinct, North County.

Yet in 2021, Hoots was transferred to the same precinct, after a member of the Park Rangers division accused him of sexual harassment.

Hoots commanded the Park Rangers, but was accused of sexual harassment there too

Brittney Young said Hoots had personally recruited her to his division in August 2020, when she was a 21-year-old working as a lifeguard in the city.

She accused him of making her play his girlfriend in roll-playing training exercises, as an excuse to touch her.

She said he sent her inappropriate messages, particularly when he had been drinking.

She said he also sent her a picture of himself without a shirt on inside his bedroom.

'He did ask me, 'Do you date older men?' she said. 'And I told him, 'No, I date people my age, not 50.'

Young said she was then retaliated against and demoted. She has also now filed a suit accusing Hoots of sexual harassment, and county commanders of not doing enough to stop him.

Hoots was transferred out of the Park Rangers division - and ended up back in charge of Signorino, at the North County Precinct.

Signorino said Hoots was transferred - due to the sexual harassment complaint - and ended up working with her again

Signorino said the final straw was being told to lose 13lbs, while six months pregnant

Signorino was transferred again, and sent to a precinct where she worked under the same people who investigated the pornography incident, she said.

In her suit, Signorino said she lost income and worked the midnight shift, which made finding child care difficult.

She unsuccessfully sought a transfer from that precinct.

In April 2022, Hoots retired after 29 years on the force.

In December 2022, Signorino had a semi-annual evaluation where a lieutenant told her she needed to lose 13 pounds because she was overweight.

She was six months pregnant at the time: the father is not specified.

In her suit, Signorino is seeking an unspecified amount of damages in excess of $25,000.

Spokesman Doug Moore said the county does not comment on pending litigation.
A Colorado woman was shot in the leg during her Zumba class when a man firing a gun across the street missed his target and hit her instead.

Adriana Lavin said she was working out at the Zumba fitness studio on Wednesday when gunshots tore through the front window and she dropped to the floor to avoid being hit, she recalled to KDVR from her hospital bed.

But she had been shot in the leg. 'At the moment I wanted to, I couldn't, because I fell,' Lavin said. 'I was bleeding from my legs.'

Jefferson County Sheriff's investigators said Diego Sanchez, 36, was firing at a car but instead hit the studio at 59th Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard in Arvada, Colorado, where Lavin was working out.

Sanchez, who turned himself in on Saturday, faces multiple charges including criminal attempted first-degree murder, first-degree assault, illegal possession of a firearm, and multiple counts of criminal mischief.

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Adriana Lavin said she was working out at the Zumba fitness studio in Arvada, Colorado, on Wednesday when she was shot in the leg, she recalled from the hospital bed

Diego Sanchez, 36, was firing at a car but instead hit the studio at 59th Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard in Arvada, Colorado, where Lavin was working out, the sheriff's office said

Deputies with the Jefferson County Sheriff's office responded to the 5300 block of Sheridan Boulevard on Wednesday around 10:30 a.m. for reports of shots fired.

Jefferson County Sheriff's investigators said Sanchez was allegedly firing a weapon at a specific vehicle and fired multiple rounds, when he stuck Lavin through the window of a Zumba fitness studio in the Berkeley Village shopping center.

Sanchez allegedly fired the shots at the vehicle in Sheridan Estates mobile home park across the street from the shopping center - a vehicle investigators said they believe was targeted.

Stray bullets hit another car that was turning into the shopping center and pierced the window of the fitness studio, which caused everyone to fall to the floor.

'Everyone's reaction was to drop to the floor,' Lavin said from the hospital bed. 'My reaction was to grab a child that was in my club.'

Two bullet holes could be seen in the window of the fitness studio.

Deputies responding to the scene put a tourniquet on Lavin's leg and she was transported to the hospital where she's recovering.

'They put a tourniquet on my legs so I wouldn't keep bleeding, because I was bleeding a lot,' Lavin said.

Investigators said Sanchez was allegedly firing a weapon at a specific vehicle when he stuck Lavin through the window of a Zumba fitness studio in the Berkeley Village shopping center

Investigators said they found bullet holes in the walls and windows of several businesses

Investigators said they found bullet holes in the walls and windows of several businesses in the Berkeley Village Shopping Center.

Lavin is recovering in the hospital with her family by her side.

'I can't get surgery on it because the bullet landed very close to a main artery and it can't get taken out without causing more damage,' Lavin said.

Her brother, Abraham, said the family is thankful that she's OK.

'It was very hard not knowing what was going on with my sister,' Abraham said, 'and I mean honestly, it's something that I don't wish anybody, to put them through it.'

Lavin was in good spirits as she recovered from being shot in the leg earlier this week
Saturday Night Live presented a sendup of Joe Biden's classified documents scandal to open up this weekend's show, with stray shots fired at Vice President Kamala Harris and Attorney General Merrick Garland.

The sketch began with a Hollywood trailer-style intro for Attorney General Merrick Garland - played by Mikey Day - explaining the status of the investigation after classified documents were found at former Vice President Mike Pence's home.

It then went with mainstay Kenan Thompson as an FBI agent cracking jokes about the investigation, followed by his character introducing a 'special agent' who was asked to discuss whether anything was found at Vice President Harris' residence.

Ego Nwodim's agent character deadpanned: 'Come on now. Joe Biden won't even give this woman a pen. You think she has classified documents? Please.'

Ego Nwodim's agent character deadpanned: 'Come on now. Joe Biden won't even give this woman a pen. You think she has classified documents? Please.'

Saturday Night Live presented a sendup of Joe Biden's classified documents scandal to open up this weekend's show, with stray shots fired at Vice President Kamala Harris and Attorney General Merrick Garland

The DOJ investigated executive residences and found some unexpected information pic.twitter.com/RMvygC4M0A  Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl) January 29, 2023

Day's Garland returned to say: 'Well, we had to at least check.'

He then introduced an agent played by Bowen Yang to speak about what, if anything was found at ex-President Barack Obama's house.

Yang's character cracked: 'Don't mean to brag, but I was in Barack Obama's house. Yeah. No big deal. But it was really fun.

'Mr. Obama opened the door and said, 'are you selling girl scout cookies?' Which had us all totally cracking up, like completely dead.'

He then joked that Obama's house contained not classified documents but '175 letters from Lin Manuel begging the president to perform Hamilton.'

Earlier in the sketch, the Garland impersonator bemoaned the fact that so many political figures had classified documents and wondered the point of it all.

'Some have said the federal government classifies too many documents,' he said. 'About 50 million a year.

'This has led people to ask, 'does recovering these documents even matter?' To which I say, I don't know.'

The sketch ended with a bizarre attempt to turn serious and comment on the Tyre Nichols murder video, with Thompson's agent asking Garland if they planned to go 'make sure justice is served down there too.'

The sketch began with mainstay Kenan Thompson as an FBI agent explaining the status of the investigation after classified documents were found at former Vice President Mike Pence's home

Then, Merrick Garland - played by Mikey Day - introduced a 'special agent' who was asked to discuss whether anything was found at current Vice President Harris' residence

The sketch was a take on the recent controversy over classified documents being found at several key Washington politicians' homes

The sketch began with a Hollywood trailer-style intro for Attorney General Merrick Garland

The sketch ended with a bizarre attempt to turn serious and comment on the Tyre Nichols murder video, with Thompson's agent asking Garland if they planned to go 'make sure justice is served down there too'

Day's Garland responded 'I sincerely hope so' before they broke into the show's catchphrase of 'Live from New York, it's Saturday night.'

It comes after former Vice President Mike Pence took ownership of the documents imbroglio that has suddenly thrown him in company with former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden after the discovery of classified documents in his Indiana home.

With two special counsels probing Trump and Biden, Pence said Friday he had not been aware that classified documents were at his Indiana home and took 'full responsibility' for the security breach.

'Let me be clear: those classified documents should not have been in my personal residence,' Pence said. 'Mistakes were made and I take full responsibility,' he added.

Pence, speaking at Florida International University in Miami, said a review was conducted of his personal records after classified documents were found at President Joe Bidens home in Delaware.

The PR move comes as the top Democrat and Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee demanded the director of national intelligence provide information on the contents of documents found at Trump and Biden's homes.
The Memphis police chief who is now tasked with investigating the killing of Tyre Nichols was previously fired from her job for dismissing allegations in a child pornography case.

Cerelyn 'CJ' Davis was kicked out of the Atlanta Police Department in 2008 for her role in the botched investigation of sergeant Tonya Crane's husband Terrill Marion Crane - who later turned out to be guilty.

Two detectives on the case accused Davis - who was deputy chief at the time - of urging them not to dig into the claims against Crane after the unit received pictures of him with underage middle school girls.

Crane later pled guilty to one count of producing child pornography after the FBI took on the case - and blame then shifted on to Davis for taking a 'blind eye' on the child porn claims.

Despite her history as a careless investigator, Davis still became the first black female chief in Memphis in 2021 - one year after George Floyd was killed at the hands of Minneapolis police.

Cerelyn 'CJ' Davis, the current chief of police in Memphis, was previously terminated from her position in the Atlanta Police Department in 2008

In Los Angeles, a small group of Antifa were seen smashing up businesses

From left, Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills, Jr. and Justin Smith. The five former Memphis police officers have been charged with second-degree murder and other crimes in the arrest and death of Tyre Nichols

Crane was indicted by a federal grand jury on the child pornography charges after Atlanta Police Department failed to take action on the case - and in 2009 he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 10 years and one month in jail.

The FBI blasted Atlanta's police force as 'unforgiveable' at the time for allowing the child abuse - which involved at least 11 girls, some as young as middle school age - to go 'unchecked.'

Attorney David E. Nahmias said: 'This case goes back a number of years, which makes the list of victims longer and the facts of the case even more disturbing.

'This defendant sexually exploited numerous young girls and that unforgivable criminal conduct went unchecked for years even after being brought to the attention of the Atlanta Police Department.'

Crane's wife, who was a sergeant working with Davis, also admitted to 'finding and burning' some of the child porn photographs her husband had taken of the victims.

A follow-up investigation by the city then placed the blame squarely on Davis. She was demoted from major to lieutenant before ultimately being fired from the force in Atlanta.

She then challenged the decision before the city's Civil Service Board, who reinstated her. But in 2016 she decided to retire herself from the Atlanta force.

Davis then took up a role as police chief in Durham, North Carolina - and had called for sweeping police reform, despite her previous botched job in Atlanta.

Protestors gathered at Washington Square Park in New York for a second night in a row of protest in the name of Tyre Nichols

She has now once again come under scrutiny following the actions of the five officers involved in the death of Nichols.

Protests have erupted across the US for a second night after brutal footage of the death of Nichols was released by Memphis police.

Protesters vandalized businesses in Los Angeles while others remained mostly peaceful in New York City, Washington DC, Memphis and other cities.

Demonstrators gathered during a protest in Times Square on Saturday in New York

Protestors marched up Sixth Avenue in New York on their way to Times Square

Security forces take measures as people protest against the police assault of Tyre Nichols in New York

A demonstrator chants during a protest Saturday in New York, in response to the death of Tyre Nichols

Protestors held signs calling for an end to the deaths of black people at the hands of police

One protestor held a sign stating 'End Police Terror' following Tyre Nichols' death

For the second night in a row, New Yorkers took to the streets in the name of Tyre Nichols, turning their sadness into strength

Protestors gather at Washington square park for the second evening of protests

A protest that began at 5pm Saturday in Washington Square Park grew to 200 people

Vandals with Antifa spray painted insulting message towards police officers

It what was a second night of rioting following the release of the Nichols police video in LA

A small group of protesters demanded reforms from police following the beating death of Tyre Nichols in Washington, D.C. on Saturday

Cities across the US saw renewed nonviolent demonstrations on Saturday. In Memphis, protesters chanting, 'Whose streets? Our streets!' angrily catcalled a police car that was monitoring the march, with several making obscene gestures.

Hundreds gathered in New York City's Washington Square Park before marching through Manhattan, as columns of police officers walked alongside them.

In Los Angeles, a small group of Antifa were seen smashing up businesses in what was a second night of rioting following the release of the Nichols police video.

Protesters in downtown Atlanta repeated Nichols' name and demanded justice. Around 40 people gathered in front of Philadelphia's City Hall to protest the killing.

New York City police officers stand guard at a protest after the release of video footage on Friday showing the encounter earlier this month between Tyre Nichols, 29, and five Memphis police officers

A protester holds a placard that says 'stop killing black people' as protestors gather at Washington Square Park for a second night in a row

A protester holds a placard that says 'What have we allowed ourselves to become' during the demonstration

Activist Nupol Kiazolu calls to abolish the police and blames White Supremacy

An activist speaks as protestors gathered at Washington Square Park on Saturday evening

A protester holds a skateboard that says 'Tyre Nichols' and 'abolish the police' as protestors gathered at Washington Square Park

People take part in a march against police brutality at Times Square on Saturday

Hundreds gathered during the protest in the heart of Times Square on Saturday night

People take part in a march against police brutality on January 28, 2023 in New York City

Demonstrators are pictured walking through the streets of Greenwich Village as they marched uptown

Protestors are seen gathered on the glass steps of Times Square

The marchers paraded along 42nd Street in Manhattan as they approached Times Square

The marchers walked the few miles from Washington Square Park up to Times Square

More than 80 people marched in Charlotte, North Carolina on Saturday afternoon to protest the fatal beating.

'How many more are going to die?' Tim Emry asked fellow demonstrators who'd gathered outside the Mecklenburg County Courthouse.

'Do we stand up when Black kills Black?' asked Melissa Funderburk, a longtime community organizer in Charlotte said to the Charlotte Observer.

'It doesn't matter that it was Black skin in the blue. The point is a mother is crying. It's not OK for them to be killing Black men and women.'

On Saturday, Davis disbanded the city's so-called Scorpion unit citing a 'cloud of dishonor' from videos that showed some of its officers beating Tyre Nichols to death after stopping the black motorist.

Memphis City Councilman JB Smiley Jr., center, marches with local activists demanding justice for Tyre Nichols on Saturday

Towanna Murphy holds up her fist during a march for Tyre Nichols, who died after being beaten by Memphis police during a traffic stop, in Memphis, on Saturday

Protesters marched on Saturday over the death of Tyre Nichols, who died after being beaten

Protesters march in front of a police car on Saturday in Memphis

Porchse Miller, left, wipes a tear from her face during a protest, Saturday, in Atlanta

Nakia Harrison, left, along with her children Darius, Devonte, and Daniel Smith, attend a rally in Memphis on Saturday

Davis acted a day after the harrowing video emerged, saying she listened to Nichols' relatives, community leaders and uninvolved officers in making the decision.

Her announcement came as the nation and the city struggled to come to grips with the violence of the officers, who are also black.

Scorpion stands for Street Crimes Operations to Restore Peace In Our Neighborhoods.

The video renewed doubts about why fatal encounters with law enforcement keep happening despite repeated calls for change.

Protestors marching though downtown Memphis cheered when they heard the unit had been dissolved. One protestor said over a bullhorn that 'the unit that killed Tyre has been permanently disbanded.'

Demonstrators picket outside of LAPD headquarters Saturday in Los Angeles during a protest

Pastor Stephen Jn-Marie speaks to a crowd of protestors Saturday, outside of the LAPD HQ

A demonstrator holds his fist up while picketing outside of LAPD headquarters on Saturday

Referring to 'the heinous actions of a few' that dishonored the unit, Davis contradicted an earlier statement that she would keep the unit. She said it was imperative that the department 'take proactive steps in the healing process.'

'It is in the best interest of all to permanently deactivate the Scorpion unit,' she said in a statement. She said the officers currently assigned to it agreed 'unreservedly.'

The unit is composed of three teams of about 30 officers whose stated aim is to target violent offenders in areas beset by high crime.

It had been inactive since Nichols' January 7 arrest.

Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, lawyers for the Nichols family, said the move was 'a decent and just decision.'

'We must keep in mind that this is just the next step on this journey for justice and accountability, as clearly this misconduct is not restricted to these specialty units. It extends so much further,' they said.

The five disgraced officers - Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith - have been fired and charged with murder and other crimes in Nichols death, which came three days after the arrest. They face up to 60 years in prison if convicted of second-degree murder.

The image from video released on Friday shows Tyre Nichols during a brutal attack by five Memphis police officers

People gather to protest against the police violence following the killing of Tyree Nichols in Charlotte North Carolina

Marching peacefully down the middle of Fourth Street, in Charlotte, North Carolina protesters broke out in chants

People gather to protest the killing of Tyree Nichols in Philadelphia, outside City Hall

People protest in Downtown Memphis after the death of Tyre Nichols who was beaten to death

Protestors in Memphis, Tennessee are seen marching on Saturday

A few hundred people took to the streets in Memphis in a second day of peaceful demos

Amber Sherman and other people take part in a protest in Memphis after the release of the body cam footage showing police officers beating Tyre Nichols

The videos released Friday show police savagely beating the 29-year-old FedEx worker for three minutes while screaming profanities at him in an assault that the Nichols family legal team has likened to the infamous 1991 police beating of Los Angeles motorist Rodney King. Nichols calls out for his mother before his limp body is propped against a squad car and the officers exchange fist-bumps.

The video also left many unanswered questions about the traffic stop and about other law enforcement officers who stood by as Nichols lay motionless on the pavement.

Cities nationwide had braced for demonstrations after the video emerged, but protests were scattered and nonviolent.

Several dozen demonstrators in Memphis blocked the Interstate 55 bridge that carries traffic over the Mississippi River toward Arkansas.

Protesters also blocked traffic in New York City, Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon.
New London may be forced to pay several million dollars in demolition and remediation work for a new high school project because local officials allegedly heeded the directions of Konstantinos Diamantis, the former leader of Connecticuts school construction program.

Officials with the Department of Administrative Services, which houses the states school construction office, recently informed the city that it will not pay for any of the roughly $4 million in demolition or abatement work at the New London High School because that contract was never put out to bid, as state law requires.

Work that was not competitively bid or work that was done using a state contract without obtaining multiple quotes is not eligible for reimbursement at any rate, said John McKay, a spokesman for DAS.

Elected leaders and school construction supervisors in New London said that news came as a surprise to them, considering Diamantis allegedly instructed the city to hire a demolition contractor from a short list of state-approved vendors.

Its unclear if any other school districts in the state could face similar problems obtaining state reimbursement for work that was performed on local school projects in recent years.

McKay said the state would need to do more research to determine whether other municipalities neglected to open bids for some of the contracts for local school projects in the past.

But the allegations that Diamantis pushed municipalities to hire certain contractors are not new, and they are not unique to New London.

After a federal investigation into the school construction program burst into public view last year, local leaders in several towns and cities came forward to accuse Diamantis of pressuring them to hire specific contractors for local school projects, including demolition and abatement companies.

Diamantis, who resigned from his post in late 2021, a few weeks after the state was subpoenaed by a federal grand jury, denies ever instructing New London, or any other school district, to choose a specific contractor for demolition and abatement work.

I want to be clear. I never directed anyone to hire a particular vendor, and I did not instruct members of my team to advocate for any, Diamantis told the CT Mirror this week. He laid the responsibility for any errors on a former subordinate who died in December 2021.

But officials in New London argue that the city is being unfairly punished for following the past directives of Diamantis and his team.

Dianna McNeill, who has served as a senior manager for the New London High School project, said the city hired AAIS, a company based in West Haven, without a formal bidding process due to directions they received from Diamantis and his staff at the Office of School Construction Grants and Review.

McNeill told the Mirror that she considered those directions, at the time, as a bit of a head-scratcher because she had never seen a demolition or hazardous waste remediation contract awarded in that fashion for a school before.

But, she said, New London officials complied with the order because it came from Diamantis, who had significant authority over school construction and the state grants for those projects.

Again, it came from the guy at the top, McNeill said. New London was following his direction.

After the contract was approved, McNeill said, Mike Sanders  another former staffer in the states school construction office  stepped in to personally direct AAIS at the high school project. And she said Sanders pre-approved the more than $4 million in work that the company performed at the site.

Based on those circumstances, McNeill and local elected leaders in New London do not believe the municipality should be on the hook for those construction costs.

Three state Democratic lawmakers representing New London  Rep. Christine Conley, Rep. Anthony Nolan, and Sen. Martha Marx  sponsored legislation this session that would require the state to reimburse the city for the work performed by AAIS.

Conley argued this week that New London should not be punished for following the advice of Diamantis, who served as the director of the school construction program for roughly six years.

The schools were told to use a certain company, and that they did not need to bid it out, Conley said. And the schools followed what they were told by the person who had the job.

Diamantis said anyone claiming he instructed New London to hire AAIS for the high school project was seeking to make him a scapegoat.

Local school officials were allowed to use the list of state-approved contractors for work on school projects as long as they obtained quotes from multiple companies on that list, Diamantis said. But he never suggested or ordered local officials to use the state-approved list of vendors in order to simply pick one from the list or otherwise circumvent the normal bidding process, he said.

Other districts have made similar claims

Officials in New London, however, arent the first to allege that Diamantis personally ordered them to ignore the states bidding requirements and to hand a contract to a demolition and abatement company that was pre-selected by the state.

An executive and an attorney with Stamford Wrecking, another demolition company, sent numerous letters to Attorney General William Tong and other state officials in 2020 and 2021 alleging Diamantis was encouraging municipalities to side-step state law.

One of those letters, sent to Josh Geballe and Melissa McCaw, the former leaders of DAS and the state Office of Policy and Management, mentioned the New London High School project. And it alleged that the contract AAIS received for the project was arranged because of overtures by state officials.

Diamantis responded to those letters at the time by dismissing many of the concerns from Stamford Wrecking.

Local leaders in Groton and Bristol echoed many of the allegations that were presented in those letters last year. In the case of Bristol, local officials provided documents to the CT Mirror that detailed what was communicated by Diamantis and his team at the time.

One of those documents described how Sanders issued a directive to Bristol officials  reportedly on behalf of Diamantis  instructing the city to throw out the bids they received for a school demolition project and to hire Bestech, a company selected by the state.

Both Bristol and Groton eventually chose to ignore those directions, and unlike New London, the two municipalities hired their own contractors for the demolition and abatement work using a local bidding process.

Diamantis: Issues were corrected

Diamantis told the CT Mirror he had nothing to do with those contract disputes in Bristol or Groton. And he said that if anything like that transpired in New London, it would have been the fault of Sanders, who died in December 2021 from a suspected drug overdose.

If that happened early on, it was Mikes error. He was new to the program. It was certainly not intentional, Diamantis said. And I am speaking for Mike, God rest his soul.

The disputes that arose in Bristol and Groton, Diamantis said, were isolated to a few schools, and he said he quickly moved to fix those mistakes.

Those issues were corrected, Diamantis said, and Mike Sanders was made clear that he was not to go to school districts and tell them to do anything with respect to how they run their project.

According to Diamantis, the only reason New London officials are pointing the finger at him now is because they dont want to get stuck covering the cost of the demolition and abatement contract for their new high school.

Continuing to slander me with inaccurate statements or false statements for the failures of professionals hired to know the process and to follow a simple process will no longer be tolerated, Diamantis said in a follow-up email. I do not know what happened in New London.

Hopefully we are clear on the facts, he added. I ran a solid program with a great team. We took pride in our work and our program in the best interest of the kids, and no community was forced to hire anyone.

Conley said she and her colleagues in the legislature are simply trying to correct an issue that was created by the state.

Officials at DAS said they are required to follow state law when it comes to reimbursements for school construction projects.

That means the agencys cant reimburse New London for those costs unless the legislature approves special exemption for the New London project.

Conley said she expects the General Assembly to pass that legislation this year.

Dave Altimari is a reporter for The Connecticut Mirror (https://ctmirror.org/ ). Copyright 2023 (c) The Connecticut Mirror.
The criminal was convicted last week of raping two women before transitioning

The woman said her daughter thinks it's 'impossible' Bryson is no longer a man

The mother of one of transgender rapist Isla Bryson's two victims says she is convinced the criminal is faking being a woman to dodge going to a men's prison.

The woman, whose daughter was the first victim of the sex attacker, says her daughter 'can't believe' that person who raped her in September 2016 and the woman who turned up to court are 'the same person'.

It is the first time a victim of the criminal - who was born Adam Graham - has spoken out since a row exploded last week after it was revealed the rapist was being placed in a women's prison.

The move sparked fury in Scotland and forced Nicola Sturgeon into screeching U-turn, with the 31-year-old trans woman being moved to a male prison 48 hours later.

The mother of one of Bryson's victims says she thinks the rapist is faking begin transgender to have an easier time behind bars in a women's prison

A mugshot of Isla Bryson released by Police Scotland after the criminal's conviction last week

A relative of the first victim said they believe Bryson is simply trying to avoid being sent to a male prison and the claims of being transgender are an act.

Speaking to the Mirror, the mother of the victim called the criminal 'very manipulative and everyone falls for it'.

Bryson, who still has a penis, began undergoing hormone therapy after her first appearance at court for two rapes.

She raped the first victim in her own bed at home after having moved into the home she shared with her mother.

In his defence at court Bryson said: 'I was struggling with my sexuality and having issues, emotionally'.

However, the victim's mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, branded this a lie and said he was making 'a mockery' out of true transgender people by using it in his defence.

She told the Mirror: 'He spoke plenty about his feelings and there was never any sign of a tendency to him being a female. It was the opposite. He always came across as a big tough guy.

'You've got genuine cases where people are desperate to get reassignment for the right reasons because they've been born into that body not because they've raped two people and decided that's an easy way out.'

She added that when her daughter was told Bryson had been placed in a women's prison she had said: 'Mum, what about all the ladies in there?'

This opinion was backed by Bryson's estranged wife Shonna Graham, who told MailOnline she thought the transition of her former partner was a 'sham for attention' and that the criminal was 'bull******** the authorities'.

Bryson's move to a women's prison was revealed hours after she was convicted of two counts of rape against two different women last week.

The move sparked fury at the thought of someone who was jailed for raping women being housed with them in prison, and prompted a humiliating U-turn from Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

Bryson appeared at court in Glasgow last week dressed in tight leggings - she was later found guilty of raping two women with her penis

Only 48 hours after being remanded into custody, Bryson was moved to the male wing of the prison at Cornton Vale jail in Stirling.

Ms Sturgeon told First Minister's Questions last week: 'I don't think it's possible to have a rapist within a women's prison'.

Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross said today: 'It should not have taken public disgust and a slew of negative headlines about a double rapist being sent to a women's prison for Nicola Sturgeon to realise this was completely unacceptable and wrong.'

Meanwhile, Mr Ross accused Ms Sturgeon of 'hiding behind' the Scottish Prison Service when she suggested it was responsible for the decision.

At First Ministers' Questions, he cited rules that grant ministers the power to direct 'supervision levels' criteria for prisoners, and this must be reviewed 'within 72 hours of reception'.

Scottish Tory MSP Jamie Halcro Johnston said: 'It is shameful that Nicola Sturgeon refuses to admit that her government  and her own SNP ministers  have allowed a double rapist to be held in a women's prison.'

His colleague Tess White added: 'A predatory double rapist being held in a women's prison for any length of time is dangerous.

'An SNP minister defended the decision one day  then Nicola Sturgeon backtracked the next. What would have happened if there hadn't been a public backlash?'

Ms Sturgeon told the Scottish Parliament: 'The risk assessment is under way. However, as in all cases, the Scottish Prison Service will not wait until an assessment is completed if they think action is required more quickly  and this prisoner is not going to be incarcerated in Cornton Vale women's prison.

'In terms of the interim situation, and how the situation I said there is going to be achieved, I've got to be mindful of allowing the Scottish Prison Service to do their operational job and to do that properly.'

There are reports that Tiffany Scott (pictured), previously known as Andrew Burns, has requested to move to a women's prison

Referring to the Bryson case, Ms Sturgeon confirmed: 'This prisoner will not be incarcerated in Cornton Vale women's prison  short term or long term'.

Late, the First Minister told journalists that no 'formal direction' had been given to the prison service by the Government on where Bryson should be imprisoned.

However, she now faces fresh calls to stop the prison transfer of different transgender pervert who stalked a 13-year-old girl while a man.

Tiffany Scott, who followed the girl while known as Andrew Burns, has reportedly requested to be moved to a women's prison.

The Daily Record reported this request has been rubber-stamped after previously being refused.

It is understood that no transfer is imminent in Scott's case.

A Scottish Prison Service (SPS) spokesman said: 'We do not comment on individuals.

'Decisions by the SPS as to the most appropriate location to accommodate transgender people are made on an individualised basis, informed by a multi-disciplinary assessment of both risk and need.

'Such decisions seek to protect both the wellbeing and rights of the individual as well as the welfare and rights of others around them, including staff, in order to achieve an outcome that balances risks and promotes the safety of all.

'Where there are any concerns about any risks posed by an individual, either to themselves or others, we retain the ability to keep them separate from the mainstream population until an agreed management plan is in place.'

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: 'The placement of prisoners is an operational matter for the Scottish Prison Service who use comprehensive individualised risk assessments to inform decisions, such as the appropriate location of transgender people in custody.

'SPS is reviewing their policy on managing transgender prisoners in partnership with the Scottish Government and that process is nearing completion.'
Friends and family described her as a 'beautiful' young girl who loved to dance

A 16-year-old has been charged with the murder of a 15-year-old girl who was stabbed to death in Hexham on Friday.

The young girl, named locally as Holly Newton and also known as Holly Olivia, was stabbed on Friday evening just hours after leaving school.

Friends have described Holly Olivia, of Haltwhistle in Northumberland, as a 'beautiful' girl who loved to dance.

The boy, who will appear before magistrates in Newcastle tomorrow, has been charged with murder, attempted murder and possession of an offensive weapon.

Holly Newton (pictured), who is also known as Holly Olivia, was stabbed on Friday evening just hours after leaving school

Holly Olivia, of Haltwhistle in Northumberland, died in hospital on Friday evening shortly after being stabbed in the street

One friend said on Facebook: 'It's such a cruel world that we live in. It's saddens me so much you were taken from us at such a young age.'

A candle-lighting service has been held at Hexham Abbey so people could pay tribute to Holly, who lived in Haltwhistle, a market town about 15 miles west of Hexham.

Yesterday family and friends laid messages, floral tributes and teddy bears outside the Halifax bank on Priestpopple in Hexham, in a touching tribute.

One message left by loved one reads: 'All our love to the most beautiful girl in the world. We will miss you forever Holly'.

Another read: 'To our baby Holly. Our hearts hurt so much right now. We love you so much'.

A GoFundMe page has been set up in memory of Holly, with donations surpassing its 3,000 target in less than a day.

Officers from Northumbria Police were called shortly after 5.10pm on Friday to a report of a teenage boy and girl injured in the Priestpopple area of Hexham.

Floral tributes were left at the scene in Hexham, Northumberland today after the double stabbing

Family and friends laid messages, floral tributes and teddy bears in memory of Holly Olivia

One message left by loved one reads: 'All our love to the most beautiful girl in the world. We will miss you forever Holly'. Pictured: Tributes left at the scene

Emergency services attended where the boy, 16, and Holly Olivia suffered serious injuries 'consistent with having been caused by a bladed article'.

Both teenagers were taken to hospital. Holly Olivia later died that evening while the boy suffered serious, non-life-threatening injuries.

The suspect and the victim were known to each other, police have said.

In a statement today the force said: 'Holly still had so much left to look forward to in life, and this tragic incident has left her family devastated beyond words.

'Our thoughts are with both families involved and their loved ones as we continue to support them in every way we can.

'The investigation is ongoing, and we would like to thank the people of Hexham  and beyond  who have greatly assisted with our enquiries and shown their support.

'While our enquiries continue, we do believe all those involved are known to each other and there is no wider risk to the public.

'Officers will remain in the area over the coming days, and we would encourage anyone with concerns to speak directly with them.'

Another tribute read: 'To our baby Holly. Our hearts hurt so much right now. We love you so much'. Pictured: Tributes left at the scene last night

Friends and family have described Holly Olivia as a 'beautiful' girl who loved to dance

Chief Superintendent Sam Rennison, of Northumbria Police, said it is 'tragic news' and that police believe all those involved are known to each other.

At a press conference on Saturday, she said: 'First and foremost, our hearts go out to her loved ones at this truly devastating time.

'A 16-year-old boy who was also injured during the incident remains in hospital in a stable condition.

'He and his family are also very much in our thoughts. An investigation was immediately launched and while this is at the very early stages, we do believe all those involved are known to each other.

'We would like to thank the public for their continued support and co-operation.

'In particular, those who tried to provide assistance yesterday to the injured boy and girl at the scene.'

A 16-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of murder having initially been arrested on suspicion of assault

Specialist search team carry out their investigation at the scene

Derek Kennedy, mayor of Hexham, said today: 'The whole town is still coming to terms with this, it's been a massive shock.

'I was at Hexham Abbey where they've held a service for Holly, I lit a candle as did other people to pay tribute.

'A young girl who's just starting life and attending the local high school, starting her education and getting out there, it's just terrible, as a town we pay tribute to her.

'It's going to have a big impact on all the schoolchildren when they go back on Monday because one of their own won't be coming back ever again.'

Following Friday's incident he said: 'It's an absolute tragedy, the town is in complete shock, to lose one of our children who attends a local high school is just horrendous.

'Parents are really anxious for the health of their children because they're all a part of this community, the schools are all really anxious that their children are really feeling the pain and suffering and shock of such an awful incident.

'In the Hexham community we have a very low crime rate, generally, it's a community that looks after one another, we were awarded the happiest place to live in Great Britain last year.

'It's a very warm and loving community so for a tragedy such as this to happen, we always find it much more difficult and it's knocked everyone for six.

'To happen to such a young person and the alleged perpetrator to be a young person, in the high street at 5pm, is just shocking, everyone is just shocked and struggling to come to terms with it, it will ruin so many lives.'

Anyone with information is asked to contact police via the 'Tell Us Something' page on the Northumbria Police website or by calling 101 quoting log NP-20230127-0795.
Prince Harry once accidentally triggered a panic alarm at St James's Palace when he returned worse the wear after a night out and fell over in a guard's sentry box, it has been claimed.

A former soldier told how the prince fell into the sentry box and set off the alarm by accident, triggering an armed response by palace guards and armed police.

The Duke of Sussex, who was 27 at the time of the alleged incident in 2012, was described as 'blind drunk' by the soldier, who served in the army for more than a decade before being injured by shrapnel from an IED in Afghanistan.

Prince Harry was also in the army at the time of the incident, but is believed to have been off-duty and partying with civilian friends, the Sun reports.

Prince Harry, who was 27 at the time of the alleged incident in 2012, was described as 'blind drunk' by the soldier

Sentry boxes, seen at most royal residences including Buckingham Palace, are occupied by guards during the day but kept empty at night (Pictured: Guard at Buckingham Palace, stock image)

The veteran told the paper how the alarm was set off at around midnight, triggering three members of the palace's QRF (Quick Response Force) and two armed Metropolitan Police officers to dash to the scene.

There they found a 'blind drunk' Prince Harry, who had collapsed inside the box.

The ex-soldier said: 'He was slurring his words, not making any sense.

'When we tried to pick him up he started yelling, "get off me, I don't need any help".

'He was pushing us off and being very abusive.'

The group helped the prince back to his apartment before leaving him to sleep it off.

A commander then called the guard room the following morning and insisted that the incident be kept secret, the former soldier claims.

Sentry boxes, seen at most royal residences including Buckingham Palace, are occupied by guards during the day but kept empty at night.

Prince Harry's former party lifestyle has been well-documented and includes an infamous trip to Vegas in which he was snapped wearing nothing but a necklace following a game of strip billiards.

But in Spare, he hinted this lifestyle was a reaction to his troubled upbringing, describing how he took cocaine as a teen to try and feel something. He wrote: 'That was my main goal. To feel.'

In the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's recent Netflix docuseries, Prince Harry described how he did not cry for years following the death of his mother, Princess Diana.

Prince Harry pictured on a night out at the Cuckoo Club in London with brother Prince William in 2006

Prince Harry on patrol in the deserted town of Garmsir, southern Afghanistan, in 2008

Harry reportedly detailed the shock revelation in his tell-all memoir Spare that has been leaked days before it was due to be published

The source also hit out at Harry's revelations in controversial memoir Spare that he killed 25 Taliban members in combat.

He said kill counts were something 'you never talk about' and accused the prince of stoking the flames of political uncertainty in Afghanistan.

The Duke of Sussex, who was known as 'Captain Wales' in the military, wrote that he did not think of those killed 'as people' but instead 'chess pieces' he had taken off the board.

The prince was first deployed to Helmand province as a forward air controller in 2007, but his first tour of duty was cut short when an Australian magazine broke a media embargo by mistake.

However, he returned in 2012 with the Ministry of Defence publicising his second deployment on the understanding that the media would allow him to get on with the job at hand.

After he learnt to fly Apache helicopters, Harry was deployed to Camp Bastion in southern Afghanistan in 2012 where he stayed for 20 weeks.

Representatives for Prince Harry have been contacted for comment.
A family were furious to find their great grandmother was handed a 50 Asda voucher from the housing association after her council flat was destroyed in blaze.

Agnis Asumadu-Sakyi, 68, was devastated to find that not only was her council flat burned down, but that she was to be sent only a 50 Asda voucher as compensation.

The fire was thought to have been caused by a cigarette carelessly discarded on a shared balcony outside the flat Agnis had called home for the last 27 years.

It took more than 70 firefighters to tackle the blaze which destroyed her ninth-floor flat in Bow, East London, on January 14.

Agnis Asumadu-Sakyi, 68, miraculously survived after her home of 27 years was destroyed when a careless smoker threw their cigarette onto her balcony

Agnis watched on helplessly as the home where she raised her children went up in an inferno.

After reaching out for support, the great-grandmother received the gift card from her housing association, despite the fact that the top executive takes home 233,000 a year.

The 68-year-old is now living with her daughter, Chelsea Cambell, following the disaster.

Chelsea, 36, said the paltry supermarket voucher only made things worse for her mother who had already suffered a great deal.

She told The Mirror: 'They should be doing something more to help. No one's even come to see her face to face. It's been so shocking.'

Agnis was initially put up in a hotel by her housing association, however, she moved in with Chelsea at her home in London while she recovers from an illness she believes has been brought on by stress.

The Sainsbury's worker was also offered a replacement flat, but the offer was rejected as a result of local antisocial behaviour and the distance from her family.

In response to the situation, housing association Poplar HARCA said: 'We have provided Mrs Asumadu-Sakyi with hotel accommodation until a suitable new home is available.'
Father-of-six tried to rescue two swimmers stuck in a rip

A man who drowned at a Sydney beach on Saturday while trying to save two strangers has been identified as the uncle of NRL star Marty Tapau.

Father-of-six Talitiga Taupau is being remembered as a hero after swimming into a rip at Shelly Beach in Cronulla in a bid to save the struggling swimmers.

While one swimmer aged in his 20s made it back to the shore, Mr Talitiga and another swimmer were found unconscious and were pulled from the water by lifesavers.

Mr Talitiga could not be saved and tragically died at the scene.

Talitiga Taupau (pictured) is being remembered as a hero after tragically drowning while trying to rescue two swimmers stuck in a rip in Cronulla

The other man, who was in his 40s, is in a critical condition after being underwater for three minutes and has been taken to St George Hospital for treatment.

The 44-year-old was the uncle of Martin Taupau, who was driving to Brisbane with his family ready to start training with the Brisbane Broncos when he was told the tragic news.

'It's really sad that this has happened but he will never be forgotten for his actions,' Tapau said.

Surf Life Saving NSW's Director of Lifesaving Joel Wiseman told 9News volunteer rescuers are under enormous strain after numerous drownings across this state this summer.

'We are experiencing one of our busiest summers ever with huge rescue numbers, and our volunteers have put in a massive effort to try to keep people safe along the coast,' he said.

'Despite the growing drowning toll, volunteers and lifeguards should be very proud of what they've achieved so far this summer.'

The 44-year-old uncle of NRL star Marty Taupau was pulled unconscious from the water and died at the scene

NRL star Marty Taupau,32, (pictured) told 9News that his uncle 'will never be forgotten for his actions'

'There are a combination of factors making this summer so deadly', he added, 'including people taking risks, alcohol consumption, and crowded beaches which can lead beachgoers to seek out unfamiliar and unpatrolled locations'.

'Rip currents remain the number one coastal hazard and the 14 coastal drowning deaths this summer have all occurred at unpatrolled locations.'

NSW Police continue inquiries in the area, and will prepare a report for the coroner.

The patrolled area of the beach was closed for the rest of Saturday.

This latest drowning incident takes the New South Wales drowning death toll to 14 since December 1.
Blustery showers and severe gales are expected in some parts of the UK today, as the Environment Agency puts in place 34 flood alerts and warning.

While southern parts of the UK can expect a largely grey day, with patches of drizzle, brighter spells are expected later on.

A large band of rain, however, is expected to push North over Scotland into Northern Ireland, with showers becoming heavy in places.

This will result in wind gusts between 50 and 60 mph in the Scottish hills, with the Pennines also seeing gusts up to 45mph.

Blustery showers and severe gales are expected in some parts of the UK today, as the Environment Agency puts in place 34 flood alerts and warning

There are nine flood warnings currently in place, meaning flooding is expected in places including the Ebble Valley, Tarrant Valley and Wylye Valley at Winton

Later on in the day, temperatures will reach between 8C and 12C in some places, due to a Foehn effect, which changes wet and cold conditions on one mountainside, to warmer and drier conditions.

The band of rain will then move south-eastwards, heading towards England and Wales.

There are nine flood warnings currently in place, meaning flooding is expected in places including the Ebble Valley, Tarrant Valley and Wylye Valley at Winton.

There are also 25 flood alerts in place, meaning flooding is possible. These are in place in areas in the west of Dorset, the Salisbury Plain area and Patcham.

The Environment Agency has also put in place 25 flood alerts, which means flooding is possible. Pictured: A river burst it banks in Salisbury

In the early hours of tomorrow morning a barrage of hail and snow is expected in some parts of Scotland, for most, however, the rain is expected to ease off and winds are expected to die down.

The frontal system will linger around Cornwall, bring some patches of rain.

Temperatures tomorrow will stay around 8C 10C, which is average for this time of year.

Met meteorologist Alex Burkhill added: 'The daytime could see some high temperatures, with 12c or 13C in parts of Scotland, which is unusual for January.

There are also 25 flood alerts in place, meaning flooding is possible. These are in place in areas in the west of Dorset, the Salisbury Plain area and Patcham

'High winds and severe gales are expected going into Monday, while Tuesday and Wednesday could be very windy in Scotland and the North.

'The winds aren't unusual for this time of year but could be potentially disruptive.'

A yellow weather warning has since been put in place for the whole of Scotland between the hours of 8pm on Tuesday and 9am on Wednesday.

Strong winds of up to 80mph are expected to hit Scotland and parts of northern England next week.

Meteorologists said the extreme weather, caused by a deep area of low pressure passing to the north of Scotland, will likely cause strong winds in parts of northern England too.

A yellow weather warning has since been put in place for the whole of Scotland between the hours of 8pm on Tuesday and 9am on Wednesday

Forecasters said travel could be disrupted in the affected areas, such as ferry crossings, during the high winds, and there could also be some damage to buildings.

They said there is also a slight chance that power cuts may occur, with the potential to affect other services, such as mobile phone coverage.

The Met Office said while gusts of up to 60mph are expected 'fairly widely' across Scotland and northern England, there remains 'uncertainty' on how the weather could affect Scotland's Central Belt.

The stronger 80mph winds will 'most likely' be felt over the north of mainland Scotland and the islands of Lewis and Orkney

The stronger 80mph winds will 'most likely' be felt over the north of mainland Scotland and the islands of Lewis and Orkney.

Dan Stroud, operational meteorologist at the Met Office said: 'We are expecting a deep area of low pressure to pass to the north of Scotland late Tuesday and into Wednesday.

'It is likely to bring a spell of strong and gusty winds to much of Scotland and northern England.

'The strongest winds will be across Scotland with gusts fairly widely up to 60mph and a risk of gusts reaching 80mph, most likely over the north of mainland Scotland, Lewis and Orkney.'
Putin's top commander in Ukraine has launched a war against Russian military bloggers who have criticised tactics on frontline by imposing new reporting restrictions.

Russia's leading commander in Ukraine, General Valery Gerasimov, is enforcing strict reporting rules on Russian military bloggers who have previously attacked his tactics and strategies.

He is now demanding that bloggers wear blue 'press' body armour and stick to strict embedding regulations.

The commander of Russian forces in Ukraine was appointed three weeks ago according to the US-based Institute for the Study of War.

Russia's leading commander in Ukraine, General Valery Gerasimov, is enforcing strict reporting rules on Russian military bloggers

The Telegraph reported that they claimed: 'The Russian military command may also be attempting to resurrect its previously unsuccessful censorship efforts targeting the critical milblogger community'.

These orders come after General Gerasimov's previous orders to Russian soldiers to keep up their appearances by shaving and getting haircuts.

It is believed that these were implemented as a means of undermining shabby Wagner mercenaries, which were frequently outside of Russian military control, such as Chechen fighters.

The administration of these new reporting rules have not gone down well with Russian military bloggers as they argue the true reason behind them are to also undermine them.

Russian military bloggers work has become increasingly significant and influential since the beginning of the war against Ukraine last year.

These bloggers are exposed to millions who look to them for a more refined insight into the Russian perspective of the battlefields in Ukraine in comparison to what the Kremlin's propaganda machine is prepared to offer.

However, despite the fact that these commentators have demonstrated a favour for the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine last February, the competence and leadership skills of the commanders have frequently been called into question.

Vladimir Putin has also found himself to be the subject of scrutiny at the hands of bloggers for appointing General Gerasimov as the overall commander of Russian forces in Ukraine as opposed to the preferred choice of General Sergei Surovikin.

They are typically found to be more impressed by the exploits of the Wagner mercenaries and the Chechen fighters than they are of the Russian soldiers.

Vladimir Putin faced scrutiny from the military bloggers for appointing General Gerasimov as the overall commander of Russian forces in Ukraine

'Those who came up with this legislation are waging war against us using every method. Including dirty ones,' said Russian military blogger Alexander Kots, according to The Telegraph.

The Institute for the Study of War also added that General Gerasimov was facing the danger that his new rules could create an 'information vacuum' for Wagner-linked bloggers 'who have a significantly stronger distaste for the Russian ministry of defence' to fill.
A heroic army dog who saved countless lives by sniffing out five IED bombs during a raid against the Taliban has been awarded the animal version of the Victoria Cross.

Bass, a Belgian Shepherd who served in the US Marine Corps, has become the 75th animal to win the PDSA's Dickin Medal.

The award was launched by the UK charity in 1943 after its founder, Maria Dickin, realised the amount of lives animals - mostly dogs and carrier pigeons - saved in war.

Bass spent six years in the US Marine Special Operation Command and conducted more than 350 explosive sweeps in 46 missions in Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia.

Heroic army dog Bass who saved countless lives by sniffing out five IED bombs during a raid against the Taliban has been awarded the animal version of the Victoria Cross

Bass, a Belgian Shepherd who served in the US Marine Corps, has become the 75th animal to win the PDSA's Dickin Medal

Now aged 10 - about 53 in human years - Bass has retired and lives with his former handler, Staff Sergeant Alex Schnell (pictured), in San Antonio, Texas

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Now aged 10 - about 53 in human years - Bass has retired and lives with his former handler, Staff Sergeant Alex Schnell, in San Antonio, Texas.

Bass was nominated for the award by former US Marine Corps dog handler Chris Willingham.

Jan McLoughlin, the director general of the PDSA, praised Bass for his devotion to duty.

She said: 'Bass displayed conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in aiding the success of his team's mission that evening in 2019; his actions undoubtedly prevented additional loss of life.

'Bass' life-saving actions on that night, make him a truly deserving recipient of the PDSA Dickin Medal.

'Whether they are working dogs like Bass, or pets in our homes, animals have a truly unique role in our lives.

'Every day in our Pet Hospitals, PDSA's vets and vet nurses see and protect the incredible bond between pets and their owners, which is why PDSA continues our founder Maria Dickin's mission - to ensure no pet suffers because of their owners financial circumstances and to honour the incredible role they play in our society.

'Bass is a wonderful example of how vital animals are. His exceptional abilities and determination were apparent to all who served with him, and he was a clearly respected member of the team. I am proud to present him with the PDSA Dickin Medal.'

Mr Schnell, said: 'It is truly one of my greatest honours to see Bass awarded the PDSA Dickin Medal.

'Bass is an incredible dog and I hope his story helps to demonstrate just how important animals are to our armed forces, and the key, sometimes life-saving, roles that they play.

'We are all incredibly proud that PDSA has recognised Bass in this way.'

Mr Willingham, who nominated Bass, said: 'Bass and Alex made an incredible team and were amongst the top five per cent of Marines I had the honour of serving with.

'Bass' service and skill demonstrates the finest traditions of K-9 and I am thrilled to see his achievements recognised with the PDSA Dickin Medal.'

During a night-time raid to capture a Taliban bomb-maker in Helmand Province in May 2019, enemy soldiers opened fire and detonated an IED.

Bass was nominated for the award by former US Marine Corps dog handler Chris Willingham

Mr Schnell (pictured), said: 'It is truly one of my greatest honours to see Bass awarded the PDSA Dickin Medal'

He added: 'Bass is an incredible dog and I hope his story helps to demonstrate just how important animals are to our armed forces, and the key, sometimes life-saving, roles that they play'

In order to avoid a frontal assault against the barricaded enemy position, the team began clearance of a nearby building to allow them to gain a safer vantage point

Bass took the lead in the clearance and immediately identified an IED located adjacent to the doorway of the building.

After finding another entry to the building, Bass continued to sweep the structure and identified four additional IEDs.

The PDSA Dickin Medal is a large, bronze medallion bearing the words 'For Gallantry' and 'We Also Serve' all within a laurel wreath.

The Medal has been awarded 75 times to 38 dogs, 32 pigeons, four horses and one cat.
'Bizarre' mystery continues on how it fell from the truck

A radioactive capsule that fell off the back of a truck in the West Australian outback three weeks ago has left authorities scratching their heads on what went wrong during the 1400km journey.

General Manager of Radiation Services WA Lauren Steen told The Project on Sunday she's never heard of something like this happening before and has called it a 'one in a hundred year event'.

'It's the most bizarre scenario that I have ever come across before', she said.

The capsule which posses serious public risks, is believed to have fallen off the back of a truck during transit from Gudai Darri, West Australian Rio Tinto mine to a depot in the Perth suburb of Malaga.

The incident has left people scratching their heads on how the tiny but deadly capsule was lost during its 1400km transit

When hosts of the Channel Ten show asked how the 6mm by 8mm unit of hazardous material fell off during transport, Ms Steen replied that she has no idea because the regulations are extremely tight.

'The casings that [the capsules] travel in are meant to be there for 15 years,' she said.

'So they're placed against rigorous testing to be certified for vibrations and heat.

'You have to be licensed [to transport hazardous materials],' she explained, 'you have to pass the state exam in order to obtain a license and there's many chain of custody forms that need to be filled out and looked after.'

Ms Steen said if anyone picked up the capsule it would cause significant harm.

'What you'd probably start to notice is that if it was in your hand for a substantial period of time, you'd start to notice some radiation burns and then some tissue damage around the surrounding area,' she said.

WA Authorities said the the small silver cylinder (left) is similar to the size of an Australia 10 cent coin (right)

Authorities suspect a screw came loose inside the large lead-lined gauge it was contained in, causing the unit to fall through a hole left by the missing fastener.

An investigation into the mysterious incident has been launched but emergency services who say they are hampered in their efforts by a lack of equipment.

They have called on the Commonwealth and other states to provide more equipment, whilst teams with handheld radiation detection devices and metal detectors have been deployed by the Department of Fire and Emergency Services.

Ms Steen said search crews are now carrying out a painstaking foot survey along the lengthy stretch of dessert road.

General Manager of Radiation Services WA Lauren Steen (pictured) said the capsules undergo rigorous testing to be certified for vibrations and heat

'They're using radiation survey equipment that's calibrated for the right energies that the source would be giving out,' she said.

'Doing it step by step, [they're] using the equipment and looking for the signals that would be elevated if it was in or around the source.'

Superintendent Darryl Ray said search teams were concentrating on populated areas north of Perth and strategic sites along 36km of the busy freight route down the Great Northern Highway.

'What we're not doing is trying to find a tiny little device by eyesight', he told reporters on Saturday.

'We're using the radiation detectors to locate the gamma rays.'

Authorities are also using the truck's GPS data to determine the exact route the driver took and where it stopped after it left the mine on or about January 10.

There are concerns the solid capsule may have already become lodged in another vehicle's tyre and potentially be hundreds of kilometres away from the search area.

Search crews are concentrating on populated areas north of Perth and strategic sites along the Great Northern Highway (pictured)

Chief Health Officer Andrew Robertson defended the WA government's decision to wait two days to inform the public on Friday, saying the mine and depot had to be searched and excluded, and the route confirmed.

He said the capsule was packed in accordance with the radiation safety transport and regulations inside a box bolted onto a pallet.

'We believe the vibration of the truck may have impacted the integrity of the gauge, that it fell apart and the source actually came out of it,' he said.

'It is unusual for a gauge to come apart like this one has.'

An investigation will look at the handling of the gauge and capsule at the mine site, the transport route used and the procedures at the depot in Perth after it arrived on January 16.

Authorities have ruled out theft at the depot before the box was opened on Wednesday, saying there was anti-tampering tape on the box.

Police have determined the incident to be an accident and no criminal charges are likely.
A charity 'department store' open in a north London shopping centre is the UK's first with donated clothing supplied by 10 different organisations.

The UK's first multi-charity store, Charity Super.Mkt, has opened its doors at Brent Cross Shopping Centre.

The north London pop-up shop will be open for a month until February 27 as the nation calls for cheaper and more sustainable shopping amid the cost of living crisis.

The store sells second-hand donated clothes provided by 10 well-known British charities, such as Cancer Research and Barnardo's.

The UK's first multi-charity store, Charity Super.Mkt, has opened its doors at Brent Cross Shopping Centre in North London

The first of its kind pop-up shop will be open for a month until February 27 for shoppers to enjoy

The other charities offering their donations include Age UK, All Aboard, Emmaus, Havens Hospice, SCT, Marie Curie, TRAID and Shelter.

The idea behind the shop came from Wayne Hemingway, founder of the Red or Dead fashion brand, and Maria Chenoweth, the CEO of TRAID (Textile Reuse and International Development).

Ms Chenoweth told the BBC the pair were motivated to put the project in place as charity retailers 'weren't getting the recognition they deserved'.

The CEO believed that this came as a result of sustainable second-hand clothing being 'hijacked' by more established companies to attract socially aware shoppers.

Mr Hemingway believes the increase in popularity in second-hand shops come as a result of younger generations looking to 'supplement their income'

Mr Hemingway added that another inclination for opening the pop-up store was to combat the 'old-fashioned' mentality that High Street charity shops were a 'sign of decline'.

'When you look at the demographic of people who are shopping in charity shops, it's the people who are leading the way in thinking,' he said.

Both Ms Chenoweth and Mr Hemingway encouraged the idea that the assumptions made about charity shops needed to be dismissed - this comes as 65% of people across the United Kingdom wear second-hand clothes at least once a week.

Ms Chenoweth argued that charity shop are beginning to become the norm for shoppers nowadays, as according to her, some charity shop companies have seen a 20 per cent increase in sales post-pandemic.

Her co-founder partner added that this increase was a result of younger generations looking to 'supplement their income' as many buy to resell them online, becoming a useful 'side-hustle' for 'entrepreneurial' young Londoners.

He thinks this is a 'win-win' situation for youths working to pay the rent and the charities they were buying from.

Charity shop are beginning to become the norm for shoppers nowadays as people discover the wonderful clothes on offer

However, his business partner asserted that the rise in demand for sustainable fashion was not only a result of the current economy, but instead is 'mainly driven' by shoppers' concerns about the enviroment.

Two keen shoppers, Isaac, 24, and Lauren, 22, told the BBC this was their main incentive for visiting charity shops.

The pair agreed that buying previously used clothing feels better as they get to give back to charity and find great quality clothing at the same time.

Another shopper, Anita, was interested in visiting the shop while shopping in Brent Cross as it offered something different from the every-day High Street charity shops.

Shoppers spoke of how they enjoy shopping at charity shops as it allows them the opportunity to give back to those in need

The co-founders have hope to see Charity Super.Mkt featured in cities across the whole UK

Fabia, from Brighton, who is a big enthusiast for sustainable clothing and was dressed from head to tie in charity shop clothing found the new pop-up shop delightful because 'there's more choice'.

Fabia added that with the closing down of bigger clothing brands in local highstreets, there is a gap in the market for these types of stores.

Opened in a former Topshop store, the space had been empty for two years until now.

The store features recycled fittings, and some of the hangers and the plastic bags are left behind by Sir Philip Greens former fashion empire.

Ms Chenoweth and Mr Hemingway announced that they have big aspirations in store for Charity Super.Mkt and hope to feature the shop in cities across the UK.
Activists, community leaders and residents from across the state rallied in Hartford Saturday to call for justice and accountability for Tyre Nichols, as well as protecting Black, brown, and LGBTQ communities against police brutality.

We are disturbed, we are upset, and we say that something has to change. It is clear that Black, brown, and LGTBQ+ people are not being protected under the democratic system, said the Rev. Cornell Lewis. Either they cant protect us or they wont protect us. Something else has to be done. It doesnt seem as if we can thrive under this system.

The rally took place as the nation and the city of Memphis struggled to come to grips Saturday with video showing police pummeling Tyre Nichols  footage that left many unanswered questions about the traffic stop involving the Black motorist and about other law enforcement officers who stood by as he lay motionless on the pavement.

One of the former Memphis Police Department officers charged in the beating death of Nichols graduated from Bloomfield High School, according to Bloomfield Public Schools.

The five Memphis Police Department officers, who are also Black, have been fired and charged with second-degree murder and other crimes in Nichols death three days after the arrest. The video released Friday renewed questions about how fatal encounters with law enforcement continue even after repeated calls for change.

It brought people out in Connecticut and across the nation to demand justice and change, just as many had in the wake of the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis in 2020.

The death of Nichols and release of the brutal video brought Lewis, The Self Defense Brigade, and dozens of community leaders/members from throughout the state to rally in the Capital city for justice and accountability.

The Rev. Cornell Lewis speaking to the crowd of community members during the rally for justice for Tyre Nichols on Jan. 28, 2023 in Hartford Conn.

Lewis said that when he watched the video of Nichols being beaten by the five police officers, he saw an urban, behind the alleybeatdown  reminding him of his own upbringing in the South Side of Chicago.

When you hold a mans arms open like that and you hurt his ribs, kidney, and his liver, you intend to hurt him. That has nothing to do with police work. That had to do with a gang curb stomping. Thats what they call it and thats exactly what they did to [Nichols]. He wasnt trying to fight backthat is nothing that you learn in the police force, Lewis said.

Lewis said that although its been 2 1/2 years since the murder of George Floyd by police officers, these incidents are continuing to happen.

If we cant live with dignity, if the government cant protect us, then we have to protect ourselves, he said.

Lewis and community members are advocating for change in the current power structure to something that allows everyone to live with dignity.

He said that he hopes that the rally will send a message to those in power that they will not continue to accept community members dying due to police brutality within any state.

What you see today is not the end of this rally, its the beginningwe are putting them on noticewe are not going to accept the fact that you beat us like a damn rabid dog in the street. It happens far too many times and we have to do something about this, he said.

Other in the rally spoke about their feelings about the death of Nichols, before taking the rally to the Hartford Police Department on High Street.

Hartford resident Natale Langlaise, a teacher, said she came out because she is really, really concerned.

Im traumatized. I could not look at the video, she said. As a Black woman, I am concerned for the number of black men being incarcerated and killed. You know, its destroying family structures and community values. So you know, we were out here because were concerned.

Kasike Yerbero said that he really appreciated seeing all the white community members coming to the rally  as their support is needed to fight against racism.

I want the police and everybody to know that violence is the justice of the poor, he said.

Community Member leading the crowd to chant for Justice for Tyre Nichols.

Yerbero said that he also is angry about the good cops and demanded that this is the time they should step up and prevent such incidents.

Its your time to step up now and start arresting all the criminals in your police force, so that you can gain the trust of the community back, he said.

As the community members rallied at the Hartford Police Department on High Street, Chief of Police Jason Thody came out and spoke to them about his feelings about the recent death of Nichols.

He thanked everyone for coming out in support of Nichols. Thody had earlier Saturday issued a statement condemning what occurred in Memphis and saying What those officers in Memphis did was deplorable and a fundamental violation of the oath they swore to uphold.

Its a sad day. I hate that we have to do this again, that we have to be together again  talking about this. Theres no words for this, Thody said. This was a murder. I do give kudos to the Justice Department and everyone that treated as such, quickly firing those officers, criminally charging those officers. I wish it never happened.

Rev. Cornell Lewis and Chief of Police Jason Thody speaking during the rally for Justice for Tyre Nichols.

He apologized on behalf of his profession and said that these incidents are a setback to the work they are doing within the state.

No excuses for it. Myself and this department grieves with the family, we grieve for the community of Memphis, Thody said. We are committed to being better than that and we will continue to do that.

A Memphis police spokeswoman declined to comment on the role played by other officers who showed up at the scene where Nichols was beaten.

Memphis Police Director Cerelyn CJ Davis has said that other officers are under investigation, and Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner said two deputies have been relieved of duty without pay while their conduct is investigated.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Russia's top brass are 'horrified' at Vladimir Putin's demand for an urgent new military offensive on multiple fronts in Ukraine, it has been claimed.

They fear more 'slaughter' as new analysis suggests the Kremlin has now lost a staggering total of more than 175,000 troops in the war.

Putin's demand for his war supremo General Valery Gerasimov to unleash 'an assault in several directions at once' has evoked deep divisions in his high command, political analyst Valery Solovey has alleged.

Dr Solovey is a former professor at Moscow's prestigious Institute of International Relations, a training school for diplomats and spies.

Political analyst Valery Solovey has said Putin's demand to unleash 'an assault in several directions at once' has evoked deep divisions in his high command

General Valery Gerasimov, chief of the Russian army's general staff, is under pressure by Putin to attack in more than one direction

He said on pro-opposition Khodorkovsky Live channel: 'The Army General Staff is terrified by the instructions of the commander-in-chief [Putin]. I am not exaggerating. They are horrified.

'They are afraid to lose the remaining armed forces in the slaughter that they are being dragged into by [Putin's] order.'

Despite senior commanders giving up hope for their 'goal of winning' the war, they will obey Putin.

Dr Solovey said: 'Well, they saluted - "As you wish, Your Highness, you're the genius, you know it better than us, you started it all, and our job is to sort it out now".

Senior commanders have allegedly given up hope for their 'goal of winning' the war, but they will continue to obey Putin (pictured)

The Kremlin high command fear more 'slaughter' as it has lost a total of more than 175,000 troops in the war. Pictured: General Valery Gerasimov, left, and Russian Minister of Defence Sergei Shoigu, right

'This [offensive] is all planned for February. And Gerasimov, a close ally of defence minister Sergei Shoigu, is the "most capable of Russian generals".

But the top brass in the general staff 'are afraid they won't make it in time, because Ukraine might obtain new weapons - more dangerous, more modern, offensive [from the West].

'That's why now is the last chance to try to strike Ukraine, but not with the goal of winning,' Dr Solovey said.

'This is very important to understand. There is no [longer] such goal at all. The goal is totally different - to end it in an honourable way. That is, to achieve peace.

'It's about keeping a minimum of [Russian gains]. That is Donbas, a part of new territories - not all of them, and to defend Crimea. They are not expecting more.'

His analysis is far from the public position of the Kremlin which insists Putin's military adventure is going according to plan.

This comes as Telegram channel General SVR suggests the 'irretrievable military operational losses of manpower' in the Russian army is more than 126,500, a rise of more than 20,000 this month.

On top of this, there have been more than 44,000 killed in pro-Kremlin private military armies operating in Ukraine to support Putin's illegal invasion.

If true, it means more than 10,000 lost in this month's heavy fighting in these private military companies - the best known of which is Wagner, substantially staffed by prisoners released from Russian jails to fight for Putin.

In addition, more than 6,250 Russian national guards have been slain, states the channel.

The overall toll is put at 176,863. The channel's figures for war losses are routinely higher than other sources.
A woman arrested for the assault of two police officers during protests in New York over the death of Tyre Nichols has been freed without bail, in a move signed off on by the city's famously soft-on-crime district attorney.

Candy Nicole, who has a prior arrest for grabbing a male partner's testicles during an argument, was released on her own recognizance Saturday following a brief appearance in New York County Criminal Court. Notably, DA Alvin Braggs office did not object to the decision.

Hours before, the 25-year-old was one of three New Yorkers arrested as thousands descended on Times Square to protest the police brutality death of Nichols, a 29-year-old black man killed earlier this month during a traffic stop by Memphis police.

The procession was one of several across the country to turn violent after Memphis police's release of video showing the murder Friday, following the department decision this month to charge the five officers involved with murder.

Scroll down for video:

Candy Nicole, one of three arrested during protests in Manhattan Friday, was released on her own recognizance Saturday following a brief appearance in New York County Criminal Court

Tyre Nichols, 29, was beaten by five Memphis, Tennessee, cops on January 7 and died days later in the hospital. Previously unseen footage of his murder spurred the protests. Earlier this month, the Memphis PD said it had charged the five officers involved with murder

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, the lawyer who represented the family of George Floyd in the wake of his 2020 police beating death, applauded the department's decision to charge the officers Friday, calling the move 'remarkably swift' and saying it likely prevented more riots

That decision was applauded Friday as 'remarkably swift' by civil rights attorney Ben Crump, the lawyer who represented the family of George Floyd in the wake of his 2020 police beating death, who said the move likely prevented more riots.

Of the three arrested during the demonstration in the Big Apple - which saw a man pulled off the hood of an NYPD patrol car after smashing its windshield with his foot - Nicole is the only one facing more than a misdemeanor.

On Friday, she was hit with a charge of assault as well as hate crime assault, reportedly for insulting one of the officers as she struck him in the face.

Now accused of punching two officers, Nicole 'maintains her innocence,' her lawyer Caroline Glickler said Saturday, claiming her client was a victim of 'unnecessary police force' during the Friday night incident.

Video filmed during the unrest showed cops pulling one of the suspects off the hood of the defaced police cruiser, shortly after he smashed its windshield with his foot. The suspect, career criminal Argenis Rivera, 33, is facing charges of criminal mischief - a misdemeanor

The procession - like several others in cities like Memphis, Los Angeles, and Atlanta - began shortly after the horrific footage was released by the Memphis Police Department Friday, first surfacing in Union Square and continuing up into Midtown just before 8pm.

Cops were filmed attempting to keep a lid on the disorder, which began as peaceful but quickly turned violent after one demonstrator, identified as as 33-year-old Argenis Rivera, jumped atop a parked police cruiser.

The outburst sparked a chain of events that would eventually lead to Nicole's arrest as well as Rivera's, who authorities Saturday confirmed to be a career criminal before granting him house arrest - a decision also signed off on by Bragg.

Cops were filmed attempting to keep a lid on the disorder, which was mostly peaceful but turned violent after one demonstrator, identified as Argenis Rivera, jumped atop a parked cop cruiser. The outburst sparked a chain of events that would lead to both being arrested

A third suspect, identified Saturday as 34-year-old Katherine Stone, was grabbed for trying to deface the same cruiser with graffiti

Currently facing a charge of criminal mischief, Rivera was held on $10,000 bail only after authorities noted the nature of suspect's most recent arrest, which came in October for allegedly strangling an unsuspecting mom.

The 43-year-old victim, police said, had been pushing her two-year-old in a stroller when she was assaulted by the repeat offender in Chelsea.

In that incident, Rivera - who has 12 other arrests - reportedly punched the unnamed victim in the face and then began choking her while screaming, 'I am not letting go until police come!... I want to die by police.'

He proceeded to assault another woman who witnessed the incident on a bench nearby, pressing a pair of keys to her throat, saying, 'Go ahead call the cops I dont care, police said Saturday.

Cops said Rivera then punched the woman before cops arrived to find him pinning her the ground. That case has yet to be resolved.

Currently facing a charge of criminal mischief, Rivera was held on $10,000 bail only after authorities noted the nature of suspect's most recent arrest, which came in October for allegedly strangling a 44-year-old mother who was pushing her two-year-old in a stroller

Despite this and several other violent offenses, Rivera was granted house arrest during an appearance in Manhattan Criminal Court Saturday

In August, he was charged with punching a doorman at a Midtown luxury building but was released after the assault charge was deemed not eligible for bail due to lenient criminal justice reforms implemented by the famously progressive Bragg.

Arriving for his hearing in Manhattan Criminal Court Saturday in a black tee shirt with the emblazoned phrase Miami beach, the suspect was granted house arrest after making bail and promptly cut loose.

Police sources said the suspect has a history of psychiatric issues, with his parents telling the New York Post Saturday that their son was always 'difficult to control' and had 'always did what he wanted' growing up.

The decisions to release Nicole without bail and put career criminal Rivera on house arrest was signed off on by DA Alvin Bragg, whose soft-on-crime policies have faced criticism for allowing repeat offenders back on the street after committing violent crimes

Nicole, meanwhile, is facing felony assault charges for attempting to stop Rivera's arrest, shoving cops away and striking two in the face in the process.

She was released Saturday without bail, despite being hit with an additional felony charge for allegedly making anti-cop statements as she punched one of the officers in the face, which officers Friday constituted a hate crime.' It was not clear Sunday whether that charge has been dropped.

A third suspect, confirmed Saturday to be 34-year-old Upper East Side resident Katherine Stone, was grabbed for trying to deface the same cruiser with graffiti.

She was issued a Desk Appearance Ticket, typically doled out for more minor infractions, and was also released on Saturday. Stone did not immediately respond to a DailyMail.com request for comment.

NYPD officers were seen trying to drag him down from atop the vehicle and eventually arrested him

Another stood over a cop car with a tattered American flag

The arrest came as protests in the Big Apple became violent following the release of footage showing the police beating death of Tyre Nichols

The three arrested Friday night were among those protesters, who began marching north along Seventh Ave around 7:30 pm, cops said.

A man with a loudspeaker could be heard egging on the horde amid their faceoffs with a spread-thin NYPD.

'The only way we get through this is unity  Im not talking about that khumbaya unity,' the man said, before specifying: 'I'm talking about that "if they f**k with us, we f**k s**t up" type of unity.'

The stark reaction stemmed from Memphis police's release of footage showing the circumstances of Nichols' January 7 death, with similar processions sprouting up in cities such as Atlanta, LA, Philadelphia, Boston, Dallas, San Francisco, and Memphis.

Most of the demonstrations have been non-violent, though some - such as the ones seen in New York and LA - have seen emotions run high in the wake of other high-profile brutality deaths including that of George Floyd in 2020.

The stark reaction stemmed from Memphis police's release of footage showing the circumstances of Nichols' January 7 death, with similar processions sprouting up in cities such as LA, where demonstrators picketed outside of LAPD headquarters

Similar demonstrations were seen across the country in cities like Boston, where protesters called for a renewed effort to stop to police brutality toward people of color

A woman is seeing yelling through a bullhorn during protests in Atlanta, which is still in the midst of its emergency declaration

The protests seen Manhattan - which were filmed and shared in real time on social media - were broken up before 11 pm, police said.

As footage of the pandemonium made its rounds online, Mayor Eric Adams - who has in the past criticized soft-on-crime policies Bragg has implemented since the pair both assumed office in January 2021 - was forced to make a statement.

In it, Adams urged protesters to remain peaceful, while citing extensive preparations made by the NYPD, including asking officers to stay on and work overtime when their shift finished Friday.

The statement from Adams, a former NYPD captain himself, did not mention Bragg, whom he recently blamed for a rise in crime seen since the pandemic, and the city's slow recovery since.

Bragg, 40 and has criticized the prosecutor's soft-on-crime approach and policy changes that have lightened punishments for armed robbery and burglary suspects.

The changes, made after Bragg assumed office along with Adams, makes it easier for career criminals and repeat offenders to be reentered to society while being prosecuted for violent, and often felony-level offenses.

'Let's be clear. We are in a city, in a country, where consequences must go with inappropriate actions,' Adams said of the correlation between Bragg's policies and the surge of crimes last year.

As footage of the pandemonium made its rounds online, Mayor Eric Adams - who has in the past criticized soft-on-crime policies Bragg has implemented since the pair both assumed office in January 2021 - was forced to make a statement urging citizens to stay calm

Bragg has come under fire for polices that aim to eliminate prison sentences for all but the most serious crimes, downgrade felony charges in certain cases of armed robbery and burglary, and drop charges for many low-level offenses

At the time, the mayor said that 'there is no appropriate response to [criminals'] bad behavior' because of Bragg's policies, which aim to eliminate prison sentences for all but the most serious crimes, downgrade felony charges in certain cases of armed robbery and burglary, and drop charges for many low-level offenses.

'The laws have shown that and it's troubling, when you could have a person that carries a gun repeatedly, and theyre treated in family court instead of criminal court,' the mayor said, adding that 'we need to tweak, tweak the law to reflect that that's unacceptable,' he added.

Bragg, 48, has also revamped he city's prosecuting policies regarding bail for criminals with violent offenses, after the previous DA eliminated the cash-bail system used in the city for decades before the pandemic in 2020.

Shortly before Adams' statement Friday, Crump - who is representing the family of the slain Nichols - spoke at a press conference in Memphis, ahead of the graphic body cam footage of Tyre being beaten to death being released at 7pm

Appearing next to members of the 29-year-old's mother, the celebrity civil rights attorney applauded the Memphis police chief and county prosecutors for quickly taking action against the five officers, despite all of them being being black

He added that the 'remarkably swift' decision - which came days after Nichols' death - should serve as the 'blueprint' going forward for handing instances of suspected police brutality, and likely saved lives that potentially could have been lost in further protests

That, experts and criminologists say, spurred an alarming spike in violent crimes that year that was in turn exacerbated by the pandemic.

'New York City is a corporation, I'm the new CEO,' Adams has been quoted as saying. 'And as in any new CEO, you have to put your plan and programs in place to turn around a failing company. And that's what we're experiencing right now.'

Shortly before Adams' statement Friday, Crump - who is representing the family of the slain Nichols -spoke at a press conference in Memphis, ahead of the graphic body cam footage of Tyre being beaten to death being released at 7pm.

Appearing next to members of the 29-year-old's mother, the celebrity civil rights attorney applauded the Memphis police chief and county prosecutors for quickly taking action against the five officers, despite all of them being being black

'We applaud the DA for bringing these charges. Let me be exceedingly clear on this point,' Crump, who has handled several other high-profile, racially charged cases in recent years, said.

He added that the 'remarkably swift' decision - which came days after Nichols' death - should serve as the 'blueprint' going forward for handing instances of suspected police brutality.

'When we look at how these five black officers who were caught on camera committing a crime, and when we look at how fast the police chief and the department terminated them, and how swiftly the DA brought charges against them  in less than 20 days  we want to proclaim this as the blueprint going forward.

He added that it likely saved lives that may have been been lost in further protests, fueled by outrage over the Memphis man's death. Despite this, hours later, protests would still break out, and have continued through the weekend.

Crump, who has yet to announce a suit against the Memphis Police Department, said Friday that he was glad that the officers - all of African-American descent - received the same treatment that a white officer would have been subjected to in a similar situation.

'Any time any officers, whether black or white, are held accountable, you can no longer tell us that we have to wait six months to a year when we have a video of excessive force.

'No more can you tell us that. With these five black officers, you are moving swiftly, and as the chief said, it was important for the community that they took swift action.

'When it is a white officer, it is also important that there is swift action. We won't let black officers be treated differently than white officers.'
The heart of Melbourne became an unlikely battleground for Indian ethnic violence when Sikh separatists chanting 'death to India' rushed pro-India supporters and attacked them with flag poles.

Confronting footage shows about 100 people brawling after a group of nationalist Hindus arrived at Federation Square - voting site for a non-binding referendum on the creation of an independent Sikh state, Khalistan - on Sunday about 4.30pm.

One man had to be treated for a serious laceration to the head while another suffered a hand injury in the chaos.

Police later confirmed they used pepper-spray on 10 people involved in the melee with one man taken away in handcuffs.

The heart of Melbourne became an unlikely battleground for Indian ethnic violence when Sikh separatists chanting 'death to India' rushed pro-India supporters and attacked them with flag poles

'To witness a clash from the other side of the street is horrific,' one man posted to Twitter.

'To see the police unable to quell the tension is a concern. A very scary afternoon to be an Indian in Melbourne.'

Victoria Police also noted there was an earlier altercation near the voting site, at around 12.30pm.

'As a result of each incident a 34-year-old man and a 39-year-old man were arrested, and each issued with a penalty notice for riotous behaviour,' police said.

'Melbourne East Neighbourhood Policing Team are continuing to investigate after it was identified two men, one with a laceration to their head and another with a hand injury, were injured.

'The pair were treated at the scene by ambulance paramedics for what was believed to be minor injuries.'

Several people were knocked to the ground during two brawls that happened near Melbourne voting facilities for a referendum on a separate Indian state

Confronting footage shows about 100 people brawling after a group of nationalist Hindus arrived at Federation Square - voting site for a non-binding referendum on the creation of an independent Sikh state, Khalistan - on Sunday about 4.30pm

Some eye-witness accounts claimed a Sikh man was also seen 'armed with a sword'.

Khalistan, which would take in the Punjab regions of northern India and Pakistan, as well as parts of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan, has been proposed by the US-based group Sikhs For Justice.

Those voting on the referendum were asked to answer a yes or no question: Should Indian-governed Punjab be an independent country?

The vast majority of Hindu Indians fiercely oppose such a move.
Michael Gove today pleaded for critics to wait for 'all the evidence' amid a row over whether the BBC chairman helped Boris Johnson secure an 800,000 loan.

The Cabinet minister called for 'all the facts' to be set out before conclusions are drawn about Richard Sharp's involvement in the ex-prime minister's financial affairs.

Mr Sharp was involved in talks about financial help for Mr Johnson in late 2020.

The discussions took place just weeks before the then-PM recommended Mr Sharp for the role as BBC chairman.

A loan of up to 800,000 guaranteed by Mr Johnson's distant cousin, Sam Blyth - a Canadian businessman who is an old friend of Mr Sharp - has been revealed to have been arranged to help Mr Johnson deal with financial troubles while in No10.

BBC chairman Richard Sharp was involved in talks about financial help for Boris Johnson in late 2020

Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Secretary Michael Gove today pleaded for critics to wait for 'all the evidence' amid the row

In further claims, the Sunday Times today reported that Mr Johnson was formally told by officials to stop asking Mr Sharp for 'advice' about his 'personal financial matters'.

According to the newspaper, Cabinet Secretary Simon Case issued advice to Mr Johnson in the days before Mr Sharp's appointment as BBC chairman was announced.

It reportedly stated: 'Given the imminent announcement of Richard Sharp as the new BBC chair, it is important that you no longer ask his advice about your personal financial matters.'

Mr Johnson has insisted that Mr Sharp 'knows absolutely nothing about my personal finances - let me tell you that for 100 per cent ding dang sure'.

Downing Street has also denied the appointment of Mr Sharp was an example of 'cronyism' and insisted hiring processes were 'properly' followed.

But William Shawcross, the comissioner for public appointments, is reviewing the process used to appoint Mr Sharp.

Meanwhile, Mr Sharp himself - a former Goldman Sachs banker and an ex-adviser to Rishi Sunak when the current PM was Chancellor - has ordered an internal BBC review into any possible 'conflicts of interest'.

Mr Sharp has said he was 'not involved in making a loan, or arranging a guarantee and I did not arrange any financing'.

He has stressed his role was limited to introducing Mr Blyth 'to the relevant official in Government'.

Mr Gove was today quizzed about how Mr Johnson's denial that Mr Sharp has knowledge of his financial affairs tallies with the Sunday Times' revelation of a formal warning by officials.

'I don't know about the conversations that were carrying on,' the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Secretary told Sky News.

'I know that, and I've seen it happen in the past, that there's a letter here, a note there, a comment there. It points towards one conclusion.

'Once you know all the evidence, actually, another conclusion can fairly be drawn.'

Mr Gove admitted that he could 'completely recognise how you can produce two pieces of evidence and a conclusion can be drawn'.

But he added: 'I know from experience in the past, including when I've jumped to conclusions about people and then found that actually I'd been unfair on them, that we just need to see all the facts.'

William Shawcross, the comissioner for public appointments, is reviewing the process used to appoint Mr Sharp

Mr Gove said the purpose of Mr Shawcross's inquiry was to 'make sure that everything's completely kosher'.

'It's absolutely understandable to think 'Aha, this plus this equals that', but my bitter experience is wait until we see all the facts before coming to a definitive conclusion,' he said.

Mr Gove also rejected a suggestion Mr Johnson was becoming a 'liability' for Downing Street, adding: 'I think Boris Johnson was a very good PM and I think that he has a lot to contribute to public life in the future.'

A spokesman for Mr Johnson said: 'Throughout this process, as the material The Sunday Times has obtained demonstrates, Mr Johnson followed advice and took the necessary steps to ensure probity. All declarations were made properly.'

The Cabinet Office said it did not comment on leaks.
Europe is on the verge of a catastrophic drought as groundwater reserves dry up, scientists have warned.

Hotter summers due to global warming has meant there has been a huge drop in surface water levels since 2018, that have not recovered due to heatwaves across Europe in recent years.

Scientists warn Europe is on the edge of a water disaster, and it is already affecting wildlife, habitats and agriculture.

Dr Torsten Mayer-Gurr, a professor at Graz University of Technology, Austria, and the author of the research, said: 'A few years ago, I would never have imagined that water would be a problem here in Europe.'

It comes as the UK's annual average temperature topped 10C for the first time in 2022, as last year was confirmed as the country's warmest on record.

The Loire Valley in France, pictured in the summer of 2022, is usually filled with greenery and a huge tourist attraction - but it was left almost entirely brown by the lack of groundwater

Reservoirs such as Ardingly reservoir in West Sussex (pictured) shrank drastically last year, as Ardingly was at just 30 percent capacity by September

During the summer months of 2018 and 2019 there was a striking water shortage in Central Europe.

Since then, there has been no significant rise in ground water levels, with levels remaining constantly low.

The potentially catastrophic drought is already damaging natural habitats, affecting agriculture and creating major energy shortages, a new study reveals.

The effects of this prolonged drought were evident in Europe during the summer of 2022.

Dry riverbeds and the slow disappearance of stagnant waters severely impacted both nature and people.

Numerous aquatic species lost their habitats or were killed as their water disappeared, while dry soil caused many problems for agriculture and flash flooding.

The drought also caused massive forest and grass fires across Europe, including in the UK.

The energy shortage in Europe also worsened, as without sufficient amounts of cooling water, nuclear power plants in countries such as France struggled to generate enough electricity.

Hydroelectric power plants also struggled to fulfil their function due to the lack of water.

This new data shows the real and pressing impact climate change is having across the world.

The UK saw it's hottest year on record in 2022, breaking its previous temperature records and seeing the mercury top 40C.

Dr Torsten Mayer-Gurr, a professor at Graz University of Technology, Austria, and study author, said: 'The processing and the computational effort here are quite large.

'We have a distance measurement every five seconds and thus about half a million measurements per month. From this we then determine gravity field maps.'

He added: 'A few years ago, I would never have imagined that water would be a problem here in Europe, especially in Germany or Austria.

'We are actually getting problems with the water supply here - we have to think about this.'

The UK saw it's hottest year on record in 2022, breaking its previous temperature records and seeing the mercury top 40C

The potentially catastrophic drought is already damaging natural habitats, affecting agriculture and creating major energy shortages

Rivers, lakes and lochs such as Loch Lomond (pictured) are all affected by the drop in groundwater levels

Dry riverbeds and the slow disappearance of stagnant waters severely impacted both nature and people in 2022

The new data was gathered using satellite gravimetry, a specialised method of measuring the world's groundwater resources and documenting their changes.

The team used twin satellites called Tom and Jerry that orbit the Earth in a polar orbit at an altitude of just under 490 kilometres.

They provide readings of the total mass, from which the mass changes in the rivers and lakes are then subtracted, the soil moisture, snow and ice are also subtracted and finally only the groundwater remains.

The distance between the satellites was constantly and precisely measured.

If they flew over a mountain, the satellite in front was initially faster than the one behind because of the increased mass under it.

Once it had passed the mountain, it slowed down slightly again, but the rear satellite accelerated as soon as it reached the mountain.

Once both were over the top, their relative speed was established once more.

These changes in distance over large masses were the main measurement factors for determining the Earth's gravitational field, which is used to calculate changes in groundwater.

These satellites speed around the earth at around 30,000 km/hr, orbiting the Earth 15 times a day.

They can cover the entire Earth's surface after just one month, meaning they can provide a gravity map of the Earth each month.

However, these gravity maps cannot show the exact amount of groundwater on the planet, as the satellites do not distinguish between sea, lakes or groundwater.

To work out separate masses for each body of water, other partners in the EU G3P project, or Global Gravity-based Groundwater project, had to help out.

While Tom and Jerry provided the total mass of water, the changes in mass of the rivers, lakes, soil moisture, snow and ice were subtracted by these partners, leaving only the level of groundwater.

The results show the water situation in Europe has now become very precarious.
Late-night host Bill Maher slammed America's 'mono-focus on race,' saying it distracts from some of the country's 'realer problems.'

On his show, Real Time with Bill Maher, Friday night, Maher pointed out that much of the violence over the past few weeks was committed by non-white people.

Tyre Nichols, 29, for example, was beaten to death on January 7 by five black cops, while two mass shootings over the past week were carried out by Asian men in California.

Gunman Hu Can Tran, 72, shot himself after killing 11 people at a celebration in Monterey Park last weekend, while Chunli Zhao, 66, is accused of shooting dead seven people and wounding another in the Half Moon Bay area.

Late night host Bill Maher on Friday slammed America's 'mono-focus on race,' saying it distracts from larger issues

Maher began his panel discussion Friday with former Congressman Tim Ryan, a Democrat from Ohio, and The Free Press founder Bari Weiss by describing the 'rage' that has unfolded in these recent tragedies.

'This week, people learned the names of a couple of cities here in California, Half Moon Bay and Monterey Park was the other one,' he began.

'And you know, these shootings happen. We go through this ritual where then we wait for them to announce the race of the shooter.

'We're waiting for the Oscar nominations, because that's you know, somehow to a lot of people the most important thing.

'And I just thought it was very interesting that this week, Asians were killed by Asians  two Asian men who were, you know, 66 and 72.

'And then this week, we just got video of the Memphis Five. A black man is brutally beaten in Memphis by five cops. They're all black.

'I guess what I'm asking is America's culture of violence, it does go deeper than race, right?

'And I think this mono-focus we have on race is short-circuiting us trying to fix some of the realer problems. Would you agree?'

Ryan responds by saying there are 'definitely deeper concerns here.

'And this is an opportunity for us to have that conversation. The conversation about mental health, the conversation about guns the conversation about  '

'Cops,' Maher suggests.

'The cops and the stress, and the stress the cops are under,' Ryan concedes.

'And I'm not defending these guys, of course. This is a tragedy. They should be prospected [to the] full extent of the law, the whole nine yards.

'But if we don't at some level realize that it's not a white cop or a black cop, it's a cop who's under stress who's underpaid,' he said, noting that cops in his congressional district were being paid just $14 an hour.

At that point, Bari Weiss jumped into the conversation, saying that 'basically every weekend in Chicago' should be classified as hate crime due to black-on-black crime in the city.

Former Congressman Tim Ryan said the recent tragedies are an opportunity for Americans to have a discussion about mental health and the stress cops are under

Bari Weiss, the founder of the Free Press, said a perpetrator's race does not matter to the family of the victim

'We hear about a horrible incident and we want to see the race or identity of the perpetrator and the race and identity of the victim, and we know exactly how it will play based on that,' she said.

'But to the family of the person that's murdered, does it matter? I don't really think it does.'

Maher responded: 'It's also misleading that everything is always racial. I mean I feel like this is on of the big flaws of the left these days. They have this mono-focus, you know, again when the education system breaks down, people don't know a hell of a lot.

'So they focus on something that's very obvious: black and white. Everyone can understand racism, and of course, it is still a real thing in this country, it's just not the only thing.'

'Right,' Weiss agreed. 'And a black life should matter if the perpetrator of the crime is white and a black life should matter if the perpetrator of the crime, as it often is in a city like like Chicago, is black.'

She then went on to say that she hoped the new body camera footage would not lead to renewed calls to defund the police, to which Maher said communities of color would pay the price.

'Again with the woke, who pays for that, when there's less police and less competent police?' he asked, rhetorically. 'A lot of people of color communities where they want more policing.'

Tyre Nichols, 29, died of his injuries after he was beaten by cops in Memphis, Tennessee

Body camera footage showed officers repeatedly pepper spraying him and kicking him

The segment was filmed before horrific body camera footage was released showing the moment Tyre Nichols was stopped by police, him fleeing, then the vicious beating when they caught up and the lack of medical care.

Nichols, who was born in Sacramento and moved to Memphis in February 2020, was driving home from a suburban park on January 7, when a police officer said he was 'cutting through traffic.'

Police pull him over, with one officer ordering Nichols to 'Get the f*** out of the f****** car,' before wrestling him out.

Nichols can be heard protesting, telling the officer: 'Damn, I didn't do anything. Hey, I didn't.' The officer tells him: 'Turn your a** around.'

The officers attempt to push Nichols, father of a four-year-old son, to the ground.

Nichols can be seen objecting, but, when one officer threatens to 'Tase your a**,' Nichols replies: 'Alright, I'm on the ground - I'm on the ground.'

He is sitting, and the officer instructs him: 'Lay down. Get on the f****** ground. I'm going to Tase you. 'I'm going to break your s***.'

Nichols has the Taser prodded into his left thigh, and is told: 'B****, put your hands behind your back.'

The officers attempt to put him in handcuffs, telling him: 'I'm going to knock your hands the f*** out.'

Nichols replies: 'OK, you guys are doing a lot right now.' He tells them: 'I'm just trying to go home.'

The officers continue trying to push him to lie down. Nichols replies, with growing frustration: 'I am on the ground!'

'On your stomach!' an officer replies. 'I can't breathe,' Nichols said. But the police continue to pepper spray the victim.

'What the f*** man?' says one of the officers. Nichols scrambles to his feet and runs. One officer yells: 'Taser, taser!'

Nichols continues running, taking his t-shirt partially off as he runs. 'Oh s***,' says one officer, and they both begin running after him, with pepper spray in their eyes.

Officers eventually catch up to Nichols, with the body camera footage showing two officers kneeling over Nichols as he cries: 'I didn't do anything!'

The cops threaten to pepper spray him again as three officers pin him down to pepper spray once again.

Charged with second degree murder are (top, left to right) Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, and (bottom, left to right) Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith

Soon, one officer pushes him onto his back, yelling: 'Get on your knees.' Nichols is lying on his side, and yells: 'Mom!'

'Give me your hands. Give me your f****** hands,' the officer commands, and Nichols replies: 'Alright, alright.'

Another officer runs into sight, and someone says: 'Watch out. Spray' Pepper spray is deployed yet again, getting into the face of at least one officer.

The other officers can be heard yelling at Nichols to give them his hands as Nichols continues to yell for his mother.

He tries to push himself up on his right arm, leaning on his right side, when a third officer kicks him in the top half of his body, forcing Nichols onto his back.

The officer who kicked moves to the top of Nichols's body, and again kicks him with his right leg, this time in the head.

Soon, blows begin raining down on Nichols, who becomes unable to stand upright.

Still, one of the officers takes a swing at him, and punches him with others soon joining in,

After around six blows, Nichols could be seen slumping to the floor - his right leg outstretched, left leg bent at the knee.

By this point, three officers are on top of him when another runs into view and kicks Nichols in the ribs.

Following the brutal beating, Nichols could be seen writhing and twitching, thrashing around on the floor, as the officers congratulate themselves.

It is only 24 minutes after the beating stopped that an ambulance arrives on the scene.

Nichols was then put on a stretcher and taken to a local hospital, where he would die three days later.

A mass shooting at a Lunar New Year celebration last weekend left 11 dead

The two mass shootings in California over the past week were allegedly committed by elderly Asian men. Hu Can Tran, 72, allegedly opened fire in Monterey Park, while Chunli Zhao, 66, is accused of shooting dead seven people and wounding another in the Half Moon Bay area

The horrifying footage came as Americans were still reeling from two mass shootings in California.

Authorities say Hu Can Tran shot dead 11 people at a Lunar New Years celebration in Monterey Park last weekend before turning the gun on himself.

He opened fire at the Star Dance Studio at 10.22pm last Saturday with his illegal semi-automatic pistol, striking 20 people aged between 52 to 72.

Tran fired a total of 42 rounds from his 9mm semiautomatic assault weapon and then drove to another nearby dance hall where an employee wrestled the gun away from him.

The gunman later shot himself dead in his white van he used to escape the scene during a police stand-off last Sunday.

The motive for the shooting is unclear, but Tran's ex-wife confirmed he used to teach lessons at the studio and was quick to anger. Authorities are investigating whether Tran was looking for his ex-wife when he committed the massacre.

Just a few days later, Chunli Zhao allegedly shot dead seven people and wounded another at a plant nursery and a mushroom farm in Half Moon Bay.

Investigators have not said publicly what the motive for the shooting is but San Mateo County Sheriff spokesman Eamonn Allen said the signs point to workplace violence.

He said that Zhao entered the mushroom farm and opened fire, killing four and leaving another seriously wounded. He then drove to another nearby farm where he had previously worked, and killed another three people.

Zhao was taken into custody hours after the attack while parking his van in a Half Moon Bay police substation.

He is said to be cooperating with the investigation.
Bill Clinton's former adviser predicted Sunday that the classified files debacle ensnaring President Joe Biden will 'knock' the Democrat 'out of the race' for 2024.

'Thats going to be the absolute end of it for Biden,' said Dick Morris, who worked with Clinton when he was governor of Arkansas and during his first White House term.

Morris claimed on Cats Roundtable on WABC radio that there could be documents relevant to his son's dealings in Ukraine, which would be 'directly linked to a big bribery scandal involving the Vice President and his son.'

As many as 30 documents with classified markings were recovered from Biden's home in Wilmington, Delaware and a Washington, DC think tank he once used as an office.

It emerged months after a high-profile raid on the home of Donald Trump, a president whom Morris also advised, which saw dozens of top secret files recovered from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

Dick Morris (pictured in 1998) was an adviser to both Bill Clinton and Donald Trump

And amid Biden's growing debacle, it emerged that classified documents were also found in the home of Trump's former vice president, Mike Pence, this month as well.

'The issue here is not if everybody took classified documents home,' Morris told John Catsimatidis.

He claimed Biden's situation stuck out because some of the documents recovered from his private quarters contained 'classified information about American policy toward Ukraine.'

While Biden was vice president - the time from which several of the documents are dated - he had spearheaded anti-corruption efforts in Ukraine. His son meanwhile was on the board of a Ukrainian energy company for several years beginning in 2014.

Hunter Biden's foreign business dealings are the subject of Congressional and Justice Department probes - but the president himself has not been implicated in any wrongdoing.

But Morris claimed Sunday that Biden's classified documents were part of a 'big bribery scandal' involving his son and his son's business in Ukraine.

'It will knock Biden out of the race,' he claimed.

The former White House adviser also shared the results of a survey conducted with veteran pollster John McLaughlin that reportedly shows Biden leading the pack of potential 2024 Democratic nominees - but with just 25 percent of support.

'When Biden as President cant get more than 25 percent of the primary vote in his own party, thats near death. Hes so incredibly vulnerable,' Morris said.

He claimed Biden is vulnerable as a 2024 Democratic candidate and that the classified files debacle only heightens that

This image shows stacks of paper in Biden's garage as he backs his corvette into his garage. Biden critics have suggested the paper could be the classified documents, though the claim has not been verified in any way

Pictures of the entrance to President Joe Biden's lake front home in Wilmington, DE

The office building housing the Penn-Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement in Washington, D.C where President Joe Biden's personal lawyers handed over documents, which date from Biden's time as the vice president to the Justice Department.

'Youd think hed be at 40 percent or 50 percent at the least. That means pretty much anybody that breathes on him can knock him over.'

Despite the string of classified document revelations becoming somewhat of a public relations crisis for Biden, his lawyers have continued to point out that the president's approach to handling secret files is vastly different than that of his predecessor.

Biden's lawyers handed over documents to the Justice Department as soon as they were found and have pledged to cooperate with investigators every step of the way - including facilitating a recent search by federal officials that saw additional documents recovered from Biden's home last weekend.

Trump, by contrast, has been accused of misleading federal investigators and National Archives officials, dragging out the recovery of classified documents from his Florida mansion over many months.

The suspected obfuscation was the driving force behind the FBI executing a search warrant on Mar-a-Lago in the early hours of August 8.

A new NBC poll out on Sunday, however, suggests that Americans are just as upset with Biden as they are with Trump.

Exactly 67 percent of respondents said it was 'concerning' on some level that classified documents were found in both leaders' homes.
Donald Trump has finally weighed in on George Santos, 34, and his propensity to lie, claiming that the freshman congressman reminds him of President Joe Biden, 80, because they both tell 'whoppers'.

Santos has had reporters permanently fixed outside his office on Capitol Hill, but has repeatedly said that he will not step down from his post despite the revelation of his compulsive lies both before and during his campaign.

The New York congressman's lies span everything from his work and education resume to his family's heritage.

The former president, however, turned the criticism of his own party member back on Biden while speaking with reporters on his campaign plane Saturday.

'I think it's a terrible situation,' Trump said. It's very unfortunate.'

Aboard his plane on Saturday Donald Trump weighed-in on controversy surrounding lying Rep. George Santos by comparing the GOP congressman to President Joe Biden because they both 'told some whoppers'

Santos was caught in a myriad of lies after winning his 2022 race for the House. The embellishments range everything from his educational and work resume to his family's heritage and background

'He's told some whoppers. Reminds me of Biden, actually, the closest thing I can think is Biden, because he's told some whoppers,' he added.

Trump, 76, was speaking during his trip from New Hampshire to South Carolina as he made a one-day, two-state campaign swing in his first high-profile events of his 2024 bid.

During remarks in both early primary states, Trump slammed Biden's agenda and said having him in the White House makes every day feel like the jokester holiday April Fools.

He promised to resume his 'mega rallies' soon despite kicking off the campaign with two smaller events in an attempt at retail politics. Trump also said he would 'complete unfinished business of Make America Great Again.'

Trump's comments on Saturday was the first time he waded into the controversy surrounding Representative Santos, who, for his part, is a supporter of the former president.

Questions have even emerged over Santos' fiance (left) as it was revealed he never accepted the proposal. Pictured: Santos and his fiance attend Trump's Mar-a-Lago New Year's Eve Party to welcome in 2021

Santos, who made history as the first openly gay Republican elected to Congress, shared an Instagram image of himself and his partner at Trump's Mar-a-Lago New Year's Eve Party to welcome in 2021.

But even Santos' sexuality has come into question over the last few months after it was revealed he proposed to his then-teenage boyfriend Pedro Vilarva in 2014 while still married to a woman. And they remained married for five more years after that.

It appears, however, that the wedding never happened because Vilarva repeatedly rejected Santos' proposals.

A flurry of other claims Santos has made have also come into question  all seemingly stemming from the revelation from the New York Times that Santos lied on his resume about working for Citigroup and Goldman Sachs.

Trump is comparing Santos and Biden because of what he claims are similar trends toward lying or bolstering the truth.

Also on the campaign plane on Saturday, Trump tore into Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as he becomes increasingly popular within the GOP and voters are showing they might prefer him as a nominee in 2024 over the ex-president.

Trump made a one-day, two-state swing to early primary contest states of New Hampshire and South Carolina on Saturday where he said having Biden in the White House makes every day feel like April Fools

Trump, who initially endorsed Governor Ron DeSantis in the governor's 2018 primary campaign, also said on his plane that it would be 'a great act of disloyalty' if he opposed him in the 2024 primary

Trump branded DeSantis as 'very disloyal' for reportedly considering a run for the White House and, once again, took credit for launching the Florida governor into his position in 2018.

'Ron would have not been governor if it wasn't for me,' Trump told reporters aboard his plane. 'So then when I hear he might run, I consider that very disloyal.'

The former president also slammed DeSantis for closing Florida for a 'long period of time' during the COVID-19 pandemic when other Republican states did not, claiming the governor and his team are 'trying to rewrite history.'

Trump's stops in the early-voting states this weekend marked the first campaign appearances since announcing his latest run more than two months ago on November 15.
A huge fire has erupted at an Iranian military industry factory following a suspected drone strike - as mystery surrounds who was responsible for the attack.

A loud explosion struck the factory close to Iran's central city of Isfahan overnight amid rising global tensions.

Footage close to the scene shows huge flames engulfing the facility and plumes of black smoke rising from the area, while emergency vehicles and fire trucks could be seen outside the complex.

The extent of the damage could not be independently confirmed, but officials in Tehran's Defence Ministry have said the explosion caused only minor damage to the roof of a workshop building and there were no casualties.

A loud explosion struck the factory close to Iran's central city of Isfahan overnight, officials have said

A statement to State television said: 'Around 11.30pm (8pm GMT) on Saturday night, an unsuccessful attack was carried out using micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs) on one of the ministry's workshop sites.'

Officials said one drone was shot down, while a further two were 'caught in defence traps and blew up'.

It added: 'The attack has not affected our installations and mission... and such blind measures will not have an impact on the continuation of the country's progress.'

Elsewhere, a large fire broke out at a motor oil factory in an an industrial zone near the northwestern city of Tabriz on Sunday. No further information has been made available about the blaze.

The drone attack comes amid tensions with the West over Tehran's nuclear work and supply of arms for Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as well as months of anti-Government demonstrations.

Iran has also in the past accused Israel of planning attacks by using agents inside Iranian territory.

In July, Tehran said it had arrested a sabotage team made up of Kurdish militants working for Israel who planned to blow up a 'sensitive' defence industry centre in Isfahan.

It currently remains a mystery as to who is responsible for the drone attack, though Tehran maintains the damage was limited

An Israeli military spokesperson declined comment when asked if the country was responsible for the attack.

Israel has long said it could attack Iran if diplomacy fails to curb Tehran's nuclear or missile programmes, but has a policy of withholding comment on specific incidents.

In Ukraine, which accuses Iran of supplying hundreds of drones to Russia to attack civilian targets in cities far from the front, a senior aide to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy linked the incident directly to the war there.

Politician Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted: 'War logic is inexorable & murderous. It bills the authors & accomplices strictly. Explosive night in Iran - drone & missile production, oil refineries. Did warn you.'

Several Iranian nuclear sites are understood to be located in the Isfahan province, including Natanz, the centrepiece of Iran's uranium enrichment programme, which it accuses Israel of sabotaging in 2021.

There have been a number of explosions and fires around Iranian military, nuclear and industrial facilities in recent years.

Officials said one drone was shot down, while a further two were 'caught in defence traps and blew up'

Footage close to the scene shows huge flames engulfing the facility and plumes of black smoke rising from the area

Talks between Tehran and world powers to revive a 2015 nuclear pact have stalled since September.

Under the pact, abandoned by Washington under President Donald Trump, Iran agreed to limit nuclear work in return for easing of sanctions.

Iran has acknowledged sending drones to Russia, but says they were sent before Moscow's invasion of Ukraine last year.

The Kremlin denies its forces use Iranian drones in Ukraine, although many have been shot down and recovered there.

Tehran has also faced internal turmoil in recent months, with a crackdown on widespread anti-Government demonstrations spurred by the death in custody of a woman held for violating rules on dress.
Jim Jordan says no amount of reform or training will stop bad apple cops after five Memphis officers beat Tyre Nichols to death during a traffic stop earlier this month.

The Judiciary Committee chairman and Oversight and Reform panel member urged reform at a local level, claiming they could implement ways to track 'wandering cops.'

Lawmakers have attempted to conduct reform at the federal-level  especially in the midst of growing anti-law enforcement sentiment in the midst of the Black Lives Matter riots following the death of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer in the summer of 2020.

When asked about what solutions there are to combat police brutality in minority communities, Jordan urged more training and focus on the local level.

Rep. Jim Jordan said that more training and federal-level reforms wouldn't have stopped the five cops who beat Tyre Nichols and are now charged with his murder because they 'don't respect life'

Tyre Nichols, 29, died three days after he was admitted to the hospital this month following a brutal beating by five Memphis Police officers

'Well, I'm for the best training possible,' Jordan told NBC Meet the Press host Chuck Todd on Sunday morning. 'But what I'm not for is what we saw there.'

'I don't know that any training, any ban, there was no chokeholds used there. What they did there was just continue to beat Mr. Nichols. And so I don't know that that's the answer,' he added.

'But, again, we'll look at what we think makes sense to help this, to make sure they have the proper training. But no amount of training's going to change what we saw in that video.'

Tyre Nichols, 29, died in the hospital on January 10, three days after five Memphis Police Department officers severely beat him during a traffic stop.

Nichols and all five cops, Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr., and Justin Smith, are black.

The five officers were fired on January 20 and on January 26 were arrested and charged with Nichols' murder as well as kidnapping, assault and misconduct.

Two firefighters who were in the ambulance that transported Nicholas to the hospital were relieved of duty and are now pending investigation.

The U.S. Justice Department and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation have opened investigations into the murder.

'These five individuals did not have any respect for life,' Rep. Jordan said on Sunday morning.

All five cops were fired on January 20 and on January 26 were arrested and charged with Nichols' murder as well as kidnapping, assault and misconduct

The officers charged with murder are L-R: Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmitt Martin III, Tadarrius Bean, and Justin Smith

Nichols was admitted to the hospital in critical condition and died three days later

'And, again, I don't think these five guys represent the vast, vast majority of law enforcement,' the Ohio congressman added. 'But I don't know that there's anything you can do to stop the kind of evil we saw in that video.'

Jordan said some Democratic initiatives to try and crack down on police misconduct and ween out the bad apples were not successful because it's not something that can be addressed at the federal level.

'If we can incentivize certain things, I still think you want to keep this at the state and local level,' Jordan said.

'This is a law enforcement issue,' he added. 'You start getting the federal government involved in databases and federal licensings, that gets  because the federal government screws it up so many times.'

'I think one of the items in the Democrat legislation a couple years ago was some kind of federal registry,' Jordan recalled. 'Well, then you get concerns is every complaint going to be there? Are they going to be just adjudicated complaints? How are we going to track this?'

During the stop, Nicholas was pulled from his car, pepper sprayed and tasered. One officer is heard in video of the incident yelling toward the other police, 'I hope they stomp his a**'

A three-minute beating then ensued with officers punching and kicking Nichols, as well as striking him with a baton while he was restrained

Nichols, a FedEx worker and father of a four-year-old, was stopped for alleged reckless driving.

During the stop, Nicholas was pulled from his car, pepper sprayed and tasered. One officer is heard in video of the incident yelling toward the other police, 'I hope they stomp his a**.'

A three-minute beating then ensued with officers punching and kicking Nichols, as well as striking him with a baton while he was restrained.

Nichols was admitted to the hospital in critical condition and died three days later.
The fate of free school meals for Connecticuts public school students is in limbo as state officials continue negotiations concerning competing funding priorities for the remainder of the fiscal year.

Anti-hunger advocates in the state had hoped that the General Assembly would issue an emergency certification on Wednesday to resume funding for now-dry universal free breakfast and lunch programs through the rest of the school year at a price of $35 to $50 million. Instead, the session day passed with no vote on the proposal.

House Speaker Rep. Matt Ritter said the governor and Democratic leadership held a meeting Wednesday afternoon to discuss the potential return of free school meals, among other state funding needs. He said Thursday that they are not in a place to issue an emergency certification.

The only way you could do a bill like this would be by e-cert but were not there yet and we have more conversations to have, Ritter said. We are looking to do something potentially and were going to look at different options.

Ritter hinted that next week leadership may have more concrete answers. But, Ritter said, any possible emergency certification bill would need to include a number of other proposals for his backing.

Im not interested in going in and doing only that, Ritter said. For me, it would be part of a package of things that might be timely.

When asked about the free meal proposal before Wednesdays meeting, Gov. Ned Lamont said he was open to the conversation.

Right now, something like 40% of our kids do get free meals. All the kids from the distressed communities do get free meals. Weve got to see what the legislature wants to do over and above that and what the partnership is between the state and the municipalities of the superintendents and how you pay for that going forward, Lamont said.

Lamont told reporters Thursday that he plans on working on the issue with legislators and municipalities.

Here in Hartford, and probably almost half of our kids get free school lunch provided by the feds, Lamont said when asked by The Courant. The question is: what do you do for the rest of those communities? They got a fair amount of federal money, and they could take the lead on this themselves if it was a real priority for them. But that said, well try and find some resolution. We can work with those municipalities and see if we can provide healthy nutrition to these kids, at least through this school year.

Students are going hungry today

End Hunger CT! Policy Director Lucy Nolan issued a statement Wednesday on behalf of the School Meals 4 All CT coalition, expressing their disappointment with the General Assemblys stalled action.

While we understand the need to work through the legislative processes, the fact is students across the state are going hungry today, Nolan said.

On Jan. 12 the coalition went to Hartford to pressure lawmakers to reinstate emergency funding for free meal access after districts exhausted funds issued at the start of the school year intended to help districts transition back to paid meals.

School nutrition directors shared that since returning to the paid model, meal participation declined for all students, including those who qualify for free and reduced-price meals through the USDA Child Nutrition Programs.

Nolan said that this trend has not shifted course.

Based on reports from school districts across the state, meal counts are down and meal accounts are in the red, Nolan said. Parents and people who work with students tell us that many students are simply not eating.

Nolan said the coalition will continue lobbying efforts, seek short-term solutions, and continue their long-term goal of making universal meals a permanent statute.

Looking to the towns

At a press conference prior to meeting with the governor on Wednesday, Ritter said a permanent free meal program would cost the state $90 million annually.

Additionally, Ritter said that if lawmakers approve a bipartisan plan to accelerate the states distribution of Education Cost Sharing grants, education spending would run up another $275 million.

Youre talking about a $400 million increase of educational funding when you add special ed costs in there, which is a big number, which is fine. But weve got to sit down with the caucus and say, all right, lets look at all the things people want, Ritter said. The conversation with the governor today is what are we prioritizing? Im fine with school lunches and a grant program. Im not opposed to that, but you cant then ask for 14 other things, with the inability to pay for it.

During the press conference, Ritter said that if the General Assembly issued an emergency certification, he would want legislation to include the reinstatement of fiscal guardrails last passed in 2017 and a renewed commitment to the states bond covenants, in addition to other priorities.

In terms of funding the school lunch program, Ritter said leadership is considering an option that would require some districts to buy into the program.

For some of the more affluent communities that have money, could they put a portion of the funding in and getting matched?, Ritter said.

House Majority Leader Rep. Jason Rojas said he would be in favor of having some districts cover the cost of the program altogether.

To expect that the state should cover this when we know its such a priority at the local level. I think some questions need to be raised at the boards of education about why theyre not funding it, Rojas said. [Towns and cities] have a lot of ARPA dollars still left on the table.

House Minority Leader Rep. Vincent Candelora said the legislature must consider the affordability of a universal meal program.

Im sympathetic to schools that were caught midyear in a program thats being taken away, on the one hand. On the other hand too, I havent heard from my community saying, keep the program,' Candelora said. I think part of the rub is the fact that everyone is being given those services regardless of whether they could afford it or not. And so as were going into this budget cycle  weve got to be very careful in how were gonna spend our money going forward.

Candelora said that while he has had conversations with Democratic leadership about the proposal, he was not invited to Wednesdays meeting with the governor. He said that he hopes to continue bipartisan negotiations over school funding.

I did have a meeting with the House chair of education [on Tuesday] and I think House Republicans continue to try to keep those conversations going, Candelora said. We expect everything to be bipartisan until it cant be.

A growing movement for free meals

So far this session, legislators have introduced at least eight proposals to establish permanent free meal programs in Connecticuts public schools  reflecting a nationwide movement for expanded breakfast and lunch access.

California, Maine and Colorado became the first states to enact permanent state-funded meal programs after pandemic-era federal waivers providing nationwide access to free meals expired. Massachusetts, Vermont and Nevada approved funding for universal meals for the entirety of the 2022-2023 academic year, according to the Food Research and Action Center.

Last year, approximately 35% of Connecticuts 514,000 students qualified for free breakfast and lunch through the USDA Child Nutrition Programs. Between 200,000 and 230,000 students have automatic access to free meals by attending one of 483 schools in Connecticut that qualified for federal funding through the Community Eligibility Provision program this year.

In order for schools and districts to participate in CEP, at least 40% of students must qualify for free meals.

Individual eligibility for free and reduced-price meals is determined by federal poverty guidelines that vary based on household size.

In Connecticut, a family of four loses free meal eligibility once their pre-tax income exceeds $36,075. Reduced-price breakfast and lunch stop at $51,338 for a family that size.

But school nutrition directors say that these guidelines fail to encompass every child needing assistance, leading to hungry bellies and restless learners in the classroom.

Courant staff writer Christopher Keating contributed to this report.

Alison Cross can be reached at across@courant.com.
Failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake fired a veiled shot at Florida Governor Ron DeSantis late on Saturday night after Donald Trump branded the Republican leader 'disloyal' for reportedly considering a presidential bid.

Styling herself as 'Trump in a dress,' Lake was among the most-watched MAGA candidates in the 2022 midterm election cycle.

And much like her icon, she has to this day refused to concede her narrow electoral loss to Arizona's new Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs.

But despite the defeat, Lake has stayed close to Trumpworld and remained a fixture in the ex-president's orbit.

Lake put that loyalty on full display Saturday night with a cryptic post on Trump's Truth Social platform.

'I pity the fool who runs against President Trump,' Lake wrote.

Kari Lake was among the most high-profile Trump-endorsed candidates of the 2022 election cycle

She fired off a cryptic warning, potentially aimed at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, after Trump branded him 'disloyal'

'He is EXACTLY what America needs right now.'

While DeSantis has not formally declared his 2024 intentions, his refusal to rule out a White House bid has infuriated the former president.

The Sunshine State governor has made his own name for himself with Trump's MAGA base by wading into the culture wars with LGBTQ-targeted legislation and taking on Critical Race Theory in schools, as well as his opposition to the Biden administration.

As Trump kicked off his 2024 bid with stops in New Hampshire and South Carolina on Saturday, he once again took credit for helping DeSantis narrowly win the Tallahassee executive mansion in 2018 - and fired yet another warning shot at his presumptive ambitions.

'Ron would have not been governor if it wasn't for me,' Trump told reporters aboard his plane on Saturday. 'So then when I hear he might run, I consider that very disloyal.'

The former president also slammed DeSantis for closing Florida for a 'long period of time' during the COVID-19 pandemic when other Republican states did not, claiming the governor and his team are 'trying to rewrite history.'

Trump's stops in the early-voting states this weekend marked the first campaign appearances since announcing his latest run more than two months ago.

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As former President Donald kicked off his 2024 White House bid on Saturday, he took a jab at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, calling the potential presidential run by his rival 'very disloyal'

The former president also slammed DeSantis for closing Florida for a 'long period of time' during the COVID-19 pandemic when other Republican states did not

After his South Carolina speech, Trump said it would be 'a great act of disloyalty' if DeSantis opposed him in the primary and took credit for the governor's initial election.

'If he runs, that's fine. I'm way up in the polls,' Trump said. 'He's going to have to do what he wants to do, but he may run.

'I do think it would be a great act of disloyalty because, you know, I got him in. He had no chance. His political life was over.'

Trump initially endorsed DeSantis in the governor's 2018 primary campaign, but said on Saturday that he hasn't spoken to him in a long time.

He has since called DeSantis an 'average governor' and 'Ron DeSanctimonious.' On Saturday, Trump slammed the Florida governor's COVID response.

'There are Republican governors that did not close their states,' Trump told reporters. 'Florida was closed for a long period of time. They're trying to rewrite history,' he added.

'I had governors that decided not to close a thing and that was up to them,' he said, defending his choice to leave it up to the governors of each state.

Trump also criticized DeSantis' shifting posture on vaccines, saying the Florida governor had 'changed his tune a lot.'

While Trump remains the only declared 2024 presidential candidate, potential challengers, including former Vice President Mike Pence and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who was Trump's ambassador to the United Nations, are expected to get their campaigns underway in the coming months.

Trump, who initially endorsed DeSantis in the governor's 2018 primary campaign, said that it would be 'a great act of disloyalty' if he opposed him in the primary

Trump's stops in the early-voting states this weekend marked the first campaign appearances since announcing his latest run. Pictured: Trump announced on November 15 his third consecutive bid for the White House

Trump told reporters on Saturday that Nikki Haley recently called him to let him know that she was considering launching a 2024 presidential bid.

'I talked to her for a little while, I said, 'Look, you know, go by your heart if you want to run,' Trump said. 'She's publicly said that 'I would never run against my president, he was a great president.'

Trump said he told Haley that she 'should do it.'

In New Hampshire, Trump promoted his campaign agenda, including immigration and crime, and said his policies would be the opposite of President Joe Biden's.

He cited the Democrats' move to change the election calendar, costing New Hampshire its leadoff primary spot, and accused Biden, a fifth-place finisher in New Hampshire in 2020, of 'disgracefully trashing this beloved political tradition.'

'I hope you're going to remember that during the general election,' Trump told party members. Trump himself twice won the primary, but lost the state each time to Democrats.

Later in South Carolina, Trump said he planned to keep the state's presidential primary as the 'first in the South' and called it 'a very important state.'

Trump told reporters on Saturday that Nikki Haley recently called him to let him know that she was considering launching a 2024 presidential bid

In his speech, he hurtled from criticism of Biden and Democrats to disparaging comments about transgender people, mockery of people promoting the use of electric stoves and electric cars, and reminiscing about efforts while serving as president to increase oil production, strike trade deals and crack down on migration at the U.S-Mexico border.

Trump's campaign, in its early stages, has already drawn controversy, most particularly when he had dinner with Holocaust-denying white nationalist Nick Fuentes and the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, who had made a series of antisemitic comments. Trump also was widely mocked for selling a series of digital trading cards that pictured him as a superhero, a cowboy and an astronaut, among others.

He is the subject of a series of criminal investigations, including one into the discovery of hundreds of documents with classified markings at his Florida club and whether he obstructed justice by refusing to return them, as well as state and federal examinations of his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, which he lost to Biden.

Still, early polling shows he's a favorite to win his party's nomination.
Labour's Rosie Duffield has continued her stinging attack on party bosses after being 'completely ignored and blanked' amid a row over women's rights.

The Canterbury MP recently despaired at being 'shouted down' by male colleagues during a House of Commons debate on Scotland's gender identity reforms.

She has also been embroiled in a dispute with a senior aide to Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.

The member of Sir Keir's team is said to have suggested Ms Duffield spend more time with her Kent constituents than 'hanging out' with author and campaigner JK Rowling.

Sir Keir has pleaded for 'tolerance' in discussions over gender identity. But Ms Duffield has issued a broadside over her treatment by Labour officials.

She told the Sun on Sunday she feels 'invisible' and isolated by party bosses after speaking out on women's rights.

Rosie Duffield recently despaired at being 'shouted down' by male colleagues during a House of Commons debate on Scotland's gender identity reforms

Sir Keir Starmer has pleaded for 'tolerance' in discussions over gender identity. But Ms Duffield has issued a broadside over her treatment by Labour officials

'I am not part of the clique', Ms Duffield said. 'It is not good at all. It is like low level bullying all the time. I am just being completely ignored and blanked.'

Ms Duffield also told the newspaper she was often purposely left out of invites to go campaigning with other Labour MPs.

'They do this constantly', she added. 'I am completely on my own.'

Sir Keir has stressed that 'respect and tolerance are values of the entire Labour Party', although he has admitted there are 'strong and differing opinions' on issues such as gender identity.

'Respect and tolerance are there as my values, Labour Party values, whatever we're discussing,' he said.

In recent days, Ms Duffield has branded it 'dystopian' that Sir Keir has previously been reluctant to say whether a woman can have a penis.

She has also spoken of her 'low-level trauma at my political isolation' after 'six years off being cold-shouldered by the Labour Party'.

Ms Duffield said it brings back memories of her time in an abusive relationship.

A Labour source told the newspaper: 'There's been proactive conversations with Rosie from people across the party.

'As with all our MPs, there are multiple channels of support always open.'
Police have not released the name of the officer and said the hit was accidental

The officer who struck Kandula was returned to service two days after the hit

A student at Northeastern University's Seattle campus was struck and killed by a police cruiser responding to a call last week.

Jaahnavi Kandula, 23, was run down by a Seattle Police Department SUV as she was crossing a heavily marked crosswalk near her campus in the South Lake Union neighborhood.

The officer had been responding to a 'priority one' call to provide aid to a man who had overdosed on drugs but did not need to be taken to the hospital. Police ruled the incident an accident, and returned the unnamed officer to duty shortly after the accident.

It is unclear if the police car stopped after hitting the student.

Ms Kandula was a graduate student set to earn her masters in information systems. Her family recalled her as a 'brilliant' person.

Twenty-three-year-old Jaahnavi Kandula was a graduate student set to earn her masters in information systems at Northeastern University

The scene of the accident in the South Lake Union neighborhood of Seattle

Ms Kandula was struck down while crossing Dexter Avenue North near where it crosses Thomas Street in Seattle.

The intersection's crosswalks are heavily marked by bright yellow reflective indicators, a large neon sign, and are surrounded by bike lanes and a wide median.

Officers on the scene found Ms Kandula still alive, and performed CPR until the fire department arrived and took over life-saving efforts.

She was transported to a nearby hospital there died of her injuries the following day.

Ms Kandula was struck at a heavily marked crosswalk near her university campus

Ms Kandula was struck down while crossing Dexter Avenue North near where it crosses Thomas Street in Seattle

Cops said they were not investigating the accident as a use of force case, and noted they did not believe the officer had intended to hit Ms Kandula.

'At this point in the investigation, we have no reason to believe the officer intended to hit that woman,' a Seattle PD spokesperson said.

Police have declined name the officer, only revealing they worked for the department since November 2019.

The officer who was behind the wheel has not been suspended, police said, but was merely told to take off their shift following the accident as a 'release day' to deal with a 'traumatic or upsetting' experience.

Sirens at the intersection where Ms Kandula was run down by a police officer on Monday night

A Seattle Police SUV at the intersection where Ms Kandula was hit on Monday night

Seattle police said they would be withholding information about the police report as soon as they were able to do so, and 'in consultation' with Ms Kandula's family.

'We acknowledge that there is understandably tremendous interest in the surrounding facts, but for purposes of both preserving the integrity of the investigation and respecting the family's right to privacy will not be putting out information over and beyond what has already been provided,' the department said in a statement to DailyMail.com

'We will provide all publicly releasable information, including the report, once we are able to do so, and in consultation with the family.'

'We extend our deepest condolences to Ms Kandulas family and friends. This incident is a terrible tragedy for everyone involved,' the department added.

Ms Kandula's family said her death left a 'huge hole' in the hearts of people who knew her

She was studying information systems at Northeastern's masters program in Seattle

Ms Kandula's family said her death left a 'huge hole' in the hearts of people who knew her.

'We are truly heartbroken. Jaahnavi was a brilliant student with a bright future. Jaahnavi's smile was radiant, and her bubbly personality warmed the hearts of every person she came in contact with. She had an innate ability to connect with people from all walks of life,' they said in a statement.

'Jaahnavi's tragic and untimely death has left her family and community with a huge hole in their hearts that will never be repaired. She was a daughter to a single mother who teaches elementary school in India. In spite of earning less than 200 USD per month, her mother educated Jaahnavi and encouraged her to the United States hoping Jaahnavi would have a better future and a better life abroad. Her mother's hopes and dreams are cut short now.'

A GoFundMe was set up to help her family pay for Ms Kandula's hospital bills, and to take care of the college loans taken out for her education.
A man and a woman have been arrested after a seven-year-old girl died at a property in Hackney.

The Metropolitan Police has confirmed it took two people into custody after being called to an address in the N16 postcode on Friday, January 27.

The force said the pair were detained on suspicion of neglect and have since been bailed while further investigation takes place.

Since the incident the Met has issued a notice to the members of the community reassuring them the arrests, which took place on the Sabbath, 'were necessary'.

Police say they were called to an address in the N16 post code, which covers Stamford Hill and Stoke Newington (pictured)

The Metropolitan Police says two people were arrested yesterday on suspicion of child neglect and then bailed pending further enquiries

According to the memo which is being circulated in the community, the Met was called by London Ambulance Service and Hatzola, a Jewish volunteer emergency medical service that operates in North London.

Police have said a 49-year-old man and 50-year-old woman have been arrested as a result of the incident on Friday, which saw the young girl pass away.

In the notice the force said: 'There has been some concern amongst the orthodox Jewish community as the arrests were made during Sabbath.

'The arrests were necessary due to the seriousness of this tragic incident and needs of the investigation.'

Police has circulated a memo to members of the community in a bid to calm the situation

They did not confirm the street where the incident happened, but did say it took place in the N16 postcode. This covers the areas of Stamford Hill, Clissold, Stoke Newington and Shacklewell.

In a statement the Met said it is continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the girl's death.

On Friday, 27 January police were called by the London Ambulance Service following the death of a seven-year-old girl at an address in the N16 area of London,' it said.

'A 49-year-old man and a 50-year-old woman were subsequently arrested on suspicion of neglect.

'They were taken into custody and have since been bailed pending further enquiries to a date in late April.Enquiries into the circumstances are ongoing.'
A path can be found to resolving Britain's bitter dispute with the EU over Northern Ireland, Brussels' former chief Brexit negotiator said today.

Michel Barnier said 'there is a way' to end the disagreement over post-Brexit trade rules, known as the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Ahead of the third anniversary of Britain's formal departure from the EU, Mr Barnier pointed to a 'common willingness' to move past the row.

There are high hopes across London, Belfast, Dublin and Brussels that a solution is close to being found.

It follows a flurry of activity in recent weeks over the Protocol, with the UK and EU continuing 'scoping work' on a fresh agreement.

Former Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said 'there is a way' to end the disagreement over post-Brexit trade rules, known as the Northern Ireland Protocol

Cabinet minister Michael Gove told Mr Barnier that Britain 'absolutely' honours its international commitments

Mr Barnier this morning added his voice to the growing number of UK and EU politicians who have expressed optimism about the Protocol row ending.

Asked whether he thought a deal could soon be struck, he told the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg programme: 'I hope so. I think there is a way because for the first time since three years I see a common willingness... on both sides.'

But Mr Barnier - who negotiated the Protocol on behalf of the EU as part of the UK's divorce deal - refused to support Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar's recent claim that mistakes were made on all sides in the way Brexit was negotiated

'I think we left a certain number of points open for the discussion. I don't think it could be a mistake,' he added.

Mr Barnier also used his appearance on the BBC show - which coincided with the publication of his diary from the Brexit negotiations - to ask Cabinet minister Michael Gove why the UK Government had 'not yet' implemented Brexit agreements in full.

But Mr Gove insisted Britain 'absolutely' honours its international commitments, adding: 'One of the things about the Protocol - and it was there in the original agreement that we signed - is that a special committee was set up to look at the way in which the Protocol operated.

'Because both sides acknowledged, in its operation, we might need to adjust things.

'To be fair, the current European Commission and the current Irish government have said, "look, the Protocol as it was drawn up was implemented too tightly".

'So you have had Leo Varadkar acknowledging that change needs to come.'
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis would win New Hampshire's 2024 Republican primary 'without a doubt' if it were held today, the state's GOP governor said on Sunday.

Gov. Chris Sununu said the Sunshine State Republican is 'obviously' running for president, despite not having formally declared his intention to do so - a limbo that's left former President Donald Trump furious.

But Sununu said the former president would 'probably' not see the success that his 2016 campaign did, when he bested a crowded field of more experienced Republicans to clinch the nomination.

'One of the reasons he became the Republican nominee in 2016 is because he won the first primary state,' Sununu told CNN's State of the Union in reference to New Hampshire.

'Could he do that again? Oh, he could. I don't think he will.'

DeSantis' refusal so far to rule out a 2024 primary challenge against Trump has clearly angered the former commander-in-chief, who branded DeSantis 'disloyal' on Saturday.

New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, a moderate Republican, suggested Sunday that Donald Trump is missing the energy his 2016 campaign had

He's not really bringing that fire, that energy I think that a lot of folks saw in '16. I think in many ways it was a little disappointing to some folks."



Gov. Chris Sununu (R-NH) on one of former President Trumps first 2024 campaign stops in New Hampshire. #CNNSOTU @CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/uNeau5gDqj  CNN (@CNN) January 29, 2023

Multiple polls show DeSantis as the clear runner-up right now - while some show him topping Trump as the GOP favorite altogether.

Sununu called Trump's Saturday speech in his state - his first formal campaign event since declaring in November - 'mundane.'

'He read his teleprompter, he stuck to the talking points, he went away,' the moderate GOP governor said.

'So he's not really bringing that fire, that energy, I think, that a lot of folks saw it in '16. I think, in many ways, it was a little disappointing to some folks.'

DeSantis, meanwhile, has seen his GOP star rise throughout the Biden administration with his vocal opposition to Joe Biden's progressive policies.

He's also made his own name for himself with Trump's MAGA base by wading into the culture wars with LGBTQ-targeted legislation and taking on Critical Race Theory in schools.

But as to the state of the 2024 Republican primary so far, Sununu suggested there's no doubt it's a two-man race.

He said Trump likely wouldn't win the New Hampshire GOP primary if it were held today, despite clinching it in 2016

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has angered Trump over his reluctance to rule out his own 2024 presidential bid

'Obviously, DeSantis and Trump are the two candidates, right, whether he's declared or not,' Sununu said of the Florida governor.

'Ron DeSantis is looking to run for president, which is fine. And he would probably win New Hampshire right now, without a doubt,' Sununu said.

Though he added, 'I think other candidates will look to get in this spring or into the summer.'

And Sununu may be one of those candidates himself.

Asked point-blank if he's 'considering' a 2024 bid, Sununu bluntly said: 'Yes.'

'I mean, obviously folks are talking about it, but I really don't have a timeline,' the moderate said.

'I'm spending a lot of time naturally trying to grow the party, as Republicans, talk to independents, talk to the next generation of potential Republican voters that right now no one is really reaching out to.'

Trump has made no secret of his disdain for DeSantis' potential White House ambitions. He's branded him at separate times 'Ron DeSanctimonious' and a 'phony.'

He fired off another warning shot for the Florida governor to stay out of the race when speaking to reporters from CNN and Politico on his campaign plane on Saturday,

Trump officially kicked off his third presidential campaign with stops in the early primary states of New Hampshire and South Carolina.

'When I hear that [DeSantis] might [run] I think its very disloyal,' he told the two outlets on his plane.

He also once again took credit for DeSantis' narrow 2018 victory - which later led to a landslide re-election in 2022.

'Ron would have not been governor if it wasnt for me,' Trump said.
One of the twin boys kidnapped from their mother's car in Ohio in December has died just a month after the two were recovered.

Columbus police said officers were sent to a home shortly before 11pm on Saturday after a report that six-month-old baby Kyair Thomas was not breathing.

Paramedics took him to a children's hospital where he was pronounced dead less than an hour later.

Kyair and his brother Kason were kidnapped from inside their mother's car in Columbus when it was stolen as she dashed into a pizza shop to pick up a Door Dash order.

The next morning, Kyair was found abandoned and cold in a nearby airport parking lot while Kason was found three days later, 175 miles away in Indianapolis, in a another stolen car outside another pizza shop.

Kyair Thomas, who was kidnapped from his mother's car in Ohio with his twin brother in December, died suddenly in the early hours of Sunday

Kyair (left) and his brother Kason (right) were kidnaped from inside their mother's car in Columbus when it was stolen as she dashed into a pizza shop

Although police are investigating Kyair's death, which happened in the early hours of January 29, a family member told local outlet ABC6 that it was an accident and caused by choking.

Columbus police said that an autopsy is scheduled for Monday. No further details about the child's death were immediately available.

'I am like in a state of shock for real. I literally, I really am. I am devastated I'm hurt,' Wilma Booker, the aunt of the mother of the twins said.

Booker said that the family is devastated and still trying to come to terms with Kyair's death. She told ABC6 of the whirlwind the twins' mother, Wilhelmina Barnett, has endured.

'She's doing really bad right now,' Booker said. 'While I wasn't exactly right there when it happened, my kids were there. [She] was feeding the babies, and one of them started choking on the milk and that's what happened.

'She immediately called 911, trying to do chest compression and CPR things to get the baby back at that time. It was just like an accident that happened from feeding the babies and that was it.'

Although police are investigating Kyair's death a family member told local outlet ABC6 that it was an accident and caused by a feeding mishap

Kason Thomas who is just five months old was found on December 22. He is being held in the arms of an Indianapolis police officer

Members of staff at Donatos Pizza told Columbus Police that Nalah Jackson (pictured), 24, left the restaurant when Barnett walked in. She appeared in court last week for their kidnapping but did not enter a plea

The disappearance of Kyai and Kason triggered a statewide amber alert and caught national attention.

The two babies were taken from their mother's idling car at around 9.45pm on December 19 when she went inside a Donatos Pizza in Columbus to collect a Door Dash order.

When she turned around, her car had disappeared, police said.

In a 911 call, Barnett can be heard telling dispatchers: 'Somebody just stole my car and my babies are in there.

'I was just right here and all I was doing was just grabbing this pizza. I was right here, I didn't even go inside the building,' she said.

The alleged abductor of both babies, Naleh Jackson, 24, who is also a known child abuser, was arrested on Thursday. She has been charged with two counts of kidnapping

Wilhelmina Barnett pictured with her twin sons

Kyair was found early on December 20 in the Dayton International Airport parking lot after the Amber Alert. Somebody found the child in a car seat between cars.

After the second boy, Kason, was found on December 22 outside a different Papa John's pizzeria, Naleh Jackson, 24, was arrested on kidnapping charges. She was not with the baby boy when she was arrested.

She was indicted on two federal counts of kidnapping of a minor and appeared in federal court in Columbus last week but did not enter a plea.

Employees at the original pizzeria in Columbus said that a homeless person, now understood to be Jackson, was inside the restaurant but left when Barnett came inside, Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant said.

Jackson has a criminal record and had been charged with abusing her own child. In June 2021, she pled guilty to child endangerment charges after her 11-month-old fell down a staircase, the Columbus Dispatch reported.

She was then sentenced to 13 days in prison and placed on probation for two years.

In September 2021, Jackson went to the National Youth Advocacy Center for a supervised visit with her children, but ran away and flagged down a stranger's car, police reported.
Ukrainian soldiers have landed in the UK to learn how to use British Challenger 2 tanks against their Russian invaders.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) shared photographs of soldiers from the war-torn nation exiting an RAF plane today to announce the arrivals.

The troops will begin training on Monday, the Government said.

The MoD tweeted: 'Ukrainian tank crews have arrived in the UK to begin training for their continued fight against Russia.'

Ukrainian soldiers landing in the UK to learn how to use British Challenger 2 tanks

Britain is providing Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine to assist them in their fight against Russian invaders

The MoD tweet continued: 'The UK will provide Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine alongside global partner nations - demonstrating the strength of support for Ukraine, internationally.'

On Thursday, defence minister Alex Chalk told the House of Commons the UK would begin teaching Ukrainian soldiers how to use and fix the tanks 'next week, on Monday'.

He said the 'intention' is for the Challenger 2s to arrive in Ukraine 'at the end of March'.

Before then, Mr Chalk said there will be a 'really significant programme of training, not just for the tank crews who are to operate this vehicle but also for those who will be charged with maintaining it'.

A map showing the state of Russian and Ukrainian-controlled territory in Ukraine

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has pledged to send around 14 Challenger 2s to Ukraine. After weeks of diplomatic deadlock, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday approved the supply of German Leopard 2 tanks to Kyiv.

Germany also allowed other allies operating Leopard 2s to re-export them to Ukraine. The US said it will send 31 M1 Abrams tanks.
A 29-year-old man has been rushed to hospital after being stabbed in Harrods 'following a row over a watch in the Louis Vuitton section'.

Officers were called to reports of a fight at the department store in London's Knightsbridge just after 7.30pm on Saturday, where they found the man with stab wounds.

Reports on social media claimed the altercation broke out over a watch in the Louis Vuitton section of the store.

The man was taken to hospital by ambulance where his condition was assessed as non-threatening and non-life changing.

Police are appealing for witnesses after a 29-year-old man was rushed to hospital following a stabbing in Harrods

Officers were called to a fight at the department store in Knightsbridge, London just after 7.30pm on Saturday

The man was taken to hospital by ambulance where his condition was assessed as non-threatening and non-life changing

Witnesses described blood all over the floor after the incident, which occurred with young children standing near.

Ronnie Chopra, 49, said he was in the room next door in Harrods when the attack happened, browsing wallets with his 13-year-old daughter who wanted to buy him a birthday present.

Another customer informed him someone had been 'attacked with a knife' and suffered a 'slashed wrist' as someone attempted to 'steal a watch'.

Mr Chopra said: 'Obviously my 13-year-old was quite shaken and we made a swift exit.

'Whilst we were leaving we saw the blood on the floor and my daughter unknowingly walked through the blood.

'It's shocking that this can occur inside a store! And Harrods no less which is probably the most well known department store in the world.'

Detectives from the Metropolitan Police's Central West CID are investigating and have made no arrests.

A force statement read: 'Any witnesses who are yet to speak with police are asked to call 101 giving the reference 6691/28JAN.

'Information can also be provided to Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.'
McKenzie will be sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow on February 23

Heather McKenzie was working at HMP Shotts when she teamed up with convicted murderer Zak Malavin to supply drugs to inmates

A prison officer is facing time behind bars after helping to smuggle cocaine into one of Scotlands most notorious maximum-security jails.

Heather McKenzie was working at HMP Shotts  home to some of the countrys most hardened criminals  when she teamed up with convicted murderer Zak Malavin to supply drugs to inmates.

Prison officials and police started an investigation after noticing a significant rise in the quantities of drugs being found in the jail  and receiving a tip-off about possible staff corruption.

Intelligence suggested McKenzie, 31, was illegally bringing drugs and mobile phones into the prison.

Heather McKenzie (pictured) was working at HMP Shotts  home to some of the countrys most hardened criminals  when she teamed up with a convicted murderer

Zak Malavin who is serving life for murdering a man in a park by attacking him with a sword, was found to have an iPhone, 1.45g of cocaine and a sleeping pill in his cell

Malavin, serving life for murdering a man in a park by attacking him with a sword, was found to have an iPhone, 1.45g of cocaine and a sleeping pill in his cell when officers searched it in May 2020.

A search the following month uncovered two knotted bags containing a further 5.7g of cocaine, while data on the iPhone revealed texts and calls to McKenzie.

Police later raided McKenzies home in Forth, Lanarkshire, and arrested her after finding 2,500 in cash, mobile phones, syringes and trenbolone  a powerful steroid  as well as traces of cocaine and 28g of another drug, benzocaine.

An iPhone found by police had a missed WhatsApp call from a contact named Zak. Further analysis discovered a string of WhatsApp messages between Malavin and McKenzie. Evidence suggested criminal associates had come to McKenzies home to hand her drugs, phones and money, which she would then smuggle into prison and stash near Malavins cell.

McKenzie, a mother of two, appeared at the High Court in Lanark and admitted supplying Malavin and others with drugs at HMP Shotts between March and October 2020. She also admitted giving Malavin an illicit mobile phone and sim card.

McKenzie, a mother of two, appeared at the High Court in Lanark and admitted supplying Malavin and others with drugs at HMP Shotts (pictured) between March and October 2020

Advocate depute Graeme Jessop, prosecuting, said: A joint operation by the Scottish Prison Service and Police Scotland investigating alleged corruption by staff within HMP Shotts commenced in March 2020.

This operation was initiated after disclosures were made to SPS surrounding the involvement of serving prison officers in corrupt and criminal practices, including the supply of controlled drugs and the introduction of mobile phones to the prison.

The now accused was identified as one of the prison officers suspected to be introducing controlled drugs, mobile devices and other articles into the prison.

Further, consistent intelligence was received purporting that the accused had formed a close relationship with a prisoner who is serving a life sentence.

Mr Jessop told the court the quantities of drugs and number of mobile phones recovered from McKenzies home were minimal but evidence revealed the nature and frequency of the smuggling.

The prosecutor added: The recovered messages show that the prisoner arranged for persons as yet unidentified to meet with the accused to drop off drugs, phones and money. The relationship continued with both the accused and the prisoner initiating conversations regarding the introduction of controlled drugs and money into HMP Shotts.

He said the accused appeared to have been paid money to do so.

Judge David Young, KC, deferred sentence on McKenzie and continued bail. She will be sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow on February 23.

Yesterday the Scottish Prison Service said: We do not comment on individual cases. The vast majority of our staff work to the highest standard of conduct at all times.
Family, friends, constituents and colleagues gathered at The First Cathedral church in Bloomfield Saturday to celebrate the life and legacy of late Rep. Quentin Q Williams.

Williams died in a wrong-way crash after leaving the governors inaugural ball on Jan. 5. Just the morning before, Williams, 39, took his oath for his third term representing the 100th district of Middletown in the Connecticut General Assembly.

State dignitaries, including legislators, Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, attended the public service to honor Williams.

At the start of the memorial, State Treasurer Erick Russell read a letter addressed to Williams mother, Queen, and wife Carrissa from President Joe Biden.

Queen, I write to you as someone who understands what no parent should have to experience, losing a child. Its like losing a piece of your soul. Carissa, I also know the pain of grieving a spouse, your partner, inspiration, and world, Biden wrote.

Biden remembered Williams as a trailblazer and a true public servant who fought hard to do right by the people he loved.

I know that Quintins optimism and passion brought joy to so many and that his life will always shine brightly through you and all the lives he touched, Biden added. It will take time, but I promise you the day will come when Quentins memory will bring a smile to your lips before it brings a tear to your eye.

Williams Auntie, Anita Ford Saunders, read a corresponding note from Vice President Kamala Harris.

Quentin was an incredible public servant and passionate advocate for civil rights as the first Black state representative for the city of Middletown. Quentins tireless fight for a more equitable future for his community and our nation is a legacy that will continue to inspire the next generation of leaders, Harris wrote.

I am grateful for Quentins commitment to racial justice and gender equity, she added. Its clear that this compassionate heart and joyous spirit were gifts to those whose lives he touched and that he will be remembered for the light he brought to this world.

Williams light was a theme that radiated throughout Saturdays service.

There were heartfelt stories of a vivacious personality, infectious smile and flashy style.

One mourner, Stephany Smith, the former president of the Stamford Charter School for Excellence, which Williams helped launch, joked that the late representative is putting up a fit with God over heavens all white robes.

Others spoke of Williams as a man of conviction who influenced so many.

State Sen. Patricia Billie Miller, the chair of the Connecticut Black and Puerto Rican Caucus, said she learned so much from Williams.

Q taught me a lot. He taught me how to stand up for what was right, she said. And Ive done that, but he made me look deeper to say that You have to take a stand because sometimes politicians, we like to sit on the fence. Q taught me there are certain things that I cant sit on the fence [for] because as the leader and as the Black leader. I had a responsibility to take a stand,

Bysiewicz spoke of Williams driving forces, his mother and wife, and echoed the endless pride he felt for them.

Bysiewicz also spoke of Williams dedication to budding leaders.

He knew he was a role model and he was so proud of that. He was proud to be the first Black legislator elected from the hundredth district, Bysiewicz said.

He knew that young people were watching him. They were listening to everything he said and they were watching what he did, she added. If you ever saw him in Middletown High School speaking to students, he was two feet off the ground because he was so proud to be there to show those students they could be a legislator or a congressman or president someday, too, just like him.

Bysiewicz urged listeners to honor Williams legacy by encouraging women to run for office and bringing youth into the political fold.

State Sen. Mae Flexer encouraged others to take up the causes Williams championed.

In our grief, some of us have wondered how to honor Quentin, how to keep a piece of him with us and continue his legacy? How can we try to be better by being more like him? By being more welcoming to others by fighting for real equity and opportunity in housing, by speaking truths to power, by strengthening the rights of workers, by demanding real justice for communities that are always left behind, by never missing an opportunity to travel, by rebuilding our main streets and by always fully embracing the opportunity to laugh, Flexer said.

Interspersed between speakers, two jumbo screens displayed photos and footage of Williams on the house floor, at press conferences and in his community.

In one video Williams stood at a podium. Through the clip, he spoke to those attending his memorial just as much as he spoke to the crowd on film when he asked his audience To choose to listen, to choose to love, to choose to believe.

Alison Cross can be reached at across@courant.com.
A billionaire Russian oligarch with close ties to the Kremlin was once recruited by the Federal Bureau of Investigation  only to later use an agent to get out of US sanctions.

The bureau started looking at Oleg V Deripaska, an aluminum magnate, as a possible asset in 2014, hoping he could provide insight into Russian organized crime, and later possible Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

But just one decade later he allegedly recruited one of the bureau's top agents to help him get out of US sanctions.

Charles McGonigal, 54  a former special agent in charge of counterintelligence in the New York field office who worked on the investigation into Donald Trumps ties to Russia  is now facing money laundering and violating sanctions charges.

Both he and court interpreter Sergey Shestakov, 69, are accused of receiving payments through shell companies and forging signatures to keep it secret that Deripaska was paying them.

Shestakov has also been charged with lying to FBI investigators about his relationship with the oligarch. It remains unclear, though, whether McGonigal was working directly with Deripaska while in his official capacity at the FBI.

They could each face a maximum of 20 years in prison if convicted.

Russian oligarch Oleg V Deripaska allegedly used a former FBI agent to help him get out of American sanctions

Charles McGonigal, 54, is now facing money laundering and violating sanctions charges

Deripaska, 55, had been on US authorities' radar for years and is still under American sanctions, as Treasury Department officials say he has close ties to both Russian President Vladimir Putin and organized crime.

He has employed a small army of lobbyists, lawyers, consultants, and fixers to protect his business and personal interests in the West.

Federal prosecutors in New York charged several of those representatives in indictments as well, accusing them of violating US sanctions.

Deripaska, himself, was then indicted last fall, with authorities saying he schemed to have his girlfriend give birth to their child in the United States. At the time, American authorities said he was a fugitive.

His aluminum company, Rusal, has also been under US sanctions since 2018 for malign activity in both Russian-annexed Crimea and Ukraine.

A spokeswoman for the metals magnate, Larisa Belyaera, though, told the Times he did not hire McGonigal for any purpose and that he had never been close to Putin, whom he criticized for the war in Ukraine.

Authorities say Deripaska, right, has close relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, left

Deripaska is one of a group of businessmen known as oligarchs who control large parts of the Russian economy, especially in energy and commodities. He is pictured here in 2001 with Roman Abramovich

Deripaska is one of a group of businessmen known as oligarchs who control large parts of the Russian economy, especially in energy and commodities, and have been able to preserve their fortunes on condition that they stay out of politics.

He became rich in the 1990s when he and other well-connected Russians competed for control of state resources following the fall of the Soviet Union.

The magnate then made connections to powerful figures, particularly in the UK, and spent years trying to buy respect and credibility in the US and London by hosting parties at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, hiring former US officials as lobbyists and courting powerful British political figures.

He even worked in the past with the United States government, including in a failed attempt to rescue an FBI agent who was captured in Iran, for which Deripaska spent $25million.

Deripaska was reportedly worth $7billion in 2018 when he was sanctioned by the US government.

Deripaska (pictured in June) had sought to forge strong relationships with US and UK officials

But as the years went on, American officials became increasingly suspicious of Deripaska, and sought to limit his ability to travel in the United States  despite blowback from Putin.

The tycoon then gained even more national attention around the 2016 presidential election, because he had employed Trump's onetime campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, as an advisor.

By that point, the FBI had been trying to recruit him as a possible informant for nearly two years, seeking information on Russian-organized crime and possible Russian aid to Trump's 2016 presidential run.

Two years later, they seemed to have given up on that notion  listing him s one of the oligarchs with close ties to the Kremlin who were being considered for sanctions.

That list was reviewed by McGonigal.

'Since at least 2016, Russia has been a central counterintelligence focus of the FBI and the US government,' said Brandon L Van Grack, a former prosecutor for Robert Muller's investigation into Russia's efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election.

'This former agent was acutely aware of the concern as anyone in the FBI.'

Federal prosecutors say McGonigal had been on Deripaska's payroll

The former FBI agent is pictured here leaving Manhattan Federal Court last week after he was arraigned on charges he violated US sanctions

Prosecutors claim McGonigal, left, introduced Deripaska to an international law firm that worked to get him out of US sanctions

In April 2018, the Trump administration announced sanctions on seven oligarchs and the companies they owned as punishment for Russia's interference in the 2016 election and 2014 annexation of Crimea.

Deripaska and his company, Rusal, were among them.

How Oleg Deripaska used the FBI to get out of sanctions: A timeline The 1990s: Oleg Deripaska makes his fortune in aluminum following the fall of the Soviet Union He tries to build strong bonds with US and UK officials, and builds a small army to oversee his interests in the west. 2014 - 2016: The FBI tries to recruit Deripaska as an informant on Russian organized crime and later Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election April 2018: The Trump administration announces sanctions against seven Russian oligarchs, including Deripaska and his company Late 2018: Deripaska's lawyers, consultants, bankers and allies get the Trump administration to delay the sanctions At around the same time, Sergey Shestakov emails FBI agent Charles McGonigal for the first time, introducing the agent to one of Deripaska's employees. McGonigal allegedly agrees to help the employee's daughter get an internship at the New York Police Department, and tells his superiors he wants to hire the employee. 2019: McGonigal quits the FBI and introduces Deripaska to an international law firm in Manhattan that could help get him out of the sanctions After Deripaska agreed to use the law firm, it brought McGonigal on as a consultant and investigator Spring 2021: One of Deripaska's employees allegedly starts negotiating with McGonigal to work directly with Deripaska without the law firm. He allegedly wanted McGonigal to investigate a business rival August - November 2021: Deripaska made payments to Shestakov and McGonigal from a Russian bank through accounts in Cyprus and New Jersey October 2021: The FBI searched Deripaska's $15million home in Washington DC, his $42.5million property in the Upper East Side and $4.5million townhouse in West Village November 2021: FBI seizes Shestakov and McGonigal's electronic devices January 2023: McGonigal and Shestakov are indicted Advertisement

US Treasury officials cited Deripaska's connections to a senior Russian official and his work in the energy sector.

They said he had been investigated for money laundering and was accused of threatening business rivals, illegally wiretapping government offices, and taking part in extortion and racketeering.

They also cited allegations that Deripaska bribed government officials, ordered the murder of a businessman and had links to Russian organized crime.

He denied all of the allegations, which his allies said were punishment for refusing to cooperate with US officials.

Deripaska, therefore, sought to get out of the sanctions, and by late 2018, a secret lobbying effort by his team of lawyers, consultants, bankers, and allies made 'substantial headway' and were able to postpone the sanctions.

He then allegedly connected with McGonigal for the first time, having Sergey Shestakov  a former Soviet and Russian diplomat and translator  introduce McGonigal to one of his employees.

The employee is only identified in the indictment as Agent-1 and is described as a former Soviet and Russian Federation diplomat.

In the emails, Shesdakov allegedly asked McGonigal to help Agent-1's daughter get an internship with the New York Police Department's counterterrorism, intelligence gathering, or 'international liaising.'

Soon after, McGonigal allegedly told an FBI subordinate he wanted to recruit Agent-1, whom he described as a Russian intelligence officer

He also agreed to help the daughter, and with the help of a contact at the police department, secured a meeting for her with the police sergeant.

It remains unclear whether he was working directly with Deripaska while in his position at the FBI.

McGonigal retired from the FBI in 2019, after which he allegedly introduced Deripaska to an international law firm in Manhattan to help get the sanctions removed.

During the negotiations, prosecutors say, McGonigal met with Deripaska in London and Vienna.

When Deripaska agreed to use the law firm, it brought McGonigal on as a consultant and investigator, He was then paid $51,000 and $41,790 for several months of working for the Russian directly.

McGonigal allegedly told pals that he was working for a 'rich Russian guy' and stressed that his work was legal.

By the Spring of 2021, the indictment says, Agent-1 began negotiating with McGonigal to work directly with Deripaska without the law firm. He allegedly wanted McGonigal to investigate a business rival.

From August through November 2021, authorities now say, Deripasksa made payments to Shestakov and McGonigal from a Russian bank through accounts in Cyprus and New Jersey.

The FBI searched Deripaska's $15million home in Washington DC, his $42.5million property in the Upper East Side and $4.5million townhouse in West Village in 2021.

They also seized Shestakov and McGonigal's electronic devices at the time.

In October 2021, FBI agents searched Deripaska's $15million home in Washington DC, his $42.5million property in the Upper East Side and $4.5million townhouse in West Village

Agents are seen here removing evidence from his Washington DC home

FBI Assistant Director in Charge Michael Driscoll said in a statement: 'The FBI is committed to the enforcement of economic sanctions designed to protect the United States and our allies, especially against hostile activities of a foreign government and its actors.

'Russian oligarchs like Oleg Deripaska perform global malign influence on behalf of the Kremlin and are associated with acts of bribery, extortion, and violence.

'As alleged, Mr. McGonigal and Mr. Shestakov, both U.S. citizens, acted on behalf of Deripaska and fraudulently used a U.S. entity to obscure their activity in violation of U.S. sanctions.

'After sanctions are imposed, they must be enforced equally against all U.S. citizens in order to be successful. There are no exceptions for anyone, including a former FBI official like Mr. McGonigal.'
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will have his first meeting with President Joe Biden as leader of Congress' lower chamber on Wednesday, where he intends to force bipartisan negotiation on government spending cuts.

The United States could be careening toward a massive financial default if Congress does not take action to raise the debt ceiling, which allows the country to pay its bills.

Such a massive blow to the U.S. economy would plunge global markets into turmoil.

Speaking with CBS News' Face The Nation on Sunday, McCarthy vowed the U.S. would not default, but made clear that he believes the stalemate isn't on him.

'The only person who is getting in the way right now, is the President and [Senate Majority Leader] Schumer. They won't even pass a budget,' the Speaker said

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy revealed on Sunday that he'll have his first meeting with President Biden since taking the gavel on February 1

NEWS: @SpeakerMcCarthy says he will meet with President Biden on WEDNESDAY. McCarthy tells @margbrennan he wants to "sit down together" and "work out an agreement" on raising the debt ceiling and spending cuts. pic.twitter.com/6yM7G6pPEl  Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) January 29, 2023

'They won't even negotiate. We have now till June. I want to make sure we have something responsible, something that we can move forward on and something that we can balance our debt with.'

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told Congress earlier this month that the U.S had run up against its debt limit - the total amount of monetary debt the federal government is allowed to carry, with which it pays military salaries, social security benefits, and other programs that affect millions of people.

House Republicans have made clear that they will not agree to raising the debt ceiling without offsetting it with spending cuts elsewhere.

The White House and Senate Democrats, meanwhile, are refusing to budge on such negotiations. Biden officials have argued that raising the debt ceiling is an 'obligation' of the government.

Biden officials have said the president 'looks forward' to a meeting with McCarthy to hold other discussions, but had not specified a date.

McCarthy revealed on Sunday that the sit-down is now set for February 1.

Biden has called McCarthy's demand to negotiate on the debt limit 'mind boggling' (pictured with First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, wearing a Philadelphia Eagles hoodie, at Delaware Air National Guard Base on Sunday)

'We're going to meet this Wednesday. I know the President said he didn't want to have any discussions, but I think it's very important that our whole government is designed to find compromise,' the Speaker said.

'I want to find a reasonable and a responsible way that we can lift the debt ceiling, but take control of this runaway spending.'

But Biden made his position on any such talk clear during a speech at a union hall in Virginia last Thursday.

He called McCarthy's refusal to pay the country's debts without negotiating future spending cuts 'mind boggling.'

'I will not let anyone use the full faith and credit of the United States as a bargaining chip. In the United States of America, we pay our debts,' Biden pledged.

Republican lawmakers championing the government spending cuts have yet to reach a consensus on where they want to make reductions.

McCarthy pledged Sunday that cuts to Medicare and Social Security are 'totally off the table.'

But according to Bloomberg, he promised fiscal conservatives earlier this month to cap discretionary defense spending at 2022 levels - which could effectively be a $75 billion reduction.

It could create turmoil and further delay with several national security hawks within the GOP already voicing opposition to cutbacks on defense dollars.

On Face The Nation, McCarthy said defense spending would be 'protected' but did not rule out cutting into that budget sector.

'I want to make sure we're protected in our defense spending, but I want to make sure it's effective and efficient,' he said.

'I want to look at every single dollar we're spending, no matter where it's being spent. I want to eliminate waste wherever it is.'
YouTube's most subscribed individual just cured 1,000 people's blindness by paying for their simple eye surgery.

Jimmy Donaldson, a 24-year-old known online by his moniker MrBeast, released a video detailing the scores of people from the US and across world whose severe cataracts he had removed with the help of a the non-profit eye care organization, See.

MrBeast also gave away $10,000 to a number of patients, bought one a Tesla, and even donated $50,000 to another's college fund. He also donated $100,000 to See.

Donaldson is known for his outlandish stunt videos - which include him being buried alive for 50 hours, and another wherein the last person to take their hand off a private jet gets to keep the plane. In addition to being YouTube's most subscribed individual, he is also one of the website's highest earners.

Jimmy Donaldson, a 24-year-old known is better known by his internet moniker MrBeast

The second person MrBeast provided the surgery for. He helped with the curing of 998 more

In the video, MrBeast shows patients getting their bandages removed after surgery, and shows their reaction. For many of them it was the first time they had seen properly in decades.

One patient was a man named Charlie, who's deteriorated vision prevented him from working anymore. After receiving the surgery, Charlie is able to see again and MrBeast gives him $10,000.

'I just haven't been me for the last 62 years,' one patient tells MrBeast in the video, 'I can actually see your face.'

Another man said the first thing he wanted to see when his bandages came off was his son, who he said had been his 'rock' throughout his vision problems.

'Seeing him, seeing his face, you know, that's what I miss the most,' he said.

As soon as he came out of surgery, his son was there and the two embraced in tears.

'I can see everybody's facial features now,' he said, wiping away a tear. 'It's a little blurry with my tears coming out.'

MrBeast stands with a crowd of his people whose vision he helped cure in his latest video

Patients received Phacoemulsification, a surgery which sees cataracts removed with a vacuum

Once the cataract is removed from the eye an artificial lens is inserted to replace it

The surgery used in the video appeared to be Phacoemulsification, which is one of the procedures Sees specializes in.

In the procedure, doctors make a small incision in the eye and vacuum out the eye's clouded cataract lens, and then inserts a new artificial lens.

Sufferers from severe cataracts are not entirely blind - they can still see light - but their vision can be so blurry that the basic shapes of objects are indiscernible.

Phacoemulsification can cost up to $6,000 for patients without insurance.

Another one of MrBeasts patients is a boy named Jeremiah, who had been blind in his right eye since birth

Jeremiah was given $50,000 to put towards his college education after his surgery

Satchel was born partially blind and always wanted to drive but couldn't

After a successful surgery, MrBeast presented Satchel with a bran new Tesla

What is Phacoemulsification? Phacoemulsification is a cataract surgery that sees a millimeters wide incision made into the eye's lens. A small vacuum is then used to suction the material that clouds the eye and hinders vision. Then an artificial lens is then inserted into the eye. Advertisement

Another one of MrBeasts patients is a boy named Jeremiah, who had been blind in his right eye since birth. The cataract he was born with prevented the eye from ever seeing light, which meant the surgery only had a 50 percent shot at success, MrBeast explained in the video.

Jeremiah broke down in tears after he removed his bandages to find the surgery worked, and then MrBeast presented him with a $50,000 check to put towards his college tuition.

'I don't even think this is real, like I'm waiting to wake up,' he said.

MrBeast also featured a teenager named Satchel, who was partially blind since birth and nearly lost all his vision in a go-cart accident.

'All I see is like blur and color, I can barely see the shapes,' Satchel explained.

He told MrBeast that he had never been able to drive because of his vision, and that he found himself stuck at home because of it.

At the end of the video after the surgery was successful, MrBeast gave Jeremiah a Tesla.

MrBeast also brought the surgery to patients from countries around the world

Countries the effort visited were Namibia, Mexico, Honduras, Indonesia, Brazil, Vietnam, Kenya, and Jamaica

MrBeast and See also brought their surgery around the world to cure the vision of people from Namibia, Mexico, Honduras, Indonesia, Brazil, Vietnam, Kenya, and Jamaica.

On its website, See explained that cataracts affect about 65.2million people around the world, and that in 80 percent of those cases vision loss can be moderate to severe.

Procedures to cure cataracts like the one detailed in MrBeast's are relatively simple, but 99 percent of the world doesn't have access to healthcare and services to treat the condition.
A grieving family are demanding answers after a beloved grandfather died in a motorcycle crash with an asylum seeker who was working illegally as a DPD driver under a false name.

The wife and two daughters of Mark Colwill, 58, have been left devastated and struggling to manage without him since his death last August - and are now demanding answers from DPD.

He was hit by a DPD delivery van driven by Moldovan Vladimir Stratan who had entered Britain under a false name in 2021 but was allowed to stay after lodging an asylum claim.

Stratan, 26 of West Clyst, near Exeter, was working for DPD through a subcontractor using a driving licence in the false name of Viaral Nirescu, who was a 'Romanian' with a fake address in Bristol. The licence carried his photo.

Asylum seeker and DPD driver Moldovan Vladimir Stratan (pictured), 26, of West Clyst, near Exeter, was jailed for ten months after admitted perverting the course of justice causing death by careless driving and driving while uninsured and with a false licence

The wife and two daughters of Mark Colwill (pictured) have been left devastated and struggling to manage without him

Stratan was detained in October 2021 after he entered Scotland from Ireland using the false identity of a Romanian called Sergei Bagrin. He was detained for five months before being freed in March with an admonition by Stranraer Sherriff Court.

He then moved to Devon where he obtained the false driving licence and got a job as a delivery driver.

Stratan had already racked up four unpaid speeding tickets in two months of driving for DPD at their depot near St Austell in Cornwall. The crash with Mr Colwill occurred when he failed to stop at a Give Way sign on a country road at Ashwater, North Devon.

Mr Colwill was riding his motorcycle perfectly safely but had no chance to avoid the Transit as it sped across the main road he was using. He was fatally injured and thrown into a ditch, where his family, who lived very close, found him in terrible pain.

He had become a grandfather for the first time a year earlier and his family have been left heartbroken by his death. His wife Karen and daughters Emma and Natalie all wrote personal statements which were read to Exeter Crown Court.

Emma sobbed as she told how the family's suffering had been aggravated by Stratan's lies, especially after they saw him on his knees at the scene, apparently praying.

She also questioned what checks had been made before he obtained his job as a driver.

She said: 'At first I felt sorry for him and thought it was unfair he was going to have to live with this for the rest of his life, but when I heard he had given false details I was devastated.

'I felt he did not care about my Dad and was just praying that he would not get found out. He was worried about being sent back to the country he came from. He didn't seem to care about anyone else, or he would not have given false details.

Emma asked: 'Where were the checks? How was he employed as a driver despite not holding a licence or being insured?

'On that night, our lives changed forever. We got a life sentence.'

Stratan, 26 of West Clyst, near Exeter, was working for DPD through a subcontractor using a driving licence in the false name of Viaral Nirescu, who was a 'Romanian' with a fake address in Bristol (stock photo of DPD delivery van)

Emma said her one-year-old son Beau had been deprived of his grandfather and her dreams of him driving her to her wedding on his unique motor-trike had been shattered.

Mark's widow Karen said he had been her rock and had worked up to 70 hours a week to provide for his family and she did not know how they could survive without his income.

Stratan admitted perverting the course of justice, causing death by careless driving and driving while uninsured and with a false licence.

He was jailed for a year and ten months by Judge David Evans at Exeter Crown Court and banned from driving for five years after his release. The judge said the public would expect him to be deported on or before his release.

He told him: 'You were not allowed to work in this country, given your immigration status, and you had no licence to drive. Despite that, you took a job as a driver.

'You approached the junction at speed and don't seemed to have stopped or slowed down before driving straight across it. Tragically. Mr Colwill's motorcycle was approaching. He was riding perfectly competently and you gave him to take evasive action.

'He was a beloved husband, father and grandfather. I have heard their victim personal statements. They are heart-breaking in detailing the effect your poor driving and deceit have caused.'

The judge noted that DPD's ability to check on Stratan's credentials had been diluted because he was working through two sub-contractors.

Miss Caroline Bolt, prosecuting, said Mr Colwill was on his way to a bike meet and was on the main road from Ashwater to Holsworthy road at 8.30 pm on August 10 last year when Stratan's van came from a side road into his path.

Stratan drove through a give way sign without stopping and admitted he only looked right and did not see the bike. He gave false details to police spelling out the name on his licence.

He was allowed to leave the scene but the address on the licence turned out not to exist and he was traced to his home, where he continued to claim to be Mr Mirescu and gave another address in Dumfries, Scotland.

The truth only emerged after his fingerprints were checked. Police discovered four speeding tickets next to his bed which he had picked up while driving the Transit van in Cornwall in June and July, all under the false name.

Miss Bolt said Stratan received an admonishment, the equivalent of a conditional discharge, from Stranraer Sheriff Court on March 13, 2022, for entering Britain in October 2021 with false identification papers in the name of a Romanian called Sergei Bagrin.

Miss Anishi Kiri, defending, read out a letter of apology from Stratan to the Colwill family. She said he is truly remorseful and had given the false details because he knew he was not allowed to work.

She said he had been blinded by the sun at the time of the accident and had been working to support his wife and four-year-old son while waiting for his asylum claim to be processed.
Pope Francis has delivered a prayer at the Vatican today ahead of his five-day trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and South Sudan.

Pope Francis will travel on Tuesday to the two African nations where Catholics make up about half of the populations.

The trip, between the 31 January and 5 February, was scheduled to take place last July but was postponed because Francis was suffering a flare-up of a chronic knee ailment.

While he still uses a wheelchair and cane, his knee has improved significantly.

DRC, which is the second-largest country in Africa and has a population of about 90 million, is getting its first visit by a pope since John Paul II travelled there in 1985, when it was known as Zaire.

'Together, as brothers, we will live an ecumenical journey of peace,' Francis told tens of thousands of people in St. Peter's Square for his Sunday address

Pope Francis will travel on Tuesday to the two African nations where Catholics make up about half of the populations

Francis had planned to visit the eastern city of Goma but that stop was scrapped following the resurgence of fighting between the army and the M23 rebel group in the area where Italy's ambassador, his bodyguard and driver were killed in an ambush in 2021.

Francis will stay in the capital, Kinshasa, but will meet there with victims of violence from the east.

The Vatican's ambassador to DRC, Archbishop Ettore Balestrero said: 'Congo is a moral emergency that cannot be ignored.'

According to the U.N. World Food Programme, 26 million people in the DRC face severe hunger.

The country's Catholic Church has a long history of promoting democracy and as the pope arrives, it is gearing up to monitor elections scheduled for December.

Britain's ambassador to the Vatican, Christ Trott, who spent many years as a diplomat in Africa, said: 'Our hope for the Congo is that this visit will reinforce the Church's engagement in support of the electoral process.'

That trip is being made with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby and the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, Iain Greenshields.

Francis will stay in the capital, Kinshasa, but will meet there with victims of violence from the east

Thousands of people gather at the Vatican while Pope Francis recites the Angelus prayer

'Together, as brothers, we will live an ecumenical journey of peace,' Francis told tens of thousands of people in St. Peter's Square for his Sunday address.

The three Churches represent the Christian make-up of the world's youngest country, which gained independence in 2011 from predominantly Muslim Sudan after decades of conflict and has a population of around 11 million.

'This will be a historic visit,' Welby said. 'After centuries of division, leaders of three different parts of (Christianity) are coming together in an unprecedented way.'

Two years after independence, conflict erupted when forces loyal to President Salva Kiir clashed with those loyal to Vice President Riek Machar, who is from a different ethnic group. The bloodshed spiralled into a civil war that killed 400,000 people.

People gather while Pope Francis recites the Angelus prayer from the window of his office overlooking St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican

The trip, between the 31 January and 5 February, was scheduled to take place last July but was postponed because Francis was suffering a flare-up of a chronic knee ailment

A 2018 deal stopped the worst of the fighting, but parts of the agreement - including the deployment of a re-unified national army - have not yet been implemented.

There are 2.2 million internally displaced people in South Sudan and another 2.3 million have fled the country as refugees, according to the United Nations, which has praised the Catholic Church as a 'powerful and active force in building peace and reconciliation in conflict-torn regions'.

In one of the most remarkable gestures since his papacy began in 2013, Francis knelt to kiss the feet of South Sudan's previously warring leaders during a retreat at the Vatican in April 2019, urging them not to return to civil war.

Trott, a former ambassador in South Sudan, said he hoped the three Churchmen can convince political leaders to 'fulfil the promise of the independence movement'.
Lewis has been missing ever since and many have pointed the finger at Baskin due to her inheriting his entire estate, which some estimates have put at $10M

Don Lewis, 59, went missing in August 1997 after allegedly telling the 'Tiger King' star he was heading to Costa Rica on his plane

The lawyer for Carole Baskin's missing husband says he believes the man's will was forged due to a strange clause included

The lawyer for Carole Baskin's missing husband claims the man's will was 'forged,' which he is confident about due to a strange 'disappearance' clause.

According to Don Lewis' lawyer, Joseph Fritz, he knew the document was 'fabricated' after he came across the surprising clause which gave Baskin full control over his multi-million dollar estate in the case of 'disability or disappearance.'

Lewis, 59, went missing in August 1997 after allegedly telling Baskin he was planning to travel to Costa Rica on his private plane.

The man vanished without a trace and his truck was later found at an abandoned airfield 40 miles away from the property he owned with his wife outside of Tampa, Florida. He was declared legally dead in 2002 but Fritz told the US Sun he has no doubt Lewis was 'murdered.'

The lawyer for Carole Baskin's missing husband claims the man's will was 'forged,' which he is confident about due to a strange 'disappearance' clause

According to Don Lewis' laywer, Joseph Fritz, he knew the document was fabricated after he came across the surprising clause which gave Baskin full control over his multi-million dollar estate in the case of 'disability or disappearance'

Fritz, who was also Lewis' friend, has long maintained that the document was forged and stated he believed someone other than Lewis had signed the will.

In 2020, Hillsborough County sheriff Chad Chronister confirmed the document was forged, saying two experts had examined the document and determined it had been fabricated.

'They called in some experts to say that the will was a forgery and I had already told them that two months ago,' Chronister said.

'They had two experts deem it 100% a forgery' the sheriff said, speaking to local media.

Chronister said the statute of limitations complicated any hopes of legal action, however, as the will had already been executed.

'That's the only reason. There's no recourse,' he said. 'A judge deemed it valid. So the civil side of it, with the execution of the will [and] disbursement of the funds is one thing. But then you have the criminal side, which is unable to prosecute.'

While the exact amount the estate is worth is unknown, some estimates have valued it up to $10 million.

The entire estate was left to Baskin with Lewis' own family being cut out.

Baskin and Lewis in Tiger King season 2. In 1997, he left his residence and was never seen by friends or family members again

After Lewis' disappearance, police found his van at the abandoned private airstrip outside of Tampa.

Inside, law enforcement could not locate any signs of a struggle, including blood.

There is also no record of him flying and his banking activity remained untouched.

After he went missing, Baskin brought forth his will and took control of his estate thanks to the puzzling clause.

'In my law office, we have lawyers with more than 100 years combined experience, and none of us has ever heard the word 'disappearance' used in a document like that,' Fritz told The U.S. Sun.

'Never. Not in one case. It leaves me to believe that a non-lawyer did that.

'Who the f**k thinks they're going to disappear?' the lawyer continued.

This is Don Lewis, who went missing in August 1997

Baskin got remarried to Howard Baskin two years after Lewis was pronounced dead

Baskin previously stated she had authored legal documents in Don's name but stated he asked her to do so.

The Tiger King star claimed Lewis wanted to save money on legal expenses.

Baskin said in a 2020 blog post she specifically included the wording regarding disappearance because of her husband's 'dealings with the mob' in Costa Rica.

'Some people made a fuss about using the word "disappearance," but Don had told me about people going to Costa Rica and disappearing, and he was dealing with the mob down there, so I thought that seemed like a potential threat and included the word,' she wrote.

Baskin said the couple's Costa Rican lawyer told her he was loaning money to the Helicopter Brothers.

'I also included disability because of Don's increasingly strange behavior,' she wrote.

Fritz's suspicions regarding the signatures on the will were backed up by the investigation conducted by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Department.

The investigation found that the signatures appeared to have been copied from his marriage certificate several years prior.

The experts said the two signatures were a perfect match. Typically, signatures show some variation.

'It was nearly exact replication to the extent that I was very confidently able to opine that what I was dealing with  at least with Mr. Lewis's signature  that these signatures were traced,' Fritz said.

Just last week, DailyMail.com reported that Baskin, appearing in a televised interview, said she believes her ex-husband is still alive and in Costa Rica

Baskin's story came to light in 2020 with the success of Netflix's docuseries 'Tiger King'

Just last week, DailyMail.com reported that Baskin, appearing in a televised interview, said she believes her ex-husband is still alive and in Costa Rica.

The claim was immediately called into question by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

Officials have kept Lewis' disappearance case open and efforts were officially rebooted in April 2020 after the success of Netflix's 'Tiger King' docuseries.

A spokesperson for the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Department said that they had not heard anything about Lewis' whereabouts.

Baskin has also claimed that a Department of Homeland Security official had been in touch with her ex and subsequently informed the sheriff's office.

The sheriff's public information office, Fentress Fountain, said: 'We have not received any communication from our federal partners that confirms the location of missing person Mr. Don Lewis.'

'The investigation into Don Lewis' disappearance remains a priority for the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, as do all missing person cases.'

Fritz told the US Sun it's a bald-faced lie.

'First of all, it's a goddamn lie that [federal authorities] will say anything to anybody,' the lawyer said.

'Number two, nobody I know outside of police work has ever seen that document I've known that it existed since before Tiger King, and we've asked for it but they won't give it up.

'But that letter's existence is nothing new, it's just more bulls**t from Carole,' he said.

Carole and Howard Baskin said in a 2021 blog post that the second season of Tiger King had some redeeming features in that it revealed that Lewis was routinely flying small aircraft to Costa Rica and could have reached the country undetected

The unverified Department of Homeland Security letter claiming Don Lewis remains alive and well and is living in Costa Rica. He was 59 when he disappeared and would be 84 now

Another person who signed the document, Susan Aronoff, previously testified she was there for the signing of the will but later told investigators she wasn't.

According to Chronister, Aronoff 'came forward and said she felt pressured at the time to say that it was signed by everyone.'

'I'm pretty confident, she says that she felt to prove her allegiance to Carol that she felt pressured into saying that she witnessed those signatures,' Chronister said.

The longtime executive assistant for Lewis, Anne McQueen, at one point said she had no knowledge of any other wills other than the one she had under her desk.

McQueen's documents say she is the executor of his will, has power of attorney, and is in control of the man's life insurance.

Speaking in reference to the documents presented by Baskin, Frtiz said: 'They're forgeries, there's no doubt about it. But we don't know who did do it for certain.'

'All the witnesses on the document have recanted, saying it didn't happen,' he continued. 'If there were a murder investigation, it might be evidence. I don't know.'

'But there's nothing they can do about it now.'

Carole (left) and Howard Baskin (right) pictured in August 2021

He also said there is 'no doubt' he believes Lewis was murdered.

Despite that, he did note he had heard of potential sightings of the missing man in Costa Rica.

Lewis' daughters corroborated those reports but said nothing had come of them.

At one point, Lewis' daughter Donna and her husband Tom even flew down to Costa Rica to look for him after a sighting but the efforts were fruitless.

'In the past few days, we've learned of recent news articles being published claiming that our Dad, Jack Donald Lewis, has been found 'alive and well,' in Costa Rica,' the daughters' written statement began.

'While we would certainly welcome the good news of our dad being found alive, it's just simply not true. In late 1997, we were notified by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Department that a report existed from US Customs stating that our Dad had been seen in Costa Rica.'

In spite of the obstacles, the lawyer says he still has hopes the case will one day be solved. Who and how it will be figured out, however, remains a question to him.

'The sheriff knows I'm unimpressed with their investigation; I once said I've seen Walmart security do a better job of investigating a kid that stole a CD,' he said.

'They probably have enough probable cause right not to make arrests - they do - but they don't have it beyond a reasonable doubt and until they do they're not going to do anything.

'Will they get there eventually? I think they will. One day someone somewhere is going to need a get-out-of-jail-free card and they're going to give up testimony in exchange.

'That's the only way this one is going to get solved,' he concluded.
A man and woman were allegedly held captive in an apartment for three days and tortured with a jet flame over a suspected drug debt.

Sean Froggatt, 52, and the woman were allegedly held against their will at a housing commission unit on Levett Street in Wyong, on the NSW Central Coast, from Thursday until Saturday.

The unit was rented out by hairdresser Bonnie Cullen, 33, and shared with her new boyfriend Daniel Hasapis, 30.

Hasapis allegedly bashed and tortured Mr Froggatt over the next three days and allegedly used a jet flame on the man and woman.

Cullen was charged with concealing a serious offence and is not alleged to have been involved in the death of Mr Froggatt or kidnapping of the woman.

Hasapis has been charged with murder and kidnapping.

Both their matters were mentioned in Wyong Local Court on Monday however neither appeared or applied for bail.

They will remain in custody until their next appearance on March 28.

The unit was rented out by hairdresser Bonnie Cullen (pictured), 33, and shared with her new boyfriend Daniel Hasapis, 30

Hasapis allegedly bashed and tortured Mr Froggatt over the next three days and allegedly used a jet flame on the man and woman

The woman suffered 'serious' burns to her chest and arms before she managed to flee the unit and call police from a friend's house on Saturday.

She told officers she was concerned for the welfare of her friend when police stormed the apartment and found the body of Mr Froggatt in a bedroom.

Hasapis was arrested at the unit and his girlfriend Cullen was taken away in handcuffs while she was visiting a relative at Watanobbi.

Cullen had moved to the Central Coast three years ago and was renting the housing commission unit when she recently started a relationship with Hasapis.

Neighbours claimed they did not notice anything out of the ordinary when they spotted the four people together on Australia Day, The Daily Telegraph reported.

'I walked past them that night, just said "Hey bro" to Sean, but it all seemed OK ... that's why I'm just so shocked now this has all come out,' one said.

'Bonnie lived downstairs, Sean was upstairs...he used to visit her a bit, like mates.'

Hasapis allegedly bashed and tortured Mr Froggatt over the next three days and allegedly used a jet flame on the man and woman (stock image)

The woman suffered burns to her chest and arms before she managed to flee the unit and call police from a friend's house on Saturday

Another resident said Mr Froggatt had been living at the complex for the past 13 years.

Friend Kylie Terry described him as a larrikin and gentle person.

'He wouldn't hurt anyone...he had this beautiful head of hair, not a single grey,' she said.

Mr Froggatt had been living with epilepsy and required a carer.

NSW Police Superintendent Chad Gillies said all four people were known to each other.
Turkey suspended NATO talks last week after a protest in Stockholm

Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO following Russia's invasion of Ukraine

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan signalled today that Ankara may agree to Finland joining NATO ahead of Sweden, amid growing tensions with Stockholm.

'We may deliver Finland a different message (on their NATO application) and Sweden would be shocked when they see our message. But Finland should not make the same mistake Sweden did,' Erdogan said in a televised speech aired today.

Sweden and Finland applied last year to join NATO following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and need all member countries' approval to join.

Turkey and Hungary are yet to ratify the Nordic countries' membership.

'Finland should not make the same mistake Sweden did,' Erdogan said in a televised speech aired today

Far-right politician Rasmus Paludan burning a Koran during an election meeting in Husby, Stockholm, in May 2022

Turkey says Sweden, in particular, harbours what Ankara says are militants from the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984.

'We gave Sweden a list of 120 persons and told them to extradite those terrorists in their country. If you don't extradite them, then sorry about that,' Erdogan said, referring to Turkey's agreement with Sweden and Finland last June over their NATO application.

Turkey suspended NATO talks with Sweden and Finland last week after a protest in Stockholm in which a far-right politician burned a copy of the Koran.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said his country wanted to restore NATO dialogue with Turkey, but Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday it was meaningless to restart talks.

Cavusoglu also said there was 'no offer to evaluate Sweden's and Finland's NATO membership separately.'
Senior Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg has today backed former Prime Minister Boris Johnson to replace sacked Nadhim Zahawi as Conservative Party chairman.

The ex-business secretary hailed the former prime minister for having 'all the right attributes' to fill Mr Zahawi's role.

'He is charismatic, he rallies the troops,' Mr Rees-Mogg told GB News of Mr Johnson. He's a sort of fully-loaded Conservative. So I think that type of personality would be a very good one for a party chairman.'

But Mr Rees-Mogg admitted it was unlikely that Rishi Sunak would appoint Mr Johnson to his Cabinet due to their past differences. He added: 'The former PM and the PM are inevitably not going to be the closest of political allies, just under the circumstances of the summer.'

Senior Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg today backed Boris Johnson (pictured) to replace sacked Nadhim Zahawi as Tory chairman

Ex-business secretary Rees-Mogg hailed the former prime minister for having 'all the right attributes' to fill Mr Zahawi's role

Nadhim Zahawi is facing calls to quit as an MP after being sacked from Government by the Prime Minister after he was found to have committed a 'serious breach' of ministerial rules.

The Tory chairman's exit comes as a result of a furious row over his tax affairs after he was revealed to have paid a penalty to HMRC as part of a tax bill.

The sum handed over to the tax authorities by Mr Zahawi is reported to be at least 4.8million, including a 1.1million penalty.

The revelation Mr Zahawi paid a penalty to HMRC forced Rishi Sunak - who is claimed to be 'livid' at the controversy - to this week order an investigation by his ethics adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus.

Sir Laurie has now ruled against Mr Zahawi for failing to properly disclose the tax dispute when he was appointed to various Government roles.

He outlined seven breaches of ministerial rules by Mr Zahawi in a damning four-page report.

Mr Sunak was today told by a Tory ex-minister he's been left looking 'weak' by the 'extremely toxic' saga and for failing to have fired Mr Zahawi sooner when his tax penalty first came to light.

Nadhim Zahawi has been sacked from Government by the Prime Minister after he was found to have committed a 'serious breach' of ministerial rules

Mr Zahawi was lambasted by the PM's ethics adviser for failing to properly disclose the tax dispute with HMRC when he was appointed Chancellor last July

The dramatic culmination to the row over Mr Zahawi will come as a huge blow to the PM, who is due to mark his first 100 days in No10 this week

In a letter to Mr Zahawi today, Mr Sunak said the departing Tory chairman had committed 'a serious breach of the ministerial code'

In full - the PM's letter to Nadhim Zahawi Dear Nadhim, When I became Prime Minister last year, I pledged that the Government I lead would have integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level. That is why, following new information which came to light in recent days regarding your personal financial arrangements and declarations, I asked Sir Laurie Magnus, the independent adviser on ministers' interests, to fully investigate this matter. You agreed and undertook to co-operate fully with the inquiry. Following the completion of the independent adviser's investigation - the findings of which he has shared with us both - it is clear that there has been a serious breach of the ministerial code. As a result, I have informed you of my decision to remove you from your position in His Majesty's Government. As you leave, you should be extremely proud of your wide-ranging achievements in Government over the last five years. In particular, your successful oversight of the Covid-19 vaccine procurement and deployment programme which ensured the United Kingdom was at the forefront of the global response to the coronavirus pandemic. Your role was critical to ensuring our country came through this crisis and saved many lives. And as the Conservative Party Chairman, you have undertaken significant restructuring to Conservative Campaign Headquarters and readied us for important work in the coming months. It is also with pride that I, and previous prime ministers, have been able to draw upon the services of a Kurdish-born Iraqi refugee at the highest levels of the UK Government. That is something which people up and down this country have rightly valued. I know I will be able to count on your support from the backbenches as you continue to passionately and determinedly serve your constituents of Stratford-on-Avon and represent the many issues and campaigns you are dedicated to. Thank you for your service to this and previous governments. Yours sincerely, Rishi Sunak Advertisement

Michael Portillo, who served in John Major's Cabinet, told GB News that Mr Sunak 'must have been kicking himself all week that he decided to refer this to an investigation rather than going with a decision straight away'.

He added the row had done 'terrible damage' to the Government.

Labour today attempted to pile the pressure on Mr Sunak over the scandal, with deputy leader Angela Rayner and party chair Anneliese Dodds writing to the PM to demand he 'come clean' about what he knew and when.

Opposition MPs were also calling for Mr Zahawi to quit Parliament entirely and resign as MP for Stratford-on-Avon.

After being sacked by the PM, Mr Zahawi today pledged his support to Mr Sunak from the back benches of the House of Commons.

But he also lashed out at media coverage of his tax scandal and offered an apology to his family for 'the toll this has taken on them'.

The dramatic culmination to the row over Mr Zahawi will come as a huge blow to the PM, who is due to mark his first 100 days in No10 this week.

Mr Sunak is also continuing to face questions over the fate of Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab, who is subject to an ongoing investigation into 'bullying' claims.

The PM pledged to lead a Government with 'integrity, professionalism and accountability' when he took office in October.

He has also been left embarrassed after telling MPs earlier this month that the row over Mr Zahawi's tax affairs had been addressed 'in full' - before being forced to order Sir Laurie's inquiry.

Sir Laurie's findings left Mr Sunak with little choice but to fire Mr Zahawi from his Cabinet.

In the damning four-page report to the PM, the adviser revealed that Mr Zahawi initially failed to declare he was subject to an HMRC probe when he was appointed Chancellor by Boris Johnson in July last year.

This was a role that put him in charge of Britain's tax system and, Sir Laurie said, could have led to claims of a possible conflict of interest.

Sir Laurie also lambasted Mr Zahawi for failing to disclose that the tax investigation had ended with him paying a penalty when he was later appointed to other Cabinet roles by Liz Truss, in September, and then Mr Sunak, in October.

In further criticism, Sir Laurie condemned Mr Zahawi for failing to correct his past denial that HMRC were investigating his tax affairs until this month.

In a letter to Mr Zahawi today, Mr Sunak wrote: 'Following the completion of the independent adviser's investigation  the findings of which he has shared with us both  it is clear that there has been a serious breach of the ministerial code.

'As a result, I have informed you of my decision to remove you from your position in His Majesty's Government.'

The PM added Mr Zahawi should be 'extremely proud' of his 'wide-ranging achievements' in Government over the past five years, including his spell as vaccines minister during the Covid pandemic.

'Your role was critical to ensuring our country came through this crisis and saved many lives,' Mr Sunak said.

'And as the Conservative Party chairman, you have undertaken significant restructuring to Conservative Campaign Headquarters and readied us for important work in the coming months.'

Sir Laurie Magnus, the PM's ethics adviser, concluded that Mr Zahawi showed 'insufficient regard' for ministerial rules

In a letter to the PM, Mr Zahawi pledged his support to Mr Sunak from the back benches of the House of Commons. But he also lashed out at media coverage of his tax scandal

In full - Nadhim Zahawi's reply to the PM Dear Prime Minister, Thank you for your kind words. It has been, after being blessed with my loving family, the privilege of my life to serve in successive Governments and make what I believe to have been a tangible difference to the country I love. I arrived in this country fleeing persecution and speaking no English. Here, I built a successful business and served in some of the highest offices in government. I believe that in no other country on earth would my story be possible. It reaffirms my belief in the greatness and compassion of our nation. I take particular pride in two achievements in government. First, the vaccine rollout. This saved huge numbers of lives. It is also what has allowed us to move beyond Covid and get our economy and society moving again. I believe there are wider lessons for government in the success of this programme. Policy making and delivery are normally treated as two separate processes. In the vaccine rollout, they were combined, and I think that accounts for why it worked so well. If we could apply this model to other parts of government, I believe it could have transformative results. The second was my role in the mourning period for Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Those days, that celebration of her life of service represented so much of what is best about our country. I was honoured that as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster I could help ensure that everything went smoothly and that as many people as possible could pay their respects and tributes to our longest serving monarch. I am concerned, however, about the conduct from some of the fourth estate in recent weeks. In a week when a Member of Parliament was physically assaulted, I fail to see how one headline on this issue 'The Noose Tightens' reflects legitimate scrutiny of public officials. I am sorry to my family for the toll this has taken on them. You can be assured of my support from the backbenches in the coming years. Your five priorities are the right priorities, and I will do whatever I can to help you deliver them. Yours, Rt Hon Nadhim Zahawi MP Advertisement

In his reply to the PM, Mr Zahawi thanked Mr Sunak for his 'kind words' and said it had been the 'privilege of my life to serve in successive governments and make what I believe to have been a tangible difference to the country I love'.

He also pledged his support to Mr Sunak from the Commons' backbenches 'in the coming years' and in delivering on the PM's priorities.

But Mr Zahawi also lashed out at media coverage of the row over his tax affairs as he made a reference to a recent alleged assault on former health secretary Matt Hancock.

'I am concerned, however, about the conduct from some of the fourth estate in recent weeks,' Mr Zahawi added.

'In a week when a Member of Parliament was physically assaulted, I fail to see how one headline on this issue 'The Noose Tightens' reflects legitimate scrutiny of public officials.

'I am sorry to my family for the toll this has taken on them.'

Asked why Mr Sunak hadn't sacked Mr Zahawi sooner, when it was first revealed he paid a penalty to HMRC, Cabinet minister Michael Gove said that 'due process matters'.

The Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Secretary told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme: 'As ever it's always important to make sure that all the facts are investigated fully and properly.

'That is why Sir Laurie Magnus was given the opportunity to do so, why he's concluded as he did, and why the Prime Minister has acted as he did.

'As a general rule I think it is important when allegations are raised that they are investigated promptly.

'But also we shouldn't rush to judgment before there's been that investigation.

'And again the specific issues of an individual's tax affairs are ones that require, in circumstances like this, a cool forensic analysis, and that is what Sir Laurie provided.'

Mr Gove was also pressed on whether the PM should have carried out more checks before appointing Mr Zahawi as Tory chairman in October.

'To the best of my knowledge, I'm absolutely sure, that there was no alert that was given to either Rishi or indeed to Liz Truss,' he replied.

'So, again, Westminster will always have rumours, speculation, speculative reporting.'

Mr Gove later insisted that Mr Zahawi should not resign as MP for Stratford-on-Avon.

'I don't think Nadhim should resign as an MP, absolutely not,' he told Times Radio.

Mr Portillo later told GB News that Mr Zahawi's departure was a 'terrific blow' for the Govermment and Mr Sunak.

He said: 'I think Nadhim did distinguished work, for example, during the vaccinations campaign.

'But people hate the idea of a senior minister who is filthy rich, not paying the taxes up front. This is extremely toxic with the public.

'The second thing about this is that obviously Rishi has been accused by some people of pursuing natural justice too far, and that he wanted to go through all the proper processes. In a way this is very commendable.

'But this thing has been in the headlines now for days and days and days and it's been doing terrible damage to the Government. And to him and to the party.

'I think he did have an opportunity to get rid of him earlier. So I think the PM will face some criticism for having taken so long it's been fortunate

'It pains me to say this, but I think on the whole it makes Rishi look weak. I think he must have been kicking himself all week that he decided to refer this to an investigation rather than going with a decision straight away.'

Responding to Mr Zahawi's sacking this morning, Ms Rayner - Labour's deputy leader - said: 'This hopelessly weak Prime Minister has been dragged kicking and screaming into doing what he should have done long ago.

'Rishi Sunak shouldn't have needed an ethics adviser to tell him that Nadhim Zahawi's position was untenable, but instead he continued to prop up the man he appointed to Cabinet.

'He must now come clean on the advice he was given about that appointment in the first place and why he apparently ignored the warnings.

'The Conservatives have neither the interest nor the ability to clean up politics.'

Senior Labour MP Chris Bryant, the chair of the Commons' Standards Committee, called for Mr Zahawi to resign as MP for Stratford-on-Avon.

He told LBC Radio: 'He probably should. I think voters will find it very hard to understand why he's sticking around.'

The Liberal Democrats demanded a 'proper independent inquiry' into the matter and also called on Mr Zahawi to quit Parliament entirely.

'Rishi Sunak has finally acted after spending days defending the indefensible on Nadhim Zahawi,' the party's deputy leader Daisy Cooper said.

'It should never have taken him this long to act.

'Sunak's first 100 days in office have been tarnished by endless Conservative sleaze and scandals.

'Serious questions remain about what Sunak knew about Zahawi's tax affairs when he appointed him.

'We need a proper independent inquiry to establish the facts and hold the PM to account.

'Given this was a serious breach of the ministerial code, Nadhim Zahawi must also do the right thing and resign as an MP.

'He has shown he is unfit to serve in Cabinet and unfit to serve the people of Stratford-on-Avon.'

How Nadhim Zahawi's tax scandal unfolded April 2021 Sir Laurie said HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) interactions with Mr Zahawi over the tax issue began in April 2021, when he was a business minister. June 2021 Mr Zahawi and his advisers met with officials from HMRC in June 2021, according to Sir Laurie. The ethics adviser said: 'Mr Zahawi has told me that he had formed the impression that he and his advisers were merely being asked certain queries by HMRC concerning his tax affairs.' July 5, 2022 Mr Zahawi becomes Chancellor of the Exchequer. According to Sir Laurie's findings, after his appointment Mr Zahawi completed a declaration of interests form, but it 'contained no reference to the HMRC investigation'. 'A later form acknowledged (by way of an attachment) that Mr Zahawi was in discussion with HMRC to clarify a number of queries,' Sir Laurie added. July 9, 2022 The Independent reports that HMRC officials were investigating Mr Zahawi and his tax affairs. The Observer newspaper also reports that a 'flag' was raised by officials about the financial affairs of the Tory MP before he was promoted to the high-profile role that included responsibility for HMRC. July 11, 2022 In an interview with Sky News, Mr Zahawi said that he was being 'smeared'. 'I was clearly being smeared. I was told that the Serious Fraud Office, the National Crime Agency, HMRC, were looking into me. 'I'm not aware of this. I've always declared my taxes  I've paid my taxes in the UK,' he said. July 15, 2022 Mr Zahawi received a letter from HMRC, which according to the account he provided to the investigation much later, changed the then-Chancellor's view. The 'impression that he and his advisers were merely being asked certain queries by HMRC concerning his tax affairs' had 'persisted until he received a letter from HMRC on 15 July 2022 (dated 13 July)', Sir Laurie said of Mr Zahawi's account of the matter. The ethics adviser said that after the letter, Mr Zahawi updated his declaration of interests form, acknowledging that his tax affairs were under investigation, but 'provided no further details other than the statement made previously that he was clarifying queries'. 'An HMRC investigation of the nature faced by Mr Zahawi would be a relevant matter for a minister to discuss and declare as part of their declaration of interests,' he said. August to September 2022 Mr Zahawi and HMRC resolved that tax was owed and a penalty should be applied, with a resolution 'in principle' in August, and a 'final settlement' signed in September, according to the ethics adviser. And Sir Laurie added: 'Mr Zahawi failed to update his declaration of interest form appropriately after this settlement was agreed in principle in August 2022.' Mr Zahawi was replaced as Chancellor when Liz Truss became prime minister on September 6, moving to the Cabinet Office. October 2022 Mr Zahawi 'failed to disclose relevant information' about the investigation and his penalty during the appointments process for new roles in Government in September and October, according to the ethics adviser. Sir Laurie said: 'Without knowledge of that information, the Cabinet Office was not in a position to inform the appointing prime minister.' January 14, 2023 The Sun on Sunday reported that Mr Zahawi had agreed to pay several million pounds in tax to settle a dispute with HMRC. A spokesman for the Conservative Party chairman said that his taxes were 'properly declared', that he 'has never had to instruct any lawyers to deal with HMRC on his behalf', adding that 'Mr Zahawi's taxes are properly declared and paid in the UK'. January 16, 2023 Mr Zahawi submitted his declaration of interests form in relation to his role as minister without portfolio and Conservative Party chairman, and included detail of the outcome of the HMRC investigation, according to the independent ethics adviser. But Sir Laurie added: 'At the time of my investigation this declaration was under consideration by the permanent secretary and had yet to be submitted onward to me for consideration. 'Given the seriousness of this matter, I would have expected Mr Zahawi to attend to his submission much more rapidly and to have notified Cabinet Office officials at the time of his appointment.' January 18, 2023 The Prime Minister and Downing Street defend Mr Zahawi over the allegations. At Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Sunak said the Tory chairman 'has already addressed this matter in full and there's nothing more that I can add'. Downing Street said Mr Sunak had full confidence in the Stratford-on-Avon MP, having taken him 'at his word' over the matter. January 20, 2023 The Guardian newspaper reported that Mr Zahawi paid a 30 per cent penalty as part of the dispute, with estimates that he paid 4.8 million in total. January 21, 2023 Mr Zahawi admitted paying a settlement to HMRC after a 'careless and not deliberate' tax error related to his father's shareholding in YouGov. He said that when he set up the YouGov polling company in 2000, his father took founder shares. 'Twenty-one years later, when I was being appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer, questions were being raised about my tax affairs. I discussed this with the Cabinet Office at the time,' he said. 'Following discussions with HMRC, they agreed that my father was entitled to founder shares in YouGov, though they disagreed about the exact allocation. They concluded that this was a 'careless and not deliberate' error. 'So that I could focus on my life as a public servant, I chose to settle the matter and pay what they said was due, which was the right thing to do.' Mr Zahawi said the matter was resolved and 'all my tax affairs were up to date' by the time he became Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster last September. January 23, 2023 Mr Sunak ordered an investigation by his new ethics adviser into Mr Zahawi. The PM acknowledged that 'clearly in this case there are questions that need answering'. January 25, 2023 Mr Sunak was grilled by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer about Mr Zahawi during Prime Minister's Questions. Mr Sunak told the Commons that while it would have been 'politically expedient' to sack the Tory chair, 'due process' meant that the investigation into his tax affairs should be allowed to conclude. He also acknowledged that he had not been given the full picture of Mr Zahawi's tax affairs when he told MPs that the senior Conservative had given a 'full' account. January 28, 2023 Downing Street denied reports that Mr Sunak received informal advice in October that there could be a reputational risk to the Government from Mr Zahawi and his tax affairs. The Observer newspaper, citing sources, said that Government officials gave the new Prime Minister informal advice as he drew up his Cabinet in October regarding the risks from the HMRC investigation settled only months earlier. A Number 10 spokesperson said: 'These claims are not true.' January 29, 2023 Mr Sunak sacked Mr Zahawi as Conservative Party chairman after the ethics inquiry found a 'serious breach' of the ministerial code. Sir Laurie's four-page report found that the Mr Zahawi had shown 'insufficient regard for the general principles of the ministerial code and the requirements in particular, under the seven Principles of Public Life, to be honest, open and an exemplary leader through his own behaviour'. Advertisement

In full - The PM's ethics adviser's damning report on Nadhim Zahawi's tax row Dear Prime Minister, Introduction 1. You have asked me to review the circumstances and facts concerning certain tax affairs of the Rt Hon Nadhim Zahawi, Minister Without Portfolio, and that I assess these circumstances in the context of Mr Zahawi's obligations under the ministerial vode. 2. This report sets out relevant facts that I have established whilst respecting Mr Zahawi's right to taxpayer confidentiality. It provides my assessment of the minister's conduct under the ministerial code, both in terms of its specific provisions and its overriding principles. 3. I should acknowledge that the Minister Without Portfolio has provided his full and open co-operation in assisting with my inquiries. I am also grateful for the assistance I have received from officials at HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and the Cabinet Office. Scope of work and areas of inquiry 4. The matter under review concerns the fact that Mr Zahawi was the subject of an HMRC investigation that resulted in a determination that tax was owed and that a penalty should be applied, falling into the HMRC category of 'lack of reasonable care'. Mr Zahawi and HMRC have confirmed to me that this matter was resolved in principle in August 2022 with a settlement agreement signed in September 2022. 5. The technical detail of HMRC's investigation and their determination is outside my scope. I have focused on Mr Zahawi's handling of the matter in light of his responsibilities as a minister who is subject to the provisions of the ministerial code. The ministerial code makes clear that ministers are expected to 'maintain high standards of behaviour and to behave in a way that upholds the highest standards of propriety', observing the Seven Principles of Public Life and having an 'overarching duty... to comply with the law and to protect the integrity of public life'. 6. As well as considering the above overarching obligations, I have considered three specific areas under the Code: i) How the existence of an ongoing HMRC investigation was declared by Mr Zahawi with reference to his obligations under chapter 7 of the ministerial code (up to August 2022). ii) How the settlement of the HMRC investigation was declared by Mr Zahawi (from August 2022), and in particular in relation to his current role as Minister Without Portfolio. iii) The accuracy of public statements made by Mr Zahawi in relation to the matter, in view of his obligations under the ministerial code to be open and honest. Findings Declarations of ministerial interests 7. The ministerial code sets out that 'ministers must ensure that no conflict arises, or appears to arise, between their public duties and their private interests'. All ministers are subject to an extensive and rigorous framework, designed to provide clear guidance on how interests are declared and handled. This includes a requirement that ministers complete declaration of interests forms (which include questions about the status of their tax affairs), ensuring these are kept up to date at all times, and also discuss potential conflicts and other relevant matters on an ongoing basis with their permanent secretary. Ministers are also expected to disclose any relevant issues, including those which might give rise to possible conflicts, during the process of their appointment to any ministerial role. As a minister of long standing, Mr Zahawi has operated within this framework over a significant period and should be familiar with its requirements. Declaration of interests - HMRC investigation 8. With Mr Zahawi's agreement, I have met with HMRC and received some details, including the timing, of his interaction with them. This commenced in April 2021 and included a meeting which he and his advisers attended with them in June 2021. Mr Zahawi has told me that he had formed the impression that he and his advisers were merely being asked certain queries by HMRC concerning his tax affairs, and that this impression persisted until he received a letter from HMRC on 15th July 2022 (dated 13th July). The principle of taxpayer confidentiality continues to apply. However, on the basis of the confidential information to which I have had access, including correspondence between HMRC and Mr Zahawi personally, I consider that an individual subject to the HMRC process faced by Mr Zahawi should have understood at the outset that they were under investigation by HMRC and that this was a serious matter. 9. I consider that an HMRC investigation of the nature faced by Mr Zahawi would be a relevant matter for a minister to discuss and declare as part of their declaration of interests. I would expect a minister to inform their permanent secretary and to seek their advice on any implications for the management of their responsibilities. I would likewise expect a minister proactively to update their declaration of interests form to include details of such an HMRC process. 10. After his appointment as Chancellor on 5th July 2022, Mr Zahawi completed a declaration of interests form which contained no reference to the HMRC investigation. A later form acknowledged (by way of an attachment) that Mr Zahawi was in discussion with HMRC to clarify a number of queries. Only following receipt of HMRC's letter received on 15th July 2022 (dated 13th July), did Mr Zahawi update his declaration of interests form to acknowledge that his tax affairs were under investigation, but he provided no further details other than the statement made previously that he was clarifying queries. 11. Given the nature of the investigation by HMRC, which started prior to his appointment as Secretary of State for Education on 15th September, 2021, I consider that by failing to declare HMRC's ongoing investigation before July 2022 - despite the ministerial declaration of interests form including specific prompts on tax affairs and HMRC investigations and disputes - Mr Zahawi failed to meet the requirement (at paragraph 7.3 of the ministerial code) to declare any interests which might be thought to give rise to a conflict. Declaration of interests - settlement of tax matter and penalty 12. Following an in-principle agreement in August 2022, in September 2022 Mr Zahawi and HMRC reached a final settlement of his tax investigation. As Mr Zahawi has intimated in his public statement of 21st January 2023, the settlement included a penalty applied on the basis of 'carelessness' which, in this context, according to the HMRC compliance handbook, indicates an individual's failure to take 'reasonable care' in relation to their tax affairs. 13. As set out at paragraph 11, I consider that Mr Zahawi should previously have declared the fact of the investigation. The subsequent fact that the investigation concluded with a penalty in relation to the tax affairs of a minister also requires declaration and discussion. It is a relevant interest which could give rise to a conflict, and particularly so in the case of HM Treasury ministers and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who has responsibility for the UK tax system. As a result of my inquiries, I conclude that Mr Zahawi failed to update his declaration of interest form appropriately after this settlement was agreed in principle in August 2022. It was not until mid-January 2023 (see paragraph 16) that details of the earlier HMRC investigation and its outcome were declared. 14. I also conclude that, in the appointments process for the governments formed in September 2022 and October 2022, Mr Zahawi failed to disclose relevant information - in this case the nature of the investigation and its outcome in a penalty - at the time of his appointment, including to Cabinet Office officials who support that process. Without knowledge of that information, the Cabinet Office was not in a position to inform the appointing Prime Minister. 15. Taken together, I consider that these omissions constitute a serious failure to meet the standards set out in the ministerial code. 16. Mr Zahawi informed me that on 16th January 2023 he submitted, to his permanent secretary, his declaration of interests form in relation to his current role as Minister Without Portfolio, to which he was appointed on 25th October 2022, and that in that form he included detail of the outcome of the HMRC investigation. At the time of my investigation this declaration was under consideration by the permanent secretary and had yet to be submitted onward to me for consideration. Given the seriousness of this matter, I would have expected Mr Zahawi to attend to his submission much more rapidly and, as stated in paragraph 14 above, to have notified Cabinet Office officials at the time of his appointment. Public statements 17. On 10th July 2022, following media speculation, Mr Zahawi made a public statement. He said: 'There have been news stories over the last few days which are inaccurate, unfair and are clearly smears. It's very sad that such smears should be circulated and sadder still that they have been published. 'These smears have falsely claimed that the Serious Fraud Office, the National Crime Agency, and HMRC are looking into me. Let me be absolutely clear. I am not aware of this. I have not been told that this is the case. 'I've always declared my financial interests and paid my taxes in the UK. If there are questions, of course, I will answer any questions HMRC has of me.' 18. Mr Zahawi has told me that at the time of this statement, he was under the impression that he was answering HMRC's queries, but that he was not under investigation. As set out in paragraph 8, I consider that an individual subject to the HMRC process faced by Mr Zahawi should have understood that they were under investigation by HMRC and that this was a serious matter. 19. Under section 1.3(d) of the ministerial code, ministers have a duty to 'be as open as possible with Parliament and the public'. Whilst this duty clearly does not extend to disclosing personal tax information, it does include a general duty to be accurate in statements to ensure a false impression is not given or maintained. 20. Mr Zahawi did not correct the record until 21st January 2023, when Mr Zahawi's public statement indicated that he had reached a settlement with HMRC following an investigation. I consider that this delay in correcting an untrue public statement is inconsistent with the requirement for openness. Conclusion 21. The general principles of the ministerial code are very clear. Paragraph 1.1 states, 'ministers of the Crown are expected to maintain high standards of behaviour and to behave in a way that upholds the highest standards of propriety'. Paragraph 1.3 states, 'The ministerial code should be read against the background of the overarching duty of ministers to comply with the law and to protect the integrity of public life. They are expected to observe the seven principles of public life'. One of the Seven Principles of Public Life is leadership, which requires that holders of public office should not only exhibit the principles in their own behaviour but also actively promote and robustly support the principles. 22. A minister of the Crown has a responsibility to lead by example, demonstrating not just compliance with the ministerial code, but being an exemplar for integrity in public life. This means upholding high standards of propriety in their conduct as citizens and being actively conscious of possible conflicts between their private interests (financial or otherwise) and their ministerial responsibilities. Paragraph 7.2 of the ministerial code states that, 'It is the personal responsibility of each minister to decide whether and what action is needed to avoid a conflict or the perception of conflict'. 23. I consider that Mr Zahawi, in holding the high privilege of being a minister of the Crown, has shown insufficient regard for the general principles of the ministerial code and the requirements in particular, under the seven principles of public life, to be honest, open and an exemplary leader through his own behaviour. I want to commend Mr Zahawi for his willingness to assist with my inquiry. I also fully appreciate the pressures faced by ministers as they address the complex issues of government and the difficulties they encounter in balancing the demands of their personal lives and their ministerial responsibilities. These factors, however, cannot mitigate my overall judgement that Mr Zahawi's conduct as a minister has fallen below the high standards that, as Prime Minister, you rightly expect from those who serve in your Government. Yours sincerely, Sir Laurie Magnus CBE Advertisement

From arriving in Britain as a Kurdish refugee to becoming Chancellor (via making a 'f*** load of money' as a 'Del Boy' businessman): The rise - and now political fall - of Nadhim Zahawi

By Martin Robinson, chief reporter, and Greg Heffer, political correspondent

Nadhim Zahawi's political rise was extraordinary given he arrived in Britain, aged nine, in the 1970s as a Kurdish refugee from Iraq fleeing Saddam Hussein.

He went on to make a fortune founding polling firm YouGov and building a 100million property portfolio.

The 55-year-old Tory MP has previously been compared to Del Boy from Only Fools and Horses and a contestant trying to impress Lord Sugar on The Apprentice.

Friends have said that Mr Zahawi's 'real blood and passion was politics' - but before being elected as MP for Stratford-Upon-Avon in 2010 he dedicated himself to making a 'f**k load of money'.

Another friend in Parliament said: 'He's a sort of lovable wheeler-dealer type', adding there is 'a bit of Del Boy about him'.

Nadhim Zahawi is married to wife Lana (pictured in June 2021) and they have three children

A younger Mr Zahawi is pictured in his flat in Brompton, West London, with designer Broosk Saib in a flat he bought from Dutch supermodel Karen Mulder

But it was not always plain sailing for the married father-of-three in his business career.

An early venture as a young entrepreneur - selling Teletubbies clothing at the height of the show's fame - went bust and backers, including former Tory grandee Jeffrey Archer, lost their money.

But he would become one of the richest politicians in the House of Commons after he helped found YouGov with friend Stephan Shakespeare, having studied chemical engineering at University College London.

In 2002 he took a gamble on ITV's Pop Idol - the biggest show on TV at the time - that would make him even more money in a story friends use to explain his mindset in business and now politics.

Before the final between Will Young and Gareth Gates, the pundits were convinced that it would be Gates that would romp home.

But YouGov polling said otherwise, and he put thousands of pounds on Will Young to win, which he did, allowing the Chancellor to beat the bookies and pundits and makes a fortune.

Former YouGov head of political research Joe Twyman told Politico: 'It tells you a lot about him. He really believed what we were doing was right, he was willing to take the risk, he enjoyed the showmanship and the fun of it all  but also he wanted to make f*** load of money.'

Not only did Mr Zahawi win the bet, he also used it to push YouGov's credibility and three years later he is said to have made 5.7million when it floated.

The success of the UK's Covid jabs rollout, which Mr Zahawi oversaw as vaccines minister, later led to Mr Zahawi's promotion to the Cabinet

Former YouGov president Peter Kellner (right) has said Mr Zahawi would have made a 'perfect' contestant for TV game show The Apprentice

Mr Zahawi has been described in the past as a calculated risk-taker.

'He isn't reckless. He makes sure the odds are in his favour before he makes a bet', the insider said.

Former YouGov president Peter Kellner has said he would have made a 'perfect' contestant for TV game show The Apprentice, if the show starring Lord Sugar had existed in the 1980s and 1990s.

'He was very sharp and shrewd in business terms', he said.

He added it was no surprise Mr Zahawi was a success as vaccines minister during the Covid pandemic because 'in a sense, the vaccine job is like an Alan Sugar challenge writ very large'.

Mr Zahawi was privately-educated at King's College School in West London and University College London where he studied chemical engineering.

He became MP for Stratford-on-Avon in 2010 - the first Kurdish Iraqi to be elected to Parliament.

His first Government role was as children's minister from January 2018 to July 2019, during which time he attended the controversial Presidents Club Ball.

He was said to have been given a dressing down by the chief whip after complaints of sexism and harassment at the all-male gathering for the business elite.

He was appointed business and industry minister in Boris Johnson's Government, before taking on the role of vaccines minister in November 2020.

The success of the UK's Covid jabs rollout saw Mr Zahawi promoted to the Cabinet as Education Secretary in September 2021, when he replaced the embattled Sir Gavin Williamson.

After Rishi Sunak's dramatic resignation as Mr Johnson's Chancellor in July last year, Mr Zahawi stepped in as Treasury chief.

It was, ultimately, this appointment that led to his downfall.

Mr Zahawi in 2004 after being knocked off his moped on Albert Embankment - before the moped was given a parking ticket

Mr Zahawi kisses Boris Johnson's wife Carrie at the 2019 Conservative Party Conference in Manchester in September 2019

Mr Zahawi walks through the Birmingham Conference Centre with then prime minister David Cameron in 2010

Father-of-three Mr Zahawi pictured in October 1996 when he was a businessman

Although he ended up only being Chancellor for two months, until Liz Truss replaced Mr Johnson as PM, his move to No11 coincided with scrutiny of his tax affairs.

An investigation by Mr Sunak's ethics adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus, has now found Mr Zahawi made no reference to an HMRC investgation into him when he took over as Treasury chief.

Sir Laurie also criticised Mr Zahawi for failing to make proper disclosure of his tax dispute - or the fact he paid a penalty to HMRC - when he was subsequently appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster by Ms Truss in September, or Tory chairman by Mr Sunak in October.

Prior to his ministerial career, during the MPs expenses scandal, Mr Zahawi was forced to apologise for claiming taxpayers' money to heat his stables on his Warwickshire estate.

He has also previously faced scrutiny over his second jobs, before entering Government.

He was appointed chief strategy officer at Gulf Keystone Petroleum in 2015 and reported outside earnings which were the equivalent of an annual salary of 765,000.

He received a salary of 20,125 a month, for working between eight and 21 hours per week.

In addition to that, he received a string of bonuses between January and June 2016, adding up to 78,246.38, plus a payment of 52,325 made in September 2015 for 210 hours work, backdated to July last year.

Previously, Zahawi acted as an adviser to Afren, another oil company that went under in 2015.
A pregnant 23-year-old woman was killed along with her unborn baby after her allegedly drunk partner crashed a Dodge Challenger while traveling over 100 mph through Staten Island.

Adriana Sylmetaj was ejected from the car when it collided with a utility pole at around 5am on Sunday morning, causing the vehicle to break into three parts.

Her boyfriend Adem Nikeziq, 30, was charged with manslaughter, negligent homicide, reckless endangerment and driving while intoxicated, among other things, an NYPD spokesperson said.

Pregnant woman Adriana Sylmetaj, 24, was killed along with her baby after her allegedly drunk partner crashed a Dodge Challenger in Staten Island

Adriana Sylmetaj was ejected from the car when it collided with a utility pole at around 5am on Sunday morning, causing the vehicle to break into three parts

It was reported that the severity of the impact caused Sylmetaj to be ejected from the car and she was pronounced dead at the scene

The Albanian couple were traveling southbound on Hylan Boulevard in New Dorp at 4.44am when Nikesiq lost control. The vehicle hit a barrier wall before spinning out and crashing into a wooden utility pole, police said.

It was reported that the severity of the impact caused Sylmetaj to be ejected from the car and she was pronounced dead at the scene.

Nikeziq, a resident of the borough, was taken to the Staten Island University North Hospital after police noticed he was drunk, the spokesman said.

A baby registry on BuyBuy Baby listed Nikesiq and Sylmetaj, of Great Kills, as expectant parents. The child was due in April, according to the website.

Nikeziq was allegedly drunk when he crashed the car while travelling at more than 100 mph

The vehicle hit a barrier wall before spinning out and crashing into a wooden utility pole, police said.

The severity of the impact caused Sylmetaj to be ejected from the car. She was pronounced dead at the scene

In a tribute posted to Sylmetaj online, Nikeziq was described as 'a shame to the Albanian community'.

'He's going away for the rest of his life and that's still not good enough for that piece of s**t,' one grieving relative of Sylmetaj told the Post outside her home on Sunday.

'They couldn't save the baby,' he said. 'We're never going to be ok. None of us. We've experienced a terrible tragedy.'

'I don't understand how the [utility] pole is still standing,' Mario Basso, owner of H20 Auto Spa near the site of the crash told The Post. 'It was hit so hard.'

Images emerged of the mangled car after the pregnant woman was killed

The scene in the aftermath of the fatal crash
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The top Democrat and Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee are upset that they still have not been able to review the classified documents found at Donald Trump and Joe Biden's homes.

Senators Marco Rubio and Mark Warner lamented that even the press has been able to see some of these materials as the Justice Department continues to roadblock congressional oversight panels.

In a joint interview, Warner said 'the notion that we're going to be left in limbo, and we can't do our job, that just cannot stand.'

'There isn't a day that goes by that there isn't some media report about what was found where, what some sort of characterization of the material in the press,' Rubio detailed. 'I just saw one this morning again.'

Republican Intelligence Ranking Member Marco Rubio said that even the press have seen more of Biden's classified documents than his Senate panel

The issue of overclassification has been bubbling for a long time, Sen. @MarkWarner tells @margbrennan, adding that the recent discovery of classified materials pushes the issue to the forefront. pic.twitter.com/AzwhetRIrh  Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) January 29, 2023

'So somehow, the only people who are not allowed to know what was in there are congressional oversight committees,' the Florida Republican senator added.

'But apparently, the media leaks out of the DOJ are unimpeded in terms of characterizing the nature of some of the materials that were found, plus whatever the individuals involved are telling the media. So it's an untenable situation that I think has to be resolved.'

Rubio called it 'absurd' in the pre-recorded sit-down interview with CBS's Margaret Brennan, which aired on Face the Nation on Sunday morning.

Warner, for his part, said the argument that the material may be too old to matter since it stems from Biden's time as a U.S. senator 'doesn't hold water.'

In fact, the Virginia senator noted that it's further proof that there is an issue within the Senate with classified documents making their way outside Congress.

Since the Senate is still Democrat-controlled, Rubio serves as the ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee and Warner is the chairman.

Rubio and Warner sat down for a joint interview with CBS News Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan on Sunday to discuss the Biden classified documents scandal, among other issues at the top of the Intelligence Committee's to-do list

Intelligence Committee Democratic Chairman Mark Warner said 'the notion that we're going to be left in limbo, and we can't do our job, that just cannot stand'

Both leaders want to see the 300 documents with classified markings found at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, as well as the few dozen found at Biden's home in Wilmington, Delaware and at his Washington, D.C. offices of his think tank the Penn Biden Center.

'This committee has had a long bipartisan history of doing its job,' Warner noted while sitting beside Rubio. 'And our job here is intelligence oversight.'

'The Justice Department has had the Trump documents about six months, the Biden documents about three months, our job is not to figure out if somebody mishandled those, our job is to make sure there's not an intelligence compromise,' he noted.

ARound 25-30 documents with classified markings were found by Biden's attorneys at the president's Wilmington home and his think tank offices in D.C. over the last few months. They were turned over to the Justice Department starting in November, but were not revealed to the public until January  well after the 2022 midterm elections.

At least 25-30 documents with classified documents were found at Biden's Wilmington, Delaware home and at his think tank in Washington, D.C.

Some documents were found in boxes in Biden's garage at his Delaware residence

Discovery comes just a few months after hundreds of classified materials were found in an FBI raid at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida

The discovery of the documents came after hundreds were found at Trump's Florida residence in an FBI raid in August were thousands of documents and materials were seized.

Former Vice President Mike Pence also disclosed that such materials were found at his Indiana home.

The recent revelations have led to whispers among the National Archives that they might require searches of all living former presidents and vice presidents.

Those in the intelligence community, however, note the bigger problem that the discovery could indicate with politicians at all levels of government being able to take documents with classified markings out of secure locations.
An Australian newspaper has been blasted by Nelson Mandela's eldest granddaughter after she was quoted accusing Prince Harry and Meghan Markle of 'profiteering' from her family's legacy to promote their Netflix documentary.

Ndileka Mandela made headlines earlier this month when Sydney's Daily Telegraph reported she had slammed the royal couple for having 'stolen' her grandfather's name for their own personal gain.

Danielle Gusmaroli, the newspaper's Europe correspondent, quoted the social activist as being 'deeply upset' the Sussexes had used the late South African president's quotes in their documentary series Live To Lead.

But Ms Mandela since angrily claimed the tabloid and Ms Gusmaroli twisted her words and exploited her granddad's name to launch an attack on the royal couple.

In an opinion piece for London newspaper The Independent on Sunday, Ms Mandela blasted the newspaper for 'weaponising my name'.

She said her grandfather's reputation had been used to attack a woman of colour.

Ndileka Mandela (pictured) has denied claims she accused Prince Harry and Meghan Markle of 'profiteering' from her late grandfather's name

Danielle Gusmaroli was singled out by Ms Mandela over her article in Sydney's Daily Telegraph

She insisted she had never accused Harry and Meghan of 'profiteering' from her grandfather's name and was 'shocked' by the claims.

'(Meghan and Harry's) critics ... falsely exploited my grandfather's name to attack them.

'The words wrongly attributed to me, criticising them for quoting my grandfather, are not mine at all  they belong not to me, but to those who have amplified these falsehoods all over the world.

'I am mortified to have seen how my words were twisted in such a way as to distort my genuine concerns about the commercial exploitation of my grandfather's legacy.'

Daily Mail Australia has contacted NewsCorp for comment about the claims.

Ms Mandela was quoted by The Daily Telegraph as saying she admired Prince Harry for having the confidence to break away from The Firm but was 'deeply upset' he and Meghan were using her grandfather's legacy.

Nelson Mandela's eldest granddaughter says she unequivocally supports Prince Harry and Meghan's (pictured) stand and the use of her grandfather's name

'I don't believe he nor Meghan have ever properly met granddad, maybe when Harry was young at Buckingham Palace, but they are using his quotations in the documentary to draw in people and make millions without the Mandela family benefiting,' Ms Mandela was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

'I know the Nelson Mandela Foundation has supported the initiative but people have stolen grandfather's quotes for years and have used his legacy because they know his name sells  Harry and Meghan are no different from them.'

'But it comes at a price, you have to then fund your own life, I've made peace with people using granddad's name but it's still deeply upsetting and tedious every time it happens.'

In response to the quotes being published, Ms Mandela who insisted she 'honestly doesn't find anything wrong with them (the Sussexes) using that opening thing inspirational with a quote of granddad' - and accused the couple's critics of 'making a mountain out of a mole hill... for no reason'.

'Meghan has always been an activist, and this is in her activism work which my grandfather was, he was, a social justice activist through and through,' she told Fox News earlier this month.

Ndileka Mandela (left), pictured with sister Nandi Mandela (right) and her son Luvuyo Madasa in London last month has accused an Australian newspaper of misquoting her

'Like I said early on, a lot of people use granddad's quotes, and nobody has been made such a big rah-rah as they are making out of Harry and Meghan using this quotation.'

Ms Mandela has since claimed in her piece for the Independent her grandfather's legacy was misused to attack Meghan, 'a woman of colour who was, effectively, hounded out of the British royal family'.

'I believe it's because despite our real victories against apartheid, colonialism and slavery  in some ways, the mindset behind these crimes  is alive and well in some of our most powerful institutions,' she wrote.

Ms Mandela reiterated she greatly admires the royal couple for the courage to defending those less privileged and celebrates the inspiration they from her grandfather's legacy.

She ended the article by insisting she unequivocally supported the royal couple's stand and the use of her grandfather's name.
Grave fears are being held for a man suffering from dementia after he vanished from a nursing home two days ago.

Donald Earle, 63, was last seen at a care facility in St Ives, in Sydney's north shore, at about 3pm on Saturday.

Police were called when Mr Earle suddenly vanished with family and friends worried about his welfare as he requires ongoing care.

One loved one said he was spotted sleeping outside the Nike store in Neutral Bay on Sunday at around 8am, but is yet to be found.

Donald Earle, 63, was last seen at a care facility in St Ives, in Sydney's north shore, at about 3pm on Saturday

Police were called when Mr Earle suddenly vanished with loved ones worried about his welfare as he requires ongoing care

Another concerned local claimed they saw someone matching Mr Earle's description asleep at Neutral Bay Junction bus stop early on Monday morning, while others said they may have seen him in the Mosman and Neutral Bay areas on Sunday.

NSW Police confirmed to Daily Mail Australia the 63-year-old remains missing.

He is described as being of Caucasian appearance, 180cm tall with grey hair and tattoos on both of his arms.

Mr Earle was last seen in a navy polo top, a green cap, green pants and blue sneakers.

Anyone who has information into his whereabouts is urged to contact police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 immediately.
But Baroness Hayter said misogyny within the party is 'a bit like anti-Semitism'

Sir Keir Starmer claims his party has changed since it 'allowed hate to spread unchallenged'  despite one senior female MP being heckled by male colleagues in a recent debate on gender.

Speaking on Saturday, the Labour leader alluded to the anti-Semitism scandals which had plagued his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn.

'Never again will Labour allow hate to spread unchallenged,' Sir Keir told London Labour's annual conference. 'We have changed our party and we're ready to change Britain.'

However, yesterday Labour peer Baroness Hayter claimed misogyny within the party is 'a bit like anti-Semitism'.

Sir Keir Starmer (pictured) claims his party has changed since it 'allowed hate to spread unchallenged'

Rosie Duffield recently despaired at being 'shouted down' by male colleagues during a House of Commons debate on Scotland's gender identity reforms

Her comment came just over a week after Rosie Duffield was shouted down by male colleagues during a debate on Scotland's controversial Gender Recognition Reform Bill.

The MP for Canterbury, who has suffered domestic abuse at the hands of a former partner, later wrote a piece for online comment website Unherd titled 'Labour has a woman problem'.

She said: 'In 2019, it was hard enough trying to convince my constituents that Labour wasn't anti-Semitic. In the next election, when they inevitably ask whether Labour is sexist, I'm not sure I'll be able to do the same.'

Baroness Hayter, a former shadow deputy leader of the Lords, told The Sunday Times that Labour MPs were often worried about the abuse they and their staff suffered.

'I see this as being a bit like anti-Semitism when it was first called out in the party and people were saying it was all being exaggerated and overblown,' she said. 'They are trying to squash us and stop us from raising it. But this is misogyny.'

Labour peer Baroness Hayter (pictured) claimed misogyny within Labour is 'a bit like anti-Semitism'

Meanwhile, another peer told the newspaper that the treatment of Ms Duffield during the debate had prompted some to see the 'bullying and misogynistic behaviour for what it is'.

They added: 'This is women being aggressively silenced by men.' Labour backbencher Lloyd Russell-Moyle was among those who shouted down Ms Duffield and Tory MP Miriam Cates as they spoke out on transgender law.

He also moved to the Tory side of the house to apparently stare down Ms Cates.

Later the party's chief whip ordered Mr Russell-Moyle to apologise for his behaviour.

But last week Ms Duffield told TalkTV that Sir Keir would not 'show public support' for her and that she had 'no idea' what he personally believed on the topic.

The Labour leader made tackling hatred and prejudice against Jewish people a priority when he took over from Mr Corbyn in April 2020.

Six months later a report found the party to have been in breach of the Equality Act under Mr Corbyn's leadership. He acknowledged anti-Semitism in Labour but claimed it was 'overstated'.

The Left-winger was suspended from the parliamentary party after these remarks and sits as an independent.

A Labour spokesman said: 'As Keir Starmer has said, our debates should always be conducted with respect and tolerance. That means listening to all points of view.

'There can be no tolerance for misogyny in any form.'
It is one of the most striking buildings in Britain, surviving Oliver Cromwell and two world wars unscathed.

But now Kings College Chapel in Cambridge may have its iconic look spoiled amid controversial plans to plaster its roof with hundreds of solar panels.

The 15th century gothic chapels lead roof is currently being replaced and while the scaffolding is up the college plans to add 492 panels, which could produce 105,000 kWh of energy a year.

But opposition has already flooded in ahead of its application being considered by the Greater Cambridge Shared Planning committee at the start of next month.

Roofing repairs: Kings College Chapel with scaffolding up as the lead roof is currently being replaced

Historic England has recommended the plans be rejected, saying the panels would look out of place on the Grade-I listed chapel, which hosts annual Christmas and Easter carol services televised by the BBC, and would be a stark contrast to the existing roof.

Meanwhile, Cambridge City Airport wants the application refused because it is worried about glare from the panels affecting its operations. The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings said: While we are supportive of the principle of the proposal, we do not consider the justification for the harm caused to be sufficiently robust in this case.

Locals are also opposed to the plan. Dave Harrison said: You wouldnt put them on the Taj Mahal or the Pantheon.

But a planning statement sent to local council officials said: The college fully understands the heritage significance of the chapel as custodians of the building since its foundation in 1441. A major repair of the roof is needed and this is therefore a once in a lifetime opportunity to undertake works which will help the college respond to the challenges of climate change.

Kings College did not respond to a request for comment.
One person has died and three people have been rushed to hospital after an apartment block burst into flames in the early hours of the morning.

A blaze broke out in the lift shaft area of the complex on Bonney Avenue at Clayfield, in Brisbane's north, about 5am on Monday.

A 55-year-old man was killed while 12 people were rescued from the building by firefighters, with three elderly residents taken to hospital.

The fire is understood to have been started in an apartment before the flames spread through the fifth level of the complex and elevators.

One person has died and several are missing after an apartment block burst into flames in the early hours of the morning

Several people living inside the building are missing with their absence raising concerns they could be stuck inside the unit

Seven News reported that the fire may have been deliberately lit, although a senior source could not confirm or deny that.

Queensland Police has set up a crime scene with an investigation launched into the cause of the fire.

The man's death has been ruled as 'non-suspicious'.

Firefighters brought the massive blaze under control at 6:30am.

Superintendent Ricky May said the first wave of firefighters had arrived on scene seven minutes after receiving the call for help.

'What they did is first (conduct a) primary search. Check every floor. Evacuate those floors,' he said.

'Then they go through a secondary search system, which is more slower, more thorough, more systemic, to ensure that everything has been cleared. That's all been done.'

QAS operations supervisor Georgia Gascoigne said there were several elderly people living at the complex.

'They have been so resilient through this process,' she said. 'It is such a lovely community around here.'

Charlotte Davis, whose parents are living at the complex, said she was on the phone to her mother when the fire broke out.

'I think they had a bit of trouble getting out. They copped a bit of smoke,' she told Courier Mail.

Queensland Fire and Emergency services said firefighters were confronted by a massive blaze before bringing it under control at 6:30am

Resident Anne Nioa recalled hearing the fire alarm go off around 4.45am.

'There was a little bit of smoke but I think the main problem has been on the roof,' she said.

'The emergency services have done a wonderful job they were here within three or four minutes.'

Queensland Ambulance warned locals to steer clear of the area.

'Please avoid the area and be mindful of the emergency services response,' a spokesman said.
Three South Florida nursing schools have been caught selling thousands of fake diplomas in a massive scheme that allowed students to bypass licensing training.

Siena College, the Palm Beach School of Nursing, and Sacred Heart International Institute have lost their accreditation as nursing schools after federal authorities found that they issued more than 7,600 fake and unearned diplomas.

Students were then able to use those bogus diplomas to take the national nursing licensing exam, and land jobs as registered nurses, practical nurses, and vocational nurses in assisted living facilities and Veteran Affairs hospitals throughout the country.

Federal prosecutors have now charged 25 people with wire fraud for the scheme in which they allegedly sold 'fraudulent nursing degree diplomas and transcripts obtained from accredited Florida-based nursing schools.'

They each face up to 20 years in prison.

Southern Florida nursing schools like the Palm Beach School of Nursing were found to have distributed thousands of fake diplomas

Federal prosecutors say that between 2016 to 2021, the Palm Beach School of Nursing, Sacred Heart International Institute and Siena College handed out more than 7,600 fraudulent diplomas and transcripts, saying students completed clinical and course work when they did not. These students would then go on to get jobs at facilities across the country

Three recently unsealed indictments handed down by a South Florida grand jury, as well as two other charging documents filed by federal prosecutors, detail how recruiters and school officials coordinated to hand out these fake diplomas from 2016 through 2021.

Prosecutors say the more than 7,600 buyers would receive official papers saying they attended the nursing program at these Florida-accredited schools and completed all of their clinical and course work  when in fact they did not.

Using those documents, the buyers were able to use the documents to take the official nursing licensing exam, with many going on to work at facilities in Ohio, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Georgia, Maryland, and Tennessee.

Many of those charged in the scheme are from out-of-state, with many defendants from the New York and New Jersey areas.

Among them are Burlington County, New Jersey residents Stanton Witherspoon and Alfred Sellu, as well as Westchester, New York resident Rene Bernadel.

Charging documents say the three worked as recruiters at Sienna College, where they coordinated with Eunide Sanon  who managed the nursing program  'to create and distribute false and fraudulent diplomas and transcripts' that were sold to 'thousands' of people seeking a nursing degree.

Recruiters at the Sacred Heart International Institute are accused of doing the same thing, arranging with owner Charles Etienne to distribute the false diplomas and transcripts.

The Palm Beach School of Nursing is also accused of arranging with owner Johanah Napolean, as well as school employees Gail Russ, Cheryl Stanley, Krystal Lopez, and Ricky Riley, to do the same.

Napolean was previously charged and has pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit healthcare fraud and wire fraud as well as wire fraud.

Among the 25 people charged are Eunide Sanon (pictured left), who was in charge of the Sienna College Nursing School, left, and Sacred Heart International Institute owner Charles Etienne (pictured right). Prosecutors say they coordinated with recruiters to hand out these fraudulent diplomas

The Palm Beach School of Nursing is also accused of arranging with owner Johanah Napolean, She was previously charged and has pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit health care fraud and wire fraud as well as wire fraud

In announcing the charges, Markenzy Lapointe, the US Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, said the scheme 'erodes public trust in our health care system.

'Not only is this a public safety concern, it also tarnishes the reputation of nurses who actually complete the demanding clinical and course work required to obtain their professional licenses and employment.'

Meanwhile, American Nursing Association President Jennifer Mensik Kennedy said in a statement Thursday that the 'coordinated conspiracy' is 'disturbing' and 'deeply unsettling.'

'Nursing is without a doubt a highly specialized and ethical profession requiring rigorous and life-long education and training to acquire unmatched clinical expertise,' she said. 'You don't achieve this overnight.

'There are no shortcuts in nursing  our patients and clients depend on us. It is both a demanding and rewarding profession that requires individuals to be adaptive to the evolving and complex health care landscape to ensure the delivery of safe and quality patient care.'

Kennedy added that the actions of those involved, including those by school officials, are 'simply deplorable.

'This undermines everything the nursing profession represents and stands for, and is in direct opposition to the Code of Ethics for Nurses,' she said.

'Furthermore, these unlawful and unethical acts disparage the reputation of actual nurses everywhere who have rightfully earned the title of "Most Trusted and Ethical Professionals."
The mother of a 'truly lovely' schoolgirl stabbed to death in a quiet country town says she can never thank her daughter's boyfriend enough 'for trying to save my baby girl'.

Keen dancer Holly Newton, 15, died from knife wounds after she and her boyfriend, 16, were attacked in Hexham, Northumberland, on Friday afternoon.

A 16-year-old boy was yesterday charged with her murder and attempted murder of the boy. He is due to appear at Newcastle Magistrates' Court this morning.

Yesterday, Holly's mother Micala Trussler responded to a Facebook post from the injured boy's older brother, saying: 'Holly was so excited about her new relationship with your brother! I can never thank him enough for trying to save my baby girl.'

Holly Newton, 15, died from knife wounds after she and her boyfriend, 16, were attacked in Hexham, Northumberland, on Friday afternoon

Keen dancer Holly was described as 'quiet, conscientious, helpful and kind' by her school

Holly's mother Micala Trussler wrote on Facebook that the teenager had 'loved animals'. She was organising a tribute for her on February 3. She said she would be taking purple lights and purple candles to the event

Micala Trussler responded to a Facebook post from the injured boy's older brother, saying: 'Holly was so excited about her new relationship with your brother! I can never thank him enough for trying to save my baby girl.'

Holly's mother Micala Trussler wrote on Facebook that the teenager had 'loved animals'. She was organising a tribute for her on February 3. She said she would be taking purple lights and purple candles to the event.

A member of the injured boy's family said he was recovering in hospital following a two-and-a-half hour operation on Saturday. They said: 'It's so tragic Holly died that way. It seems like he did his best to protect her.'

Among those laying flowers yesterday at the scene was a worker at a pizza shop next to the alley where the stabbing took place.

The man, who did not want to be named, told how the wounded boy had gone into the shop with a neck injury, pleading for help. 'I tried to save her but failed,' he said.

One local, who wished to remain anonymous, said: 'I was sitting across the road and the police were on the scene immediately. They had a lad cuffed and put him in the van and then two ambulances came.'

A message on flowers left at the scene by Holly's mother and stepfather Lee Trussler reads: 'To our baby Holly, our hearts hurt so much right now. We love you so much.' Mrs Trussler, 33, a hospitality manager, from nearby Haltwhistle, was too upset to comment.

Holly was a pupil at Queen Elizabeth High School, in Hexham. It said: 'We are devastated at the loss of Holly, a truly lovely student who was quiet, conscientious, helpful and kind.'

Kerry Whitfield, owner of Lightning Dance Academy in Consett which Holly attended, said: 'It's such a shock. Holly was at a dance practice on Thursday night. She was a lovely girl, always helpful in class with a great sense of humour.'

In 2021, Hexham was named the happiest place to live in the UK by property website Rightmove.

A message on flowers left at the scene by Holly's mother and stepfather Lee Trussler reads: 'To our baby Holly, our hearts hurt so much right now. We love you so much'

Specialist search team carry out their investigation at the scene

One friend said on Facebook: 'It's such a cruel world that we live in. It's saddens me so much you were taken from us at such a young age.'

A candle-lighting service has been held at Hexham Abbey so people could pay tribute to Holly, who lived in Haltwhistle, a market town about 15 miles west of Hexham.

Family and friends have laid messages, floral tributes and teddy bears outside the Halifax bank on Priestpopple in Hexham, in a touching tribute.

One message left by loved one reads: 'All our love to the most beautiful girl in the world. We will miss you forever Holly'.

Another read: 'To our baby Holly. Our hearts hurt so much right now. We love you so much'.

A GoFundMe page has been set up in memory of Holly, with donations surpassing its 3,000 target in less than a day.

Officers from Northumbria Police were called shortly after 5.10pm on Friday to a report of a teenage boy and girl injured in the Priestpopple area of Hexham.

In a statement the force said: 'Holly still had so much left to look forward to in life, and this tragic incident has left her family devastated beyond words.

'Our thoughts are with both families involved and their loved ones as we continue to support them in every way we can.

One tribute read: 'To our baby Holly. Our hearts hurt so much right now. We love you so much'. Pictured: Tributes left at the scene last night

One message left by loved one reads: 'All our love to the most beautiful girl in the world. We will miss you forever Holly'. Pictured: Tributes left at the scene

Family and friends laid messages, floral tributes and teddy bears in memory of Holly Olivia

'The investigation is ongoing, and we would like to thank the people of Hexham  and beyond  who have greatly assisted with our enquiries and shown their support.

'While our enquiries continue, we do believe all those involved are known to each other and there is no wider risk to the public.

'Officers will remain in the area over the coming days, and we would encourage anyone with concerns to speak directly with them.'

Chief Superintendent Sam Rennison, of Northumbria Police, said it is 'tragic news'.

At a press conference on Saturday, she said: 'First and foremost, our hearts go out to her loved ones at this truly devastating time.

Friends and family have described Holly Olivia as a 'beautiful' girl who loved to dance

'A 16-year-old boy who was also injured during the incident remains in hospital in a stable condition.

'He and his family are also very much in our thoughts. An investigation was immediately launched and while this is at the very early stages, we do believe all those involved are known to each other.

'We would like to thank the public for their continued support and co-operation.

'In particular, those who tried to provide assistance yesterday to the injured boy and girl at the scene.'

Derek Kennedy, mayor of Hexham, said: 'The whole town is still coming to terms with this, it's been a massive shock.

'I was at Hexham Abbey where they've held a service for Holly, I lit a candle as did other people to pay tribute.

'A young girl who's just starting life and attending the local high school, starting her education and getting out there, it's just terrible, as a town we pay tribute to her.

'It's going to have a big impact on all the schoolchildren when they go back on Monday because one of their own won't be coming back ever again.'

Anyone with information is asked to contact police via the 'Tell Us Something' page on the Northumbria Police website or by calling 101 quoting log NP-20230127-0795.
Friends of a mother who murdered her three children while suffering with severe postpartum depression have banded together in support of her after the tragedy.

Those close to Lindsay Clancy, 32, have taken to social media to describe her as an extremely kind person who loved her children deeply - and to characterize her actions as being clearly driven by the 'serious demons' of her psychosis.

Many have shown their support and solidarity for Lindsay by changing their profile pictures to an image of a heart made up of smaller hearts, with the letters LAOL - standing for Lindsay's Army of Love - written underneath.

Lindsay is accused of strangling her daughter Cora, five, son Dawson, three, and baby Callan, eight months. She is facing murder and assault charges, and is said to have been suffering severe post-natal depression at the time of the killings.

Lindsay with her husband Patrick, and two of their children. The couple had a third child, who died with his siblings after their mother attacked them in an apparent state of psychosis

Jeri Lyn, a friend of Lindsay's said that the tragedy should serve as a reminder to the world about the dangers of postpartum depression

Kristen Gildersleeve took to Facebook to recall volunteering with Lindsay when they were classmates in high school.

She said that when she first heard the news about the killings she was horrified, but upon coming to understand postpartum depression (PPD) she came to understand the tragedy that happened.

'I said PPD isn't an excuse because I also suffered from it and I never had thoughts about harming my children and couldn't fathom the thought of it,' she wrote, recalling her initial reaction to the killings.

A graphic that people have been posting on social media to show support for Lindsay. LAOL stands for Lindsays Army of Love

But she said that after researching PPD she came to understand just how severely the hormone imbalances that can come after pregnancy can hurt a person's mind.

'I knew Lindsay from high school...we spent many hours together doing CNA clinical hours and she was such a kind, loving person,' she wrote.

'What I can say for sure is she was battling some serious demons, that nobody can understand if you've never experienced it yourself.

'To all the people condemning her, I ask you to please look into postpartum psychosis and see if that changes your thoughts, even just a little bit.'

Another woman who knew Lindsay growing up, Jeri Lyn, recorded a video of herself speaking in support for the mother and saying that what happened was nothing more than a tragedy.

'It just reminds you how precious life is, how important you mental health is, and more so how you never know what somebody else is going through,' she said.

'I feel for this woman, I feel for her babies, I feel for her family, anybody who is impacted by this tragic tragic situation. I never in a million years would have expected to read or see that, and my heat hurts, it hurts for those who are impacted by it.'

'This morning I just cant stop reading it, I can't put it into words, I can't even make sense of it, and I'm so sad for it,' Lyn added.

Posted by Jeri Lyn on Thursday, January 26, 2023

They discovered the three young children 'unconscious' upstairs 'with obvious signs of trauma' on Tuesday evening

Callan was initially the only child to survive the incident, but he died on Friday morning

Friend Christian McSharry remembered Lindsay and her children as 'joyful.'

'A young mother, loving her sweet children, making music in a safe circle of friends,' she said of Lindsay.

She spoke out strongly about how she felt there needed to be more discussions about and awareness of PPD.

'This needs to be talked about more and normalized so the many who do suffer from any postpartum illness feel safe to speak up,' she wrote. 'The work to make a mother feel safe needs to happen BEFORE the illness begins.'

Dawn Aducci, a friend and former coworker of Lindsay's also spoke on her behalf, recalling Lindsay as 'A woman, a Mother, a wife, a daughter, a nurse.'

'I pray their two children who are now angels know that was NOT their Momma, the same mom who rocked them to sleep, wiped their tears, kissed scraped knees, and made silly faces for laughs- that was not their Momma that night,' she wrote.

'I pray for Lindsay as she eventually will surface from the depths of hell she was feeling inside only to find out she is in a new kind of hellI pray she is given support throughout this horrific fog.'

Friends of the Clancy family have set up a GoFundMe to support Patrick and assist in paying for medical bills, funeral bills and legal bills.

Clancy, pictured with Cora as a baby, was a midwife at Massachusetts General Hospital

Investigators are probing if Lindsay, a midwife who was on leave from Massachusetts General Hospital, was suffering from postpartum psychosis.

She had written about her struggle with postpartum depression on her Facebook page just six weeks after the birth of Callan, who was born in May.

Her husband, Patrick Clancy, 34, gave searing insight into his 'excruciating and relentless pain' in a post on the family's GoFundMe page, his first public remarks since the tragedy.

'I want to ask all of you that you find it deep within yourselves to forgive Lindsay, as I have,' Clancy wrote.

'The real Lindsay was generously loving and caring towards everyone  me, our kids, family, friends, and her patients.

'The very fibers of her soul are loving. All I wish for her now is that she can somehow find peace.'

Father Patrick Clancy was out for 25 minutes to grab takeout for his family when he found his wife, Lindsay, unconscious after dropping from their second-floor window. Inside their home, daughter Cora (left) and son Dawson (right) were dead

Tributes have been laid outside the home where the tragedy occurred, with balloons and flowers left by well-wishers piling up

Patrick found his wife lying unconscious outside their home at about 6pm Tuesday and called 911. He had 'popped out for 25 minutes' to collect a takeout order.

More than $690,000 had been raised by Saturday according to a GoFundMe page created for the family's medical bills, funeral services, and legal help.

'A lot of people have said they can't imagine and they're right, there's absolutely nothing that can prepare you,' Patrick wrote in the post on Saturday.

'The shock and pain is excruciating and relentless. I'm constantly reminded of them and with the little sleep I get, I dream about them on repeat.'

Clancy pictured with her husband Patrick, 34, who called authorities after finding her lying unconscious outside their home on Tuesday evening

Her horrified husband, Patrick, 34, discovered Clancy lying unconscious outside their home when he returned from work at around 6pm and called 911

Patrick wrote about his wife Lindsay, whom he married in 2016 in Southington, Connecticut, according to an engagement announcement in the Scituate Mariner.

'Our marriage was wonderful and diametrically grew stronger as her condition rapidly worsened,' he wrote.

'I took as much pride in being her husband as I did in being a father and felt persistently lucky to have her in my life.

'I still remember the very moment I first laid eyes on her and can recall how overcome I was with the kind of love at first sight you only see in movies. It really didn't take long before I was certain I wanted to marry her.'

Patrick talked about Lindsay's dedication to being a nurse and a mother.

'We mutually understood the reality that people can have bad days, but we stuck to the rule that when one of us got lost, the other was always there to bring them home, always,' he wrote.

'She loved being a nurse, but nothing matched her intense love for our kids and dedication to being a mother. It was all she ever wanted. Her passion taught me how to be a better father.'

He asked for forgiveness for Lindsay, as he said he has forgiven her. 'I want to ask all of you that you find it deep within yourselves to forgive Lindsay, as I have,' he wrote.

'The real Lindsay was generously loving and caring towards everyone - me, our kids, family, friends, and her patients.'

Plymouth County District Attorney confirmed that Callan (above) died at a Boston area hospital on Friday morning

Last July, she wrote that six weeks after the child's birth, she was feeling 'dialed in' and sought to focus on exercise, nutrition and her mindset, which she claimed 'made all the difference.'

In 2020, she wrote online: 'So unbelievably thankful for this family and life,' along with doting images of her children.

Feelings of depression can be common after childbirth, but on rare occasions, they can lead to full postpartum psychosis.

In this extreme form of PPD, a mother can suffer from severe depression and hallucinations which can lead her to harm herself, her children, or both.

The hospital where Lindsay works said in a statement: 'We are shocked and saddened to learn of this unthinkable tragedy. We extend our deepest sympathies to all those affected by these devastating events.'

Duxbury Police work at the scene where the two children were found dead. The third died later

Heartbreaking pictures show Cora, right and Dawson, left, smiling together. The siblings were pronounced dead at hospital

Lindsay Clancy will be arraigned on charges including two counts of homicide and three each for strangulation and assault and battery with a deadly weapon for the deaths of her two children.

It is expected that further charges will be added for the death of Callan.

Plymouth District Attorney Timothy Cruz said it appeared that they had all been strangled.

He said of the family: 'I cannot begin to fathom the pain, the depths of pain they must be feeling.

'This is an unimaginable, senseless tragedy, and it is an ongoing investigation.'

Cruz warned, 'nobody's here to speculate', adding 'we're well aware of the fact that anybody charged with a criminal crime is presumed innocence until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.'

He wrapped up the conference by saying: 'Certainly our hearts and condolences go up to the Clancy family.'
One of the ABC's most prominent and influential radio host has escaped with a slap on the wrist for an extraordinary post where she called the newly-elected Indigenous Australians minister a 'legend'.

ABC Radio National host Patricia Karvelas escaped with a 'caution' for 'bias' over a selfie she shared to Twitter alongside Indigenous Affairs Minister Linda Burney on the night of last year's federal election on May 21.

'This woman is a legend and looks like she will be the next Indigenous Affairs minister #UluruStatement,' Ms Karvelas wrote.

The post remains on the radio host's Twitter account and as of Sunday had received more than 300 retweets and 5,700 likes.

Liberal Senator Sarah Henderson questioned ABC's Managing Director David Anderson in November about whether the post breached the network's personal use of social media code.

ABC Radio National host Patricia Karvelas (left) was cautioned for being biased after sharing a selfie calling Indigenous Affairs Minister Linda Burney (right) a 'legend' on Twitter on the night of the federal election in 2022

The broadcaster's code requires employees not to 'damage the ABC's reputation for impartiality and independence' when using social media.

Mr Anderson told the Senate Estimates hearing that he did not believe the post breached the ABC's code.

'I don't think it (the post) suggests that there was political bias there at all,' Mr Anderson said.

However, the ABC admitted on Sunday it had 'cautioned' Ms Karvelas following her Twitter post but due to 'privacy considerations' did not 'disclose the detail of confidential staff reviews of investigations', The Australian reported.

Senator Henderson on Sunday criticised the ABC's response and claimed the network did not confirm whether it agreed with Mr Anderson's evidence.

'[The ABC] refused to confirm if it stands by Mr Anderson's evidence that this tweet does not breach the ABC's social media code,' Ms Henderson said.

'The ABC is clearly trying to cover up what happened here. If there's no issue with Ms Karvelas' tweet as Mr Anderson claimed, why was she cautioned?'

The ABC gave staff a stern warning about the use of social media in 2021 after the public broadcaster faced several defamation cases involving senior journalists.

The public broadcaster was questioned over Ms Karvelas' (pictured) Twitter post and whether it breached the ABC's social media code, which requires employees not to 'damage the ABC's reputation for impartiality and independence'

It comes after Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney was called out by Karvelas over an 'outright lie' when she made the extraordinary claim on the radio host's show that the Voice to Parliament would have prevented Alice Springs' crime wave.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Ms Burney flew to Alice Springs on January 24 to introduce an alcohol sales ban.

Mr Albanese and Ms Burney made the emergency visit after heavy criticism from the Opposition and locals about a 300 per cent surge in crime since Labor dropped alcohol sales bans in more than 40 indigenous communities in July, last year.

Poll Was the ABC's punishment of Patricia Karvelas adequate? Yes, she did nothing wrong No, she's displayed bias Don't know Was the ABC's punishment of Patricia Karvelas adequate? Yes, she did nothing wrong 21 votes

No, she's displayed bias 297 votes

Don't know 3 votes Now share your opinion





Ms Burney told Karvelas that if a Voice to Parliament had been established earlier 'the situation in Alice Springs wouldn't be what it is'.

Karvelas then pressed Ms Burney on whether she or the PM had been tough enough on alcohol bans in the Northern Territory, the minister said of their flying visit: 'The most important thing is we made enormous gains yesterday.

'I've been thinking about this very deeply and it was expressed yesterday, that if the Voice to Parliament had been established previously, I don't think we would be where we are in terms of where Alice Springs is at the moment,' she said.

However, 2GB host Ben Fordham slammed Ms Burney comments as not only 'disgraceful' but an 'outright lie'.

'Linda Burney has had a shocker. She is living in fantasy land,' Fordham said.

'I hope youre not using using what's happening in Alice Springs to build a case for the Voice, because it sure sounds like it.

'Really I mean Linda, you don't believe that. You're either telling fibs or living in cuckoo land.'

Linda Burney (above with PM Anthony Albanese on their fly-in visit to Alice Springs) was slammed by Fordham who accused her of using Alice Springs' lawless violence to sell the yes vote for the Voice

He also gave Ms Burney a massive spray for her reasoning why this would be so when she said, 'because we would have been getting practical advice from people who are representative of the community in relation to these social issues'

'Minister you've already had that. The people of Alice Springs have been banging down the door pleading for your help,' Fordham said.

National Party Senator Matt Canavan called for Ms Burney to quit her job following her comments on the Voice referendum.

'It shows how out of touch these people are. We have a whole department here in Canberra focused on indigenous affairs issues,' Mr Canavan said.

'If they could not see what was going on in Alice Springs and report it back to their own minister what hope has 25 odd people in the Indigenous Voice to do the same

'This is a minister clearly out of her depth. She should go. How could she not know what was going on in Alice Springs. It's not another planet.'

Ms Burney (pictured) claimed on ABC radio a day after her flying visit to Alice Springs that had the Voice to Parliament been in operation 'I don't think we would be where we are in terms of where Alice Springs is at the moment'

Fordham quoted from a parliamentary inquiry last month into the sunsetting of the Stronger Futures legislation.

Stephen Gourley, Director of Emergency Medicine at Alice Springs Hospital, told the hearing that since bans were lifted 'the level of injuries we've seen is horrific, it's mostly women being beaten'.

At the same inquiry, Alice Springs GP Dr John Boffa urged for grog bans to return, because 'we need to keep extra protections and extra measures until we can see evidence the trauma in children is reducing'.

Last October, the Central Desert Regional Council reported on the immediate impact of lifting the grog ban as 'a spike in alcohol-fueled violence'.

And in June 2022, on the eve of the ban lifting, eight local indigenous groups and Central Australia Aboriginal Congress chief Donna Ah Chee warned Ms Burney in a letter that 'to permit more access to alcohol will undoubtedly add fuel to this fire'.

Alice Springs Police recorded 54 domestic-violence incidents in the first 48 hours after the ban.
For decades, politicians from prime ministers down to the most humble backbenchers have communicated with their constituents on smart, headed notepaper.

Much of this bespoke stationery  along with the business cards used by MPs and members of the Lords  has been provided by Langford Printers, a 50-year-old family firm that serves an array of prestigious London establishments as well as the Houses of Parliament. But, sadly, the Kentish company, which sends vans into the capital every day to make deliveries, has now been forced to close.

And owners Adrian Langford and Mark Southgate firmly place the blame on one man: London's controversial mayor Sadiq Khan.

Why? Because Khan, 52, has decided to extend his much-criticised Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) to cover the entirety of his fiefdom's 32 boroughs. From August 29, vehicles that do not meet minimum emissions standards will have to pay a 12.50 fee to enter the city.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan cycles across Tower Bridge in London, which is closed to traffic as part of World Car Free Day in September 2019

Khan, 52, has decided to extend his much-criticised Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) to cover the entirety of his fiefdom's 32 boroughs

This is on top of the existing 15 congestion charge for those wishing to travel to central London. If drivers attempt to dodge the new fee, they could incur a 160 fine.

The current ULEZ spans from Tottenham in the north, down to Brixton in South London. Under Khan's expansion plan, the boundary will stretch out towards places as far afield as Watford, in Hertfordshire, and Caterham in Surrey.

City Hall hopes the move will encourage drivers to scrap their old inefficient cars and opt instead for newer models  or go electric. But for many struggling businesses like Langford Printers such an expense is impossible. With the cost-of-living pressures, even the new ULEZ fee will be too much to bear.

Adrian, 55, tells me: 'It's frankly the final nail in the coffin for us. It will mean my business partner and I will have to pay 600 a month just to get into our vans. It's not viable. We can't do it any more.

'This is a family firm and I'm third-generation. My dad and my uncle are no longer with us. I think they'd be spinning in their graves if they knew what's to become of their firm. I've been in the trade for more than 30 years, my business partner more than 50. We haven't a clue what we'll do next. Thank you, Sadiq Khan!'

They're not the only ones, of course. As Richard Littlejohn warned in Friday's Mail, the ULEZ extension will cripple many self-employed tradesmen and force countless businesses to shut up shop.

Despite the chorus of dissent, the eco-mad mayor is pushing ahead. After nearly seven years in office, the ULEZ expansion represents the fulfilment of his dream of total London domination. And if the proverbial 'white van men' who keep Britain going and even the mums on the school run have to pay the price for his political ambitions, so be it.

A recent report by Transport for London (TfL) estimated 30,000 non-compliant vans will be slapped with the fee in August. For a driver entering London five days a week, this will amount to a 3,000 annual bill.

But even if all these drivers wanted to switch to ULEZ-compliant models, they couldn't. For, according to figures from Auto Trader, just 5,181 diesel vans (the most common kind used by tradesmen) are on sale that meet the emission levels needed to avoid the fee.

In May last year, a particularly risible photoshoot emerged of Khan on a visit to a cannabis factory in Los Angeles

What does Mr Khan assume the other 25,000 drivers will do? A new all-electric Ford Transit would set you back a staggering 40,000.

It's no wonder, then, that a public consultation by TfL in November showed 80 per cent of business owners in outer London opposed the expansion. Nonetheless, Khan widely accused of an arrogant manner in his dealings with City Hall officials  is pressing ahead.

The rules are the most stringent in Europe, running 24 hours a day, every day of the year except Christmas Day. Even London's beleaguered black-cab drivers  already struggling with competition from Uber and other modern taxi-hailing companies  will have to pay if their vehicles don't meet minimum emissions standards.

Teachers and NHS staff won't be exempt either. Some point out that nurses and ambulance staff who work nights could even be hit twice by the charge, as their shifts often straddle two days. It is ironic that any pay rise secured by striking public-sector workers  fervently supported by many of Khan's Labour Party colleagues  would be totally wiped out by ULEZ fees.

Khan is confident this is a price worth paying, saying last week: 'I understand there are some who have expressed concerns about the ULEZ expansion. But our polluted air is a health emergency.

'We must do everything possible to save the lives of the thousands of Londoners who die through causes linked to air pollution.'

Yet even on this point, people are divided. Soon after the launch of ULEZ in 2019, a study from London's Imperial College found that it only caused 'small improvements' in air quality. At the time, the mayor rubbished the findings as 'misleading'.

So, could all this be about a little more than potential decreases in pollution? Hugely ambitious, Khan has always had an over-inflated sense of his place in the political pantheon. He still nurses the forlorn hope that he will one day become Labour's first Muslim leader and even Prime Minister.

He has also reportedly told Labour colleagues that he believes the ULEZ wheeze will enhance his reputation both in his party and internationally.

Certainly, the scheme represents a generous cash injection into City Hall coffers. Buried on page 91 of the mayor's draft budget, published last week, is the prediction that combined revenue from the ULEZ and congestion charges will soar above 1 billion.

For unpaid-fee fines alone, Khan collected almost 57 million from motorists in the first 11 months of 2022. The RAC estimates this could rise to 260 million after August's expansion.

This is, of course, on top of the other price hikes Khan has imposed on Londoners. In April, he will break his own record with a 9.7 per cent hike in the City Hall share of council tax bills. Since he took office, he will have put up council tax by a staggeringly rapacious 57 per cent.

He has also run up a 740 million deficit at TfL, despite hiking rail fares (for passengers travelling at any time in zones 1-6) by 20 per cent during the same period.

His opponents insist that the whole ULEZ project, meanwhile, reeks of hypocrisy.

The ULEZ expansion represents the fulfilment of Sadiq Khan's dream of total London domination. And if the proverbial 'white van men' who keep Britain going and even the mums on the school run have to pay the price for his political ambitions, so be it (stock photo)

While hammering motorists, the mayor prefers a softly-softly approach to green maniacs like Just Stop Oil  who have caused chaos while gluing themselves to roads, bringing the capital to a standstill. In December, he warned that the Government's response to protesters must only be 'within the law', which renders police all but impotent. And yet, critics point out, he has flown the equivalent of 14 times around the world during his mayoralty.

In May last year, a particularly risible photoshoot emerged of Khan on a visit to a cannabis factory in Los Angeles. He said it was a 'fact-finding mission' to see if California's legalisation of the drug could be copied in London.

Back home, meanwhile, the far more pressing issue of gang-related knife crime  much of it drug-fuelled  continues to blight London. Figures show Metropolitan Police recorded more than 11,000 knife crime incidents in 2022  up 7.4 per cent on the year before. And new data last week revealed rape cases had risen 11 per cent from September 2021-22  with 25 reported every day.

But instead of spending his multi-million-pound windfall from ULEZ and congestion charges on tackling his lawless domain, Khan  who is also the capital's police and crime commissioner  has chosen to spend his money on pointless virtue-signalling.

Following the death of George Floyd, the black man who was murdered by a police officer in the U.S. in 2020, the mayor launched a pompously titled Commission For Diversity In The Public Realm, which aims to review London's statues and landmarks to ensure they are 'sufficiently diverse'. The scheme will reportedly cost more than 1 million.

With a combined following on Instagram of 341,000 people on both his personal and his official account, Khan also has a vast City Hall PR budget of more than 1 million.

Furthermore, last November, he launched a 'debt-free advice: cost-of-living bus tour' to help hard-up Londoners. The three-month programme claims to offer 'a range of in-person advice including debt advice, advice on benefit entitlements and other money worries' as well as hosting 'webinars on a range of topics including budgeting, debt options and mental health'. Many have dismissed it as an expensive PR gimmick.

Khan lavished 145,000 on the specially adapted single-decker bus; including 12,000 for PR advice, 1,000 for a photographer and 10,000 for a 'celebrity ambassador'. I am told a famous face has yet to appear on the tour  unless Khan is counting himself.

Worse still, cash was diverted for the vanity project from City Hall funds designed to help poorer families. Some 45,000 came from the low-income and food programme budget, while 70,000 came out of the children and young Londoners early years budget. And the bus is diesel. (So much for practising what you preach!)

The ultra-low emission zone is to be expanded in August to cover the whole of Greater London - seen here in purple

Khan's hypocrisy was also made apparent when some Labour councillors complained that two parking spaces were allocated to him at the new City Hall HQ in East London's Royal Docks. His own planning policies, they pointed out, dictate that new office developments should be car-free.

Unlike his Labour predecessor Ken Livingstone, who was a regular on the Tube, the mayor is rarely seen on public transport. During his two terms as mayor from 2008 to 2016, Boris Johnson cycled to work and to many official engagements. Yet it seems self-styled eco-warrior Khan is far too grand.

Indeed, he was widely ridiculed in 2021 when he took a gas-guzzling three-car convoy, including a 75,000 petrol Jaguar, on a 4.5-mile journey to Battersea Park in order to walk his pet dog Luna.

Two days before, he had moaned that the inner city was 'clogged by cars', adding portentously: 'Time is running out to stop a climate catastrophe.' Will he be similarly hypocritical when it comes to his ULEZ expansion plans?

Politically, things are certainly fraught. Last week, despite public disapproval, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer came out in support of the expansion, saying: 'It's the right thing to do.'

On the other hand, four London Conservative boroughs  Bexley, Bromley, Harrow and Hillingdon  oppose the ULEZ expansion. Tory councillors are taking legal advice on how to stop the plan in its tracks.

But Khan has warned he will install the camera technology without permission.

In Croydon, elected Tory mayor Jason Perry told me he was appalled. 'Khan's plan will not only force hundreds of Croydon residents to pay 12.50 a day just to drive their car, but his own studies show it will have very little environmental impact,' he said. 'Punishing those who cannot afford to buy a more modern vehicle is deeply unfair and out of touch.'

It's not just Tories joining the revolt. Leader of the Lib Dem-controlled Sutton council, Ruth Dombey, announced her opposition at a council meeting this month. 'In a matter of months, the mayor is expecting our residents to stump up the cash to change their car or use public transport that doesn't exist,' she said.

A spokesman for the AA, which estimates ULEZ will affect 300,000 motorists, said: 'ULEZ is simply pricing poorer people off the road.'

Andy Mayer, energy analyst at the Institute of Economic Affairs, agreed: 'Just picture a family in 2024, now required to use three buses rather than their old banger, as they sit with bawling children in gridlocked traffic. Do you think they will be relieved to learn their forced sacrifice will make an undetectable difference to global temperatures?'

But perhaps Emma Best, of the Greater London Authority Conservatives, put it most succinctly: 'Sadiq Khan has not been honest about ULEZ expansion, which will devastate low-income Londoners while doing next to nothing to improve air quality. There is no low to which he will not stoop to further his own career. Londoners are paying the price for his hypocrisy.'
British fashion powerhouse Paul Smith has failed to explain why his brand was continuing to operate in Russia  despite facing a furious backlash from MPs and his customers.

The Daily Mail revealed on Saturday that three British luxury companies were still doing business with Russia in the face of the continuing bloody war in Ukraine.

Paul Smith and lingerie brand Agent Provocateur still have stores open in Moscow, while Rolls-Royce has new cars for sale in the country but claims it does not know how they got there.

Entering his 7.5 million London mews house on Saturday, fashion designer Sir Paul Smith said he didnt really know anything about it.

Paul Smith pictured at the weekend at his 7.5 million London pad where he said he didnt really know' about his brand continuing to operate in Russia

The 76-year-old was awarded a CBE in 1994, was knighted in 2000 and was appointed a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour in 2020 for his services to fashion.

But his company has repeatedly refused to explain its continued presence in Russia.

The Moral Rating Agency  a lobby group which judges companies on their response to the invasion of Ukraine  said: Unless Russia is stripped of Paul Smith shirts, Paul Smith should be stripped of his knighthood. Its a simple moral equation. No honours for dishonour.

Chairman of the Commons defence committee Tobias Ellwood MP claimed that by refusing to withdraw their products, the brands were failing to stand up to Russian aggression.

A Paul Smith shop in Moscow, Russia, where it was revealed alongside with lingerie brand Agent Provocateur that they still have stores open in Moscow

He said: Putins fate will ultimately be determined, not by results on the battlefield, but by tolerance of the Russian people who are seeing their own standards of living deteriorate as Russia is increasingly isolated. But this only works if the West is united.

'When we see companies (brand names at that) failing to join the collective effort in standing up to Russias aggression it plays directly into Putins argument that the West is not committed and Russia will prevail.

Meanwhile former culture secretary Sir John Whittingdale said it was a matter of great concern that the brands were still trading with Russia, explaining: Most British firms acted quickly to demonstrate that the horror and barbarism of what Putin is doing is unacceptable. Empty shelves send a very powerful message. I am very concerned about this and hope these companies will think again.

The firms were accused of making blood money online as hundreds flooded their social media pages with criticism. One wrote under a Paul Smith announcement of a new coat: Thats beautiful! How many Ukrainian lives does it cost?

Others claimed they were boycotting the brand, with one user commenting on the coat: Will look good in Moscow... enjoy the blood money On Sunday, within an hour of tweeting photos of a catwalk in Paris, someone asked are you going to start printing Russian flags on your products as well?

A closer look at some of the items you can buy inside the Paul Smith shop in Moscow

Meanwhile one user accused Agent Provocateur of selling genocide lingerie while another wrote: These look fantastic atop a pile of dead Ukrainian children... wait. Do the right thing.

Under a photo of red underwear, one person tweeted: Does the red dye come from Ukrainian blood?

Rolls-Royce has five brand new cars for sale in Moscow but claimed: Any new cars currently on sale in Russia were either built and delivered before March 2022, when Rolls-Royce stopped building cars for the Russian market, or they have been imported into Russia illegally by third parties.

Paul Smith, Rolls-Royce and Agent Provocateur do not directly manage the stores in Moscow  which are instead run by franchisees or licencees under terms agreed prior to the invasion of Ukraine  but they do manufacture the stock being sold. The companies have been contacted for comment.
Prince Andrews attempts to restore his reputation with an eye on returning to public life are wishful thinking.

While the King respects his brother has a right to try and clear his name, any hopes this will pave the way back to official duties and a frontline royal role are way off the mark, a well-placed source told the Mail.

That is very much not the Kings thinking, they said.

King Charles finds himself in a tricky position but knows that he must act as a monarch, not as a brother.

The source said that the issue is about so much more than Andrews US out-of-court settlement with Virginia Roberts over allegations of rape and sexual assault, which he has always denied.

It comes as friends of Ms Roberts scorned a bizarre 'stunt' to disprove her alleged encounter with the Duke. A photo in Saturdays Daily Telegraph posed by acquaintances of Ghislaine Maxwell shows her former bath was 'too small for any sort of sex frolicking,' Maxwell's brother Ian said. Ms Roberts had claimed Andrew licked her toes in the bath in 2001.

Maxwells brother Ian claimed the photograph, posed by two of his sisters acquaintances, disproved Ms Roberts account of her sexual encounter with Andrew

Source say Prince Andrew's (centre) attempts to return to public life are wishful thinking (Pictured Andrew, with the Princess Royal left, and King Charles, right)

Prince Andrew has always denied the allegation made by Virginia Giuffre (pictured with Ghislaine Maxwell in 2001)

READ MORE: PRINCE ANDREW'S EX LADY VICTORIA HERVEY CLAIMS ROYALS DID NOT ALLOW HIM TO FIGHT GIUFFRE CASE Lady Victoria Hervey claimed Andrew was 'not allowed' to fight Virginia Giuffre case Advertisement

There is frustration in some parts of the Royal Household that the beleaguered prince and his advisers  who have recently launched a media blitz to try and turn the tide of public opinion  fail to understand this fact.

The decisions that were made previously about his position within the Royal Family are also about his professional judgment and his personal associations, the source said.

The King is backed by his son and heir, the Prince of Wales.

William also firmly believes that the decisions made by his late grandmother to strip her so-called favourite son of his official duties and associations were the right ones.

The late Queen also stripped Andrew of the right to use his HRH title in public, so that he could fight the case as a private citizen.

Ms Roberts, now 39 and known by her married name Virginia Giuffre, claimed she was forced to have sex with Andrew when she was 17, after she was trafficked by convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Andrew, 62, denied the accusation but paid a reported 12million out-of-court settlement to get Ms Roberts to drop the civil claim in the US.

Legal sources close to Prince Andrew said he would launch an 81million lawsuit against Virginia Giuffre if she repeated her accusations against him in an upcoming memoir

Prince William is said to firmly believe the decisions made by his late grandmother Queen Elizabeth II (pictured together) to strip Andrew of his official duties and associations were the right ones

READ MORE: GHISLAINE MAXWELL LAUNCHES DESPERATE DEFENCE OF HER 'DEAR FRIEND' PRINCE ANDREW Ghislaine Maxwell described Andrew as a 'dear friend' in her Talk TV interview Advertisement

Legal sources close to the prince said he would launch an 81million lawsuit against her if she repeated the accusation in an upcoming memoir. He has hired Los Angeles lawyers Andrew Brettler and Blair Berk for an attempt to get her to retract her claims, and possibly secure an apology.

Meanwhile friends of Ms Roberts scorned a bizarre stunt said to disprove her account of her encounter with the Duke of York. A photograph on the front page of Saturdays Daily Telegraph showed a man and a woman lying fully clothed in a bath in the former home of convicted child sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell. They were wearing masks of the faces of Andrew and his accuser.

It was published under the headline: The photo that clears Duke over bath sex. Maxwells brother Ian told the newspaper that the photograph, posed by two of his sisters acquaintances, disproved Ms Roberts account of her sexual encounter with Andrew.

Mr Maxwell said the picture show[s] conclusively that the bath is too small for any sort of sex frolicking.

Ms Roberts claimed that Andrew licked her toes in the bath before they had sex in the bedroom in 2001. A source close to Ms Roberts told the Mail on Sunday: If this shameful stunt is the best Maxwells side can do in defence of Prince Andrew then its laughable... Its a disgusting attempt to discredit a victim of sexual abuse and would be risible if it were not so offensive.

Virginia Giuffre plans to publish her memoirs, despite claims Prince Andrew will sue her if she repeats her accusations

Plus they have their facts totally wrong. Virginia never said they had sex in the bath.

Lisa Bloom, a lawyer who represented several victims of Epstein and Maxwell, said: What a surreal, bizarre photograph. It proves nothing... Virginia said that she and Andrew were in the bath. The photo shows that two full-sized humans can fit in the bath.

Ms Roberts lawyers declined to comment. Elsewhere, evidence has emerged which may prove the infamous picture of Andrew with his arm around a teenage Ms Roberts is real.

The photograph was said to have been taken on March 10, 2001, the night Ms Roberts said Andrew first sexually abused her.

The Mail on Sunday said it could prove the picture was printed at a one-hour lab a two-minute drive from Ms Roberts former home in Florida on March 13, 2001, and that it would have been virtually impossible to fake.

Last week in a TV interview from prison, Maxwell said: It is a fake. I dont believe its real for a second. In 2019 Andrew said he had no recollection of the photo being taken.
Ex-Tory Chair sent unrepentant letter to Rishi Sunak who fired him yesterday

Nadhim Zahawi attacked Press after they uncovered tax affairs and he lost job

Nadhim Zahawi yesterday launched an extraordinary attack on the Press over media reports that ended his career in frontline politics.

In an unrepentant letter to Rishi Sunak who fired him yesterday morning, the former Tory chairman made no reference to the tax row that led to his sacking, and offered no apology for his conduct.

Mr Sunak is now hunting for a 'squeaky clean' candidate for Tory party chairman, and was last night struggling to find an immediate replacement for the post, which is critical in the run-up to a general election expected next year.

Showing no contrition over his behaviour, Mr Zahawi instead yesterday claimed he was 'concerned' about the conduct of sections of the Press which had investigated his tax affairs  and implied coverage could lead to threats against MPs or his family.

Unrepentant: Nadhim Zahawi and wife Lana

In an unrepentant letter to Rishi Sunak who fired him yesterday morning, former Tory chairman Nadhim Zahawi made no reference to the tax row that led to his sacking, and offered no apology for his conduct

Rishi Sunak (pictured) is now hunting for a 'squeaky clean' candidate for Tory party chairman

Mr Zahawi, who is reported to have paid a 1million fine as part of a 5million settlement with HMRC, had previously threatened legal action against journalists trying to look into the tax probe.

The Prime Minister dismissed the former vaccines minister for a 'serious breach of the ministerial code' less than two hours after receiving a report by ethics chief Sir Laurie Magnus.

Mr Zahawi was criticised in the report for his lack of candour in statements to the Press about his tax affairs.

On July 10 last year, when he had been under investigation by HMRC for more than 12 months, he dismissed reports of the probe, saying: 'It's very sad that such smears should be circulated and sadder still that they have been published.'

Sir Laurie said Mr Zahawi 'should have understood' he was under investigation by HMRC, which had held face-to-face talks with him the previous year, and that this was 'a serious matter'.

Two ministers told the Mail that former Tory leader William Hague (pictured) was among the possible candidates for the job of Tory Party chair

Allies of Mr Sunak dismissed a suggestion from Jacob Rees-Mogg that Boris Johnson (pictured) could take the job

He added that the then chancellor's dismissal of the reports failed to meet the duty of ministers to be 'as open as possible with Parliament and the public'.

But in his letter to Mr Sunak yesterday, Mr Zahawi wrote: 'I am concerned about the conduct of some of the fourth estate.'

In an apparent reference to a recent alleged assault on former health secretary Matt Hancock on the London Underground, he added: 'In a week when an MP was physically assaulted, I fail to see how one headline on this issue, 'The Noose Tightens', reflects legitimate scrutiny of public officials. I am sorry to my family for the toll this has taken on them.'

In a letter to Mr Zahawi , Rishi Sunak said the departing Tory chairman had committed 'a serious breach of the ministerial code'

Last night two ministers told the Mail that former Tory leader William Hague was among the possible candidates for the job.

One said: 'If the PM could persuade Hague to do it, it would be fantastic. He is hugely popular with the party in the country and he is someone who could clearly and forcefully articulate the Government's message.'

No 10 hinted that the search could take some time and said the PM had not yet 'sounded [anyone] out', including Lord Hague, who is a close ally of the PM and was invited to attend last week's Cabinet 'away day' at Chequers.

For the moment, Mr Zahawi's duties will pass temporarily to Tory party chief executive Stephen Massey.

Allies of Mr Sunak dismissed a suggestion from Jacob Rees-Mogg that Boris Johnson could take the job.

Mr Rees-Mogg told GB News yesterday that Mr Johnson 'has all the right attributes for a party chairman'. But Mr Rees-Mogg admitted the PM and his predecessor were 'not the closest of political allies'.

Grant Shapps, Andrew Mitchell and Penny Mordaunt are reported to have 'auditioned for the role' during last week's Chequers away day. But neither Mr Shapps nor Mr Mitchell are thought to be interested in the job, and Miss Mordaunt is not close politically to Mr Sunak.

Robert Jenrick and Therese Coffey were among the names being touted last night.

Mr Sunak received Sir Laurie's report at 7am yesterday while at home in North Yorkshire. Two hours later, Mr Zahawi was sacked in a brief telephone conversation. Sir Laurie found Mr Zahawi had breached the ministerial code on seven occasions, saying he should have declared he was under investigation by the taxman and had been fined.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has reportedly been told by a senior US general that the British army is no longer considered a top-level fighting force.

Decades of cuts are said to have led to a decline in war-fighting capability, which needs to be reversed faster than planned in light of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

'Bottom line... it's an entire service unable to protect the UK and our allies for a decade,' one defence source said, Sky News reports.

Rishi Sunak is also running the risk of failing in his role as 'wartime Prime Minister' unless the situation is radically improved, the source said.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has been reportedly told by a US general that the UK's Army is no longer regarded as a 'top-level fighting force'

Decades of cuts have reportedly reduced the Army's fighting capability. It would take five to ten years to develop a force of 25,000 troops supported by tanks, artillery and helicopters

A source has recommended the UK defence budget be boosted by 3billion per year, with no further reductions in the size of the Army

In order to do this they suggested the defence budget be boosted by at least 3bn a year with no further reductions in the size of the Army, while peacetime procurement rules should be relaxed in order to buy weapons quickly.

'CHALLENGES FACING THE ARMED FORCES' Among the challenges facing the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, it is understood that: The Army would run out of ammunition 'in a few days' if it needed to fight.

The UK couldn't defend its skies against the level of missile strikes Ukraine is enduring.

It would take at least five years for the Army to be ready with a fighting division of 25,000 to 30,000 troops, supported by tanks, artillery and helicopters.

Around 30% of UK forces on high readiness are reservists, unable to mobilise within Nato timelines.

Most Army vehicles, including tanks, were built 30 to 60 years ago - with replacements not due for years. Advertisement

The source stated: 'We have a wartime prime minister and a wartime chancellor,' one source said.

'History will look back at the choices they make in the coming weeks as fundamental to whether this government genuinely believes that its primary duty is the defence of the realm or whether that is just a slogan to be given lip service.'

Earlier today, it was reported Ukraine needs new weapons and faster deliveries to confront a 'very tough' situation of constant attacks by Russian forces in the eastern Donetsk region.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly video address: 'The situation is very tough. Bakhmut, Vuhledar and other sectors in Donetsk region, there are constant Russian attacks. There are constant attempts to break through our defences.

'Russia wants the war to drag on and exhaust our forces. So we have to make time our weapon. We have to speed up events, speed up supplies and open up new weapons options for Ukraine.'

The General Staff of Ukraine's armed forces said earlier on Sunday that its forces repelled an attack near Blahodatne in the eastern part of the Donetsk region, while Russia's Wagner private military group said it took control of the village.

A later military statement made no mention of Blahodatne.

Zelensky issued his latest appeal for increased weapons shipments days after Germany and the United States led a list of countries agreeing to supply modern tanks.

'Bottom line... it's an entire service unable to protect the UK and our allies for a decade,' one defence source is reported to have said

Yesterday, President Zelensky said Ukraine needed US-made ATACMS missiles, which have a range of about 300km. Washington has so far declined to supply them. A presidential adviser said talks were under way on supplying long-range missiles and a Ukrainian air force spokesman spoke of negotiations on providing aircraft.

In his latest remarks, President Zelensky said Ukraine's commanders were committed to ensuring that 'our pressure is greater than the occupiers' capacity to attack' and that meant 'maintaining the defence support from our partners'.

'The enemy takes no account of its personnel and despite the extent of the losses is maintaining the intensity of its attacks,' he said.

'Confronting this requires extraordinary resilience and a full awareness by our soldiers that in defending Donetsk region they are defending all of Ukraine.'
Eighty-three migrants on two UK-bound small boats have been rescued in the Channel.

The French coastguard said several small boats tried to cross the Channel on Sunday, with two getting into difficulty off the coast of Gravelines.

The number of migrants who have made the journey in the first month of this year has now risen above 1,000 - with dozens crossing the English Channel on Sunday morning.

On the same day, the coastguard said 54 people had been rescued from one boat and 29 from another. They were taken to the port of Calais, where they were met by emergency services, according to the translation of a statement from the Prefecture maritime de la Manche et de la mer du Nord.

A group of people thought to be migrants being brought to Dover, Kent, on a Border Force vessel following a small boat incident in the Channel

One person, who was unwell, was given medical attention, the coastguard added.

It comes after the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) said 26 migrants in a small boat crossed the Channel to reach the UK on Saturday.

Dozens of migrants crossed the English Channel on Sunday bringing the number who have made the journey in the first month of this year above 1,000 - as at least 991 people have been confirmed to have made the perilous journey.

Around 50 men, women and children were brought into Dover earlier Sunday by the UK Border Force after attempting to make the crossing.

Dozens of migrants are seen being brought into Dover, Kent, by Border Force officials on Sunday morning

With only a few days of January left to go, at least 991 people were confirmed to have made the perilous journey to reach the southern shores of Great Britain.

This means crossings are broadly keeping pace with this time last year, which saw 1,341 people enter the UK via this route in January 2022.

Photos taken at the Port of Dover Sunday morning show Border Force officials helping migrants wearing life jackets and wrapped in towels onto land.

They were brought in by Border Force vessel Typhoon after being found on small boats in the Channel.

So far this year there have only been a few days where migrants have crossed the Channel, with most being brought in on January 22, and January 25 - on these days 442 and 373 people, respectively, were brought into Dover.

At least 1,000 are known to have crossed the Channel so far this year - compared to 1,341 who arrived during the entirety of last January. Last year saw a record 45,728 migrants cross the channel well up on the 28,381 who did so in 2021.
Detectives will return to the rugged wilderness where two elderly campers were allegedly shot, stabbed and left to the unforgiving environment.

The search is the last entry on what has been a long 'to do' list for one of Victoria Police's most experienced cops.

Detective acting-Sergeant Brett Florence on Wednesday revealed there was unfinished business in the harsh bush terrain where the fractured remains of secret lover campers Russell Hill, 74, and Carol Clay, 73, were found.

Former Jetstar pilot Greg Lynn, 56, was on Wednesday committed to stand trial over the couple's alleged murder in the Victorian High Country in March 2020.

Detective Sergeant Brett Florence will take a short break before returning to finish what he began in April 2020

Former Jetstar pilot Greg Lynn has pleaded not guilty to killing the secret lover campers

Police allege Greg Lynn shot dead Carl Clay (left) before stabbing to death Russell Hill (right)

Covid restrictions and harsh weather conditions meant police left the mountains before they were satisfied all they could do had been done in the homicide investigations.

For 20 long months the disappearance of the campers captivated the Australian public while behind the scenes police worked to track down the suspected killer.

Outside courtroom 12 in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Wednesday, a candid Brett Florence told Daily Mail Australia he was looking forward to taking a break after the day's proceedings.

The Missing Person's Squad detective had been working the case from the moment it landed on his desk in April 2020 - just weeks after the lovers vanished.

'I'm taking two weeks off to build my race car,' he said. 'That's what I love to do.'

The strain of the investigation was evident across his face, but it's not as if this was the detective's first big job.

Sergeant Florence has been a police officer working the mean streets of Melbourne for 35 years.

In just a few moments time, the detective would be forced again to enter the witness box where just days earlier he had been under siege by Lynn's barrister Dermot Dann, KC.

Mr Dann is regarded as one of Australia's best criminal barristers and has been defending accused crooks for almost as long as Sergeant Florence has been locking them up.

The KC has represented everyone from 'Australia's most hated man' Richard Pusey to wife killer Borce Ristevski.

He even managed to get Katia Pyliotis's conviction for the brutal murder of a lonely widower, which earned her 19 years in jail, quashed on appeal.

Mr Dann repeatedly questioned Sergeant Florence about whether he and his colleague, Senior Constable Daniel Passingham, had followed the rule book when it came to interviewing his client in November 2021.

Victoria Police and forensic teams search for the remains of Russell Hill and Carol Clay in bushland north of Dargo on November 30, 2021. They are expected to return again over the coming weeks

Detective acting-Sergeant Brett Florence was deployed to the crime scene (pictured) weeks after the campers went missing after police initially believed they had just got lost

Detective acting-Sergeant Brett Florence (left) and Senior Constable Daniel Passingham (right) leave court after being grilled by Greg Lynn's barrister

Lynn's barrister Dermot Dann, KC (pictured on Wednesday) lugs a suitcase out of court stuffed with folders of information on the case

The contents of Lynn's nine-hour and 18-minute interview - conducted over a four day period by the two detectives - cannot be revealed due to a court-imposed gag order.

But what can be published is that both of the officers were pressed about their knowledge of the law - particularly an accused man's right to silence.

Special Operations Group officers had descended from the sky to arrest Lynn, who was armed with a rifle, after police got spooked he may have been on his way into the bush to kill himself.

The court heard Lynn was not provided access to a lawyer until the next day when he spoke to a female solicitor for an hour and a quarter. He carried out his police interview without her.

Under siege by Lynn's barrister, Sergeant Florence repeated time and time again he had done nothing but seek the truth from Lynn.

It was something he repeated again outside court on Wednesday.

The fact Sergeant Florence and Senior Constable Passingham were able to locate the remains of the campers at all was a significant achievement.

Sergeant Florence and his team wanted to spare the families of Mr Hill and Ms Clay the agony of a loved one gone missing.

An intense legal stoush over the admissibility of Lynn's record of interview will kick off on February 9, allowing Sergeant Florence just two short weeks to recharge his batteries before being tossed back into the fray.

Before a Supreme Court of Victoria judge, the conduct of the two officers will be vigorously scrutinised by Mr Dann.

Detective acting-Sergeant Brett Florence (left) leaves the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday with colleague Senior Constable Daniel Passingham. The pair were pivotal in the recovery of the bodies of Russell Hill and Carol Clay

Senior Constable Daniel Passingham (pictured with the remains of Mr Hill's campsite) went on a media campaign in the weeks before Lynn was arrested

Mr Dann suggested some of the scrutiny will also focus on just how long before Lynn's arrest he had been identified as a 'suspect'.

Sergeant Florence had knocked on Lynn's door just months after the campers went missing, he told the court.

What Lynn said that day was secretly recorded and makes up part of the near 800-page police brief.

Under the law, a person suspected of committing a crime must be issued with a caution before answering any questions police might have for them.

Sergeant Florence maintained in court on Wednesday Lynn had simply been a 'person of interest' at the time and therefore did not require that caution.

Lynn would become an official suspect shortly after.

The disappearance of Mr Hill and Ms Clay had made little more than regional news at the time as Australia was plunged into hard lockdown for the first time amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Sergeant Florence revealed in court that a loner known as 'The Button Man' had been the first person of interest on his list.

He had been flagged in a news report, which referred to him as 'an oddball' who earned his name for using deer antlers to make buttons - which he then used as large ear piercings.

Sergeant Florence told the court the man was promptly ruled out as a person of interest.

On May 28, Sergeant Florence and a colleague travelled into the High Country to ask some questions of the locals.

CCTV images of vehicles captured entering and leaving Mount Hotham became crucial tools in identifying those who had been there when the campers had been. Greg Lynn is alleged to be driving this vehicle above

The pair scoured the townships of Bright and Harrietville for CCTV cameras that may have captured any persons of interest. None were found.

In a 16-page statement tendered to the court, Sergeant Florence revealed their fortunes changed upon visiting the resort atop of Mount Hotham - a popular ski location in the winter months.

CCTV cameras there ran 24 hours a day all year long.

A warrant to view what they had captured was secured on June 3, and 12 vehicles were subsequently identified as being in the right place at the right time.

Phone records showed Mr Hill had allegedly travelled past the cameras between 9.40am and 9.50am on the day police believe he was murdered.

Sergeant Florence tracked down each and every one of the targeted vehicles only to find their owners all had plausible stories, the court heard.

On July 14, Lynn gave the detective a detailed plot of where he had entered and exited the mountains in March.

He assumed the campers had already been found, he told Sergeant Florence, the court heard.

On leaving Lynn's Caroline Springs home, in Melbourne's west, Sergeant Florence noticed Lynn's blue Nissan Patrol was now beige in colour.

When asked about the paint job, Lynn claimed it had been part of a 'Covid project' with his sons.

Sergeant Florence spoke to a weed sprayer about a month later who had come across the campers on the day they went missing.

Robert Williams had described Mr Hill as a 'grump' who had buzzed other campers with his drone, the committal hearing heard.

A witness claimed Russell Hill (above) had buzzed him with his drone in the hours before he would allegedly be murdered

Other witnesses told Sergeant Florence they had seen what they believed was Mr Hill's Landcruiser park in a camp right-up close to a blue Nissan Patrol.

Sergeant Florence headed back up the mountain in November to check out a campsite known as 'Buck's Camp' and returned with three bags of debris recovered from the burnt out remains of Mr Hill's campsite.

On December 1 warrants were issued over the coming days to bug Lynn's phones, car and home.

Over the coming weeks and months detectives would carry out searches of camping sites Lynn visited in the hope of finding the remains of Mr Hill and Ms Clay.

Two shovels found in an area where Mr Hill's phone last 'pinged' from a tower were found to be a red herring.

On May 27, 2021 - six months before Lynn's eventual arrest - all covert listening devices were shut down, the court heard.

They would not be reactivated until September 22.

With the secret bugs back in action, Sergeant Florence helped put together a media release with the help of Mr Hill's daughters and Ms Clay's sister.

The resulting story on October 14 would appear on Channel 7's nightly news bulletin.

Sergeant Florence backed up the media campaign just 10 days later with a special report on Channel 9's 60 Minutes.

A further report appeared on the program the following month.

At court Monday, Leading Senior Constable Passingham revealed Lynn had discussed the program with his flight attendant wife Melanie on November 13, 2021 - six days after the program aired.

He was arrested just two weeks later amid fears he was about to suicide.

The remains of Mr Hill and Ms Clay were found just days later.

Lynn has pleaded not guilty to killing Mr Hill and Ms Clay.
He continues to run his crime empire from behind bars

A feared gangster known as 'Cross' has been running a multi-million dollar crime empire from behind bars.

Despite being caged in one of Australia's toughest jails, George Marrogi was still able to mastermind a $50 million drug trafficking operation.

He was aided in his drug business by 'cleanskin' girlfriend Antonietta Mannella , who pretended to be his lawyer to help him move a massive drug shipment.

Marrogi has been a thorn in the side of Melbourne detectives for much of his 33 years of life, most of which he has spent behind bars.

Last year, he was sentenced in the Supreme Court of Victoria to a total of 32 years in jail over the cold blooded public execution of a drug rival.

But jail has not seemed to have stop Marrogi from taunting police from within.

George Marrogi, 33, was the mastermind of a $50 million drug deal from behind bars

Charity worker Antonietta Mannella has pleaded guilty to helping Marrogi run his business from jail

It can be revealed Marrogi hosted rapper BBG Smokey at his family compound while caged within Victoria's Barwon Prison.

The Melbourne rapper is seen performing while surrounded by the gangster's fleet of luxury vehicles, including a $300,000 Lamborghini Huracan.

Marrogi's brother Jesse also features in the video and can be identified by the words 'f**k the law' tattooed across his torso.

Most of the cars featured in the video, including two Jeeps, a gold-plated Harley-Davidson and the Lamborghini, have either been confiscated by the authorities under proceeds of crime laws or sold off as police tightened their grip on Marrogi's gang, the Herald Sun reported.

Rapper BBG Smokey (left) parties with wads of digital cash with a fleet of vehicles believed to be owned by George Marrogi before they were confiscated by police

George Marrogi's brother Jesse (pictured) features in a music video with Melbourne rapper BBG Smokey

On Tuesday, Marrogi was back before a judge after being caught in a hairbrain scheme to traffic massive quantities of drugs.

The latest venture by the Notorious Crime Family syndicate has resulted in the jailing of a once law abiding charity worker, who now faces life in jail.

Mannella, 28, of Mickleham, has pleaded guilty to helping Marrogi run his business from Barwon.

The County Court of Victoria heard Mannella had been the best friend of his dead sister when she inexplicably hooked-up with the jailbird.

Until then, Mannella had lived a faultless life and had previously handed out food to the homeless on Melbourne's streets for a charity established in memory of Marrogi's sister Meshilin, who died from complications related to Covid-19.

George Marrogi's brother Jesse has been linked to Nabil 'Mad Lebo' Maghnie's daughter Sabrine (pictured).

George Marrogi in happier times. He will spend most of his life behind bars

The court heard Mannella and some of Marrogi's cohorts attempted to move 800 litres of the drug Butanediol from South Australia to Victoria.

Marrogi and Mannella have pleaded guilty to attempting to traffic a large commercial quantity of illicit drugs.

The $50 million plan had hinged on a brazen scheme that saw Mannella pose as Marrogi's lawyer.

While all prisoner phone calls are monitored and recorded by Corrections Victoria, the pair banked on a well known exemption that allows unmonitored calls with legal personal, which are regarded as privileged.

In circumstances that were not explained, the court heard a phone used by a real lawyer representing Marrogi diverted to Mannella whenever the crook rang it.

Mannella would answer the phone by impersonating 'Cassidy' in a poor attempt to throw off prison snoops.

The pair would then speak in code as they went about organising the movement of four 200-litre drums of Butanediol - the key ingredient in gamma hydroxybutyrate, or GHB.

The court heard Marrogi was able to convince a man who owed him cash to organise the shipment, which revolved around a 71-year old truck driver driving the drums across the border into Melbourne.

The elderly driver was picked-up by police as he drove into Horsham in Victoria's west.

The mission had been doomed from the start.

The court heard Australian Federal Police had Mannella's phone tapped and had listened to every conversation she had with the crime boss.

Antonietta Mannella after her arrest by federal police last year

Antonietta Mannella helps out a charity operated by the Marrogi clan

Antonietta Mannella pretended to be a lawyer to help George Marrogi attempt to deal drugs

HOW FAT TONY GOT THE BAD NEWS When George Marrogi's drug shipment was seized by federal police, his girlfriend passed on the bad news to drug lord Tony Mokbel. MANNELLA: Yeah alright tell him no good. MOKBEL: Nah? MANNELLA: Nah. MOKBEL: Ok. MANNELLA: They got it yeah? MOKBEL: Ok leave it with ya. MANNELLA: Yeah so that's that, yeah. MOKBEL: Yep. MANNELLA: Alrighty Advertisement

The court heard Mannella would use code words such as 'kittens' to describe drugs, 'kalbeh' - a Maltese word for dog - to describe police and 'Touttz' to describe herself.

'Melasecca, Kelly & Zayler, this is Cassidy speaking,' Mannella would answer, the court heard, in an attempt to impersonate the law firm's then receptionist.

News of the shipment's seizure was delivered to Marrogi by former Melbourne drug lord Tony Mokbel, who had been caged in the same area as him.

Mannella later described the bust as 'just bad luck'.

On April 22 last year, Mannella's run of bad luck continued as federal police arrested her at her home.

She was later paraded for the cameras by federal police as they escorted her into the police station.

Mannella refused to talk, with Marrogi later attempting to take the blame for his girlfriend's role in the bungled drug deal.

Marrogi, who was born in Iraq and migrated to Australia in 1996, has already spent most of his life behind bars, having been sentenced to a minimum of six years for manslaughter as a youth.

He had been charged with murder after he got involved in a wild brawl in 2005 in which he stabbed and killed a man.

The Marrogi clan: Jesse, Meshlin, mum Madlin and George

On release he continued to offend and was later jailed for arson.

Five months later he would be charged with murder for a second time - this time it would stick.

In total, Marrogi has spent 15 of last the 16 years behind bars, missing his own sister's funeral during the pandemic.

Ors, 24, had been lured to a meeting with Marrogi unaware that his number was about to be punched.

CCTV captured from a carpark in Campbellfield, 13km north of Melbourne, showed Marrogi stalking his prey, who was accompanied by two mates.

The court heard Marrogi chased down Ors, ignoring his friends altogether, before catching up with him outside an Officeworks.

Marrogi shot his terrified victim seven times, hitting him in the back, leg, hip and buttocks.

After blasting Ors, Marrogi made a wild escape from the scene as two of the dead man's mates pursued him in another vehicle.

While Marrogi escaped the chaos, police found the empty box of the bullets in the abandoned Commodore which Marrogi had sprayed all over Melbourne's northern suburbs.

The gunman had also left his DNA on the box and the car was quickly linked directly back to a childhood mate of Marrogi.

A third jury, who sat through a 16-day trial, would have no doubt it was Marrogi behind Ors' murder.

Judge Peter Rozen will sentence Marrogi and Mannella next month.
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What happens when you combine a spectacular landscape, a sky full of stars and a very talented photographer? Take one look at photographer Marcin Zajac's work and you'll discover it's something special.

The California-based amateur photographer has a remarkable talent for astrophotography, turning his camera on the skies over locations such as the Bisti Badlands of New Mexico and the Eastern Australian coast. Unsurprisingly, Instagram has taken notice - his photography account has nearly 69,000 followers to date.

Speaking to MailOnline Travel, the 34-year-old, who originally hails from Warsaw, Poland, reveals: I've travelled to many beautiful locations around the world, but my favourites are still the Western U.S states like California, Utah and Arizona. The diversity of the landscape is incredible, from a beautiful coastline, and majestic mountains to many amazing desert rock formations.

Reflecting on the reaction to his work, Zajac, who is a software engineer by trade, notes that city-dwellers tend to be surprised by how many stars can be seen in a remote area with little light pollution.

A great deal of work goes into immortalising these enchanting skies. Zajac will often return to a location several times before he's satisfied by the weather conditions, and naturally, he needs to work through the dead of the night. After the nighttime shoot, more work is involved. He explains: I usually take several photos during each night, each typically a few minutes long, and combine them during post-processing.

The result is a mesmerising portfolio of work, a taste of which can be seen below...

This extraordinary shot by Zajac shows Utah's Reflection Canyon by Lake Powell. He says: 'This is the most remote location I've had a chance to visit, photograph and spend the night at. It might also be one of the most beautiful.' Zajac says accessing the beauty spot was a 'challenge'. He hiked there, carrying eight litres of water, food, a tent, a sleeping bag and all his photo gear on the 20-mile (32km) round-trip trek. He says: 'Overall [it was] 20kg (44lbs) on my back.' However, he admits it was 'worth it' to see the Milky Way arch rise above the canyon at night

LEFT: This breathtaking photograph was snared in the Australian coastal town of Kiama while Zajac was visiting the country on a business trip. He recalls: 'I made my way into this small cave and waited for a few hours for the core of the Milky Way to come out. Not familiar with the southern sky I was surprised to also see Jupiter appear soon after - it's the brightest object to the left of the sea stack.' RIGHT: For this enchanting photograph, Zajac angled his camera towards the skies above the Sky Rock Petroglyphs near the city of Bishop, California. The mighty Sierra Nevada mountains can be seen in the background

The Milky Way over Bixby Creek Bridge on California's Big Sur coast is beautifully captured in this shot by Zajac. He says: 'This stretch of the California coast features steep cliffs, hidden beach coves, and one of the most spectacular drives one can take anywhere in the world... there is no light pollution here which makes this a perfect destination for stargazing'

LEFT: This stunning picture shows the Milky Way over the Pfeiffer Beach archway in California's Big Sur region. As it's a composite picture, meaning the photographs were taken over a series of hours and layered upon one another, Zajac notes that the 'light emanating from the arch is actually caused by the setting sun, not the moon or the stars as one might think'. RIGHT: Pigeon Point Lighthouse, a 19th-century structure that lies 50 miles (80km) south of San Francisco on the California coast, is the subject of this magical shot. Zajac says that the fog in the area often makes it hard to see the stars. He took this shot on an autumn evening when the fog 'relented for a few days', giving him the chance 'to see the vertical Milky Way in tandem with the lighthouse'

'In this image, the Milky Way is seen next to Boot Arch in Alabama Hills, a range of hills and rock formations near the eastern side of Sierra Nevada in California,' says Zajac. He adds: 'If, like me, at first you don't see where the name Boot Arch comes from - look inside the arch'

LEFT: 'If I had to choose my favourite place on Earth this might be it,' Zajac says of the setting for this awe-inspiring shot. It was captured at McWay Falls on California's Big Sur Coast. Commenting on the location, Zajac says: 'It really has everything - a beautiful cove filled with emerald waters, an 80ft (24m) waterfall falling directly onto the beach, a palm tree making you feel like you're on a tropical island and a perfectly dark sky that shines bright with stars at night.' RIGHT: The 'Alien Throne' sandstone rock formation of New Mexico's Bisti Badlands is majestically captured in this picture by Zajac. The photographer comments: 'The landscape here looks otherworldly, especially once the sun sets and the stars appear. The bright objects to the left of the [rock formation] are the planetary duo of Jupiter and Saturn, which were unusually close that night'

LEFT: This magnificent photograph shows the Milky Way 'shining bright' on Samuel Boardman State Park along the Oregon coast. RIGHT: Zajac says that this striking shot shows the night sky 'spinning around the North Star' while cars drive over California's Bixby Creek Bridge. 'This is my first attempt at capturing star trails caused by the Earth's rotation,' he notes

This eye-opening photograph shows a prescribed fire - a preventative measure carried out to remove vegetation that could contribute to a wildfire - in California's Yosemite Valley. Though he notes that the fire was fully under control, Zajac admits it was 'surreal' to witness it. He adds: 'The thick smoke didn't seem to discourage climbers - if you look carefully you can see lights from their headlamps as they climb up El Capitan [the rock formation to the left]'

LEFT: Zajac captured this atmospheric photograph on Bowling Ball Beach in California's Mendocino County. He notes that the beach's 'strange spherical boulders' are revealed only during low tide. RIGHT: A gnarled tree in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest of California's White Mountains is the subject of this bewitching photography by Zajac. He notes that some of the pine trees in this forest have been dated as being nearly 5,000 years old
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If its good enough for a president of France  it's good enough for me.

Nicolas Sarkozy celebrated his 2007 election victory at Pariss 62-room Hotel Barriere Le Fouquet's, in its legendary restaurant Brasserie Fouquet's. The staff formed a victory tunnel for him when he departed following an overnight stay.

I follow in his footsteps (minus the victory tunnel) with an overnight stay at the hotel on the way to the Alps with my family and can confirm that its a fitting place for VIPs  and five-year-olds who love swimming pools.

My partner and I mention to our daughter Emma, on the way to the hotel, located where the Champs Elysees meets Avenue George V, that it has a pool and within minutes of putting our bags down in our room  she's ready for action.

Ted checks into Hotel Barriere Le Fouquet's in Paris. Pictured above is the incredible swimming pool

Current affairs: The pool features an amazing mini pool with a fun 'lazy river' experience (pictured in the foreground)

Nicolas Sarkozy celebrated his 2007 election victory at Hotel Barriere Le Fouquet's. He's pictured here emerging through a victory tunnel formed by the staff after spending the night in the property

I lie down on the bed, hoping for a few minutes of post-journey recuperation, but Emma is at the end of said bed wearing her costume, armbands  and goggles  pleading for the pool.

The room seems lovely, but a full appraisal will just have to wait.

Down we go in the elevator to the spa  and down go our jaws.

The main pool area is gorgeous, reminiscent of a boutique townhouse, with paintings lining grey wooden panelling.

At the far end is a fun mini pool with bubbling water and an ingenious oblong enclosure of sorts with a rectangular block in the middle. Here the water is pushed around the block to produce a fun lazy-river experience.

Dreamy: Ted's 'lovely' suite (pictured) features a huge padded gold headboard

Rooms at Hotel Barriere Le Fouquet's cost from 834, at the time of writing

The hotel is located where the Champs Elysees meets Avenue George V

The famous Brasserie Fouquets, where Nicolas Sarkozy partied on the night of his election victory

After our aquatic larks, the room appraisal begins in earnest. And definitely lovely is the conclusion.

Theres a sumptuous king-sized bed in front of a gigantic golden padded headboard, a walk-in wardrobe, a separate loo, a standalone tub in a room with twin sinks and a bounty of chrome fittings and an enclosed walk-in rain shower.

All very refined, though not quite in the realms of jaw-dropping, which you might expect for the price (over 830 a night).

Breakfast is served in plush Le Joy bar, which features beautifully upholstered chairs and sofas, and a library aesthetic

At breakfast, reveals Ted, every table is adorned by default with proper napkins, silver cutlery, baskets of pastries, glasses stuffed with fresh fruit and jams in wooden trays (left). Pictured on the right is the breakfast buffet section

The hotel's signature suite, above, takes opulence to another level

Its too late for a restaurant meal, so we order room service for three  spaghetti with cheese and heavenly grilled salmon that prompts much oohing and aahing.

Breakfast is even more delightful.

Its served in plush Le Joy bar, with every table adorned by default with proper napkins, silver cutlery, baskets of pastries, glasses stuffed with fresh fruit and jams in wooden trays.

I add to the feast with scrambled eggs and sausages from the buffet section, pausing between mouthfuls to admire the rooms beautifully upholstered chairs and sofas, and the library aesthetic  the walls are lined with hundreds of books.

Our stay is brief, but long enough for the hotels president-baiting swagger to make a lasting impression.

READ MORE: Inside the 'best new ski hotel of 2022
Married At First Sight is one of the most controversial shows on TV.

From cheating accusations to explosive fights, Channel Nine's social experiment has had its fair share of scandals over the years.

Here are the most shocking moments from the past nine seasons ahead of the highly anticipated season 10 premiere on Monday night.

Olivia exposing Domenica's OnlyFans account

Olivia Frazer (pictured) infamously outed rival bride Domenica Calarco for having an OnlyFans account during a dinner party on last year's season

Olivia Frazer infamously outed rival bride Domenica Calarco for having an OnlyFans account during a dinner party on last year's season.

Domenica was humiliated to learn her co-stars knew about her racy side hustle and broke down in tears.

Olivia refused to apologise for sharing Dom's racy photos, which a friend of hers had discovered circulating on Twitter and Reddit.

While the distribution of the image was described by many viewers at the time as 'revenge porn', a police investigation into the matter has effectively been closed after Olivia refused to speak with officers.

Carolina and Daniel's affair

Carolina Santos (right) and Daniel Holmes (left) didn't hit it off with their respective 'spouses' last year, so decided to pursue a secret relationship with each other

Carolina Santos and Daniel Holmes didn't hit it off with their respective 'spouses' last year, so decided to pursue a secret relationship with each other.

They eventually came clean about their affair at a commitment ceremony and asked the experts if they could re-enter the experiment as a new couple, but their request was denied.

They lasted in the outside world for 10 months before announcing their split.

They eventually came clean about their affair at a commitment ceremony and asked the experts if they could re-enter the experiment as a new couple, but their request was denied

Coco and Cameron's shock romance

It seems there's nothing MAFS participants love more than a good fling.

During the 2021 season, Coco Stedman and Cameron Dunne were at the centre of an explosive cheating scandal that divided fans.

Coco, who was paired with Sam Carraro, sought comfort in Cameron after multiple clashes with her uninterested 'husband'.

During the 2021 season, Coco Stedman (right) and Cameron Dunne (left) were at the centre of an explosive cheating scandal that divided fans

It didn't take long for the two to hit it off, and the other brides and grooms weren't shy about discussing their budding romance.

But it turns out their relationship didn't last once the cameras stopped rolling.

Coco said at the reunion: 'Since leaving the experiment, Cam and I hung out a few times Cam and I got intimate.'

When asked if Cameron had 'hit it and quit it', Coco laughed it off by saying: 'He got his Coco Pops and left for the day [but] there's no ill feelings there.'

Martha and Cyrell's red wine moment

Martha Kalifatidis and Cyrell Paule had an explosive feud that almost turned physical during season six in 2019.

One of their arguments escalated to the point Cyrell grabbed Martha's dressing gown and a producer was forced to separate them.

Martha laughed as Cyrell walked away from the melee, then proceeded to smash a fruit bowl in anger.

Martha Kalifatidis (right) and Cyrell Paule (left) had an explosive feud that almost turned physical during season six in 2019. One of their arguments escalated to the point Cyrell grabbed Martha's dressing gown and a producer was forced to separate them

At the next dinner party, Martha was still simmering with rage and told fellow bride Ines Basic she was going to 'pour a drink on Cyrell' - and followed through with her threat.

She tipped a glass of red over her rival's head, causing total chaos.

Viewers were quick to condemn the brides' petty behaviour and the moment soon became one of the show's most memorable scandals.

At the next dinner party, Martha was still simmering with rage and told fellow bride Ines Basic she was going to 'pour her drink on Cyrell' - and followed through with her threat

Sam and Ines' affair

After weeks of secret text messages and flirty meet-ups, viewers were on the edge of their seats when Ines Basic and Sam Ball finally sealed the deal in the 2019 season.

With both of them 'married' to other people, their affair caused widespread outrage, with many fans furious that the experts didn't intervene and put a stop to it.

Sam's 'wife' Lizzie Sobinoff later said pair were 'disgusting' and 'belong with each other' - but their illicit romance didn't last outside the experiment.

After weeks of secret text messages and flirty meet-ups, viewers were on the edge of their seats when Ines Basic (left) and Sam Ball (right) finally sealed the deal in the 2019 season

Bronson Norrish calls his wife Ines a 'c**t'

After weeks of enduring verbal abuse from his 'wife' during the 2019 season, frustrated groom Bronson Norrish finally snapped at the first commitment ceremony.

He accused his unhinged bride Ines Basic of 'acting like a c**t', leaving the entire cast and trio of experts speechless.

Relationship guru Mel Schilling was particularly appalled, and told Bronson it was never acceptable to call a woman the C-word.

But many viewers disagreed, saying Bronson was right to call Ines a 'c**t' because of her awful behaviour on their honeymoon.

After weeks of enduring verbal abuse from his 'wife' Ines Basic (right) during the 2019 season, Bronson Norrish (left) finally snapped at the first commitment ceremony and called her a 'c**t'

Dean and Davina's affair

The most talked-about moment from season five was the affair between Dean Wells and Davina Rankin.

The pair betrayed their respective spouses by meeting up for a secret coffee date.

However, their brief tryst came to an end when Dean decided he was happier with his 'wife' Tracey Jewel, before kicking Davina to the curb.

The most talked-about moment from season five was the affair between Dean Wells (right) and Davina Rankin (left)

Telv's white powder regrets

Tradesman Telv Williams and beautician Sarah Roza were portrayed as the golden couple of Married At First Sight's fifth season in 2018.

But Telv's less-than-squeaky-clean past outside of the show was exposed when photos emerged of him snorting white powder from a stripper's backside.

Things went from bad to worse for the father of two when leaked emails obtained by Daily Mail Australia revealed he had called Sarah a 'crazy woman' and told a Channel Nine employee their 'relationship' was strictly for publicity purposes.

Season five groom Telv Williams' less-than-squeaky-clean past outside of the show was exposed when photos emerged of him snorting white powder from a stripper's backside

'Oh s**t!' Sean rejects Jo at the altar

Australia fell in love with bubbly single mother Jo McPharlin in 2018, but the same couldn't be said for her 'husband' Sean Donners.

The pub owner famously muttered 'oh s**t' under his breath when he saw his eager-beaver bride trotting down the altar.

He later voted to 'leave' her at the first commitment ceremony, resulting in a heartbroken Jo calling him a 'douchebag' in front of the other couples.

Ryan's 'Naked Dating' appearance

Ryan Gallagher was portrayed as a poor, broken-hearted groom when his 'wife' Davina Rankin cheated on him during the 2018 season.

But a very different side to his personality emerged when footage resurfaced from his X-rated appearance on The Kyle and Jackie O Show.

Ryan was a contestant on the program's infamous Naked Dating segment, stripping down in the studio in front of a giggling Jackie 'O' Henderson before admitting his dating style was 'KFC and a root'.
Dancing With The Stars pro Peta Murgatroyd glowed as she stepped out in Los Angeles for coffee and pastries this week.

The 36-year-old is currently expecting her second baby with her dashing husband Maksim Chmerkovskiy, a fellow Dancing With The Stars staple.

Draping her blossoming baby bump in skintight workout gear, she layered up against the wintertime chill in flannel and a fleece coat.

Looking fab: Dancing With The Stars pro Peta Murgatroyd glowed as she stepped out in Los Angeles for coffee and pastries this week

Her latest outing comes after she demonstrated on her Insta Stories that she is committed to keeping up her exercise regimen during her pregnancy.

She posted a string of updates from the gym, turning this way and that to throw her bump into relief as she posed in the mirror.

Peta took the opportunity to plug the black Aritzia jumpsuit she had on, gushing that the outfit was 'so comfortable, so soft, so buttery.'

She and Makes welcomed their son Shai in 2017 and Peta has been open about her heartrending fertiility struggles as she attempted to have another child.

Growing family: The 36-year-old is currently expecting her second baby with her dashing husband Maksim Chmerkovskiy, a fellow Dancing With The Stars staple

This month she announced: 'After 2 years of constant struggle and heartache, 3 miscarriages and a failed embryo transferwe have a healthy bun in the oven.'

She celebrated the new development with a breathtaking photo-shoot of her displaying her blossoming baby bump in lingerie.

She dished in an interview with People magazine in mid-January that she was nearly 18 weeks pregnant and said: 'All natural, it just happened.'

Peta was on the verge of trying a second round of in vitro fertilization when she received the news that she had conceived.

Off she goes: Draping her blossoming baby bump in skintight workout gear, she layered up against the wintertime chill in flannel and a fleece coat

'I didn't even know I was pregnant for so long until I was really feeling sick. I danced through Dancing With The Stars with it,' she said.

'I started feeling weird, started feeling a little bit sick and a little bloated and I didn't want to test for weeks,' Peta candidly confessed.

She was near the 'six or seven-week' point of her pregnancy by the time she finally took the test and 'I think it was the fastest positive I've ever seen in my life.'

The Auckland-born hoofer dished: 'It just came up super quick and I was just shocked. It's been completely different from my past pregnancy. It wasn't like I jumped for joy and I shouted from the rooftops: "Oh my God, I'm pregnant. Yay!"

Making it happen: Her latest outing comes after she demonstrated on her Insta Stories that she is committed to keeping up her exercise regimen during her pregnancy

Dancing queen: She posted a string of updates from the gym, turning this way and that to throw her bump into relief as she posed in the mirror

Peta, who has suffered three miscarriages, said: 'It was more like a: "Okay, well let's see what happens because I've been through this four other times, and it hasn't worked." So I was very skeptical. I didn't even tell Maks for a while.'

At the moment she knows the sex of the baby, as she 'can't wait' and needs 'to know these things,' but has not decided whether to make the information public.

Taking the news to Instagram, she wrote: 'It brings me immense joy to finally announce that @maksimc and I are expecting our Chmerkovskiy #2.'

She shared: 'After 2 years of constant struggle and heartache, 3 miscarriages and a failed embryo transferwe have a healthy bun in the oven :)) It was a shock to all of us and we found out right before I was going in for my second round of IVF.'

Happiness: This month she announced: 'After 2 years of constant struggle and heartache, 3 miscarriages and a failed embryo transferwe have a healthy bun in the oven'

Said she: 'I want to thank ALL OF YOU whove been on this fertility journey with me from the beginning. It feels like Im sharing this news with my extended family. Thank you for sharing your stories and tips to get me through my IVF cycle and thank you for the plethora of encouraging comments and DMs I read them all.'

Peta concluded: 'This news has brought extraordinary bliss to our family and we have so much to be grateful for .coming June 2023.'

In a shattering People interview last year, she revealed how 'petrified, embarrassed, and ashamed' she felt when she miscarried for the first time.

Spellbinding: She celebrated the new development with a breathtaking photo-shoot of her displaying her blossoming baby bump in lingerie

The loss occurred in the autumn of 2020 in a Whole Foods bathroom, leaving her 'sobbing' and 'wailing' for hours as she sat on the toilet.

When she miscarried again nine months later, she was about to fly to New York to tell Maksim she was pregnant, and instead had to tell him she had lost the baby.

In October 2021, when her husband was in his native Ukraine to work on its version of Dancing With The Stars, Peta endured a third miscarriage.

At the time she was so ill with COVID-19 that she 'couldn't open a dishwasher' or even 'open the fridge to feed Shai, to get him some toast.'

Parents of two: She announced last June that she was attempting IVF, declaring: 'For the first time in nearly two years, I feel excited'

After fainting in her son's bedroom, Peta - who at that point did not even know she was pregnant - was rushed to the hospital and informed she had lost a baby.

Peta ultimately discovered that she had a hormonal disorder called polycystic ovary syndrome that was affecting her fertility.

She announced last June that she was attempting IVF, declaring: 'For the first time in nearly two years, I feel excited. 'I'm in a much happier place. I got answers.'

'I don't have any other words but hope and positivity,' said her husband. 'I'm crossing my fingers that this is going to work.'
Lincoln Younes has revealed how he prepared himself to play the character of John Ibrahim in highly-anticipated biopic, Last King of The Cross.

The actor, 30, told this week's Stellar magazine, he researched the nightclub owner and even visited his home to learn more about him before filming the series.

'I'm not doing an imitation of him,' he said of the biopic.

Lincoln Younes (pictured) has revealed how he researched John Ibrahim before playing the nightclub owner in Last King of the Cross

'There's an essence I wanted to capture, the loneliness of being an immigrant, of being successful, of paving a path that hadn't been done before,' he added.

Lincoln explained he was invited to Ibrahim's home for research so he could properly embody the role.

'You can learn a lot about a person just by being in their space. He's charismatic, he's open, he respects that I know what I'm doing. And that's all I need,' he added.

'There's an essence I wanted to capture, the loneliness of being an immigrant, of being successful, of paving a path that hadn't been done before,' Lincoln said

The 10-part series will tell the story of brothers John and Sam Ibrahim, who are prominent figures in the Kings Cross nightclub district.

The series may also explore key events in John's life, including surviving a near fatal stabbing and other attempts on his life.

John has also praised Lincoln's performance saying it was 'difficult to watch' some scenes and added he portrayed him 'extremely well'.

'You can learn a lot about a person just by being in their space. He's charismatic, he's open, he respects that I know what I'm doing. And that's all I need,' he added

John Ibrahim migrated from Tripoli to Australia with his family as a young child before securing his first nightclub at age 19

The Lebanese-born entrepreneur migrated from Tripoli to Australia with his family as a young child before securing his first nightclub at age 19.

John has been dating model Sarah Budge, whom he met after buying the Potts Point building where she operated a restaurant, since 2015.

The couple welcomed their first child together in August last year.

A friend of the couple confirmed Elvis' birth to Daily Mail Australia in early September and it's understood the baby arrived on August 31.

John has two other children from past relationships, including a grown-up son, Daniel, and a seven-year-old child whom he shares with his long-time friend.
Top British model Leomie Anderson has fast-fashion brand EGO in her sights after accusing it of copying her clothing designs.

The Victorias Secret angel says she spotted EGO was selling suspiciously similar body art clothes to those made by her fitness brand LAPP, but at a fraction of the price.

Leomie attacked EGO on Instagram as cheap, unoriginal thieves and added fuel to the fire by claiming it had bought the stolen design from marketplace AliExpress, which has been accused of allegedly selling counterfeit items.

Leomie says: You can copy the design but you cant replicate the quality of my seamless fabrication.

EGO was approached for comment but did not respond.

Top British model Leomie Anderson has fast-fashion brand EGO in her sights after accusing it of copying her clothing designs

The Victorias Secret angel says she spotted EGO was selling suspiciously similar body art clothes to those made by her fitness brand LAPP, but at a fraction of the price

Leomie attacked EGO on Instagram as cheap, unoriginal thieves and added fuel to the fire by claiming it had bought the stolen design from marketplace AliExpress, which has been accused of allegedly selling counterfeit items

His Bond legend father always mixed in celebrity circles and it seems Roger Moores son Jaffa has the same knack of getting stars on side.

Musician Jaffa has cobbled together a cast including Sir Michael Caine, Dame Joan Collins and Paris Hilton to lip-sync in a music video for his charity single You And I, dedicated to the memory of his late dad.

Explaining how he chose the celebs, Jaffa says he looked at how many followers each had on that TikTok thing. But how did he persuade them to take part? Cold calls, he says.
My congratulations to former Chancellor George Osborne and his fiancee, Thea Rogers, who have welcomed a second son.

Baby Arthur is a little brother for Beau who was born in July 2021.

Osborne, 51, now chairman of the British Museum, lives with his family in a newly bought 10million house in Notting Hill, though they also have a weekend retreat in Somerset.

Arthur arrived on December 30, and he is Georges fourth child.

He also has two grown-up children from his 21-year marriage to novelist Frances Osborne.

My congratulations to former Chancellor George Osborne and his fiancee, Thea Rogers, who have welcomed a second son, Arthur. George is pictured carrying their first son Beau who was born in July 2021

Osborne, 51, now chairman of the British Museum, lives with his family in a newly bought 10million house in Notting Hill, though they also have a weekend retreat in Somerset

Now James cuts ties to Poppy firm

Are model Poppy Delevingne and James Cook finally going their separate ways? I only ask because James, 43, has resigned as a director of his wifes company, Poppy Delevingne Limited, which files the accounts for her photographic activities.

Poppy and James tied the knot in 2014 at a lavish Knightsbridge ceremony, but whispers of their split came after he was spotted on celebrity dating app Raya late last year. I revealed last year that Poppy had struck up a close friendship with Prince Constantine Alexios of Greece and Denmark.

Poppy and James tied the knot in 2014 at a lavish Knightsbridge ceremony, but whispers of their split came after he was spotted on celebrity dating app Raya late last year

Love on the run for Blair PR

Anthony Bailey, the PR guru who raised millions for Tony Blair, has got engaged, I can reveal. But were not likely to hear the wedding bells here.

Bailey and his fiancee, Florida socialite Farley Rentschler face jail if they set foot in Britain. Its over charges relating to Baileys refusal to hand over funds owed to his ex-wife, Princess Marie-Therese von Hohenberg, a relative of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, whose assassination led to the First World War.
Sam Taunton has admitted he was 'scared' about replacing Peter Helliar on Channel Ten's The Project.

The comedian, 30, confessed to The Daily Telegraph, he was nervous about joining the show and replacing Peter, who he described as being part of Australia's 'comedy landscape'.

'Pete and Hughesy - they're obviously part of the Australian comedy landscape and they were so well-known before starting the show,' he said.

Sam Taunton, 30, (pictured) has revealed he was nervous about replacing Peter Helliar on The Project as he discussed his new TV role

'I was a bit "how am I going to go?" And I was s**t scared that I would screw it up - I don't think I have yet,' he added.

Sam, who has a degree in political science, explained he felt like he was pushed into the deep end.

'I felt like being in charge of a busy cafe on a Saturday morning, having never worked in a cafe,' he said.

'I was a bit ''how am I going to go?'' and I was sh*t scared I would screw it up - I don't think I have yet,' he said of the new role on the Ten show

Sam, who has a degree in political science, explained he felt like he was pushed into the deep end. Pictured Margot Robbie being interviewed on The Project

Sam and comic Michael Hing were revealed as Peter's replacements in December after a mass exodus on the show.

Sam appears on the program Monday to Thursday, while Michael joins Hamish and Georgia Tunny on Friday and Sunday nights.

'It's a fresh cast and we are all looking forward to creating something new and energetic that I think people will really respond to,' Sam said at the time.

Sam and Michael Hing joined Waleed Aly, Sarah Harris, Hamish Macdonald and Georgie Tunny on the panel following a mass exodus. All pictured

Peter announced he was leaving The Project in November and explained he decided to quit following the departure of his co-host Carrie Bickmore.

'Carrie, you recently said that you are glad you're leaving The Project while you still love it and I still love the show. I really do,' he explained.

'The Project means a lot to me. It's done amazing things for me. I interviewed Luke Skywalker once... and I look forward to see what the show is in the future.'
Jonah Hill was spotted out on Saturday after the recent release of his Netflix film You People.

The 39-year-old hit the streets in Malibu, California, with some friends and his girlfriend, Olivia Millar, as they made their way to a venue for their night out.

The Don't Look Up actor bundled up against the cold in a navy cardigan over a grey T-shirt, light-wash jeans, and green boots.

Out on the town: Jonah Hill was spotted on a night out with some friends and his girlfriend Olivia Millar

His hair was close-cropped and dyed blonde, and he also donned a large pair of glasses as he headed out with his friends.

Olivia walked next to him and wore a warm and comfortable ensemble, complete with a grey puffer jacket, light-wash jeans, and tan Ugg slippers.

The business owner had her brunette hair down and styled it with a blue claw clip on the back of her head.

Jonah's other two friends that joined them were also dressed casually for their night of fun.

Looking casual: The 39-year-old went out with his friends after the release of his new Netflix film You People

Bundled up: The Superbad actor stayed warm in a blue cardigan, jeans, and green boots

The 21 Jump Street actor recently returned to the screen in his latest film, a romantic comedy from Netflix titled, You People, which was released on the streaming platform on January 27.

Less than a day after its release, it received a 47% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 5.6/10 on IMDb.

However, despite the less-than-favorable scores, the film claimed the top spot on Netflix's top ten movie list as of January 28.

The premise of the movie, 'Follows a new couple and their families, who find themselves examining modern love and family dynamics amidst clashing cultures, societal expectations, and generational differences,' according to IMDb.

New: You People released on Netflix on January 27 and has claimed the top spot on the streaming service's top ten movie list

Good stuff: The film follows a new couple and their families, who find themselves examining modern love and family dynamics amidst clashing cultures, societal expectations, and generational differences

Alongside Jonah, who took on a leading role and also co-wrote the project, other cast members include comedian Eddie Murphy, Nia Long, X-Files alum David Duchovny, and Lauren London.

The Wolf of Wall Street star recently announced that he would no longer be promoting his films to prioritize his mental health.

His advocacy for mental health was shared after his documentary with Netflix called Stutz was released in November. Jonah directed the film, and the actor also starred in the movie, which centered around his therapist, Dr. Phil Stutz.

Advocacy: The War Dogs actor announced in August that he would no longer be promoting his movies in order to prioritize his mental health

Support: His openness about mental health advocacy came after his film Stutz released, which is centered around his therapist, Dr. Phil Stutz

Jonah explained to Deadline his reasoning behind his decision. 'Through this journey of self-discovery within the film, I have come to the understanding that I have spent nearly 20 years experiencing anxiety attacks, which are exacerbated by media appearances and public facing events.'

He also mentioned that despite his projects, 'you wont see me out there promoting this film, or any of my upcoming films, while I take this important step to protect myself.'

Jonah added, 'If I made myself sicker by going out there and promoting it, I wouldnt be acting true to myself or to the film. I usually cringe at letters or statements like this, but I understand that I am of the privileged few who can afford to take time off. I wont lose my job while working on my anxiety.'
Gina Rodriguez showed off her baby bump while enjoying a romantic day at the beach with her husband Joe LoCicero on Saturday.

The Golden Globe winning actress, 38, and her husband of nearly four years, 36, couldn't keep their hands off each other and shared a kiss while taking a stroll along the shore of the beach.

The lovebirds - who are expecting their first child together - held hands while they walked and had a sweet, tender moment where they both caressed her baby bump.

Expecting parents: Gina Rodriguez, 38, and her husband Joe LoCicero, 36, couldn't keep their hands off each other while taking a stroll along the shore of the beach on Saturday

The Jane the Virgin star wore a bright blue summer dress with black shorts underneath.

Periodically during their walk, she lifted up her dress to feel her baby bump.

The Chicago native wore a pair of black frames and opted to go makeup-free to showcase her natural beauty.

Dressed in baby blue: The Jane the Virgin star wore a bright blue summer dress with black shorts underneath, and periodically during their walk, she lifted up her dress to feel her baby bump

A tender moment: The Golden Globe winning actress and her husband of nearly four years caressed her baby bump in a sweet moment

She tied up her dark brunette tresses in a low ponytail for their outing.

The Awake star walked barefoot in the sand alongside her husband - who she married in May 2019.

Later, Rodriguez puts on a pair of opaque tights and a cream coat.

PDA: The Awake star walked barefoot in the sand alongside her husband - who she married in May 2019 - and shared a kiss at the beach

LoCicero - who starred alongside Rodriguez in the 2019 film Miss Bala - donned a forest green sweatshirt for their beach outing.

The MMA fighter sported a pair of gray sweatpants and rolled up the bottoms to walk on the shore.

During their weekend outing, the couple shared several picturesque moments caressing Rodriguez's baby bump and hugging each other.

Enjoying their beach day: During their weekend beach outing, the couple shared several picturesque moments caressing Rodriguez's baby bump and hugging each other

By her side: The MMA fighter sported a green sweatshirt and gray sweatpants while he massaged his wife's shoulders at one point

At one point, LoCicero was spotted massaging his wife's shoulders as they soaked in the sun.

Last year, Rodriguez announced that the pair were expecting their first child together.

While celebrating her 38th birthday in July 2022, she shared a video revealing a positive pregnancy test.

Their first child: Last year, Rodriguez announced that the pair were expecting their first child together

The best gift: While celebrating her 38th birthday in July 2022, she shared a video revealing a positive pregnancy test

In her caption, she wrote: 'This birthday hits different.'

The expecting parents first met on the set of a 2016 episode of her show Jane the Virgin but didn't start dating until several months later.

In the summer of 2018, Rodriguez was spotted with a stunning diamond on her ring finger and confirmed they were engaged shortly thereafter.

One year later, the couple tied the knot in May 2019 at an intimate wedding ceremony with their closest family and friends.

Lovebirds: The couple tied the knot in May 2019 at an intimate wedding ceremony with their closest family and friends
Strictly's Helen Skelton and her co-stars reportedly had to take cover when they stumbled across a 'shocking' late night brawl in Leeds city centre on Friday.

The TV presenter, 39, was out partying with her Strictly pals after their live tour show in Leeds when they innocently came across the street fight.

Helen, who was out with the likes of Ellie Simmonds and Molly Rainford, had to jump out the way when a glass bottle was thrown near them.

'Shocking': Strictly's Helen Skelton (pictured in Leeds on Thursday) and her co-stars reportedly had to take cover when they stumbled across a late night brawl in Leeds on Friday

Photographs show Helen flinching out of the way of an object and police officers attending the scene.

Helen reportedly sheltered in an alleyway until police arrived and arrested a male suspect shortly before 3am, with Molly and Tyler West rushing to comfort her.

A source told The Sun of the incident: 'Helen and her co-stars were walking home when they stumbled on a brutal fight which saw a bottle being thrown.

'Helen was shocked at the violence in front of her, but was pleased the police were on hand.'

Night out: Helen, who was with the likes of Ellie Simmonds (pictured in Leeds on Friday), was said to have been forced to jump out the way when a glass bottle was thrown near them

They added: 'Two groups of lads were fighting and bottles and glasses went flying, none of the Strictly people were involved in the fighting, they were innocent passers-by caught up in it.'

West Yorkshire Police told The Sun: 'At 2.56am on Friday, police were called to a report of fight involving a group of males in Duncan Street and Call Lane in Leeds city centre.

'Officers attended and arrested a man on suspicion of affray.

'He remains in custody and enquiries are ongoing. There were no reports of any injuries.'

MailOnline has contacted Helen's representatives and West Yorkshire Police for further comment.

Helen and her Strictly co-stars have been busy touring the UK as part of the Strictly live tour, which kicked off in Birmingham on January 20 and runs through until February 12.

Tour: Helen and her Strictly co-stars have been busy touring the UK as part of the Strictly live tour, which kicked off in Birmingham on January 20 and runs through until February 12

The first night of the tour saw Helen and her professional dance partner Kai Widdrington, lift the Glitterball trophy after the audience voted them the winners.

Her original dance partner, Gorka Marquez, did not take part in the live tour and Helen recently discussed taking to the dance floor without him.

She told The Sun: 'It's really difficult not to be with Gorka because we're such good friends'.

'I've been asking him for advice a lot, so it feels like he's here. I'd have loved for him to do it, but it's almost like he's in the group.'

Winners: The first night of the tour saw Helen and her professional dance partner Kai Widdrington, lift the Glitterball trophy after the audience voted them the winners

Helen recently thanked Gorka for supporting her after her break-up with Richie Myler, who split up from Helen just months after she gave birth to their daughter Else, 13 months.

Helen posted a video of her time on the show and wrote: 'As the frozen Princess said LET IT GO. but before I do, I'm posting this flash back to the strictly final for three reasons: one it's taken me this long to work out the drop box/video clip situation.

'Two: there's about to be a whole lot of strictly tour spam that doesn't involve @gorka_marquez and I need to mark this chapter with an acknowledgement and appreciation of my wingman.'

Helen is also mother to sons Ernie, seven, and Louis, five, with Richie, 32, who she split from in April 2022 following a nine-year marriage.
Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy. ( Photo: Twitter)

Vijayawada: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy would reach Delhi on Monday evening to take part in the curtain raiser programme for the AP Global Investors Summit with delegates.

The event would be held at a hotel in Delhi from 10.30am to 5.30pm on Tuesday. The chief minister would return to the state from Delhi on Tuesday evening.
Claudia Karvan put on a stylish display as she posed for a stunning photo shoot in this week's Stellar Magazine.

The Australian actress showed off her fashion-forward style as she wore green pants and a pink jumper.

The 50-year-old also rocked denim black pants and a matching coloured shirt as she posed for the camera.

Actress Claudia Karvan has reflected on her life turning 50 during an interview with Stellar magazine this week

In another photo, Claudia showed off her stylish figure in striped flare pants and a matching shirt.

The Australian actress also spoke to the publication about turning 50.

'I can indulge my creative passions a lot more. I've never been one for putting much on numbers, to be honest,' she explained.

'[It's] significant. It's exciting, it's a relief to be here and it's a shift  in a really positive way,' she said.

'[It's] significant. It's exciting, it's a relief to be here and it's a shift  in a really positive way,' she said

It comes after the Bump star revealed to Daily Mail Australia last year why she would 'never' stop acting.

'I'm not planning to retire. I see myself acting when I'm 90-years-old actually, if I'm in good health and still alive,' she said.

'It's a privilege of a job to have to do, I have to say.'

'I can indulge my creative passions a lot more. I've never been one for putting much on numbers, to be honest,' she added

Claudia, who has previously sat in the director's chair for two episodes of The Secret Life of Us, also shared her hopes of directing Bump in the distant future.

'When I directed on Secret Life of Us, I wasn't acting on it. Certainly, maybe if we did Bump season four it's something I'd do as long as I wasn't in it,' she revealed.

The TV star explained: 'I really rely on directors and we have fantastic directors, and I love their input.'

'I really rely on directors so I wouldn't want to direct myself,' she added.
Chrissy Teigen enjoyed a much needed night out Friday, when she accepted an invitation to check out the new Chain restaurant pop-up in Los Angeles.

The foodie, 37 - who gave birth to daughter Esti Maxine on January 13 - looked ultra stylish for the occasion in a black and white tweed suit.

For a sexy edge, the wife of John Legend went shirtless beneath her fitted jacket.

Glowing: Chrissy Teigen was glowing as she enjoyed a much needed night out Friday, when she accepted an invitation to check out the new Chain restaurant pop-up in Los Angeles

The model's long brunette locks were styled in loose curls and she wore natural looking makeup on her glowing complexion.

Writing about her first experience with the menu, which tries to replicate dishes from popular chain restaurants such as Outback Steak House and Chili's, but with a twist.

On Friday, the focus was on the Taco Bell menu, with the Chrissy's Cravings founder gushing over the flavorful fare.

'What a DELIGHT! Nintendo 64, nostalgic fast food decor and a wagyu crunch wrap to celebrate the beauty that is Taco Bell??' the cookbook author wrote.

Offer: Chrissy posed for a photo with some friends, and made an offer she hoped the owners wouldn't refuse. 'I can test before launch if needed! Thank you for such a fun night out! belly hurts only from laughing so hard'

'Cannot wait for the next one - might I suggest Jack in the box or White Castle?'

Chrissy posed for a photo with some friends, and made an offer she hoped the owners wouldn't refuse. 'I can test before launch if needed! Thank you for such a fun night out! belly hurts only from laughing so hard.'

The influencer posted a photo of her an several friends who were at the event writing '@johnlegend you were missed.'

New baby: Chrissy gave birth to daughter Esti two weeks ago on January 13. She shares two older children with husband John Legend, Luna, six, and Miles, 4

Legend seen holding their baby girl

The Grammy winner replied, 'Hi cool friends!' and the chef welcomed her suggestion saying 'We can always use a taste tester.'

The restaurant is the brainchild of The Office star B.J. Novak, who partnered with renowned Chef Tim Hollingsworth to create Chain.

The company has been hosting pop-ups in Southern California since March 2021.
He's the star of an Academy Award-nominated film but James Martin is so determined not to let fame go to his head hes holding on to his job at his local Starbucks.

The actor will be waiting with bated breath at the Oscars ceremony when the winners are announced as An Irish Goodbye  in which he plays one of two brothers brought together by their mothers death  is nominated in the Best Short Film category.

But the excitement has not deterred the Northern Irish 30-year-old, who has Downs syndrome, from working shifts in his old jobs at the coffee chain  and as a chef in Italian restaurant Scalinis in Belfast.

Award: Actor James Martin is so determined not to let fame go to his head hes holding on to his job at his local Starbucks

I help out with all the customers, he says of his job at Starbucks.

Ive been doing that a long time. Its nice.

Martin, who found fame appearing in BBC show Ups And Downs, is also proud of the skills he has picked up at Scalinis: I can make garlic bread, meatballs, salads and mussels, chips and stuff like that.

The actor has won praise the world over for his role in black comedy An Irish Goodbye.

Speaking about being an actor with Downs syndrome, Martin  who lives with his parents in Belfast  said: Anybody can act, it doesnt matter if you have Downs syndrome.

Talent: The actor has won praise the world over for his role in black comedy An Irish Goodbye

Take Stephen Hawking [who had motor neurone disease] in the Simpsons. He was a fantastic actor, he knew what he was doing but you just have to treat him like an adult. I always say to people never judge a book by its cover. 

With few in the public eye with the condition, Martin says that he is often mistaken for another star who has it, Tommy Jessop from Line Of Duty.

Boy he can act, Martin says of Jessop. For some reason I get stopped a lot and people say, Are you Tommy from Line of Duty?

And Im like, no Im not Tommy, wrong show. A lot of people think that Im him and hes me.

Its really weird how that comes about.

I would love to meet Tommy again, it would be nice to work with him and get to know him.

If he needs any help, Im always here.

It would be really nice if he could present an Oscar to me, it would be really nice for that to happen.

Martin will turn 31 on Oscars night on March 13, and says he hopes to party with fellow Irishman and Oscar nominee Colin Farrell after the ceremony in Los Angeles, and meet his hero Robert De Niro.

He also says he will take his long-term girlfriend Louise Davies as his date.
Giovanni Pernice has revealed he wants to get married and have children.

The Strictly Come Dancing star, 32, who is renowned for his womanising ways, and has been in the series since 2015, is in a new relationship with fellow pro Jowita Pryzstal, 28, who joined the show in 2021.

Speaking on an episode of Anton and Giovanni's Adventures In Sicily, which airs next month with Anton Du Beke, 51, he shares he does want a family one day- but just has to find the right person.

Settling down: Giovanni Pernice has revealed he wants to get married and have children, ending his womanising ways

As the duo sit around a campfire, he tells Anton: 'My mum asks me questions constantly, "Giovanni what is the situation?"

'Because every time I date a girl I always tell her and say 'What do you think about this? What do you think about her?

'She always asks, 'Is she The One. You know I want a baby before I pass away? Of course, I want a family one day. You just have to find the right person first.'

Giovanni adds that he is focused on his career and while he does want to find his perfect match, he says: 'There is a fine line about wanting to be in a relationship and be with somebody because you get lonely.'

New love: The Strictly Come Dancing star, 32, who is renowned for his womanising ways, is in a new relationship with fellow pro Jowita Pryzstal, 28

His words come after he previously dated a string of stars including Maura Higgins, Ashley Roberts, Georgia May Foote and Jess Wright.

The Lothario and Jowita finally confirmed they are dating earlier this month, holding hands and putting on a cosy display.

The dancer and his rumoured flame headed home after eating at a London restaurant and looked loved-up.

Heartthrob Gio looked low key a dark coat, grey hooded top and light chinos while out and about.

Exes: His words come after he previously dated a string of stars including Emily Atack, Ashley Roberts and Georgia May Foote (pictured together in 2016)

Together: Giovanni with ex Ashley Roberts in 2019 at the London Palladium Remembering The Movies show

Ex-love: The Strictly pro has also dated TOWIE star Jess Wright (pictured attending the 2018 TRIC Awards together)

Giovanni waited outside the eatery for Jowita to arrive and she looked adoringly at him and flashed a smile before he escorted her inside.

They spent two and a half hours inside the restaurant before leaving together and walking off hand in hand.

The date came after weeks of swirling rumours such as Jowita having been caught kissing Giovanni backstage during filming on the BBC talent show.

Romance: Giovanni and Jowita finally confirmed they are dating earlier this month , holding hands and putting on a cosy display (pictured: Giovanni in October)

The Sun claimed the sizzling couple are the BBC series' 'worst kept secret' after they openly flirted at a recent party.

Polish beauty Jowita joined the cast last year and performed in group dances.

She was paired with a celebrity for the first time last year and won the show with Hamza Yassin, while Giovanni has been starring on the show since 2015.

Jowita recently split from her long-term boyfriend, fellow dancer Michael Danilczuk.
Jorgie Porter cut a stylish figure as she enjoyed a rare night out with her fiance Ollie Piotrowski to celebrate Carl Hyland's birthday on Saturday.

The Hollyoaks star, 35, put on a loved-up display with her property developer beau, 33, as they arrived at the Radisson Hotel in Manchester for the star-studded bash.

She looked effortlessly stylish in a smart camel jacket with a belt tie as she celebrated the birthday of her co-star Kieron Richardson's husband Carl.

Chic: Jorgie Porter cut a stylish figure as she enjoyed a rare night out with her fiance Ollie Piotrowski to celebrate Carl Hyland's birthday on Saturday

Jorgie, who gave birth to their son Forest in November, added a few extra inches to her frame with pointed black heels and kept her essentials in a beige handbag.

She styled her golden locks in a blunt bob and accentuated her natural beauty with dramatic lashings of mascara and a slick of pink lipstick.

Jorgie, who plays Theresa McQueen on Hollyoaks, was accompanied by her fiance Ollie as they enjoyed a rare evening out on the town.

Ollie cut a suave figure in grey trousers and a partially unbuttoned black shirt, which he styled with a pair of white trainers.

Smitten: The Hollyoaks star, 35, put on a loved-up display with her property developer beau, 33, as they arrived at the Radisson Hotel in Manchester for the star-studded bash

The couple were joined by Jorgie's co-star Kieron, 37, as they all celebrated his husband's birthday together.

Kieron cut a dapper figure in navy trousers and a matching waistcoat, which he paired with a white shirt, a black tie and a grey jacket.

He put on a smitten display with his husband, who looked equally as smart in a matching three-piece suit for the occasion.

Also in attendance was Kirsty Leigh-Porter, who showed off her incredible figure in a plunging red blazer dress with satin lapels.

Celebrations: The couple were joined by Jorgie's co-star Kieron, 37, as they all celebrated his husband Carl's birthday together

The actress, 34, who plays Leela Lomax on Hollyoaks, added some height to her frame with strapped black heels and carried a black clutch bag.

She styled her blonde tresses in an elegant up-do and bolstered her striking features with a high glamour make-up palette.

Meanwhile, Jazmine Franks looked stylish in a patterned satin co-ord set, made up of green trousers with a matching shirt.

The star, 30, who played Esther Bloom on Hollyoaks for seven years, bundled up amid the chilly temperatures in a beige teddy-bear jacket.

Glam: Also in attendance was Kirsty Leigh-Porter, who showed off her incredible figure in a plunging red blazer dress with satin lapels

Elegant: The actress, 34, who plays Leela Lomax on Hollyoaks, added some height to her frame with strapped black heels and carried a black clutch bag

She completed her chic look with a pair of brown pointed stilettos and kept her essentials in a black handbag.

Jazmine slicked her brunette locks into a sleek up-do and showed off her natural beauty with lashings of mascara.

She was joined by Stephanie Waring, who looked glamorous in a black gown and a faux-fur jacket for the occasion.

The soap opera star, 44, known for her role as Cindy Cunningham, added a few extra inches to her frame with while heeled sandals.

Pals: She bolstered her striking features with a high glamour make-up palette as she posed with Kieron at the lavish bash

Stylish: Meanwhile, Jazmine Franks (left) looked stylish in a patterned satin co-ord set while Stephanie Waring looked glamorous in a black gown and a faux-fur jacket for the occasion

She carried a white handbag in one hand and accessorised with a silver pendant and glitzy hoop earrings.

Stephanie pushed her golden locks away from her face in a chic up-do and framed her face with a pair of silver glasses.

Also in attendance was Jessica Ellis, who put on a colourful display in a purple patterned dress and a fluffy animal print jacket.

It comes after Jorgie gave her fans an insight into life as a new mother on Thursday as she admitted she was 'terrified' of not pumping enough milk for her newborn son.

Birthday bash: Also in attendance was Jessica Ellis, who put on a colourful display in a purple patterned dress and a fluffy animal print jacket

She shared a candid snap to Instagram of her son Forest sleeping on her chest and showed fans her breast pump.

Alongside the sweet image, Jorgie penned: 'Todays challenge trying to pump so my mum can look after Forest for a few hours.

'Anyone else feel that in pregnancy soooooooo much is spoken about regarding birth and the baby but not a lot about what you might encounter after your baby is here?

'Like seriously, breastfeeding is amazing and I consider myself lucky that I haven't had many challenges so far, but I'm starting to need to leave Forest for a few hours and honestly feel like a need a degree to figure this out.'

Motherhood: It comes after Jorgie gave her fans an insight into life as a new mother as she admitted she was 'terrified' of not pumping enough milk for her newborn son

Challenges: Alongside the sweet image, Jorgie penned: 'Todays challenge trying to pump so my mum can look after Forest for a few hours'

Jorgie added: 'Apart from not knowing 'when' the best time is to pump is, whilst making sure he's getting what he needs now and pumping the 'right' amount for later sometimes after all the faff I'm then struggling to pump a drop at all

'So genuinely if anyone has any tips I'd love to know and for anyone who feels like me save this post and hopefully some lovely Instagram fairies will come up with some answers to help us in the comments'

Jorgie welcomed her son in November after previously opening up about losing quadruplets at 14 weeks in a devastating miscarriage in August 2021.

She said she had no idea that she'd lost her quadruplets from a previous pregnancy because her body was 'still being pregnant' after enduring a missed miscarriage.

Jorgie explained that she opted for surgical removal while her partner Ollie discussed feeling 'helpless' throughout the ordeal.

She had a second miscarriage at six weeks into another pregnancy in February - on the day of the couples' engagement party.

Disclosing the news about being pregnant again in HELLO! Magazine, the couple said having a 'healthy baby was a dream come true' as they spoke of their heartbreak after several miscarriages.
Elvis star Austin Butler evoked feelings of classic Hollywood at AARP The Magazine's 21st Annual Movies for Grownups Award in Los Angeles on Saturday.

The 31-year-old actor solidified heartthrob status in a chic black satin suit over a white button-down shirt sans tie.

The Oscar nominee strolled the star-studded red carpet in black patent leather dress shoes.

Classic Hollywood: Austin Butler evoked feelings of classic Hollywood at AARP The Magazine's 21st Annual Movies for Grownups Award in Los Angeles on Saturday

He was joined by director Baz Luhrmann, who directed Austin in the 2022 biopic about The King, for several photos ahead of the ceremony.

The acclaimed director wore a classy black tuxedo and his silver hair was impeccably groomed for the movie-centered event.

Elvis home a nomination for several awards at this year's AARP event including Best Picture/Best Movie for Grownups.

The star oozed confidence during his red carpet stint

He was joined by director Baz Luhrmann, who directed Austin in the 2022 biopic about The King, for several photos ahead of the ceremony

Baz Luhrmann's direction may have played a part in Butler receiving his first-ever Oscar nomination.

He is up for the Best Actor award at this year's Academy Awards ceremony which will take place on March 12 in Los Angeles.

The Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood star has already won the Golden Globe for Best Performance in a Motion Picture  Drama, though he lost out on a Critics' Choice Award to The Whale's Brendan Fraser.

Classy: He wore a classy black tuxedo, and a thin silver mustache was trimmed neatly against his lip

Butler seen speaking on stage

Major: Baz Luhrmann's direction may have played a part in Butler receiving his first-ever Oscar nomination. He is up for the Best Actor award at this year's ceremony

Butler has some stiff competition for the Academy Award including Fraser, Colin Farrell (The Banshees of Inisherin), Paul Mescal (Aftersun) and Bill Nighy (Living).

Though Butler may win an Oscar for his performance as The King of Rock and Roll, it is a feat that will not be celebrated with Elvis' only daughter Lisa Marie Presley, who suddenly passed away earlier this month.

Lisa Marie proudly joined Butler on the film's promotional tour and even witnessed his Golden Globe win.

But she would pass away tragically just days after the ceremony.

She died at the age of 54 on Thursday, January 12, hours after she suffered cardiac arrest at her home in Calabasas, California.

Award-winning performance: The Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood star has already won the Golden Globe for Best Performance in a Motion Picture  Drama, though he lost out on a Critics' Choice Award to The Whale's Brendan Fraser

Gone too soon: Lisa Marie Presley, the daughter of Elvis, joined Butler on the promotional tour for the film and even watched him win his Golden Globe award this month, but she passed away tragically just days after that ceremony (L to R: Priscilla Presley, Butler, Lisa Marie)

She had been rushed to a hospital in critical condition and was said to be in a coma following a 'full cardiac arrest' shortly after she had been complaining about stomach pains, according to TMZ.

Priscilla, who was at her daughter's side, said in a statement: 'It is with a heavy heart that I must share the devastating news that my beautiful daughter Lisa Marie has left us.'

Lisa Marie left behind three daughters, 33-year-old Riley and 14-year-old twins Harper and Finley.

Butler shouted Presley out in his Golden Globe speech saying, 'Thank you guys, thank you for opening your hearts, your memories, your home to me. Lisa Marie, Priscilla [Presley], I love you forever.'
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Jamie Lee Curtis and Sheryl Lee Ralph looked stunning while walking the red carpet at the AARP The Magazine's 21st Annual Movies for Grownups Awards on Saturday in Los Angeles.

Both stars met on the carpet and were photographed together donning big smiles as they celebrated their nominations for the night, and Jamie prepared to receive the Career Achievement Award.

The Everything Everywhere All At Once actress, 64, wore an all-black ensemble with a pop of color from a red floral design going diagonally across her blazer.

Super stars: Jamie Lee Curtis hit the red carpet at the AARP The Magazine's 21st Annual Movies for Grownups Awards. Sheryl Lee Ralph joined Jamie on the carpet for a lot of smiles

Happy faces: The pair are both nominated for big awards at the event

She also sported a black shirt underneath her blazer, dress pants, and pointed-toe heels.

Her blazer was styled with a silk-like lapel and had a large piece of similar fabric hanging down by her side.

Jamie styled her hair in its signature close-cropped look, leaving it naturally grey.

Along with being honored with the Career Achievement Award, the Halloween franchise alum is also nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Everything Everywhere All At Once.

Stylish: Jamie wore an all-black ensemble with a pop of color from a red floral design going diagonally across her blazer

Sheryl paired her gown with silver heels, several rings, a glittering bracelet, and long silver earrings

Along with being honored with the Career Achievement Award, the Halloween franchise alum is also nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Everything Everywhere All At Once

Sheryl, 66, dazzled in a 1920s-inspired silver dress that cut off at her knees, with long strands of silver fabric hanging from the end and reaching the ground.

She paired her gown with silver heels, several rings, a glittering bracelet, and long silver earrings.

Her stunning hair was straightened and flowed down her back. For makeup, she went with a smokey eye, rosy cheeks, and neutral lipgloss.

The beauty is nominated for Best Actress (TV) for her leading role on the comedy show Abbott Elementary as Barbara Howard.

Hosting: Alan Cummings looked dapper as he prepared to host the event

Cuddles: Brian Tyree Henry posed with Jamie on the carpet. Brian would be presenting Jamie with her Career Achievement Award

Big star: Brendan Fraser is nominated for Best Actor at the ceremony

Cool guy: He is nominated for his role in the A24 film The Whale

Angelic: Hong Chau wore an all white outfit with a very eye-catching top

Jamie and Sheryl have had a very successful year in terms of awards show recognition.

Both actresses were nominated for Critics' Choice Awards, with Sheryl taking home the award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. Jamie was nominated for Best Supporting Actress, but the award was won by Angela Bassett.

They were also nominated for Golden Globe Awards, but neither of them won their award.

Jamie also received her first career nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Rock and roll: Austin Butler looked classy as he attended the event. He is nominated for Best Actor for his role in Elvis

Legend: Baz Luhrmann wore a tuxedo on the carpet. He won the award for Best Director

Star power: Baz directed Austin in the hit film Elvis, which came out in June 2022

AARP The Magazine's 21st Annual Movies for Grownups Awards took place at the Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles, California.

It started in 2002 and is given annually by the AARP with the goal of encouraging Hollywood to make more movies by and about people over the age of 50.

Joined on the carpet were other nominees for the night as well as the host of the show, Alan Cumming, 58.

Alan looked very dapper on the carpet, donning a navy suit with a black lapel and black bowtie.

Queen: Annette Benning looked regal in an ankle-length black dress. She wore a black blazer over the dress and fastened it in the front

The Dude: Jeff Bridges wore an all black ensemble and was nominated for Best Actor (TV)

Couple moment: He was joined at the AARP event by his wife Susan

Stud: Glenn Powell, breakout star of Top Gun: Maverick wore a pinstriped blue suit

He wore a white button-up undershirt and dressed the look down with a pair of dark brown sneakers.

Bryan Tyree Henry joined Jamie for several photos at the event, wearing a maroon suit with a blood-red tie and black dress shoes.

The Bullet Train actor will be presenting Jamie with her achievement award at the ceremony.

Brendan Fraser walked the carpet wearing a blue suit with a white undershirt and black shoes. He wore a smile on his face for the photos and donned his signature black-rimmed glasses.

Classic: Jerry Bruckheimer arrived wearing a classy black suit. The director was joined by his wife Linda

Regal: Wendie Malick wore a flattering pantsuit to the ceremony

Handsome: Zachary Abel had a big smile on his face as he wore a classic black suit

The Whale actor is nominated for Best Actor at the event. He has also had a very successful awards season, receiving the Critics' Choice Award for Best Actor, and has attained his first career Academy Award nomination.

Austin Butler hit the carpet with his Elvis director Baz Luhrmann, both men looking stylish in black suits. The legendary director added a bow tie to his ensemble to pull together the look.

The actor, who played the rock and roll legend, is nominated for Best Actor for the night. He recently won the Golden Globe for Best Actor for his role as Elvis.

Like Brendan, Austin just received his first nomination for an Academy Award. Both actors are nominated in the same category.

Pose: Jason Butler Harner and Jennifer Ehle attended the event, both in suits. Frankie Faison looked extra cool with a pop of pink to offset his white ensemble

Precious: Jalyn Hall, breakout star of Till, wore a yin-yang- like suit

Fashion: Judd Hirsch donned a classic checkered suit. Judith Ivey wore a floral kimono on the carpet

Pop of pink: Patricia Clarkson, star of Sharp Objects, looked extra bright in a pink dress

Annette Bening looked regal in an ankle-length black dress. She wore a black blazer over the dress and fastened it in the front.

Glen Powell, the breakout star of Top Gun: Maverick, sported a pinstripe blue and white two-piece suit. He unbuttoned the top buttons of his white undershirt and paired the outfit with brown shoes.

Jeff Bridges hit the carpet in a black suit with a black button-up underneath. He wore his beard long and had his silver hair slicked back.

The Old Man actor is nominated for Best Actor (TV) for his role in the FX television show.

Young: Gabriel LaBelle, breakout star of The Fabelmans, sported a simple suit with the top buttons of his undershirt undone

Wholesome: The Ishiguros wore similar black suits as they arrived at the ceremony

Eye-catcher: Lisa Ann Walter shined in a shimmering green gown. Paul Walter Hauser had his game face on while donning a navy suit

Director Jerry Bruckheimer and his wife Linda looked elegant in a suit and gown for the event.

The National Treasure director whore a tuxedo with a matching bow tie, while his wife wore a modest black gown with lace detailing.

Other A-list stars and nominees also attended the event, such as Paul Walter Hauser, Lisa Ann Walter, Jason Butler Harner, Jennifer Ehle, Frankie Faison, Jeremy Bloom, Jalyn Hall, Judith Ivey, Hong Chau, Patricia Clarkson, Wendie Malick, Zachary Abel, and T Bone Burnett.

Nice: T Bone Burnett looked edgy with his hands in his pockets and a stylish pair of shades on. Jeremy Bloom kept it simple with black tie event attire

While at the event, many of the stars gathered together to enjoy the night, taking photos, laughing, and celebrating wins.

Austin Butler presented Baz Lurhmann with the award for Best Director for their movie Elvis. He was later on beaten out for Best Actor by Brendan Fraser for his role in The Whale.

The Elvis actor and director embraced in a meaningful hug while inside the venue.

Movie star: Austin Butler spoke on stage at the AARP Movies for Grownups Awards and presented Baz Lurhmann with the award for Best Director

Emotional: Baz directed Austin as Elvis in their film Elvis, which earned both of them Golden Globe and Oscar nods. The actor and director embraced in a meaningful hug during the ceremony

Pure joy: Bryan Tyree Henry engaged in laughs and good times while inside the event

The night carried on with a lot of smiles as Jamie Lee Curtis and Glenn Powell shared an adorable moment during the ceremony. The pair co-starred in the TV show Scream Queens together in 2015.

Alan Cumming, while hosting, enjoyed himself with a drink throughout the night, sporting a martini glass and staring down the camera.

Annette Bening presented the award for Best Supporting Actress to Judith Ivey for her role in the standout film Woman Talking. The groundbreaking film received two Oscar nods for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay.

The host with the most: Alan enjoyed a drink in a martini glass while he took a break from his hosting duties

Her moment: Sheryl won the award for Best Actress (TV). The star took the stage to accept her award from her co-star Lisa Ann Walter

Old friends: Jamie and Glenn shared a wholesome moment during the event. The pair were co-starred in the show Scream Queens in 2015

Success: Judith was all smiles as she accepted the award for Best Supporting Actress for her Oscar nominated film Woman Talking. Jeff commanded the stage while accepting the award for Best Actor (TV)

Best Supporting Actor was won by Judd Hirsch for his few minutes of screen time in Steven Spielberg's The Fabelmans. His co-star Gabriel LaBelle presented him with the award.

Sheryl Lee Ralph took the Best Actress (TV) award for her role in Abbott Elementary, and Jeff Bridges took the Best Actor (TV) award for his role in The Old Man.

Sheryl's co-star Lisa Ann Walter gave her the award while T Bone Burnett presented Jeff with his.

Chatting: Brendan Fraser and Kazuo Ishiguro stopped for a chat. They both ended up winning their respective awards for the night

Excitement: Judd Hirsch was presented with the award for Best Supporting Actor by his co-star from The Fabelmans, Gabriel LaBelle

Joy: Patricia Clarkson caught in the moment while seated at her table

When it was announced that Sheryl had won the award, the actress reacted with a smile on her face and pointed at the crowd in excitement.

The award for Best Intergenerational Movie went to Till, which was accepted by Jalyn Hall, who played Emmett Till in the film. It was presented to him by Jo Ann Jenkins, the CEO of the AARP.

More winners from the night were Jerry Bruckheimer for Best Movie for Top Gun: Maverick and Kazuo Ishiguro for Best Screenwriter.
One day after rocking out at the Harry Styles concert with daughter Mabel, Emma Heming and husband Bruce Willis put their love on display with a couple of sweet Instagram posts.

On Saturday, the model shared a close-up video of the couple holding hands, as the Die Hard star delicately rubbed the top of her hand, which was followed up by a photo of the pair taking a casual stroll in the woods together.

The touching and loving images come 10 months after the longtime leading man and action hero was diagnosed with aphasia, a disorder typically caused by damage to the area of the brain that controls language expression and comprehension.

Show of affection: Emma Heming Willis, 44, and husband Bruce Willis, 67, held hands while on a casual stroll that took them through some woods, as per a series of photos shared to Instagram on Saturday

In the Instagram Stories photo, the 67-year-old actor can be seen looking at ease and content as he held hands with his wife during their nature walk.

His wife of more than 13 years flashed an alluring smile towards the camera dressed in fitted and faded blue jeans and a red and black plaid button-down shirt.

Just minutes earlier on Saturday, Heming posted that video of the pair holding hands while they sat together seemingly in the living room of their Los Angeles home.

Loving: The couple could be seen holding hands while resting in the living room of their home

Adoring you: The Die Hard star gently rubbed the top of his wife's hand in the clip

In a sweet show of affection, Willis gently touches the top of his wife's hand, all while part of the chorus of the Harry Styles song Adore You plays in the clip.

'I'd walk through fire for you - Let me adore you,' Styles can be heard singing.

The previous night, the mother of two took her daughter Mabel, 10, to the Harry Styles concert at the Kia Forum in the Inglewood neighborhood of Los Angeles, which he temporarily renamed it, 'Harry's House' outside the front of the arena.

In the first post on Instagram, Heming began with a shot of the renamed arena that was followed by clips of Styles patrolling the stage in a silver sequin ensemble.

In an added touch of cool, she dropped in a clip of the British musician's song Grapejuice.

Rockin' out: The previous night Heming took her daughter Mabel, 10, to the Harry Styles concert at the Kia Forum in the Inglewood neighborhood of Los Angeles

Power of music: The Kia Forum was temporarily renamed 'Harry's House' on Friday, January 27

Movin' to the groovin': Styles could be seen patrolling the the stage in a silver sequin ensemble

Memorable moments: Mother and daughter danced along to the beat along with the thousands of other fans

Heming then turned the camera on herself and her daughter, who both looked engrossed in a musical transportation, compliments of the former One Direction star. They could be seen dancing along to the beat with the thousands of other fans who were all standing.

'He brought his house down and we were happily in it @harrystyles #loveontour #harryshouse,' the cool mom wrote in the caption.

'We came and he conquered' she added in another clip showing Styles in a large monitor at the arena.

Heming and Willis, who will be celebrating their 14th wedding anniversary on March 21, are also the proud parents of daughter Evelyn, eight.

The now retired actor and his ex-wife Demi Moore also have three daughters: Rumer, 34, Scout, 31, and Tallulah, 28.

His house; The British pop star is currently out in support of his third solo album, Harry's House

All in: Mabel looked to be fully transported by the musical landscape and visuals

Get down and boogie: The crowd were all standing and dancing during the entire concert

Lovin' it: The cool mom declared, 'We came and he conquered' in the caption of a clip
Chelsea Lazkani showed off her sculpted abs in a sheer gold crop top on Saturday as she arrived on set to film her hit show Selling Sunset in Los Angeles.

The mother-of-two - who celebrated her 30th birthday on Thursday - rocked a sleeveless sheer turtleneck paired with high-waisted black faux leather pants.

The beauty brought her ultimate fashion A game and styled her long curly locks pinned up with bangs framing the right side of her face.

Golden hour: Selling Sunset star Chelsea Lazkani showed off her sculpted abs in a gold crop top as she arrived on set in Los Angeles Saturday

She added a pair of large white rose earrings and opted for golden eyeshadow and two-toned glossy lips.

Chelsea finished the look with sky-high silver heels featuring straps around her ankles.

Season five's breakout star has become a force to be reckoned with after entering the show as Christine Quinn's sidekick.

The London-born realtor quickly won over her fellow cast members with her directness and established herself as a strong presence on the show.

Asphalt runway: Lazkani put her fit figure on display in the belly-baring golden ensemble

Fashion A game: The reality star's glam featured large white rose earrings paired with golden eyeshadow and two-toned glossy lips

Gaining her confidence: Season five's breakout star has flourished after entering the show as Christine Quinn's sidekick

'It was an extremely nerve-wracking experience,' Chelsea told Vogue of coming onto the show. 'People may not see that, but I was scared when the cameras were on.'

After Chelsea gained her footing in front of the cameras, she went to work bringing in significant business to the brokerage firm and impressed fans with her ostentatious fashion.

On Thursday evening, her co-stars Amanza Smith and Mary Fitzgerald were spotted arriving at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel to celebrate Chelsea's birthday.

Despite landing a coveted role on season six of the Netflix hit series, Chelsea wasn't always living a glamorous high life in the Hollywood hills.

A force to be reckoned with: The London-born realtor quickly won over her fellow cast members with her directness and established herself as an outspoken personality on the show

After graduating from university, she worked as a business strategist, before acquiring her real estate licence

Her love: Chelsea married her husband Jeff in 2017. They have two children: son Maddox Ali Levon, 3, and daughter Melia Man, 2

Lazkani graduated with a degree in economics from the University of Birmingham before gaining a masters in gas and oil economics in Dundee.

For years she worked as a business strategist and solar analyst with companies in the oil and gas industry before she visited Los Angeles and fell in love with her husband Jeff with whom she now has two children: son Maddox Ali Levon, 3, and daughter Melia Man, 2.

After the pair married in 2017, Chelsea gained her real estate license and joined the famous Oppenheim Group in 2021.

Chelsea didn't take long to make a splash as she was introduced as 'Black Barbie' before telling the group: 'I always get what I want.'
Maria Thattil has stepped out with her girlfriend Jorgee Rae, after going public with their romance this weekend.

The former Miss Universe Australia and the TikTok star, whose real name is Korgia O'Hare and goes by Jorgee Rae online, looked smitten as they went shopping in Melbourne on Saturday.

The beauty queen, 29, dressed in a high-end casual ensemble for the occasion, donning a Ralph Lauren sweater over a striped dress shirt.

Maria Thattil has stepped out with her girlfriend Jorgee Rae, after going public with their romance this weekend. Pictured together

She added a pair of crisp white shorts, their daring length putting her trim pins on display, as well as some strappy heels.

The brunette appeared to have on minimal makeup and brought along a pair of designer sunglasses while wearing her dark locks down and straight.

Jorgee, 29, chose a classic look, wearing a loose cut baby blue dress shirt and a smart yellow scarf tied round her neck.

The former Miss Universe Australia and the TikTok star, whose real name is Korgia O'Hare and goes by Jorgee Rae online, looked smitten as they went shopping in Melbourne on Saturday

The beauty queen dressed in a high-end casual ensemble for the occasion, donning a Ralph Lauren sweater over a striped dress shirt

She added a pair of crisp white shorts, their daring length putting her trim pins on display, as well as some strappy heels

She completed the ensemble with white slacks and canvas sneakers, and carried a black shopping tote.

On Saturday, Maria revealed she's in a relationship for the first time since coming out as bisexual, sharing how she wished she'd seen more interracial same-sex couples in the media growing up.

She spoke to Stellar Magazine about her romance with girlfriend Jorgia and how the couple hit it off almost immediately.

Jorgee meanwhile chose a classic look, wearing a loose cut baby blue dress shirt and a smart yellow scarf tied round her neck

On Saturday, Maria revealed she's in a relationship for the first time since coming out as bisexual, sharing how she wished she'd seen more interracial same-sex couples in the media growing up

'It was lust at first sight and it was obsession at first sight,' she said of the Melbourne mental health professional

'It was lust at first sight and it was obsession at first sight,' she said of the Melbourne mental health professional.

'After that first date, I ended up spending the night and the next day, I went off on a work trip to the Gold Coast with my brother and I was secretly referring to her as my girlfriend. I hadn't felt that way in a long time'.

Maria, who is of Indian heritage, added: 'Growing up, if I had seen an interracial same-sex female couple in the media  open, visible, living truthfully  that might have shaped my own experience a little bit more positively'.

Maria, who is of Indian heritage, added: 'Growing up, if I had seen an interracial same-sex female couple in the media  open, visible, living truthfully  that might have shaped my own experience a little bit more positively'

Jorgia has found fame on social media platform TikTok, racking up 86,000 followers.

The pair sparked rumours they were dating after fans spotted them exchanging flirty messages online.

Photos on Jorgee's Instagram account show the duo looking cosy together.

Maria, a model and 9Honey columnist, has tellingly commented 'Dream girl' and 'wowweeeeeee' on several of Jorgee's posts.

In April, Maria revealed she was no longer scared of dating women in public, after previously admitting she was worried how it might be perceived

Her sexuality is no secret, as she regularly uses the hashtag #LesbiansofTikTok when posting on the popular social media app.

Maria came out as bisexual in January last year while a contestant on Channel 10's I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! and has since defined herself as pansexual.

She reflected on this milestone moment on National Coming Out Day in October.

'If I could be closeted a year ago and 365 days later be comfortable talking about strap-ons, then I believe in you,' she told her fans.

The pair sparked rumours they were dating after fans spotted them exchanging flirty messages online

'I see you, I love you. Happy Coming Out Day to all the girls, gays and theys.'

In April, Maria revealed she was no longer scared of dating women in public, after previously admitting she was worried how it might be perceived.

'I'm no longer scared of the narrative being taken out of my hands,' she told Who.

'I've been dating casually for about a year, some men and some women, and I don't care anymore who sees or what they say.'
Recruits conduct parachuting training

China Military Online) 08:41, January 29, 2023

Recruits assigned to an airborne unit of the PLA Air Force queue up for boarding a transport plane before a parachuting training exercise in mid-January, 2023. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Sheng Chao)

Recruits assigned to an airborne unit of the PLA Air Force jump out of the aircraft during a parachuting training exercise in mid-January, 2023. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Sheng Chao)

Recruits assigned to an airborne unit of the PLA Air Force maneuver their parachutes in the sky during a parachuting training exercise in mid-January, 2023. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Sheng Chao)

Recruits assigned to an airborne unit of the PLA Air Force maneuver their parachutes in the sky during a parachuting training exercise in mid-January, 2023. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Sheng Chao)

Recruits assigned to an airborne unit of the PLA Air Force descend to the drop zone during a parachuting training exercise in mid-January, 2023. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Sheng Chao)

(Web editor: Cai Hairuo, Liang Jun)
Avinash Reddy turned up for questioning around 3 pm, as mentioned in the notice, along with his lawyer, who was not allowed into the questioning room. An SP-rank officer questioned the MP. (Twitter Photo)

Hyderabad: The CBI questioned Kadapa MP Y.S. Avinash Reddy on Saturday at its Koti office in Hyderabad, in connection with the 2019 murder of Y.S. Vivekananda Reddy.

As the MP arrived at the CBI office, fans of the YSRC and Reddys followers thronged the premises, raising slogans in favour of their leader. As a precaution, a police contingent was at hand to check any untoward incident.

Avinash Reddy turned up for questioning around 3 pm, as mentioned in the notice, along with his lawyer, who was not allowed into the questioning room. An SP-rank officer questioned the MP.

Before attending the questioning, he met AP Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddys mother Vijayalakshmi, his aunt, at Lotus Pond and interacted with her for 15 minutes.

Demanding a fair probe, Avinash Reddy assured to cooperate with the central agency.

This was the first time Avinash Reddy was questioned, as his name recently cropped up in the course of the probe. He is a cousin of the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and was accompanied by MLA Srikanth Reddy and government whip Srinivasulu for the questioning.
Marc Anthony counted his fourth bride on Saturday as he wed Nadia Ferreira following an eight-month engagement.

The 54-year-old musician and 23-year-old former Miss Universe contestant hosted a swanky, star-studded ceremony at the Perez Art Museum in Miami.

The wedding was not attended by his ex-wife Jennifer Lopez, her new husband Ben Affleck, nor the former couple's 14-year-old twins Emme and Max.

Giving it another go: Marc Anthony counted his fourth bride on Sunday as he wed Nadia Ferreira following an eight-month engagement

Absent: The wedding was not attended by ex-wife Jennifer Lopez, her new husband Ben Affleck, nor the former couple's 14-year-old twins Emme and Max, who were seen out with their kids on Sunday; L-R Emme Muniz, Serafina Affleck, Samuel Affleck, Ben and Jen

The wedding took place at 7:30pm on Saturday, according to a detailed report by Hola.

The publication also noted that Miami Mayor Francis X. Suarez acted as the wedding officiant for the soiree, which was attended by the likes of Maluma, David Beckham, and Romeo Santos.

Additionally, other big name guests included Salma Hayek, Lin Manuel Miranda, and Luis Fonsi.

And the union was blessed by Father Jorge before the twosome sealed the exchange of vows with a kiss.

Upscale: The 54-year-old musician and 23-year-old former Miss Universe contestant hosted a swanky, star-studded ceremony at the Perez Art Museum in Miami; seen in December

Stylish: The two showed off their couple fashion in a photo shared to Instagram

The bride wore a dress by Galia Lahav while the groom was outfitted in threads from Christian Dior.

Hola described Nadia's gown as having a 'design with a romantic flair, beautiful lace details and a long and voluminous tail.'

Marc counted David as one of his best men, along with close friend Carlos Slim, who also stood by his side.

For Nadia, her Maid of Honor was friend Maria Elena Torruco, who's married to Carlos Slim Domit, the firstborn son of Carlos Slim.

Engaged: Last May the new spouses celebrated their engagement with a party at Sexy Fish Miami

Nadia announced the engagement news on Instagram with a snap of a diamond ring, which had a large stone in the middle with two smaller stones at the sides

Marc's two sons Cristian, 21, and Ryan, 19, who he shares with ex-wife Dayanara Torres, were in attendance for their father's special day.

Last May the new spouses celebrated their engagement with a party at Sexy Fish Miami.

Nadia announced the engagement news on Instagram with a snap of a diamond ring, which had a large emerald-shaped stone in the middle with two smaller stones at the sides.

The caption accompanying the photo read, 'Engagement Partyyyyy!!! @marcanthony.'

Marc was married to Jennifer from 2004 until 2011 with their divorce finalized in 2014; seen in 2011

Ferreira was crowned Miss Paraguay in 2021 and finished as first runner-up in the Miss Universe Pageant, falling behind India's Harnaaz Sandhu.

Meanwhile, his ex-wife Jennifer  to whom he was married from 2004 until 2011 with their divorce finalized in 2014  was seen with her and Ben's blended family on Saturday.

The Boston native's children Serafina Affleck, 14, and Samuel Affleck, ten, joined their dad, 50, new stepmom, 53, and her child Emme Muniz, also 14.

Ben and Jennifer rekindled their romance in 2021 after 17 years apart. The pair were one of Hollywood's hottest couples of the early aughts, but called off their engagement in 2004.

Best of friends: Not only do they have an amicable co-parenting relationship, but Jennifer and Marc have a close friendship; seen in 2006

Rekindled flame: Ben and Jennifer rekindled their romance in 2021 after 17 years apart. The pair were one of Hollywood's hottest couples of the early aughts, but called off their engagement in 2004

Ben got down on one knee for the second time in early 2022 and the pair were married by July.

A lavish wedding was eventually held at Ben's Georgia estate.

Not only do they have an amicable co-parenting relationship, but Jennifer and Marc have a close friendship.

She referred to the hitmaker as her 'best friend' in a 2017 interview, adding that she and Marc were 'in a really great place.'
An ugly row has erupted in theatre circles after producers of a 'woke' new play tried to ban white critics from reviewing it.

The Australian producers of the internationally acclaimed Seven Methods of Killing Kylie Jenner demanded that all reviewers be 'people of colour', but The Age newspaper's arts editor refused to comply before lashing out in a fiery column.

Elizabeth Flux accused Amylia Harris and Leila Enright of 'tokenism' arguing that being forced to select a person of colour for the task was 'offensive' and 'undermines' the health of the critical landscape.

The play Written by British playwright Jasmine Lee-Jones, is about two young black women reacting to the claim that the Keeping up with the Kardashians reality star is the world's 'youngest self-made billionaire'.

Ms Flux's column was also accompanied by a controversial satirical cartoon depicting the stage show's two lead actors, Iolanthe and Chika Ikogwe.

An ugly row has erupted in Australian theatre circles over a request not to send white critics to review a 'woke' new play about black women debating Kylie Jenner (pictured)

Theatre community group Stage a Change called the caricature of the two black actors 'abhorrent' and 'absolutely disgusting' in a Facebook post on Sunday.

'Frankly speaking, this article is dipped in, spackled with, and power washed down with so much fragility,' it said.

'Fragility that has missed the point and self-aggrandized so epically.'

On social media another person described the image as a 'racist caricature' and called on Ms Flux to resign for allowing it.

'She chose not to caricature the white producers. Instead, she caricatured the black actors who are just doing their job and had nothing to do with this. Resign.'

Ms Flux's article explained to its readers why the publication carried no review of Seven Methods of Killing Kylie Jenner.

The Age published a cartoon depicting the two lead actors from Seven Methods of Killing Kylie Jenner, Iolanthe and Chika Ikogwe, which was described as 'a racist caricature'

'It's not because we didn't want to cover it  it's because the producers refused to 'accommodate' any reviewers who weren't people of colour (PoC).'

Ms Flux wrote that she agreed with a goal to increase diversity among critics, but that the show's request was 'a misguided move'.

'[It] promotes tokenism, undermines the health of the critical landscape, and does a disservice to critics, creatives and audiences alike.'

But her column went further to explain its decision.

'To actively seek someone out to review this production based on them being a PoC would have been offensive,' Ms Flux wrote.

Elizabeth Flux (pictured), accused the play's producers Amylia Harris and Leila Enright of 'tokenism' in a fiery column in The Age

She also added that it was 'ridiculous and potentially dangerous' that critics would have to disclose their race to do a job.

Ms Flux, who described herself as 'a Hong-Kong-born Eurasian who was raised in Australia', also pointed out neither of the two producers behind the decision was a person of colour.

She included a joint statement from Ms Harris and Ms Enright which said 'Our intention is not to be exclusionary, but to use this opportunity to continue to encourage media organisations to increase representation in their teams for the benefit of artists, audiences and their readership.'

A theatre source told Daily Mail Australia there is nothing stopping any news outlet from reviewing any show if they pay for their own ticket.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted The Age and Elizabeth Flux for comment.

Seven Methods of Killing Kylie Jenner appeared at Melbourne's Malthouse Theatre until January 29.
Gwyneth Paltrow has closed the British branch of her Goop lifestyle store franchise after losing an estimated 1.4million in revenue as a consequence of the global pandemic.

The wellness brand, famed for offbeat products such as psychic vampire repellent spray, sex dust and the notorious vagina scented candle, was originally launched by Paltrow in 2008 as a weekly newsletter.

It has since developed into an internationally recognised brand, with the Hollywood star, 50, opening her first UK store in London's affluent Notting Hill in 2019.

Disappointing: Anyone hoping to get their hands on an orgasm scented candle might have to wait after Gwyneth Paltrow closed the British branch of her Goop lifestyle store.

But the shop was forced to close its doors as the coronavirus pandemic swept across Britain in March 2020, the first in a series of nationwide lockdowns, and has remained closed ever since, suffering a substantial loss of earnings in the process.

It's understood that Paltrow has since taken steps to dissolve Worcestershire based Goop Inc Ltd - the company responsible for handling her British store's financial dealings - and remove it from the official Companies House register.

Since its launch less than three years ago, the UK store has incurred substantial losses totalling 1.4million, reports The Mirror.

Closed for business: The Hollywood star opening her first UK store in London's affluent Notting Hill in 2019, but it shut its doors during the pandemic and has not reopened

However the brand remains a lucrative global enterprise, and its quirky wellness creations - primarily designed for women - have raked in as much as 200million worldwide.

At the launch of Goop's G. Label Core Collection clothing line in 2020, Paltrow's doppelganger daughter Apple, 18 - the eldest of her two children with ex-husband Chris Martin - modeled the designs.

While the brand's British store is permanently closed, Goop continues to sell its products in shops across the United States, Canada and France.

Aroma: Paltrow famously listed a $75 vagina candle for sale in her online Goop shop and revealed that it originally started as a joke

Unconventional: The actress - who founded the website in 2008 -previously advising readers to purchase a $15,000 24k gold vibrator and vaginal jade eggs

Paltrow famously listed a $75 candle, cheekily named 'This Smells Like My Vagina', for sale in her online Goop shop and revealed that the geranium, citrus bergamot and cedar scented candle originally started as a joke.

According to the product's description: 'This candle started as a joke between perfumer Douglas Little and GPthe two were working on a fragrance, and she blurted out, "Uhhh..this smells like a vagina"but evolved into a funny, gorgeous, sexy, and beautifully unexpected scent.

'(That turned out to be perfect as a candlewe did a test run at an In goop Health, and it sold out within hours),' she explained.

Spicy: She has also turned her attention to the world of BDSM and in 2021 sold a nude underwear set alongside a black whip, which promised to fulfill consumers 'fantasies'

'It's a blend of geranium, citrusy bergamot, and cedar absolutes juxtaposed with Damask rose and ambrette seed that puts us in mind of fantasy, seduction, and a sophisticated warmth.'

The actress previously advised readers to purchase a $15,000 24k gold vibrator and vaginal jade eggs.

She has also turned her attention to the world of BDSM and in 2021 sold a nude underwear set alongside a black whip (currently on sale for $72), which promised to fulfill consumers 'fantasies'.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter in 2017, Paltrow challenged critics of the brand while also admitting her celebrity status has aided its success.

She said: 'I'm interested in criticism based on fact, not on projections. If you want to f*** with me, bring your A game.

'I don't know many young entrepreneurs who can call [Disney CEO] Bob Iger, [Facebook COO] Sheryl Sandberg or [Airbnb founder] Brian Chesky, and they are kind enough to waste a little bit of their day to help me.

'So in that respect, my celebrity has been a huge asset,'
She's known for her head-turning fashion displays.

And Jessica Alves did not fail to live up to expectations as she put on a very busty display and headed out in London on Saturday night.

The former Celebrity Big Brother star, 39, displayed her curvaceous figure in a black sequin dress from Fashion Nova that perfectly hugged her body.

On display: Jessica Alves did not fail to live up to expectations as she put on a very busty display and headed out in London on Saturday night

The stunning corset detail highlighted her hourglass figure and put her chest on full show as she made her way to and from Maine restaurant in Mayfair.

Complete with silver sequin embellishing, flowing tassels and a shaggy fur trim on the wrists, the garment looked ultra-glamorous as she hit the town.

Jessica teamed the number with a pair of sheer black tights and small black pointed heels.

She opted for a glamorous face of makeup, with a statement winged eyeliner, heavy blush and peach glossy lip.

Wow! The former Celebrity Big Brother star, 39, displayed her curvaceous figure in a black sequin dress from Fashion Nova that perfectly hugged her body

Strut: The stunning corset detail highlighted her hourglass figure and put her chest on full show as she made her way to and from Maine restaurant in Mayfair

She kept her belongings safe as she slung a black Chanel handbag over her shoulder.

The star cosied up to Geordie Shore's Robbie McMahon as they left the restaurant and headed to their next destination.

The British Brazilian TV presenter went for a more muted affair after she attended the London show Dirty Dancing's press night on Wednesday.

Jessica joined a slew of celebrities who came out to see the West End musical, including Love Island's Tasha Ghouri, Paige Thorne, Billy Brown, Josh Le Grove and Samira Mighty. While TOWIE's Ferne McCann was also in attendance.

Details: Complete with silver sequin embellishing, flowing tassels and a shaggy fur trim on the wrists, the garment looked ultra-glamorous as she hit the town

Cosy: The star cosied up to Geordie Shore's Robbie McMahon as they left the restaurant and headed to their next destination

The recent outings show that Jessica is back on her feet after a period of rest Istanbul's Hagia Sogia Mansions, after ending up in hospital following a bum implant procedure.

Jessica recently told MailOnline she is feeling 'much better now' and is 'able to walk' and do things normally again after her surgery.

Jessica had her implants replaced from 625cc to 1050cc and a nose job in a successful round of surgery five weeks ago in Istanbul, Turkey.

Statement! The British Brazilian TV presenter went for a more muted affair after she attended the London show Dirty Dancing's press night on Wednesday

However, she revealed that her butt implants became 'displaced' after she got up too soon while she was still recovering from surgery.

The TV star said: 'The guide lines from the doctor was not to sit down for too long in the next 3 weeks, no sex for 4 weeks, no gym for 3 month and no dancing for 8 weeks.

'Due to going to a Xmas Party and dancing too much it [1050 cc implant] moved out of place. Now my New Years Eve is also ruined as I will spend it in bed at a hotel in Istanbul.'
Alex Jones admits her 'obsession' with having a second baby after suffering a miscarriage was tough on her relationship with husband Charlie Thomson.

In 2017 the presenter - now a mother-of-three - underwent a missed miscarriage operation just 15 weeks into her second pregnancy after the baby foetus stopped developing and her body struggled to expel pregnancy tissue.

Jones, 45, eventually welcomed a second child, son Kit, at London's Queen Charlotte Hospital in May 2019, and her own struggles contributed to a new role in BBC series Alex Jones: Making Babies.

Struggle: Alex Jones admits her 'obsession' with having a second baby after suffering a miscarriage was 'not great' for her relationship with husband Charlie Thomson

The One Show presenter worked as a fertility assistant during the fly-on-the-wall reality show, filmed exclusively at King's Fertility clinic, and admits to understanding the desperation prospective parents feel while attempting to fall pregnant.

She told The Times: 'When people decide to have children  I know it happened for me  you kind of go from that thing, "Oh, I cant get pregnant," to it becoming all you want. You become this person with blinkers on.'

Jones admits she had little time to process the loss of what should have been her second child, with the presenter immediately travelling from the hospital to BBC studios in London's White City, where she presents The One Show live, five nights a week.

Tragic: The One Show presenter tragically lost her unborn child in 2017, with the baby having 'stopped developing' at nine weeks (pictured with husband Charlie Thompson)

To further complicate matters, the presenter needed a second operation after the first failed to clear away all of the dead tissue - with the delay putting a strain on her marriage.

'It turns out that they didnt take everything,' she explained. 'Of course all you can think is, "Oh my God, time is ticking," and you become obsessed with trying to rush things through. Its not great for your relationship. Its hard, the whole thing takes its toll [on everything].'

She added: 'At one point I didnt think wed have more than one child. I didnt enjoy that pregnancy as much because I was constantly thinking, "Is baby still there? Can I feel the baby kicking?"

Family: Jones with sons Teddy (left) and Kit (right) in 2020, three years after suffering a miscarriage while carrying a second child

Proud mother: The presenter didn't have her first child until she was 39-years old (pictured with her two sons)

'Once youve experienced something like that you never enjoy pregnancy in quite the same way.'

Sons Teddy, five, and Kit, now three, were introduced to their baby sister in August 2021 when Jones welcomed daughter Annie, her third child with Thomson.

Speaking to The Sun, the Welsh star admitted the road to conception is not always smooth.

Opening up: The Welsh star previously admitted the road to conception is not always smooth

latest addition: Sons Teddy, five, and Kit, now three, were introduced to their baby sister in August 2021 when Jones welcomed daughter Annie, her third child with Thomson

She said: 'For all of us whove wanted a child, youre brought up through your twenties to, dont get pregnant, dont get pregnant, dont get pregnant. And then suddenly one day you sort of decide that I now want to have a baby, and it completely flips 360 degrees.

'Then you become obsessed by it. Its difficult when it happens naturally, and it can take a while. But this is a whole new and different level of wanting  the disappointment and what it does to you as a couple.

'But I was really naive. I hadnt thought about it. I thought, "well, there you are. Well try to have a baby and thatll be lovely, and then a baby will arrive". And, of course... how naive. You dont have any control over it.'
But it's also the performance that may well earn him the sort of recognition he never received as a mainstream actor - with Fraser tipped to win an Oscar

It's a role that comes many years after his Hollywood career reached a box-office high in The Mummy, where he played swashbuckling adventurer Rick O'Connell

There's a strange irony attached to Brendan Fraser's potentially Oscar winning role in The Whale, director Darren Aronofsky's poignant address to America's obesity crisis.

Here, the actor once famed for his rugged physique and brooding good looks is unrecognisable as dangerously overweight English teacher Charlie, a man whose health issues leave him disassociated from society and alienated by his own family.

It's a role that comes many years after his Hollywood career reached a box-office high in The Mummy, where he entertained millions as the swashbuckling, Indiana Jones inspired adventurer Rick O'Connell.

Starring role: Brendan Fraser plays dangerously overweight English teacher Charlie in The Whale, a role that could win him an Academy Award for Best Actor in March

But it's also the one performance that may well earn him the sort of recognition he never received in the mainstream - with Fraser tipped to scoop Best Actor at the 95th Academy Awards in March.

Now 54-years of age, the American star is enjoying a career renaissance that is owed in no small part to his undeniable talent, rather than the conventional good looks he freely admits are fading.

Reflecting on his past reputation as one of the industry's best looking actors, he told The Telegraph: 'I do know that it brought me to a point in my life when I needed to retreat. And I did.

Old times: It's a role that comes many years after his Hollywood career reached a box-office high in The Mummy, where he entertained millions as the swashbuckling, Indiana Jones inspired adventurer Rick O'Connell (pictured with co-star Rachel Weisz)

'Im older now; I dont look the way I did in those days, and I dont necessarily want to. And Im glad that the work I can do is based in an emotional reality thats not my own life, but is one that I can strongly identify with.'

Fraser wore a fat-suit filled with dried beans to authenticate the aesthetic of loose flesh while playing 21-stone Charlie, an isolated middle-aged man whose morbid obesity puts him at serious risk of congestive heart failure.

However he insisted the costume 'wasnt restrictive  I found it helpful, honestly, that it was so cumbersome. I learned that Charlie had to be an incredibly strong man to carry around that body, which I thought was kind of poetic.'

At peace: Now 54-years of age, the actor is enjoying a career renaissance that is owed in no small part to his undeniable talent, rather than the conventional good looks he freely admits are fading

Previously: Fraser's once rugged physique earned him a string of Hollywood roles, among them the lead in George Of The Jungle (pictured)

Addressing his latest role during an appearance on Friday's edition of Lorraine, the actor admitted that after a decades long film career, he doesn't feel he has anything to prove anymore.

He said: 'I have three kids, I know what it means to have all the love I ever need in my life and I have nothing to prove.

'You make one [film] for fun, for money for prestige and if you're lucky you get to make one at all and the fact I get to be a part of a film that's hopefully changing some hearts and touches on weight bias. There's harm to be done by the way we speak to each other.'

Opening up: Addressing his latest role during an appearance on Friday's edition of Lorraine, the actor admitted that after a decades long film career, he doesn't feel he has anything to prove anymore

Authentic: Fraser wore a fat-suit filled with dried beans to authenticate the aesthetic of loose flesh while playing 21-stone Charlie, an isolated and morbidly obese middle-aged man

The actor also spoke to Digital Spy about his role in The Whale, and admitted the awards buzz around him is 'rewarding'.

He said: 'I have a feeling of excited anticipation about what could happen. But I don't know. No one does.

'I have an open mind, and I'm looking forward to finding out where this is going to take us. I'm glad it found us where we are now.'
Chris Hemsworth and Elsa Pataky have been enjoying another exotic vacation.

The superstar couple shared photos and video to Instagram on Sunday of their family holiday in Kenya, East Africa.

The clips showed the pair and their children, daughter India, 10, and twin sons Sasha and Tristan, eight, going horse riding across stunning plains.

Chris Hemsworth and Elsa Pataky have been enjoying another exotic vacation. Both pictured

The group rode alongside local animals including zebras who looked on as they trotted by.

Further footage depicted a bikini-clad Elsa having a swim in a flowing waterfall at a bush swimming hole.

In one image, Chris larked about while wearing a helmet atop a horse, in another, Elsa beamed in the sunshine as she prepared to ride.

The superstar couple shared photos and video to Instagram on Sunday of their family holiday in Kenya, East Africa

The clips showed the pair and their children, daughter India, 10, and twin sons Sasha and Tristan, eight, going horse riding across stunning plains

In one image, Chris larked about while wearing a helmet atop a horse

The actress wrote in her caption: 'It was like a dream riding around Kenya with my loved ones!'

Last week the family shared even more images from their trip, including one in which the 39-year-old actor showed off his muscles in a tank top as he posed in a field with some handsome camels.

Further photos showed Elsa, 46, holding onto a baby goat and beaming as she wore a sun hat.

Further footage depicted a bikini-clad Elsa having a swim in a flowing waterfall

She dived right in at the idyllic bush swimming hole

The group rode alongside local animals including zebras who looked on as they trotted by

The actress wrote in her caption: 'It was like a dream riding around Kenya with my loved ones!'

The famous family also shared images of the gorgeous plains and wild animals they encountered on their adventure.

Chris wrote in his caption: 'One of the most memorable trips to Kenya my family and I have ever had.'

It's the second luxurious trip the clan have taken in recent weeks, having returned from a vacation to Fiji earlier this month.

Last week the family shared even more images from their trip, including one in which the 39-year-old actor showed off his muscles in a tank top as he posed in a field with some camels

Further photos showed Elsa, 46, holding onto a baby goat and beaming as she wore a sun hat

Chris wrote in his caption: 'One of the most memorable trips to Kenya my family and I have ever had'

The Hollywood power couple spent their days surfing and soaking up the sun at a luxury resort on Tavarua, Fiji as they celebrated Christmas with their loved ones.

For an eye-watering $6,000 per person for seven nights, the actors and their family had the run of beachside villas on a 29-acre heart-shaped tropical getaway.

For the couple and their three children, a week-long getaway could come to as much as a whopping $30,000.
EastEnders have confirmed that Walford bad boy Ryan Malloy is set to make a shock return to the soap after seven years.

Actor Neil McDermott is set to reprise his role as the character arrives in Albert Square amid his 12-year-old daughter Lily's pregnancy.

Ryan, who was last seen in Walford in 2016, will return for a short stint in February, with his comeback set to be explosive.

Look who's back! EastEnders have confirmed that Walford bad boy Ryan Malloy is set to make a shock return to the soap after seven years

A soap insider teased: 'Its safe to say that his return to the Square is far from smooth-sailing, but viewers will have to wait and see the drama unfold onscreen.'

Speaking of his return, Neil, 42, shared: 'When I heard what the story was I was really pleased that the stars aligned and I was able to revisit Ryan and set foot back on the Square.

'It was so lovely to see so many old friends and to work with Shona and Lacey again, as well as to meet and work with Ryans daughter, played beautifully by Lillia.'

Troubled: Actor Neil McDermott is set to reprise his role as the character arrives in Albert Square amid his 12-year-old daughter Lily's pregnancy (Lily pictured)

Meanwhile, EastEnders' Executive producer Chris Clenshaw added: 'Its wonderful to welcome Neil back to the role of Ryan Malloy.

'Although we havent seen Ryan for some years, his character is still intertwined in the history of two of the shows major characters, Stacey and Whitney. We couldnt be more thrilled to have him back for a short while as hes thrust into the heart of the drama.'

As well as seeing his daughter Lily (Lilia Turner), Ryan will no doubt be on hand to support his half-sister Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty), who is also pregnant but is set to receive the devastating news that her unborn child will be diagnosed with Edwards Syndrome.

Return: Ryan, who was last seen in Walford in 2016, will return for a short stint in February, with his comeback set to be explosive

Dad duties: Ryan's return comes amid news he's set to be a grandad, with his young daughter Lily expecting a baby (Ryan and Stacey pictured with baby Lily in 2010)

Ryan's previous stint in EastEnders was certainly a dramatic one, with the character ending up in prison for accidentally killing Rob Grayson (Jodi Latham) while defending his sister.

He was also married to recently-incarcerated Janine Butcher (Charlie Brooks), but their romance ended in divorce after it was discovered he fathered baby Lily with Stacey (Lacey Turner).

Elsewhere in EastEnders, Pregnant Lily Slater will also spark a huge family feud, after making a shocking U-turn on her decision to have a termination.

Ex: Ryan was married to recently-incarcerated Janine Butcher (Charlie Brooks), but their romance ended in divorce after it was discovered he fathered baby Lily with Stacey (Lacey Turner)

Sad: Ryan will also no doubt be on hand to support his half-sister Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty), who is set to receive the devastating news that her unborn child will be diagnosed with Edwards Syndrome

In upcoming scenes, the tension finally boils over between the Fowlers and the Brannings when Stacey bans Ricky Jr from seeing the baby, leaving the teen to go and live with his mum Sam.

The pre-teen will spark a huge backlash from the Branning family when Ricky Jr decides to support her in bringing up their child.

And in the midst of the Branning's family woes, Martin is offered a few weeks of well-paid work in Turkey, but is conflicted over whether to leave Lily at such a challenging time.

Will he pluck up the courage to tell Stacey?

EastEnders airs on Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One and iPlayer.

Drama! Also on the Square, Pregnant Lily Slater will also spark a huge family feud, after making a shocking U-turn on her decision to have a termination
Joanne Froggatt made the most of Australia's glorious summer temperatures on Sunday afternoon during an appearance on a crowded Sydney beach.

The actress, best known for her role as demure Anna Bates in ITV period drama Downton Abbey, stripped down to an olive green bikini while relaxing with friends in Vaucluse, one of the city's bustling eastern suburbs.

While most Brits brace themselves for plunging Actic weather over the coming week, Joanna, 42, topped up her tan as temperatures climbed to a balmy 25 degrees.

Good times: Joanne Froggatt made the most of Australia's glorious summer temperatures on Sunday afternoon during an appearance on a crowded Sydney beach

The actress later waded into the Pacific surf, where she cooled off while her female friend remained with their belongings on the beach.

Joanne had been working for years before her 'game changer' role in Downton came along, and although it boosted her career she admitted to being glad that the main series ended when it did.

She told The Observer magazine: 'Downton was a game changer for me. I'd been working professionally for 12 years when I got the role of Anna and it hugely elevated my career.'

Toned and trim: The actress stripped down to an olive green bikini while relaxing with friends in Vaucluse, one of the city's bustling eastern suburbs

Don't mind me: While most Brits brace themselves for plunging Actic weather over the coming week, Joanna topped up her tan as temperatures climbed to a balmy 25 degrees

Pals: The actress was accompanied by a female friend as she relaxed in Sydney

The star admitted her global break came at the right time as when she first started her career, she was 'uncomfortable' with fame but was better 'prepared' when 'Downton' became a massive hit.

She also discussed 'embarrassing' herself when the Duchess of Cambridge paid a visit to the show's set in 2015.

However, Joanne insisted the royal was amused by her accidental faux pas.

There she is: Joanne stretched out on the sand as she made the most of Sydney's climate

Seasoned actress: Joanne had been working for years before her 'game changer' role in Downton came along, and although it boosted her career she admitted to being glad that the main series ended when it did

Hydrated: She was seen drinking from a large bottle of mineral water while topping up her tan

Taking a dip: The actress later waded into the Pacific surf, where she cooled off while her female friend remained with their belongings on the beach

There she is: The actress was seen swimming in the Pacific during her latest outing in Sydney

She recalled: 'I embarrassed myself in front of the Duchess of Cambridge. She visited the Downton set and walked in while me and Michelle Dockery were filming a scene in Lady Mary's bedroom.

'She said: "It feels very strange to be in your bedroom". I replied, "Yeah, not many people get to come in Lady Mary's bedroom".

' I didn't mean it as a double entendre, but I swear I saw the faintest flicker of a smile.'

Making a splash: Joanna ensured she caught the eye during her dip in the ocean

Up to her neck in it: The British star swum for a few minutes before returning to dry land

Striking: The actress revealed a nicely toned physique during her latest outing

Steady on: She was seen adjusting her bikini bottoms before making her way back to the beach on Sunday

Last year Joanne hit out at the sexism she claims to have faced as an actress since turning 40.

The British star told how she has often been asked how she feels about getting older and when is she going to have children with husband

Speaking on the Reign With Josh Smith podcast, she said: 'From the age of about 38, 37, whenever I've been doing publicity for my work or anything else, I've been constantly asked, 'oh are you going to have children? When are you having children? Or how are you feeling about turning 40?'

'Also about my looks and, "how I feel about the way I look constantly and do I feel I'm attractive enough?"'

The actress separated from husband James Cannon - who she met on the set of Downton Abbey - in 2020.

Single life: The actress separated from husband James Cannon - who she met on the set of Downton Abbey - in 2020
Forget the skin-fade, Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight is looking for something even more extreme as casting gets underway for his latest project.

Knight, arguably responsible for keeping hipster barbers in steady employment thanks to the haircut favoured by Cillian Murphy and his band of criminally minded brothers, is now looking for skinheads after issuing a casting call.

The writer and producer is currently developing new show This Town, an exploration of the popular ska scene that exploded in Birmingham during the late 1970s and early '80s.

All change: Forget the skin-fade, Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight is looking for something even more extreme as casting gets underway for his latest project

A synopsis for the show - which focuses on a group of disenfranchised teens as they immerse themselves in the sub-culture - reads: 'This Town tells the story of an extended family and four young people who are drawn into the world of ska and two-tone music, which exploded from the grass roots of in the late '70s and early '80s, uniting black, white and Asian youths.'

Agency Mad Dog Casting, who posted the ad, stipulates young actors with closely cropped hair - a popular look among ska fans of the period - with a flat fee of 10 offered to anyone willing to travel.

'Skinheads and people with shaved heads are wanted for an upcoming BBC series, This Town (by the creators of Peaky Blinders),' it reads.

'In and around West Bromwich. Must have good availability from now until the end of February.'

Bold look: Knight is arguably responsible for keeping hipster barbers in steady employment thanks to the skin-fade haircut adopted by the cast of his hit BBC show Peaky Blinders

Moving on: The writer and producer is currently developing new show This Town, an exploration of the popular ska scene that exploded in Birmingham during the late 1970s and early '80s (pictured: local two-tone band The Specials in 1980)

Speaking in 2022, Knight - who grew up in Walsall, West Midlands - described his forthcoming series as a passion project.

'This is a project very close to my heart, he told the BBC. 'Its about an era I lived through and know well and it involves characters who I feel I grew up with.

'Its a love letter to Birmingham and Coventry but I hope people from all over the world will relate to it.'

Love letter: Speaking in 2022, Knight - who grew up in Walsall, West Midlands - described his forthcoming series as a passion project

The six-part series recently began principal photography in Wolverhampton, where early '80s replica police vans were seen parked in a city street during what appeared to be a riot scene.

Relative unknowns Levi Brown, Jordan Bolger, Ben Rose and Eve Austin have been cast in lead roles, while Downton Abbey star Michelle Dockery will also feature.

Nicholas Pinnock, best known for his role in Marcella and David Dawson of My Policeman have also won roles in the new series.

An air-date is yet to be confirmed.
Priyanka Gandhi walked alongside the former Congress president amidst tight security arrangements before the yatra stopped for a break at Lethpora. (Photo: Twitter/@INCIndia)

LETHPORA (PULWAMA): Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday joined her brother Rahul Gandhi at the Bharat Jodo Yatra at Lethpora in Jammu and Kashmir as the party's foot march entered its penultimate day.

Priyanka Gandhi walked alongside the former Congress president amidst tight security arrangements before the yatra stopped for a break at Lethpora.

The yatra resumed from Awantipora where PDP president Mehbooba Mufti and her daughter Iltija Mufti joined Gandhi, the Lok Sabha member from Wayanad in Kerala, for the march.

Gandhi also paid homage to the 40 CRPF personnel who were killed in a suicide car bomb attack at Lethpora by laying a bouquet at the spot where the security force's bus was blown up in February 2019.

The yatra is scheduled to halt at Panthachowk for the night.

The march which started from Kanyakumari on September 7, is scheduled to reach Pantha Chowk in the outskirts of Srinagar later in the day, after a single stop near Birla School in Galandar area of Pampore.

After a night's halt there, the yatra would resume on Sunday morning from Pantha Chowk and will culminate near Nehru Park on Boulevard Road in the city.

On Monday, Gandhi will unfurl the tricolour at the party headquarters at M A Road here, following which a public rally at SK Stadium here for which 23 opposition political parties have been invited. PTI MIJ ANB 01281445 NNNN
She welcomed first daughter, Alba Jean, with boyfriend Jake Ankers back in October.

And Charlotte Crosby has revealed that she's taking time to get back into her health and fitness as she balances motherhood and personal time.

Explaining that having kids 'shouldn't define who you are', the former Geordie Shore star, 32, is ensuring she's not 'joint at the hip 24/7' with the new arrival.

'Your baby shouldnt define who you are': Charlotte Crosby talks taking time for herself as a new mother as she gets back into fitness... three months after giving birth to daughter Alba Jean

Charlotte took time away from her usual workout regime after giving birth to Alba as she recovered from the planned C-section.

But after being given the go-ahead to lightly exercise from doctors, the star is now getting back into a routine while balancing motherhood too.

Speaking with The Sun, the reality star explained that she 'doesn't feel guilty' about leaving her daughter sometimes to have time alone.

'Its about having balance  you dont have to feel guilty for doing things for yourself. For me, exercising and going to work make me feel like a strong, independent woman and a role model for my daughter.

Exercise: Charlotte was spotted out on a jog last week as she gets her fitness back up

Settling in: Charlotte and her boyfriend Jake Ankers are loving life as parents since welcoming their new arrival in October

'I love Alba Jean, whos now 15 weeks old, with all of my heart  shes my best friend  but I dont feel guilty for not wanting her to be attached to my hip 24/7.

Charlotte, who spotted out on a jog last week, continued: 'Your baby shouldnt define who you are. You were someone before they arrived on the scene, and you need to remind yourself of that sometimes.'

And exercise has been a blessing for the new mother, who explained that it is making her feel 'healthy and energised' once again.

While adding that getting strong and independent again makes her a good role model for daughter Alba.

Gettting into it: Exercise has been a blessing for the new mother, who explained that it is making her feel 'healthy and energised' once again

Strong mother: She added that getting strong and independent again makes her a good role model for daughter Alba

And as she gets back into a routine, the star is also looking to the future - admitting last week that she 'can't wait' to have more children.

In an interview with New! Magazine, the star explained that she is 'loving motherhood' and has 'got the bug' for parenthood.

Speaking with the publication, she gushed: 'I'm the happiest person in the world right now. I can't believe I'm so lucky to have this beautful little girl who is just so precious.

'I already can't wait to have another baby. I've got the bug now!'
Katie Piper took to her Instagram Story on Sunday to document her horrendous journey to the U.S., which ended with her in floods of tears.

The TV personality, 39, claimed she had experienced '72 hours from hell', in which one of her eye's blood vessels burst before her luggage was lost or stolen.

She had been travelling across the pond to shoot her new W documentary, Babies Behind Bars, where she will investigate women who are pregnant while in prison.

Oh dear! Katie Piper took to her Instagram Story on Sunday to document her horrendous journey to the U.S., which ended with her in floods of tears

Katie will be visiting females who are juggling pregnancy while serving their time, as they face heart-wrenching decisions on the fate of their children.

The series will feature five episodes and is set for a late 2023 release.

Sharing a snap of her daughter Belle, eight, she wrote 'Said goodbye to the kids for the next 10 days.'

In another post taken from her airplane seat, Katie added: 'Then proceed to have 72 hours from hell after that...'

Before the storm: Sharing a snap of her daughter Belle, eight, she wrote 'Said goodbye to the kids for the next 10 days.'

Oh no! The TV personality, 39, claimed she had experienced '72 hours from hell', in which one of her eye's blood vessels burst before her luggage was lost or stolen

The former Strictly contestant uploaded a gory snap of her bloodshot eye, continuing, 'The day before my flight, blood vessels burst in my bad eye. Luckily I was able to fly and I'm fine, it was more mentally caused me stress and anxiety.'

Katie's latest medical issue came as a result of a long list of complications she suffered following a sulphuric acid attack back in 2008.

The mother-of-two is blind in one eye as a result of the attack, carried out by Stefan Sylvestre Lynch on the orders of her obsessive ex-boyfriend Daniel Lynch.

She wrote in another Story: 'After a 10 hour flight, I landed in Atlanta to find out my luggage had been lost/stolen. I stayed in the airport for hours trying to locate it but it was a lost cause.

Upset: She wrote in another Story: 'After a 10 hour flight, I landed in Atlanta to find out my luggage had been lost/stolen. I stayed in the airport for hours trying to locate it but it was a lost cause'

Finally arrived: She took a snap of the Baggage Claim site within Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport

'I'm now on my next flight heading to Houston with one pair of pants, a new toothbrush from the airport and the same outfit I was in yesterday. Had a bit of a secret cry in the toilet and felt better!'

Filming herself making her way through George Bush Intercontinental Airport, she said while addressing the camera: 'Okay, I've just lauded in Houston, 14 hours of travel completed.

'I am absolutely praying the one remaining suitcase I have on this trip is at baggage complaint, baggage claim. Please pray for me and send positive thoughts.'

Update: Filming herself making her way through the airport, she said while addressing the camera: 'Okay, I've just lauded in Houston, 14 hours of travel completed'

The author and Loose Women panellist is set to immerse herself in the United States judicial system for the new series.

Already a volunteer in UK prisons, Katie is intrigued to see how different things will be across the pond in some of the most spoken-about prisons.

She explained: 'I am thrilled to be working with the W Channel in 2023. I have always had a strong interest in real-life documentary formats and Piper Behind Bars is already proving to be a fascinating project.

'As a long-standing volunteer in UK womens prisons, Im intrigued by the varying treatment within the US system.

Coming soon: She had been travelling across the pond to shoot her new W documentary, Babies Behind Bars, where she will investigate women who are pregnant while in prison

'I have no idea what to expect when Im across the Atlantic, but thats the magic of a documentary. I can't wait to see how this project unfolds.'

The blonde beauty will be talking with women who are not only negotiating a prison term but who are also parents and coming to terms with what that means for their children's future.

While the series will also look into how women in prisons are looked after and treated while pregnant.

Mothers in prison: The author and Loose Women panellist is set to immerse herself in the United States judicial system for the new series about mothers inside prison (pictured with her daughter penelope, now five)

Katie has two children with husband Richard James Sutton; Belle Elizabeth, eight, and Penelope, five.

The show's commissioning editor shared: 'The complexities of women within the criminal justice system is a subject that desperately needs to be explored further and with Katie at the helm we hope to ask a pivotal question about whether anyone should ever have to give birth behind bar'.

And it's not the first time she has taken to the screen in a documentary format, appearing in four part series Katie: My Beautiful Face in 2009 and Katie: My Beautiful Friends in 2011.

The first series came a year after Katie was the victim of a vicious acid attack, deciding to tell her story through the documentary.

While the second followed her progress two years after the attack and also showed her setting up her charity, the Katie Piper Foundation.

Following her journey to rebuilding her face after the attck, she also appeared on Channel 4 show Katie: The Science of Seeing Again.

Katie Piper: Babies Behind Bars will air on Channel W and UKTV Play in 2023.
Timothee Chalamet wasn't worried about appearances when he goofed around on Instagram on Sunday by posting a selfie of himself picking his nose.

The 27-year-old movie star  who is gearing up to play Bob Dylan in the biopic Going Electric  treated his 18.2 million followers to the picture of himself plugging his right nostril with his index finger.

Chalamet didn't include a caption, but he appeared to be enjoying a lazy Sunday in bed, taking a much-needed break from his massive career.

Pick of the week: Timothee Chalamet, 27, goofed around on Instagram Sunday when he posted a selfie of him picking his nose. Dressed in a black tank top, the Dune star rocked some bedhead for his three selfies

Dressed in a black tank top, the Dune star rocked some bedhead for his three selfies.

Timothee also took a picture of his wide smile and an up-close shot of his right eye.

'Boogers and all,' commented one of his followers, riffing on Chalamet's latest film, the cannibal romance Bones And All.

Timothee's performance in that film has received critical praise, however he was not a contender on the awards circuit this year.

But his upcoming role as Bob Dylan could take him back to the Oscars.

Speaking about the biopic in November, the acclaimed young actor told Variety: 'I havent stopped preparing, which has been one of the greatest gifts for me. Its been a wonderful experience getting to dive into that world.'

A-list grin: Timothee also treated his 18.2 million followers to his wide smile. He appeared to be enjoying a lazy Sunday in bed, taking a much-needed break from his massive career

Up close and personal: The Call Me By Your Name star included an up-close shot of his right eye

In addition to the Dylan biopic, a pair of blockbusters are on the horizon for Chalamet.

The New York native's singing voice will soon be heard in Wonka, which is set to be released later this year in December.

Details are scarce, but the musical will reportedly follow 'a young Willy Wonka and how he met the Oompa-Loompas on one of his earliest adventures,' according to the film's IMDb page.

And Chalamet recently announced that he has finished filming the highly anticipated sequel to Dune, in which he will reprise his central role as Paul Atreides.

The first film was both commercially successful and lauded by critics, grossing more than $400 million worldwide and taking home 10-Oscar nominations  winning six.

Latest film: 'Boogers and all,' commented one follower, riffing on Chalamet's latest film  the cannibal romance Bones And All (pictured). Timothee's performance in the film has received critical praise, however he was not a contender on the awards circuit this year

His next role: Chalamet is currently gearing up to play Bob Dylan in the biopic Going Electric; Dylan seen in 1965

Chocoholic: The New York native's singing voice will soon be heard in Wonka, which is set to be released later this year in December. Details are scarce, but the musical will reportedly follow 'a young Willy Wonka and how he met the Oompa-Loompas on one of his earliest adventures,' according to the film's IMDb page

Speaking to British Vogue in October, the Call Me By Your Name star opened up about becoming one of Hollywood's top leading men.

'I hate talking about the kind of stuff, but like the pressure of, you know, being in the public eye, whatever the f**k that means. It's always like, "Who are you? Do you know who you are?" '

'I found myself having to really, you know, be honest with myself that where I've been able to get myself to in life was balls to the wall, like throw everything at [acting] at a young age that, by some miracle, got me to where I am. But then to transition to an adulting mindset...'

Based on his latest Instagram selfie, the lovable kid within Chalamet is alive and well.
James Norton attempted to get BBC Radio 1 listeners very excited when he read out some steamy text messages during Jordan North's show.

The actor, 37, revealed some of the x-rated messages he receives on social media before reading them out as villain Tommy Lee Royce from his BBC series Happy Valley.

He explained: 'I know we're talking DMs later. I used to get some very strange [ones].

Steamy: James Norton, 37, attempted to get BBC Radio 1 listeners very excited when he read out some steamy text messages during Jordan North's show

'Yeah, it was quite inappropriate - I used to get a little bit weirded out.

'They would sort of say stuff like, "I can't - you're such a monster" and follow up with "take me to your cellar".'

James then altered his intonation to a strong Yorkshire accent to sound like his character Tommy as he began to read some of the messages.

Acting out: The actor revealed some of the x-rated messages he receives on social media before reading them out as villain Tommy Lee Royce from his BBC series Happy Valley (James is seen as Tommy on Happy Valley)

After James read out some of the text, Jordan asked him: 'Do you know what? Now you've mentioned [Tommy], can you do the next one in his accent?'

Laughing, James said he was more than happy to as he read some words from listener Liz about a fruit fanatic.

'I've fallen in love,' James began in Tommy's northern accent before collapsing into giggles.

Unusual: He explained: 'I know we're talking DMs later. I used to get some very strange [ones]' (James is seen as Tommy on Happy Valley)

'Literally everyone in the studio is freaking out,' Jordan shouted. 'The girls in the studio are freaking - I've gone sweaty!'

James continued: 'I've fallen in love with ya and I'd like to be your banana partner.'

Falling back into his well spoken lilt, James asked: 'Sorry but what on earth is that?'

Taking to Twitter after hearing the segment, one listener wrote: 'Urgh as soon as he goes into Tommys voice it repulses me. I hate him in Happy Valley thats how I know hes doing a good job.'

All change: James altered his intonation to a strong Yorkshire accent to sound like his character Tommy as he began to read some of the messages (James is seen as Tommy on Happy Valley))

'Thanks for making evil sexy - I'm so confused right now,' wrote someone else.

Another listener shared: 'I fancy James Norton a lot more when he's doing that sexy Yorkshire accent!'

It comes after James spoke out about how he overcame bullying at school as a child.

Born in London to teacher parents Lavinia Jane and Hugh Biddulph Norton, James grew up in North Yorkshire where he attended 36,000-a-year Catholic boarding school Ampleforth College.

The school was previously banned from taking new pupils after a child sex abuse scandal, when the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse to have covered up decades of claims to safeguard the churchs reputation.

Although he's stressed that he was never sexually abused, Norton previously revealed he was so badly bullied at school that he's having therapy 20 years later.

The actor admitted 'it's only now' that he's 'recognising the effect' of his troubled past and 'what it's done to him'.

'I had quite a grim time,' he told the Daily Mail's Eden Confidential. 'It's only now, in my later life as an adult, that I'm recognising that effect and what it has done to me.'

Speaking on the Comfort Eating podcast, he said: 'My school years were complicated. I didn't have the greatest time.

'I was quite badly bullied for five years and I was at boarding school so I couldn't leave. I've had a great therapist for the last four years, and it's not from a place of drama.

'And I'm luckily not suffering from depression or anything like that but it's been really, really helpful to understanding what [happened to me at school].'
Huddled in the corner of a central London bar, a fresh-faced Ant McPartlin was giggling away with best friend Declan 'Dec' Donnelly and their former co-presenter, Cat Deeley.

The three television stars were laughing their heads off.

The handsomely paid trio were guests of honour at a reunion for the staff of SM:TV, the now-defunct children's programme that catapulted them to fame almost 25 years ago.

But while others partied on until the early hours at the bash last April, Ant  who, observers insisted, stuck to sparkling water  left early, taking a taxi back to the 6 million mansion he shares with his wife of two years, Anne-Marie Corbett.

Settled: Ant McPartlin (right) with second wife Anne-Marie (left) in 2021

Ant with his first wife Lisa at their 2006 wedding

Such behaviour represented quite a change for the 47-year-old star. Just five years ago, Ant would have been carousing into the early hours.

In those days, his boozy antics were legendary even by the standards of the drink-sodden TV industry. Most people who have worked with him over the years will, if pressed, reveal a fund of shocking anecdotes about his hell-raising lifestyle.

But then, in June 2017, Ant finally admitted to being addicted to alcohol and prescription drugs, and went into rehab. Some called him 'brave'  others thought his career was finished.

His problems only worsened when, a year later, he crashed his car head-on into another vehicle while drunk.

But what a difference a few years can make. There was no mention at all of Ant's travails when corks popped last week at ITV to celebrate the duo's decision to sign to the network for another three years  in a 'golden handcuffs' deal worth an astonishing 30 million.

Nor was it spoken of during the negotiations, I am told.

ITV bosses are said to be 'ecstatic' at having managed to fend off streaming giants such as Netflix and Amazon Prime and keep their most prized possessions.

Kevin Lygo, the broadcaster's head of programming, welcomed the deal, saying: 'The world of television and streaming is always a much brighter place with Ant and Dec at the centre of it.'

The 30 million bonanza is proof, if needed, that in the long run, nothing seems to touch Ant  for all his much-publicised mistakes.

In fact, sources at the network say no one mentions Ant's previous scrapes  ever. 'It's as good as banned,' says one. 'It's the unmentionable within the organisation, it's like it never happened. Ant has so much unwavering support from ITV's higher echelons.'

From national pariah to being welcomed back as a much-loved stalwart of our TV screens in just a few years. How did he do it?

To answer that question, we must go back to that terrible moment in March 2018 when an intoxicated Ant crashed his black Mini into an oncoming car near his house in Mortlake, South-West London. His mother, Christine Woodall, was in the passenger seat.

Ant & Dec's latest TV project, Ant And Dec's Limitless Win (pictured) , launched with an impressive six million viewers

He was arrested and found to be twice over the drink-drive limit. Wimbledon Magistrates' Court later heard that in the other car  another Mini Cooper  a nine-year-old boy screamed to his mother, who was driving: 'I'm dying, Mummy, I'm dying!'

The ugly episode would surely have spelled career death for any other TV star.

Ant was fined 86,000 and disqualified from driving for 20 months. He apologised profusely, announced he was off to rehab yet again and pulled out all of his TV commitments for the rest of the year, including ITV's I'm A Celebrity . . . Get Me Out Of Here. Dec was left to host the final episode of that season's Saturday Night Takeaway, as well as the Britain's Got Talent finals, alone.

Many people in showbusiness thought Ant was finished. But his rock-solid network of powerful friends had other ideas.

Ant  with Dec, of course  was essential to the ITV brand. Bosses at the station felt that they had to do anything to support him.

Ant's all-powerful management team is the London-based YMU  widely believed to have significant sway over ITV thanks to its roster of celebrity clients, who include Claudia Winkleman, Davina McCall and Phillip Schofield. They went in to bat for him  hard. Meanwhile, Ant's super-loyal PR man, Simon Jones, defended him throughout his troubles. Dec also stood by his best friend of 30 years (they met aged 13, working on the children's TV series Byker Grove).

Asked whether he had considered going solo, Dec admitted: 'I'd be lying if I said the thought hadn't crossed my mind. Ant had a lot of work to do on himself. He had a lot of thinking to do. Equally, I did. Ultimately, the number one thing I wanted was that Ant came back healthy and happy and we got our relationship back on track.'

All well and good. But the problem for Ant was not the loyalty of his friends or his paid allies. The problem was the British public. And they were not so enthralled by the antics of the one-time family favourite.

Social media was aflame with people who were furious that Ant hadn't been cast out. 'I still can't believe how much support this garbage of a human being is getting,' said one. Others vowed never to watch him again.

ITV was worried. It had spent more than a decade prioritising its 'golden four': Ant, Dec, Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby.

'When Ant's drink-driving incident happened, ITV thought they were well and truly screwed,' says a source. 'Dec is adored but he couldn't do it on his own, they are a double act, the Morecambe and Wise of their time.'

Ant McPartlin shame-faced after drink-drive crash where he crashed into two other cars

Some 18 months later  in December 2019  ITV's Caroline Flack was charged with attacking her boyfriend Lewis Burton. But instead of being handled with kid-gloves, Flack was sacked.

However, ITV insist she 'stepped down,' though friends of the late presenter say that was not the case and that she was told she was to stand down and that it was 'non-negotiable.'

She was devastated and would regularly ask her friends why ITV stood by Ant while they hung her out to dry  although ITV insisted it 'made it clear the door was left open for her to return'. Tragically, Flack took her own life in February 2020, after which ITV said, 'we will all miss her very much'.

Meanwhile, one can imagine the relief at ITV  and within Team Ant  that the star's former wife, Lisa Armstrong, has remained silent about his behaviour. ITV insiders tell me they believe this has been the most important factor in Ant's continued popularity.

Their marriage ended in early 2018  12 years after they wed at Cliveden House Hotel in Berkshire  by which time Ant was seeing Anne-Marie, his and Lisa's assistant. (Ant and Anne-Marie have always maintained their relationship began after the breakdown of their previous marriages.)

Lisa, an award-winning make-up artist, has never shared what went on at their 5 million mansion in Chiswick, West London. And she assures friends she never will.

One told the Daily Mail: 'Ant and Lisa went through a lot. She gave him 23 years of her life and then he walked away with their personal assistant. She was absolutely devastated.

'If she gave her side of events, it could have made things uncomfortable for Ant. There are definitely some details he'd prefer not to be out there.'

In the couple's long divorce battle, the custody of their chocolate Labrador, Hurley, loomed large. Eventually, they agreed to share access, with Dec often acting as go-between.

Armstrong was handed 31 million in the divorce settlement. It was reported that Ant wanted her to sign a gagging order, but she refused. Lisa, too, had a fractious relationship with Ant's hard-nosed PR man Jones  who oversaw the successful campaign to rehabilitate his client's reputation.

Jones, who has a reputation among showbiz journalists for being abrasive, was not shy about involving Ant's lawyers when things became dicey.

Meanwhile, Ant made a new home with mother-of-two Anne-Marie in Wimbledon. After a flurry of interviews with The Sun, Ant began to live under the radar.

Lisa kept the marital home which meant, for the first time in 20 years, Ant and Dec didn't live on the same road.

The move also meant an end to his bleary pub crawls along Chiswick High Road. Instead, tea became his drink of choice and he began to exercise regularly, swimming and jogging.

In August 2021, Ant married Anne-Marie at St Michael's Church in Heckfield, Hampshire. During his groom's speech, he revealed his remarkable closeness her two daughters, reportedly saying: 'They are amazing girls and I'm grateful they call me 'Dad'.'

Today, he and Anne-Marie live a quiet life, rarely making public appearances.

This low-key approach is another factor in the rehabilitation of his reputation.

Having just signed their lucrative new ITV deal, Ant and Dec are about to embark on their busiest year yet.

Their latest TV project, Ant And Dec's Limitless Win, launched with an impressive six million viewers and they will also present I'm A Celebrity All Stars from South Africa later this year, featuring a line-up of past contestants.

Their bigger roles at ITV raise the question among some employees of just what Ant would ever have to do to lose his job. 'We are sure to be seeing Ant on telly for some years to come yet,' said one. 'He is absolute Teflon.'
Happy Valley viewers tuned into the breathless penultimate episode of the BBC drama on Sunday evening as Tommy Lee Royce revealed his grand plans.

The murderous character escaped at the end of the last episode and fans have now learned that he plans to run off to Marbella, with his son Ryan in tow.

Viewers admitted they could barely watch the dramatic episode as everything lined up for a dramatic showdown between Tommy and Sargent Catherine Cawood, as he revealed he plans to kill her before jetting off to Spain.

Shocking: Happy Valley viewers tuned into the breathless penultimate episode of the BBC drama on Sunday evening as Tommy Lee Royce revealed his grand plans

Many fans admitted they were unable to breathe as they watched the final minutes of the episode unfold, as Tommy contacted his son Ryan via XBox and shared his plans to move abroad, with Ryan horrifyingly promising he'd 'think about it'.

As the credits rolled, one person said: 'Can I breathe yet #HappyValley.'

Another agreed, writing: 'Can I breathe yet #HappyValley.'

Sweet freedom! Once Tommy had jumped the dock in court, picked up his cyclist disguise and hit the road to the moors, he was picked up by criminal colleague Darius

Suggesting their plan had been in the works for a while, Darius tells Tommy: 'Show no fear, you've come this far'

Spells trouble: The murderous character escaped at the end of the last episode and fans have now learned that he plans to run off to Marbella, with his son Ryan in tow

A third wrote: 'Think about it!!! What else does he think we'll be doing until next Sunday. #happyvalley.'

A different person said: 'Christ on a bike, my heart is THUMPING.'

One other said: 'How am I supposed to wait a whole week.'

Referencing the fact there is a lot to wrap up in one more episode, another said: 'Please tell me next week is at least a 3 hour episode.

Reaction: Many fans admitted they were unable to breathe as they watched the final minutes of the episode unfold, as Tommy contacted his son Ryan via XBox and shared his plans to move abroad, with Ryan horrifyingly promising he'd 'think about it'

Once Tommy had jumped the dock in court, picked up his cyclist disguise and hit the road to the moors, he was picked up by criminal colleague Darius.

Suggesting their plan had been in the works for a while, Darius tells Tommy: 'Show no fear, you've come this far'.

Darius reveals Tommy's plan to take Ryan away with him, saying: ''I'll pick you up on Monday. If you haven't got the boy by then you'll have to go alone.'

Tommy replies: 'I'll have him.'

Fans were then horrified to learn of Tommy's plans before he leaves for sunnier climes, as Darius says: 'You'll have sorted out your bit of business?'

Tommy replies: 'Yeah'

Darius adds: It's not that police woman is it? Tommy laughs: 'Can you get me a gun?'

Back in Halifax, Catherine has learned of Tommy's escape from her ex-husband Richard who was in the courtroom at the time.

Catherine, who also now knows Ryan had gone to watch his father's trial, is worried about Ryan's whereabouts as nobody can locate him.

As Tommy is dropped at a property in Halifax, Darius told him: 'A week from now you'll be in Marbella, you and your boy laughing your socks off.

Shocking: Fans were then horrified to learn of Tommy's plans before he leaves for sunnier climes, as Darius says: 'You'll have sorted out your bit of business?'

He then warned: 'This business with the police woman, I don't think it's a good idea.

Trying to talk some sense into him, he added: 'All sorts of s*** is going to kick in, it makes me uncomfortable, I think you should let it go.'

'We've been sensible, you're out. You do something like that I can't promise how it'll all work out.'

However venomous Tommy admitted: 'Getting even with this b**** is as important as getting to Marbella.'

'I'm gonna find her, follow her, I'm gonna bide my time. I'm going to look for an opportunity, but it would sure as shit help if I had a gun.'

His friend told him no guns. Tommy replied: 'We had a deal, I've stuck to my side of things. All that s*** about Chris Oxley.'

New abode: Tommy is dropped in Halifax where he is met by a man outside a house near where the raid happened in the previous episode

Tommy is dropped in Halifax where he is met by a man outside a house near where the raid happened in the previous episode

Elsewhere in the episode, Rob reported his wife's murder to the police, in turn making him suspect number one thanks to his abusive behaviour.

Faisal returns home to see his wife and daughters huddled around the window peering out at the police presence outside Rob and Joanna's home.

They are convinced of something untoward going on and he attempts to calm them down by reassuring them that he is sure it is nothing like that.

What's going on? Faisal returns home to see his wife and daughters huddled around the window peering out at the police presence outside Rob and Joanna's home

Laying low: Ryan turned up at Anne and Daniel's as he searched for a place to lay low after running off to Leeds

Brutal: However he was soon turned away by Anne, who shared with him some home truths about his father in an epic rant after he claimed he was 'unwelcome' at home

Ryan turned up at Anne and Daniel's as he searched for a place to lay low after running off to Leeds.

However he was soon turned away by Anne, who shared with him some home truths about his father in an epic rant after he claimed he was 'unwelcome' at home.

Anne told Ryan: 'What makes you think you'll be any more welcome here? After visiting that prick. Do you know what your dad did to me? Shall I tell you? What he did to me.

'What he did to your mum was no nicer than what he did to me. He raped her, humiliated and degraded her. He made her feel like ending her life might be a desirable option.'

Ryan explained that he would go and sleep in a ditch instead, and Anne brutally responded: 'Ok fine, bye.'

Reaction: Viewers reacted to the intense exchange on Twitter, as they branded her speech 'harsh' but claimed that the youngster 'needed to know the truth'

Viewers reacted to the intense exchange on Twitter, as they branded her speech 'harsh' but claimed that the youngster 'needed to know the truth'.

Sharing a meme of an awkward-looking woman, one person said: 'Me when Anne went off at Ryan. He needed to know like, but bloody hell, Anne.'

Another agreed, and said: 'The way Anne went at Ryan. Think he needed to know though.'

One other viewer claimed it was the 'highlight' of the episode, writing: 'In a show absolutely bursting with acting and writing talent, I have to say Anne's speech was the highlight for me tonight.'

Anne told Ryan: 'What makes you think you'll be any more welcome here? After visiting that prick. Do you know what your dad did to me? Shall I tell you? What he did to me'

Once outside the house, Ryan confided in Daniel that he went to visit Tommy so that he could 'make his own mind up about him'.

He explained: 'I wanted to see him so I could make my own mind up about him, I wanted to work out what I thought about him. I didn't say anything because I didn't want it to kick off.

'I feel sad for him. That he was born like that. Needing to be so nasty to people.'

Soon his grandmother Catherine arrived to pick him up and the duo exchanged another heartbreaking moment.

Honest: Once outside the house, Ryan confided in Daniel that he went to visit Tommy so that he could 'make his own mind up about him'

He explained: 'I wanted to see him so I could make my own mind up about him, I wanted to work out what I thought about him. I didn't say anything because I didn't want it to kick off'

After telling him what he had done was 'stupid', Ryan said: 'Granny I love you.'

Catherine asked: 'What's brought that on?' He tells her 'nothing', before she ushers him on and they headed home together: 'Right, come on.'

After collecting Ryan, Catherine spoke to her sister Clare who informs her that the police want to talk to her and Neil because they visited Tommy.

Refusing to hold back Catherine told her: 'Yeah, because you visited him for some unfathomable reason.'

Love: Soon his grandmother Catherine arrived to pick him up and the duo exchanged another heartbreaking moment'

After telling him what he had done was 'stupid', Ryan said: 'Granny I love you'

Clare revealed a plan to fly them all out to Spain so they are protected until Tommy is caught.

Catherine savagely told her: ' You're the last person I'd go on holiday with. You bore me. You have this dependant personality. You were talked into something so repugnant and offensive to me.

'I know whatever I've done my best for you all. I'm going back to work, that bastard is still out there and I'm not just gonna sit on my a*** watching f***ing telly.'

A police investigation room sees a group of officers debate who could be behind the killing of Joanne Hepworth.

While there's no doubt her husband is suspect number one, Joanne's drug habit is brought up with the detective insisting he'd like to know who has been selling to her.

This means that Faisal could come into line of fire as the police officer questioned who was supplying her with diazepam.

Faisal is seen struggling with the death through repeated flashbacks.

Struggling: Faisal is seen struggling with the death through repeated flashbacks

In a harrowing final scene, Tommy contacted Ryan over X Box chat after memorising his username.

The conversation revolves around Tommy asking Ryan whether he is definitely alone and if he is able to meet up with him.

Tommy asked him: 'What I'd like is for you and me to spend time together.'

Ryan told his dad that he had seen on the news that Tommy has been described as 'armed and dangerous', but Tommy retorted: 'I'm not armed!'

Ryan explained: 'I'm not allowed anywhere near home, they think you're going to abduct me. And Tommy said: 'Why would they think that? You visit me. We're mates.'

Explaining his plan, Tommy said: 'I've got this chance to get abroad and if you wanted you could come with me.'

Ryan said: 'I can't I've got my GCSEs in March.'

Tommy reassured him: 'I know a fella who can set us up in Marbella, house, car money, job. What do you think of that? Do you want to come with me? We have to go on Monday.

'You might be thinking it's mad, but if you dwell on it, you might start to see that it is an opportunity, an adventure.'

Ryan assured him: 'Ok, i'll think about it.'

The conversation concluded and Tommy said: 'I do love you, you know. You're all I've got and all I've ever had. Shall we talk like this again tomorrow?'
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Gisele Bundchen showcased her toned frame while flashing her cleavage in see-through black dress during a beach photo shoot in Miami earlier this week on Wednesday.

The supermodel, 42, previously flaunted her long legs in a purple swimsuit on a recent shoot as she jumped back into her modeling career, which she put on hold to focus on raising her children.

The Brazilian-born beauty shares son, Benjamin, 12, and daughter Vivian, 9, with her ex-husband Tom Brady. After filing for divorce in October 2022, the separation was finalized that same day.

Stunning: Gisele Bundchen, 42, showed off her toned frame wearing a sheer black dress during a photo shoot in Florida earlier Wednesday

Striking a pose: The Brazilian-born supermodel was seen showing off a few of her favorite poses for the camera during the beach shoot

The talented star could be seen wearing an eye-catching, sleeveless black dress that flowed down past her knees towards her ankles.

The ensemble was made of a very sheer fabric and gave a glimpse of her bare chest and toned frame.

Gisele opted to not wear any shoes to pair with the dress as she modeled the clothing piece on the warm sand, but chose to add a thick, tan-colored belt with a gold accent on the front to better accentuate her slim waist.

Her voluminous locks were parted to the side, and effortlessly flowed past her shoulders in stylish curls that whipped around her face in the light breeze.

The afternoon sun shone bright behind her as other beachgoers lounged near the shore on the crowded beach.

Eye-catching: The talented star could be seen wearing an eye-catching, sleeveless black dress that flowed down past her knees towards her ankles

Perfect weather: As she posed for photos during the shoot, the bright sun could be seen offering plenty of natural light

Accessories: The mother of two added a tan-colored belt with a gold accent on the front to better accentuate her slim waist

Later during the photo shoot, the fashion model was seen adding a pop of color to the ensemble by donning a pair of thin, neon green shades as she faced the bright sunshine.

The beauty offered a few additional poses as she knelt down on the sand to show off the dress and colorful sunglasses.

Her makeup was classically done and comprised of a layer of black mascara around her eyes along with a light pink blush on her cheekbones for a natural look. A rosy pink tint was added to her lips for a finishing touch.

Earlier last week, a source close to the beauty informed People that Gisele, 'is supercharged about her career in the next few months.'

'She is busy making decisions and feels happy and more settled than she has in a long time,' the insider stated, adding that the star also, 'feels a sense of renewal with newfound energy and a happy future outlook.'

Professional: As she posed for a series of snaps for the camera, other beachgoers were seen casually lounging on the sand around the star

Fun set: The beauty was seen conversing with an individual on the beach set during the photo shoot near the shore

Stylish touch: Later during the photo shoot, the fashion model was seen adding a pop of color to the ensemble by donning a pair of thin, neon green shades

Beautiful: Her makeup was classically done and comprised of a layer of black mascara around her eyes along with a light pink blush on her cheekbones for a natural look

'Her life was in flux for so long, and now it is more settled. She is optimistic,' the source concluded, referencing to Gisele's positive outlook since her divorce was finalized with Tom Brady late last year in October.

The two had first begun dating in 2006, and tied the knot three years later in 2009. However, after 13-years of marriage, their divorce was filed and finalized in October 2022.

According to Us Weekly, a source informed the publication that there was 'tension' between Gisele and Tom in September 2022 after he un-retired from the NFL as a professional quarterback.

Brady had announced his official retirement in February of last year, but the following month, revealed he would return to the game.

'Gisele was not happy when Tom un-retired from the NFL after such a short time,' the insider explained, and added, 'Tom is doing everything he can to make it up to her, theyre working through things and trying to come out the other side.'

Moving on: Earlier last week, a source close to the beauty informed People that Gisele, 'is supercharged about her career in the next few months'

Looking forward: 'Her life was in flux for so long, and now it is more settled. She is optimistic,' the source concluded, referencing to Gisele's positive outlook since her divorce

Focus on family: The Brazilian-born beauty shares son, Benjamin, 12, and daughter Vivian, 9, with her ex-husband Tom Brady

However, a source later told People shortly before the divorce filing that Gisele, 'is done with their marriage. She was upset about it for a long time and it's still difficult, but she feels like she needs to move on. She doesn't believe that her marriage can be repaired.'

During the course of their marriage, the now former couple welcomed son Benjamin, 12, and daughter Vivian, 9.

When she tied the knot with Brady, the model also became stepmother to Jack, 15, whom Tom shares from previous relationship with Bridget Moynahan.

Despite the separation, both the supermodel and football player have maintained a healthy co-parenting relationship for their children after receiving joint custody.

Another source informed the publication that Gisele is, 'starting over in a good frame of mind,' and that she is, 'confident, strong and better than she has in a long, long time.'

Confident: Another source informed People that Gisele is, 'starting over in a good frame of mind,' and that she is, 'confident, strong and better than she has in a long, long time'

Taking in the sun: The talented supermodel donned a pair of sunglasses as she took in the warm sun during a brief break in the shoot

Un-retirement: According to Us Weekly, a source informed the publication that there was 'tension' between Gisele and Tom in September 2022 after he un-retired from the NFL as a professional quarterback

The model was recently spotted earlier Tuesday during her work trip to Florida as she modeled a sultry, purple bathing suit for a separate photo shoot amid her busy schedule.

Gisele sported the piece that contained a deep, low V-neck cut and a hood that was easily draped over her locks.

Aside from diving back onto exciting sets, the talented entrepreneur appeared in a new Louis Vuitton x Yayoi Kusama campaign earlier this month in January.

The star was known as being one of the highest paid models in the world, and has collaborated with numerous luxury brands throughout her career, such as Chanel.

Co-parenting: Despite the separation, both the supermodel and football player have maintained a healthy co-parenting relationship for their children after receiving joint custody
11 sexy singletons are currently looking for love in South Africa after months of preparation, promo shots and preening.

The debut shoots have never been great and the majority of pictures we see look nothing like the people we end up getting to know in the villa.

Whether it's bad lighting or the wrong angles, the islanders are left fuming every year at their dodgy professional Love Island photo.

From Millie Court to Adam Collard, many islanders have complained and some have even went as far to say the photos will 'haunt them' until they die.

Here MailOnline takes a look at all the times the Love Island photographer has done the Islanders dirty over the years.

Love Island: As the new series of Love Island gets underway, we got a first look at the 11 new contestants in their professional promo shot before they entered the villa

Molly-Mae Hague - Season five

Molly-Mae, 23, entered the villa as a bombshell during season five of Love Island and has since become one of the most successful islanders.

Despite her iconic hot tub entrance, the official photo released ahead of Molly-Mae's arrival did not do her the justice she deserved.

However, she didn't let this hold her back, as she went on to finish runner-up with boyfriend Tommy Fury, who she is now expecting a baby with.

Oh no! Despite her iconic hot tub entrance, the official photo released ahead of Molly-Mae Hague's arrival did not do her the justice she deserved

Millie Court - Season seven

Love Island winner Millie, 26, hated her promotional picture so much she called out the Love Island photographer and claimed it will 'haunt me until I die'.

Uploading it to her Instagram stories, Millie, who appeared on the show in 2021, wrote: 'This pic will haunt me until I die... Sorry but this just isn't it. Worst press picture in the history of Love Island award goes to me.

'What is my hair and make-up!!!! My friends told me when this pic launched everyone was saying who the f**k is this 40-year-old? Looks like a mum dropping her two kids off at the gate.'

Shocking: Millie Court hated her promotional picture so much she called out the Love Island photographer and claimed it will 'haunt me until I die'

Indiyah Polack - Season eight

Indiyah was part of season eight, which saw the 11 singletons pose with giant flags for their promo shots - something that hadn't been done before.

Devoted viewers slammed the photographer in charge for failing to capture their 'good angles.'

One person wrote: 'These Love Island promo pics ain't it. I went on each contestant's Instagram and saw completely different people'

'Tbh the love island photographer has been doing them dirty for YEARS. They always look so much better than those promo pics lmfao,' another added.

Pose: Indiyah was part of season eight, which saw the 11 singletons pose with giant flags for their promo shots - something that hadn't been done before

Siannise Fudge - Season six

Siannise entered the Love Island villa on day one of series six but looked completely different to her promo shots.

The lighting in the professional photo didn't do her justice in comparison to her own sizzling selfies.

She rose into the limelight after being crowned runner-up of 2020's winter Love Island alongside ex-boyfriend Luke Trotman,

The couple split in November 2021 as they struggled to make the relationship work - with sources saying it was a 'really hard' couple of weeks.

Strange: Siannise entered the Love Island villa on day one of series six but looked completely different to her promo shots

Adam Collard - Season four and eight

Adam was the bombshell that shocked the nation, as he returned to the ITV2 dating show for second series in 2022.

But it wasn't all good news for the personal trainer as he was done dirty with bad lighting.

Adam, who caused chaos in Love Island's 2018 series before leaving with Zara McDermott, thought he found love the second time around with Paige Thorne but shortly after leaving the villa he allegedly cheated on her.
HOUSTON (AP) - An Afghan soldier seeking U.S. asylum who was arrested while trying to cross the Mexico border has been freed and reunited with his brother after spending months in immigration detention, his attorney said Wednesday.

Abdul Wasi Safis release from custody in a detention center in Eden, Texas, came after a judge dropped an immigration charge against him at the request of federal prosecutors.

Wasi Safi, an intelligence officer for the Afghan National Security Forces, fled Afghanistan following the withdrawal of U.S. forces in August 2021, fearing reprisals from the Taliban because he had provided U.S. forces with information on terrorists. In the summer of 2022, he began a treacherous journey from Brazil to the U.S.-Mexico border, where he was arrested in September near Eagle Pass, Texas. He had hoped to join his brother, who lives in Houston.

Prosecutors filed a motion asking a federal judge in Del Rio, Texas, to dismiss the immigration charge "in the interest of justice" and on Monday the judge granted that request.

Zachary Fertitta, one of his criminal defense attorneys, said Wednesday that Wasi Safi is receiving medical care at an undisclosed location but that he plans to speak at a news conference on Friday in Houston.

Fertitta said Wasi Safi and his brother "are overjoyed to be reunited."

Sami-ullah Safi holds photographs of his brother, Abdul Wasi Safi, as he talks about his brother's journey to the U.S. during an interview Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023, in Houston. Safi's brother, who's called Wasi by his family, was an intelligence officer with the Afghan National Security Forces, providing U.S. armed forces with information for operations against terrorists, said Sami-ullah Safi. Wasi was arrested after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border near Eagle Pass, Texas in September 2022, and charged with a federal misdemeanor related to wrongly entering the country and placed in a detention center in Central Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Jennifer Cervantes, one of Wasi Safi's immigration attorneys, said there was no reason to keep him in custody, especially given that the FBI has already spoken to him and found no problems.

"Hes certainly not a danger to the United States. Hes done a lot of good service for the United States," Cervantes said.

U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a Houston Democrat, belongs to a bipartisan group of lawmakers that has been working to free Wasi Safi. She said in a statement Tuesday night that she expects him to arrive in her hometown by Friday.

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees Customs and Border Protection and ICE, has not responded to an email seeking comment Wednesday.

Sami-ullah Safi, Wasi Safis brother, was employed by the U.S. military for several years as a translator. Sami Safi said he is pleased the criminal case has been dropped but that he remains frustrated about how his sibling has been treated in light of his family's support for the U.S in Afghanistan.

"If we categorize my brothers service, how many lives he has saved because of his service and how many lives I have saved because of my service being a combat translator?" Sami Safi said.

Wasi Safis case was first reported by The Texas Tribune.

On his journey from Brazil to the U.S., Wasi Safi suffered serious injuries from beatings, including damaged front teeth and hearing loss in his right ear.

Fertitta said Wasi Safi's injuries were not sufficiently treated while he was detained but it's unclear how serious of a concern they have become.

"Im going to have to wait to be advised by the medical personnel on that," Fertitta said.

The lawyers, lawmakers and military organizations that have been working to free Wasi Safi say his case highlights how Americas chaotic military withdrawal continues to harm Afghan citizens who helped the U.S. but were left behind.

Nearly 76,000 Afghans who worked with American soldiers since 2001 as translators, interpreters and partners arrived in the U.S. on military planes after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. But their immigration status remains unclear after Congress failed to pass a proposed law, the Afghan Adjustment Act, that would have solidified their legal residency status.

Cervantes said Wasi Safis case is not unique and that other Afghans seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border have also faced difficulty getting their cases properly reviewed. She said she hopes her work "sheds some light on that and (helps) these guys get what I think is the right thing to do, what I think is fair for them."

___

Follow Juan A. Lozano on Twitter: twitter.com/juanlozano70

In this photograph provided by Sami-ullah Safi, Abdul Wasi Safi takes selfie near Tapachula Mexico, during his journey to the U.S in 2022. Safi's brother, who's called Wasi by his family, was an intelligence officer with the Afghan National Security Forces, providing U.S. armed forces with information for operations against terrorists, said Sami-ullah Safi. Wasi was arrested after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border near Eagle Pass, Texas in September 2022, and charged with a federal misdemeanor related to wrongly entering the country and placed in a detention center in Central Texas. (AP Photo/Abdul Wasi Safi)

Sami-ullah Safi talks about his brother's journey to the U.S. during an interview Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023, in Houston. Safi's brother, Abdul Wasi Safi, was an intelligence officer with the Afghan National Security Forces, providing U.S. armed forces with information for operations against terrorists, said Sami-ullah Safi. Wasi, as he is called by his family, was arrested after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border near Eagle Pass, Texas in September 2022, and charged with a federal misdemeanor related to wrongly entering the country and placed in a detention center in Central Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Sami-ullah Safi holds photographs of his brother, Abdul Wasi Safi, as he talks about his brother's journey to the U.S. during an interview Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023, in Houston. Safi's brother, who's called Wasi by his family, was an intelligence officer with the Afghan National Security Forces, providing U.S. armed forces with information for operations against terrorists, said Sami-ullah Safi. Wasi was arrested after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border near Eagle Pass, Texas in September 2022, and charged with a federal misdemeanor related to wrongly entering the country and placed in a detention center in Central Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

In this photograph provided by Sami-ullah Safi, Abdul Wasi Safi, bottom right, takes selfie near the Darien Gap, a stretch of land that separates Colombia and Panama, in the summer of 2022, during his journey to the U.S in 2022. Safi's brother, who's called Wasi by his family, was an intelligence officer with the Afghan National Security Forces, providing U.S. armed forces with information for operations against terrorists, said Sami-ullah Safi. Wasi was arrested after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border near Eagle Pass, Texas in September 2022, and charged with a federal misdemeanor related to wrongly entering the country and placed in a detention center in Central Texas. (AP Photo/Abdul Wasi Safi)

Photographs of Abdul Wasi Safi sit on a table as his brother, Sami-ullah Safi talks about his brother's journey to the U.S. during an interview Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023, in Houston. Abdul Wasi Safi was an intelligence officer with the Afghan National Security Forces, providing U.S. armed forces with information for operations against terrorists, said Sami-ullah Safi. Wasi, as he is called by his family, was arrested after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border near Eagle Pass, Texas in September 2022, and charged with a federal misdemeanor related to wrongly entering the country and placed in a detention center in Central Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

In this photograph provided by Sami-ullah Safi, his brother, Abdul Wasi Safi, right, is shown in Mazar-e Sharif, a city in northern Afghanistan, in 2019. Safi's brother, who's called Wasi by his family, was an intelligence officer with the Afghan National Security Forces, providing U.S. armed forces with information for operations against terrorists, said Sami-ullah Safi. Wasi was arrested after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border near Eagle Pass, Texas in September 2022, and charged with a federal misdemeanor related to wrongly entering the country and placed in a detention center in Central Texas. (Sami-ulla Safi)
A draft design policy, prepared by a government-organised workshop has recommended to promote auto-rickshaws and its drivers as 'ambassadors of tourism' in Kerala. (DC file image)

Thiruvananthapuram: A draft design policy, prepared by a government-organised workshop held here, has recommended to promote auto-rickshaws and its drivers as "ambassadors of tourism" in Kerala.

The three-day workshop jointly organised by the Tourism and the Public Works departments, presented the draft policy before Minister P A Mohamed Riyas on Saturday at the Craft Village near Kovalam, here.

Director of National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad, Prof Praveen Nahar, presented the draft which recommended the state to enhance the utility and aesthetic appeal while designing infrastructure such as bridges, streets and public spaces among others.

"It also lays down a set of best practices to be followed while designing physical assets such as roads, bridges, streets, street furniture, signages and public spaces, which are crucial in enhancing the experience of tourists," an official statement said.

Riyas, who handles both the portfolios, said the new policy "will be implemented this year itself".

The draft policy, released by the workshop titled 'Design by Future', has also recommended making all tourism destinations across Kerala women, children and pedestrian-friendly.

"...the suggestions include considering auto-rickshaw as a product and drivers as ambassadors of tourism...standardisation of signages and lighting, integrating technology in communication and public spaces, creating design awareness at all levels, special package for traditional art performance spaces, craft design centres among others," the release said.

Kerala brand for arts and crafts, mapping of craft communities and a centralised data management tool for tourism and PWD are also among the suggestions, it said.

Riyas said he was "overwhelmed by the response on social media about the plan to bring in a design policy", adding that the suggestions of people from all walks of life will be considered while finalising the policy, which will be "implemented this year itself".

Kerala Tourism Director P B Nooh said the experts contributed immensely for the framing of the draft policy.
A health bulletin stated that Taraka Ratna would continue to be under rigorous evaluation and treatment. (Photo: Facebook)

Anantapur: Actors Junior NTR and Kalyan Ram visited actor-politician Nandamuri Taraka Ratna, his relative, at the Narayana Hrudayalaya hospital in Bengaluru on Sunday. Taraka Ratna's condition remained stable, after he suffered a massive heart attack last week.

Actors Junior NTR (right ) and Kalyan Ram (left) at the Narayana Hrudayalaya hospital in Bengaluru on Sunday. (Photo: DC)

Karnataka health minister Dr K. Sudhakar accompanied Junior NTR. A health bulletin stated that Taraka Ratna would continue to be under rigorous evaluation and treatment. Sources said Jr NTR broke into tears after visiting the ICU. Nara Brahmani, Purandareswari, Suhasini and several other family members visited the hospital.

Nara Brahmani seen with other family members in the hospital. (Photo: DC)

Balakrshna, who has been at hospital since Friday told the media that Ratnas heart had stopped for a few minutes but he recovered immediately after he fell unconscious. "We are hoping for his recovery soon. The doctors couldnt insert a stent because of internal bleeding," he added.

Sources said Ratnna was also suffering from melena (black stools caused by bleeding in the intestines) which was having an additional impact on his health.

"Our Chief Minister is concentrating on medical aid for the actor and the state government is supporting the family in the best possible ways", the Karnataka health minister told the media.
The Telangana government is ready for a legal course if the Governor rejects it. (File Photo: PTI)

HYDERABAD: The Telangana government is planning to move an urgent plea before the High Court on Monday seeking a direction to Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan to approve the state Budget in the Assembly and Legislative Council on February 3.

The Chandrashekar Rao-led BRS government is preparing to seek legal recourse out of concern that Dr Soundararajan may refuse permission for the Budget presentation, given that seven Bills passed by the Assembly and Council have been languishing at Raj Bhavan since September of last year.

Sources said Chief Secretary A. Santhi Kumari and finance secretary K. Ramakrishna Rao will meet the Governor to seek permission for the Budget presentation. The Telangana government is ready for a legal course if the Governor rejects it.

On January 21, the state government had sent a file to the Governor's office requesting permission to present the Budget. As of yet, the government has not received any response.

Instead, it is learnt that the Governor's secretary wrote back to the government asking whether arrangements had been made for the Governors customary address in the Assembly. If so, a copy of the Governor's speech was sought for verification. With only three days remaining for the Budget session, the government felt it was left with no option except to petition the court.

The government believes that the Governor's speech and the Budget presentation were unrelated matters, and that the Governor should first give the Budget presentation her approval given the urgency involved. According to state officials, there is no clause in the Constitution that requires the Governor to address the Assembly session, and therefore has no relevance to the presentation of the state Budget.

The BRS government will likely make its case in accordance with Article 202 of the Constitution, which mandates that a Governor must give permission for presenting before the House a statement of the estimated receipts and expenditure of the state for a financial year. This statement, named in the Constitution as the "Annual Financial Statement" is commonly referred to as "Budget".

The BRS government's mulling legal action against the Governor comes at a time when friction with the Governor has become worse, as evidenced by the Chief Minister and his Cabinet colleagues' avoiding Raj Bhavan during the past two years.

The High Court had recently directed the government to organise the Republic Day celebrations and hold a police parade at Raj Bhavan. Although the government made last-minute arrangements for the police parade, the CM and his ministers skipped the function at Raj Bhavan.

Since 2022, the government has been conducting the Assembly's Budget session without the Governor's address by proroguing the House. Instead, the government has been holding Assembly sessions as continuation of earlier sessions in order to avoid the Governor's address, which is a customary practice for any new session in a new calendar year.

This time too, the Telangana government has decided to commence the Budget session without the Governor's address. However, the government has to seek the Governor's approval to introduce the Budget in the House. Last year, the Governor gave her approval to present the Budget even after the government commenced the session without her address. However, the government fears the Governor may deny permission due to the ongoing confrontation this time.

Last year, the Governor had expressed displeasure over the government commencing the session without her customary address. In a press release, she had said, "I, however, respecting the constitutional convention and going beyond political considerations and keeping up with the spirit of cooperative federalism, have conveyed my recommendation for the introduction of the Financial Bill. I had the liberty to take my time to give my recommendation. But knowing well that peoples welfare is involved, and giving primacy to peoples welfare, I gave my recommendation without any time lag," she stated.
Jasmine (in blue) with an doctor from the Family Planning Association of India (FPAI). DC

Hyderabad: Hospitals in Hyderabad will soon see transgender bedside attenders.

Trained by the Inner Wheel Club, Secunderabad, their employment will help counter segregation and degradation of the trans community.

The club had been working with various communities, disabled, destitute women and widows for years. "Our next project was to work towards integrating transgender people. Despite several laws, they are looked down upon and segregated," said Jayanthi Kannan, president of the club.

With integration as the goal, the club spoke to the transgender community at large and its leaders before zeroing in on training them to be bedside attenders. They have already trained three people in the previous batch that started a couple of months ago and the current batch has 15 members.

Currently, CC Shroff Hospital in Barkatpura and Osmania Hospital have transgender bedside attenders. "We have been in talks with a few hospitals who have opened their doors to us. We have also been counselling hospitals and the trainees about how to take things in their strife and not react emotionally in case of any discrimination," said Seema Kumari, an executive committee member of the club.

Jasmine, one of the beneficiaries of the programme, who works with a clinic in Suraram, said that the minimum qualification required for the training is a matriculation degree. "One needs to know the basics of English and math to measure things like blood pressure, thermometer, administering medicine, glucose tests, bathing, and bedmaking," Jasmine said.

While there have been programmes to train transgender beauticians and tailors, this was one area that the club believed could help end discrimination.

Asked if things changed, Jasmine said, "More than acceptance, it's about being empowered with skills that can enable us to leave sex work. When more of us work in various professions, that's when real change comes about.
The victim, who was confined by Kenyan Cheruiyot Shyline Jeptoo, informed her friend in Romania who in turn contacted the city police and shared her details. (Representational image: DC)

Hyderabad: A WhatsApp alert from Romania helped police to rescue a Ugandan woman who was forced into flesh trade and confined to a flat in Banjara Hills, and arrested her captor. The victim, who was confined by Kenyan Cheruiyot Shyline Jeptoo, informed her friend in Romania who in turn contacted the city police and shared her details.

Banjara Hills inspector M. Narender said a case had been registered against Jeptoo, who was sent to judicial remand on Saturday.

Police said the victim came into contact with Jeptoo last year and was offered a job in the city. Believing her, the victim flew to Hyderabad last December and met Jeptoo. A few days later, she was forced into flesh trade and confined to a flat in Road no 10, Banjara Hills. She was assaulted for refusing to give in to Jeptoo's demands.

Meanwhile, the victim's friend who got to know about her situation alerted the police late on Friday night, following which a search operation was launched and she was traced.

Police said Jeptoo came to India two years ago on a tourist visa and did not go back. She has been staying illegally here.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge. (PTI Photo)

New Delhi: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has written to Home Minister Amit Shah seeking his intervention in ensuring adequate security to the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Jammu and Kashmir.

His letter to Shah comes after the Bharat Jodo Yatra was suspended for the afternoon session on Friday following a "security lapse", with the Congress alleging that the J and K Police had withdrawn security around its leader Rahul Gandhi in the wake of surging crowds during the foot march in Qazigund.

"We are expecting a huge gathering to join the yatra over the next two days and also the function that will be held on 30th January at Srinagar. Many senior Congress leaders and leaders of other important political parties are attending the culmination function to be held on the 30th of January.

"I shall be grateful if you could personally intervene in this matter and advise the concerned officials to provide adequate security till the culmination of the yatra and the function on the 30th January at Srinagar," the Congress president said in his letter to the home minister.

He said he is writing after the unfortunate security lapse during the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

On the advice of the security officials in charge of the security detail of Rahul Gandhi, the Yatra had to be suspended, Kharge said.

"We appreciate the Jammu and Kashmir Police and welcome their statement saying they will continue to ensure complete security till the culmination of the journey," he said.

However, the leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha also said, "You will appreciate the fact that a large crowd of common people has joined and walked in the Bharat Jodo Yatra every day. It is difficult for the organisers to tell exactly how many people are expected over the day as it is a spontaneous gesture of the common people to join the yatra."

The Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Gandhi started in Kanyakumari on September 7 and will culminate on January 30 in Srinagar after traversing through 12 states.

The 3500-km foot march is aimed at galvanising the Congress cadres across the country, but the party is claiming that the Yatra is not political and seeks to unite India in the wake of growing "hatred".
Odisha Health Minister Naba Das sustained injuries after being shot at . (Image credit: Twitter/@nabadasjsg)

BHUBANESWAR: Odisha health minister and senior Biju Janata Dal leader Naba Kishore Das on Sunday sustained injuries after being shot at by an Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police (ASI) near Gandhi Chhak at Brajarajnagar in Jharsuguda district.

The incident occurred when Das was on his way to attend a programme.

Sources said that ASI Gopal Das opened fire at Naba Das after he stepped out of his vehicle. The exact reason behind the firing is still unclear.

ASI Gopal Das was posted at Gandhi Chhak at Brajarajnagar.

Following the incident, Naba Das was rushed to hospital. Tension prevailed at the spot after BJD activists staged a dharna following the firing incident.

It is suspected that the firing was pre-planned as the minister was allegedly shot at from a close range.

The incident has raised serious questions on the security measures as a police escort was also provided to Naba Das who was scheduled to attend a mega programme.

As per initial reports, four to five rounds of gunshots were heard on the spot. Sources said, another person, who was standing near the minister, has also sustained injury along with a police official. However, more clarity on this is awaited.

Brajarajnagar SDPO Gupteswar Bhoi said the Assistant Sub-Inspector had been taken into custody and interrogation was on to ascertain the motive behind the crime.

As Naba Das is a key BJD leader, and firing at him ahead of the 2024 elections is certainly a matter of grave concern as Odisha has a history of witnessing violence during the polls, said senior journalist Prasanna Mohanty.

"We are completely shocked after getting the news over phone. Who is involved and why it happened is too early to say. We pray for his speedy recovery. We condemn the incident, and police will carry out a detailed investigation," said senior BJD leader Prasanna Acharya

The minister has been airlifted from Jharsuguda district headquarters AIIMS, Bhubaneswar. Senior officials said that Odisha Crime Branch will carry out investigation into the firing on the health minister.
Telangana High Court (PTI)

HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court set aside the Preventive Detention Act (PD Act) against Syed Abdahu Quadri (Kashaf), who has been in Cherlapally jail after his arrest on August 30, 2022, on allegations of inciting hatred between communities.

Quadri and several supporters staged a dharna in front of the office of the commissioner of police at Basheerbagh on August 22, 2022, demanding the arrest of BJP MLA T. Raja Singh for his alleged derogatory remarks against Prophet Mohammad. Quadri had also posted derogatory comments in social media, which created enmity between the two communities. Based on that, the police had booked him under PD Act and arrested him. Challenging it, his mother approached the High Court.

Government counsel Mujeeb Kumar Sadashivuni brought to the notice of the court that the detenue has been allegedly posting provocative and inflammatory messages and videos in social media through his Twitter account and disturbing communal harmony. The police said that the person had been involved in four similar cases. Stating that these activities would attract provisions of Goonda Act, the police had arrested and sent him to Cherlapally jail .

Meanwhile, the petitioners counsel argued that its contentions of the police were a violation of Article 14 of the constitution. He submits that disturbing public order was the main component for invoking the PD Act.

The court recalled the observations of the Supreme Court on invoking of PD Act against citizens, which clearly mentions that the detaining authority should be vary of invoking immense power under the PD Act, if the normal penal laws are sufficient to deal with them.
YV Subba Reddy. (Photo: AB image)

Vishakapatnam: TTD chairman and YSRC party coordinator for Vizag, Anakapalli and ASR constituencies YV Subba Reddy said on Thursday that the more the Gadapa Gadapaku programmes, the more seats the party would win in the next general elections.

Subba Reddy was inaugurating the party office in Visakhapatnam West assembly constituency on Thursday.

He told the party workers to participate in the mass contact programme in large numbers and in more places as suggested by Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.

"This is the only way to explain to the people about the welfare programmes launched by the government that are helping the poorer sections of the people, Reddy said.

Speaking about the decentralization and three capitals, the party coordinator said the state can develop in all regions if the decentralization aim could be achieved. The Opposition parties have been conspiring to stall the process, he said.

He said the amount needed to develop new capital would cost the government over Rs. 1 lakh crore and the same could be used for the development programmes across the state. The ongoing pada yatra by the farmers of Amaravati was an organised mainly by the opposition parties, he said.

"There are yellow shirts behind the green attire. We have to teach them a lesson, Subba Reddy said.

Minister for Industries and IT Gudivada Amarnath said though the party lost four assembly segments in the urban Visakhapatnam, the party bounced back by winning a majority of the wards in the GVMC elections. In the West constituency, out of 14 wards, the YSRC won in 10 wards, he said.

Amaranth introduced to the people Adari Anand, the new party coordinator for the West constituency. Former minister and party Vizag district president Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao was present.
The acolytes of Panneerselvam (in picture), who fear that their group might go into oblivion if the rival faction keenly contests the bye-election and establishes itself as the real AIADMK,' a status over which the dispute is now before the Supreme Court, are also not in a position to identify and field a candidate from their group to give a fight to Elangovan and also the rival AIADMK candidate. DC File Image

Chennai: Caught in a Catch-22 situation on contesting the bye-election to the Erode East Assembly Constituency, O Panneerselvam, heading a faction of the AIADMK, announced an election committee, headed by former Minister R Vaithilingam, comprising 118 members as a counter to the 117-member panel formed by the rival group of Edappadi K Palaniswami that is keen to take on the ruling coalitions candidate, E V K Elangovan.

The acolytes of Panneerselvam, who fear that their group might go into oblivion if the rival faction keenly contests the bye-election and establishes itself as the real AIADMK, a status over which the dispute is now before the Supreme Court, are also not in a position to identify and field a candidate from their group to give a fight to Elangovan and also the rival AIADMK candidate.

A prominent leader of the faction JCD Prabakar told the media on Saturday that they were waiting for the BJPs decision on the bye-election. He said that since the declared rival candidate was from the Congress, a national party, it would be only appropriate for the BJP to field its nominee against him, which was a clear indication of the groups lack of interest in fighting the bye-election.

However, since the Palaniswami group formed a 117-member poll panel and started the work even before nominating the candidate and ascertaining what their election symbol will be  they are prepared to contest even if the traditional Two Leaves is frozen or given to the rivals  Panneerselvam was prepared to watch them run roughshod over his faction, which could lead to their decimation in the political arena.

So Panneerselvam held a meeting with his supporters like Vaithilingam, P H Manoj Pandian and Prabakaran and also lawyers at his residence in Chennai to discuss the election strategy and also the measures to be taken to get the Two Leaves symbol for them from the Election Commission of India and countering the claims of the rival faction in the Supreme Court.

A lawyer, who was accosted by waiting media persons, said that they would file a petition in the Supreme Court as Panneerselvam, as coordinator of the party, should be entitled for the Two Leaves and that the ECI should only decide in his favour.

Though the OPS faction would like the BJP to fight the Congress in the bye-election and it could hide behind it, the State BJP does not seem to have interest in facing the polls now and might even support the EPS group that is yet to name the candidate despite having zeroed in a two or three leaders with clout in Erode East constituency.

BJP State President will be meeting his district presidents in a couple of days to finalise the strategy to be adopted vis-a-vis the bye-elections and whom to support while there are no indications of the party entering the fray now.

The EPS group, however, is upbeat over the possibility of winning the seat as it sees a resentment among the people over the DMK government performance in the last one and a half years. Echoing that sentiment, K A Sengottaiyan, who leads the 117-member panel, said that Erode East would be for Palaniswami what was Dindigul Lok Sabha seat for AIADMK founder M G Ramachandran in 1973.

He was referring to K Maya Thevar, the candidate of the then newly formed AIADMK romping home in the bye-election to the Dindigul constituency, paving the way for the partys domination in the State's political scene subsequently.

Sengottaiyan told the media that as of now the party was contesting the bye-election on its own but in the next two or three days more parties would be joining hands with it. Also he said that 98.5 per cent of the AIADMK cadre were solidly with them.

In the other camp, the candidate Elangovan indicated that he would be filing his nomination papers on February 3, while the DMK has launched its campaign with Ministers like S Muthusamy and S M Nasar meeting voters at their homes, besides holding a meeting with the campaigners.

Elangovans younger son, Sanjay Sampath, was accompanying the DMK leaders who had started their campaign without waiting for the Congress top brass to take charge of the constituency, thus putting the campaign machinery in work much ahead of any other rival.
The Golconda Fort 's stepwell. (File Photo: DC)

Hyderabad: The state government, aiming for the Unesco world heritage for the city as well as creating economic opportunities for vendors, has decided to restore major heritage sites here. Accordingly, the Telangana government has chosen to appoint an Ahmedabad-based consultant to restore historic and heritage structures.

More than 50 historic sites, including the Quli Qutub Shahi tombs, Golconda fort, step wells, and numerous age-old markets will be developed and restored by the next year in order in an attempt to secure the Unesco tag as well as provide employment for jobless urban youth and boost the activity of vendors around these sites.

The Ahmedabad-based expert recommended that the Telangana government look into the possibility of relocating vendors to historic sites where they might engage in a variety of economic activities that would improve their quality of life.

Some sites where the vendors might be asked to set up economic activity include the Qutub Shahi tombs, Bansilalpet step well, Moazzamjahi Market, Sardar Mahal, Murgi Chowk, Mir Alam Mandi, State Central Library, and Shaikpet Sarai. The GHMC will work with the HMDA, the nodal agency that has been carrying out the heritage restoration projects. The agencies will be simultaneously developing strategies to use Lighthouse Communities Foundation (LCF) to provide jobless youth with employment.

The LCF is a sustainable livelihood programme for economically disadvantaged urban youth. It works through collective action by creating an ecosystem of different stakeholders, including the government, corporates, non-profit organisations, and others. These partners will work to promote social and economic development in the city by empowering individuals and communities with agency and sustainable livelihood.

The LCF will give the GHMC a weekly status report on the programme's implementation. Initially, 500 youth will first receive training. After the programme is finished, placements will be offered within a year. Officials stated they would deploy the trained youth at heritage sites in order to create employment opportunities. In addition to this, officials stated that the designated vending zones at the historic sites will be established in a way that the heritage structure is safeguarded.
Shehbaz Sharif, Prime Minister of Pakistan. (AFP)

Recently, the strong suggestion for "sincere and serious" talks by Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif -- although accompanied by the typical Kashmir caveat, possibly for fear of a negative domestic reaction in an election year -- received in India a deprecatory, dismissive, and in some media sections an even supercilious response.

Since a national election is expected in Pakistan this year and our own Lok Sabha poll is due in 2024, talks did not in fact seem practical. An even-tenor reaction by specialists writing in the media might have been appropriate. This alas was not the case. Evidently, the changed circumstances in Pakistan and in our own Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir were not taken into account. Probably this is because these have not been reflected upon adequately.

In the melee of television and newspaper comments, a former Indian high commissioner to Pakistan, T.C.A. Raghavan, stands out for his clear-headed outlook. After taking the complexities of the relationship with Islamabad into consideration, and not minimising Islamabads past chicanery, Mr Raghavan notes in an article: "It is possible [then] to take the statement [Mr Sharifs] for what it perhaps simply is: as an aspiration. Its conditionalities and provisos notwithstanding it does flag the point that we cannot simply graduate out of the difficulties of our neighbourhood, so hopefully sooner, rather than later we will have to attend to them."

Another former high commissioner of India to Pakistan, Ajay Bisaria, in an opinion piece, commends the fact that the (year-long) ceasefire on the Line of Control has held and recommends the continuing of "quiet, creative diplomacy, with managed expectations, to create conditions for peace breakthroughs in 2024".

Neighbourhood difficulties are a constraining factor and an impediment to India realising its true potential as an economic entity. These retired diplomats can see that India needs to finesse neighbourhood difficulties involving Pakistan in order to pull ahead in the world. Besides, there is also conceivably a chance that Chinas leverage vis-a-vis India on account of its strong Pakistan connection may be loosened if Pakistans ties with India take on a somewhat different hue, although this process could go through ups and downs, given the history.

Since Pulwama and Balakot in 2019, the Narendra Modi governments stand as regards Pakistan has been that "terror and talks cannot go together". There is nothing original about this. India has struck this stance before. However -- for instance -- after the attack on the Indian Parliament in December 2001, and earlier, after Kargil in summer 1999, then PM Atal Behari Vajpayee had not hesitated to engage Pakistan. Leave alone separatist politicians in the Valley, talks were also held with the most influential Pakistan-created militant group. This had flummoxed Pakistan and it had the key militant interlocutor killed.

It may be useful to consider that talks cannot be a step backward even if they dont yield results. And, in the last analysis, the appropriate method to engage can be found if there is a sophisticated understanding of our own long-term interests and goals. Overcoming the urge to appear unyielding against Pakistan is best eschewed.

As chair of the organsiation by rotation, India has done well to invite Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif and foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) conference to be held in India this year. Even if they are shortsighted and decline the invitation for reasons of domestic politics, and no talks are held in the foreseeable future, India should not hesitate to offer Islamabad aid to get over its current economic strangulation.

Pakistan is in dire straits. To prevent the prospect of starvation, an Indian gesture to deliver foodgrains on an urgent basis can go a long way, just as it did in Afghanistan. This can be done through the World Food Programme, should the Pakistan government be uncomfortable about accepting emergency assistance from India. Timely aid is an instrument of diplomacy. A collapsed state on our doorstep can cause serious difficulties for us.

In the Pakistan context, if our government finds it hard to resile from the position of no talks until terrorism ends, we should remember that Pakistan honouring the ceasefire agreement has helped terror activity ebb in the Valley. Infiltration has all but ceased, creating the space for across-the-board action against the separatists.

The Jamat-e-Islami, whose credo is that Kashmir should be a part of Pakistan, has been muted, its properties have been attached, and its leaders are facing criminal cases. This seems to have brought relief to the people in their everyday lives. Sustained political actions of the Jamaat cadre had brought about disorder and chaos through high-voltage protest actions that were often not warranted. The Jamaat is the only pro-Pakistan element in Kashmir. It is important to understand this in order to avoid serious policy errors.

In the wake of ending J&Ks autonomy in August 2019, the Narendra Modi government had arrested the top leaders of mainstream parties, such as the Abdullahs, Mehbooba Mufti and hundreds of others, not just the separatists. The degrading of senior political leaders, Indias flag-bearers in Kashmir, had left the Kashmiris bewildered, and doubly alienated. It is time this mistake was corrected. This can only be done by the government engaging with mainstream politicians as partners in the peace process and return J&K its statehood. If in Kashmir, the government is seen to be aligned with public perceptions, it will be hard for Pakistan to make trouble. In that sense, policy on Kashmir and Pakistan have a close relationship.

In his recently-published memoir A Life in the Shadows, former RAW chief Amarjit Singh Dulat, a much-lauded Kashmir operations specialist who, upon retirement, was an adviser in the Vajpayee PMO when talks with separatists and militants were held, cites a revealing exchange with the current national security adviser, Ajit Doval, who had been his colleague in the Intelligence Bureau.

"He asked me one day: What is your advice on Kashmir?

You know my advice, I replied. It has always been to talk.

No, Doval said, "Theres been enough talking. Now, we are no longer going to talk."

In contrast with the Kashmir policy under Vajpayee and his successor Manmohan Singh, leaders who saw virtue in engagement and talks, the "Doval Doctrine", by which rubric the Narendra Modi governments Kashmir policy is known, prioritises "muscularity" and underscores non-accommodation. For how long can people be held down with repressive measures? A wholly new situation has arisen in the Valley with the emasculation of Jamaat-e-Islami. New vistas can be opened if we do not remain ostrich-like.
Eight people died and five were injured in a shooting at a busy nightclub in the town of Jerez, in northern Mexico, police said Sunday.

The incident in Zacatecas state took place late Friday into Saturday when heavily armed men, arriving at the bar in two vehicles, burst in and began shooting indiscriminately, a report from the Security Secretariat said.

Six people died on the spot and two more succumbed while receiving medical attention; five people remained hospitalized on Sunday for gunshot wounds.

Also Read | At least three killed, four injured in yet another mass shooting in California



Victims included club employees, musicians and customers, local media said. Witnesses said people panicked as the club's floor became awash in blood.

The bar, called "El Venadito," is in the center of Jerez, a municipality about 60 kilometers (36 miles) southwest of the state capital city of Zacatecas.

Jerez has been hit in recent years by a wave of violence that last year forced hundreds of residents of nearby rural communities to leave their homes.

Zacatecas state is a strategic point for the US-bound drug trade, which has sparked violent disputes between the Jalisco New Generation and Sinaloa cartels, Mexico's most powerful.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Sunday dismissed a senior ally whose murky tax dealings have focussed anger at the government as a cost-of-living crisis brings misery to millions.

An inquiry into the wealthy Conservative party chairman Nadhim Zahawi's tax affairs -- dating from his founding of the YouGov polling company in 2000 -- had found a "serious breach" of ministerial rules, the government said.

"As a result, I have informed you of my decision to remove you from your position in His Majesty's Government," Sunak wrote in a publicly released letter to his Iraqi-born ally.

Sunak appointed Zahawi as the party chairman, and cabinet minister without portfolio, when he entered 10 Downing Street nearly 100 days ago, following the implosion of Liz Truss's premiership and the demise of the scandal-plagued Boris Johnson.

Also Read | A difficult year ahead for Rishi Sunak

Then, as his letter noted, Sunak vowed to deliver "integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level".

Instead, the Zahawi case, and allegations of bullying levelled by civil servants at Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab, have undermined Sunak's attempts to restore public faith in the beleaguered Conservatives.

The inquiry report by Sunak's newly appointed independent ethics advisor, Laurie Magnus, found that Zahawi effectively lied to successive Conservative leaders when he came under investigation by the UK's tax authority.

Zahawi settled the matter last September -- with a fine for late payment reportedly worth 5 million ($6.2 million) -- months after he started serving under Johnson as chancellor of the exchequer, in ultimate charge of the UK tax agency.

But he did not reveal the fine in his declaration of ministerial interests, until it emerged in newspaper reports this month. Initially last year, he tried to silence journalists and a tax consultant with threats of libel lawsuits.

Zahawi had failed "to be honest, open and an exemplary leader through his own behaviour", the damning report by Magnus found.

Sunak's decision to fire Zahawi, rather than invite him to resign with some saving of face, underlined the serious political stakes at play at a time when millions of Britons are struggling to pay the bills.

Zahawi oversaw Britain's Covid vaccine rollout and was well regarded in his party as an aspirational success story, having moved to Britain aged 11 with his Kurdish family not speaking any English.

The opposition Labour party said Sunak should have fired Zahawi immediately, rather than seeking to buy time by asking Magnus to investigate.

The scandal underlined that Sunak was a "weak" prime minister, senior Labour MP Bridget Phillipson told Sky News.

"The stench of sleaze just hangs around the Conservative party," she said.

Sunak has faced questions himself about his family's tax affairs after it emerged that his Indian wife Akshata Murty had for years enjoyed "non-domicile" status, which shielded her from paying UK taxes on her overseas income from her family's Infosys business group.

And last week he apologised for receiving his second police fine, after he was filmed not wearing a seatbelt in the back seat of a moving car.

As chancellor himself under Johnson, Sunak was fined along with the then prime minister for attending an illegal workplace party during a Covid lockdown.

The "partygate" scandal was one of several that brought down Johnson.

Sunak's vows of integrity were in sharp contrast to that record, but he remains stalked by his predecessor's dealings in government.

A separate probe is underway into reports that just before he was made chairman of the BBC by Johnson, former banker Richard Sharp was involved in securing a private credit line for up to 800,000 ($990,000) for the then-PM from a Canadian businessman.

Zahawi, who had insisted on his innocence, vowed to continue supporting Sunak as a backbench Conservative MP.

But in a letter to the prime minister, he added that he was concerned "about the conduct from some of the fourth estate (the media) in recent weeks".

Senior minister Michael Gove defended Sunak's handling of the case.

"I think what reflects on him is the determination that he has to ensure that people are dealt with fairly, that the government focuses on delivery," he told BBC television.
The Indus Water Treaty, signed in 1960, has survived many flashpoints in the perpetual conflict between India and Pakistan, including the wars of 1965 and 1971 as well as the Kargil Conflict of 1999. India, however, recently served Pakistan a notice, seeking modifications in the treaty. Anirban Bhaumik of DH looks at the history of the treaty and explains why New Delhi is asking for changes in the treaty 62 years after it was signed.

What is the Indus River System?

The Indus originates near Mansarovar Lake in the western part of the Tibet Autonomous Region, currently under occupation of China. The trans-Himalayan river flows through India and Pakistan before emptying into the Arabian Sea. The Indus and its tributaries  the Jhelum, the Chenab, the Beas, the Sutjej and the Ravi  are together called the Indus River System.

Why and when was the Indus Water Treaty signed?

When the Partition in August 1947 carved out Pakistan from India, the boundary line between the two newly independent nations was drawn across the Indus River Basin. The farmers of Punjab province of Pakistan were completely dependent on two irrigation heads, one at Madhopur on the Ravi and the other at Ferozepur on the Sutlej  both in India. This resulted in a dispute and eventually both sides started negotiations, facilitated by the World Bank led by its then President Eugene R Black. After nine years of negotiations, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru of India and President Ayub Khan of Pakistan signed the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) in Karachi on September 19, 1960.

What did the IWT lay out?

The IWT granted India the absolute control over the three eastern rivers of the Indus River System  Beas, Ravi and Sutlej  with an average annual flow of 33 Million Acre Feet (MAF). The control over the three western rivers  Indus, Chenab and Jhelum  with an average annual flow of 136 MAF was given to Pakistan. The treaty, however, also allowed India to construct run-of-the-river hydro-electric projects on western rivers as well as to build storage capacity of 3.6 MAF water  1.25 for general storage, 1.6 MAF for generation of hydroelectricity and 0.75 MAF for flood control. India, however, has not yet built any storage on the western rivers so far and at present irrigates only 0.792 million acres of land, although the IWT allowed it to do so over an area of 1.34 million acres with water from western rivers. India at present uses about 94-95% of water of the eastern rivers, but remaining 5-6% unused water flows down to Pakistan.

The IWT created a Permanent Indus Commission, comprising two commissioners  one each from India and Pakistan. The commission is mandated to oversee the implementation of the agreement. It laid out distinct procedures to deal with questions, differences and disputes. A question would be resolved by the commission itself, while a Neutral Expert was to be appointed to settle a difference. A dispute was to be referred to the Court of Arbitration  an arbitral tribunal comprising seven members. The IWT assigns the World Bank, which is also a signatory of the treaty, the task of appointing a Neutral Expert or a Court of Arbitration, when requested by either or both of the parties.

How has the IWT been working so far?

Permanent Indus Commission (PIC) has been meeting regularly, with the latest meeting being held on May 30 and 31 last. After the September 2016 terror attack at Uri in Jammu and Kashmir, New Delhi had decided not to attend the meeting of the commission, but had reversed its decision by May 2017.

Why has India served a notice to Pakistan, seeking changes in the IWT?

Islamabad in 2015 requested the World Bank for appointment of a Neutral Expert to examine its objections to technical design features of two hydroelectric projects of India  the 330 MW Kishenganga Hydroelectric Project and 850 MW Ratle Hydro Electric Projects. The Kishenganga HEP on the Jhelum was inaugurated in 2018. The Ratle HEP on Chenab is still under construction. Pakistan has unrestricted right to use the water of both the western rivers, while India has limited right. Islamabad, however, in 2016 unilaterally retracted the request and proposed that a Court of Arbitration should adjudicate on its objections. New Delhi on the other hand asked the World Bank to appoint a Neutral Expert to settle the differences. Since the IWT does not empower the World Bank to decide whether one procedure should take precedence over the other, it paused the process on December 12, 2016. But five-year-long efforts to work out a solution acceptable to both failed as Pakistan persistently refused to discuss its objections with India during regular meetings of the PIC. The World Bank finally acted on both the requests and in October 2022 appointed Michel Lino as the Neutral Expert and Sean Murphy as the Chairman of the Court of Arbitration.

New Delhi conveyed to Islamabad and the World Bank that initiation of the two simultaneous processes on the same questions and the potential of their inconsistent or contradictory outcomes would create an unprecedented and legally untenable situation, which would risk endangering IWT itself. India is of the view that such parallel consideration of the same issues is not covered under any provision of IWT. This is why India has issued notice to Pakistan, seeking modification of the IWT in accordance with the Article XII (3) of the treaty itself  for the first time after it was signed in 1960.

What will happen next with the IWT?

New Delhi made the move just ahead of the commencement of the arbitration process in The Hague to settle the dispute between the two nations over Pakistans objections over the technical designs of the Kishenganga and Ralte HEPs of India. The notification issued by India will provide Pakistan an opportunity to enter into intergovernmental negotiations within 90 days to rectify the breach of the IWT. This process would also update IWT to incorporate the lessons learned over the last 62 years.
In-charge of the Rajasthan unit of Congress on Saturday alleged that the ruling BJP government at the Center was misusing constitutional institutions to suppress the voice of the masses and opposition.

Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa was addressing a meeting of Congress leaders of the Jaipur division regarding the party's 'Hath Se Hath Jodo' campaign.

He said, "Constitutional institutions are being misused by the Bharatiya Janata Party government at the Center to suppress the voice of the opposition, the voice of the general public is being suppressed."

Also Read | Security measures for Bharat Jodo Yatra stricter than on January 27: Congress



The Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra is calling attention to the issues and problems of the general public and is getting tremendous public support. He said all leaders have to understand that workers are most important.

Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Govind Singh Dotasara said the BJP in the state was neither able to raise any issue against the Congress government, nor could it organise any movement.

It is just spreading propaganda on issues like paper leak on the basis of false facts, he said.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday said some people deliberately spread wrong news about the China issue knowing it is not true for politics and by talking about some land, which was taken by China in 1962, they give the impression this happened recently. The remarks are being seen as a dig at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. Jaishankar was interacting with the audience in a question-answer session during the launch of Bharat Marg the Marathi translation of his book The India Way, in Pune.

He also said the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) is a technical matter and Indus commissioners of both countries will talk to each other on this issue. Queried about some people or leaders from political parties lacking confidence in India while speaking about China (military stand-off), he said there are some people in the Opposition who have such thinking which he finds difficult to understand.

Also Read | Jaishankar hails Vajpayee's handling of diplomatic situation post 1998 nuclear tests

He, however, added sometimes such people spread wrong news or information about China on purpose "If you want to ask why they have no confidence, why are they misleading people, why they spread the wrong khabar (news) about China? How can I answer these questions? Because I know they are also doing politics. Sometimes they deliberately spread such news that they know is not true," Jaishankar added.

"Sometimes, they talk about some land, which was taken by China in 1962. But they will not tell you the truth. They will give you the impression that this thing happened yesterday," he said without taking names.

Notably, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had last September said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given "100 square kilometres of Indian territory" to China "without a fight," and asked the government how it will be retrieved. Jaishankar also said sometimes some people say there is "soch me kami" (lack of understanding) in him but in that case, he will approach the military leadership, Army, or Intelligence.

"I will not call the Chinese ambassador and seek information," he said. Interestingly, in 2017, when India and China were locked in a standoff on the border area abutting Bhutan, the Congress said Rahul Gandhi had met the ambassadors of the two neighbouring countries. The EAM further said China is India's only neighbour which is a global power and may become a superpower in the years to come.

On India's view regarding current developments in Pakistan and what would be the implications of India's decisions regarding the IWT, Jaishankar said it would not be appropriate for him to comment in public about the happenings in that country.

"In this (Indus Water) treaty, there are commissioners from both countries (India and Pakistan). It is a technical matter and Indus commissioners will talk to each other and after that, we can see what would be the next step," said Jaishankar. His remarks came against the backdrop of India, according to sources, issuing a notice to Pakistan for the first time, seeking a review and modification of the IWT, in view of Islamabad's "intransigence" to comply with the dispute redressal mechanism of the pact that was signed more than six decades ago for matters relating to cross-border rivers.

Responding to a query about the failure of a rogue nation (read Pakistan) which is a nuclear power and also an unfortunate neighbour, the Union minister said, "like Pandavas could not choose their relatives, India also cannot choose its neighbours". He also said counties in the south and the developing world are feeling the pain and India must stand for them while most of the developed nations are looking only at their concerns. Jaishankar said that is why Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) has decided that we (India) must take this responsibility. The EAM said his book aimed to get people to associate with the nation's foreign policy and not just listen to the "mandarins" (a term generally used for powerful bureaucrats).

He also spoke on China and the challenges the country faces with the ambitious northern neighbour as well as India's ties with Japan and its role in the Indo-Pacific. "There are eight chapters (in the book). I wanted people to be associated with (the country's) foreign policy. I want to involve people from other states as well, not just Delhi. I have written this book in simple language and it is an easy read," he said.

He said China is India's only neighbour which is a global power and may become a superpower in the years to come. "It is obvious there are challenges when we have such a neighbour. How to manage China is one chapter in my book. I have also written about how Japan will benefit us. After Partition, the nation faced limits but now our influence is right up to the Pacific Ocean," he said.

Jaishankar also touched on the topic of terrorism, saying no nation has suffered from the menace as much as India due to the "neighbour we have", an apparent reference to Pakistan. Underlining India's robust stand against terrorism now, he cited the surgical strikes post attacks in Pulwama and Uri and called them "decisive action.
In a significant development, the Lingayat community staged a massive morcha at the historic Azad Maidan in Mumbai demanding a Constitutional recognition as a religious and a minority status in Maharashtra.

The protestors demanded that the work of the approved Mahatma Basaveshwar National Memorial at Mangalwedha taluka of Solapur district should be expedited.

Besides, they also demanded that an equestrian statue of Mahatma Basaveshwar should be erected in Vidhan Bhavan complex of Mumbai. They also demanded that a Mahatma Basaveshwar Economic Development Corporation should be established for the welfare of the community.

They also demanded that the Miraj railway station should be named after Mahatma Basaveshwar. There should be a separate column for the Lingayat community in the national census, they demanded.
As criticism grew wider on the ban on the controversial BBC documentary, India: The Modi Question, the BJP staged a protest outside the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) at Deonar, where students have planned to screen the controversial documentary.

Though the students could not screen the documentary through projectors because of protests and security, some of them saw it on their personal gadgets like laptops and smartphones.

Also Read: Screened BBC documentary on institutes campus: FTII students association

The BJPs Mumbai unit urged Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who holds the home portfolio, to see that the documentary is not screened in the TISS campus.

Its a bogus documentary, the police should act or else we will have to step in. And those determined to show this documentary in public are escalating tensions. There could be law and order situation, Mumbai BJP president Ashish Shelar said.

Amid the developments, mixed responses appeared on social media platforms.

The Progressive Students Forum (PSF), a student collective at TISS, had announced the screening of the documentary on campus on Saturday in solidarity with students, however, the administration has not cleared it.

Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party state unit president Abu Asim Azmi, who is an MLA from the Mankhurd-Shivajinagar seat, where Deonar falls, said that it was wrong to ban the documentary.

The prime minister himself promotes a film like Kashmir Files, which promotes hatred. India has freedom of expression and speech, let people see it, he said.

Also Read: 'India: The Modi Question' | A sharp documentary with some blind spots

In an advisory to students, Prof Sasmita Palo, the officiating registrar, said: It has come to our notice that some groups of students are planning to screen the BBC documentary that has created a disturbance in some parts of the country. Some plan to organise gatherings to protest against related developments in a few universities.

The advisory further states: "This is to inform all the students that the Institute has not permitted any such screening and gatherings which may disturb the academic environment and jeopardise the peace and harmony in our campuses."Any action by students against this advisory will be dealt with strictly per the rules. We advise all students to refrain from engaging in such activities in contravention of this advisory.

The student body PSF-TISS, on the other hand, strongly condemned the TISS administration's move to block the screening and large gatherings for the screening.

This act by the administration is a direct assault on our constitutional rights. We appeal to the entire student community in TISS and across universities to rise in rage against the ban and attack on free speech by the BJP government as well as the TISS administration. As a social science institute, TISS has always fostered a culture of debate and dissent in campus. We understand the motive behind the ban by the current BJP government on the documentary. But it's not clear why the TISS administration fears discussion on it, the PSF-TISS said.

Meanwhile, veteran filmmaker Ashoke Pandit urged the Shinde-Fadnavis duo to crack down against illegal screening of the documentary. How can they screen the film in the public domain without a Censor Board certificate, he said.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah's controversial comments related to the ongoing Mahadayi interstate river dispute in Belgavi in Karnataka on Saturday, has caused a political storm in Goa, with the Opposition now accusing Chief Minister Pramod Sawant of not being able to stand up to the national BJP leader to safeguard Goa's rights over the waters of the Mahadayi river.

Shah in his speech in Belgavi had said that the BJP government at the Centre had managed to give justice to the farmers in North Karnataka by allowing the diversion of the Mahadayi river water.

Also Read | BJP leader, ex-Goa minister Mandrekar calls Karnataka netas 'Duryodhana' over Mahadayi rhetoric

"Today, I am here to tell you that the BJP at the centre has resolved the long dispute between Goa and Karnataka over Mhadei and allowed the diversion of Mhadei to Karnataka to satisfy the thirst of farmers of many districts," Shah had said in his speech in the poll-bound state.

State Congress president Amit Patkar has said that with Shah's comment, Sawant has been exposed.

"Blatant lies of Goa CM Dr Pramod Sawant stand exposed. It is not the thirst of farmers, but for the hunger for power that the BJP has betrayed Goa and Goans. The Statement of Home Minister Amit Shah is clear, Goa BJP in connivance with Karnataka BJP, murdered our lifeline Mother Mahadayi," Patkar said.

Former deputy Chief Minister and Goa Forward party president Vijai Sardesai also demanded a meeting of the newly formed House committee to discuss the statement and the next course of action, while also likening Shah's comments to a "bomb".

Amit Shahs speech is like an (exploding) bomb on me and people of Goa. It is a big shock for us that Mahadayi water is diverted in connivance with the Goa government. However, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant is not responding to his statement. Sawant is saying that he will study (Shahs remarks) and then give a reaction. Are we Goans fools? He is making a mockery of people over Mahadayi, which is the lifeline of Goa, Sardesai said, after the Chief Minister sought time to respond to the comments.

Till now, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has neither disputed Amit Shah's words nor issued any statement clarifying his role in what Goans see as a cruel betrayal of Goa. On the contrary, he has been maintaining all along that he's fighting the union government and his party on behalf of Goa, and the DPR approval was an unilateral decision taken without his knowledge, Vijai Sardesai also said.

The inter-state water sharing row has gathered momentum after the Central Water Commission in December last year, gave its nod to Karnataka's detailed project report (DPR) related to the Kalasa-Banduri project, which aims to divert water from the Mahadayi river basin in Karnataka to the water deficit basin of the Malaprabha river.

Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had led a delegation to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah urging him to reverse the nod given to the DPR, citing a major water and environment crisis in Goa if the water is diverted.
The Congress has decided to pillory the JD(S), especially former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy, amid concerns that the regional party could prevent it from crossing the simple majority mark of 113 seats in the upcoming Assembly election.

According to sources, Congress has been advised by a private research firm that it must rein in the JD(S), especially Kumaraswamy, in order to increase its tally in the Vokkaliga-dominated Old Mysuru region and come close to the simple majority mark.

In the run-up to the election, Kumaraswamy has been harsh in his attack on the Congress while being temperate about the BJP.

Also Read | Vote for BJP to form government with absolute majority in Karnataka; trust Modi: Amit Shah

Congress will definitely see to it that the fight is directly between us and BJP, Karnataka Congress working president Saleem Ahmed told DH. The JD(S) will try to play spoilsport. They will try to divide secular votes, he said, claiming that there was a secret understanding between JD(S) and BJP.

The Old Mysuru region comprises 89 Assembly constituencies - including 28 segments in Bengaluru - making it an indispensable political geography during an election. Traditionally, Congress and JD(S) have been arch-rivals in this space, but now the BJP is looking to infiltrate aggressively.

Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar, a chief ministerial candidate should the party win, is trying to consolidate Vokkaliga votes in his favour by playing the caste card.

He has, on several occasions, appealed to voters to help him in that he can be the next Vokkaliga chief minister of the Congress after SM Krishna. And for Shivakumar to reach his destination, he must dodge the JD(S).

Shivakumar is also said to be supervising plans to poach JD(S) leaders in an attempt to weaken the regional party. Similar are the stakes for leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah, who is eyeing another term as chief minister for which Congress needs to win, and win big in the Old Mysuru region. Siddaramaiah himself has decided to contest from Kolar this time.

At a Praja Dhwani campaign in Mandya, the Vokkaliga heartland, Siddaramaiah unleashed a barrage on the JD(S). Dont trust JD(S). We made Kumaraswamy the CM in 2018. But can a CM run the show from the Westend hotel? It is because he did not treat MLAs properly that 17 of them joined BJP, he said, referring to the collapse of the JD(S)-Congress coalition.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi along with sister Priyanka Gandhi walk during the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' march in Srinagar on January 29, 2023. (TAUSEEF MUSTAFA / AFP)

Srinagar: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday unfurled the tricolour amid tight security at Srinagars historic Lal Chowk to mark the end of his Bharat Jodo Yatra. The party is, however, holding a "mega rally" in the citys Sher-i-Kashmir Cricket Stadium on Monday to celebrate the "successful and happy ending" of the unity march.

Mr Gandhi who was accompanied by his sister and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Varda, along with a host of other party leaders and activists, including JKPCC chief Vikar Rasool Wani, drove from Srinagars Sonawar area in a bullet-proof SUV to the City Centre, where he spent some time at the JKPCC office. He then headed to Lal Chowk to hoist the national flag beside the clock tower, known as "Ghanta Ghar" locally, amid the singing of the patriotic song Jhanda Uncha Rahe Hamara by dozens of Congress workers. All sang the national anthem aloud as well.

After the 10-minute event was over, Mr Gandhi said that a "promise" made to the nation has been fulfilled. He tweeted: "By hoisting the tricolour at Lal Chowk, the promise made to India was fulfilled today. Hate will lose, love will always win. There will be a new dawn of hopes in India."

The Congress had earlier announced that the flag hoisting ceremony will be held at the JKPCC headquarters along Srinagars Moulana Azad Road, about 300 yards from Lal Chowk but, as was claimed by a senior party leader, the venue and date for the event were changed on the suggestion of the J&K authorities.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that the JKPCC office was chosen as the venue for the flag hoisting after the J&K administration refused to give permission to do it elsewhere but on Saturday evening it informed the party that it can be done at Lal Chowk. He tweeted: "@RahulGandhi was supposed to unfurl the national flag on Jan 30th in the PCC office, since permission to do so elsewhere wasnt given. Last evening, the state administration allowed him to do so in Lal Chowk, but under the condition that it should be done today on 29th at the end of #BharatJodoYatra."

Hundreds of security personnel sealed off Srinagar's commercial hub the night before the yatra arrived in Sonawar, a high-security area about 3 km down Lal Chowk. Concertina barbed wire was laid and police bunker vehicles were placed crisscrossing the road to block all entry and exit points.

The yatra resumed its final lap in J&K from Srinagars Pantha Chowk area around 10:45 am on Sunday. Hundreds of men and women who were part of about 8 km walk from Pantha Chowk to Sonawar were chanting "Jodo Jodo, Bharat Jodo". The majority of them carried the tricolor and the Congress flag, with a few carrying the flag of the J&K People's Democratic Party (PDP), which had earlier invited its workers to join the march. The participants were cheered and greeted by locals who had lined up on both sides of the road.

The yatris will halt for the night along Srinagars Boulevard near Nehru Park, an island in the Dale Lake area, before walking to Sher-i-Kashmir Cricket Stadium on Monday morning for the rally. The Congress has invited 23 Opposition political parties to the rally.

According to Mr Ramesh, the yatra passed through 75 districts in 14 states, including Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and J&K, covering a distance of 4,080 km in 136 days, including a 9-day break in Delhi. "We walked for 116 days and covered 23-24 kilometres each day," he said.

Another Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala alleged that the Modi government "clamped down" to stop people from participating in the yatra. He tweeted on Sunday morning: "As #BharatJodoYatra enters Srinagar, Modi govt has clamped down to stop people from participating. Entire Srinagar has a virtual curfew. No movement of people or vehicles allowed 1st, the security lapse, and now a clampdown." He, however, also said that the partys resolve is undeterred and that "love and compassion shall win."

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said Mr Gandhi unfurled the national flag at Lal Chowk under "different circumstances" when J&K "has been turned into a military garrison and assurances given by the Constitution demolished by the BJP".

She said that when former Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru first unfurled the tricolour in Kashmir in 1948 among a sea of people, it was a momentous occasion marked by celebrations. "Today history stands witness as RG (Rahul Gandhi) unfurled the same flag, albeit under completely different circumstances, at a time when J and K has been turned into a military garrison. Assurances given by the Indian Constitution have been demolished by the BJP and is a complete betrayal," she said in a series of tweets.
Air pollution has rapid impacts on brain: Study 2023-01-28 According to a new study, common levels of traffic pollution can impair human brain function. The study was the first to show in a controlled experiment using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) that exposure to diesel exhaust disrupts the ability of different areas of the human brain to interact and communicate with each other. The peer-reviewed findings, published in the journal Environmental Health, show that just two hours of exposure to diesel exhaust causes a decrease in the brain's functional connectivity -- a measure of how the study provides the first evidence in humans, from a controlled experiment, of altered brain network connectivity induced by air pollution. "For many decades, scientists thought the brain may be protected from the harmful effects of air pollution," said senior study author Dr. Chris Carlsten, professor and head of respiratory medicine and the Canada Research Chair in occupational and environmental lung disease at UBC. "This study, which is the first of its kind in the world, provides fresh evidence supporting a connection between air pollution and cognition. "The researchers briefly exposed 25 healthy adults to diesel exhaust and filtered air at different times in a laboratory setting. Brain activity was measured before and after each exposure using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).The researchers analyzed changes in the brain's default mode network (DMN), a set of inter-connected brain regions that play an important role in memory and internal thought. The fMRI revealed that participants had decreased functional connectivity in widespread regions of the DMN after exposure to diesel exhaust, compared to filtered air.
Social Democratic and Labour Party Leader Colum Eastwood MP has announced he will nominate the Bloody Sunday families for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Mr Eastwood said he could think of no better tribute to the families given their commitment to peace and reconciliation during their long fight for truth and justice.

He was speaking ahead of attending the 51st anniversary commemoration event in Derry on Sunday.

Foyle MP Mr Eastwood said: The Bloody Sunday families have gained respect and admiration from across the world over their fifty-one-year battle for truth and justice.

"They have faced down the might of the British establishment who tried to cover up the events of that dreadful day, blackening their loved ones names in the process, but they never stopped fighting for whats right and remain an inspiration to oppressed people everywhere.

Derry and the North has come a long way from the events of Bloody Sunday and with the 25h anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement approaching we should be proud of our achievements.

"However, we cannot ignore the fact that many people in this place are still struggling to get to grips with our past.

"Still today the Bloody Sunday families and many other victims are having to fight for justice with the British government using every tool at their disposal to protect those who committed unspeakable crimes on our island.

"Though they cleared their loved ones names, their fight continues into a fifth decade."

Mr Eastwood continued: These people have been put through a horrendous ordeal, but throughout they have shown no bitterness and kept on with a quiet dignity and the assurance of one who is just in their cause.

"No matter what has been thrown at them, they have never given up hope and have used their platform to support and educate others advocating civil rights, peace, justice and reconciliation.

Simply put, the Bloody Sunday families embody the spirit that is needed if we are ever to come together and build a truly shared society and better future for us all in a New Ireland and I can think of nobody more deserving of being honoured for their immense contribution to life here over the past five decades plus.
Derrys leading independent community film company, Black North Productions, have succeeded where the Irish and British governments have singularly failed.

The Derry based group, consisting of people from all ages and backgrounds, have gained the support of all the main political parties to back their anti-bullying in schools campaign.

This is no mean feat given the current political deadlock that we face, commented Joseph McCarthy the groups Chairperson.

We want all schools across the island of Ireland to appoint anti-bulling champions and our recent film 'Summary Justice' sets out the reasons why."

'Summary Justice', premiered to a packed house recently at Derry's Brunswick Movie Bowl and additional seating had to be made available on the night due to such a large crowd.

Black North are currently hard at work on their second film in the series, 'Saint Saviours Strikes Back', which deals with cyber bullying and online abuse and will feature pupils from a range of schools across the Derry and Strabane City Council area.

The citys current Mayor Councillor Sandra Duffy is also keen to back their anti-bullying campaign and recently invited cast members and crew to her parlour to commend them on their hard work and dedication.

The dedicated group are also working on a topical mental health film called 'Moonlight Over The Maiden' which revolves around the attitudes and problems that people with mental health issues face on a daily basis.

The Kathleen Graham Trust are funding the film as Black North productions are not-for-profit organisation.

Mr Allen, cast and teachers from Thornhill College and St. Mary's College

We intend to highlight important issues through film and where necessary, proactively drive forward campaigns to necessitate change, commented their Secretary Edward OHagan.

There is no doubt that Black North Productions are making waves and stirring up both interest and enthusiasm for decisive action on issues affecting everyday people.

All of their films are currently available to view on YouTube and as their membership grows and more issues are tackled, Black North are placing Derry and Strabane prominently on the map for social change.
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All-party talks should take place immediately to discuss the reform of the Stormont powersharing institutions and the return of the Assembly, Alliance Party leader Naomi Long has said.

It is approaching a year since the DUPs Paul Givan resigned as first minister as part of his partys protest at the Northern Ireland Protocol, plunging the devolved institutions into chaos.

In May, Sinn Fein emerged as the largest party in Stormont elections, but the DUP has refused to back the election of speaker, which prevents the Assembly from sitting.

Mrs Long said a roundtable discussion between all parties on the issue could build on a previous desire expressed by them all to reform the institutions so they could better deliver for people here.

She said: There is no doubt the lack of an Executive has exacerbated the cost-of-living crisis and problems in our health service.

It is welcome to see some other parties have come onboard with the realisation reform of the institutions is key to not only restoring the Assembly and Executive but securing their long-term viability.

All of the main parties have talked about the need for reform of the institutions, with some even including it in recent manifestos.

Despite some differences over the nature of that, I am keen to see us working together to firstly restore and then improve how the Assembly and Executive deliver for the people of Northern Ireland.

A roundtable discussion on reform can be the next step in that process. The deadlock we are witnessing serves nobody at all.

Mrs Long added: As we approach the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, it is shameful the institutions are not currently functioning.

We need to preserve and protect the spirit of the agreement by reforming it, and stopping the constant cycle of ransom politics, so it can deliver for the next 25 years as well.

The DUP has made clear it will not allow devolution to return unless major changes to the protocol are delivered.

Talks remain ongoing between the UK and the EU over the protocol, part of the post-Brexit deal which keeps Northern Ireland aligned with some EU trade rules, effectively placing a trade border in the Irish Sea.

Many unionists are fiercely opposed to the treaty which they claim has weakened the regions place within the union.

Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris has previously organised roundtable talks involving the main parties to discuss the political stalemate.

However, Sinn Fein refused to attend the last round of talks, in which Foreign Secretary James Cleverly also participated, after party leader Mary Lou McDonald was not invited.
Next Thursday, Sandinos plays host to a fundraiser for a cause close to many peoples hearts, the Foyle Hospice.

As a result, this week, Im going to keep the intro short and sweet, mainly because Im talking to four brilliant groups/artists, but also because Ive only got so many words per column. Anyway, here we go:

Fake Friends

Fake Friends are a four piece indie pop band from Derry who regularly gig around NI and release their own original music, which has been featured on BBC NI Across The Line, Dig With It, Chordblossom and Indiebuddie, amongst others. They are made up of Neasa Brady (vocals), Matthew Lynch (guitar), Eadaoin OKane (bass) and Oliver Moore (drums).

Does the Hospice hold any personal significance for you?

The Foyle Hospice is an amazing cause and we hope this event raises a lot of money for them. Some of us in the band have personal experience of the support and care given to loved ones with cancer. Not only do the staff give the best care to patients, but also the support they provide families during these challenging times is invaluable.

What do you think of the other acts on the bill?

The music scene across the North West has so much great talent at the moment and were so excited to be on a bill with some of these amazing acts! It should be a great night of music.

Arn

Next up is Arn. (AKA Aaron Coleman). Arn., originally from Letterkenny, has a penchant for writing infectious pop hooks and his borderless aesthetic is challenging any preconceived notions of what it means to be an artist from rural Ireland.

In his own words: My surroundings informed what Im doing now, because I didnt want to do country. I didnt want my music to be a direct association of where Im from. It was the things that werent from where Im from that moulded my taste of music.

Does the Hospice hold any personal significance for you?

The father of one of my best friends went to the Hospice. He had a very long battle with Cancer and spent some time there.

The Hospice is a vital resource. To have a place that eases the lives of patients and their families is so important.

What do you think of the other acts on the bill?

Ive been fortunate to perform alongside all of the acts. Theyre all bangin. Being from Letterkenny, I was unsure how Id perform in Derry but theyve all welcomed me with open arms. Everyones so nice!!

TRAMP

Now, on to TRAMP. Regular readers will know all about them, but for those unfamiliar, they are a happy four piece made up of Sianna Lafferty (vocals/guitar) Fionbarr Doran (guitar), Ellie McFadden (bass) and Steamy-Ciaran McCay (drums) who have, to date, released two excellent singles and have, in the past year, played alongside such acts as Cherym and Parker.

Does the Hospice hold any personal significance for you?

We have our own admiration for peole who work in organisations like Foyle Hospice, particularly with one of our members having help from Donegal Hospice with their care of a parent this time last year as well. So if we can get together to raise some funds to help these folks change lives and bring people comfort, it's the least we can do.

What do you think of the other acts on the bill?

We're looking forward to seeing Yunga for the first time live, and hats off to them for putting this whole thing together! We know and love Arn.-our Fionnbarr has played guitar for him a few times before and his performance is always a cracking good time. And of course, we're looking forward to seeing Fake Friends' live show and hearing their 2022 single 'Loosing Feelings' live on a stage.

Yunga

And finally, we come to Yunga, the instigators of this event. Yunga are Kian Lampert (Guitar, Vocals), Tiernan McHugh (Bass), Joshua Peoples (Drums) and Conor OHara (Guitar, Backing Vocals). The name comes from the truth Jungs (Yunga) is the German word for Guys. Just 4 guys who like to make a racket.

Does the Hospice hold any personal significance for you?

The Charity Gig for the Foyle Hospice means a lot to our band as its in memory of Tiernans mum Cathy , who passed away in the Hospice on the 12th February 2020. Its always been in the back of our brains to organise a fundraiser for the Hospice and why not do it doing something we know best? The things the Foyle Hospice do for this City is above and beyond and personally we dont think they get all the credit they deserve! We have decided to host a raffle at the gig to raise as much funds as possible.

What do you think of the other acts on the bill?

When we decided to put on this gig , we couldnt think three more talented artists in the scene to help us raise funds. And from the get go they were all so eager to play for us. Fake Friends, Arn and Tramp . Fake Friends for one have been a band that we look up to , we have been following them since the start and we just knew we had to get to hear them on the bill. They are our best mates why would we not?

A night of music from Arn, Tramp, Fake Friends and ourselves its definitely a lineup not to be reckoned with.

The fantastic four mentioned above can all be found on Instagram: @fakefriendsband, @oh.arn, @thisistramp and @yungaband

Now, onto other business. The above gig takes place this Thursday, but this Wednesday, half the lineup (TRAMP and Fake Friends) are playing Culturlann along with Emily McCormick, in whats sure to be another great gig.
Samsung India has announced the Samsung Wallet for India. This is the merger of Samsung Pay (mobile payment solution) and Samsung Pass (password manager) so that you can use the same app for storing bank cards, loyalty/membership cards, IDs, boarding passes, digital keys, cryptocurrency, and login passwords. You can use the stored credit/debit cards within Samsung Wallet for payment purposes.

Best Samsung Wallet features

1. Secure way of storing confidential documents and cards

Samsung Wallet comes equipped with Knox security which claims to offer defence-grade real-time mobile security.

You can store Driving Licenses, Identification cards, and other documents safely within Secure Folder in Samsung Wallet. This boasts to be hack-proof which should be assuring.

2. No need to remember passwords

Its a tough task to remember or safely carry around passwords on your own. Gladly, Samsung Wallet offers password management including secure storage and retrieval with a master password.

3. Conveniently travel

While you are out and about, besides the above two features (i.e., payment and important passwords), you also get to bring digital car keys, loyalty/membership cards, boarding passes, etc for a smooth travel experience, thanks to Samsung Wallet.

How to get Samsung Wallet on your Galaxy smartphone

Samsung Wallet is available in the Galaxy Store. You can install the app, log in to your Samsung account and start using it for the aforementioned Samsung Wallet features.

Ensure your Galaxy smartphone is running on Android 9 or above to automatically get Samsung Wallet.

Have you marked your calendar yet? Only 1 day left for Samsung Pays big transformation! Buckle up and watch this space to know more! T&C apply. #SamsungPayIsGettingBetter pic.twitter.com/vw7nJS6hmx  Samsung India (@SamsungIndia) January 29, 2023

For more technology news, product reviews, sci-tech features and updates, keep reading Digit.in or head to our Google News page.
OnePlus 11R render might give you deja vu as it resembles the OnePlus 11 in looks. The similarity in its rear camera housing is the key reason for this. The button placement looks different though. The images come from Ice Universe who refers to the device as OnePlus Ace 2, which as you may know is the branding for the device in China.

OnePlus 11R render leak: What it reveals

OnePlus seems to be reusing the design of the OnePlus 11 for 11R. At least, the rear camera housing which is a key design differentiator for Android phones looks quite similar between the two OnePlus phones. The OnePlus 11R render shows three cameras and a flash lens sitting on a round island. The island is connected to the side frame of the device via a glossy bridge (probably made of stainless steel).

The 11R appears to be flanked by the volume rockers on the right side. The SIM tray may also sit on that side. The left side, meanwhile, seems to have the power key (which could also double as the fingerprint reader), and the OnePlus signature Alert Slider.

OnePlus 11R could come in a silver hue with a tinge of blue. Silver blue might just be one of the many colourways on sale. Its a refreshing colour and we would love to see this variant.

Lets see what else we know about the forthcoming OnePlus smartphone.

OnePlus 11R specs (Expected)

The next generation of power is here. It's time to get ready for a new way to experience the #ShapeofPower with the all-new #OnePlus11R 5G.  OnePlus India (@OnePlus_IN) January 27, 2023

OnePlus 11R is confirmed to come with Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC. This could be coupled with up to 16GB of RAM, 512GB storage, and a 5000mAh battery with 100W fast charging.

On the front, OnePlus could put a 6.7-inch 120Hz AMOLED display with a punch hole housing a 16MP selfie snapper, and on the back, a 50MP sensor could act as the primary camera.

We should get more concrete details on February 7, 2023, which is when the phone is scheduled to come out along with OnePlus 11, OnePlus Buds Pro 2, OnePlus Pad, and more.

For more technology news, product reviews, sci-tech features and updates, keep reading Digit.in or head to our Google News page.
A hands-on video of Oppo Reno 8Ts Indian variant has leaked online that shows the device from different angles and reveals key specs and features. Lets have a look.

Oppo Reno 8T India specs and features (Expected)

OPPO Reno8 T 5G Indian variant hands-on video & specs



-6.7", Curved OLED, FHD+, 120Hz, 10-bit

-Snapdragon 695

-108MP + 2MP Portrait

-16MP Selfie

-4800mAh, 67W

-In display FPS, No 3.5mm jack

-Android 13, ColorOS 13



-8GB+256GB: 30k - 32k (expected) pic.twitter.com/9MtMenNpSV  Sudhanshu Ambhore (@Sudhanshu1414) January 25, 2023

Oppo Reno 8T could sport a 6.7-inch AMOLED display with FHD+ resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. The front side also houses a 32MP selfie shooter.

The back cameras consist of a 108MP primary sensor, accompanied by two 2MP token sensors.

Inside the phone, you could get a Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 processor, Android 13 software on top with ColorOS 13 skin, and a 4800mAh battery with 67W wired charging support.

The phone could also feature an under-display fingerprint scanner. The rumours suggest there will be no 3.5mm jack though.

Oppo Reno 8T price (Leaked)

Exclusive

Oppo Reno 8T first sale 7 February, 2023.

Price : 29,990 LOL Snapdragon 695  Abhishek Yadav (@yabhishekhd) January 27, 2023

Oppo Reno 8Ts Thailand price leaked to be THB 13990 (~ 34,800) for the 8+128GB model and THB 14990 ~ (37,300) for the 8+256GB variant.

For more technology news, product reviews, sci-tech features and updates, keep reading Digit.in or head to our Google News page.
Samsung Galaxy Unpacked is just around the corner and just a few days ahead of the schedule the upcoming One UI 5.1 changelog has leaked online. The One UI 5.1 leak from WinFuture reveals key software features of the Galaxy S23 lineup. While some of these changes are likely to reach other Samsung phones, there are select One UI 5.1 features that are expected to be exclusive to the Galaxy S23 series. Lets read about all of those One UI 5.1 changes and features here.

Top One UI 5.1 features

1. Easily change the hue of selfies

There is a new "Effects" button on the side of the camera apps viewfinder screen, clicking which you can change the hue of your selfies.

2. Quickly access Expert RAW mode

One UI 5.1 camera app offers the Expert RAW mode within the Advanced menu so that you can easily click raw photos.

3. Auto suggestions for Shared Family Album

One UI 5.1 Gallery app will start suggesting photos for the Shared Family Album based on built-in facial recognition.

Each family member (provided the total is 6 family members) would get 5GB of storage.

4. Battery widget

One UI 5.1 introduces a battery widget that shows the battery status of all the connected Galaxy devices and these could be a Galaxy smartphone, Galaxy smartwatch, Galaxy earbuds, etc.

5. Glance view of key photo details

Swipe up on a photo or video in your Gallery and you will see the time, location, and other details of the file in question.

6. Enhanced facial recognition-based Gallery search

You will be able to just tap on a face and search for all the photos including that.

7. Dynamic Weather app widget

The Weather widget is said to reflect the current weather conditions in terms of illustrations and animations.

8. Seamless browsing sync between Samsung Internet on phone and PC

You will be able to seamlessly switch between the Samsung Internet on your Galaxy smartphone and your PC (running Windows 20H1 or later) browser.

9. Mood and mode-based wallpaper switching

Similar to focus modes on iOS, the One UI 5.1 will also let you set different backgrounds on the lock screen and home screen depending on modes like work, sports, etc.

10. AR emoji filter and edits

AR emojis can be swapped with faces (up to 3) in the frame for a photo or video.

Theres a lot more to unpack in this changelog. But, these are our top picks.

For more technology news, product reviews, sci-tech features and updates, keep reading Digit.in or head to our Google News page.
Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president A. Revanth Reddy. (Photo: Twitter: @revanth_anumula)

Hyderabad: Drawing inspiration from Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi, who embarked on temple visits in 2018 during Madhya Pradesh elections, Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president A. Revanth Reddy is set to address a large public meeting to mark the beginning of his padayatra as part of the Haath se Haath jodo Abhiyan from Bhadrachalam in the Bhadradri-Kothagudem district on February 6.

The first meeting of Revanth Reddys padayatra will take place in Bhadrachalam, which is home to one of Telanganas most important temples, including the well-known Sri Sita Ramachandraswamy temple. Sonia Gandhi or her daughter Priyanka are likely to attend the meeting. The padayatra will cover several districts.

Political analysts claim that Revanth Reddy's strategy to begin his padayatra from Bhadradri, an important religious destination, is to take aim at Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao for neglecting the temple town while concentrating all of his attention and financial resources on developing the Yadadri temple, as well target the BJP which often claims that it stands for the rights of Hindus and the protection of temples. His itinerary also includes stops at mosques, churches and dargahs.

"The PCC leader's visit to temples, dargahs and churches, including the Medak church, is part of a strategy to gain inroads to rivals' vote banks. Through this approach, the PCC leader will try to win over the confidence of different sections of the society and expose the unfulfilled promises made during the past elections," a party source claimed.

Revanth Reddy is likely to bring up the issue of how the complacent attitude of the state and the Central government contributed to the financial difficulties of religious places of worship during his visit to them.

The padayatra was supposed to begin at either Adilabad or Mahbubnagar according to the initial plan, which was discussed during the PCC's extended executive committee meeting presided over by AICC incharge (Telangana) Manikrao Thakre. Sources said the monitoring committee of the Congress remained clueless about Revanth Reddys two-month padayatra.

The date has been finalised for the public meeting. However, the place has not yet been decided. "The places under consideration are Suryapet or Mulugu as they received less attention from the Congress, particularly after Revanth took charge as TPCC president," a committee member claimed.
Delhi Metro has joined hands with Bharti Airtel to enable Smart Card recharge through the Airtel Payments Bank app. Here, we have a step-by-step guide to top up Delhi Metro cards via the Airtel app.

Recharge Delhi Metro Card through Airtel Thanks app

1. Open the Airtel Thanks app on your phone. Ensure it is updated to the latest version (ideally v 4.62.2) and that you are an Airtel Payments Bank user.

2. Go to the Bank section and choose the Metro Recharge option. At the time of writing, we werent able to spot this Bank section in our Airtel Thanks app (v. 4.61.3). We called Airtel customer care and they told us the feature is live on an upcoming version 4.62.2. Hope it works for you.

3. Next, put in your Delhi Metro Rail Corporation smart card number, and enter the recharge amount. Choose the mode of payment and pay it.

4. Once the payment is done on your end, now you have to tap the smart card on the Add Value Machine (AVM) at the metro station to complete the top-up.

Thats all.

Benefits of recharging Delhi Metro card using the Airtel Thanks app

The key benefit of using this service is that you dont have to wait in long queues to recharge your metro card, especially when time is of the essence.

This is believed to be a secure mode of recharging metro cards considering the card/UPI details you enter for the payment.

So, try it out the next time you want to recharge your metro card.

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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Irish police have seized cannabis plants and herb following two searches in Co Galway.

On Saturday, as part of Operation Tara, Gardai attached to the Galway Divisional Drug Unit carried out a planned search of a residence in Aughrim.

Police seized cannabis plants with an estimated street value of 146,000 euro along with 20,000 euro worth of cannabis herb which will now be sent for analysis.

Two men in their 30s have been charged and will appear before a special sitting of Galway district court on Sunday evening.

Meanwhile, police carried out a separate search at a residence in Ballinasloe on Saturday.

During the course of this search, cannabis herb with an estimated street value of 35,000 euro was seized as well as 7,510 euro in cash. Cannabis jellies were also seized.

A man in his 40s was arrested in relation to this seizure.

He was released on Saturday without charge and a file will be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

A Gardai spokesman said investigations into both incidents are ongoing.
New ethics legislation for politicians in Ireland should be in place before the next general election, a minister has said.

Sports Minister Thomas Byrne made the remarks after a former member of the Standards in Public Office (Sipo) Commission said there is no political will to bring in new laws around expenses.

In recent weeks Fine Gael Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe has been at the centre of controversy over undeclared expenses relating to both the 2016 and 2020 election campaigns.

Mr Donohoe has apologised for his failure to declare expenses related to postering work that was financed by businessman Michael Stone and has amended his returns to Sipo.

The minister said he wrongly assumed the postering had been done on a voluntary basis.

Sinn Fein, which had been severely critical of Mr Donohoe, then revealed that it had failed to declare a series of expenses related to the hosting of press conferences during the 2016 general election campaign.

Peter Tyndall, a member of Sipo from 2013 to 2012, said the current system is completely dysfunctional.

He told RTEs This Week In Politics programme: I think youd have to ask yourself whos got the job of reforming the legislation, and the answer is the people who more effective legislation would hold accountable.

A cynic might argue its not in the best interests of the people charged with the job of reforming it to actually get on and do it.

He said Sipo needs to be given the power to launch its own investigations and to sanction anyone who breaches the rules.

Asked if new legislation promised by the coalition government will be in place before the next general election, Mr Byrne said: I imagine it will.

That is what the Government is committed to doing during its five-year term, so, yes, it will be finished during this term of government.

He added: What we have had in the last few weeks is clearly difficulties with Paschal Donohoes election expenses over the last number of elections.

We had a huge amount of stone-throwing from the opposition (Sinn Fein) which, quite frankly, was unwise.

Yes, we want to improve things and, yes, we are committed to doing that.

Sinn Fein TD David Cullinane said there have been discussion about reforming Sipo since 2009.

They dont have the powers to initiate investigations, he said.

We have had two ministers from government resign over standards in the last number of months.

Yes, we made errors, we put our hands up. We accepted those errors, we dealt with them and we will deal with them. They were administrative errors.

There is no equivalence between administrative errors and corporate donations.
TPCC chief A. Revanth Reddy interacts with Rahul Gandhi who unfurled the National Flag at Kashmir's Lal Chowk.(Photo: Twitter: @revanth_anumula)

Hyderabad: TPCC chief A. Revanth Reddy led party leaders to Srinagar on Sunday to attend the massive rally at Sher-e-Kashmir stadium that marked the end of Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra, which passed through 12 states and two Union Territories.

Apart from Revanth Reddy, the Telangana Congress leaders included CLP leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, former PCC presidents N. Uttam Kumar Reddy and Ponnala Lakshmaiah, and Mulugu MLA Seethakka.

Revanth met Rahul Gandhi who unfurled the National Flag at Kashmir's Lal Chowk. "By covering the entire country (on foot), Rahul Gandhi single-handedly was able to unite the nation. He made Indians wake up (from sleep). Selflessly, honestly, as a true servant he was able to reveal as an open book in front of 140 cr people. This Bharat Jodo was able to give a strong leadership for the future of the nation (sic)," tweeted Revanth.

Meanwhile, Bhatti walked alongside Rahul Gandhi on the last day of his yatra. "This yatra has changed public perception about Rahul Gandhi, as well as that of political parties like the BJP and its allies. He demonstrated that this yatra was for nation building and smacking ideas full of toxicity by travelling thousands of miles and listening to people's complaints," he said.

Rahul Gandhi was accompanied by one of the TPCC general secretaries, Uzma Shakir, who is from Kashmir and lives in Hyderabad, as he made his way to his destination. "I have been residing here since January 26. I discussed with Rahulji the political situation in both Telangana and Kashmir," she told Deccan Chronicle.

Uzma is the granddaughter of the founder of Kashmir University, Ghulam Ahmad Ashai. "I presented Rahul Gandhi a photo frame with a picture of his great-grandfather Pandit Nehru when he visited the university for the first convocation programme in 1951," she added.
The past few years have been a challenge for volunteer-based organisations, including for St Vincent de Paul (SVP).

While the organisation has been overwhelmed with the generosity and financial support of the public over the past three years, the number of SVP volunteers has dropped significantly since the pandemic.

The society has volunteer roles in IT, finance, fundraising, housing, and education, just to name a few.

Alan Collins, one of the members who helped to organise the open recruitment meeting that will take place next week in Cork, said: Visitation is at the cornerstone of our work. We visit people in the dignity and safety of their own homes and listen to see how we can help them through whatever crisis they are facing.

Kate Durrant volunteers within the food conference, which supported over 2,500 families last Christmas and supports up to 800 people each week who are struggling with food poverty.

Ms Durrant said:

Its heartbreaking, seeing people struggle, but I cannot describe the satisfaction of being able to ease that load a little, knowing that children are going to bed with full stomachs and that breakfast will be there for them when they wake up.

Rose Adair, who organises training for new volunteers, said: Education is another area where SVP makes a huge difference, enabling young people to stay in school and continue their education by providing financial and pastoral support, and practical help, too, such as travel tickets.

We forget that sometimes its the very basics, like not having the bus fare, that can cause someone to fall through the cracks.

SVP helps in a variety of ways and within the organisation there is an opportunity for everyone who would like to volunteer to put their talents and experience to good use.

Within the greater Cork area, calls for assistance to the regional office during the last 12 months increased by 20%, to 16,500, and SVP volunteers looked after 1,400 families every month, and 5,000 families in the pre-Christmas period. To find out more about how you can help SVP, there is an open evening at the Aula Maxima, University College Cork, on Monday, January 30, from 7.30pm.

Volunteers only need empathy, an open mind, and an open heart. Training will be given for everything else.

Alternatively, contact SVP membership officer, Ellmarie Spillane, on 021 4270444/086-1837273, or email Ellmarie.spillane@svp.ie.
Pat Flynn

Searches for two men missing since last week have been stood down after one body was recovered from a river in Ennis on Sunday afternoon while another was found on a beach in southwest Clare on Saturday.

The body located on Saturday is now believed to be that of a man in his 60s who was reported missing from his home in Ennis on January 21st. The remains discovered on Sunday are thought to be those of a man seen in the River Fergus on Tuesday evening.

Gardai and the Irish Coast Guard had mounted an initial search on Sunday last for a man last seen on security footage leaving his home the previous night. The Shannon-based Irish Coast Guard helicopter, Rescue 115, carried out a search of the area around the mans home but that effort was hampered by poor visibility.

Civil Defence volunteers from Clare and Galway joined the search on Monday and launched drones with thermal imaging cameras as part of the effort. Friends, neighbours and work colleagues of the man also helped search the local area.

The focus of the search switched to the River Fergus on Tuesday after the man was captured on CCTV in the vicinity of the waterway. There was no indication that he had entered the water however a search of the river was carried out.

Tuesdays search effort was stood down for the day when there was no trace of the man.

Diving teams

However, just hours later, emergency services received reports of a man entering the same river in the town centre. A major multi-agency search and rescue operation was quickly mounted but there was no sign of the man.

The search operation resumed on Wednesday morning and during the week, members of the search and recovery units of Ennis, Burren, Kilkee and Lough Derg sub-aqua clubs joined the effort.

Dive teams carried out several searches along the river while Galway Civil Defence also travelled to Clare with a boat fitted with sonar equipment. The search had continued every day since.

The efforts resumed on Sunday morning with dive teams undertaking further searches of the river while Clare Civil Defence boat teams carried out surface searches and provided safety support for the dive teams.

At around 12.30pm, divers located a body in the River Fergus, about 1500 metres downstream of the town centre. The remains were taken by hearse to the mortuary at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) where a post-mortem examination will be carried out.

The search of the river for the second man was stood down later after it was confirmed that the body discovered 60kms away on a beach in southwest Clare on Saturday afternoon was that of the man reported missing in Ennis last Saturday.

That discovery was made at around 3pm on Saturday by a couple out walking at White Strand beach between Doonaha and Carrigaholt on the north shore of the Shannon Estuary.

The mans body was recovered from the beach by gardai and Kilkee Coast Guard volunteers and was later taken by hearse to the mortuary at UHL where a post-mortem examination will take place in due course.
BAGHDAD, 26 January 2023  UNICEF and WHO have supported the Ministry of Health of Iraq in conducting a nationwide multi-antigen vaccination campaign. The campaign reached more than 400 000 of the most vulnerable children with over one million doses of different vaccines to protect them against vaccine-preventable diseases.

The locations covered by the 10-day campaign, which concluded at the end of 2022, were based on a risk assessment carried out by the Ministry of Health, also supported by UNICEF and WHO. The campaign aimed at reaching the hardest-to-reach children previously missed by routine immunization services.

To ensure the success of the campaign, more than 3000 vaccinators were trained across 124 districts within 19 health directorates and national awareness-raising campaigns were conducted on the importance of vaccines. These reached millions of parents and children in most Iraqi governorates. Campaign logistics and field implementation were also supported through transport of vaccination teams and a digital dashboard, established to compile the results of the campaign and evaluate its progress on daily basis.

As the largest vaccine buyer in the world, UNICEF remains committed to supporting the national immunization programme in Iraq, so that no child is left behind, said Ms Sheema SenGupta, UNICEF Representative in Iraq. Immunization is proven to be one of the most effective public health interventions, both preventing community outbreaks and giving every child the opportunity to survive and thrive.



Prior to the campaign, intensified integrated immunization outreach services in Iraq have reached 90% of children aged under 5 with the third dose of diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus (DTP) and the first dose of measles vaccines, the highest coverage in 2 decades. This multi-antigen campaign aimed at reaching those children who had still missed out on these and other vaccines, with the hope of minimizing the resurgence of vaccine-preventable diseases and advancing coverage to 95%.

"Having a healthy start in life is a human right for all newborns. However, during COVID-19, some children missed their immunization, which increased their vulnerability to childhood diseases. This campaign is another safety net that ensures that all children in Iraq are immunized, protected and healthy," said Dr Ahmed Zouiten, WHO Representative in Iraq. The campaign was a great success in ensuring that no child is left behind.

The campaign, mostly funded by a US donor, is a critical step towards protecting children from deadly and disabling diseases. For over two centuries, vaccines have safely reduced the scourge of diseases like polio, measles and smallpox, helping children grow healthy and happy. UNICEF and WHO remain committed to supporting the Ministry of Health to ensure that every child in this country has access to the care and vaccines they need to attain their full potential.

ABOUT UNICEF

UNICEF works in some of the worlds toughest places, to reach the worlds most disadvantaged children. Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, to build a better world for everyone. For more information about UNICEF and its work for children, visit www.unicef.org

Follow UNICEF Iraq on our website, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

For more information please contact:

Miguel Mateos Munoz, Chief of Communication and Advocacy, UNICEF in Iraq email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it



Monica Awad, Communication Specialist, UNICEF in Iraq, email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

ABOUT WHO

WHO leads global efforts to expand universal health coverage. We direct and coordinate the worlds response to health emergencies. And we promote healthier lives  from pregnancy care through old age. Our Triple Billion targets outline an ambitious plan for the world to achieve good health for all using science-based policies and programmes.

For more information please contact:

Sadeq Al-Wesabi

Communication Officer

WHO Iraq

email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
There was a time in the last century when we, quite foolishly, believed incineration to be a superior means of waste disposal than landfills. And, for decades, many of America's most disadvantaged have been paying for those decisions with with their lifespans. South Baltimore's Curtis Bay neighborhood, for example, is home to two medical waste incinerators and an open-air coal mine. It's ranked in the 95th percentile for hazardous waste and boasts among the highest rates of asthma and lung disease in the entire country.

The city's largest trash incinerator is the WheelabratorBRESCO, which burns through 2,250 tons of garbage a day. It has been in operation since the 1970s, belching out everything from mercury and lead to hydrochloric acid, sulfur dioxide, and chromium into the six surrounding working-class neighborhoods and the people who live there. In 2011, students from Benjamin Franklin High School began to push back against the construction of a new incinerator, setting off a decade-long struggle that pitted high school and college students against the power of City Hall.

In Fighting to Breathe: Race, Toxicity, and the Rise of Youth Activism in Baltimore, Dr. Nicole Fabricant, Professor of Anthropology at Towson University in Maryland, chronicles the students' participatory action research between 2011 and 2021, organizing and mobilizing their communities to fight back against a century of environmental injustice, racism and violence in one of the nation's most polluted cities. In the excerpt below, Fabricant discusses the use of art  specifically that of crankies  in movement building.

University of California Press

Excerpted from Fighting to Breathe: Race, Toxicity, and the Rise of Youth Activism in Baltimore by Nicole Fabricant, published by University of California Press. Copyright 2022.

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Making Connections: Fairfield Houses and Environmental Displacement

As the students developed independent investigations, they discovered what had happened in the campaigns against toxins that preceded their own struggle against the incinerator. They learned that the Fairfield neighborhood, before being relocated to its current site, had been situated near to where Energy Answers was planning to build their trash-to-energy incinerator. At the time of the students investigations, this area was an abandoned industrial site surrounded by heavy diesel truck traffic, polluting chemical and fertilizer industries, and abandoned brownfield sites.

Students read that the City had built basic infrastructure in Wagners Point, the all-white (though poor and white ethnic, to be clear) community on the peninsula in the 1950s, nearly thirty years before doing so in Fairfield, which was located alongside Wagners Point but all (or almost all) Black. As Destiny reiterated to me in the Fall of 2019:

Wagners Point was predominantly white and Fairfield predominantly Black, but both communities were company towns, living in poverty, working in dangerous hazardous conditions, and forced to live in a toxic environment.... On the surface, this history can be read as a story of two communities, different in culture and race, facing the issue together. But this ignores the issue of racism that divided the two communities. For instance, Fairfield did not get access to plumbing... until well into the 1970s. This is an example of structural racism. It is also a story not told by our history books.

The students talked in small groups about systemic and structural racism and unfair housing policies. They investigated the evacuation of Fairfield Housing. They learned that former residents were forcibly relocated to public housing and were offered $22,500 for renters and up too $5,250 per household. They also received moving costs of up to $1,500 per household. When 14 households remained in Fairfield a decade later, then-Mayor Kurt Schmoke stated that he would prefer to move all residents out of Fairfield, but the city did not have any money for relocation. This history provoked Free Your Voice youth to think beyond their community to how structural racism shaped citywide decisions and policies.

Despite attempts to integrate school systems in the 1950s and the passage of civil rights legislation in the 1960s intended, specifically, to mitigate racism in housing policies, the provision of public education and the regulation of housing practices remained uneven in the 1970s (and into the present). Students learned that in 1979 a CSX railroad car carrying nine thousand gallons of highly concentrated sulfuric acid overturned and the Fairfield Homes public housing complex was temporarily evacuated. That same year, they read, an explosion at the British Petroleum oil tank, located on Fairfield Peninsula, set off a seven-alarm fire. All of this led the students to deeper inquiry.

Figuring out the ways in which structural racism shaped contemporary ideas about people, bodies, and space is something that Destiny often referred to when speaking publicly. Destiny explained that studying history allowed us to see our community in a way that gave us the ability to build power or collective strength. So, how do you confront this history, this marketplace? Building power within the school was about re-education, she said, but it was also about rebuilding social relationships across the community and helping residents to understand the structural conditions and histories sustaining inequities that others (especially white others) tried to explain away using racist stereotypes and tropes (e.g., Black youth as thugs; theyre poor because theyre lazy). These tropes subtly and not so subtly suggested racial and cultural inferiority.

As a group, the students worked to establish a presence in the community and to create spontaneous spaces for dialogue and discussion. They attended a Fairfield reunion in Curtis Bay Park during the summer of 2013, where approximately 150 former Fairfield Homes residents gathered to celebrate their history, reminisce, and have a cookout together. Gathered on the grass next to the Curtis Bay Recreation Center, former residents reminisced about what life was like in the projects. At one point, an elder participant shared with Destiny, Fairfield was the Cadillac of housing projects.... We were all a family, we took care of one another. The Free Your Voice students engaged with living history as they listened and learned.

For many of the students, the combined processes of reading texts and listening to elder residents stories moved them from numbness to awareness. Being able to discuss what they learned in sophisticated conversations with their peers and the experts they sought out helped to build their confidence as activists and adult interlocutors.

Arts and Performance in Movement Building: The Crankie

While analysis and study were key to building change campaigns, the students also recognized that building a sociopolitical movement of economically disadvantaged people required more than mobilizing bodies. To be effective, they were going to have to move hearts and minds.

In 2014, Free Your Voice students decided to strengthen the emotional and relationship building aspects of their campaign by adopting art forms, including performance and storytelling, into their communication efforts. Destiny began a speech she delivered at The Worker Justice Center human rights dinner in 2015 by quoting W.E.B. Dubois: Art is not simply works of art; it is the spirit that knows beauty, that has music in its being and the color of sunsets in its handkerchiefs, that can dance on a flaming world and make the world dance, too (Watford 2015). Art  in the form of a vintage performance genre known as the crankie and rap songs  became a tool the students utilized to tell their stories to much broader publics and to boost emotional connections with their allies. Performances particularly allowed youth to be creative and inventive. Their productions were often malleable. Sometimes, Free Your Voice youth would rewrite a script based on audience feedback. As a result, their performances were often improvisational, and they invited residents to be a part of the storytelling. This allowed the student-performers to develop strong narrative structures and especially realistic characters.

Not only did students do art, but they also invited artists, including performers, to join the Dream Team to broaden both the appeal and impact of the Stop the Incinerator campaign. One artist at the Maryland Institute College of Art, Janette Simpson, spoke to me at length about the genesis of her commitment to Free Your Voices organizing, and how that commitment deepened and extended her work with other campaigns originating with The Worker Justice Center. Free Your Voice students approached Simpson, with their teacher Daniel Murphy acting as their mediator, about incorporating her work in theater into their campaign.12 They sent her a recent report on the environmental history of the peninsula and asked that she read it. That report became the hook that convinced Simpson to collaborate:

I had been thinking about how art and artists can serve social movements, and how artists also have agency in the making of their artwork. Or maybe thinking about autonomy. Free Your Voice youth suggested I read the Diamond report, which was written by a team of researchers from the University of Maryland Law School. I remember being like, Wow! What a story! All these visuals came to my mind... like the guano factories, the ships, these agricultural communities, this Black community versus the white community... the relationship to the water and the relationship to the city. So I decided I would try to illustrate a version of that report in a way. Like, what did people look like in 1800s, and what were they wearing? ... Then I realized that this is not my history, who am I to tell someone elses story? I need to think more symbolically, and then it came to me to write this illustrative history as a fable or an allegory.

Which is what she did, alongside Terrel Jones (whose childhood lived experiences I detailed in chapter 2). Terrel and Simpson created a crankie, an old storytelling art form popular in the nineteenth century that includes a long, illustrated scroll wound onto two spools. The spools are loaded into a box that has a viewing screen and the scroll is then hand-cranked, hence the name crankie. While the story is told, a tune is played or a song is sung. Terrel and Simpson created a show for the anti-incinerator campaign that was performed throughout the city for audiences of all ages and walks of life. The Holey Land, as their show was titled, was an allegory about the powerful connection between people and the place they call home. In this tale, the Peninsula People and the magic in their land are threatened when a stranger with a tall hat and a shovel shows up with big ideas for improving their community. As storybook images scroll past the viewing screen, the vibrant and colorful pictures of a peninsula rich in natural resources, including orange and pink fish, slowly get usurped by those of the man with the shovel building his factories, and the Peninsula People are left to ponder the fate of their land. The story ends with a surprising twist, and a hopeful message about a communitys ability to determine their own future.

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Los Angeles, CAWithin the realm of women's march to gaining equality in the workplace, there are many unsung heroes who held down the grass and cleared a path for those to follow. One of them is Vonda Pelto, Ph.D., a Clinical Psychologist who, in August 1980, entered the hall of mirrors world of serial killers at Los Angeles Men's Central Jail. One of largest and most dangerous jails in the world, housing over 5,000 inmates, her position was created after the suicide of Vernon Butts, one of the notorious Freeway Killers. She arrived a naive girl from a small desert town and left, three years later, a wiser, hardened women whose views of humanity were changed dramatically, and not for the better.

Her job was not to counsel these unrepentant reprobates, but just to chat them up and provide an emotional sounding board to keep them safe until they were convicted and sent to prison. Highly embarrassed when Butts killed himself, the LA County Sheriff's and Mental Department didn't wish to leave anything to chance. With an office adjacent to vicious killers like Hillside Stranglers Kenneth Bianchi and Angela Buono, the main Freeway Killer Bill Bonin or Sunset Strip Slayer Douglas Clark, her daily interactions with such characters proved a tonic which altered Pelto's mind, body and soul in dark and drastic ways.

Vonda should be celebrated as a feminist trailblazer in a realm which few women have entered, even today but especially in the early 1980s. She could have elected to turn down the job but, as a freshly minted Ph.D. with no license to practice, she needed the work to support the family and so Vonda braved the fire. Carrying the burden of hearing horrible stories, from men who enjoyed sharing gory details, resulted in nightmares, alcohol abuse and a certain zest for life which was sometimes risky and destructive.



Without Redemption Kindle on Sale for 99 Cents Till March 31, 2023



She survived and chronicled her story in Without Remorse: The Story of the Women Who Kept Los Angeles' Serial Killers Alive, a book which took twenty years to complete. Every time Pelto began writing, the nightmares returned with a vengeance, forcing her to keep postponing till they stopped.

Radio Show Video of Vonda Pelto on Gary Nolan Radio Show









Her second book, Without Redemption: Creation & Deeds of Freeway Killer Bill Bonin, His Five Accomplices & How One Who Escaped Justice, was written with Michael B. Butler and is one of the most detailed serial killer historical biographies ever written.

Using official investigative documents, and Bonin's jailhouse diaries and written confessions, the authors were able solve two 40-year-old murder mysteries and identity how one day, during the murder spree, changed everything to follow. Unlocking why March 24, 1980 is so important in the Bill Bonin story was a tedious aspect of the complicated task to create an amazingly detailed serial killer historical biography. The events chronicled in a flow chart can be seen at http://bit.ly/3ZDDKPG, it constitutes a road map of a story with an infinite number of twists and turns, what ifs and "can you believe that really happened?"

One startling and tragic fact they uncovered: During the ten-month murder spree Bonin was arrested and in custody THREE TIMES, then let go on legal technicalities and bureaucratic missteps which cost many lives.

CLICK HERE to purchase Without Redemption in Kindle format for 99 Cents





Without Redemption: Creation & Deeds of Freeway Killer Bill Bonin, His Five Accomplices & How One Escaped Justice, is tailor made for a movie, mini-series or docudrama. Co-author Vonda Pelto, Ph.D., a Clinical Psychologist who had extensive dealings with Bonin before and during his LA trial, brings to light a number of aspects that readers will find startling.

What is Without Redemption:

The book was written on a number of parallel tracks that constantly intersect:

First, it is the most detailed historical biography ever written about Bill Bonin, the notorious Freeway Killer responsible for murdering 22 teenage boys over ten-months in 1979-80.



Second, it is a psychological roadmap which charts the evolution of Bonin's personality from abused child to sexual predator to serial killer. This is accomplished using documents from his childhood, war service, multiple California government mental health and penal institutions, witness testimony and the expertise of Clinical Psychologist Vonda Pelto, Ph.D., who had many sessions with Bonin and two of his accomplices while working in Los Angeles Men's Central Jail.



Third, it is a narrative which, using long hidden documents, reveals the inner workings of Bonin's mind, showing how he thought, felt, planned and viewed the world. The narrative displays Bonin, an abused high school dropout, cleverly manipulating lawyers, judges, doctors, social workers, friends, family, probation officers, government bureaucrats, detectives, journalists and, most tragically, the innocent victims of his rage.



Fourth, Without Redemption reveals the complex story of what happened after Bonin's final arrest, when so much was in flux and so many moving parts were swirling about. Archived investigative documents, collected from a variety of sources, brings to light a number of surprising, shocking, sad and even funny events from those ten tumultuous months from June 1980 to March 1981.



Finally, it is a book which solves two 40-year-old murder mysteries and unlocks how one day of crossroads and coincidences, in the midst of the murder spree, profoundly impacted many lives and future events.

Without Redemption Book Trailer





The most detailed bio of serial killer Bill Bonin ever written using previously hidden documents.

How childhood abuse & Vietnam War service helped create what followed.

How Bonin manipulated California judicial, mental health & prison systems for nine years before the killings.

Interviews of Bonin, Miley & Munro with Vonda Pelto, Ph.D. before, during & after his Los Angeles trial.

Bonin's jailhouse writings offer new perspective on his brutality, methods, thoughts and personality.

How & Why Bonin covered for accomplice Eric Wijnaendts, who helped him with two murders.

How & Why March 24, 1980 is a key date in the Bill Bonin story.

Without Redemption: Creation & Deeds of Freeway Killer Bill Bonin, His Five Accomplices & How One Escaped Justice, Paperback ISBN: 979-8841931249, Hard Cover ISBN: 979-8844477775. For more info go to www.WithoutRedemption.com and purchase copies at Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

Media Contact: For interviews or to request review copies contact Flotsam PR at 213-534-7292 or flotsampr@pm.me

About the Authors: Vonda Pelto, Ph.D., author of Without Remorse and co-author of Without Redemption, was born and raised in the small town of Needles, California, in the barren desert. Brought up in a strict Southern Baptist household, her sheltered childhood and family life meant Vonda was in for a rude awakening when she was hired for a unique job. After the unexpected January 1981 jailhouse suicide of Freeway Killer Vernon Butts, the Los Angeles County Mental Health & Sheriff's Departments needed a new strategy to prevent this from happening with any other high-profile inmates awaiting or standing trial.

Michael B. Butler, author of A World Flight Over Russia, is a professional photographer who has worked extensively in book, travel and corporate PR. His assignments documenting the 50th Anniversaries of Pearl Harbor and D-Day, flying around the world across Russia on the World Flight in July 1992, documenting a Pilgrimage to the Holy Land with 700 Christians in 2013 and multiple PR junkets to Ireland and Tahiti added ample materials to his media library.
Shooting attack in Jerusalem injures 2 Israelis

Xinhua) 09:15, January 29, 2023

Israeli police are seen at the scene of a shooting attack near the Old City of Jerusalem, on Jan. 28, 2023. Two Israelis were injured in a shooting attack near the Old City of Jerusalem on Saturday morning, the Israeli police said. Saturday's attack comes just after a Palestinian shooter killed seven Israelis and wounded three others in a settlement in East Jerusalem on Friday night. In recent days, tensions between Israelis and Palestinians have been running high. (JINI via Xinhua)

JERUSALEM, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- Two Israelis were injured in a shooting attack near the Old City of Jerusalem on Saturday morning, the Israeli police said.

The assailant, a 13-year-old Palestinian resident of East Jerusalem, was shot dead shortly after he injured a father and his son, the police said in a statement.

According to the statement, the Israeli police chief has decided to deploy special forces in the Jerusalem area.

Saturday's attack comes just after a Palestinian shooter killed seven Israelis and wounded three others in a settlement in East Jerusalem on Friday night.

In recent days, tensions between Israelis and Palestinians have been running high.

Earlier this week, a raid by the Israeli military in the West Bank city of Jenin resulted in the killing of nine Palestinians, triggering vows of revenge from Palestinians.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene a security cabinet meeting in the evening to discuss Israel's response to the latest incidents.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to visit the region soon.

Israeli police and rescue personnel are seen at the scene of a shooting attack near the Old City of Jerusalem, on Jan. 28, 2023. Two Israelis were injured in a shooting attack near the Old City of Jerusalem on Saturday morning, the Israeli police said. Saturday's attack comes just after a Palestinian shooter killed seven Israelis and wounded three others in a settlement in East Jerusalem on Friday night. In recent days, tensions between Israelis and Palestinians have been running high. (JINI via Xinhua)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Farmers in England have just a few days left to apply for slurry infrastructure grants ranging between 25,000 and 250,000.

Defra's new grants were first announced in November 2022, with an aim to help farmers overcome current financial barriers to investing in slurry storage.

The funding also encourages farmers to prevent water and air pollution while making the best of organic nutrients.

The deadline for applications is just a few days away, on Tuesday 31 January.

Grants will go toward the cost of building, replacing or expanding slurry storage to achieve six months capacity.

The scheme is open for farmers in England only, offering 50% match funding between 25,000 and 250,000.

The total funding pot is 13 million, and it will be available for livestock farmers to build six months of slurry storage capacity.

Defra farming minister Mark Spencer said many farmers were put off by high infrastructure costs and difficulty accessing finance.

"The grant will tackle this, helping farmers to invest in future-proof slurry storage that supports thriving farms while cutting pollution and allowing nature to prosper."

The NFU said adequate slurry storage was essential for farmers to continue protecting water courses and improve water and air quality.

The union's deputy president Tom Bradshaw said: "Farmers want and can do more to cut pollution levels and this grant will go a long way to supporting that.

Though some farmers have plans, equipment and infrastructure in place to manage the nutrients in their slurry and manure, others face significant financial barriers to having sufficient slurry storage.

The NFU has been working closely with Defra on the development of the scheme and will continue to do so to ensure as many farmers as possible are able to access this support."

Carter Jonas associate, Gillian Wilsher, said that looking at the bigger picture and considering long-term plans was essential for farmers.

Farmers are meant to have six months storage, but the government has realised that many dont as a store that size is expensive to build.

"This is their way of providing a helping hand. However, if this is the carrot, then I imagine in five years time it may be replaced by a big stick if you dont take them up on this offer.

Demand for the scheme is expected to be high; if oversubscribed, Defra will prioritise those projects which will yield the biggest environmental benefits.

The selected farmers will then be invited to submit a full application, for which planning permission must be secured.
Next Story : The Royal Cake Artist- Prachi Dhabal Deb

Tejaswi Ranga Raos strong-willed dream of joining the Indian Air Force turned into reality soon after she became the first female weapons systems operator (wizzo) in the deadly Su-30 MKI fleet of the Indian Air Force. Tejaswi was one of the three girls selected by the Indian Air Force from the entire country, under the flying wing. She pursued BSc in Biotechnology, Chemistry and Genetics from Bangalore alongside joining the National Cadet Corps (NCC). Rao was the first woman to top her graduation at Navigation Training School with a Presidents plaque.Tejaswi attributes her success to her parents, who willingly moved cities to fulfill her dreams.Also Read: #RepublicDaySpecial: Meet Lieutenant Shivangi Singh, Pioneering Navy Pilot
This is a curated list of food experiences and extra-special menus that are almost off the table already





Just This Evening: Fermentation Pop-Up At Noon, Mumbai

The Fermentation-Led Four Hands Dinner by Vanika X Eleni is an exclusive pop-up inspired by the past and looking into the future at Noon, in Mumbai. As part of a collab series with female entrepreneurs in the green fermentation industry, this has two chef-fermenters  Chef Vanika Choudhury and food anthropologist Eleni Michael (main image)  work together on a menu structured around indigenous crops and foraged produce, elevated by Chef Vanikas house-made ferments and Elenis recipes and techniques for fermentation.

The 10-course menu is priced at Rs 5,000 + taxes.

When: 7 pm, January 28, 2023

Location: Noon, One BKC
Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) is set to receive an investment of $6.05 million from Bangladeshi company Bhaiya Apparels Limited for a readymade garments (RMG) manufacturing factory in the region. The two parties recently signed an agreement to this effect at BEPZA Complex in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Under the new deal, Bhaiya Apparels is expected to produce six million pieces of jackets, vests, coveralls, pants, shirts, swimming trunks, T-shirts, boxers, tank tops, etc per year. Around 2,206 Bangladeshis will stand to gain employment opportunities at the new factory, according to local media reports.

BEPZA Economic Zone (EZ) at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpa Nagar in Chattogram is being touted as BEPZAs biggest venture. BEPZA has greenlighted up to 16 enterprises including Bhaiya Apparels to build factories in BEPZA EZ, totalling a proposed investment of $370 million.

BEPZA is set to receive an investment of $6.05 million from Bangladeshi company Bhaiya Apparels Limited for a RMG manufacturing factory in the region. The two parties recently signed an agreement to this effect at BEPZA Complex in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Around 2,206 Bangladeshi nationals will stand to gain employment opportunities at the new factory.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (NB)
Bilateral trade between Cambodia and Australia has surged by 60.9 per cent to reach $523 million from $325 million in 2021, according to data released by the General Department of Customs and Excise (GDCE). Exports from Cambodia to the partner country rose by 84.6 per cent to $379 million from $205 million, while imports increased by 20.3 per cent to $144 million from $120 million.

The surge in trade between the two countries can be attributed to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement which came into effect on January 1, 2022.

Cambodias trade surplus with Australia amounted to $234 million in 2022, as per GDCE data.

Trade between Cambodia and Australia has surged by 60.9 per cent to $523 million from $325 million in 2021, according to the General Department of Customs and Excise (GDCE). Exports from Cambodia to the partner country rose by 84.6 per cent to $379 million from $205 million, while imports increased by 20.3 per cent to $144 million from $120 million.

Products like garments, footwear, travel goods and gold are majorly exported by Cambodia to Australia, while it imports machinery, coal, and cereal preparations among other things.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KD)
For the third consecutive week, prices at the Australian wool auctions continued to hold up. This is despite the pressures of the much stronger Australian dollar against the US dollar and other currency pairs used in the trading and purchase of wool. Slightly weaker levels in AUD were seen at the western centre, but largely due to the 2 per cent + adverse forex, rather than a weakening of the current steady demand from overseas.

Prior to the sales commencing this week, the largest wool destination in China had settled into their Lunar New Year celebrations. Replies to offers from local traders were quiet and cautious in activity as per the normal operations every year. Some new business was written before they took the holiday, with many exporters considering this a small hedge against potential price and currency rises in the immediate future, which indeed happened on the forex, making those insurance contracts worthwhile short term as one prominent exporter described, the Australian Wool Innovation Limited (AWI) said in its commentary for sale week 30 of the current Australian wool marketing season.

For the third consecutive week, prices at the Australian wool auctions continued to hold up. This is despite the pressures of the much stronger Australian dollar against the US dollar and other currency pairs used in the trading and purchase of wool. Slightly weaker levels in AUD were seen at the western centre, largely due to the 2 per cent + adverse forex.

The trade is quite buoyant at the moment and a positive sentiment has been ruling for the past two months. Good steady enquiry with a generally firm market is a scenario not seen for a while and both sides of the trade are seemingly enjoying this stability. In fact, many participants at the first exchange of ownership part of the trade are hinting at better prospects for wool, but with the usual caveats.

Sitting high on this list is the willingness of factory workers in China to return to work following their New Year holidays. After most workers visited their home provinces for the first time in many years, some may choose to alter career paths. The western world saw many changes after lockdowns ended in their countries so it is somewhat expected a degree of change will also occur, affecting mainly the eastern China seaboard located mills, the commentary added.

The Merino wools of all types sold largely within +/-10ac of their established basis from the previous week. Some odd good spinners/best top making descriptions at the finest end did add a few cents, but these lots were limited in supply. Crossbred wool and cardings were traded at a similar +/- 10ac movements, making it a rather mundane week as far as AUD pricing goes. Forex rates did force US and other currency levels up by 2 to 3 per cent across the board. The big traders and first stage processors dominated buying.

About 43,000 bales of wool will be available for auctions on Tuesday/Wednesday.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KD)
Russias share in extra-EU imports fell from 6.4 per cent to 3.8 per cent between February 2022 and September 2022. Over the same period, extra-EU exports to Russia dropped from 2.3 per cent to 1.1 per cent, as per Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union (EU).

The EUs trade deficit with Russia, peaked in March 2022 at 19.6 billion. It then progressively decreased and in September 2022 stood at 9.7 billion.

EU trade with Russia has been strongly affected following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with the EU imposing import and export restrictions on several products. The effects of these measures have been particularly visible in the latest months. Considering seasonally adjusted values, both exports and imports dropped considerably below the levels prior to Russia's invasion, according to Eurostat.

Russia's share in extra-EU imports fell from 6.4 per cent to 3.8 per cent between February 2022 and September 2022. Over the same period, extra-EU exports to Russia dropped from 2.3 per cent to 1.1 per cent, as per Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union (EU). The EU's trade deficit with Russia, peaked in March 2022 at 19.6 billion.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KD)
New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - January 28, 2023) - On 22 January 2023, the 18th HRD International Jewelry Design Awards was held in Italy, the world capital of fashion and art. MEDICI Jewelry's Prince Lorenzo de' Medici, head of the Medici family, was invited to host the awards ceremony.





Prince Lorenzo de' Medici



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MEDICI Jewelry also unveiled the design for "Orion - Star of Medici", a piece from the Medici family collection.





Orion - Star of Medici



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In honour of the Medici family's patronage of the modern scientific sage, Galileo Galilei, this design features a 186.35 carat star sapphire, once the fourth largest in the world, set together with an innovative animal figure representing the spirit of the Medici drive that spurred a renaissance in the arts and humanities. The encircling iris is an expression of the fragility and resilience of the quest for freedom and eternity embodied in mankind's artistic endeavors.





Orion - Star of Medici



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The design not only reflects the impression art has left on mankind's history, but also commemorates what art reveals about the nature of humanity - art is in constant need of rebirth.

As the 'Oscars' of jewelry design, the HRD International Jewelry Design Awards has always attracted international attention as well as many talented designers from around the world. In attendance were dignitaries, business elites, famous designers, design directors, and directors from the world's leading brands. The award-winning designers treated the guests to a visual feast of jewels.





HRD International Jewelry Design Awards



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At the gala finale, Prince Lorenzo de' Medici launched MEDICI JEWELRY, which he founded together with LORDSPEK. A selection of jewelry from the MEDICI FINE JEWELRY collection was also on display.





MEDICI JEWELRY



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MEDICI FASHION JEWELRY, MEDICI JEWELRY's fashion brand, will soon be launched. MEDICI FASHION JEWELRY incorporates the Medici family's artistic concepts into jewelry design, bringing the beauty of jewelry art and the Medici artistic and cultural philosophy to both the public and future generations.

With MEDICI JEWELRY, Prince Lorenzo de' Medici hopes to offer the fashion world a contemporary, distinctive line of jewelry as well as a new platform for artistic expression. It is Medici's wish that all jewelry lovers can experience the enchanting beauty of jewelry art.

Medici Jewelry

Mary Xu

medici1492@163.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/152845
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 29, 2023) - Prismo Metals Inc. (CSE: PRIZ) (OTCQB: PMOMF) ("Prismo") is pleased to announce that it has signed a definitive agreement (the "Agreement") with Infinitum Copper Corp. (TSXV: INFI) (OTCQB: INUMF) ("Infinitum") to acquire a 75% interest in the Hot Breccia porphyry copper-skarn project (the "Project" or "Hot Breccia") located in the Arizona Copper Belt which is home to some of the largest copper deposits in the world.

The Project consists of 227 mining concessions that lie about four kilometers from the historic Christmas mine which recorded production of about 481.6 Mlbs of copper from 20.2 M tons at a grade of 1.2% Cu plus significant gold and silver (Sources: Arizona Geological Society Spring Field Trip Guide in 2014). The Company has not been able to verify the production information and it is not necessarily indicative of the mineralization on the Hot Breccia property. It is believed that the Hot Breccia property may contain high grade skarn mineralization similar to that originally mined at the Christmas mine and the historical information is being used by the Company solely to plan and guide future exploration.

Dr. Gibson, President and CEO of Prismo, stated that, "This acquisition agreement gives Prismo exposure to a copper system in the world class Arizona copper belt with possible precious metal values. We anticipate beginning exploration work at the project quickly and expect to be drilling before the end of the year. Prismo has enough cash on hand to meet property payments and minimum exploration expenditures on all its projects, including Hot Breccia, through 2024."

The Project is currently subject to an Option Agreement between Infinitum and Walnut Mines LLC, a Tucson, Arizona company ("Walnut"). Walnut provided data from several drill holes completed by Bear Creek Mining, a subsidiary of Kennecott Copper Co., on a portion of the property in the 1970's and 80's. Although the data is not complete and not NI 43-101 compliant, several intercepts of high-grade mineralization were reported as detailed below.

Under the terms of the Agreement, Prismo will pay $350,000 in cash and issue 500,000 common shares of Prismo to Infinitum, in addition to assuming certain earn-in obligations of Infinitum under the Option Agreement with Walnut, in order to acquire a 75% ownership interest in Hot Breccia.

Earn-In Obligations to Walnut:

As at Work Commitments Property Payments Share Payments January 31 To be satisfied by Prismo To be made by Prismo To be made by Infinitum 2024 $500,000 $165,000 250,000 shares 2025 $1,000,000 $100,000 500,000 shares 2026 $1,750,000 $275,000 875,000 shares 2027 $2,000,000 - 750,000 shares Total $5,250,000 $540,000 2,375,000 shares

Upon satisfaction of the earn-in obligations and the Option being exercised, Prismo and Infinitum will enter into a joint venture agreement whereby Prismo will be the initial operator of the project. After all earn-in obligations are satisfied, Prismo will have acquired 75% of the Hot Breccia Property, subject to a 2% NSR royalty to Walnut.

Kennecott drilled seven holes from 1972 to 1981 and Phelps Dodge drilled two holes on and near the current property in the same era.

All drill holes intersected hydrothermal alteration within the volcanic rocks that overlie the typically better mineralized Paleozoic carbonate rocks with increasing alteration intensity downwards. The carbonate host units have several copper intercepts reported to exceed 1% copper and elevated zinc.

Kennecott reported highlights:

OC-1: 77' with 0.54% Cu at 2,100'

OCC-7 60' of 1.4% Cu, 4.6% Zn at 2900'

OCC-8: 25' with 1.73% Cu and 0.11% Zn at 2,305' and 15' with 1.4% Cu and 0.88% Zn at 2,350'

Phelps Dodge drill hole PD 2 reported:

1,270 feet of variably mineralized skarn with several intercepts over 1% copper and a high of 3.16% copper

The source for the drill hole data above is Keating, L. DSc, CPG (2021): "The HotBx Claims, Winkelman, Pinal County, Arizona". Data package prepared for Infinitum Copper Corp. by Walnut Mines LLC.

The drill data presented in this press release is incomplete and is not qualified under NI 43-101, but is believed to be accurate. The Company has not verified the historic data presented and it cannot be relied upon, and it is being used solely to aid in exploration plans.

Drill hole data for holes from the Kennecott program

Hole Easting Northing Elev. (ft) Azim Incl Depth (ft) OC-1 526,901 3,653,535 Unknown Vert - 2406 OC-2 526,090 3,653,577 Unknown Vert - +970? OC-3 527,117 3,653,763 Unknown Vert - +970? UnknownOC-5 525,869 3,653,946 Unknown Vert - +500? OCC-6 526,890 3,653,709 2,520 Vert - 3,704 OCC-7 527,078 3,653,356 2,500 Vert - 3,587 OCC-8 526,957 3,653,368 2,500 Vert - 2,908

Coordinates in UTM NAD27 estimated from drill logs.







Location of the Hot Breccia property withing the southern Arizona copper belt.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/7434/152847_bbd142fcf48f58f9_002full.jpg







Location of the Hot Breccia claim package southeast of the Christmas mine.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

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Cross section through the Christmas mine showing mineralized material defined by Freeport (from Arizona Geological Society Field Trip Guide, 2014)



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/7434/152847_fig3.jpg

Agentis Capital Mining Partners provided financial and capital markets advisory services to Prismo with regards to the transaction described herein.

Prismo Metals has entered into an agreement with LFG Equities Corp. to provide strategic advice and digital media and marketing services to the company. LFG, a Toronto-based company, will provide strategic advice, content development, media buying and distribution, and marketing services through social media channels and on-line media placements to the company. LFG's principals currently own 251,000 common shares of the Company. Under the terms of the agreement, LFG will be paid a monthly fee of $2,500 and receive 150,000 stock options in the company, each option exercisable at a price per share equal to the closing price of the Company's stock on the CSE on January 30, 2022 per share for a period of two years. The options have been granted in accordance with the terms of the Company's Long Term Incentive Plan and are subject to certain vesting conditions. Prismo will also reimburse LFG for all pre-approved expenses relating to LFG's engagement.

All references to dollars or $ in this press release are in Canadian dollars.

Dr. Craig Gibson, PhD., CPG., a Qualified Person as defined by NI-43-01 regulations and President, CEO and a director of the Company, has reviewed and approved the technical disclosures in this news release.

About Prismo

Prismo (CSE: PRIZ) is junior mining company focused on precious metal exploration in Mexico and Arizona.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Craig Gibson, Chief Executive Officer and Director

Prismo Metals Inc.

1100 - 1111 Melville St., Vancouver, British Columbia V6E 3V6

craig.gibson@prismometals.com

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements other than statements of historical fact, including without limitation, statements regarding the potential of the Hot Breccia project, anticipated content, commencement and exploration program results, required permitting, exploration programs and drilling, and the anticipated business plans and timing of future activities of the Company, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, postulate and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, by their nature, forward-looking statements involve assumptions, known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, and therefore it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct.

The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, the state of the financial markets for the Company's equity securities, the state of the commodity markets generally, variations in the nature, the analytical results from surface trenching and sampling program, including diamond drilling programs, the results of IP surveying, the results of soil and till sampling program. the quality and quantity of any mineral deposits that may be located, variations in the market price of any mineral products the Company may produce or plan to produce, the inability of the Company to obtain any necessary permits, consents or authorizations required, including CSE acceptance, for its planned activities, the inability of the Company to produce minerals from its properties successfully or profitably, to continue its projected growth, to raise the necessary capital or to be fully able to implement its business strategies, the potential impact of COVID-19 (coronavirus) on the Company's exploration program and on the Company's general business, operations and financial condition, and other risks and uncertainties. While the Company may elect to, it does not undertake to update this information at any particular time except as required in accordance with applicable laws. All of the Company's Canadian public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sedar.com and readers are urged to review these materials, including the technical reports filed with respect to the Company's mineral properties.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the CSE policies) accepts responsibility for this release's adequacy or accuracy.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/152847
This blog covers software patent news and issues with a particular focus on wireless, mobile devices (smartphones, tablet computers, connected cars) as well as select antitrust matters surrounding those devices.
Q: Lately, tensions have escalated between Palestine and Israel with violence and conflicts on the rise. On January 26, Israeli forces clashed with Palestinians while conducting a raid in the West Bank city of Jenin, leaving more than ten Palestinians dead. On January 27, a terrorist attack at a religious site in East Jerusalem caused civilian casualties. Whats Chinas comment?



A: China has been closely following the recent escalation of tensions between Palestine and Israel. We are deeply saddened by the civilian casualties caused by the Palestine-Israel conflicts. We condemn all terrorist attacks targeting civilians and oppose excessive use of force. The pressing priority is to do everything possible to deescalate the situation and call on all parties, Israel in particular, to show calm and restraint in order to prevent the situation from spiraling out of control.

The Palestine-Israel conflict has been recurring fundamentally because the two-state solution has not been delivered and the Palestinian people have long been denied their legitimate aspiration of establishing an independent state. The international community needs to act with a stronger sense of urgency and create conditions for the resumption of talks between Palestine and Israel. China will continue to work hard for a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement of the Palestinian question.
On January 9, 2023, Foreign Minister Qin Gang had a phone call at request with Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

Qin Gang said that China and Pakistan enjoy special friendship and high-level mutual trust. The high-level officials of the two countries have maintained close interactions, injecting strong impetus into the development of bilateral relations. The Chinese side is ready to work with the Pakistani side to follow the important common understandings reached by the leaders of the two countries, continuously deepen the traditional friendship between China and Pakistan, and jointly build an even closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era.

Qin Gang stressed that with the Chinese New Year just days away, the Chinese side is highly concerned about the safety of Chinese citizens in Pakistan and hopes that the Pakistani side will continue to take strong security measures.

Bilawal once again congratulated Qin Gang on his assuming office as China's Foreign Minister, saying that the ironclad brotherhood between China and Pakistan is the "North Star" guiding Pakistan's foreign policy toward China. Bilawal expected to jointly take the Pakistan-China all-weather strategic cooperative partnership to a new level. He wished the Chinese people a happy Chinese New Year in the upcoming Year of the Rabbit. The Pakistani side will spare no effort to protect the safety of the Chinese personnel, institutions and projects in Pakistan.
On January 10, 2023 local time, Foreign Minister Qin Gang and Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen Hassen jointly met the press.

Qin Gang said that Ethiopia is a major and developing country with important influence in Africa and an important cooperative partner of China in Africa. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries more than 50 years ago, no matter how the international landscape changes, the China-Ethiopia friendship has remained unbreakable and grown stronger over time. In recent years, under the strategic guidance of the leaders of the two countries, China-Ethiopia relations have maintained high-level development, and practical cooperation in various fields has yielded fruitful results. During his visit, Qin Gang visited Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali and held talks with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen Hassen. The two sides reached a high-level consensus. Both sides agreed that:

The two sides need to consolidate and deepen political mutual trust and be partners that firmly support each other on issues concerning each other's core interests and major concerns.

The two sides need to align development strategies, expand practical cooperation, better leverage the economic and social benefits brought by the flagship projects of bilateral cooperation, such as the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway, make efforts to expand the scale of bilateral trade and investment, deepen mutual benefit and win-win results, and be partners for common development. China encourages more Chinese companies to take an active part in Ethiopia's reconstruction.

The two sides need to strengthen coordination on multilateral affairs and jointly address global challenges. China supports Ethiopia in playing a greater role in international and regional affairs, and stands ready to communicate and cooperate with Ethiopia closely and be partners that jointly safeguard international fairness and justice.

Qin Gang said, China-Ethiopia relations are embracing new opportunities and broad prospects for development. China is ready to work with Ethiopia to jointly work for more fruitful outcomes in China-Ethiopia traditional friendship for the benefit of the two countries and peoples.
A Quarryville woman responsible for her husband's death on Valentine's Day was convicted of the crime. She committed the crime in 2021 and was sentenced to life without parole on Wednesday, December 21.

Estranged Husband Killed on Valentine's Day 2021

Mentioned by the Lancaster County district attorney's office, which stated the terrible killing that happened in the PNC Bank in Strasburg, reported Daily Voice.

Based on the sources mentioning that Danielle Beweley, 30, was proven guilty in the reported murder in the first degree of Mitchell Beweley. Her trial was held for five days in a Lancaster court with County Judge Merrill Spahn, ending on December 21, per Lancaster Online.

The sentence for the homicide includes a lifetime in prison with no chance of parole for committing first-degree murder, noted the DA's office last January 24, 2022.

Input by the Assistant District Attorney Christine Wilson mentioning the case and the evidence shown in court. She made observations in the trial that Danielle had planned the homicide. Details in court reveal it was an attempt to conceal foul play and claim self-defense. They argued that she lured him to the bank and then shot him in the chest at 5:30 pm, according to Fox 43.

Wilson added the accused planned to kill the victim, and everything was carried out to plan. Several witnesses at the PNC Bank heard an initial gunshot, followed by several more. Lancaster County Coroner did the autopsy and called all the shots fatal to the victim.

Read Also: Russian Rapper's Wife Dismembers Him To Feed His Body Parts to Rodents

Quarryville Woman Premeditated Murder

More statements from the defendant's friend, including Ring camera video capture, revealed she went to her friend's house to get the gun used in the slaying.

Assistant District Attorney Wilson claimed that the suspect's claim of self-defense was incorrect because of her actions. She did not go to the cops or stay someplace else and had other plans, thus meeting the spouse.

Danielle, based on testimony, issued prior threats to kill the victim before the actual slaying. It got worse when the suspect had a FaceTime call with a friend showing the firearm revealed before shooting her spouse dead. The defendant made herself more suspicious as friends and family heard her in many calls about how the victim was shot dead. She alleged said that "He got what he deserved."

District Attorney Impressions

Wilson explained doubt that the defendant is subject to serious injury and getting killed in luring the victim to the bank, then killing him. Another doubt in the claims is that the wife could have avoided what could have happened. By not preventing the situation losses credibility in saying it was self-defense too.

Defense lawyers of the accused sought third-degree murder or manslaughter verdict because the alleged mental state made the victim made her fear something. Judge Spahn gave the guilty verdict at 4:45 pm on Tuesday.

At one point, the victim's dad made a statement during the trial, saying that he forgave his daughter-in-law, remarked the DA. The convicted Quarryville woman who murdered her husband on Valentine's Day 2021 ended up getting convicted for life.

Related Article: Wife Bit Husband's Privates After He Refused to Remove Rat From Her Bedroom

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Due to US sanctions issued against Moscow, it forced to move production of Russian gunships out to the Middle East. At a meeting with the chiefs of the legislatures of Russia and Iran on January 23, Vyacheslav Volodin, chairman of the DUMA, was in Tehran.

US Sanctions Affect Russian Gunships Supplies

Hosts of the Russian official are Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, with Ebrahim Raisi, President of the Republic of Iran, discussing the matter.

Based on an Iranian news outlet that states how Moscow and Tehran are cooperating on the more military matter than before, Bulgarian Military.

News of the transfer of the new Su-35 multi-role fighter is only the start, and more information reveals that Russian is preparing to set the basis for building attack helicopters with Iranians. The model that will be part of the technology sharing will be the Mil Mi-28 and Kamov Ka-52 Alligator.

The outlet discloses that Iranian military officers are looking into how these two choppers are faring in the Ukraine conflict, using the combo of the Kamov Alligator and the Mil-28 looks to be just what is needed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, per Military Today.

Russia Moves Production to the Middle East

Tehran is under an arms sale embargo in place for 24 months, affecting the acquisition of military hardware. For the past ten years, Iran has developed its arms leading to homegrown tech independent of western help.

Most of the time, Iranians would need to depend on captured technology sent to Syria, which is reverse-engineered. Western hardware that falls into Russian hands is sent to Iran to be studied.

Read Also: Battle of the Best Attack Chopper

Based on reports that say the Shahed 285 and Shahed 218 drone production will be canceled due to a lack of requirements matching Iran's specifications. The official reason and the unofficial version says no influence is involved in these decisions.

Another is that upgrading the Iranian force's AH1-J Cobra helicopters could not be done because it is hard to do. These units were given by the US decades ago and stopped production of all components.

Advantages of Buying Weapons from Russia

Tehran has a pick of who to buy hardware from but the arms embargo allowed for more options other than western arms suppliers. No access to western sources allows the east as another market for an arm; China and Russia are good choices.

The Ukraine war prevented Tehran from getting military hardware from China. The timing of the Ukraine conflict was just the opening that Iran was looking for. China was supposed to be an initial option, but the conflict had advantages for Russia and Iran. Iranian officials say the Ukraine war opened an opportunity to cooperate with Russia as it needs money, weapons, and component support. Instead of paying for them, it could be a tech exchange that covers most military hardware and support components to keep them working.

Tehran will have the Mi-28 Havoc and Ka-52 helicopters as the best technologies though not the best ones for armies, states Weapon Systems.

Forced US sanctions have affected the distribution of Russian gunships that would move production in the Middle East to bypass restrictions as the best measure for military coop.

Related Article: Russia Unleash Mi-28NM Havoc Armored Flying Tank

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Something good is stewing in Adair Village.

A mid-Willamette Valley caterer said she wants to restart The Officers Club in the tiny but growing burg roughly between Albany and Corvallis.

If it works the way she wants, said Emily Vasey, the Jefferson-based owner of Honeybrine LLC, she gets a kitchen where she can work any time she wants and a space where she can turn customer focus on thoughtful farm-to-table dinner events.

Just having my own kitchen is worth it to me, Vasey said.

Vaseys company does business now at Linn County Expo Center, where, as of last fall, it's on the list of pre-approved caterers people reserving event space are allowed to hire.

As Honeybrine Catering, the business shares kitchen space and spends much of Vaseys time servicing parties.

We were pretty much maxed out on what we could do, Vasey said.

Then Benton County named Honeybrine Catering the concessionaire of the government-owned Officers Club.

Assuming the space can pass muster, the club will have a grand opening by mid-February. Vasey anticipates holding an open house by the last week of February.

With the venues kitchen on hand, she believes she could use the venue solely as a base of operations for catering outside events and still profit over the rent and overhead for The Officers Club.

But our hopes for the whole space are pretty big, Vasey said. We really want to open the space to the public."

Wood paneling halts partway up the walls of the space. A landscaped patio and walkways will provide room for guests to amble in and out of doors.

Big windows flood the space, splashing green armchairs with natural light.

The kitchen is older, and Vasey inherited hundreds of pieces of gold-colored spoons, forks and knives from the outgoing concessionaire who decked the halls of The Officers Club in a mid-century pastiche.

They could be tacky, but I love them, Vasey said. In that setting it really works.

Officers Club is, if nothing else, handsome. There are day rates and corporate rates, a venue fee or fees for food.

Its well-positioned for business meetings.

Vasey, however, wants the club to be warm, too, and familial.

Its not just a venue for high-end weddings, although we do want that, but it should also be accessible to the community, she said.

She envisions routine events, like Sunday concerts. An Adair Village City Hall staffer told Vasey theyd like to see regular bingo games held at The Officers Club.

Therell be special rates for those customers, Vasey said. Community rates.

Those are things that will happen on a recurring basis, and we want to be able to give back to the community, Vasey said.

And Vasey would like to host five-course, season and ingredient-specific dinners with locally sourced foods.

Officers Club, Vasey hopes, will be a place where locals can go to not just eat but learn from the people growing their food. She said she wants to harness partnerships with local farmers, like Chad and Liz Shinn of Camron Ridge Farmstead in Jefferson, for classes and workshops.

Vasey called it family-style eating.

Not only a way to highlight a farmer or ingredient, but get all these people to sit down, meeting each other or talking to each other for the first time, Vasey said. Thats really one of my favorite things as a caterer.

Honeybrine assumes the space from Forks and Corks, a caterer with its own space in Corvallis and the exclusive rights to provide event food at a downtown space, The Vue. That vendor approached Vasey about taking on The Officers Club, tracking down the growing rival caterer.

Its a small community, Vasey said.

An old building, largely unused for a couple of years, The Officers Club needed a drain unclogged here or piece of equipment fixed there, Vasey said.

The space, Vasey said, is awaiting the review of a fire marshal to sign off on the venues 120-person seating capacity, and a county health inspection.

Then Officers Club falls in line with the business of party planning and event hosting.

And, of course, serving food. Thats the backbone of the business, Vasey said.

I love working with seasonal food and working with farmers, she said. Its why I moved to Oregon. Thats what I love doing.

Related stories:
The current Italian PM, while visiting Libya, discussed with Libyan officials about natural gas supplies and migration as a concern. These concerns are the primary focal point for the Italian government and the European Unions.

Italian PM Seeks Commitment for Natural Gas Supplies

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni went to the African country as the third stop on tour during the last two weeks. The ongoing Ukraine conflict driven by the US proxy has prompted her to visit the country to replace Russian natural gas, Republic World reported.

Another African state previously that PM Meloni visited is Tunisia, and earlier in the week was Algeria, which is the primary energy supplier of Italy, with several agreements signed by her.

Meloni arrived at the Mitiga airport, the only airport operational in Tripoli, the capital city, with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, as part of her entourage, according to AP News.

On Meloni's arrival, she was received by Najla Mangoush, the foreign minister of the Tripoli-based government. Flowers were given to her as a token upon arrival, shaking hands with a child. Meeting with Abdel Hamid Dbeibah, the chief of a rival administration in Libya, she got the chance to discuss with Libya's ceremonial presidential council, Mohamed Younis Menfi.

Italy's Visit to Libya Is of Great Importance

The state visit is expected that Eni will sign a USD 8 billion deal to build offshore gas fields in Libya, per France 24.

An output of 850 million cubic feet per day is expected to be pumped from it, says Farhat Bengdara, head of Libya's National Oil Corporation, informed the public via television earlier in the week.

Read Also: German Tank Support For Ukraine Draws Mixed Reactions

The energy firm did not deny or confirm the report. Also, the firm is in a risky deal to operate in the territory to produce gas for mainly domestic production. Tripoli delivered approximately 2.63 billion cubic meters via the Greenstream pipeline a year ago. Before the unrest in the country, the output was lower than 8 billion cubic meters.

Most of the Libyan gas deliveries were compounded by instability, domestic demand, and insufficient investment in this field sorely needed, said Matteo Villa of the ISPI think tank. He added new deals are a measure of national image.

The Ukraine conflict caused Italy to drop its dependence on Russian gas, but it caused a deficiency of 11 billion cubic meters after it decided to sanction Moscow.

Meloni has been the PM for three months and the top European official to visit the oil-rich African nation that did not hold elections on December 2021. It prompted the east-based parliament of the country to set up another government when Dbeibah did not step down.

Its administration is done by rival governments that lie on the eastern side and Tripoli on the western side. After 2011, a NATO back rebellion led to the toppling and killing of their leader Moammar Gadhafi. This presence of Piantedosi in the entourage shows migration as one of the talking points. He was pushing for the denial of Libyan refugees in Italian territory.

Italy's PM is visiting Libya to fix the Italian energy crunch as natural gas supplies from Russia becomes scarce, with migration as another.

Related Article: Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni Pans Foreign Interference as Unnecessary in Italy's Internal Affairs

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
CENTENNIAL, Colo., Jan. 29, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Key Autism Services will present Positive Behavior Strategies for Parents, Caregivers & Teachers on Feb. 23, 2023, at 6855 South Havana St, Suite 150, Centennial, CO 80112 featuring Brittany Degner, MS, Board Certified Behavior Analyst.

Join Key Autism Services on Thursday, Feb.y 23 at 6 p.m. for this live in-person & virtual presentation by Brittany Degner, MS, Board Certified Behavior Analyst from Key Autism Services Colorado. In this 50-minute educational presentation, Brittany will provide tips for parents, caregivers, and teachers about how to respond and react to the most common behaviors exhibited by children with socially distracting or undesirable forms of communication. From the perspective of a Masters-level behavior analyst, she will guide you through several positive and delicate behavior strategies that help reduce the stress for caregivers and their children during these moments. RSVP to reserve your seat or view the live/recorded version of this informative complimentary community presentation, light refreshments will be served.

DATE: Feb. 23, 2023

TIME: 6:00 PM MST

ADDRESS: 6855 South Havana St, Suite 150, Centennial, CO 80112

Phone: 720.896.4146

RSVP: https://www.keyautismservices.com/positive-behavior

"Key Autism Services seeks to provide solutions for parents struggling with the emotional and mental toll that is caused by their children's emotional dysregulation. Occasionally resulting in outbursts, tantrums, or backlash for the most common activities of daily living such as disruption of routines, dressing, hygiene, and communication. After the presentation: parents, teachers, and caregivers will be able to implement these positive behavior strategies with their children to result in better outcomes," says Jayson Remillard, KEY's ABA Therapy Business Development Manager.

Key Autism Services provides Applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy services to bring about meaningful and positive change to individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Our mission is to give our clients the ability to unlock their potential. KEY currently provides services in Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Nebraska, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.

Contact Information:

Robyn Ackerman

PR Manager

robyn@popdigitalmarketing.com



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PERTH, Australia, Jan. 30, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to Techforce, a national privately owned recruitment and workforce management company experienced in supplying qualified employees to a range of occupations, including rigger jobs and mining chef jobs, across Australia and New Zealand, the COVID-19 pandemic created intense global supply chain issues for the mining industry, including a massive shortage of skilled workers.

In Australia, the mining sector was responsible for 10.4% of total GDP between 2019 and 2020, reports the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which is more than any other sector. The Minerals Council noted in July 2021 that over 250,000 people were directly employed in the industry, plus more than 600,000 people work in support industries.

With the industry showing no signs of slowing down, Techforce says it is facing significant recruitment challenges. Mining companies are being forced to consider alternative ways to find suitable candidates, including taking on workers with no previous experience. Techforce explains that employers are now looking for people that have professional experience in similar industries with transferable skills.

Recruiting and retaining the right people is critical to any business' success, and Techforce says the most important thing for companies is to have people onboard who share the same vision and goals. Those with outside experience can bring new ideas to the table that will help organisations bolster their operations. Training can be provided on the job for the right candidates.

As the industry battles against skilled labour shortages, environmental concerns are also deterring younger generations, says Techforce. With environmental stability a major global focus, the sector is struggling to shake its reputation as being averse to change, despite doing everything it can to improve its environmental and social performance.

Attracting new people to the industry is important, and Techforce says there should be a focus on educating the marketplace about opportunities for individuals to grow their careers and innovate while having a positive impact on the industry as it moves to become more environmentally responsible.

To discover opportunities in the mining industry, including the best paying FIFO chef jobs Perth-wide as well as other chef jobs around the country, contact Techforce today.

Contact Information:

Techforce Personnel

Marketing Manager

recruitment@techforce.com.au

(08) 6363 7040



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SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 29, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hagens Berman urges Generac Holdings Inc. (NYSE: GNRC) investors who suffered $1 million or more losses to submit your losses now.



Class Period: Apr. 29, 2021  Nov. 1, 2022

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: Jan. 30, 2023

Visit: www.hbsslaw.com/investor-fraud/GNRC

Contact An Attorney Now: GNRC@hbsslaw.com

844-916-0895

Generac Holdings Inc. (NYSE: GNRC) Securities Fraud Class Action:

The litigation challenges Generacs statements concerning the safety and success of its PWRcell solar energy offering which includes the SnapRS, a rapid shutdown device meant to shut off the flow of electricity from solar panels to the rest of the system.

The complaint alleges that Defendants mispresented and concealed that: (1) they knew the SnapRS units were defective; (2) as a result, relevant accounting rules required Generac to timely record warranty liabilities but it did not; and, (3) contrary to Generacs assurances otherwise, its sales to channel partners were highly concentrated in a single partner.

The truth began to emerge on Aug. 1, 2022, when one of Generacs channel partners (Pink Energy) sued the company alleging that SnapRS defects caused millions of dollars of damage to Pink Energy and threatened its solvency.

Then, on Oct. 19, 2022 Generac revealed that it recorded $37 million of clean energy warranty and $18 million of bad debt charges, ostensibly related to Pink Energys Oct. 7, 2022 bankruptcy.

Finally, on Nov. 2, 2022 Generac slashed its FY 2022 guidance on clean energy products by a whopping $170 to $200 million as a result of the loss of a major customer and the specific warranty-related issue.

Each of these disclosures caused the price of Generac shares to decline sharply, thereby injuring investors.

Were focused on investors losses and proving Generac cooked its books, said Reed Kathrein, the Hagens Berman partner leading the investigation.

If you invested in Generac and have significant losses, or have knowledge that may assist the firms investigation, click here to discuss your legal rights with Hagens Berman.

Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding Generac should consider their options to help in the investigation or take advantage of the SEC Whistleblower program. Under the new program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC. For more information, call Reed Kathrein at 844-916-0895 or email GNRC@hbsslaw.com.

About Hagens Berman

Hagens Berman is a global plaintiffs rights complex litigation law firm focusing on corporate accountability through class-action law. The firm is home to a robust securities litigation practice and represents investors as well as whistleblowers, workers, consumers and others in cases achieving real results for those harmed by corporate negligence and fraud. More about the firm and its successes can be found at hbsslaw.com. Follow the firm for updates and news at @ClassActionLaw.
Perth, Jan. 30, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CHANGE TO PERSEUSS SENIOR MANAGEMENT TEAM

Perth, Western Australia/January 30, 2023/Perseus Mining Limited (ASX/TSX: PRU) wishes to advise that after seven years of outstanding service, its Chief Operating Officer, Mr Chris Woodall, will retire from the Company with effect from June 30, 2023.

As part of an orderly management transition, Mr David Schummer will join Perseus on February 1, 2023 and, after a period of familiarisation with our West African operations, will assume the role of Chief Operating Officer reporting to the Chief Executive Officer.

Prior to joining Perseus, Mr Schummer has had an impressive career in the mining industry, firstly with Newmont Mining Corporation where, amongst other roles, he held the positions of Vice President  North American Operations based in Nevada, USA and Senior Vice President  African Operations based in Ghana.

In 2018, he relocated to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to join Maaden as Senior Vice President, Maaden Gold and Base Metals, a role that has relevance to Perseuss plans to develop the Meyas Sand Gold Project in Sudan.

Perseuss Managing Director and CEO Jeff Quartermaine said:

It is with sadness that we will shortly farewell Chris Woodall who has worked tirelessly for Perseus as COO for the past seven years. Chris expertise, energy and infectious enthusiasm has served as an inspiration to our operating teams and he has been an important member of the executive team that has transformed Perseus into the high performing mid-tier gold company that it is today.

We are also very excited about welcoming Dave Schummer to our ranks. Dave has a very deep knowledge of mining operations and leadership and he will work very well with our operating teams in Ghana, Cote dIvoire and, before long, Sudan. We are also looking forward to Daves contribution to our senior executive team and playing a key role in shaping the Companys future.

This announcement was approved for release by Perseus Mining Limiteds Managing Director and CEO, Jeff Quartermaine.

ASX/TSX CODE: PRU



CAPITAL STRUCTURE:

Ordinary shares: 1,367,463,113

Performance rights: 12,001,072



REGISTERED OFFICE:



Level 2

437 Roberts Road

Subiaco WA 6008



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The Memphis police chief dissolved the Scorpion squad on Saturday, saying that the recently released video showing some of its officers pounding to death Black motorist Tyre Nichols cast a "cloud of disgrace" over the department.

Director of Public Safety Cerelyn "CJ" Davis said she spoke with Nichols' family, local officials, and unbiased police before taking action a day after the disturbing video went viral.

Her statement came as the country and city grappled with Black policemen's brutality. The Tyre Nichols Death video raised fresh questions about why people kept dying at the hands of police officers despite widespread outcries for reform, according to AP News.

There was rejoicing among the protesters moving through downtown Memphis when they learned the unit had been abolished. A protester shouted via a bullhorn that the squad responsible for Tyre Nichols Death had been dissolved "permanently."

In a statement released by their attorneys, Nichols' family expressed satisfaction with the verdict, calling it "both appropriate and proportional to the tragic death of Tyre Nichols," and regarded the measure as a reasonable judgment for the people of Memphis.

Statement by Memphis PD: pic.twitter.com/VE6qaBIu8s  Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) January 28, 2023

In October 2021, the Memphis police Scorpion unit began targeting high-impact offenses, including vehicle thefts and gang activity.

Police Brutality Seen in Released Video

This past week, Officers Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmitt Martin III, and Justin Smith lost their jobs. They were arrested on Thursday and charged with second-degree murder, assault, abduction, governmental misconduct, and oppression, according to the BBC.

On Friday morning, according to the prison log, four of the five had paid bond and were freed.

Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, was severely beaten by police during a traffic stop on January 7, according to body camera video that the Memphis Police Department released of the incident.

The released video includes footage from a SkyCop camera and the officers' body cameras and is comprised of four parts. Tyre Nichols could be seen in the footage being yelled at by law enforcement officers before they were forcefully taken from the vehicle, as per a previous HNGN report.

Read Also: Madison Brooks Death Update

The video recordings have been termed as "absolutely appalling," "alarming," and "unconscionable" by law enforcement officers and lawyers for Nichols' family. The first video to be published was shot by a police officer and lasted for almost 11 minutes.

The attorney for the Nichols family stated their client was handled like a "human pinata" by the cops. He told BBC that the incident was an "unadulterated, unabashed, non-stop beating" of the victim.

Protesters Marched To the White House

Peaceful demonstrations were held in numerous cities throughout the nation on Friday after Tyre Nichols Death. Protesters gathered outside the White House to voice their outrage Tyre Nichols Death caused by police brutality.

By the time the body cam footage of Tyre Nichols' fatal police assault was made public on Friday night, there were roughly 60 people gathered in Black Lives Matter Plaza to offer their support, according to Fox 5 Washington.

The demonstrators, for the most part, were peaceful and chanted demands for transparency and justice from the administration and the police.

Related Article: Latest Update on Paul Pelosi Attack

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Truth or Consequences, NM (87901)

Today

Wind increasing. A few clouds from time to time. High around 75F. Winds SW at 20 to 30 mph. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Clear skies. Low 46F. Winds W at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible.
North Korea on Sunday slammed the United States plan to transfer tanks to Ukraine as an "unethical crime" that will worsen the global situation amid the Russia-Ukraine war.

In a statement, the head of US relations at North Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Kwon Chung-keun called claims by the United States that North Korea has sent armaments to Russia "groundless" claims, per state media KCNA.

He stated that the US is "working hard to supply" weaponry like battle tanks to Ukraine "at any cost," violating the "just concern" of the global community, per Reuters.

"This is an unethical crime aimed at keeping the international situation unstable," the North Korean official noted.

Kwon stated that spreading the false rumors of weapons transactions between North Korea and Russia is a "grave provocation" that can never be tolerated.

Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, blasted US commitments of combat tanks to Ukraine on Saturday, saying that Washington was "further crossing the red line" to seek dominance via proxy war, as reported by KCNA.

Last year, North Korea fired an unprecedented number of missiles, including intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) that might reach the U.S. American and South Korean authorities have both expressed concern that North Korea is gearing up for its first nuclear test since 2017.

Last week, Russia's envoy to the US termed the Washington's commitment of tanks to Ukraine a "blatant" provocation that would have lasting consequences, per an earlier HNGN report.

West To Deliver Over 300 Tanks to Ukraine

Meanwhile, on Friday, Ukraine's envoy to France said that the West will be delivering more than 300 tanks to his country amid the Russia Ukraine war.

Ukrainian Ambassador to France Vadym Omelchenko noted that the Ukrainian government has received formal confirmation from several nations that they would ship 321 heavy tanks to the country, according to a CNN report.

He did not say which nations or what kinds of tanks will be supplied.

Read Also: German Tank Support For Ukraine Draw Mixed Reactions

Omelchenko's estimate follows this week's commitments from the United States to supply 31 M1 Abrams tanks and Germany to deliver 14 Leopard 2 A6s. The United Kingdom has already promised to send 14 Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine, while Poland has requested Germany for permission to send some of its own Leopard 2 tanks to the country.

Zelensky Also Pleads for Long Range Missiles, Fighter Planes

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed appreciation to Western leaders for deploying tanks to help them win the Russia-Ukraine war, but he has also stressed the need for their prompt delivery.

He has been pleading with the West to deliver long-range missiles and fighter planes in his nightly speech.

Ukraine is looking for deliveries of long-range missiles and artillery, but Volodymyr Zelensky reportedly reminded NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg that "progress must be made in other aspects of our defense cooperation."

Volodymyr Zelensky said that not only should Western tanks be sent quickly, but that they should be sent in such large numbers that "tyranny will never rise again" once they strike, as per a BBC report.

After getting the tanks, Zelensky will likely shift his attention to arming the Ukrainian air force with advanced and powerful fighter planes. However, many Western nations are still opposed to this, out of concern that the aircraft might be used to attack targets within Russia.

Related Article: Russia Reacts to US Tank Supply for Ukraine

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The Mirror's Health , Lifestyle and Fashion

Salma Aisha Lawal takes perfume making to another level

Doreen Hammond Lifestyle Jan - 28 - 2023 , 14:01

Two years ago, a 23-year-old graduate of the University of Professional Studies(UPSA), Salma Aisha Lawal, who was on national service at Sanlam Insurance, posted a picture of a room diffuser she had bought on her snapchat.

Little did she know that the post would be the key to open the door to her full time self-employment after the service.

When she posted the picture, she had many enquiries as to where she bought the diffuser .

In a chat with The Mirror in Accra on Wednesday, Salma said, I saw an opportunity to do business. I asked myself, why should I show them where I bought it when I could buy and sell to them?.

That became her little side business during her service and she added the sale of different wigs as well. As Muslims, her mother , Madam Adiza Bukari was not too happy about the sale of the wigs.

After her national service when there was no vacancy for her to be employed permanently at the company, Salma decided to concentrate full time on her sales.

So she took orders and delivered with the help of dispatch riders.

Salma said her customers then asked for perfume oils, deodorants, pomade and lotion. She listened and sourced the perfume oils from a supplier in Nigeria she got in touch with online.

On her birthday when her mother, a business woman and former head teacher asked what she wanted, Salma asked for GH3,000. She told her mother she would stop selling the wigs and sell more perfumes.

She had also seen a shop in her neighbourhood at Sakumono which she wanted to rent. Her mother was convinced and gave the money to her. With only eight shelves, Salma moved her business to a different level.

In came COVID-19 and her supplier of the perfume oils in Nigeria could not get the product across to her because the borders were closed.

Miss Lawal realised that Emirates Airlines was still in business and therefore went online to find another supplier in Dubai. That move became successful in a manner which allowed her to explore different bottles and scents for her business.

Her supplier also frequently gave her lessons on perfumes because he was an expert.

In no time, Salmas customers started asking for perfumes because they had issues with the oils staining their clothes. Even though she explained that it was because they were not applying them at the appropriate places, she decided to go into the manufacture of perfumes to meet their demand.

Salma took an online certificate course in perfumery and ventured into that field.

Today, she makes and sells different perfumes to suit different tastes. She is able to custom make some from 100 scents she has available.

Asked what made her products unique, Salma said, I am able to make very expensive perfumes for cheaper prices. For instance, I can manufacture a high-end perfume which costs about GH2,400, at the price of GH 500. You get same scent, and it lasts same duration. One can hardly tell the difference. Because of copyright issues, I am very careful though.

Salma says she took another GH10,000 as loan from her mother for the business which she paid back, and has taken another GH20,000.

You know, my mother will only give me the loan once she is convinced I can pay back, she said smiling.

Now Salma has added on the importation of supplies from France as well to make her perfumes, and her products, being sold under the brand name Odore, is doing well, she says.

Asked why Odore, Miss Lawal said the name was Spanish . She took it from a material she was reading and she loves it.

sa Currently, the shelves in her shop have increased and orders have increased and she has employed a shop attendant to help out.

On challenges, Salma said she was working hard to improve her packaging.

It is difficult to get such materials on the Ghanaian market. Buying outside too is about money so I am working hard to find a way, she hoped.

Asked what her future plans were, Salma said she wanted to do advance courses in perfumery but had a challenge because she needed a background in Chemistry but she did Business at Aburi Senior High School and continued to the University of Professional Studies (UPSA) as advised by her late father, Musah Muhammad Lawal, who was an accountant and a lecturer at the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana(ICAG) .

Her sister, Sherifa, also pursued a course at the same university and is now a full-time trader in clothes, bags and shoes which she buys from the United States of America, United Kingdom and other countries.

Salma has another sister, Rayann, who is in primary school and two brothers, Basit and Jaleel.

Without the background in Chemistry, Salma believes that Allah would open a way for her to study perfumery in France or another country. She is still researching on this as she trusts God to make a way.

Miss Lawal expressed gratitude to her parents for their love, care and guidance. She is also happy that she didnt add up to the army of unemployed youth

As she prepared an order, Salma looked up and told this journalist that she was also making packages for sale this Valentines day.

I am grateful to social media for the advantages it provides me to do good business. My whole life is work. From morning till evening. I know I will improve. I am working hard. I know.
CBIT strengthens national system for effective reporting on climate actions

graphic.com.gh Jan - 29 - 2023 , 08:58

The Capacity Building Initiative for Transparency (CBIT) project has strengthen efforts towards ensuring a sustainable and effective national system for effective reporting on climate actions.

The initiative, funded by the Global Environmental facility has built the technical capacities of institutions towards the enhanced and rigorous climate reporting regime beginning 2024.

The move is in line with the Paris Agreement, an international treaty on climate change, that established the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF) under Article 13 for climate action support to enable all countries to track progress of climate actions and further raise ambitions.

Ghana, as a party to the Paris Agreement, participated in the Capacity Building Initiative for Transparency (CBIT) established under the Agreement to strengthen institutions and build technical capacities of developing countries to effectively participate in the ETF.

Dr Daniel Tutu Benefoh, Ghanas the Focal Person to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change told journalists, on Thursday day in Accra.

He said the that the reporting regime under the ETF were national communications, Greenhouse gas inventory of anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of greenhouse gases and Biennial Transparency Reports (BTR),

The rest are Information necessary to track Progress made of implementation and achieving of NDCs, Information related to Climate Change Impact and Adaptation, Information on financial, technology development and transfer and capacity building support.

He explained that in 2018, Ghana received approval from Global Environment Fund (GEF) funding to roll out its CBIT project  which its implementation commenced in 2020 due to the Covid 19 Pandemic.

The objective of Ghanas CBIT project, funded by the Global Environmental Facility was to strengthen national systems to effectively and regularly track and report the countrys NDCs.

Dr Tutu Benefoh said the Project had helped identify and address gaps in the areas of institutional arrangements, data management, and reviewed methodologies for energy, transport, agriculture and waste statistics.

He said through CIBIT indicators to track NDC actions had been developed and incorporated into the national monitoring and evaluation framework system for long-term monitoring of sector- led climate actions amongst others.

Mrs Juliana Bempah, a Principal Programme Officer at the Environmental Protection Agency stated that Ghanas CBIT project had four main outputs with 16 activities that were implemented within 36 months.

The main outputs were the assessment of an effective institutional arrangement to plan, implement and report climate actions, development of a centralized national infrastructure for improved data access and information management, mainstreaming of five climate change indicators into the medium-term framework, and testing and piloting of domestic transparency (MRV) framework in the Energy and Transport sectors.

She said since 2020, the project team working with stakeholders had delivered on almost all the activities, including an assessment of the capacities and roles of 25 climate reporting institutions using internationally defined scale.

Mr Daniel Lamptey, a, Senior Programme Officer at the EPA, said through the CBIT Project, the EPA developed indicators and a template for capturing the progress of implementation of the updated NDCs in line with Article 4.9 of the Paris Agreement.

He noted that NDCs sector agencies at the national and district levels had been equipped with the knowledge and skills on how to gather data and report on the implementation and progress of the countrys climate action.
Video: When Gay rights activist Davis Mac Iyalla fell down from Palanquin during installation as chief

Graphic.com.gh Jan - 29 - 2023 , 17:38

The popular gay rights activist, Davis Mac Iyalla, who has been installed Amankorehen of the Yamonransa Nkusukum Traditional Area in the Central Region fell down from the Palanquin in which he was carried during his coronation.

The Amankorehen is the development chief who usually promotes activities that accelerates the development of an area and it is usually given to persons, and even foreigners who have contributed to the development of a community.

Iyalla was installed by the Omanhen and President of Nkusukum Traditional Area, Nana Okese Essandoh IX,

under the stool name Nana Kwesi Gyasi I.

The ceremony was attended by several traditional authorities from Osu in Accra, Elmina, Mankessim and Cape Coast.

There was police presence to ensure peace during the precession through the street.

A short video in which the palanquin is seen falling down from the heads of those carrying him has been shared on social media.

Video: When Gay rights activist Davis Mac Iyalla fell down from Palanquin during installation as chief https://t.co/rDWzje8dY9 pic.twitter.com/inqK7dNqkv  GraphicOnline (@Graphicgh) January 29, 2023

In the said video, some people are heard screaming and mentioning "Jesus" in their attempt to save the chief from landing on the ground from the palanquin.

Shortly after the screaming, a group of people are seen rushing to the place where the palanquin fell down.

Read also: Gay rights activist Davis Mac Iyalla installed Amankorehen of Yamonransa Nkusukum promises to fight for human rights

Davis Mac Iyalla was installed Amankorehen of the Yamonransa Nkusukum Traditional Area in the Central Region with a pledge to fight for human rights at the weekend.

Palanquin ride



Nana Kwesi Gyasi was carried in a palanquin through the Yamonransa township pouring schnapps along the route before arriving at the durbar grounds at the Nkusukum palace.

On reaching the grounds, Nana Gyasi together with the paramount chief Nana Okese Esandoh were held in an engagement with police officials on grounds.

After close to an hour in that engagement the chiefs came to the durbar grounds to continue with the proceedings but with an amended programme lineup.

The swearing of oath of allegiance to the Omahen in state on the initial programme lineup was cancelled.

Nana Okese Esandoh thanked all who came for the outdooring ceremony.

In his speech Nana Esandoh called on all to come together to move the communitys development forward.

Plea for projects

He called on government to improve the state of roads in the community, storm drains and for a police quarters and female police cells and a health centre adding that lands were available for such developments.

Iyalla in his address said he had completed all traditional formalities that now makes him a chief.

He said he was born in Nigerian but now a British citizen saying by the grace of God I practice what I preach and that is human rights for all persons. I dont believe in discrimination. Whether you are tall, short black, white, yellow or green you are a human being and I will fight for that my belief to the very end. No matter what it cost me. I am not a hypocrite and I will not start now to be a hypocrite. You dont need to like me but you have to respect my views, he stated.He explained that he came to know the Omanhen in April 2022 when the Omanhen had been in a chieftaincy dispute for 13years.

He said soon after knowing him (the Omanhen) they worked to ensure he was gazetted in December 2022 and sworn into the regional house of chiefs.



Stopping the ceremony



People were trying to stop the ceremony, he stated saying that many who tried to stop the ceremony saying some of the same people had made foreigners chiefs and benefited from it.

I am a man of action. When I enter somewhere I bring change. Whenever I enter anywhere if I say I want to do something I do it and I do it very well.
Review regulatory framework on petroleum exploration  Egbert Faibille Jnr

Maclean Kwofi Jan - 28 - 2023 , 14:33

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Petroleum Commission, Egbert Faibille Jnr, has called for a thorough review of the countrys regulatory framework and fiscal regime on petroleum exploration to attract the right investment into the energy sector.

He explained that a review had now become necessary, especially in an era of energy transition where private capital in the oil and gas industry was fast dwindling and competition for investments becoming intense.

Addressing a public lecture at the Great Hall of the University of Ghana (UG) in Accra last Wednesday, Mr Faibille Jnr stated that the country needed a firm mix of positive resource nationalism, flexible commercial fiscal terms, respect for the right of exploration and petroleum companies as an approach in petroleum negotiations.

Local content is also another key pillar that cannot be ignored if we want our people to benefit from the exploration of petroleum in the country.

To ensure that there is no skill gap as Ghana transitions from fossil fuel to clean energy, I call for the immediate establishment of a world-class institute to be called, national institute of petroleum and renewable energy studies, to train more Ghanaians, he said.

The lecture

On the topic: Energy transition: Reflections on the state of Ghanas oil and gas industry, the dialogue offers an opportunity for a thorough discussion of the future of Ghana's oil and gas sector through the lenses of the energy transition.

It seeks to answer critical questions about how Ghana can benefit from the energy transition and oil and gas exploration.

The dialogue highlights the expected action by key institutions in Ghana's energy sector, which will lead to a maximum benefit of oil and gas and the energy transition.

It is part of activities marking the 75th anniversary of the University of Ghana, which is on the theme: Nurturing resilience: adopting technology, embracing humanism.

The lecture was chaired by the Board Chairman of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Ghana, Kweku Andoh Awotwi, with some participants, including the Deputy Minister of Energy, Dr Mohammed Amin Adam; the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ayawaso West Wugon Constituency, Lydia Seyram Alhassan; Chairman in charge of the Oil and Gas Sector at the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Kwame Jantuah, and Executive Director of African Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), Mr Benjamin Boakye, in attendance.

Limited exposure

Mr Faibille Jnr stated that in the area of funding for fossil fuel investment, a huge number of banks, pension funds, insurance firms and institutional and private investors had so far limited the exposure for fossil fuel projects.

He said, for instance, the European Investment Bank declared an end to funding oil and gas projects at the end of 2021, cutting some 2 billion of yearly investment.

He said while cutting investment from fossil fuel, the bank had further unveiled a 1 trillion investment plan on green deal financing.

According to him, what made the ongoing energy transition a serious concern to countries such as Ghana was the pace, speed and alacrity within which the target of the transition needed to be achieved by 2050.

Govt commitment

The Minister of Energy, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, said the government was committed to taking keen steps to ensure that the country was not left out of the energy transition.

He explained that the government was adopting the right approach to balance between clean energy and hydrocarbons.

We believe that Ghana and Africa should transition to clean energy, however, they should be allowed to use their God-endowed gift to undertake the transition, he said.

Policy decision

The Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, said output from the lecture would feature in policy decisions to further advance the energy sector.

She said in accordance with achieving sustainable development goal (SDG) 13, global conversations on the need to take urgent action on climate change and its impact had heightened the push to transition from fossil-based fuel to cleaner energy sources with possible implications for Ghanas oil and gas industry.
Support finance education to maintain standards - Dr Boakye-Yiadom

Shirley Asiedu-Addo Jan - 29 - 2023 , 09:07

An educational forum has been held in Cape Coast to mark the International Day of Education with a call on stakeholders to support education financing to improve standards.

The Director General of the Institute of Educational Planning and Administration of the University of Cape Coast, Dr Michael Boakye-Yiadom who made the call said while governments budgetary allocation to the sector was woefully inadequate, stakeholders must not look on as this could compromise quality.

He said the country must not give up in striving to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals on education adding that all must devise innovative ways to get all in school and support finance education for enhanced quality.

The forum was organised by the Institute of Educational Planning and Administration, a semi autonomous Institute at the University of Cape Coast (UCC) that trains educational planners, leaders and administrators and a UNESCO category two institution in collaboration with the Cape Coast office of the Ghana Education Service and the University Practice Senior High School.

Theme

This years celebration was on the theme, Invest in People, Prioritize Education.

The first International Education Day was celebrated in January 24, 2019.

Dr Boakye-Yiadom said in 2001 at an international educational forum, the government of Ghana pledged a minimum of 23 percent of budgetary allocations to education.

However, he noted this years allocation was 12 percent, one of the lowest in many years.

He said public funding of education would never be enough in any country and particularly in developing countries charging, traditional rulers, district assemblies and the private sector to support finance education.

1.2 million out of school

He said about 1.2 million Ghanaians between the ages of four and 17 were out of school.

Out of the number, he noted that almost one million had never been in school saying figures should be a worrying concern for all.

Huge investments

He all levels of education from basic to tertiary required huge investments in infrastructure and teacher development to increase access and improve quality.

He said it was sad that some senior high school graduates with good grades could not get admissions into tertiary institutions because of limited facilities.

He said if the country did not effectively mobilize to work towards achieving the sustainable development goals on education it would not be attained.

Dr Boakye-Yaidom urged stakeholders to consciously make efforts towards educating all from the individual to the national level.

He indicated that visits to some of the communities in and around Cape Coast indicated that some of the children were not in school because they still did not understand the relevance of education.

Others did not have mentors and role models who inspired them to go to school.

Developing mentors

He said IEPA was considering developing mentors and roles for communities across the country to encourage them to go to school and stay in school.

Peer role models

He said if every young person in school encouraged one person to go to school the problem would be almost solved.

He said as they developed their leadership skills through peer inspiring out of school children to go back to school.

Stay in school

He advised the students to stay in school and encourage others to stay in school.

Speaking on theme, the Metropolitan Director of Education of Cape Coast, Ms Phyllis Krobea-Asante said education held the key to developing productive and functional workforce essential for accelerated socio-economic development.

She said government must increase its allocation to education from 12 percent to 23 percent saying the future benefits of such investments would silence all critics.

She said to this end the nation must continue to prioritize education and to help prepare the youth for the future saying that was the best way to ensure growth and development and bridge the gap between the rich and the poor.

Ms Krobea-Asante called on educators to invest in the future by invest time and resources in positively mentoring the students into productive citizens to themselves and society.
Asiedu Nketiah defies NDC elders; insists consultations were done before reshuffle

Enoch Darfah Frimpong Politics Jan - 29 - 2023 , 17:11

The National Chairman of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketiah has defied an advice by the Council of Elders of the NDC for all stakeholders to desist from making public pronouncements following the disagreements over a reshuffle in the Minority leadership in Parliament.

In defying the Council of Elders' advice, Mr Asiedu Nketiah addressed a press conference in London and insisted that extensive consultations were done before the leadership of the NDC decided to reshuffle the Minority leadership.

Why did we struggle to get an NDC Speaker?

Mr Asiedu Nketiah said his priorities as national chairman of the NDC was to see the NDC parliamentary caucus working together and also cooperating with the Speaker of Parliament.

"Why did we struggle to get an NDC person elected as a Speaker of Parliament. There are certainly some advantages and those advantages can be tapped into when your leadership is cooperating with the Speaker. So we cannot have a situation where NPP leadership is cooperating with the Speaker, and our NDC leadership have challenges cooperating with the Speaker."

"And if you are given a party whose leadership in Parliament is not working together, what will you do, you make the changes or you resign, and I'm not about to resign," Mr Asiedu Nketiah said in his justification for the reshuffle.

Related: Be circumspect - NDC's Council of Elders to party members on leadership changes

The Council of Elders of the NDC had urged all party faithful, including Members of Parliament (MPs) to be circumspect on their utterances concerning the recent changes to the Minority leadership.

Last week it came out that the NDC per a letter addressed to the Speaker of Parliament had changed its leadership in Parliament with Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah and Governs Kwame Agbodza replacing Haruna Iddrisu, James Klutse Avedzi and Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka as Minority Leader, Deputy Minority Leader and Chief Whip respectively.

The revelation was received with divergent views by different stakeholders of the party, with some NDC MPs signing a petition against the move.

Out of the 137 minority MPs, 73 of them signed a petition asking the National Executive Committee of the NDC to reverse the decision to reshuffle the Minority leadership.

They petitioned the Council of Elders to intervene arguing that the decision was not made by any of the constitutional bodies of the NDC, that is neither Congress, National Executive Committee (NEC), Functional Executive Committee (FEC), the Council of Elders or the members in Parliament themselves, who said the decision came as a surprise to them.

Responding to the petition, the Council of Elders in a press statement dated January 28, 2023, acknowledged it had received it and would work on it expeditiously together with other related matters.

"While this process is underway, the Council urges our Honourable Members of Parliament, Party leadership at all levels and all concerned persons to refrain from further public pronouncements on the matter in the larger interest of our great NDC. This is a time to be circumspect in order not to play into the hands of our detractors. "The Council assures the rank and file of the Party of an early and principled resolution of the issues and ultimately, the NDC will emerge stronger and more united. "We urge all members of the NDC to re-dedicate themselves to working for victory in the Presidential and Parliamentary elections in 2024, to alleviate the suffering of the Ghanaian people. Follow @Graphicgh

Asiedu Nketiah's press conference

But at a press conference in the UK, Mr Asiedu Nketiah said, "those who are claiming that nobody had been consulted, I want to tell them that this is one of the most, the decisions over which there have been the most consultative process, everybody who needed to be consulted was consulted."

"But the decision is our decision, the decision cannot be the decision of people who were consulted, I hope that is clear."

"If you have the responsibility of taking a decision, you take your decision after the consultation, so don't go blaming those people you have consulted, because each of them will give you their views and then you sit down to synthesize the views and then your decision may reflect some of the wishes of some of the people who gave the advice, but eventually it becomes to your decision.

"The suggestions are mere raw materials for the decision but the final product is your work."

"And so as a leader, I take full responsibility for the decision, and I don't want anybody to blame anybody at all for that decision, I take full responsibility for the decision," Mr Asiedu Nketiah said.

Why did we struggle to get an NDC Speaker? -

Mr Asiedu Nketiah said his priorities as national chairman of the NDC was to see the NDC parliamentary caucus working together and also cooperating with the Speaker of Parliament.

"Why did we struggle to get an NDC person elected as a Speaker of Parliament. There are certainly some advantages and those advantages can be tapped into when your leadership is cooperating with the Speaker. So we cannot have a situation where NPP leadership is cooperating with the Speaker, and our NDC leadership have challenges cooperating with the Speaker."

"And if you are given a party whose leadership in Parliament is not working together, what will you do, you make the changes or you resign, and I'm not about to resign.

Writer's email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Follow @enochfrimpong Follow @Graphicgh
Be circumspect - NDC's Council of Elders to party members on leadership changes

Zadok Kwame Gyesi Politics Jan - 29 - 2023 , 12:12

The Council of Elders of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has urged all party faithful, including Members of Parliament (MPs) to be circumspect on their utterances concerning the recent changes to the Minority leadership in parliament.

It will be recalled that following the last Tuesday's changes to the leadership of the Minority side in Parliament, there have been divergent views on the issue in the media space by different stakeholders of the party, with some opposition MPs signing a petition against the move.

Some other opposition MPs have also lauded the move by the party to change the leadership of the Minority side in Parliament.

Reacting to the issue in a press statement dated January 28, 2023, the Council of Elders of the party said it has received the petition by some of the MPs who are against the move to change the leadership of the Minority side in parliament and that they would work on it expeditiously.

Below is a copy the statement
Gay rights activist Davis Mac Iyalla installed Amankorehen of Yamonransa Nkusukum promises to fight for human rights

Shirley Asiedu Addo Politics Jan - 29 - 2023 , 07:25

Popular gay rights activist, Davis Mac Iyalla has been installed Amankorehen of the Yamonransa Nkusukum Traditional Area in the Central Region with a pledge to fight for human rights.

The Amankorehen is the Development chief who usually promotes activities that accelerates the development of an area and it is usually given to persons, and even foreigners who have contributed to the development of a community.

Iyalla was installed by the Omanhen and President of Nkusukum Traditional Area, Nana Okese Essandoh IX,

under the stool name Nana Kwesi Gyasi I.

The ceremony was attended by several traditional authorities from Osu in Accra, Elmina, Mankessim and Cape Coast.



There was police presence to ensure peace during the precession through the street.

Palanquin ride



Nana Kwesi Gyasi was carried in a palanquin through the Yamonransa township pouring schnapps along the route before arriving at the durbar grounds at the Nkusukum palace.

On reaching the grounds, Nana Gyasi together with the paramount chief Nana Okese Esandoh were held in an engagement with police officials on grounds.

After close to an hour in that engagement the chiefs came to the durbar grounds to continue with the proceedings but with an amended programme lineup.

The swearing of oath of allegiance to the Omahen in state on the initial programme lineup was cancelled.

Nana Okese Esandoh thanked all who came for the outdooring ceremony.

In his speech Nana Esandoh called on all to come together to move the communitys development forward.

Plea for projects

He called on government to improve the state of roads in the community, storm drains and for a police quarters and female police cells and a health centre adding that lands were available for such developments.

Iyalla in his address said he had completed all traditional formalities that now makes him a chief.

He said he was born in Nigerian but now a British citizen saying by the grace of God I practice what I preach and that is human rights for all persons. I dont believe in discrimination. Whether you are tall, short black, white, yellow or green you are a human being and I will fight for that my belief to the very end. No matter what it cost me. I am not a hypocrite and I will not start now to be a hypocrite. You dont need to like me but you have to respect my views, he stated.

He explained that he came to know the Omanhen in April 2022 when the Omanhen had been in a chieftaincy dispute for 13years.

He said soon after knowing him (the Omanhen) they worked to ensure he was gazetted in December 2022 and sworn into the regional house of chiefs.



Stopping the ceremony



People were trying to stop the ceremony, he stated saying that many who tried to stop the ceremony saying some of the same people had made foreigners chiefs and benefited from it.

I am a man of action. When I enter somewhere I bring change. Whenever I enter anywhere if I say I want to do something I do it and I do it very well.

He said people who would use him to fight the Omanhen were in for a long battle.

He said he belonged to Nkusukum Yamonransa and nobody can take it away from me. Let us not waste time. Let us celebrate and enjoy. I have completed the process as a chief, he added.

In separate interviews, many of the community members indicated they did not know much about his background and also being a gay activist and that they only knew that he was a foreigner committed to the development of the area.

He was born in 1972 in Nigerian and later established the Nigerian wing of the British Changing Attitude organization, which presses for internal reform of the Anglican communion for further inclusion of Anglican sexual minorities.



He was, in July 2003, fired from his job as the principal of a local Anglican children's school; which he said was due to being gay.

He therefore became an activist and started work with Changing Attitude.

Related: Video: When Gay rights activist Davis Mac Iyalla fell down from Palanquin during installation as chief
From left, actors Ahn Woo-yeon, Kim Da-som, Im Soo-hyang, director Baek Soo-chan, actors Kim Jung-hyun, Cha Chung-hwa, and Kim In-kwon pose during an online press conference for the MBC series "Kokdu: Season of Deity," Friday. Courtesy of MBC



By Lee Gyu-lee



Kim Jung-hyun has made his small screen comeback after a three-year hiatus with the title role in the MBC's new romantic comedy series "Kokdu: Season of Deity."



The fantasy romance series, which premiered Friday, revolves around a god of death called Kokdu (Kim) and ER doctor Han Gye-jeol (Im Soo-hyang).



Once a human in ancient times, Kokdu becomes cursed by tragic love as the god of death, coming back from the underworld every 99 years. When it's his time to visit the human world, he morphs into the body of a successful surgeon, Do Jin-woo, becomes close with Gye-jeol, a fellow hospital worker, and searches for memories of his past life to break the curse.



The series is led by director Baek Soo-chan, whose work includes the mystery romance series "The Girl Who Sees Scents" (2015) and the action series "Alice" (2020). Heo Joon-woo and Kang Yi-hun, who both wrote the 2018 crime series "Less Than Evil," co-scripted it.



The series debuted its first episode with a 4.8 percent viewership, but Saturday's episode saw a drop in its rating to 2.2 percent.





A scene from the series "Kokdu: Season of Deity" / Courtesy of MBC
Solvay is investing at its Livorno, Italy site to launch the companys first unit of circular highly dispersible silica (HDS) made with bio-based sodium silicate derived from rice husk ash (RHA).

Rice husk is an abundantly available agricultural waste. Combustion of rice husk produces RHA, which consists mainly of silica (silicon dioxide, SiO 2 ). Studies have found that pre-treatment of rice husk prior to combustion can deliver purer silica.

Highly Dispersible Silica (HDS) reinforces tires by replacing carbon black in tire treads; it reduces rolling resistance and improves traction on wet surfaces without sacrificing wear. Solvay currently offers a wide range of HDS for sustainable mobility and energy-efficient tires.

Silica is essential for the high performance of our tires. And with Solvays bio-circular silica, our tires will at the same time become more sustainable. It reduces the overall carbon footprint and increases the share of renewable materials in our tires. Rice husk is an agricultural by-product that was not used for tire production until very recently. Soon they will take us one step closer to our goal of 100 percent sustainable materials in our tires by 2050 at the latest. ,Claus Petschick, Head of Sustainability at Continental Tires

This new silicate process provides a circular solution as it gives a second life to rice husk in a local value chain. Coupled with renewable energy integration at the plant, it will allow Solvay to achieve a 50% reduction in CO 2 per ton of silica. This will make the Livorno site Europes best-in-class silica production site in terms of CO 2 footprint. Production is expected to start by the end of 2024.

The Group will gradually replace its existing Zeosil HDS portfolio with circular HDS, providing a circular solution for tires that will contribute both to increasing the use of sustainable raw materials and reducing the tire industrys CO 2 footprint. This new generation of precipitated silica will also address the needs of the home & personal care and the feed & food industries.

Solvay is the first company to commit to circular HDS production at a European site within a concrete timeframe and is now focused on building the necessary ecosystem to bring it to market. This involves working with stakeholders across the entire value chain. Continental is a key partner in this.

Through the implementation of this competitive rice husk ash (RHA) proprietary process in Europe, the company is able to ensure consistent product quality by leveling out variability of agro feedstocks.

Solvay also has plans to build a new plant in North America over the coming years to expand its HDS capacity, which will significantly increase the Groups footprint in the region. This new facility will be designed for circular raw materials and be aligned with the companys carbon neutrality roadmap. The Group is also investigating projects on circular HDS in Asia and South America.
Motorola unveiled five new mid-range and entry level smartphones earlier this week  the Moto G73 and G53, the Moto G23, G13 and E13. The two higher end G-series models now flaunt 5G connectivity (which the G72 and G52 lacked), the other three stick to 4G.



Moto G73  Moto G53  Moto G23  Moto G13  Moto E13

Before we dive into the details for each phone, here are the prices for the new models, so that you have context when looking at what features each phone offers:

Moto G73 (8/256GB) - 300

Moto G53 (4/128GB) - 250

Moto G23 (4/64GB) - 230

Moto G13 (4/64GB) - 180

Moto E13 (2/64GB) - 120

Lets start with a look at the two 5G models. The Moto G73 is easily the best of the bunch  its the only one with an FHD+ display and the only one with an 8MP ultra wide camera. It is powered by a Dimensity 930 chipset with 8GB of RAM and 256GB storage (plus microSD slot) and the 5,000mAh battery charges at 30W.

What do you think about the Moto G73  is it worth it or are there better 300 mid-rangers out there? Vote below or using this page.

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The Moto G53 is essentially the same size and it also has a 6.5 120Hz IPS LCD, however, it only has HD+ resolution. Also, the 50MP main camera on this one uses a smaller sensor  1.0m pixels on the G73 and tiny 0.64m pixels on the G53  and it lacks an ultra wide camera. The 5,000mAh battery has been cut back to basic 10W charging (for Europe, Latin American units will do 18W). The chipset is different too, a Snapdragon 480+.

The Moto G53 is 50 cheaper than the G73, but thats if you dont account for the memory configuration - the G53 has half the RAM and half the storage of the G73. And what about that HD+ screen? Vote below or using this page.

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The Moto G23 and G13 both have 6.5 HD+ displays (IPS LCD), though unlike the G53 they run at 90Hz. Also, both phones are powered by the Helio G85, so you only get 4G connectivity.

That said, the G23 has a 5MP ultrawide camera  not as good as the 8MP one on the G73, but still better than nothing. Also, the 5,000mAh battery supports 30W fast charging, beating the G53.

The Moto G23 sounds like the better deal, though no 5G will be a dealbreaker for many. What do you think  yay or nay? Vote below or using this link.

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The Moto G13 is last stop before Android Go Edition. It loses the 5MP ultra wide and its selfie camera drops to 8MP, plus its 5,000mAh battery charges only at 10W or 20W (depending on the region). Still, that 50 discount from the G23 may be worth it  is it? Vote below or using this link.

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Finally, the Moto E13 is a simple 120 Go Edition phone. Its Unisoc T606 isnt as fast as the Helio G85 but doesnt lag by much  its the 2GB of RAM that is the real issue. Anyway, the camera resolution drops to a basic 13MP on the back and battery charging is firmly at 10W (the 5,000mAh capacity is nice, though). Is the E13 a phone you can see yourself buying, for a family member or even for yourself? Vote below or using this page.
PDN has teamed up with Chief Hurao Academy to celebrate Mes CHamoru. Tune in to see why the students love speaking their language and sharing their culture.
The Archdiocese of Agana is selling its land and building property currently occupied by TakeCare Insurance and FHP Health Center in Tamuning for $3.7 million, and is also currently negotiating the sale of its chancery property in Agana Heights as part of a court-approved settlement to pay the claims of Guam clergy sexual assault survivors.

"The FHP property is zoned M1. And its very visible. I mean its a landmark. The location is landmark because everybody can, they will tell you where to find, like the ITC (Building) is landmark. This is another landmark location so very highly visible and I think a property like this to be on the market is very rare, very few and far between, Home Ventures Realty principal broker, owner and partner Clare Delgado, whos tapped by the archdiocese as broker and real estate agent, said in an interview with Pacific Daily News.

The whole property is about 7,338 square meters, and the building where FHP is at is about 19,000 square feet, which includes the parking lot.

The archdiocese, which has been under bankruptcy protection since January 2019, has agreed to pay the broker 5% total commission of the sales price paid, archdiocese attorneys Ford Elsaesser and Bruce Anderson said in a court filing.

The archdiocese is currently negotiating with the current tenant, FHP, to sell the leasehold interests.

If the sale culminates during the period of time the broker is in contract, then the real estate commission will be reduced to 3% on such transactions only, archdiocese attorneys said.

Delgado said even before the $3.7 million listing went live, she was already getting phone calls.

So I know that the word is out. And its just a matter of time for someone to present us with a bona fide offer, she said, adding that interested buyers can contact her via (671) 979-4871 or claredelgado@gmail.com.

Chancery for sale

For years now, the archdiocese said it plans to sell its multimillion chancery property and move operations to the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral-Basilica.

The chancery property, on San Ramon Hill overlooking Hagatna, houses all the archdioceses administrative functions and offices, which will be transferred to the cathedral.

The archdiocese is presently negotiating with an internal group for the purchase of the chancery, archdiocese attorneys said in court filings.

As of Thursday afternoon, the archdiocese said it does not have the authority from parties interested in buying the chancery, to divulge their names at this time.

The FHP lease is with a Realtor and we are looking for a bona fide buyer to ensure the best value. Several entities have expressed interest in the purchase of the chancery property, and as with the FHP lease, we hope to secure the greatest benefit for the parties. We do not have the authority from the interested parties to divulge their names at this time, the archdiocese, through director of communications Tony Diaz, told PDN.

But the archdiocese stated in court documents that if the ongoing transaction does not lead to a purchase and sale agreement within days, the archdiocese said it seeks to employ Delgado for the sale of the chancery as well.

Pope John Paul II slept at the chancery during his historic visit to Guam in 1981.

Delgados Home Ventures Realty is the company for which the trustees of the Guam clergy sex abuse survivors trust, Craig Wade, conducts his real estate business.

The archdiocese said this relationship has been expressed to the Committee of Unsecured Creditors counsel, who have no objections, attorneys said.

It is believed that this relationship does not create a conflict of interest, as the transactions for which Clare Delgado is sought to be employed are separate and distinct from those that will be conducted by the Trustee, Craig Wade, archdiocese attorneys said.

The archdiocese is supposed to transfer its cash and real property assets to a trust from which payouts to clergy abuse survivors will be taken. But the whole process takes months. The court confirmed in October the joint plan to get the archdiocese out of bankruptcy.

The plan includes a $34 million to $101 million settlement with clergy abuse survivors, although archdiocese attorneys said the settlement could only be in the $34 million to $45 million range.

The archdiocese earlier sold other properties, including the former Accion Hotel-turned seminary in Yona for $5.24 million.
For the next few days, if the evening skies are clear, you can try catching a rare green comet that last swung past Earth 50,000 years ago before it streaks away, never to be seen again in our lifetime.

Comet 2022 E3 (ZTF) will come within 26 million miles of Earth on Wednesday, which is when Tinian astrophotographer Josh Brazzle says is your best chance of capturing a glimpse of it.

In an interview with the PDN, Brazzle said you can try looking at 3 or 4 a.m. Wednesday facing north about 20 or 30 degrees latitude, but the best time he suggests is 10 p.m. that night. You could try with the naked eye, but binoculars would be better.

This comet should be, if its visible with binoculars, it should have kind of a fuzzy cottonball-ish look with a discrete faint-ish tail ... streaking across the sky, Brazzle said, adding that if you cant find it, you can download the app Stellarium on your phone. That should help you find it by using a GPS where you point your phone and aim it towards the object.

Why its named C/2022 E3 (ZTF)

Discovered less than a year ago, the comet already is visible in the northern night sky with binoculars and small telescopes, and possibly the naked eye in the darkest corners of the Northern Hemisphere, according to an Associated Press report.

Its expected to brighten as it draws closer and rises higher over the horizon through the end of January, best seen in the predawn hours. By Feb. 10, it will be near Mars, a good landmark.

While plenty of comets have graced the sky over the past year, this one seems probably a little bit bigger and therefore a little bit brighter and its coming a little bit closer to the Earths orbit, said NASAs comet and asteroid-tracking guru, Paul Chodas.

Green from all the carbon in the gas cloud, or coma, surrounding the nucleus, this long-period comet was discovered last March by astronomers using the Zwicky Transient Facility, a wide field camera at Caltechs Palomar Observatory. That explains its official, cumbersome name: comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF).

On Wednesday, it will hurtle between the orbits of Earth and Mars at a relative speed of 128,500 mph. Its nucleus is thought to be about a mile across, with its tails extending millions of miles.

The comet isnt expected to be nearly as bright as Neowise in 2020, or Hale-Bopp and Hyakutake in the mid to late 1990s.

But it will be bright by virtue of its close Earth passage ... which allows scientists to do more experiments and the public to be able to see a beautiful comet, University of Hawaii astronomer Karen Meech said in the AP report.

Scientists are confident in their orbital calculations putting the comets last swing through the solar systems planetary neighborhood 50,000 years ago.

But they dont know how close it came to Earth or whether it was even visible to the Neanderthals, said Chodas, director of the Center for Near Earth Object Studies at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California.

When it returns, though, is tougher to judge.

Every time the comet skirts the sun and planets, their gravitational tugs alter the iceballs path ever so slightly, leading to major course changes over time. Another wild card: jets of dust and gas streaming off the comet as it heats up near the sun.

We dont really know exactly how much they are pushing this comet around, Chodas said.

The comet  a time capsule from the emerging solar system 4.5 billion years ago  came from whats known as the Oort Cloud well beyond Pluto. This deep-freeze haven for comets is believed to stretch more than one-quarter of the way to the next star.

While comet ZTF originated in our solar system, we cant be sure it will stay there, Chodas said. If it gets booted out of the solar system, it will never return, he added.

Dont fret if you miss it.

In the comet business, you just wait for the next one because there are dozens of these, Chodas said. And the next one might be bigger, might be brighter, might be closer.
Southern High School signage at the Santa Rita-Sumai campus on Jan. 19, 2023. The campus was placed under lockdown Friday morning after a gun was reported on campus, police said.
From left, Greg Hsu, Alice Ko and Patrick Shih, pose during a press conference for the film "Someday or One Day" in Seoul, Thursday.



By Kwak Yeon-soo



The Taiwanese cast of "Someday or One Day," a film spin-off from the 2019 hit time-travel romance drama of the same title, said they hope Korean fans of the original drama will enjoy the movie adaptation as well.



The film follows Huang Yuxuan (Alice Ko) who mourns the death of her long-time boyfriend Li Ziwei (Greg Hsu). One day, she receives a mysterious cassette player that allows her to travel back in time. She attempts to change the past, hoping to improve the fate of Li.



The drama version was a sensational hit after streaming on major local over-the-top platforms, creating a hardcore fan base in Korea. Tickets for the cast's meet-and-greet events in Korea were sold out within minutes. "Someday or One Day" is also set for a Korean remake, starring Jeon Yeo-been and Ahn Hyo-seop.



"Compared with the series that features time loops, the movie version embraces a multiverse storyline. It centers on the character using her newfound powers, to slip in and out of a parallel universe," producer Ma Yi-ting told Korean reporters at a press conference held in Seoul, Thursday.



"Both use the same fantastical elements, but the plot is different. People don't need to see the drama to enjoy the movie. For those who have already seen the original drama, the movie would be like meeting an old friend," Ko said.





A poster for the film, "Someday or One Day" / Courtesy of AUD
Published on 2009/09/28 | Source

Beautiful actress Son Ye-jin returns as a sexy character.

Advertisement

Son Ye-jin costars with Han Suk-kyu and Go Soo in the new film "White Night". The released teaser poster and previews reveal that Son Ye-jin will be in a bed scene!

The original story is from the thriller mystery writer in Japan Higaisino Geiko.

Mi-ho acted by Son and Yohan acted by Go Soo are related through a murder case 14 years ago. And the detective in search of these two is Han.

Son Ye-jin has received the best actress award through the film, "My Wife is Married".

This movie will be released this November.
By William Schwartz | Published on 2023/01/28

On January 28th, actor Song Jae-hee made a post to Instagram discussing the struggles that he and his wife Ji So-yeon had experienced with infertility in recent years. He opened the post by noting that the weather's been quite cold lately, and asking if his followers were well. Song Jae-hee then stated that his wife and daughter are doing very well at a postpatrum clinic. The actress had given birth to their first child this past January 20th.

Advertisement

Song Jae-hee described this as the latest culmination of a series of moments that included Ji So-yeon being released from the hospital where she gave birth, and before that the obstetrician's office. After shocking test results from a clinic regarding the pair's fertility, Song Jae-hee said that he and his wife searched around until they finally found a hospital director with a warm, hopeful look in his eyes. This person personally recommended the couple to an infertility specialist.

Song Jae-hee stated that despite he and his wife loving each other they had some difficult times with even small instances provoking laughter or tears. In this context, the news of her pregnancy was a miracle to them. Song Jae-hee said he learned the news while on the set of "Cleaning Up" and that all of his fellow agency actors were one in that moment filled with tears of joys. Only a month after learning the news, Song Jae-hee was prepared for life as a father in his forties.

Song Jae-hee gave thanks to those who offered aid to him and his wife in these tough times. He mentioned God, as well as those who had prayed for them, despite their being nothing. Song Jae-hee said he would never forget the first cry of his child as he pondered the worries leading up until that moment. Song Jae-hee noted the long journey by observing in the final day at the hospital, he sat at the same chair when he first met that hospital director who have them hope, thanking him profusely.

Song Jae-hee married Ji So-yeon back in 2017. Though the pair knew they suffered from fertility issues, last August they publically announced their pregnancy to the world. Neither Song Jae-hee nor Ji So-yeon have any confirmed upcoming screen acting projects.

Written by William Schwartz
A notice at the entrance of a major commercial bank branch in Seoul on Jan. 27 informs customers of operating hours returning to normal from Jan. 30. Yonhap



By Anna J. Park



From Monday, five major commercial banks in Korea will return to their normal operating hours, opening at 9 a. m. and closing at 4 p.m. The lenders decided to shorten their operating time by an hour 18 months ago, opening at 9:30 a.m. and finishing at 3:30 p.m., due to coronavirus-led social distancing policies in July 2021.



As the country's indoor mask mandate is lifted from Monday, except on public transportation and some other cases, the five major banks  KB, Shinhan, Hana, Woori, NH NongHyup  notified their branches last Friday about the changed operating hours.



Korea Development Bank (KDB), Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK), Standard Chartered Bank Korea, as well as other foreign bank branches and regional banks, also followed suit. Major savings banks, including SBI and DB, also return to their original operating hours from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.



However, this decision was unilaterally made by the banks' management, while the Korean Financial Industry Union (KFIU), the representative union group of the financial sector, is still opposed to the move. The union is even considering filing an injunction against the employers' decision.



The two sides  bank employers and the union  agreed last year to discuss whether to normalize bank operating hours through a separate taskforce. However, the management at the lenders decided to normalize the operating hours without obtaining the full consent of the union, as the negotiations failed to generate visible progress.



The unilateral decision to normalize the operating hours came as pressure from the government and consumer groups mounted recently. The regulatory Financial Services Commission (FSC) in tandem with the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) strongly called on the banks to normalize the working hours, citing growing complaints and inconveniences of customers.



"While the country's economic activities have returned to normal with the lifting of social distancing, banks' shortened operating hours continue, resulting in consumers' inconveniences. The FSS urges banks and their unions to promptly strive for the normalization of operating hours through smooth agreements," FSS Governor Lee Bok-hyun said earlier this month.



Consumer groups also released a statement earlier this month, urging the banks to extend the operating hours.



"While the country's social distancing has been lifted since April last year, banks' shortened operating hours continue," the Korea National Council of Consumer Organizations said. "Banks should bestow consumers a choice to choose between offline and online banking services. The shortening of the operating hours violates consumer rights," the consumer group's statement stressed.



Amid such external pressure, the banks sought the advice of law firms, which confirmed that management can make a decision about the operating hours without the consent of the union when the government lifts the mandatory indoor mask-wearing rule.


Ask Matt ... what's up with these vacant buildings

FIRST OF TWO PARTS

Q. I have noticed a lot of vacant buildings around the county such as Bon Worth on Francis Road have been vacant for some time. What is going on with these?

My crack team of property sleuths hit the streets to come up with 10 mostly empty former commercial or industrial buildings. Here is our report.

1. The bright white Bon Worth building sits high on an eight-acre site on Francis Road easily visible from U.S. 64 East. It has been empty for years but is listed online as an available industrial site although the land is zoned commercial. The 100,000-square-foot. building was once a bustling clothing factory and retail outlet. Old buildings have limited appeal. Brittany Brady, president of the Henderson County Partnership for Economic Development, said that in selecting industrial sites, client needs and the market drive what ultimately happens. Bon Worth is 50 years old. With so many newer buildings coming online, tenants are often drawn to those, she said.

In the mid-1960s Hendersonville native Loren Wells started a womens clothing empire from the ground up. Bon Worth, known for catering to women over 50, once boasted 300 retail outlets. Shoppers couldnt get enough of shops polyester stretch pants. Wells sold the business in 2013 but it went into bankruptcy six years later. Wells died in 2018 at age 76.

2. Poplar Lodge at 2550 Hebron Road in Laurel Park was once the restaurant of choice for locals but it closed in 2009 in the depths of the Great Recession. Built in the early 1900s and nestled snugly on Davis Mountain, Poplar Lodge has a stone exterior accented by a long front porch. Today the building is showing signs of deterioration, reflected in county tax records that show that the property has lost a third of its value since the day the restaurant closed. A sign on the property says for lease  commercial. We were unable to get a statement from owner Bob Quattlebaum to answer what he thinks the future is of a restaurant that could seat 175 and once had a world class salad bar. With servers and cooks in short supply these days, finding a new tenant may be next to impossible.

3. The sprawling concrete block Pardee Home Care building at 2029 Asheville Highway was built in 1962 probably as a textile mill. It was later to become the home of Mother Earth News magazine. Former editor Mary Jo Padgett spent six years in the building ending in 1986 when the publication, which once had a million subscribers, was sold. Padgett said the building had a print operation and offices for research and development, marketing and business. Pardee Hospital acquired the building in 1997. Laura Lyda, Pardee Home Care manager, worked there for 25 years until the hospital moved the home care department to a newer facility near the BRCC campus. I remember that our building was once home to Ruths Originals, a cut-and-sew operation, and later there was a body shop downstairs and a carpet company upstairs, she said. We had more space than we needed. Lyda applauded the move to the smaller College Drive offices. That old building needs major work, she said. The 31,372-square-foot building has been empty now for about two years. Pardee officials said the hospital has no immediate plans for selling or reusing the building.

4. Heritage Mall at 212 South Church Street was once home to at least three eateries, a karaoke bar and a nest of small shops. Today only two small business tenants remain in the 85-year-old brick building across from Wells Fargo Bank. Stuart Rubin wouldnt sell us the building so we moved to Seventh Avenue so we could own our own place, said Melody Crawford, who owns Two Guys Pizza. It was a great building, although it needed some love. Crawford added that the building has a ghost. Shes a 1920s lady in a white flowing gown. We think some bad things happened to her, Crawford said. We even had her verified by a medium  shes real. On Sept. 1, 2020, the Stuart Rubin Trust sold the Heritage Mall plus 20 other mostly downtown properties to buyer HVL Property Holdings LLC. The sale price was about $13 million and the transfer tax alone was $26,258  a nice payday for the county. It was the largest property transaction Ive seen in the eight years Ive been here, said Lee King, Henderson Countys Register of Deeds. Some of the other properties in that sale included Never Blue, Renzos, Badcock Furniture, the Dugout Taproom and Grill, and the now empty Jane Asher Antiques. Brendan Lynch, who represents the Delray Beach, Florida, owners, said they have big plans for the Heritage Mall but are not ready to reveal them.

5. Every day some 20,000 vehicles pass by the red, white and green Krispy Kreme restaurant at 1911 Four Seasons Blvd. What they dont see is the shops name or its hard-to-resist promo of Hot Donuts Now. The restaurant and coffee shop renowned for those hot glazed treats closed last year. The property is owned by Bub Hyder and his company said it anticipates a new tenant in the building with a recognizable name in six to eight months. Hyder has had purchase offers but prefers to lease. Founded and still headquartered in Winston-Salem, Krispy Kreme, which operates 1,400 properties around the world, lately has been closing underperforming stores.

* * * * *

IN PART 2 MATT DETAILS FIVE MORE VACANT BUILDINGS.
A RETIRED man who lived in Henley as a boy has written a novel, using the town as the inspiration for the locale.

Peter Warrilows crime thriller, The Drysdale Confession, is the first of three books, where the protagonist Robert Vere is drawn into solving a dark, mysterious plot.

He says: Vere is a thirty-

something solicitor who lives in a small cottage in Shiplake and has got a lovely girl called Yvonne Clarkson, whos a fashion journalist. He works for Regency Law in Cavendish Square in London.

Many years ago, some people robbed a bank and they killed a couple of bank clerks. They only caught one of them and he was executed but before he died, he wrote a confession that then

disappeared.

Then suddenly it re-emerges in front of Vere and Clarkson. It sets off her journalistic antennae and she goes chasing, then they have all sorts of problems, getting into the clutches of a master criminal.

Peter, 80, has used settings in Henley, Shiplake, Wallingford and Pangbourne for his story.

He travelled down memory lane while writing the book as he grew up in Henley in the Fifties. He lived with his parents, Harry, who was head of the towns Midland Bank, and Maureen and adopted sister Christine. Peter says: I loved the area. We lived in Eden Cottage in Cromwell Road, then we moved to Gablehurst, a bit further up on the other side.

My dad was chief at the Midland Bank and he knew Tom Luker at the Henley Standard. The manager was a chap called Jackson.

Dad was very active  he was a member of the Henley Players and they did a lot of productions at the Kenton Theatre.

That was then owned by a chap called David Cazies. I didnt know him very well but my mum and dad did and he took me down to the theatre many times when they were building sets.

The president of the Henley Players was actor Kenneth More, who played the lead role of Charles Lightoller in A Night to Remember (1958), which recounted the last hours of the RMS Titanic.

Peter recalls: When he did that film, he gave two tickets for the premiere at the Empire in Leicester Square to the Henley Players and they had a raffle for them and mum and dad won, so it was a posh frock job.

They had a great night sitting there with the great and the good and Ive still got the programme.

Henley was a marvellous place in those days. In 1953, Mum took in some oarsmen for the regatta, you know, because people give them bed and breakfast and lodgings. We had a couple of Belgian lads with us called Bob Baetens and Mike Knuysen who won the Silver Goblets.

Theyd actually rowed for Belgium at the Helsinki Olympics as a pair and were probably the equivalent of Redgrave and Pinsent in their day.

We lost touch with them, as you do, but I got involved in rowing and knew Di Ellis, who chaired the Amateur Rowing Association.

I rang her and said, Could you find a couple of blokes for me? She said, Yeah, if theyre good-looking.

She dug out these Belgians and in 2000 I took Mum and Dad over on the Eurostar to meet them again. They had a lovely reunion.

Peter, who now lives in Lincoln with Audrey, his wife of 56 years, had a varied career.

Ive always lived an active life, always wondering what to do next, he says.

When I left school my first job was working for Cyril Hobbs, who had a successful boat hire business upstream and alongside the Angel pub. Last time I was in Henley the small office building was still there on the riverbank.

When I came out of the forces, my dad got made up to manager of a small branch of the Midland Bank in a lovely little village called Duffield, just outside Derby, and the family moved up there.

I needed to work so I started working in a factory, making heavy industrial boilers about the size of railway locomotives. One day I thought, Im not getting anywhere with this.

My dad was doing very well as a bank manager and I thought, That looks like a nice job, so I wrote to the local Westminster Bank.

He was recommended to the head office in London and started working as a cashier in the West End.

He then went on to have a successful career in the retail motor trade.

Peter says: I had this urge to write for many years but there was never any time to do it. I mapped out a lot of things in my mind when I was driving around the country, running my own business.

When retirement beckoned, I sat down and took it seriously.

I wanted to write the kind of book that I enjoy reading. Im just so pleased to have a chance to do what I enjoy doing.

As Professor Henry Higgins said in Pygmalion, Happy is the man who can make a living from his hobby.

 The Drysdale Confession (10.99) is published by Foreshore Publishing. For more information, visit foreshorepublishing.com
Gwadar to act as business hub of Pakistan: traders

Xinhua) 09:47, January 29, 2023

Photo taken on Jan. 29, 2018 shows a view of Gwadar Port in southwest Pakistan's Gwadar. (Xinhua/Ahmad Kamal)

ISLAMABAD, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- Traders from Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province have said the coastal city of Gwadar will act as a business hub of Pakistan under the project of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, an official statement said.

In a meeting with the officials of the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) here, the delegation of the traders said that it is the right time for potential investors to consider investing in Gwadar, according to the statement.

Speaking with the ICCI president Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari, Alauddin Marri, former caretaker Chief Minister Balochistan and a prominent businessman from Balochistan, said that the business opportunities in Gwadar will increase following the inauguration of Gwadar's airport.

Marri said that local and foreign investors should invest in industries including fisheries, petrochemical, tourism, trade logistics, processing and manufacturing industries.

Speaking at the occasion, Bakhtawari said that an ICCI delegation would soon visit Gwadar to see investment prospects and explore business opportunities in Gwadar.

He noted that Gwadar being the business hub of the country will reduce poverty and unemployment, and bring prosperity to the province.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un, attends a wreath-laying ceremony at Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi, Vietnam, on March 2, 2019. AP-Yonhap



North Korea has slammed Washington's decision to supply Ukraine with tanks, claiming the U.S. is "further expanding the proxy war" to destroy Russia.



Earlier this week, U.S. President Joe Biden promised 31 Abrams tanks, one of the most powerful and sophisticated weapons in the US army, to help Kyiv fight off Moscow's invasion.



Along with China, Russia is one of the North's few international friends and has previously come to the regime's aid.



In a statement released late Friday, Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, blamed Washington for the crisis in Ukraine, accusing it of "further crossing the red line" by sending the tanks.



"Lurking behind this is the U.S. sinister intention to realize its hegemonic aim by further expanding the proxy war for destroying Russia," she said in the statement.






National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby speaks during a daily press briefing at the White House in Washington in this Jan. 20 screen capture. Yonhap



A senior North Korean official on Sunday rejected alleged weapons transactions with Russia, warning the United States of an "undesirable result" if it continues to spread such rumors.



Kwon Jong-gun, director-general in charge of U.S. affairs at North Korea's foreign ministry, claimed the U.S. again talked about the "groundless rumor" of arms dealing between North Korea and Russia in an attempt to justify its offer of weapons to Ukraine.



The U.S. has recently announced its decision to send 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine to help its fight against Russia's invasion. Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of the country's leader Kim Jong-un, said Washington is crossing the "red line."



"Trying to tarnish the image of the DPRK by fabricating a non-existent thing is a grave provocation that can never be allowed and that can not but trigger its reaction," Kwon said in a statement carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.









"The U.S. should be mindful that it will face a really undesirable result if it persists in spreading the self-made rumor against the DPRK."



Kwon did not say what he meant by an undesirable result.



Earlier this month, the U.S. said North Korea continues to provide ammunition to Russia, releasing satellite imagery of Russian railcars traveling between Russia and North Korea on Nov. 18 and Nov. 19 for what the U.S. called the initial delivery of North Korean weapons to a private Russian military company, the Wagner Group, for use in Ukraine. (Yonhap)





This image shows Kwon Jong-gun, director general of the Department of U.S. Affairs of North Korea's foreign ministry. Yonhap
Healey Announces Executive Order Creating Housing Working Group

BOSTON  At the Massachusetts Municipal Association's annual meeting last weekend, Gov. Maura T. Healey said she has filed an Executive Order creating a Housing Working Group.

The group will be chaired by Lt. Gov. Kimberley Driscoll and comprised of stakeholders, including housing developers, advocates, municipal leaders and others to be named at a later date.

The group is charged with guiding the structure of Healey's new housing secretariat and informing the process of filing an Article 87 to create the position. The governor has pledged to file legislation creating this new secretariat within her first 100 days.

"One of the single biggest problems facing our state  and the most important point of collaboration between the Governor and municipal leaders  is housing affordability," Healey said in her remarks before 1,000 municipal leaders from across Massachusetts. "Every community will have a role to play in meeting our housing goals, which will have real economic benefits. We cannot do this alone. We want to make this a win-win for municipalities who partner with us in this effort, so that your communities can realize the benefits of a flourishing housing market."

In her address, Healey also outlined her administration's priorities on a number of key challenges facing municipal leaders and state government and emphasized the need for collaboration.

"As we look ahead, I want you to know you will always have a partner in Kim and me  we will listen, we will learn, we will reach out, and we will be there to confront our biggest challenges together," said Healey. "Because we know Massachusetts can only move forward if all our cities and towns are strong, our students and families are supported, and our main streets are vibrant."

Chief among those challenges is addressing the impacts COVID-19 has had on students and closing opportunity gaps in education. To do this, the governor committed to:

Fully funding the Student Opportunity Act and meeting the needs of charter school reimbursement funds in her FY24 budget.

Assisting school districts with the cost of transporting students and fully funding the McKinney-Vento program to ensure that homeless students can enroll in, attend and have the opportunity to succeed at school.

Supporting the special education circuit breaker program to help maintain funding to assist all school districts with the cost of these critical services.

Filing supplemental funding to ensure migrant children have access to the education and support they need to learn and thrive, and that communities have the resources to make it happen.
The bike path will go under the Dalton Avenue overpass and end at a new parking lot on Merrill Road.

Ashuwillticook Rail Trail Extending Farther Into Pittsfield in 2024

PITTSFIELD, Mass.  The Ashuwillticook Rail Trail will extend to Merrill Road in 2024, bringing bike and pedestrian recreation farther into the city.

Phase 2 of the extension along the abandoned Housatonic railroad line will be bid in the spring and completed next year. With a state and federally funded price tag of about $1.4 million, it includes a 10-foot paved multi-use path that runs from Crane Avenue to Merrill Road.

The trail will eventually travel alongside the road to East Street and larger plans bring it through the whole county.

On Tuesday, the City Council approved five temporary property easements to assist in the construction of the extension.

"The extension of the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail into Pittsfield is a critically important community supported recreational enhancement project," Mayor Linda Tyer wrote.

"Nearly 10 years in the planning stages, continued extension of the trail into Pittsfield has been noted as a community goal in both the Master Plan and the Open Space and Recreation Plan. Full funding is currently allocated in this fiscal year through the state Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) and any delay in the acquisition of the temporary easements could present a result that the funding could be re-allocated."

The 0.4 mile extension will go underneath the Dalton Avenue bridge, travel behind the Shops at Unkamet Brook (which include Dick's Sporting Goods, Bed Bath & Beyond, Panera Bread,) and come out next to O'Connell Oil Associates.

It will be paid for by the Federal Aid Program with 80 percent of the construction cost funded by the Federal Highway Administration and 20 percent of the construction cost funded by the state.

Open Space, and Natural Resource Program Manager James McGrath reported that the project will be advertised for bid in early May and construction could begin in the summer.

To accommodate the extension, a 5,900 square foot paved parking area with 11 spaces will be built adjacent to the trail at Merrill Road.

Proposed project activities also include a rest area with bench seating, bicycle racks, and trail information; a Pedestrian Activated Hybrid Beacon (HAWK) signal at Merrill Road; repair of an existing stormwater drainage culvert underneath the existing rail embankment at one location; and new grass-lined infiltration swales parallel to the trail totaling a cumulative 1,150 linear feet.

The rail trail runs more than14 miles from Lime Street in Adams to Crane Avenue in Pittsfield. Phase 1 of its extension into the city was completed last year, connecting the leg that ended at the Connector Road to Crane Avenue.

The first section opened in 2001 from Route 8 in Cheshire to Hoosac Street in Adams and was extended to Lime Street in 2016. The trail will eventually link up to a recently completed 2.4-mile path in Williamstown.
Housatonic River Receives Wild and Scenic Designation

NEW MILFORD, Conn.  The Housatonic River Commission announced the federal designation of the Housatonic River as a Wild & Scenic River for the 41 miles of the river from the Massachusetts border to the Boardman Bridge in New Milford.

"This federal Wild & Scenic designation of the Housatonic River will help to ensure the Commission's ability to carry through its management plan to maintain the river's unspoiled beauty and create solid accessibility to the many user groups who treasure the Housatonic River," William Tingley, chairman of the Housatonic River Commission said

This 41-mile section of the Housatonic River is now a member of the National Park Service's Partnership Wild and Scenic Rivers Program, a federally funded consortium designed to protect and enhance rivers throughout the country.

According to a press release, the commission has worked for years to accomplish this designation. They thanked residents and public officials of the seven towns represented on the Commission: Canaan (Falls Village), Cornwall, Kent, Salisbury, Sharon, New Milford, and North Canaan, and to the Housatonic Valley Association.

They also thanked state officials, specifically Senator Chris Murphy and Congresswoman Jahana Hayes, for making sure this designation was included in the recently passed Omnibus Bill in Washington. They thanked the National Park Service, Northwest Hills Council of Governments, Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, local area land trusts, and other interested organizations.

After years of community organizing and advocacy, I am thrilled to join the Housatonic River Commission in celebrating the National Wild and Scenic River designation for the Housatonic River. As the House sponsor of this legislation, I share this monumental feat with all who live along this 41-mile stretch of the river and those dedicated to protecting its beauty for generations to come. I look forward to continuing to work with the commission, local leaders, and community members on additional efforts to expand and improve access to cleaner, healthier outdoor spaces for all to enjoy," said Congresswoman Jahana Hayes.

The Commission will also be entitled to receive federal funds to carry out its management plan for the Housatonic River, including the need to improve and control public access to the river for recreation.

The Housatonic River Commission, along with its partners, the National Park Service, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, the Housatonic Valley Association, Inc, FirstLight Power Resources, and the Northwest Hills Council of Governments, will continue to work together to manage the Wild & Scenic program for the Housatonic River and the funding that comes with it.
No Drought Conditions in Berkshire County

BOSTON  Through the month of December 2022, the majority of the state experienced drought improvements and Berkshire County has remained at level 0: normal conditions.

This is not the case for the rest of the state.

Secretary Rebecca Tepper announced the following drought declarations: the Islands Region will remain at a Level 2-Significant Drought, the Northeast and Cape Cod Regions have been upgraded to a Level 1-Mild Drought, and the Connecticut River Valley Region will join the Western, Central, and Southeast Regions at Level 0-Normal Conditions. Rain and snow events during the previous month and a half have been well above normal, and conditions are expected to continue to improve through January 2023.

However, for the state to be completely out of the drought, which is a longer-term condition, Massachusetts will need to benefit from sustained rainfall for a few more months before the entire state is within Normal conditions.

"While it is great to see significant improvements throughout Massachusetts, it is critical that everyone practices indoor water conservation methods, particularly those residing and working within the Islands, Northeast, and Cape Cod Regions of the state," said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper. "Through our ongoing collective efforts, water systems will return to normal and fully rebound faster, ensuring essential needs, such as for drinking water, fire suppression, and supporting habitats, will continue to be met."

These declarations are the result of recommendations made by the state's Drought Management Task Force, which is composed of state and federal officials, and other entities. The taskforce will continue to meet until water levels return to normal in all affected regions of the state. The task force noted that it will take more time for the Commonwealth to come out of the longer-term drought, which started in early 2022, and has resulted in anywhere between two to ten inches of rainfall deficits over the course of the year in different regions of the state. Below are recommendations for communities and individuals living and working within a Level 2  Significant Drought region and a Level 1  Mild Drought region, including those utilizing a private well. Residents and businesses are also asked to check with their local water system in case more stringent watering restrictions are in place.

Furthermore, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) will continue to provide technical assistance to communities on managing their water systems, including assistance on use of emergency connections and water supplies.

"The drought situation is still improving across the Commonwealth and today's recommendation is based on conditions through December that do not consider the heavy, early precipitation we are experiencing this month," said MassDEP Acting Commissioner Gary Moran. "This drought was the result of the long-term precipitation deficits that have built-up over many months, so it will take time to recover. We urge residents to follow the recommendations of their water supplier and continue to conserve water."

It is important to note that the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) water supply system is not experiencing drought conditions, as defined within its individual plan. Private wells, local streams, wetlands, vernal pools, and other water-dependent habitats located within MWRA-serviced areas may be impacted by drought conditions, while water quality in ponds can deteriorate due to lowering of levels and stagnation.

The Drought Management Task Force will meet again on Wednesday, February 8, 2023, at 10:00AM. For further information on water conservation and what residents can do, please visit EEA's Drought page and water conservation page. To get the most up-to-date information on the drought indices, go to the state's drought dashboard webpage. Additionally, the Commonwealth is surveying the public for any drought impacts that are currently being experienced. To participate, please visit the Massachusetts Water Impact Reporter webpage.
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.  One week from Sunday, Matt Cusson will be walking the red carpet and waiting in the audience to hear if his name called at the 65th Grammy Awards.

The Pittsfield native is nominated in the "Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella" for his work on the Bee Gees' "How Deep Is Your Love" performed by Dallas-based a cappella group Kings Return.

Cusson said recently that his nomination feels surreal and he's been in awe thinking about getting the same gilded gramaphone as A-list celebrities like Beyonce, who's won 28 Grammys and is up for nine this year.

"It still hasn't hit me, I guess it's still like I'm in the clouds. My brain is pretty mushy. But it's surreal. There's no words," he said. "I think it's a validation that I didn't necessarily need but I'm in awe of it. And I'm glad, obviously, beyond glad it happened win or lose. And I'm up against the heaviest hitters in the world. It's crazy."

One of those heavy hitters is Grammy winner Danny Elfman, whose 15th nomination is for "Main Titles" in the Marvel film "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness." Other nominees in the category include two-time nominee Armand Hutton ("As Days Go By"  An Arrangement of the "Family Matters Theme Song"), four-time nominee Remy Le Boeuf ("Minnesota, WI,") and Grammy-winner John Beasley ("Scrapple from the Apple"), who's up for three awards this year.

The musician and his wife, Lisa Kaki-Cusson, were in the middle of moving back to the Berkshires in 2020 when Kings Return member Gabe Kunda reached out to him after hearing some of his previous work.

He didn't have a studio at the time so he assembled the song using an impromptu set up he pulled together.

Since releasing the song, Cusson has worked on five or six songs with the group and intends to work with them in the future. Their collaboration has been long distance  band members and Cusson will meet up in person for the first at the Grammys.

Cusson received the "for your consideration" email last fall to inform him of the possibility of being nominated. But he'd received those before, so didn't watch the nomination announcements on Nov. 15.

Instead, he was at home in Williamstown playing with his daughter, Lila, and it wasn't until he received numerous messages from Kings Return members and old friends he became aware of the nomination.

The musician has lived in New York City, Los Angeles and most recently Greenwich, Conn., but calls the Berkshires home.

"It's a perfect place to raise a child, families near, there's so much music here, there's so much art here. I love it! It's just got kind of the best of everything," Cusson said. "I've traveled all over the world and the Berkshire seems to have just a little bit of everything. I love the culture. I love the food. I love the music."

He does a masterclass with his former professor Ellen Shanahan at Berkshire Community College, where he is able to see a lot of the area's talented musicians.

Technology now allows many musicians to have a home studio and work virtually, he said, and creating and distributing music has become more accessible.

Advice that he always gives to up and coming musicians is to be as self-reliant as you can, network, and to take any chance to perform  whether it's in a big stadium or a coffee shop.

"Being as self-reliant as you can is important, especially this day and age," Cusson said. "That way, you don't have to rely on record labels. I've signed to other famous artists before and now I don't have to rely on them. I can just kind of create your own destiny kind of thing."

Another piece of advice is to never be too good to stop learning. Coming from a musical family, he's been playing piano for his entire life and is still learning new things.

Meeting new people can also bring opportunities that you wouldn't expect being able to do, he said. An example of this was was NASA using his song "Calling it a Night" for its annual moon phase video and performing " The Moon and More " with Javier Colon, Season 1 winner of NBC's "The Voice," for the agency's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter project.

Since being nominated, he said he's gotten more fun opportunities and is looking forward to leveling up in his career.

Cusson will be releasing another album this summer and his third single from the album "No Light Yet" was released on Jan. 16.

"I just want to keep going. I've been blessed enough to work with the best and I want to do more of that," he said.




Korea's new coronavirus cases fell below 20,000 on Sunday, just a day ahead of the country's planned lifting of a mask mandate for indoor places that has been in place for more than three years.







The country reported 18,871 new cases, including 37 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 30,149,601, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).







The daily caseload had been above 30,000 for the second straight day Friday due to increased tests after the Lunar New Year holiday that ended Tuesday, before falling to 23,612 on Saturday.







Sunday's daily infections were down by more than 2,000 from a week earlier.







Starting Monday, people will be allowed to visit most places, including schools, kindergartens and gyms, without masks, as the government plans to lift the mandate that has been in force since October 2020.







Still, the mask mandate will remain in place at hospitals, pharmacies and on public transportation, the KDCA said.







In May, Korea lifted the outdoor mask mandate in a major step toward regaining normalcy.







The country added 29 COVID-19 deaths, bringing the death toll to 33,390. The number of critically ill patients came to 420, up 10 from the previous day, the KDCA said. (Yonhap)


A notice attached at Sinchon Station on Seoul Metro line 2, Sunday, reads that the indoor mask mandate will be lifted inside stations and platforms from Monday, but that subway users will still be required to wear masks on trains. Yonhap



66% of people choose to stick with masks despite eased rule: survey



By Lee Hyo-jin



An indoor mask mandate imposed nationwide comes to an end, Monday, with few exemptions such as hospitals and public transit. But it remains to be seen whether Koreans will immediately stop wearing masks, a practice they have gotten used to for the last three years.



Following an announcement by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), people are no longer legally obliged to wear a mask indoors beginning at midnight, except at hospitals, nursing homes, pharmacies, welfare centers for people with disabilities, and public transportation.



The decision to relax the mask-wearing policy was based on four metrics  the number of new cases, hospitalization, medical capacity, and vaccination rate among the elderly, the KDCA said.



People will still be required to wear masks on subway trains, buses, taxis, ferries and planes. However, the health authorities noted that masks are optional in subway platforms, train stations, bus terminals and airports.



Although the mask rule has been lifted in schools, private cram schools and kindergartens, it is still mandatory in school buses, as they are classified as public transport. The mask mandate is scrapped in shopping malls and retailers, but people should still wear masks when visiting pharmacies located inside such facilities.









Health authorities noted that the easing of the mandate does not mean that masks are no longer effective in preventing the spread of the virus and stressed that the vulnerable population, and those experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, are "strongly recommended" to mask up.





Subway commuters wearing masks on a platform at Sinchon Station, Seoul, Sunday. Yonhap
Officials of the Customs Department at Trichy international airport seized foreign currency of USD 10,000 (Rs 8 lakh) concealed in the undergarments of a male passenger, officials said on Saturday.

The Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) of the customs department intercepted a male passenger at the airport due to his suspicious movement on January 28.

Earlier in December, 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. The gold pieces weighed 147.5 grams and had a purity of 24 carats.

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 had a purity of 24 carats. The officials extracted the yellow metal from 169 grams of paste-like materials concealed in the rectum of the female passenger who had arrived from Kuala Lumpur on an Air Asia flight.
The Supreme Court's use of the "basic structure" doctrine to invalidate the constitutional amendment supporting the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act, according to Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar, is a serious violation of "parliamentary sovereignty."



Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankar attacked the principle itself, saying that it set a "wrong precedent" and that he "doesn't subscribe" to the idea, while criticising the Supreme Court's decision to invalidate the NJAC Act as a violation of the basic structure of the Constitution, a principle that the high court established in its 1973 Kesavananda Bharati verdict.

What is NJAC?

The Constitution (99th Amendment) Act, which created the NJAC and the NJAC Act, was approved by Parliament in 2014 in order to replace the Collegium system with a commission for appointing judges. In essence, this would increase the government's influence over judicial selection.

TOI

The Union Minister of Law and Justice, two senior-most Supreme Court judges, the Chief Justice of India, the Prime Minister, and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha were to serve as ex officio members of the NJAC. Two eminent members of civil society, one of whom would be nominated by a committee made up of the CJI, the Prime Minister, and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and the other from the SC/ST/OBC/minor

The laws were repealed in October 2015 after the Supreme Court struck them down.

What does the basic structure doctrine mean?

The "basic structure doctrine," or any similar principle by another name, asserts that a nation's Constitution or any other founding document contains certain elements that cannot be changed, superseded, or entirely eliminated. This was derived from Kesavananda Bharati (KB) as case law in India and has been used as a benchmark for the constitutionality of many laws through judicial review.

The doctrine defends the fundamental principles of the legislative branch's potential majoritarian tendencies. In the KB ruling, the SC says, After World War II when the disastrous effects of the positivist doctrines came to be realised, there was reaction in favour of making certain norms immune from amendment or abrogation. This was done in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Unsplash/Representational Image

What is the Basic structure of Indias Constitution?

In KB, the full SC bench held (by a 7:6 majority) that while Parliament had both legislative and constituent powers (including the ability to change the Constitution), the constituent power itself was subject to substantive restrictions. However, there was disagreement regarding what made up the fundamental structure. For example, only six of the judges agreed that basic rights were a part of the framework. However, some of the 11 judgements (including the minority-view judgements) in the case indicated significant "inviolable" boundaries.

The supremacy of the Constitution, the republican and democratic forms of government, secularism, the separation of powers, federalism, fundamental rights, and guiding principles are a few of these. However, the SC determined in KB that this list was not all-inclusive. The SC upheld judicial independence as a component of the fundamental structure in the NJAC ruling in 2015.

The ongoing evolution

Unsplash/Representational Image

The constitutional authority of Parliament has been contested almost continuously since the Constitution's adoption. Parliament added the Ninth Schedule to the Constitution in the very first amendment to the document in order to shield some laws from judicial review following unfavourable rulings in the majority of the early challenges. In the cases of Sankari Prasad (1952) and Sajjan Singh (1955), the SC upheld the total and unrestricted nature of Parliament's constitutional authority.

The foundation of the basic structure was laid in 1967's Golaknath case, where a 6:5 majority decision of the Supreme Court found that the Constitution's core provisions required a more thorough procedure than was customary if they were to be changed.

In response to the nationalisation of banks and the elimination of the privy purse, the government of the day again appropriated significant powers to amend the Constitution through a number of amendments between July 1971 and June 1972. These were contested by the parties involved, which resulted in the KB verdict. Since then, numerous SC rulings, including those in the Election Matter (1975), Minerva Mills, and Waman Rao, have upheld and strengthened the basic structure concept.
China's population has decreased for the first time in 60 years, marking a historic demographic shift. The population of the most populous country in the world decreased by 850,000 people, according to the most recent statistics on population released by the Chinese government.



According to data from China's National Bureau of Statistics, there were almost a million fewer people living in China in 2022. 9.56 million babies were born in China last year, a significant decrease from the 10.62 million babies born in 2021. The nation experienced 10.41 million deaths concurrently.

Role of fertility rate

AFP/Representational Image

In the late 1980s, China's total fertility rate (births per woman) was 2.6, significantly higher than the 2.1 required to replace deaths. Since 1994, it has fluctuated between 1.6 and 1.7, falling to 1.3 in 2020 and to just 1.15 in 2021. Comparatively, the total fertility rate in Australia and the US is 1.6 births per woman. Ageing Japan has a value of 1.3.

Despite China abandoning its one-child policy in 2016 and implementing a three-child policy last year, supported by tax and other incentives, this has occurred. Diverse theories explain why Chinese women continue to delay having children despite state incentives.

One is that people are accustomed to having small families, another is the rising cost of living, and a third is the rising marriage age, which delays pregnancies and reduces people's desire to have children.

Furthermore, there are fewer childbearing women in China than one might anticipate. Since 1980, when couples have been allowed to have only one child, many of them chose to have a boy. As a result, the sex at birth ratio increased from 106 boys for every 100 girls (the ratio in the majority of the rest of the world) to 120, and in some provinces, to 130.

What are the reasonable assumptions behind the shrinking?

China's overall population increased by a post-famine low of 0.34 per 1,000 people in 2017.

According to predictions made by a team at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, it will fall this year by 0.49 in a thousand for the first time since the famine. The turning point has arrived ten years earlier than anticipated. The China Academy of Social Sciences predicted the population would peak in 2029 at 1.44 billion people as recently as 2019.

According to the 2019 United Nations Population Prospects report, the peak was predicted to occur in 2031-23, at 1.46 billion people. After 2021, the population of China is expected to decrease by an average of 1.1% annually, reaching 587 million people in 2100, less than half of what it is today.

AFP/Representational Image

That prediction is based on the reasonable hypothesis that China's total fertility rate will drop from 1.15 to 1.1 between now and 2030 and stay there until 2100. China's economy will be significantly impacted by the quick decline.

By 2100, the working-age population in China is expected to have decreased to less than one-third of its 2014 peak.

For the majority of that time, it is anticipated that China's elderly population (those 65 and older) will keep growing, surpassing the country's working-age population close to 2080.

What does it mean for the working-age population in China?

This means that by 2100, 100 working-age Chinese will have to support up to 120 elderly Chinese, compared to the current ratio of 100 working-age Chinese to every 20 elderly Chinese.

If productivity doesn't increase quickly, China's working-age population will continue to decline by an average of 1.73% annually, which will result in much slower economic growth.

Low-margin, labour-intensive manufacturing is expected to move out of China and into labour-rich nations like Vietnam, Bangladesh, and India due to higher labour costs caused by the rapidly shrinking labour force.

China already charges twice as much for manufacturing labour as Vietnam.

AFP/Representational Image

How will it impact the economy of China and the world?

In order to meet the demands of an ageing population, China will also need to devote more of its productive resources to the provision of health, medical, and aged-care services.

According to simulations conducted by the Centre of Policy Studies at Victoria University, China's pension payments will increase fivefold from 4% of GDP in 2020 to 20% of GDP in 2100 if the country's pension system is left unchanged.

These modifications will probably necessitate a reorientation of exports toward manufacturers outside of China for resource-exporting countries like Australia. The source of goods for countries that import goods, like the United States, is expected to gradually shift toward new and developing manufacturing hubs.

Given China's importance in global supply chains, particularly as a manufacturing power, this demographic crisis will have serious repercussions for the entire world. A decrease in the nation's productive workforce will have an impact on the entire global economy.
Saurabh Kirpal, a senior attorney who is openly a gay, is still waiting to be appointed judge of the Delhi high court. The Delhi High Court collegium, then led by acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal, first recommended Kirpal for elevation in 2017. The supreme court approved it, but it later decided to postpone the decision three times.



The SC Collegium made a first-of-its-kind recommendation in November 2021 that Kirpal is considered for a position as a Delhi HC judge. The government has repeatedly opposed his elevation.

Who is Saurabh Kirpal?

Saurabh Kirpal has been practising for over two decades. In March 2021, 31 judges of the Delhi High Court appointed him senior advocate.

Further, he serves on the board of the Naz Foundation Trust, a non-profit organization based in Delhi that was instrumental in the conflict.

PTI

Sunil Mehra and Navtej Singh Johar, now well-known petitioners in the historic case in which the Supreme Court (SC) struck down Sec 377, which criminalized homosexuality, were represented by him and a team of lawyers.

50 years old Kirpal is the son of Bhupinder Nath Kirpal, who was India's 31st Chief Justice from May to November 2002.

He graduated from Delhi's St. Stephen's College with a physics major, then earned a law degree from Oxford and a master's in law from Cambridge.

What does the government say?

It is speculated that the advocate's sexual orientation was the reason for the delay. However, given that Kirpal's partner is European and works for the Swiss Embassy, the government claims that there is a conflict of interest in the objection.

The government's objection, which makes mention of Kirpal's sexual orientation and his partner's status as a "foreign national," has also been made public by the SC.

Unsplash/Representational Image

The communication between the Research & Analysis Wing and former Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad was mentioned by the Collegium. The recommendation that the Collegium of this Court approves the name of Saurabh Kirpal on November 11, 2021, appears to have two objections: Kirpal's partner is a Swiss and he is in an intimate relationship and open about his sexual orientation.

The law minister stated in a letter dated April 1, 2021, that even though homosexuality has been made illegal in India, same-sex marriage is still not recognizsd by either codified statutory law or uncodified personal law. The Center also concluded that the possibility of Kirpal's bias and prejudice cannot be ruled out because of his "attachment" to the gay rights movement, according to the Live Law reports.

Supreme court on the matter

BCCL

Supreme court reiterated its recommendation from November by uploading letters to the Centre on its website. The appointment had been pending for five years and needed to be processed "expeditiously," according to a three-member Collegium that was led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices SK Kaul and KM Joseph.

According to the statement, In this backdrop, the Collegium resolves to reiterate its recommendation dated 11 November 2021 for appointment of Shri Saurabh Kirpal as a Judge of the Delhi High Court which needs to be processed expeditiously.

On November 25, 2022, the recommendation that was unanimously made by the Collegium of the Delhi High Court on October 13, 2017, and approved by the Collegium of the Supreme Court on November 11, 2021, was referred back to us for reconsideration in light of the observations that were made in the file.

It also praised Kirpal for being open about his sexual orientation and said that it is "to his credit" that he has not been surreptitious about it.
With the support of the district administration in the city, youth in Nagpur, Maharashtra, have begun to paint murals and other artwork on the walls of the streets.

District Collector Piyush Samariya and Additional District Collector Mohanlala Khatnawalia, along with the district administration, are providing youngsters with painting material. They are also getting cement plastering work done on the walls from the Municipal Councils budget before painting.



Twitter

District Administration and Municipal Council encourage the initiative

The initiative has been taken after the encouragement of the District Administration and Municipal Council. They have also beautified the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission premises.

Member of the Consumer Commission, Balveer Khudkhudiya said in a statement to News18 Hindi that with the inspiration of Commission Chairman Dr Shyam Sundar Lata and the special support from the Additional District Collector, the commission is fully equipped with materials for paintings and slogans related to awareness.

This renovation has led to the Commission attracting a lot of public. These activities have been encouraged by various organisations in efforts to ensure that childrens screen time is reduced and they step out of the house for recreational activities.

Wall paintings are in progress  and I really appreciate their work. IAF area at Nagpur.

~ Touch the sky with glory #wallpainting #dreams #artist #art #socialefforts pic.twitter.com/RpU4Q1Zr8R  Sonal Takalkar (@Krishna_ST30) January 12, 2023





College students, under the leadership of NSS volunteer Gajraj Kanwar, are engaged in beautifying the walls with paintings. Gajraj says that they are getting everyones cooperation including district administration, college and scouts for this initiative in Nagpur.

Youths from walks of life taking part in makeover

The group of people painting these walls come from different locations. While some are college students, others are scouts and school kids. Some have even received encouragement from Dharampal Dgiwal, the headmaster of Sant Balramdas School.

Bhumika Sikhwal and Saanvi Sikhwal revealed that two years ago they got the opportunity to do painting work at this school. A young girl named Lavishka Sikhwal was also seen painting enthusiastically. She spends the whole day carrying brushes for painting with older college students after her school ends. The girl brings her father along and says that she is very fond of painting.

For more on news and current affairs from around the world please visit Indiatimes News.


"This ain't Switzerland nor Kashmir," tweeted Nagaland minister Temjen Imna Along, sharing pictures of newly completed resort in neighbouring state of Nagaland.

Comparing the resort with popular tourist destinations such as Switzerland and Kashmir, the minister also urged Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu to invite him to his state.

Nagaland minister's tweet

"This is the newly completed Chighu Resort at Anini, Arunachal Pradesh. Such a wonderful site! Isn't it? @PemaKhanduBJP Ji when are you inviting me ? To visit, contact: https://arunachaltourism.com," he tweeted sharing the pictures.

  ...!



This ain't Switzerland nor Kashmir!



This is the newly completed Chighu Resort at Anini, Arunachal Pradesh. Such a wonderful site! Isn't it?@PemaKhanduBJP Ji when are you inviting me ?



To visit, contact: https://t.co/dg7PdIAkrn#AmazingNortheast pic.twitter.com/CKbGAtzrXo  Temjen Imna Along (@AlongImna) January 28, 2023





The pictures showed a beautiful snow-laden landscape with stunning chalets opposite a breathtaking view of a frozen river and pine trees. One of the pictures also showed four men posing in front of the swiss-like resort.

Arunachal CM responds to minister

Responding to the Nagaland minister, Pema Khandu said the "land of rising sun awaits his arrival."

"Dear @AlongImna Ji, you're always welcome to the beautiful 'Land of Rising Sun'. Mountains and valleys will enchant you with their beauty. Chigu resort has a beautiful backdrop with snow-capped mountains and pine trees. Arunachal awaits your arrival! Do come," he tweeted.



Dear @AlongImna Ji, you're always welcome to the beautiful 'Land of Rising Sun'.



Mountains and valleys will enchant you with their beauty.



Chigu resort has a beautiful backdrop with snow-capped mountains and pine trees.



Arunachal awaits your arrival! Do come. https://t.co/OOO9LEgXml  Pema Khandu  (@PemaKhanduBJP) January 28, 2023





Internet stunned

Enchanted by the beauty of the northeastern state, the internet was all praises for the destination. Here's what Twitter said.

Wow  so beautiful.   Aditi Raval (@aditiraval) January 28, 2023

Beautiful. I was in Switzerland previously and felt India can do much better since we have great geography. This is a step ahead  Arvind Singh Kanwar (@kanwararvind) January 28, 2023

Sir thanks for sharing !! A Mumbaikar experiencing North/East India ...keep tweeting ..I love your tweets .  Ghag& (@VictorVibs9197) January 29, 2023

Arunachal pradesh has been in my bucket list since ever. These pics makes d desire even stronger.  Chirag Juneja (@chiragjuneja) January 29, 2023

Hamara Arunachal bhi koi Jannat se kam hai kya .#Arunachalisheaven  Pawan Kumar (@PawanKu97287776) January 28, 2023





Arunachal Pradesh is known for its pristine beauty and the lush green forests. The state is also known as the Land of the Rising Sun! So, you have a lot of other activities to do like river rafting, paragliding, etc.

For more on news and current affairs from around the world please visit Indiatimes News.


NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, left, talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin during their meeting at the Foreign Ministry, in Seoul, South Korea, Sunday. AP



North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Sunday that North Korean support of Russia in the war in Ukraine reinforces the need for the rest of the world to stay "interconnected" in their security efforts.



Stoltenberg made the remark in his meeting with South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin in Seoul.



"I think that in a more unpredictable and uncertain world, it's even more important that countries that believe in freedom and democracy in rules-based international order stand together," Stoltenberg said. "We are, of course, concerned about the reckless missile tests and nuclear programs of North Korea. And the war in Ukraine has also ramifications for your region. And we also know that North Korea is providing military support to the Russian war efforts with rockets and missiles. And this just highlights how we are interconnected."



During his two-day stay in Seoul, Stoltenberg will meet with President Yoon Suk Yeol and other South Korean government officials.






Ireland's breastfeeding rates remain among the lowest globally.

The latest Irish statistics from the HSE (2019) reveal that most women in Ireland are choosing to breastfeed their babies, with the majority having breastmilk as their first feed (64%), says Lynn Carroll, La Leche League Leader. However, the numbers exclusively breastfeeding drop dramatically by the time they are discharged from our maternity hospitals (45.7%), and by three months are only 31%. Unfortunately, there are no up-to-date published statistics to show how long babies in Ireland are being breastfed past the three-month mark.

According to UNICEF data, south Asian countries have the highest exclusive breastfeeding rates, 57%, for babies up to five months old. Eastern and Southern Africa hold the second-highest breastfeeding rates at 55%.

The American Academy of Paediatrics (APP) recommends breastfeeding for two years or more, but there are few supports in place to encourage long-term breastfeeding, which research has linked to health benefits for mothers and infants.

Children who are breastfed for longer, say the HSE, have lower risks of chest, ear, and tummy infections, and it protects those in childcare from catching bugs and illnesses. Added to that, long-term breastfeeding protects children from being overweight.

For the mother, breastfeeding can reduce the risk of breast and ovarian cancers, type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure, says Prof Afif EL-Khuffash, consultant neonatologist and paediatrician at the Rotunda Hospital. The burden of the complications related to diabetes also appears to be reduced.

Some women can develop high blood sugar (blood glucose) during late pregnancy, leading to a greater risk for type 2 diabetes later in life.

However, breastfeeding can reduce the risk as it helps the body process glucose and insulin better, according to research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine in 2015. Breastfeeding for longer further lowers the risk.

The risk of other cardiovascular diseases, including coronary heart disease and stroke, is also reduced with longer durations of breastfeeding associated with higher protective effects, according to researchers from the Sydney School of Public Health at the University of Sydney.

EL-Khuffash adds that breastfeeding can help reduce the babys risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and cardiovascular disease in adulthood.

New data highlights the protective effects of breastfeeding on the development of asthma, he says. Infants who receive antibiotics without breastfeeding over the first few months after birth are three times more likely to develop asthma when compared to babies who receive antibiotics while breastfeeding.

Carroll suggests the HSE breastfeeding statistics indicate mothers are not getting timely and appropriate breastfeeding support when needed.

We know our maternity services are under severe pressure, and it is unfair to ask already overworked and under-resourced midwives to bear the burden of this, she says.

While the HSE has made good inroads into improving access to IBCLCs (International Board Certified Lactation Consultants) for the more complex issues which can arise with breastfeeding, improved breastfeeding training and knowledge for all who encounter new parents would be most welcome.

"Research shows access to good quality breastfeeding peer support can have a huge positive impact on breastfeeding duration.

A learnt skill

With my first baby I never planned to breastfeed past six months, says Kitty Hackel, who tandem feeds her four and one-year-old and works as a doula and lactation consultant.

When I fell pregnant with my very much hoped-for second baby, I simply wasnt ready to wean, and neither was my first son.

Breastfeeding throughout pregnancy was difficult for Hackel but she leaned on her support system and created gentle nursing manners.

Kitty Hackel with her son.

Her children learnt to use soft hands, to ask nicely, and not twiddle her breast while feeding.

A mother may fall pregnant before the two years comes to a close and so go on to tandem feed both babies, says Hackel.

I found that tandem breastfeeding can reduce jealousy and help to increase bonding between siblings. The bond my two boys have is like no other, and they loved each other from the start.

Hackel is a strong advocate for extended breastfeeding but recognises that while breastfeeding is natural, it is a learnt skill.

I had plenty of milk but I struggled with many other factors, she says, such as sore nipples, tongue tie, fast let down, mastitis, and blocked ducts. But we kept going. They nurse less often now  they are too busy for mama cuddles.

Hackel says she is very lucky to be self-employed, making the balance of work and extended breastfeeding easier than if she was working for the HSE as she had been previously.

We have a nice rhythm to our days. Breastfeeding is a wonderful cosy time to reconnect and pause during the day no matter how hectic life is, and it forces me to slow down.

As mothers are encouraged to breastfeed for two years or longer to maximise the health benefits, this guideline may be unrealistic for many, especially for women who work outside the home.

Competing commitments between working life and extended feeding, along with often inadequate resources and supports, can complicate long-term breastfeeding.

However, UNICEF argues that with education and support, ongoing breastfeeding can work for many families, saying: Breastfeeding support in the workplace is critical to maternal health and well-being, infant health and development, and gender equity in the workplace.

Maternity leave in Ireland currently supports mothers to take at least six months leave after their baby is born, says Carroll.

Continuing to breastfeed while returning to employment can be a positive experience for mothers and babies. Recent changes in work practices such as hybrid working and a shortened working week can make the transition more family-friendly, and it is worth having a conversation with your employer to look at all options around your return to work.

Work support

Many women returning to work after maternity leave do not know it is possible to continue breastfeeding, says Nicola OByrne, lactation expert and a former neonatal and paediatric nurse.

They think it would be too much or too demanding, she says. But most babies are well established on solid food and drinking from a cup or bottle. Many mothers will cut down on feeding before returning to work so they wont have to express milk during the working day.

"Others work with their employers to find a place to express and store their breastmilk. But some mothers tell me breastfeeding is such a private thing and they dont want to tell their employer.

Finding and supporting a feeding plan and structure that works for the family is the best way to encourage and advocate for the AAP guidelines.

There is legislation for mothers returning to work when their baby is under six months, says OByrne.

Civil servants, teachers and HSE employees can now take breastfeeding breaks up to two years after having a baby. Many private multinationals also have provided facilities for their employees. Employers are legally obliged to provide a place to pump with washing facilities and a fridge to store breastmilk. Mothers can take breaks to pump or leave work early to go to their babies.

Breastfeeding is not just about the milk, says Carroll.

The breastfeeding relationship can help babies and mothers navigate the milestones of those first few years  teething, first steps, separation anxiety etc with a unique way to comfort, soothe and reconnect with each other.

Its a view Hackel agrees with.

Breastfeeding means an awful lot to me, she says. I can feel the end is nearing. I am excited to celebrate our journey and in other ways sad that this chapter will be over.
Drugs were sprayed onto letters and newspapers and stitched into clothing in a bid to get around visit restrictions imposed in prisons because of Covid-19, according to the Irish Prison Service.

Official figures show a continuing rise in the number of mobile phones being seized in 2022, with an increase in weapon seizures and a dramatic increase in the number of arrests by gardai.

Though the number of drug seizures dropped last year, compared to 2021, they were still higher than in any year between 2016 and 2020.

Portlaoise Prison, the countrys only high-security jail, which houses dissidents and gangland bosses, saw the greatest percentage increase in seizures of all the prisons.

Figures for the number of contraband seizures show:

Mobile phone seizures  1,425 in 2022, compared to 1,369 in 2021, 962 in 2018 and 648 in 2016;

Drug seizures  1,378 in 2022, compared to 1,518 in 2021, 1,138 in 2018 and 715 in 2016;

Weapons seizures  311 in 2022, compared to 292 in 2021, 664 in 2018 and 435 in 2016;

Total arrests by gardai  125 in 2022, up from 35 in 2021 and compares to 99 in 2018 and 107 in 2016.

In a brief report on the figures, the IPS said that preventing contraband, including illegal drugs, from getting into prisons will always remain a high priority.

It said the suspension of visits for significant periods since March 2020, as a result of Covid-19, had forced a shift in the methods used for trafficking contraband into prisons.

We have seen an increase in the number of throw overs, i.e. contacts on the outside attempting to throw mobile phones and drugs into exercise yards, it said.

It said that due to the regimes currently in operation in prisons, prison staff have been able to identify and intercept many of these throw-overs, ensuring they do not reach the prison population.

It said staff have increased the use of random and intelligence-led cell searches on a daily basis.

Our canine unit carries out searches around the prisons, including a greater focus on searching deliveries. Recent examples of this were in Mountjoy Prison, where two of the biggest seizures of contraband to date were recorded.

In addition, it said: An increase in drugs found in the post, parcels, and prisoner clothing has also increased as a result of visits being suspended. Advancements in our drug detection technology have proved particularly effective in identifying drugs that are sprayed onto letters, newspapers, and other prisoner property.

It is understood the drug-sprayed paper is intended to be smoked by inmates receiving it, with fentanyl, an extremely strong synthetic substitute for heroin, being among substances detected.

The 2022 figures show that the greatest number of mobile phone and drug seizures were in Wheatfield Prison in west Dublin, with 77 of all arrests taking place there.

Mountjoy Male Prison saw a rise in mobile phone and weapons seizures and a drop in drug seizures.

Limerick Prison recorded a significant rise in weapons seizures (from 34 to 61) and was the next highest after Wheatfield.

Seizures of mobile phones in Cork Prison remained unchanged, with a drop in both drug and weapons seizures.

Portlaoise Prison reported a significant increase in all four categories, albeit with numbers coming from a low base. Mobile phone seizures doubled, from 11 to 22; drug seizures trebled from nine to 29, weapons seizures jumped from zero to 17 and arrests doubled from six to 13.
Friends and volunteers gathered on Sunday at Kyivs St Sophias Cathedral to say goodbye to Andrew Bagshaw, a dual New Zealand-British citizen who was killed in Ukraine while he and another volunteer who also died tried to evacuate people from a front-line town.

Mr Bagshaw, 47, and British volunteer Christopher Parry, 28, went missing this month while heading to the town of Soledar, in the eastern Donetsk region, where heavy fighting was taking place.

Volunteers spoke of their memories of Mr Bagshaw and read tributes from his family.

Nikolletta Stoyanova, a friend in Ukraine, shared memories of his bravery, saying: Even if no one wanted to go to Soledar, they can do that. Because if he understood that someone needs help, they need to do this help for these people.

Mr Bagshaws father, Phil, told reporters in New Zealand that his son wanted to do something to help.

He was a very intelligent man, and a very independent thinker, he said.

And he thought a long time about the situation in Ukraine, and he believed it to be immoral. He felt the only thing he could do of a constructive nature was to go there and help people.

People lay flowers to commemorate the volunteers (Efrem Lukatsky/AP)

Ukrainian police said on January 9 that they lost contact with Mr Bagshaw and Mr Parry after the two headed for Soledar. Their bodies were later recovered.

In a January 24 statement, Mr Parrys family said he was drawn to Ukraine in March in its darkest hour.

It added that he had helped those most in need, saving over 400 lives plus many abandoned animals.

People light candles at the service (Efrem Lukatsky/AP)

Meanwhile on Sunday, Russias Foreign Ministry accused Ukraine and its Western allies of war crimes in connection with the shelling of two hospitals in Russian-held parts of Ukraine.

The ministry made the accusation a day after Russian officials said 14 people died when a hospital in the Luhansk province settlement of Novoaidar was struck.

They said shells also fell on the territory of a hospital in Nova Kakhovka, a Russian-occupied city in Kherson province where a strategically vital bridge across the lower reaches of the Dnieper River is located.

The deliberate shelling of active civilian medical facilities and the targeted killing of civilians are grave war crimes of the Kyiv regime and its Western masters, the Foreign Ministry said.

The lack of reaction from the United States and other Nato countries to this, yet another monstrous trampling of international humanitarian law by Kyiv, once again confirms their direct involvement in the conflict and involvement in the crimes being committed.

Russian state TV aired footage of what is said was the damaged hospital in Novoaidar. It said rockets hit the pediatric department of the two-storey building.

There are no military factories here. There are no military vehicles, no tanks. Who did you shoot at? the state TV report quoted Olga Ryasnaya as saying, identifying her as a pediatric nurse.

Novoaidar is located in Luhansk province, which is almost entirely under the control of Russian forces or Russian-backed separatists. Russian and separatist officials alleged the hospital was deliberately targeted.

The movements of journalists are restricted in areas of Ukraine under Russian control.
Dallas Police are investigating the officer-involved shooting that occurred on January 25, 2023, at 2546 Bahama Drive.

This is the first officer-involved shooting involving a Dallas Police officer in 2023.

On January 25, 2023, at around 12:30 pm, Dallas Police Fugitive Unit officers were in the area of 2500 Wilbur Street on an unrelated investigation.

While on Wilbur Street, officers received a wanted persons bulletin and learned a suspect wanted for Capital Murder out of Farmers Branch was on the same block.

At around 2:00 pm, officers located the suspect, 18-year-old Joey Fraire, on Wilbur Street, seated in the front passenger seat of a car driven by an unknown male.

The Fugitive Unit members, Officers Joshua Gonzalez, Richard Whitt, Scott Neal, Victor Lucas, Aryn Hale, and Elliott Howell followed the car for about an hour, allowing additional resources to respond, and to find a location to arrest Fraire.

Officers followed the suspect, to 2546 Bahama Drive, the Bahama Glen Apartments.

At around 2:55 pm, officers attempted to take the suspect into custody in the parking lot, and a drone was deployed to assist officers.

At around 2:59 pm, as part of a high-risk apprehension, Fugitive Unit officers gave repeated verbal commands and deployed a distraction device, a flashbang, for the driver and Fraire to exit the vehicle.

The driver got out of the car and was taken into custody.

The suspect refused to show his hands, exit the vehicle or follow commands, and at 3:01 pm Fugitive Unit deployed pepper ball rounds.

The suspect still did not exit the car.

At 3:02 pm, a sergeant monitoring video from the drone operation announced over the radio, that Fraire had a gun in his right hand.

Also at 3:02, a second flash bang was deployed and Fraire is seen with his gun, and fires at Dallas Police officers at least twice.

The officers returned fire, hitting the suspect multiple times.

Fraire ran from the car and fell to the ground, dropping his weapon.

Dallas Fire Rescue was called at 3:02 and at 3:07 pm First aid was administered by Fugitive Unit officers until DFR arrived at 3:18.

Fraire was taken to a local hospital where he died from his injuries at 3:43 pm.

One Fugitive unit officer was shot in the left foot. He was taken to a local hospital, treated and released.

The suspects weapon was recovered at the scene and a second weapon was recovered near the drivers seat during a search of the car by detectives. The second weapon was modified with a glock switch.

The investigation is ongoing and is being investigated by the Dallas Police Special Investigations Unit.

The Dallas County District Attorneys office were notified and responded to the scene and will conduct their own investigation.

The Office of Community Police Oversight was notified and responded to the scene.

IN AN EFFORT TO BE TRANSPARENT, THE DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT IS RELEASING THE BODY-WORN CAMERA FOOTAGE OF THE INCIDENT.

Update: January 26, 2023, at 3:10 PM

The suspect in the officer-involved shooting on Bahama Drive, Joey Fraire, 18, died as a result of his injuries at a local hospital on January 25, 2023.

The officer shot in the same incident has been released from the hospital.

Original Post:

On January 25, 2023, at around 3:00 pm, The Dallas Police Department Fugitive Unit was executing an arrest warrant for Capital Murder.

They located the murder suspect in a car and pulled into the apartment complex in the 2500 block of Bahama Drive. The preliminary investigation shows officers gave commands for the driver and suspect to exit the car. The driver, not the suspect got out of the car and was taken into custody. The suspect did not exit the car, did not follow commands, and fired shots at our officer.

Officers did return fire hitting the suspect. One officer was shot. Both the suspect and officer were taken to local hospitals. The officer was hit in the foot and will be okay. The suspect is in critical condition.

The District Attorneys office was notified and is on the scene. The Office of Police Community Oversight was notified. The investigation is ongoing and will be documented under case number 014825-2023. Information will be released when available.
COMPANY NEWS: Secureworks, a global leader in cybersecurity, published its latest analysis today from its Counter Threat Unit (CTU), revealing that Iranian threat group Cobalt Sapling, has re-emerged with a new persona, Abrahams Ax.

This is based on new findings that show it is linked to Moses Staffa known Cobalt Sapling hacktivist persona. Moses Staff is known for targeting Israeli companies to steal and leak sensitive data. It has been operating since September 2021.

Moses Staff style themselves as an anti-Israeli and pro-Palestinian threat group with the primary aim of harassing and disrupting Israeli companies. The analysis indicates that the Abrahams Ax persona is being used in tandem to attack government ministries in Saudi Arabia.

This is likely in response to Saudi Arabias leadership role in improving relations between Israel and Arab nations. And that both personas are linked to Cobalt Sapling.

The CTU witnessed the emergence of Abrahams Ax in November 2022, and although not a direct replacement for Moses Staff, it has striking similarities in its iconography, videography, and leak sites.

Both groups logos depict similar images, with the Abrahams Ax logo showing a clenched fist extended from a sleeve holding an axe, while Moses Staff shows a clenched fist holding a staff. Both Abrahams Ax and Moses Staff also use a WordPress blog as the basis for their leak sites, including religious quotes throughout their site. The groups have also both produced and released videos as part of their operations, with clear repetition in iconography between the two groups.

Based on the similarities with Moses Staff, its plausible that the threat actors behind Abrahams Ax use the same custom malware which acts as a cryptographic wiper, encrypting data without an offer from the group to release keys in exchange for payment. The group obfuscates their intent behind criminal and hacktivist style tactics but operates without a clear profit motive, with the attacks appearing to be politically motivated and focused on disruption and intimidation.

There are clear political motivations behind this group with information operations designed to destabilise delicate Israeli-Saudi Arabian relations, particularly as Saudi Arabia continues talks with Israel on normalising relations, comments Secureworks Counter Threat Unit principal researcher Rafe Pilling.

Iran has a history of using proxy groups and manufactured personas to target regional and international adversaries. Over the last couple of years an increasing number of criminal and hacktivist group personas have emerged to target perceived enemies of Iran while providing plausible deniability to the Government of Iran regarding association or responsibility for these attacks. This trend is likely to continue.

About Secureworks

Secureworks is a global cybersecurity leader that protects customer progress with Secureworks Taegis, a cloud-native security analytics platform built on 20+ years of real-world threat intelligence and research, improving customers ability to detect advanced threats, streamline and collaborate on investigations, and automate the right actions.
The parent company of a private defence contractor in India has been compromised by the Windows Alphv ransomware (aka BlackCat), with the group releasing a number of documents on the dark web and claiming to have stolen 2TB of data.

Solar Industries Limited India manufactures explosives through its subsidiary Economic Explosives and is based in Nagpur in Maharashtra state.

The website of the firm has been down since Sunday evening. iTWire wrote to the company on Friday morning, asking for details about the attack but has not heard back.

Neither the defence ministry nor the company has issued any public statement as yet.

Rocket Pinaka MK-1 ADM-1;

Propellant Pinaka MK-1 Enhanced;

Propellant Pinaka MK-2 Guided;

Propellant Akash Booster;

Propellant RTRS;

Propellant Astra MK-2;

Propellant PSOM-XL;

Propellant SkyRoot;

Propellant Star Booster;

Propellant HEMRL(PJ-10);

Propellant BramhMos;

Propellant A1-P(P1 & P2);

Warhead: Konkur, Invar, ATGM MK-2, MPBX Blocks;

Mines: Vibhav, Vishal, Adrashy; and

Bomb: PGB 450, GP 250

The attackers claim the data stolen includes full descriptions of engineering specifications, drawings, and audits of many weapons such as:

According to India's Hindustan Times newspaper, EEL has signed a deal with the defence ministry to supply a million multi-mode hand grenades to the army. EEL is also manufacturing enhanced range Pinaka rockets which have been developed by India's Defence Research and Development Organisation.

According to the Australian Cyber Security Centre, Alphv was first observed in late 2021. It is a ransomware-as-a-service operation and is related to other variants like BlackMatter and Darkside.

The ACSC said Alphv, which is also known as Noberus, has increased its activity last year and added features to prevent its being discovered by intrusion-detection systems.

The group also claimed that it had stolen:
Australian space research centre SmartSat CRC has appointed current board member Dr Michele Allan AO as its new Chair, following the sudden passing of inaugural Chair Dr Peter Woodgate in December.

SmartSat Cooperative Research Centre (CRC), says Dr Allan brings a wealth of experience and leadership from some of Australias key industries.

Dr Allan is currently the Chair of the Boards of Charles Sturt University, the Food and Agribusiness Growth Centre (FIAL), Trusted Autonomous Systems Defence CRC, and Wine Australia - and is also a non-executive director of the CSIRO, the Food Agility CRC, and Dairy Food Safety Victoria.

Dr Allan AO has previously served as Chair of Meat and Livestock Australia and the William Angliss Institute and has served as a non-executive director of Grain Growers Limited, Tasmanian Irrigation, Innovation and Science Australia, Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation, Callaghan Innovation (New Zealand), Food Standards Australia and New Zealand, and Forest and Wood Products Australia.

SmartSat CRC says this is in addition to her extensive work with Amcor Limited, Kraft Foods, Bonlac Foods Limited, ICI, Tasmanias Bioinformatics Centre of Excellence, Johnson and Johnson, and Nestle in various executive roles.

CEO of SmartSat CRC, Professor Andy Koronios, says, We are delighted to appoint Dr Allan AO as Chair, albeit under very sad circumstances. As one of our founding board members, Dr Allan AO has already made an enormous contribution to our organisation.

This, along with her diverse industry knowledge and wealth of leadership experience will be incredibly valuable as SmartSat CRC enters its fourth year.

We are all deeply shocked and saddened by the passing of our inaugural Chair, Dr Peter Woodgate, whose dedication and service will be deeply missed. As we look ahead, we are determined to ensure that we continue Peters legacy with Dr Allan AO at the helm.

Dr Allan says, I would like to acknowledge the untimely passing of Dr Woodgate and his leadership at SmartSat CRC. He was an inspiring leader, and I am honoured to take on his legacy. I look forward to working with the SmartSat CRC team to pursue our goals for advancing Australias space and spatial industries.

Dr Allan holds a Bachelor of Applied Science from the University of Technology Sydney, a Master of Management of Technology from Melbourne University, a Master of Commercial Law from Deakin University, and a Doctorate from RMIT. - and is also a fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
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.
A South Korean soldier has mistakenly fired a machine gun during training near the border with North Korea, and the military has immediately informed North Korea that the shooting was not intentional, military officials said Sunday. Korea Times file



A South Korean soldier has mistakenly fired a machine gun during training near the border with North Korea, and the military has immediately informed North Korea that the shooting was not intentional, military officials said Sunday.



The South Korean military said four live rounds were fired from the machine gun during a training session by an Army unit along the inter-Korean border in the eastern province of Gangwon at 6:27 p.m. on Saturday.



All of the bullets landed in the southern side of the Military Demarcation Line and no damage was reported. No firings were planned for the training.



The military unit immediately informed North Korea via broadcasting on several occasions that the firings were not intentional and stepped up emergency readiness posture, the officials said.



"No particular signs have been seen from the North Korean side, and an investigation is under way over the exact circumstances of the incident," an official of the unit said.



In May 2020, at least four bullets from North Korea hit South Korea's guard post at the central part of the Demilitarized Zone, prompting the South Korean troops to fire back.



It was the first exchange of gunfire between South and North Korea in years. Under the Comprehensive Military Agreement signed in September 2018, the two Koreas agreed to halt all hostile acts against each other, a move aimed at reducing tensions and building trust.



The DMZ, which is about 250 kilometers long and 4 km wide, is one of the world's most heavily fortified borders and has often been a flashpoint between the rival Koreas. (Yonhap)




Students play at Seoul International School in Bokjeong Dong, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province / Courtesy of Seoul International School



By Lee Hyo-jin



Seoul International School (SIS), one of the oldest international schools in Korea, is celebrating 50 years of its establishment this year.



The educational institution in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, was founded in 1973 by Edward Ben Adams, who envisioned creating an international school independent of political and religious affiliations.



Thanks to Adams' dedication and passion for education and the people of Korea, SIS was able to become one of the first international schools in the nation. It received the first-ever letter of authorization from the Korean government for the establishment of a foreign school on June 5, 1973. The school opened its doors later that year, becoming the first foreign school to be recognized by the Ministry of Education after Korea was liberated from Japanese colonial rule in 1945.



With the strong support of Yoo Il-yoon, then-chairman of Konkuk University, the school first opened its doors from a small building on the university campus.





Students play at the Seoul International School campus in the 1970s. Courtesy of Seoul International School
Today

Showers and thunderstorms. Gusty winds and small hail are possible. High 71F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 100%.

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms early, then partly cloudy after midnight. Low 53F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.

Tomorrow

Sunshine and clouds mixed. High 78F. Winds light and variable.
People hold pictures of the victims at a vigil to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Quebec City mosque shooting, in Quebec City, Monday, Jan. 29, 2018. A ceremony will be held this evening to mark the sixth anniversary of Quebec City's deadly mosque shooting. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot
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My parents abused me as a child. I went no contact with them over ten years ago, but now my dad is in the hospital with a serious diagnosis and the discharge planner keeps asking me to be involved. I dont want to. What are my rights?

I read the lengthy message several times, feeling an overwhelming sense of dread. I was in the same no contact situation with my own aging father. (No contact is a strategy used by many adult child abuse and neglect victims to live separate lives from their abusers. This does not mean they dont love their parents or family members, but it is often protective and keeps the formerly abused child free from continued harm.) Would someone expect me to be involved in his care as he got older? Was there a legal precedent in situations like this?

Many states have enacted filial laws, which mandate the support of aging or indigent parents by their adult children. California Family Code 4400-4405 states that every adult child who, having the ability to do so, fails to provide necessary food, clothing, shelter, or medical attendance for an indigent parent, is guilty of a misdemeanor. There are actually 26 states that have filial laws, including the distant state where my own father lives.

Court systems have previously attempted to obtain payment from adult children to cover nursing home costs and other medical costs. If the parent qualifies for Medicaid, the filial laws cannot be used to force adult children to pay for care. However, if they dont qualify for Medicaid, a state could try to pursue payment from children, regardless of the connection those children have with their aging parents.

This question brought about a huge discussion in a physicians group that I am a part of. Many other physicians who came from healthier homes commented that helping a parent, regardless of past wrongs, would be the right thing to do. Often, we talk about what is right and forgiveness. But what if forgiveness harms the family members who have had to figure out how to survive on their own? What if the abuser never even asked for forgiveness nor accepted their wrongdoings? What if there are plenty of excellent reasons to remain no contact or limited contact?

There are two serious issues at hand.

On the one hand, my father was abusive and neglectful, and at 16 asked me to leave the house in his home state. I left and spent the next three years as a homeless teen in California. Without his assistance, I graduated high school, started a family, and began attending community college. I eventually married, transferred to UCLA, and became a high school science teacher. In my early thirties, I enrolled in medical school, took on massive student loans, and struggled to support a family on loan money. During my studies, I took on several part-time jobs to keep food on the table. My husband worked full-time, and between my loans and our employment income, it was still extremely hard to keep the bills paid and pursue medical education. But I graduated and began residency training in family medicine in California in 2014. We matched into a high-cost-of-living area, and most of my residency paycheck went into housing costs. We continued to struggle financially until I became an attending physician in 2017.

My dad frequently bragged that he never paid a dime towards my education and was not involved in my life or the lives of his grandkids. When I cut off contact with him in 2017 at the urging of my children, who recognized the toxic relationship long before I did, he never questioned it. Five years passed, and he never called or asked why I stopped communicating with him. That speaks volumes to me about what our relationship was  and wasnt.

But on the other hand, hes now showing signs of dementia. Hes in his late seventies, and his health is declining. Whereas hes spent years of his life telling me Ive misremembered events of my childhood and teen years, he likely doesnt even remember the harm he caused. He probably doesnt recall having me forcibly detained and placed unnecessarily in a psychiatric hospital at 11 years old, where I experienced abuse and forced medications. He probably wont remember that at 13 years old, I ran away from home to escape the threat of being sent back to the hospital, a wilderness camp, a group home, or any other place he wanted to send me. He never liked to talk about the fact that he pressed charges against me for stealing money from him when I ran away at 13, which resulted in an up to 2-year sentence at the maximum security juvenile prison in North Carolina. No, he wont remember those things. But I do. They changed who I became as a mother, former teacher, physician, and advocate for the rights of young people. And because of those things that I do remember, I absolutely cannot be involved in his care now.

As a physician, society would likely expect me to be able to financially support my aging parent. Ive heard similar concerns about frail, elderly patients who are hospitalized and have no family members involved in their medical decisions or their post-discharge planning. I strongly believe there is no one-size fits all approach to managing complex families like mine or many of the patients Ive cared for over the years. Wherever significant childhood trauma has occurred, adult survivors have every right to live their lives as they see fit, whether it includes their abusers or not. I would not be willing to remain tethered to someone who caused me such significant harm, regardless of what others may think is right or wrong.

We should all think carefully about the family dynamics of aging adults. Often, there are reasons why family members have cut off contact, and their needs matter, too.

Sheryl Recinos is a hospitalist and author of Hindsight: Coming of age on the streets of Hollywood.
In this black box video recorded on Nov. 12, 2022, a woman in her 20s sits on the railing at the northern part of Seogang Bridge over Han River. Screenshot from Han Moon-chul's YouTube



By Lee Hae-rin



An anonymous citizen driver and pedestrian have saved the life of a woman who attempted to commit suicide while sitting at the railing of a bridge over the Han River.



On Saturday, a YouTube video was uploaded on a channel named "Han Moon-chul TV," showing a black box video recorded around 1 p.m. on Nov. 12, 2022 at the Seogang Bridge over the Han River in Seoul.



The YouTube channel is named after, and run by, Han Moon-chul, a Korean car accident lawyer. Han has 1.65 million subscribers as of Sunday.





Han Moon-chul TV



In the video, a woman is sitting on a handrail at the northern part of the bridge, facing toward the river. The unidentified driver, who provided the black box recording to Han, pulls over into a safety zone on discovering her and slowly approaches.



The driver finds a pedestrian on the opposite side who is also approaching the woman to offer help. The two citizens exchange hand signals while approaching closer to the woman. They call 119 for rescue. As the coast guard's boat arrives under the bridge, they pull her upper body backward and bring her down from the railing.



The police and ambulance arrive at the scene and take care of the rescued woman, and the two citizens depart the scene.



According to the driver, the rescued woman was aged in her early 20s and was crying when they approached to offer help. Her hands were stiff and cold, suggesting that she sat over the bridge for a while.



The reason for the attempted suicide is unknown.



As of Sunday, over 80,000 have watched the video. Some commented, "This brings tears to my eyes. I hope the woman gets back to her feet again and keep on living." Another wrote, "Many people just say they are busy and look away (from people in need of help). But it's great that they stopped by, watched over carefully and saved someone's life."


The disgraceful attack on the home of one of our local elected representatives in recent days is a sinister development indeed.

As the victim  local councillor Eugene McGuinness  says, it amounts to attack on democracy. That is not sensationalism  it is an extremely serious matter that a politician has been subject to this intimidation by violent thugs.

The shocking and frightening incident marks an escalation in the kinds of abuse to which our representatives are often subjected. It is undoubtedly more serious than a bag of cow manure flung at a protest.

In this weeks paper on pages 16 and 17, you can read about the appalling abuse local councillors get, both in-person and online from keyboard warriors. Some of the personal experiences are quite disturbing.

With a reputation for speaking his mind, Cllr McGuinness had in recent days called for respectful behaviour in a cemetery, and for the law to be upheld and enforced.

Our politicians have a job to do and it is often not an easy one. It takes courage to speak out and make a stand on issues, particularly if it is sensitive, or not popular with everyone. Not least if it involves someone who may be capable of violence.

It seems there will always be a small group of people who behave with zero regard for the rest of the local community, and apparently, little fear of the law.

The attack on the home of a politician also sends a message to all of our public representatives: 'Do this or speak out about that, and this is what youll get'. It has the potential to have a chilling effect on what people are willing to say in the council chambers and in local media  institutions of democracy and civil society.

And, the question cant be too far from the thoughts of anyone reading the coverage in recent days: If the criminals who carried out this attack are this brazen, who knows where they will draw the line? The full rigour of the law must be brought to bear on those responsible for this heinous act.
A combat craft medium vessel of the U.S. Special Operations Command Korea (SOCKOR) participates in a combined exercise with the South Korean Navy SEALs and the British Navy in unidentified Korean waters in this undated photo, released by the SOCKOR, Sunday. The training, held in mid-January, also involved the British Royal Navy patrol ship, HMS Spey. Courtesy of SOCKOR
Shenandoah, IA (51601)

Today

Partly cloudy and windy. High 83F. Winds S at 20 to 30 mph. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Thunderstorms this evening, then cloudy with rain likely overnight. Gusty winds and small hail are possible. Low 51F. Winds S at 15 to 25 mph, becoming NW and decreasing to 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%.
U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) speaks during U.S. Attorney General nominee Merrick Garland's confirmation hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill on February 22, 2021, in Washington, DC. Garland was previously the Chief Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and former President Barack Obama's nominee for the Supreme Court.
Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo speaks during the group's New Year event at Kyung Hee University in Seoul, Saturday. Courtesy of Hana Financial Group



Hana chief Ham plans to focus on global expansion, digital innovation



By Lee Min-hyung



Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo has presented three major group-wide strategies: global expansion, digital innovation and financial competitiveness reinforcement, as part of its 2023 corporate vision to become Asia's leading financial group, the company said Sunday.



Under the announced strategies, the leader of the nation's third-largest financial holding firm urged its staff to find fresh opportunities for growth by overcoming the looming crisis of a possible recession and as well as post-pandemic financial uncertainty.



"Hana Financial Group has built 1,100 networks across the globe, and grown as one of Korea's best financial groups with 21,000 employees developing their dream here," Ham said during a New Year's event titled "Hana Financial Group 2023: One Spirit! Connecting the world and future as one."



More than 4,000 employees from the group and its 15 affiliates  such as Hana Bank, Hana Securities, Hana Card and Hana Capital  took part in the event.



"I expect the group and all of its subsidiaries to share the one spirit, and move forward as Asia's best financial group," he said.



Earlier this year, Ham shared the three corporate strategies. But he gave a more concrete vision of how the group can achieve the vision during the latest event.





Hana Financial Group's top executives pose during an event to share its group-wide vision for 2023 at Kyung Hee University in Seoul, Saturday. They include Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo, center, Hana Financial Group Vice Chairman Park Sung-ho, fourth from left, and Hana Financial Group Vice Chairman Lee Eun-hyung, fourth from right. Courtesy of Hana Financial Group
NATO's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a session at the Congress centre during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on Jan. 18. AFP-Yonhap



North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg emphasized the importance of beefing up cooperation between NATO and South Korea to counter China's growing military assertiveness and other global threats, highlighting the interconnectedness of security beyond geographical boundaries.



In an exclusive interview with Yonhap News Agency at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Friday ahead of a trip to Northeast Asia, Stoltenberg called North Korea a "threat to global security" and presented a vision for partnerships between South Korea and NATO on cybersecurity, technology and arms control.



He is scheduled to arrive in Seoul on Sunday for a two-day stay, during which he will meet with President Yoon Suk Yeol and other South Korean government officials.



"The most important message is that I strongly believe that we need to strengthen the partnership between Korea and NATO because security becomes more and more interconnected," he said with regard to his upcoming trip to Seoul. "What happens in Asia, the Indo Pacific, matters for Europe and NATO, and vice versa."



The Yoon administration has notably sought to deepen Seoul's ties with the transatlantic alliance, as demonstrated in the establishment of its diplomatic mission to NATO last November and the president's attendance at a NATO summit last June.



Underscoring NATO's pursuit of closer cooperation with Indo-Pacific partners, Stoltenberg highlighted threats from China, a country that the alliance identified for the first time as a security challenge in its key strategic document last year.



"China is investing heavily in new modern military capabilities  long-range missiles that can reach all NATO territory  and is significantly and rapidly expanding their nuclear capabilities," he said. "We see how China is also coercing and intimidating countries, for instance in the South China Sea region, and it matters for global trade and for the freedom of navigation."



The NATO helmsman's Asia swing is expected to draw particular attention in China, with Beijing apparently wary of NATO's deepening regional engagement beyond its transatlantic scope amid an intensifying Sino-U.S. rivalry.



Stoltenberg said that NATO will remain the "regional alliance of North America and Europe," but stressed "our region is affected by global threats and challenges beyond our region."



"We need to address these global threats and challenges, including the challenges coming from China, and one way of doing that is, of course, to work more closely with partners in the region," he stressed.









On concerns that following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, an emboldened China could seek to bring Taiwan under its control, Stoltenberg noted authoritarian world leaders are "watching carefully to what extent Russian President Vladimir Putin succeeds in the war of aggression."



"If President Putin wins in Ukraine, then the message will be that when President Putin or other authoritarian leaders use brutal military force and violate international law, then they achieve what they want," he said.



He added, "It will also be dangerous for all of us, including Korea, because then the message is that the use of force is something that is a way for authoritarian leaders to achieve their goals. And of course, Taiwan is an example."





National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby speaks during a daily press briefing at the White House in Washington in this Jan. 20 screen capture. Yonhap
By Michael Bergmann



As the sun rose on a Monday morning over Myeong-dong, downtown Seoul, the eye was struck with horror. A whole alley in the popular shopping district was covered with meter-high rubble and scattered pieces of ruined streetside eateries and stores. Something beyond vandalism appeared to have occurred.



The photos which The Korea Times took (for its Jan. 18 story on the dispute between vendors and the Chinese school) before the, then, hasty clean-up seem to document the urban battlefield of an underground civil war, of sorts. Or am I overstating something which is quite "normal" in Seoul? Can everything be "explained?" The point is: yes and no.



Let's start with the Jung District Office, which oversees the administrative affairs of the popular commercial district that is Myeong-dong. The administration's priority to quickly remove all traces of the destruction in the dead of night, in cooperation even  as observed by reporters  with the construction workers who had executed the demolition, while devastated vendors received cold comfort, was justified as an urgent measure so as "to minimize inconvenience to the public." Apart from this hurried effort, the district office emphasized that it was not "involved" in the overnight action nor, at the same time, to be much engaged in compensating the victims.



Secondly, who did it? Well, we both know and we don't. The stalls were, instead of being removed, reduced to rubble by construction workers hired by the owner of the land. Now, the contested area is in part privately owned and in part public, but both a representative of the private owner and the city authorities said that they had not been "aware of a planned demolition", nor "notified of the operation in advance," respectively.



This is hardly surprising, as Korean law is here very clear: Even if the land use is disputed, no one has the right to damage property extrajudicially, let alone to demonstratively vandalize someone's livelihood. Anyone admitting responsibility would be financially and, most likely, criminally liable. Nor is it any wonder, for that matter, that "the workers" conducted the action, "without instruction" but certainly not without anyone's payment, under the veil of the night. Police could, of course, identify the responsible agents in a serious investigation, but will they? Not naming individual offenders, the stall owners' criminal reports will likely go nowhere, leaving the barbarity unpunished.



Anyone with any experience in Seoul neighborhood management will know what sort of "construction companies" threaten to pursue legal action, on behalf of elusive owners, backing up their "legal threats" with illegal practices. Partial secrecy is their trademark, while the honorable society prefers to ignore how decisions in its infrastructure are made and executed. But is it merely by accident that the powers of the night occasionally leave such massive traces of destruction visible to the public? Should we be reminded that civilization is only on the surface of the world?





Michael Bergmann (bergmann2473@yahoo.de) is a teacher in Seoul.


Facts about Russia-Ukraine conflict: Ukrainian businesses suffer 13 billion USD losses due to conflict

Xinhua) 10:07, January 29, 2023

MOSCOW/KIEV/WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- The following are the latest developments in the Ukraine crisis:

Ukrainian businesses have suffered direct losses of 13 billion U.S. dollars due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the government-run Ukrinform news agency reported Friday, citing a recent study.

In 2022, a total of 109 large and medium-sized enterprises suffered direct losses of 9 billion dollars, showed the study by the Kyiv School of Economics.

Indirect losses of the Ukrainian businesses caused by the conflict reached 33.1 billion dollars, according to the study.

- - - -

Russian forces have killed over 175 Ukrainian servicemen in the past day in the Kupyansk, Krasny Liman, Donetsk, South Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia directions, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov told a daily briefing on Saturday.

In addition, Russian troops downed a MiG-29 fighter and nine drones and eliminated a number of infantry fighting vehicles, armored combat vehicles, artillery pieces, radar stations and automobiles, he said.

- - - -

U.S. foreign arms sales grew significantly in fiscal year 2022, according to data released by the Department of State, which attributed the increase mainly to U.S. military support for Ukraine during the latter's conflict with Russia.

The total value of State Department-authorized government-to-government foreign military sales was 51.9 billion U.S. dollars in fiscal 2022, the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, 2022, up 49.1 percent from the previous fiscal year's 34.8 billion dollars, the data showed.

The so-called direct commercial sales, or sales of weapons and military equipment to foreign governments by U.S. defense contractors, also ticked up in fiscal 2022, increasing 48.6 percent to 153.7 billion dollars, compared to 103.4 billion dollars in fiscal 2021.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)


Stop partisan bickering and seek long-term solutions



It was unusually cold and snowy this winter in Korea. Cold waves and heavy snow warnings were issued frequently, with temperatures in some cities falling to record lows.



Climate experts attribute the extreme weather  not only the intense heat of the summer but also the severe cold experienced during winters  to "global warming." They explain that an overall rise in temperature has started the melting of the Arctic ice caps and let them move southward, warning that extreme weather events will be the new normal.



The increased cost of heating bills that Koreans received this winter is also compounding what has already been a tough and cold season. Families in small apartments saw their gas bills soar up to 600,000 won ($485) last month. The dominant topic at family reunions during the Lunar New Year holiday last week was the increased cost of heating one's home.



Subsequently, finger-pointing between rival political parties has followed.



The first thing the incumbent government and its party do whenever something terrible happens is to blame their predecessors.



The ruling People Power Party (PPP) said the former Moon Jae-in administration had suppressed gas price hikes for the past few years and passed the "bomb" onto its successors and consumers. However, the same PPP lawmakers might also have criticized the previous administration had the latter raised energy prices, saying something like: "The government's utility rate hikes added to the pain of the public, which was already reeling from the Covid-19 pandemic."



It had been predicted that Russia's war in Ukraine would not end anytime soon, prolonging the global energy crisis.



European countries have prepared for it, asking their people to brace themselves for a chilly winter and keep the room temperature in their homes below certain levels. President Yoon Suk Yeol and his aides should have done the same  or even more, given this country produces not a drop of oil and is the world's seventh-largest importer of energy resources. Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon was right to chastise the PPP, saying, "Why did they come to power if they keep blaming others?"



Still, the government did well by deciding to double both energy vouchers and gas price discounts for more than a million of the most vulnerable families.



It would have been better had the government expanded similar benefits to a larger number of middle-class families. However, formulating an extra budget or levying a "windfall tax" on refineries, as proposed by the opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), does not seem to be a good idea, either. There is no free lunch in the economy. The current benefits will come back as more enormous burdens later, like purchases in installments with high-interest credit cards.



Korea could minimize increases in gas prices and power rates thanks to the state-controlled energy supply system. But accounts receivable or uncollected amounts at Korea Electric Power Corp. and Korea Gas Corp. will soon likely reach uncontrollable levels. Considering the chronic energy shortage amid global political uncertainty in the future, what the nation should do is clear  diversify energy resources and import sources while saving energy by promoting more efficient use.



For instance, instead of giving one-off favors, the government must spend money to encourage businesses and families to repair homes and offices in order to improve insulation. It should also tell people to forget about the good old days when stores kept their doors open and carelessly used air-conditioning or heating.



Policymakers should also change the current energy price system. Korea's electricity price is only one-third of Germany's, and Koreans' per capita power consumption is the third-highest worldwide, following such vast, resource-rich countries like the U.S. and Canada.



Again, extreme weather and energy shortages will be the new normal  at least until the world can entirely replace fossil fuel and atomic energy with renewable alternatives.



More efficient use of energy will be a must for the economy, the earth and our descendants. Policymaking and campaigning in this direction are political leaders' duties. Political leaders should not be mired in short-term vote calculations.


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Hyehwamun (Northeast Gate) in the late 19th or early 20th centuries / Robert Neff Collection



By Robert Neff



In Korea, 1898 began with change and trepidation. December the last year had been brutally cold but the first week of January was pleasantly mild. There was the promise of prosperity. The rice prices, which had been extremely high due to the failure of the crops in the capital region the previous year, continued to fall as more shipments of rice arrived. There were probably some who believed that supernatural forces were responsible for this change of fate.



In the vicinity of Beol-ri, a village that's now known as northeastern Seoul's Beon-dong, a hunter killed a white pheasant. He was convinced that it was an "omen of great prosperity for the nation" and so he took it to the palace so that it could be served to the royal family. The gift was accepted but it is not clear if the Korean monarch partook in any of the "omen(s)."



Clearly, for those who believe in portents and omens, this was no coincidence. Beol-ri was so named because of the large number of plum trees that grew in its vicinity. The Independent (a newspaper published in Seoul) translated Beol-ri as "cutting down plum trees," and then provided its readers with a legend of the founding of the 1392-1910 Joseon Kingdom.



"As the (918-1392 Goryeo) dynasty was drawing near to its close a prophesy passed from mouth to mouth that the man destined to overthrow the then royal family was to be named Yi (Plum Tree) and that he would establish his capital near the place where the trees flourish. The kings of (Goryeo) were very much disturbed and hearing that the hateful trees flourished near Hanyang (the old name for Seoul) ordered that they should be cut down. But, according to the story, the trees would not be downed. The more cut down, the more they spread. This prophecy was ultimately fulfilled when the present dynasty was founded by a general named (Yi Seong-gye  his imperial title is King Taejo)."





Korean prisoners in cangues in the late 19th or early 20th century / Robert Neff Collection



This was not the only hint of the supernatural. In the middle of January, The Independent reported that Yi Yu-in was appointed the new minister of law. The article noted that Yi was from the Gyeongsang region and was of "humble origin," but "his ability of fortune-telling brought him up to Seoul some years ago," where "he soon became a high official in the Government." Prior to the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95, he had served as governor of Seoul, but once hostilities broke out, he returned to his home province "and remained quiet." But the call of politics (and perhaps something from beyond) compelled him to return to Seoul in 1897, where he regained some of his influence.



The editor added, "We trust that he will administer the judiciary department of the Government with prophetic wisdom and foresight."



There were many travesties of law in need of his wisdom and oversight.





A soldier of the late 19th century / Robert Neff Collection

On Jan. 3, a policeman named Tai Changyup broke into a house in an effort to steal an iron boiler. He was caught red-handed and taken to the local police station, where he confessed that he had committed the act because he was hungry and had no money to buy rice.



But some other government employees apparently had enough money to get into trouble.



A lieutenant in the Korean army went into "a disreputable house" to enjoy a little drinking and female companionship. To his displeasure, another guest was "monopolizing the society of inmates of the house." The officer was made even unhappier when he discovered his competition was a soldier from his own company  he promptly ordered his subordinate to leave but the order was refused. The soldier told his superior that he was compelled to obey in the barracks but not in this establishment.



"The officer struck the soldier with his fist. The half-drunken soldier caught the officer by the collar and dragged him out of the house and gave him a sound thrashing. The groaning of the beaten man attracted a passing policeman who found the officer prostrated in the gutter without a hat and his uniform was covered with blood. The policeman arrested both the officer and his assailant and sent them to the War Office for investigation. The officer begged authorities not to make public the occurrence, and the War Office officials refused to give the name of both the victor and the vanquished."



There were also injustices heaped upon the general public. In Fusan (modern Busan), "an aged unoffending mother should be taken to the magistrate's office, stripped of her clothing, and severely beaten for the misdemeanors of an unworthy son." According to a writer from that port, he understood that Korea "has long sanctioned the punishment of innocent members of the family for the guilty," but in his opinion, this was "simply an act of barbaric injustice against which the common conscious revolts..." He asked that an investigation be conducted and the perpetrator severely punished. Whether this was done or not is unknown. By the end of September, Justice Minister Yi was having his own legal problems and was sentenced to a prison term of 10 years. He did not serve out the full sentence, as the fickleness of Korean politics soon reinstated him.



Not all justice was administered by government officials.



In the middle of January, a Western resident of Jemulpo (modern Incheon) and a frequent contributor to The Independent described an incident that took place in that port.



He saw a large crowd of intoxicated men gathered in the street near the hotel. There was a great deal of "vociferous conversation" that soon evolved into a physical assault. A large man seized a "prostrate man on the ground by the long and luxuriant locks of hair and dragged him away with a fierce and unkind expression." Thinking the man was to be killed, the foreigner thought to interfere but suddenly recalled "several experiences on kindred occasions," and thought it best to inquire as to the reasons for the assault. From a fellow spectator, he learned:



"The man owning the hair was a son-in-law. The man with a grip on the hair was his father-in-law. The son-in-law had induced his wife to take up her abode with her father temporarily and as times were hard he had left her there permanently and no longer called to see her even on her afternoons at home ... The father-in-law had stood this undutiful conduct as long as he could and then came in search of the recalcitrant. He had tried to induce him to come peaceably and to at least call on his wife but he was too mean to do it. And finding entreaty, exhortation and expostulation in vain he had resorted to the hair of the head. He was determined that his daughter should see her husband if he had to drag him to her feet by the hair of the head, and that was what it had come to. And the last I saw was the husband bumping over the ground on his way to see his wife, with the assistance of an earnest and muscular father-in-law."





Jemulpo harbor in the early 20th century, where visits by navies with several ships often caused consternation in the capital. / Courtesy of Diane Nars Collection
New Delhi, Jan 29 (PTI) The government has called an all-party meeting on Monday, a day ahead of the start of the Budget Session of Parliament.

The customary meeting, called by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi, is to be held at noon on January 30 in Parliament Annexe Building.

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During the meeting, the government is expected to seek cooperation from all parties for the smooth running of Parliament.

Opposition parties are expected to raise matters of concern during the meeting and also highlight issues they plan to raise during the session.

Also Read | Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha Launches QR Code-Based Labels of 13 GI and Non-GI Registered Crafts.

In the afternoon, a meeting of NDA floor leaders will also be held to strategise floor cooperation. The Budget Session will be held in two parts.

The session will begin with President Droupadi Murmu's address to the joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament. Economic Survey will be tabled after the President's address.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget on February 1. The Union Budget 2023-24 may be the last full budget before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

The first part of the session will be held from January 31 and will go on till February 13.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 29 (PTI) Former Union Defence Minister A K Antony's son, Anil on Sunday termed BBC news channel as a "repeat offender," who in the past has questioned India's territorial integrity.

Also Read | UNGA President Csaba Korosi Arrives in India on Three-Day Visit, To Discuss Multilateral and Regional Issues of Mutual Interest.

Anil's statement comes days after his comments against the controversial documentary by the channel on 2002 Gujarat riots, which has created a political storm in the country.

Also Read | Beating Retreat Ceremony 2023 Video: Indian Tunes Based on Ragas, Drone Show Among Highlights of Annual Event at Vijay Chowk in Delhi.

Anil Antony, on his Twitter handle, continued his tirade against the British broadcaster by posting examples of its "past shenanigans", like publishing truncated maps of India without Kashmir.

In his tweet, in which he tagged senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh and party spokesperson Supriya Shrinate, Anil also took a dig at the grand old party by terming the BBC as a "perfect ally" for the "current INC" and its partners.

"Some past shenanigans of BBC, repeat offenders questioning India's territorial integrity, publishing truncated maps without Kashmir. Independent media without vested interests indeed, and perfect allies for the current @INCIndia and partners. @Jairam_Ramesh @SupriyaShrinate," he tweeted.

Ramesh had recently taken a swipe at Anil by accusing him, without directly naming him, of "ignoring" his duties towards the Congress and the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

Without taking names, Ramesh had also drawn a comparison between former Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy's son and Anil Antony, saying while one is a "Bharat yatri" who is walking barefoot to unite the nation, the other is "revelling in his day in the sun".

Earlier this week, Anil had opposed the documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots when Prime Minister Narendra Modi helmed the western state by saying that placing the views of the British broadcaster over Indian institutions would "undermine" the country's sovereignty.

In a tweet, Anil said despite large differences with the BJP, those who support and place the views of the British broadcaster and of former UK foreign secretary Jack Straw, the "brain behind the Iraq war," (involving the US-led coalition in 2003) over Indian institutions are setting a dangerous precedent.

Following an uproar over his tweet opposing the documentary, Anil had resigned from his posts in KPCC Digital Media and AICC Social Media and Digital Communications Cell.

He had said that his decision was prompted by the "intolerant calls" for him to retract or change his tweet and the "abuses" -- from even within the party -- against him on social media.

Anil, however, said he would continue to be a Congressman as he was not giving up the primary membership of the party.

Following his resignation, the Congress in Kerala also came down heavily on Anil over his tweet against the BBC documentary, by saying that those with different opinions may seek other avenues.

Congress leaders in the southern state were of the view that Anil took a stand contrary to the proclaimed policies of the grand old party.

The two-part BBC documentary, which claims it investigated certain aspects relating to the 2002 Gujarat riots when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the CM of that state, has been trashed by the Ministry of External Affairs as a "propaganda piece" that lacked objectivity and reflected a "colonial mindset".

The Centre had last week directed the blocking of multiple YouTube videos and Twitter posts sharing links to the documentary.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Jaipur, Jan 29 (PTI) Ten students of the Central University of Rajasthan (CURAJ) in Ajmer district were suspended for two weeks after they allegedly gathered on the campus to watch a controversial BBC documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots.

The university authorities, however, claimed that the suspension of the students was not linked to them watching the documentary, India: The Modi Question.

Also Read | Naba Kisore Das Dies: Odisha Health Minister Succumbs to Bullet Injuries, Say Apollo Hospital Officials.

According to the university order, disciplinary action has been taken against the students for allegedly disobeying the instructions of authorities and carrying out a late-night demonstration at an undesignated site.

The students have been suspended from the academics as well as the hostel on Friday for disobeying the instructions of teachers or the authorities and demonstrating in late hours at places other than designated sites, the suspension order read. The alleged incident took place on January 26.

Also Read | Telangana Minister KT Rama Rao Invited to World Environmental & Water Resources Congress in US.

CURAJ Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) president Vikash Pathak claimed that invitations for the screening of the controversial documentary on Gujarat riots near the campus canteen were circulated on social media.

He said that they had opposed the students who were gathering to watch the documentary.

Two policemen had reached the spot to avoid any untoward incident, Bander Sindri police Station House Officer (SHO) Kalu Lal said.

On January 26, around 25-30 students gathered with covered faces and they were dispersed from the spot, police said.

An NGO People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) has written to CURAJ Vice-Chancellor Anand Bhalerao opposing the action against the students.

"Eight are Muslim, one is Christian and one is Hindu. The PUCL is clear that no screening of any film happened on the 26th of January, 2023. And the question of individual viewing on mobiles is a private matter and comes within the right to privacy of the students," the organisation said in a statement.

It claimed that the students "were never heard. No enquiry gave them a hearing and without the students being given a right to hearing and without being issued show cause notices, they were expelled for 15 days from the university and hostel."

University authorities, however, said the action on the students has no connection with the watching of the documentary and said it was "a routine disciplinary action." "The action wasn't taken over screening of the documentary. It was a normal, routine, disciplinary action taken against these students, which is a routine activity of an academic institution," a university spokesperson said.

While he did not elaborate on what action had attracted the punishment, the university administration had on January 27 issued an order to ban the screening of the BBC documentary with immediate effect. Any academic activity in which a gathering is required has to be cleared by the registrar with the recommendations of the dean and students' welfare. The university administration had also advised the students not to resort to sloganeering and loitering late at night on campus.

The Centre has issued directions for blocking multiple YouTube videos and Twitter posts sharing links to the controversial BBC documentary.

The Ministry of External Affairs has trashed the documentary as a "propaganda piece" that lacks objectivity and reflects a colonial mindset.

However, several opposition parties have slammed the government's action and said they would oppose any censorship. Several student outfits, including those affiliated to the Congress and the Left, have since organised screenings of the documentary in a number of universities, leading to clashes at some places.

The RSS student wing ABVP has been opposing the screening of the film.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi [India], January 29 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Rajya Sabha MP Jugal Thakor Lokhandwala on Sunday hit out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and alleged that the grand old party is trying to toe the line of the BJP by unfurling the Tricolor in Srinagar.

Speaking to ANI Jugal Thakor Lokhandwala said, "It is appearing farce. Rahul Gandhi should be aware that their grandfathers were running the government in the country and then had to unfurl the Tricolor in Sringar but now he is doing what is the meaning he is conveying? Now, Congress is trying to toe the line of BJP by unfurling Tricolor in Srinagar."

Also Read | Adani Group Issues 413-Page Response, Calls Hindenburg Research Allegations Calculated Attack on India.

The BJP leader further said that Rahul Gandhi and his party are indulging in propaganda.

"The way Rahul Gandhi and his party are doing propaganda and the Yatra, people should join the yatra by themselves. The way Prime Minister Narendra Modi comes out and does a road show of 52 kilometers, lakhs of people join him automatically, similarly, people should also join with Rahul Gandhi automatically but this is not happening so he is just pretending," BJP MP told ANI.

Also Read | Rajasthan: Over Two Crores Cash Recovered by Police from Car During Late-Night Blockade in Ajmer.

Taking a dig at Congress MP's foreign visit, the BJP MP said India now wants to know from Rahul Gandhi that when you are going abroad.

"This is not a 'Bharat Jodo Yatra', it is a 'Bharat Todo Yatra'. The way Prime Minister had grown his beard during covid-19, in the same way, Rahul Gandhi is also roaming around with a beard, but his pulse is not going to melt. India now wants to know from Rahul Gandhi when you are going abroad," he added while giving examples of Rahul Gandhi imitating the style of PM Modi.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accompanied by his sister and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi, on Sunday unfurled the national flag at the clock tower of Lal Chowk in Srinagar as the Bharat Jodo Yatra entered its final day before concluding on Monday.

The yatra will proceed to Nehru Park in the Boulevard area of the city and will culminate on Monday.

Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra resumed on Friday morning from the National Highway-44, Banihal Railway station, in the UT's Ramban district.

Security was tightened in the area in the wake of the recent twin blasts on the outskirts of Jammu city on January 22 which rocked a busy locality in Narwal leaving at least nine people injured.

Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that the permission to unfurl the Tricolor at Srinagar's Lal Chowk on Sunday was given by the state administration.

Congress had earlier planned to hoist the national flag at the PCC Office on Monday to mark the end of the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra in Jammu and Kashmir.

"Rahul Gandhi was supposed to unfurl the national flag on January 30 at the PCC office, since permission to do so elsewhere was not given. Last evening, state administration allowed him to do so in Lal Chowk, but under the condition that it should be done today on 29th at end of Bharat Jodo Yatra," he tweeted.

The Bharat Jodo Yatra, which started in Kanyakumari on September 7, will conclude on January 30 in Srinagar after covering 3,970 km, 12 states, and two Union territories. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi, Jan 29 (PTI) A Delhi court has dismissed the bail plea of former Congress legislator Asif Mohammad Khan, who is accused of misbehaving with police personnel, and also issued a show cause notice to the investigating officer and the Station House Officer of Shaheen Bagh.

The court issued the notice of show cause as to why both police officials should not be convicted and punished for furnishing false information to the court regarding the previous involvement report of Khan.

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Khan was arrested for allegedly misbehaving with police in southeast Delhi's Shaheen Bagh area on January 5.

If law enforcers are attacked or abused and accused are released on bail, it will send the wrong signal in society. To my mind, in these circumstances, the bail application of accused Asif Mohammad Khan does not deserve to be allowed and is accordingly dismissed, Additional sessions Judge Sonu Agnihotri said in an order passed on Saturday.

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The judge said the conduct of Khan in the videos regarding the incident prima facie showed that he did not have respect for the law and considered himself above law.

The manner in which he is seen speaking with police officials is depreciable. Whatever the cause may be available to a person against government officials, but he is not expected to take the law into his own hands and misbehave and mishandle government officials who are discharging their official duties, the court said.

It noted that according to the FIR, Khan stopped the complainant Constable Dharampal from going to the place of occurrence, threatened him, used objectionable words and tried to incite the public.

Thus, Khan used criminal force against the complainant, the court said.

During the proceedings, the court noted that the wrong involvement report or non-updated involvement report of Khan was submitted by the IO.

Issue show cause notice to IO and SHO (of) police station Shaheen Bagh to show cause as to why they should not be convicted and punished for furnishing false information to this court regarding the previous involvement of accused, the court said.

It directed a copy of the order be sent to the SHO for information.

The court posted the matter for further proceedings on February 10.

Khan allegedly misbehaved with the officials when police were checking the CCTV camera footage in the Nai Basti area regarding an incident of motor vehicle theft on January 4, police said.

Shaheen Bagh police station registered an FIR under sections 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), and 341( punishment for wrongful restraint).

It had also registered the case under IPC sections 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions) and 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) of the Indian Penal Code.

Khan was also earlier arrested early in November 2022 for allegedly misbehaving with a police officer and manhandling him.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi, Jan 29 (PTI) President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday said she was "shocked and disturbed" by the death of Odisha Health Minister Naba Kishore Das and offered her deepest condolences to his family members.

Das died on Sunday after he was shot allegedly by an assistant sub-inspector in Odisha's Jharsuguda district. The accused policeman is believed to be suffering from a mental disorder.

Also Read | Adani Group Issues 413-Page Response, Calls Hindenburg Research Allegations Calculated Attack on India.

"Shocked and disturbed by the death of Shri Naba Kishore Das ji, Odisha Health minister, in a dastardly act of violence. My deepest condolences to his family and well-wishers," Murmu tweeted.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Jamnagar (Gujarat) [India], January 29 (ANI): The Panchayat Junior Clerk recruitment exam which was scheduled for 11 am today was postponed after a paper leak case surfaced, a senior Gujarat government official said.

"On the basis of the information received by the police, a suspect Isam was arrested and a copy of the question paper of the above examination was found from him. Criminal police action and further investigation is being done," informed the Gujarat Panchayat Service Selection Board, Gandhinagar.

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The exam will be held afresh at the earliest, the date of which will be announced by the board shortly, it said.

"In the larger interest of the candidates, it has been decided by the board to 'postpone' the competitive examination to be held on 29-01-2023 at 11-00 am, which all the candidates are requested to take note of. Every candidate is advised not to go to the examination centre for the above reasons. The sadar exam will be held afresh at the earliest, the date of which will be announced by the board shortly," the board added.

Also Read | Uttar Pradesh: Groom and Bride's Father Slap Each Other During Marriage Function in Chitrakoot, Wedding Called Off.

Students and their parents who had reached the Jamnagar centre for the exam expressed disappointment and anger while demanding strict action by the government against the culprits.

Notably, a total of 26,882 students were registered for the exam in Jamnagar, while more than 7,00,000 people were expected to sit in the examination across the state.

However, over 9.50 lakh candidates were registered for the exam and free return journey in GSRTC buses was announced for candidates, informed the Chief Minister's Office. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Kota (Raj), Jan 29 (PTI) A 17-year-old boy JEE aspirant allegedly fell from the balcony of the first floor of his hostel building under Vigyan Nagar police station of the city on Sunday, police said.

The teen, a resident of Chikhli city in the Buldana district of Maharashtra, is currently undergoing treatment at a private hospital.

Also Read | Madhya Pradesh: Businessman Kills Wife, Shoots Self After Making Video in Panna; Leaves List of Debtors.

Circle Inspector at Vigyan Nagar police station Davesh Bhardwaj said the minor student, a JEE Mains aspirant allegedly fell from the balcony of his hostel building early in the morning on Sunday.

The boy sustained critical injuries and at 5.30 am, he was rushed to a hospital, he added.

Also Read | Video: Bangkok-Bound Indian Passenger Hiding Foreign Currency Worth Rs 64 Lakh in Trolley Handles Held at New Delhi Airport.

The injured boy had been living in Kota for the last two years and had been preparing for the entrance test while staying in a first-floor room on road number - 2, the circle inspector said.

The boy was scheduled to take JEE Mains exam in the next few days, he added.

The parents of the injured student were informed of the incident and they are on their way to Kota, he said, adding that the investigation into the matter is underway.

Footages from the CCTV cameras installed in and around the hostel building are yet to be examined to ascertain the actual circumstances of the incident, Bhardwaj said.

"The condition of the student is very critical, he has sustained multiple fractures, jaw, bones of both arms, pelvic bone are fractured and one of lungs punctured," Dr Mamraj Agrawal, who is treating him, said.

At least four bottles of blood have been transfused into his body, he added.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Latur, Jan 29 (PTI) Former University Grants Commission chairperson Dr Sukhadeo Thorat on Sunday said multidisciplinary courses in the new National Education Policy to impart skill education to students should be voluntary and not compulsory.

Also Read | Telangana Minister KT Rama Rao Invited to World Environmental & Water Resources Congress in US.

The eminent economist and professor was speaking at a seminar on 'Objectives and Challenges of Changing National Education Policy' organised by the Latur rotary club in collaboration with Dayanand Education Society and Jaykranti Shiskhan Prasarak Mandal.

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The multiple duration in degree courses in the NEP creates a hierarchy within the education system and also some parts it may be inaccessible to poor students, he said.

"The main objectives of the NEP are quality improvement and equity and inclusion. Multidisciplinary courses in the NEP to impart skill education to students must be voluntary and not compulsory," he said.

The NEP, announced on July 29, 2020 proposes various reforms in school education including technical education.

One of the main aim of the NEP 2020 is to ensure there is no hard separation between Arts and Sciences, between curricular and extra-curricular activities and between vocational and academic streams.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
China-made Tesla Model 3s are seen during a delivery event at its factory in Shanghai, Jan. 7, 2020. Reuters-Yonhap



Supply chain disruptions from COVID-19 drive Samsung, LGES, Hyundai Motor toward 'lighthouse manufacturing'



By Kim Yoo-chul



The COVID-19 pandemic presented an opportunity for manufacturers in global supply chain systems to embrace significant challenges. Korean conglomerates like Samsung, LG and SK also had to adjust to the crisis by revamping their supply chains and embracing more innovative manufacturing processes.



Steps taken by advanced and emerging economies to control their coronavirus infection spikes resulted in national lockdowns and temporary halts in the flow of raw materials and subsidiary products, disrupting manufacturing processes.



The pandemic itself didn't necessarily bring about any new challenges in supply chains; in some business areas it merely shone a light on earlier unseen vulnerabilities, including increased inventory levels due to closures and resultant profit losses. Executives at Korea's leading exporters noted that the pandemic accelerated the identification of problems that already existed in supply chains.







Sources and executives at Samsung, LG and SK groups' technology units told The Korea Times that COVID-19 forced them to make their supply chain strategies more sustainable, resilient and even collaborative with key stakeholders such as suppliers and customers.



"Companies usually scale back their investments in a crisis, however, during the pandemic, Samsung didn't stop investing in technology improvements, highlighting the company's focus on the value of a digitally connected supply chain to help the firm respond quickly to volatile supply and demand situations," an official at one the conglomerates said.



Last year, Samsung Electronics, the world's top manufacturer of TVs, smartphones and memory chips, said it planned to spend 450 trillion won on "focus areas," specifically artificial intelligence (AI) and application semiconductors. Company representatives said Samsung is also working on advanced robots and AI.



In January, Samsung invested $46 million in domestic robot maker Rainbow Robotics. This move, which gave it a 10.3 percent stake in the firm, was seen as showing its commitment towards advancing supply chain technologies such as AI, data analytics, and robotic process automation and control towers, while retaining its current staffing system. "Maintaining a high-performing supply chain in terms of both efficiency and visibility has become a competitive necessity," another company official said.



Transitional path, Foxconn model



However, officials at the country's leading exporters said while they have no questions about the necessity of updating supply chains for resilience and operational excellence, it's highly unlikely that manufacturers will see any visible progress in the smart factory concept in the near future.





A woman holds a Google Pixel 4 phone during a Google product launch event in New York City, in this Oct. 15, 2019, file photo. AFP-Yonhap



"Data acquisition and analysis, and factory automation are required for a smart factory because it is more about a high level of customization and how factories operate," said Jeong Hong-beom, an executive in charge of handling smart factory-oriented strategies at Hyundai Motor, the country's top carmaker. Crucial to a smart factory is the technology that makes data collection possible, which includes sensors, motors and robotics on actual production and assembly lines.



Because the basic structure of a smart factory includes the integration of information, communication and production technologies, with the potential for integration across manufacturing supply chains made possible via the internet-of-things (IoT), a presidential aide handling industrial policies under the former Moon Jae-in administration said it should be possible for Korean firms to pursue hybrid models according to different production bases as part of efforts to initiate smart factories.



"Simply put, smart factories require a shift in mindset because they are about data management and not just factory automation. Smart factory initiatives are complex to execute and require the backing of employees and business units. Such initiatives could also face resistance to change and cause confusion inside an organization. Given the regulatory risk in terms of data transparency, auditability and labor-centric business structures, Korean manufacturers will remain in the early stages of this for a considerable period of time," the unnamed aide said.



LG Energy Solution (LGES), for example, has recently created a chief data officer (CDO) position, as part of efforts to establish a data-driven smart factory structure. A spokesman at the top battery supplier for Tesla, said it is still in the process of hiring specialists, and classifying data for specific purposes. As a long-term strategy, the spokesman said LGES aims to get potential clients to think more about smart manufacturing utilizing robotics, data analytics and AI.



Min Kyeong-do, an executive at Gaon Partners, a consulting company, said what is happening inside Taiwan's Foxconn is worth watching for Korean manufacturers, which have substantial overseas exposure, as the world's top maker of electronic components is taking steps to build data-driven lighthouse manufacturing networks in the wake of supply chain disruptions.





The Apple logo is seen hanging at the entrance to the Apple store on 5th Avenue in Manhattan, New York, Oct. 16, 2019. Reuters-Yonhap
Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], January 29 (ANI): A team of Odisha Crime Branch headed by a senior police official proceeded to Brajarajnagar in the Jharsuguda district where state Health Minister Naba Das was shot at which inflicted critical injuries on him on Sunday, officials said.

The team led by Additional Director General Arun Bothra left for the crime spot to inquire into the firing incident on Minister Naba Das.

Also Read | Uttar Pradesh Budget 2023: New Budget Will Fine-Tune Aspirations of 25 Crore People, Says CM Yogi Adityanath.

The move followed after the Naveen Patnaik government directed the Crime Branch to take up the investigation into the matter.

Das sustained injuries after being shot at by one police personnel near Brajarajnagar in Jharsuguda district earlier today.

Also Read | Tripura Assembly Elections 2023: BJP Names Papiya Dutta as Candidate From Agartala.

"Crime branch has been directed to take up the investigation of the case. Senior officers of crime branch have been asked to go to the spot," officials said earlier.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik condemned the attack on the minister and prayed for his early recovery.

"I am shocked at the unfortunate incident of attack on honourable minister Naba Das. I strongly condemn the attack on him. I pray for his early recovery," Patnaik said.

According to the officials, the Health Minister is in critical condition. He was airlifted to Bhubaneswar from Jharsuguda with an accompanying medical team of specialists and life support equipment.

From Bhubaneswar airport, he was shifted immediately to Apollo Hospital, Bhubaneswar.

A team of the best specialists in the State, drawn from Apollo Hospital, SCB MCH and Capital Hospital attended him, officials said.

Patnaik also visited Apollo hospital and held a discussion with Health Secretary and other officials.

Earlier, an eyewitness, advocate Ram Mohan Rao said that the policeman fired at the Odisha minister from point-blank range.

"This incident occurred at about 12.30 afternoon at Gandhi chowk when Das was on his way to attend a programme. He sustained bullet injuries to his left chest, leaving him seriously injured," Rao said.

"At a public grievance office opening, Naba Das was the chief guest. When he arrived, the crowd gathered to welcome him. Suddenly, a gunshot was heard. We saw police personnel running away after shooting from close range. Minister to be airlifted to Bhubaneswar," he added.

The exact reason behind the firing is still unclear. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Srinagar, Jan 29 (PTI) Opposition parties may have differences but they will stand united and fight the ideology of the RSS and the BJP, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said here on Sunday, a day before his Bharat Jodo Yatra culminates with a rally where several Opposition parties have been invited.

Addressing a press conference here, his 13th during the 135-day yatra, Gandhi said the Opposition unity comes from dialogue and vision.

Also Read | Delhi: Man Dupes Officials of Uttar Pradesh Government by Posing As PMO Official, CBI Begins Probe.

Asked if the Opposition unity was in a disarray in the country, he said it is not correct to say that the Opposition is fragmented.

"The opposition unity comes after a conversation and a vision. To say that Opposition is divided is not right. It is true that there are differences in the Opposition, but the Opposition will fight unitedly, will stand together as it is an ideological fight. On one side is the BJP-RSS and on the other side there are non-RSS-BJP forces," Gandhi said.

Also Read | Rahul Gandhi Dares Union Home Minister Amit Shah to Walk From Jammu to Lal Chowk, If Situation Is Good in State (Watch Video).

His remarks come a day before a rally of the Congress at the Sher-e-Kashmir Stadium here, marking the culmination of the yatra. Over 20 opposition parties have been invited to the rally.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had extended invitations to the presidents of parties including the TMC, JD(U), Shiv Sena, TDP, National Conference, Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, CPI, CPI(M), Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Rashtriya Janata Dal, PDP, NCP, DMK, RLD, IUML, RSP and JD(S).

Some party leaders have expressed their inability to be present at the rally while some would send their representatives.

While parties such as NC, PDP, CPI, CPI(M), Shiv Sena and DMK are likely to have a presence at the rally, there is uncertainty over participation from parties such as the SP, BSP and TMC.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said on Saturday the Congress' rally in Kashmir on January 30 is "not a coalition building exercise" or to build a platform for the 2024 general elections.

Asked if parties such as the SP, BSP and Trinamool Congress not attending the event would be a setback, he had said "No, absolutely not."

"I believe somebody from the BSP is coming. I am not entirely sure. But, I do not see the absence of anybody who has been invited as a setback. They may have other preoccupations," Ramesh had said.

"The JD(U) president is in Nagaland on an election campaign. (JD(S) president) H D Deve Gowda has written to Rahul Gandhi, expressing full support and appreciation for the yatra, but expressed his inability to come personally. So, I do not see this as a setback," he said.

Ramesh said as a courtesy an invite was extended to the parties to take part in the event.

On Monday, Congress president Kharge will unfurl the national flag at the Pradesh Congress Committee headquarters and will unveil a memorial for the Bharat Jodo Yatra. The rally would take place after that.

Responding to another question at the presser, Gandhi also said yatra may have traversed the country from South to North but its impact is countrywide.

"The BJP and RSS are attacking the institutional framework of this country. Whether it is Parliament, assemblies, judiciaries, media. All institutions are being attacked and captured by the BJP. What you have seen in different parts of the country and Jammu and Kashmir are the result of that assault on the institutional framework," he said.

Summing up the yatra, which will culminate on Monday with the tricolour being hoisting at the Congress office here, Gandhi said this march is no longer a Congress show but has become a movement for the aam janta (common people).

He said the Bharat Jodo Yatra envisages to provide to people an alternative vision of brotherhood to BJP and RSS' "politics of hate and arrogance".

"This yatra has given an alternative to the people of this country. On one side is the vision to crush others while ours is the vision of embracing and taking people together," he said.

He said the march will have a tremendous effect on the politics of this country. "I cannot tell what exactly will be the effect but I can tell that this yatra is not over. It is a first step towards a new beginning," he said.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Lucknow, Jan 29 (PTI) A group called Akhil Bharatiya OBC Mahasabha on Sunday in Vrindavan burned photocopies of pages allegedly carrying "objectionable comments on women and Dalits" in Ramcharitmanas, supporting SP leader Swami Prasad Maurya.

The protest was held in Vrindavan Yojana sector apparently in solidarity with Maurya, who had on January 22 in a statement said the Hindu epic contained passages discriminatory of women and shudras.

Also Read | Naba Kisore Das Dies: Odisha Health Minister Succumbs to Bullet Injuries, Say Apollo Hospital Officials.

"As reported in a section of media that we had burnt copies of Ramcharitmanas, it is incorrect to say that. We took out the photocopies of the objectionable comments from the Ramcharitmanas, which were against the 'shudras' and women, and burned the photocopied page in a symbolic protest," Devendra Pratap Yadav, a state office bearer of the Akhil Bharatiya OBC Mahasabha, told PTI.

"Swami Prasad Maurya has already demanded that the objectionable comments mentioned in the Ramcharitmanas should be removed or banned. The government did not take any step in this regard. We have extended support to Swami Prasad Maurya on this, and the Akhil Bharatiya OBC Mahasabha stands with Swami Prasad Maurya," he said.

Also Read | Telangana Minister KT Rama Rao Invited to World Environmental & Water Resources Congress in US.

Ramcharitmanas, an epic poem in Awadhi language, is based on the Ramayana and has been composed by 16th-century Bhakti movement poet Tulsidas.

"We stand united with him as far as his statement and the move is concerned," Yadav said, and added that the group will continue to stage such protests in future.

Maurya, a prominent OBC leader in Uttar Pradesh, had kicked up a controversy by alleging that certain verses of the Ramcharitmanas "insult" a large section of society on the basis of caste and demanded that these be "banned."

Maurya, who was a cabinet minister in the BJP government, had resigned and joined the Samajwadi Party before the 2022 Uttar Pradesh assembly polls.

He had contested from the Fazilnagar assembly seat in Kushinagar district but lost. He was later sent to the legislative council by SP president Akhilesh Yadav.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi, Jan 29 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday expressed his grief at the death of Odisha government minister Naba Kishore Das.

Odisha's Health and Family Welfare Minister Das died of bullet injuries on Sunday, Apollo Hospital officials said.

Also Read | Video: Bikers Ram Car, Chase and Threaten Couple in Bengaluru, Police Launch Hunt for Accused.

Das was shot earlier in the day in Jharsuguda district when he got out of his car, allegedly by an Assisstant Sub-Inspector, who was caught.

"Saddened by the unfortunate demise of Minister in Odisha Government, Shri Naba Kishore Das Ji. Condolences to his family in this tragic hour. Om Shanti," Modi said.

Also Read | Naba Kishore Das Dies at 60: Odisha Health Minister Stood Up to BJD Wave Before Joining Naveen Patnaik, Managed COVID-19 Pandemic for State.

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Lucknow, Jan 29 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh government has launched a campaign to empower girls from the underprivileged class, an official said on Sunday.

According to a statement, the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan will work under the Aarohini Initiative Training Programme for the safety and security of girls in 746 Kasturba Gandhi Residential Girls Schools in the state.

Also Read | Shivpal Yadav, Swami Prasad Maurya Among 14 General Secretaries in New Samajwadi Party National Executive.

Director General of School Education Vijay Kiran Anand said the main objective of the Aarohini programme, which will be implemented in three phases, is gender sensitisation.

In the first phase, which will start on February 1, teachers will be trained.

Also Read | Himachal Pradesh: Illness Count From Contaminated Water in Hamirpur Villages Cross 300, CM Jai Ram Thakur Seeks Report.

Two teachers of every Kasturba Gandhi Residential Girls' School will receive the training, who will then educate the students of their respective schools, the statement said.

Along with the teachers, the institution will also groom the girls through debates and other activities, it added.

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Shajapur, January 29: A policeman was killed and three others injured when their car hit an unidentified vehicle on a highway in Madhya Pradesh's Shajapur district on Sunday, police said.

The accident occurred around 4.30 am, when two policemen from Malawar police station, a driver and a villager were heading towards Indore to investigate a case, Maksi police station in-charge Gopal Singh said. Madhya Pradesh Road Accident: 14 Dead, 40 Injured As Bus, on Way to Gorakhpur From Hyderabad, Collides With Trolley in Rewas Suhagi Mountain Area.

The car rammed into an unidentified vehicle on the highway between Shajapur and Maksi, he said. Constable Sunil Adivasi was killed on the spot, while Malawar police station in-charge Gyan Singh Thakur and two others were seriously injured, the official said. Madhya Pradesh Accident: Woman Charred to Death, Husband Critical After Car Catches Fire in Dewas.

Two of the victims were referred to Indore for treatment due to serious injuries and the third man is undergoing treatment at Shajapur district hospital, he said.

A case has been registered and further probe is underway, the official added.
Colombo [Sri Lanka], January 29 (ANI): China's offer to Sri Lanka of a two-year moratorium on its debt is not adequate to clear the way for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to allow a funding program, Daily Mirror reported citing diplomatic sources.

Citing sources, the news report said that the IMF needs more assurances from China to secure IMF board approval for the bailout package for Sri Lanka. Earlier, China's Foreign Ministry said that Export-import Bank of China (EXIM) has extended debt to Sri Lanka.

Also Read | Los Angeles Mass Shooting: Three Killed, Four Injured in Gun Attack in Benedict Canyon Area; Suspect Absconding.

EXIM has reportedly offered a two-year moratorium to Sri Lanka on its debt. EXIM said that it will help Sri Lanka in its efforts to secure a USD 2.9 billion loan from the IMF, as per the Daily Mirror report. However, the IMF is not satisfied with the offer, Daily Mirror cited a top diplomatic source. Meanwhile, the Paris Club is expected to make an announcement regarding Sri Lanka's debt, as per the Daily Mirror report. Last month, the Paris Club of creditor nations announced that it will recommend a 10-year moratorium for Sri Lanka, along with another 15 years of debt restructuring, in order to save the island nation from further economic and financial collapse.

Meanwhile, India has extended the financing assurances to the International Monetary Fund to clear the way for Sri Lanka to move forward. Notably, India, Japan and China are among main creditor nations of Sri Lanka.

Also Read | Bangladeshi Boy Ends Up in Malaysia After Hiding Himself in Shipping Container in Chittagong While Playing Hike and Seek With Friends.

During his visit to Sri Lanka, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar announced that India has given the IMF financing assurances to clear the path for the island nation, according to the statement released by the Ministry of External Affairs.

"This year, in a developing situation that was beginning to cause concern, the same sentiment reasserted itself. We felt strongly that Sri Lanka's creditors must take proactive steps to facilitate its recovery," Jaishankar said in a press statement.

"India decided not to wait on others but to do what we believe is right. We extended financing assurances to the IMF to clear the way for Sri Lanka to move forward. Our expectation is that this will not only strengthen Sri Lanka's position but ensure that all bilateral creditors are dealt with equally," he added.

In a press statement, EAM S Jaishankar said that his visit to Colombo is to express India's solidarity with Sri Lanka during these difficult moments. He said that India extended about USD 4 billion in terms of credits and rollovers to help Sri Lanka amid its economic crisis. He stated that India will encourage greater investments in the Sri Lankan economy, especially in energy, tourism and infrastructure sectors.

"My primary purpose of coming to Colombo at this time is to express India's solidarity with Sri Lanka during these difficult moments. As you all know, last year, India extended about USD 4 billion in terms of credits and rollovers to help Sri Lanka get through an economic crisis. For us, it was an issue of 'Neighbourhood First' and not leaving a partner to fend for themselves," Jaishankar said in a press statement. (ANI)

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Male [Maldives], January 29 (ANI): Maldivian President Ibrahim Solih won the presidential primary election of the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) on Saturday, reported avas.mv.

This is the first time in the Maldives' history that a sitting president has run in a re-election primary.

Also Read | Colombia Cocaine Seizures Break Record in 2022  Latest Tweet by Reuters.

President Solih faced off against the party's President and Parliament Speaker Mohamed Nasheed, and has received 19,096 votes so far, compared to Nasheed's 12,005 votes. President Solih received 61 per cent of the votes cast, according to avas.mv.

During his campaign, President Solih stated that the MDP would have a future in Maldives politics by collaborating with other parties.

Also Read | Bangladeshi Boy Ends Up in Malaysia After Hiding Himself in Shipping Container in Chittagong While Playing Hike and Seek With Friends.

He has repeatedly stated that he will form a coalition with other parties, which he refers to as the "winning formula," in order to continue the MDP's rule.

Despite several challenges, President Solih's clear victory in Saturday's election secures him the presidential ticket of the Maldives' largest political party.

Solih, 60, who assumed the presidency in 2018 for a five-year term, is the 7th President of the Republic of Maldives. He will run for the post of President in the September election. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Istanbul, Jan 29 (AP) Turkey issued a travel warning late on Saturday for its citizens living in or planning on going to European countries, citing Islamophobia and anti-Turkish demonstrations.

The warning comes after last weekend's protests in Sweden where an anti-Islam activist burned the Quran and pro-Kurdish groups protested against Turkey.

Also Read | Pakistan Road Accident Video: 42 Killed As Passenger Bus Falls Into Ravine, Catches Fire in Balochistan Province.

The Turkish foreign ministry urged its citizens to take precautions and stay away from demonstration areas. It also said they should go to local authorities if they face xenophobic or racist attacks.

Turkey strongly condemned far-right activist Rasmus Paludan's burning of the Quran in Stockholm, which he repeated in Copenhagen Friday. Ankara also summoned the Dutch ambassador after another far-right activist tore pages of the Quran in the Hague.

Also Read | China Announces Resumption of Visas for Japanese Travelers Amid COVID-19 Crisis.

The Turkish government also said there was an increase in anti-Turkish protests by groups with links to terror groups  a reference to the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, which has waged a decades-long insurgency against Turkey.

Pro-Kurdish groups have been demonstrating in Sweden, waving the flags of the PKK and its affiliates. The protests are a response to Sweden and Finland's promise to prevent the PKK's activities in their countries in order to gain Turkey's approval for their NATO bids.

Following the protests, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Sweden not to expect support for its membership bid for the military alliance. Turkey also indefinitely postponed a key meeting in Brussels that would have discussed Sweden and Finland's NATO membership.

Earlier Saturday, before Turkey had issued its travel warning, the Nordic countries separately issued updated travel guidelines for Turkey. Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden urged their citizens visiting Turkey to avoid large gatherings and to exercise caution.

The Swedish Foreign Ministry said in a message on its website that Sweden's embassy in Ankara remains closed to the public and visitors to the country's consulate general in Istanbul are requested to exercise vigilance.

We want to make Swedes in Turkey aware that further manifestations may occur, the Swedish ministry said, referring to counter-protests that erupted in Turkey after last weekend's events in Stockholm. (AP)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Washington, January 29: The Indian diaspora on Saturday held a protest against the BBC documentary series "India: The Modi Question" at Fremont in the San Francisco Bay area of California.

About 50 members, under the banner of "Indian Diaspora", chanted slogans and marched through the streets of Fremont in San Francisco area of United States stating that they "reject BBC's sinister and biased documentary." While marching in Fremont, people were shouting slogans like "Biased BBC" and "racist BBC."

While protesting at Fremont, people carried banners which said, "BBC IS A BOGUS Broadcasting Corporation" and "Indian Diaspora rejects BBC's Sinister and Biased Documentary against Prime Minister Narendra Modi," "BBC Documentary spreading fake propaganda," "BBC is a fake news peddler." BBC Documentary on PM Narendra Modi: JNU Asks Students to Cancel Screening of 'India: The Modi Question'.

UK's national broadcaster BBC aired a two-part series attacking PM Narendra Modi's tenure as Gujarat Chief Minister during the Gujarat riots of 2002. Prominent Indian-origin UK citizens condemned the series. Prominent UK Citizen Lord Rami Ranger said the "BBC caused a great deal of hurt to over a billion Indians."

On January 19, India denounced the controversial BBC documentary series on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and described it as a "propaganda piece" that is designed to push a discredited narrative.

Addressing a weekly media briefing External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson, Arindam Bagchi said this documentary show, based on some internal UK report, shows the colonial mindset. The documentary sparked outrage and was removed from select platforms.

"We think this is a propaganda piece designed to push a particular discredited narrative. The bias and the lack of objectivity and frankly continuing colonial mindset are blatantly visible," Bagchi said in response to the question on the PM documentary series. BBC Documentary Row: Tata Institute of Social Sciences Warns Students Against Screening India: The Modi Question on Campus.

The MEA spokesperson said the documentary is a reflection of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and individuals that are peddling this narrative again. He even raised questions on "the purpose of the exercise and the agenda behind it."

"The documentary is a reflection of the agency and individuals that are peddling this narrative again. It makes us wonder about the purpose of the exercise and the agenda behind it; frankly, we do wish to dignify these efforts," he added.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)




Korean oil refiners' exports hit a record-high level in 2022, data showed Sunday, on the back of soaring global energy prices amid the protracted war between Russia and Ukraine.







The combined exports of local oil refiners reached $57 billion in 2022, up 71.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Korea Petroleum Association.







It marked the highest level since $53.2 billion posted in 2012.







By destination, Korea shipped petroleum products to 64 countries last year, up from 58 tallied in 2021.







Australia accounted for 18.3 percent of the exports, trailed by Singapore and the United States with 12.1 percent and 8.3 percent, respectively.







China, meanwhile, accounted for just 8 percent, sharply down from 20 percent tallied in 2021, due to its zero-COVID-19 restrictions that dealt a harsh blow on its industrial activities.







In 2023, Korean oil refiners are anticipated to benefit from China's eased virus restrictions, along with export regulations imposed on Russia by the European Union, according to the association.







The slowing global economy, on the other hand, also poses a threat to local oil refiners, it added. (Yonhap)






The Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) Gujarat has rounded up 15 suspects for the alleged involvement in the paper leak. Some of the suspects are from Vadodara, and the key conspirator or prime accused is alleged to be the one involved in the Odisha competitive exam paper leak, said sources.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has expressed condolences at the loss of lives and instructed District Magistrate Mahendra Bahadur Singh to ensure best possible treatment of the survivors.
A police officer opened fire at #Odisha Health Minister #NabaKishoreDas in Jahrsuguda district, police said.



Incident occurred near Gandhi Chhak of Brajarajnagar in Jharsuguda district. Police officer opened fire at Das when he was on the way to attend an inaugural function. pic.twitter.com/5Nod6JT5eZ IANS (@ians_india) January 29, 2023

(SocialLY brings you all the latest breaking news, viral trends and information from social media world, including Twitter, Instagram and Youtube. The above post is embeded directly from the user's social media account and LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body. The views and facts appearing in the social media post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY, also LatestLY does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.)
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have asked Pakistan to forget Kashmir issue and make friendship with India. This is a major embarrassment for Pakistan as these countries are close allies of Islamabad. According to reports, Saudi and UAE asked Pakistan to stop unnecessarily dragging the Kashmir Issue and forge a friendly relationship with India. India Issues Notice to Pakistan on Implementation of Indus Water Treaty, Blames It of 'Intransigence': Reports.

Saudi, UAE Advise Pakistan to Befriend India:

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A passenger has been booked by the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport police after the passenger attempted to open the emergency door of IndiGo's Nagpur - Mumbai flight once it landed in the city. After the flight landed in Mumbai around 12.35 pm, the indicator showed that somebody was attempting to open the emergency door. The crew on board alerted the captain and the passenger was appropriately cautioned. A case has been registered against the passenger based on a complaint by a senior cabin crew of the IndiGo 6E-5274 flight. IndiGo Airline Crew, Passenger Engage in Heated Argument Onboard Plane, Video Goes Viral.

Passenger Tries to Open Emergency Door of IndiGo Flight:

There was no compromise on the safe operation of the said flight. An FIR has been filed against the passenger for unauthorised tampering of the emergency exit as the aircraft was in the process of landing: IndiGo  ANI (@ANI) January 29, 2023

(SocialLY brings you all the latest breaking news, viral trends and information from social media world, including Twitter, Instagram and Youtube. The above post is embeded directly from the user's social media account and LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body. The views and facts appearing in the social media post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY, also LatestLY does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.)
Last year was the deadliest yet for Afghan civilians in nearly a decade of warfare, the United Nations said Wednesday in a report that painted a picture of growing insecurity in cities and towns across the country.

The U.N. mission in Afghanistan put the number of civilians killed last year at 2,777, a 15% increase from the previous year. About three-quarters of those deaths were caused by insurgents, the report said.

Most of the civilian casualties were capriciously random in nature, with hundreds of people dying in suicide attacks or roadside bombings. But the report also noted an ominous trend: a doubling in the number of assassinations of government officials, tribal elders and other prominent figures. These targeted killings are viewed as an unambiguous warning by insurgents against cooperating with the administration of President Hamid Karzai or with the Western military force.

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Civilian deaths and injuries were concentrated in the principal conflict zones  the south and east  but touched all areas of the country. And they increased in some areas that had been considered relatively peaceful, such as the north.

The report, issued jointly with the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, coincides with a series of upbeat public assessments by senior American and other Western officials, including Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, who have highlighted military gains in recent months against the Taliban and other militant groups.

But fighting between the Taliban and the NATO force is likely to intensify as the weather improves, and the U.N. voiced concern that civilians would find themselves caught in the crossfire.

As it did in the previous year, the report charted a drop in the proportion of deaths  to 26%  caused by the Western military. But the current year already has seen several high-profile instances of casualties at the hands of the NATO force, including nine boys killed last week as they gathered firewood on a mountainside. Gates apologized to Karzai during a visit this week for the deaths of the boys, who were hunted down by helicopter gunships after being mistaken for insurgents who had attacked a U.S. base.

Western military officials often express frustration over the degree of anger directed at the foreign forces over civilian casualties when it is insurgents who cause by far the greatest number of deaths and injuries.

Of course, there is a great difference between deliberately targeting civilians and civilians as collateral victims, said Ivan Simonovic, the U.N. assistant secretary-general for human rights, who came to Kabul to present the findings. But every loss of civilian life calls for transparent and thorough investigation.

Simonovic, speaking to journalists in Kabul, noted that Afghan life expectancy is only 45 years, a statistic driven in part by war-related violence. Civilian deaths and injuries have climbed steadily over the last four years as the Taliban movement has regrouped and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization force has grown in size and strength, now totaling 150,000 troops.

The increase in the number of civilians killed year after year is deeply disturbing, Simonovic said. The report calls on all parties to take steps to reduce the likelihood of noncombatants being killed or maimed.

laura.king@latimes.com
Social Security benefits have certain rulings and requirements for recipients in various circumstances. The Social Security Administration even has specifications for those who are incarcerated.

For instance, if a social security benefits recipient is in prison awaiting trial, their benefits will not be affected. However, beneficiaries will see their monthly payments suspended if they are convicted of a crime and sentenced to more than 30 days in a U.S. correctional facility or institution.

The suspension does not affect payments to family members who are receiving benefits based on the work record of the person in jail.

If the spouse or children are collecting benefits on their record when they are imprisoned, those will not be impeded.

Social Security Prisoners

Social Security benefits can be reinstated after the prisoners' release in a month. Some incarceration institutions have release agreements with Social Security.

In that case, the prisoner or an official in a facility should notify Social Security 90 days before the prisoner's release to start the process of resuming the benefits.

However, if the institution does not have such an agreement, incarcerated beneficiaries should contact Social Security, according to AARP.

Another Social Security-administered benefit program for low-income people has a different rule for people incarcerated.

SSI benefits recipients imprisoned will have their benefits terminated directly and have to reapply upon release. Medicaid or Medicaid coverage will continue uninterrupted while you are in prison.

If the coverage ends while in prison for not paying Medicare premiums, the prisoner will be able to enroll during the General Enrollment Period (GEP) between January 1 and March 31.

The Part B coverage begins July 1 of that year if you sign up during a GEP. You will have to pay for unpaid past-due premiums and a late enrollment penalty if there are any.

If you are filing for SSI benefits while in prison, the Social Security Administration will gather medical evidence from the doctors to help decide whether you still meet the definition of disability.

READ NEXT: SNAP Benefits: Can You Use It To Buy Medicine?

Social Security Benefits

The Social Security Administration distributes benefits such as retirement, disability insurance, Medicare, and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Each benefit has a different function and eligibility that best fit certain types of beneficiaries.

Retirement benefits are provided for those who decide to retire; cannot work because of a disability; lose a spouse; or have difficulty paying for essentials like food, clothing, and a home.

Beneficiaries can apply for monthly retirement benefits every time between ages 62 and 70, and the SSA calculates the payment by looking at how much they have earned throughout their life.

The amount will be higher the longer you wait to apply, which would be up until age 70. For disability insurance, SSDI applicants should have a medical condition that meets Social Security's definition of disability. Information about the applicant's work will also be asked for.

SSI applicants should also be age 65 and older or blind or have a disability. SSA will also need information and documentation about the applicants' medical conditions.

READ MORE: Disaster SNAP Benefits Update: Are You Eligible for New Florida Payments?

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: How to Apply for Social Security Benefits - From AARP Answers




Yonhap



Toss Mobile, a new budget telecom arm of Korean fintech service provider Viva Republica, said Sunday it has attracted 150,000 pre-applications ahead of its official launch this week.



Toss Mobile, which will open Monday, is a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) that aims at providing affordable subscription plans and offering various services in connection to its existing payment platforms.



Viva Republica currently provides banking, securities, and mobile payment services under the brand Toss.



Of the new applicants, those in their 20s accounted for 40 percent, followed by those in their 30s and 40s with 28 percent and 21 percent, respectively.



Around 73 percent of the new customers were subscribing to existing MVNOs, the company added.



MVNOs refer to the telecom service providers that rent networks from existing mobile carriers. As MVNOs can save on costs in operating networks, they usually provide users with more affordable plans.



A growing number of South Koreans have been switching from traditional players  SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus  to MVNOs in search of budget subscription plans.



The number of people using services provided by MVNOs came to 12,638,794 as of November 2022, accounting for around 16 percent of all telecom users, according to the latest data provided by the Ministry of Science and ICT.



SK Telecom accounted for 39.9 percent, trailed by KT and LG Uplus with 22.8 percent and 20.7 percent, respectively, in November. (Yonhap)




A hairdresser who told gardai she was Sabrina the teenage witch has been fined.

Ellie Condon, 23, of 79 Rathcarrig, Fermoy, Cork was arrested when gardai were called to the Killeshin Hotel on the Dublin Road in Portlaoise on January 11 last at 1.10am.

Sergeant JJ Kirby said when gardai attended the defendant was lying in a bush shouting at her boyfriend.

She called herself Sabrina the the teenage witch when gardai asked for her name, Sgt Kirby told the sitting of Portlaoise District Court. He said the woman, who has no previous convictions, became abusive and highly aggressive and spat in the patrol car on the night in question.

Louise Troy BL said her client had brought an eloquently written letter of apology to the gardai.

She is extremely remorseful, absolutely embarrassed and ashamed, Ms Troy said.

She said the woman was staying in the hotel and had a wisdom tooth removed. She mixed painkillers with alcohol and it had a severe effect, said Ms Troy.

That is not normally how she would behave, said Ms Troy. The woman brought 200 to court for any clean up cost and a letter from a counsellor she attended in relation to her drinking.

She said her client, a hairdresser who is currently unemployed, was pleading guilty at the earliest opportunity.

Another serious incident, this time the Gardai got the brunt of Sabrina the teenage witch, said Judge Andrew Cody.

Describing the behaviour as absolutely unacceptable, he said he didnt accept the evidence regarding the wisdom tooth.

Id say she took more brainkillers than painkillers, said Judge Cody.

He fined her 200 for being abusive, 500 for failing to provide her name and he took a criminal damage charge for spitting in the patrol car and a public intoxication charge into account.

Judge Cody granted legal aid and fixed recognisance in case of appeal.
A man who was caught driving at 178kmh in Laois was told 4,000 would secure a lesser charge.

GiogioTsalughelashvili, 23, of 74 Ardalee Road, Artane, Dublin 3 was detected at 178kph in a 120kmh zone at M7 Meelick, Portlaoise on January 7 this year.

The man, who has no previous convictions and works in the motortrade, is facing a dangerous driving charge in relation to the offence which could see him disqualified from driving.

His solicitor agreed that it is an outrageous speed but said his client has never been in trouble and doesnt have any penalty points. He said the man was driving a high powered BMW car from the garage where he is employed.

He said the man had brought 1,000 to court and the lesser charge of careless driving would still attract five penalty points.

Judge Andrew Cody said he would reduce the charge if a payment was made to the court poor box.

On payment of 4,000 to the court poor box I will reduce it, he said.

He needs to feel the pain here. It is a horrendous speed, Judge Cody added.

He adjourned the case back to February 23 and said if the money is paid he will reduce the charge to one of careless driving.

If this is done, Judge Cody said he would convict the man and fine him 500 but there would be no disqualification from driving.
Former Czech Chief of Staff Petr Pavel after the announcement of his victory in the presidential election, Prague, January 28, 2023. MICHAL CIZEK / AFP

Shortly after voting closed in the Czech Republic on Saturday, January 28, the results confirmed the victory the polls had predicted. Retired general Petr Pavel won with more than 58%. On stage in front of his supporters, the new president wearing a salmon-colored tie immediately showed himself to be a unifying figure, not hesitating to reach out to his rival's voters, those who had backed populist former prime minister Andrej Babis. "I know that many are disappointed because their candidate did not win. But I don't see a winning or losing electorate in this country. Values like truth, dignity, respect and humility won. I am ready to return those values to [the seat of the presidency] and to our Republic."

Pavel, who advocates a Czech Republic anchored in the European Union and NATO, as well as support for war-torn Ukraine, will replace pro-Russian and eurosceptic Milos Zeman. His predecessor had not hesitated to show sympathy for Russia or China in the past; he had also been on the verge of overstepping his duties in the presidency. "Petr Pavel could be a self-effacing president, which would be a good thing, because it would bring him closer to the role of the president as assigned by the constitution," concluded Tomas Kostelecky, a researcher at the Institute of Sociology of the Czech Academy of Sciences. In Czech parliamentary democracy, the president's functions are largely ceremonial, although he is the head of the armed forces and can veto legislation.

Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes Czech presidential election marks end of Zeman era, with its abuses of power

The direct voting system, however, makes the presidential election the most popular among Czechs. Outside Pavel's headquarters on Saturday, dozens of voters had come to greet the man with the neat white beard. "I voted for Petr Pavel for his honesty and courtesy. I would have been ashamed to be Czech if Babis had won," said Sarka Vlkova, 44, who had voted for the only female candidate in the running, independent Danuse Nerudova, on January 13 and 14. "This is a symbolic moment, which could well heal the divisions in society and restore a climate of dialogue and tolerance, as in the days of Vaclav Havel," said Michael Zantovsky, director of the Vaclav Havel Library, dedicated to the former dissident and president of the Czech Republic from 1993 to 2003.

Record turnout

Andrej Babis immediately congratulated his rival, calling on his voters to recognize his defeat. Then the billionaire was quick to play the predictable anti-system card. "The opponent was very strong. It wasn't just the five parties in power, it was the media." During his campaign, Babis had readily accused his opponent of being the "government" candidate.

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InvestigationThis new kind of proofreader focuses on ethnic, sexual and cultural prejudices in English-language manuscripts. The profession is having a tentative breakthrough in France.

Brown Girls, the first novel by 30-year-old Filipino-American Daphne Palasi Andreades, was published in France on January 12. Brown Girls traces the trajectory of a cohort of girls and women from Queens, a working-class neighborhood in New York City. They are American women from immigrant backgrounds who are trying to find their place.

A few months before publication, the editorial director of the French publisher Les Escales, Sarah Rigaud, sought the right French translation of the term "Brown girls," which recurs throughout the text. She turned to Maboula Soumahoro, a lecturer in American civilization at the Universite de Tours to find the right words and carefully reread the manuscript. Involved in debates on decolonial issues, the researcher, a self-proclaimed "Afropean," sees her (paid) mission as a simple matter of "common sense, honesty and quality research."

In English-speaking countries, "Brown" commonly refers to individuals of color who are not Black: Asians, Latinos and those from the Indian subcontinent or the Middle East. "'Girls of color' didn't fit because in France, that term refers to Black people," explained Soumahoro. After a discussion with the editor and the translator of the text, Emmanuelle Aronson, she proposed "filles a la peau brune" (translating to "brown-skinned girls").

Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes American companies caught in the ebb and flow of the woke movement

A controversy of unprecedented proportions

Scrutinizing a text for descriptions of ethnic, sexual and cultural minorities in order to avoid offensive stereotypes is not a common policy in France. However, in just a few years, this approach has become ubiquitous in the English-speaking world, under the name of sensitivity reading.

This new profession is developing rapidly in a climate that some see as a return to censorship and others see as necessary for the predominantly White and privileged industry to become aware of its racist, sexist or homophobic prejudices. Officially or not, all the major publishing houses have resorted to it and the number of specialized agencies is increasing.

Long confined to young adult literature (a sector that is often the subject of heated debate on social media), sensitivity reading became mainstream following the publication of American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins in 2020. Selected by the famous TV host Oprah Winfrey for her ultra-popular "Book Club" and recommended by star writers Stephen King, Don Winslow and John Grisham, the novel was expected to be one of the best-sellers of the year. It tells the story of a Mexican bookseller and her son who are threatened by Mexican cartels and escape to the United States.

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THE LIMERICK Strand Hotel has announced it is teaming up with the family support charity Clionas Foundation to help raise vital funds that will make a huge difference to the lives of families in Limerick.

Clionas Foundation is a Limerick-based national charity that provides financial assistance to the families of children with a life-limiting illness.

The new partnership aims to raise funds for those families who care for seriously sick children.

It began when the Strand Hotel donated the proceeds of a raffle, held at the MHL Hotel Group staff awards night over Christmas, to the value of 1,215.50.

Brendan Ring, co-founder and CEO of Clionas Foundation, described his excitement over the collaboration with the hotel.

We look forward to working with the team and making a difference to families who really need our help, he said.

Stephen O'Connor, general manager of The Limerick Strand hotel added: On behalf of the Limerick Strand Hotel, I am delighted to announce Clionas Foundation as our charity partner for 2023. Clionas foundation aims to generate much-needed funds for sick and vulnerable children and their families all over Ireland each year. [We] were inspired by the work of the fantastic team at Clionas Foundation, and we look forward to supporting them in any way we can.

Clionas Foundation says it does not receive any funding from statutory agencies and, therefore, is wholly reliant on the support of individuals and organisations.

In 2022, the charity increased the amount of money it allocates to qualifying families - meaning last year saw it distribute the largest amount of money in a single year since it was founded in 2008.

These families are the ones who are already crippled financially by the non-medical costs associated with caring for a sick child, said a representative of the foundation. They are Irelands forgotten families, they added.

Clionas Foundation once again expects at least 200 families will apply for financial assistance this year and, therefore, it estimates it will need to raise a minimum of 500,000 during 2023.
LIMERICK councillors have raised concerns over the proposed disposal of a derelict property.

Representatives from the Kilmallock/Cappmore District of Limerick City and County Council were discussing the disposal of a property at Foxhall West, Colmanswell in south Limerick, when they voiced concerns about the proposed sale.

The property in question is an old detached two-storey parochial house and ruinous former church set on 0.196 hectares of land.

Both buildings were constructed in the early nineteenth century and are protected structures listed on the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.

The buildings fell into a state of disrepair following the construction of a new church in 1969, which is situated directly opposite the property.

Council officials said the house had been vacant and derelict for a number of years and it was placed on to the Derelict Sites Register in March 2020.

The property was later acquired compulsorily by Limerick City and County Council after it posted a number of notices in accordance with the Derelict Sites Act, 1990.

Despite erecting notices at the site, the owner of the property claims he was never contacted directly by the council.

Raising the matter, Councillor PJ Carey said the council are practically stealing the building from the owner and that he should have been contacted directly regarding the acquisition.

Cllr Carey said the previous owner should have been able to apply for a grant to renovate the building himself.

Councillor Gerald Mitchell agreed there needs to be proper engagement with the owner.

Two parties submitted bids on the property (to the council) with the eventual purchaser agreeing a price of 45,000 for the site.

The purchaser intends to refurbish the property and occupy it.

Council officials said it was very positive to have a new owner and that the former owner is eligible to seek compensation.

Councillors and officials from the housing department of Limerick City and County Council agreed to postpone the proposed sale of the property for two months while they attempt to make direct contact with the previous owner.
THE MINISTER for Further and Higher Education, Research and Innovation, Simon Harris, has announced that over 650,000 in funding will be made available to assist students in Limerick who are impacted by the cost of living crisis.

The once-off funding will be provided through the Student Assistance Fund (SAF) which assists students with the cost of books and class materials, rent, childcare and transport, among other things.

The Higher Education Authority (HEA) will distribute the funding to higher education institutions over the coming months.

A total of 4.3 million will be distributed across the country.

Minister Harris said: The Student Assistance Fund is an invaluable resource for third-level students who are finding it difficult to make ends meet. The fund is there to assist with additional costs they may face over the coming months. It is completely confidential and accessible through the access offices in publicly funded higher education colleges.

The Technological University of the Shannon has been allocated 283,249; the University of Limerick 276,549 and Mary Immaculate College 93,653.

The total allocation for the SAF for the 22/23 academic year will be over 20 million nationally.

This is the highest amount of money that has ever been provided since the fund was established.
A HANDFUL of secondary school students from Limerick are about to embark on an adventure that others could only dream of - playing Carnegie Hall.

Students Darragh and Anna Treacy, Doireann Casey and Anna Farrel (Gaelcholaiste Luimnigh), Sophie Moloney (Villiers School), and Ruby McKenna (St Annes Community College, Killaloe), along with Seon and Mary-Kate Ruiz (St Patricks Comprehensive, Shannon), and their brother Mateo (LCFE) are set to play the prestigious New York City venue this St Patricks Day as part of the Cross Border Orchestra of Ireland.

Born in Hackballscross on the border of Northern Ireland, Sharon Treacy would have been very familiar with The Troubles, and as a result, she set up the orchestra in 1995 to bring some peace between both religions.

Each side is represented at the shows: The Northern Pipe Band and the Highland dancers represent the Protestant community, then the uilleann pipe players and Irish dancers represent the Catholic side, said volunteer Catherine Treacy.

Darragh Treacy fondly remembers when he joined the orchestra in 2018: I can still recall my first concert, I was never so scared and excited at the same time.

From violin, cello and trumpet, to flute and saxophone, the students perform to the best of their abilities, allowing them to get to some of the biggest stages in the country like the RDS in Dublin and the SSE Arena in Belfast.

However, this doesnt come easy as the commitments the students make for their art is second to none, travelling from the Midwest to Co Louth every Sunday to rehearse, and even funding all of the travel themselves.

Its a big commitment but its worth every minute, says Darragh. It has changed learning my instrument from being a chore to something I look forward to.

With renditions of modern hits from The Cranberries and Dire Straits, to traditional Irish music, the show is not your average classical concert.

Mother to Darragh and Anna, Catherine marvels over the range of genres to be heard by the ensemble.

People think theyre coming to a boring old orchestra that plays classical music, she laughed, but the show is a real mix, theres lots for everybody there, which is what makes it so attractive.

Following the launch of their tour last Saturday at University of Limerick, the orchestra will travel on to Dublin, Belfast and Waterford before landing at Carnegie Hall to play for one night only on St Patricks Day.
Trainees and trainers of Samsung Electronics' Software Academy for Youth (SSAFY) pose for a photo during the entrance ceremony of this year's academy at SSAFY's campus in Seoul, Jan. 19. Courtesy of Samsung Electronics





Logo for Samsung Electronics / Courtesy of Samsung Electronics
GARDAI say they have noticed an increase in the number of thefts of Japanese imported cars in Limerick in recent weeks.

Analysis of the reported incidents suggests thieves are specifically targeting Toyota Vitz and Toyota Aqua models.

"It appears that these particular models have poor security measures and car thieves know this," said divisional crime prevention officer Sergeant Ber Leetch who highlighted a number of incidents to create awareness.

"A Toyota Vitz was stolen from Lower Gerald Griffin Street in the city centre, another Vitz was taken from South Circular Road and a third Vitz from Father Russel Road. A Toyota Aqua was taken from Castletroy while attempts were made to take a Toyota Vitz from Westbury and a Toyota Aqua from Windmill Street," she said.

The advice to motorists who own a Japanese imported car is to add another layer of security such as a steering wheel lock or a robust chain.

"The visual effect of these locks may deter a thief from stealing your car. Also park these cars behind other cars in a driveway if you can and as close as possible to your house and under outdoor lighting," said Sgt Leetch.
Sitting by a window overlooking a beautiful mews street in Chelsea, one of the most affluent areas of London, Joseph OConnor is in great form. Perhaps, this is due to the raving reviews his latest book, My Fathers House, has been receiving.

Like all authors, you pretend that you dont care about reviews. F**k the reviewers, who cares what the reviewers think? But then, you get a nice one and suddenly, theyre very insightful people, he laughs.

This week, the Dubliner is strolling around London with his wife to sign copies of what has quickly become a number one read, and to launch his book at the Irish Embassy. Not so long ago, he was congratulating new graduates at the University of Limericks conferring ceremonies.

Speaking of caps and gowns, he notes: Its quite colourful, isnt it? Its like a flock of birds. The author was particularly in awe of Irish archivist, Dr Anthony Malcomson, who was conferred with an Honorary Doctorate of Letters.

I think that when Michael D Higgins is finished as President of Ireland, we should just get together and give the presidency to that man.

The last time he spoke to the Limerick Leader, Joseph was getting ready to spend Christmas in the Eternal City with his wife, screenwriter Anne-Marie Casey, and their sons, James and Marcus.

Its no secret the author has an eternal love for the capital of Italy. Set in Rome, his 10th novel tells the true story of Monsignor Hugh OFlaherty, a Kerry priest who risked his life to save thousands of others during World War II.

Run-up to Christmas 1943: German forces occupy Rome, hunger is widespread and rumours fester. Led by a courageous Irish priest, a small band of unlikely friends want to help those seeking refuge in the Vatican City. On Christmas Eve, theres one goal: smuggle Jews and escaped Allied prisoners out of the country, right under the nose of the Nazis. To conduct this mission, the priest uses his Choir as a disguise.

Through an ensemble piece, Joseph paints a vivid picture of the Eternal City while changing the standpoint at various times, giving My Father's House a page turning quality. From an array of colourful characters to a built-up tension that keeps the reader gripped, the author orchestrates quite the literary thriller. With his usual flawless prose, OConnor celebrates accents, slangs and different modes of speech - and at times, you can almost hear his characters voices.

Speaking of prose, Joseph refers to Adams Curse, a poem by Yeats, which emphasises the value of Sprezzatura  an Italian word used to describe the ability to accomplish difficult actions, while making it seem like a walk in the park.

Its the art of making something that is difficult look easy, starts Joseph. And, I suppose, its all good writers have to aspire to. The Italians, of course, see it as a life skill.

OFlaherty had been in Josephs mind for quite some time  and four years ago, the priest knocked on his window to say time to write a novel about me, mate. During one of his trips to Listowel Writers week in Kerry, he heard this story for the first time.

I heard of Hugh probably 20 years ago late one night in the bar of the Listowel Arms Hotel, as somebody told me about this remarkable man from Kerry who had lived in Rome during the Second World War, and who put himself at great personal risk to rescue fugitives from the Nazis.

He compares the priest to the likes of Elvis and Mick Jagger. He was Rock 'n' Roll. An old school, rule breaking, idealistic, passionate person who was not able to live by the dictates of other people. A rebellion touch, which according to Joseph, is a very Munster thing. Its that Munster stubbornness, he smiles.

As he wrote My Fathers House during the lockdown, he remembers how nice it was to escape to Rome every day.

For my own mental health and equilibrium, it was nice to sit down at my kitchen table every day and go to Rome for a couple of hours, he says. Im very grateful to Hugh for coming along and insisting that it was time for his novel.

When he was younger, the Dubliner thought the world would have changed by now. Thats part of why he wanted to tell OFlahertys story. The state of the world, war, racism, sectarianism  he cites all those things he thought wouldve disappeared.

The election of Trump, who always reminded me of Mussolini in the way he conducted himself, the division of people, the very harsh language from politicians - emphasising not what we have in common, but what separates us, he regrets.

Like no other, Joseph OConnor masters the art of historical fiction. What is his research process like?

When Im writing about a character inspired by a historical person, I read every first-person narrative that I can find - and thats my filter, he explains. You have to be careful when writing a novel, that it doesnt become too full of facts.

The author has a great motto  one he learned from The Smiths. The music that they constantly play, it says nothing about my life, he recites.

For My Fathers House, he went through a fairly large collection of Flahertys writings  which he accessed thanks to the priests family. Letters, telegrams, notes  they allowed me to read those and take copies, he explains.

However, Joseph is keen to stress My Fathers House is a novel, and not a work of history  something he also mentions at the end of the book.

According to the writer, historical fiction is about respecting the facts and the realities of the characters  and keeping your own views aside.

One of the challenges for me was that Hugh is an ordained Roman Catholic priest, I assume his world view was defined and enriched by that. I dont judge that, and my own views on those things are irrelevant.

While writing the novel, he didnt enjoy the mornings he had to spend with Paul Hauptman - a character based on the real Gestapo Commander of Rome, whose name Joseph refuses to say.

I changed his name because I physically didnt want to have to type the letters of his name. I dont think he deserves to be remembered, and I dont want to make any false equation between himself and Hugh, he comments.

With 10 novels, 2 collections of short stories, as well as several plays, Joseph has touched on many topics. But, is there something he would never write about?

Im sure there must be, we all must have our limits. Ive written about famine, war, terrorism, Nazis. As my wife says: boy, do you do all the cheerful subjects, he chuckles.

A prolific writer, he doesnt like to sit around and wait for inspiration. Thats why, at the back of his mind, he has a long list of possible people to write a novel about.

Quite the queue is forming as he mentions hed like to write a novel about Grace Gifford, as well as one of the truly punk bands, X-Ray Spex.

In the meantime, the author will keep busy working on two other books for a trilogy, of which My Fathers House is the first instalment. A nice piece of news that has arisen is that an offer has come for the movie rights, he concludes.

Perhaps, another trip to Rome might be in the books. Plus, rumour has it, after two glasses of red wine, Joseph speaks Italian with great fluency.
There will be no Zero Hour and Question Hour in Parliament on the first two days of the Budget Session. The Budget Session will begin on 31 January. President Droupadi Murmu will address both Houses of Parliament in the Central Hall on the same.

On 1 February, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Budget for the fiscal year 2024 in Lok Sabha at around 11 am. Later the Budget will be tabled in Rajya Sabha.

From 2 February, both Houses will discuss the "Motion of Thanks to the President Address" after which Prime Minister Narendra Modi will reply in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

The Budget Session is generally divided into two parts. The part-I of the Budget Session will conclude on 13 February.

The part-II of the Budget Session will commence after a recess on March 13 till April 6.

During this part, the discussion will take place on the Demand for Grants for various ministries and the Union Budget will be passed. Other legislative businesses will also be taken up by the government during this period.

FM Sitharaman will be presenting the budget for the fifth consecutive time this year. Like the previous two, Union Budget 2023-24 will also be delivered in paperless form.

All the 14 Union Budget documents, including the Annual Financial Statement (commonly known as Budget), Demand for Grants (DG), Finance Bill etc. as prescribed by the Constitution, will be available on the Union Budget Mobile App" for hassle-free access of Budget documents by Members of Parliament and the general public, the finance ministry said in a statement.

The app is bilingual (English & Hindi) and will be available on both Android and iOS platforms. It can also be downloaded from the Union Budget Web Portal www.indiabudget.gov.in.

The Budget documents will be available on the app after the completion of the Budget speech by the finance minister on 1 February 2023.

Earlier, on Thursday, 'halwa' ceremony, an annual ritual that heralds the Union Budget, returned after a year's break with the Finance Minister stirring a 'kadhai' to mark the traditional event.

The ceremony is an annual ritual in which the traditional dessert 'halwa' is prepared and served to officials and staff members of the finance ministry who were involved in the preparation of the Budget.

It is organised every year in the basement of North Block, which houses the ministry in the national capital, and is attended by the finance minister and other high-ranking officials.

The ceremony was curtailed last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic and instead, sweets were distributed to the core staff. This year, the customary 'halwa' ceremony, performed every year before the 'lock-in' process of Budget preparation begins, coincided with Republic Day.
Every year, the key developments in the Budget do not just focus on corporate-wise factors but also there are policies and measures announced to boost a common citizen's day-to-day lifestyle depending upon the economic scenarios. Once again, all eyes are set on FM Nirmala Sitharaman who is going to present the budget for fiscal year FY24 on February 1st. Apart from tax rebates, there is a need to drive investments in insurance sector for retirement planning, and expectations are that government brings key measures to do so.

Tarun Chugh, MD & CEO, of Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance, said, The Union Budget is an opportunity to introduce new reforms for the betterment of the citizens and the nation at large. As the life insurance sector, our paramount interest has always been to insure more citizens and ensure they have the apt coverage."

Further, Chugh added, "Towards this, our collective initiatives will be augmented if the government may introduce a separate tax deduction limit exclusively for life insurance premiums paid. Furthermore, wed also request that the government brings life insurance Annuity or Pension products at par with NPS, especially from a tax deduction point of view. This, we believe, will help citizens plan for regular income during their retired years, in an effective manner."

Regulated by PFRDA, NPS is a voluntary retirement savings scheme introduced for investors to make a defined contribution towards planned savings thereby securing the future in the form of a Pension. NPS is seen as the worlds lowest-cost pension scheme. Not just that, also administrative charges and fund management fees are the lowest. Subscribers can choose their own investment options and pension fund and see their money grow.

Notably, NPS offers a host of tax benefits. Any individual who is a subscriber of NPS can claim tax exemptions under 80 CCD (1) within the overall ceiling of 1.5 lakh under Sec 80 CCE. Furthermore, an additional tax benefit for investments up to 50,000 in NPS ((Tier I account) is available exclusively to subscribers under subsection 80CCD (1B). This is over and above the deduction of Rs. 1.5 lakh available under section 80C of the Income Tax Act. 1961.

Life insurance annuity means that the insurer makes a fixed payment to you either immediately or in the future. Here as well, there is 1.5 lakh tax deduction limit offered under section 80C.

On the other hand, Yogesh Agarwal, Founder, and CEO, of Onsurity said, "Composite license is an aspect that the government should push for because this will benefit the industry as well as policyholders alike. It will give insurers the necessary economies of scale and customers the option to buy multiple products from the same insurer, in turn lowering the cost of distribution (40% - 50% of premium) which is one of the major costs of operating an insurance business. For policyholders, this will reduce the burden of excessive documentation and remembering renewal timelines."

Also, Mukul Kanchan, VP and Head of Finance, Plum said, "We expect the government to make bold moves by introducing certain incentives. One of the long-standing demands of the insurance industry is the reduction of the 18% GST rate from health and life insurance products to make them more affordable. Additionally, increasing the limit to claim tax deductions under sections 80C and 80D would further increase the adoption of life and health insurance products."

Kanchan added, "also, the rising cost of medical and hospitalization expenses has made health insurance products costlier, therefore incentives for the healthcare sector from the government will go a long way."

Additionally, Kanchan said, alongside, special support/ incentives/ deductions can be introduced for MSMEs that provide health insurance to employees and their families. This will aid in providing the cover to the missing middle.

Further, Surjendu Kuila- Co-Founder and CEO, Zopper on the insurance sector said, "As this will be the last full budget for the current government, the sector expects some of the much-awaited reforms to see the light of day. These might include increasing tax benefits for the end consumer from 50,000 to 1,00,000 and a 100% deduction against medical expenses without any value cap. If introduced, these will boost the entire insurance ecosystem while opening new horizons and helping increase insurance penetration in India."

Disclaimer: The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, and not of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
The government is expected to most probably not meet its disinvestment target set for FY23. In the current fiscal, so far, the Centre's disinvestment receipts are over 31,100 crore, accounting for nearly 48% of the budgeted target. Proceeds from the IPO of the largest insurer in India, LIC accounts for more than half of the achieved disinvestment so far. In Budget 2023, the disinvestment target is likely to be modest or unchanged from the previous one.

DIPAM's data revealed that so far in FY23, CPSEs disinvestment is to the tune of 31,106.64 crore --- which would be 47.85% of the budgeted estimates of 65,000 crore for FY23.

As per the data, strategic sale in LIC through an initial public offering (IPO), the proceeds came in at around 20,516.12 crore --- for accounting 65.95% of the disinvestment receipts achieved by the government so far in FY23. LIC IPO is the largest ever in the Indian market. LIC's public offer opened on May 4 and closed on May 9th of last year. The IPO received subscribed by 2.95 times on the final day with healthy demand from across investor categories.

Among other key notable disinvestments were --- 3,839 crore which is from a stake sale in Axis Bank via SUUTI, 3,026.23 crore, and 2,723.73 crore in ONGC and IRCTC through an offer for sale (OFS). Also, disinvestment receipts of 497.27 crore and 471.5 crore came from a portion of stake sales in GAIL (India) and Paradeep Phosphates.

Yes Bank economists in their report said, "disinvestments in PSU entities were anticipated at 650 billion in FY23BE. Till date, the government has garnered 311 billion or 48% of its target. More than half of the disinvestment proceeds raised so far have come from the IPO of LIC, whereby the government had raised INR 210 bn by selling a 3.5% stake in LIC."

For the entire fiscal year 2022-23, Yes Bank's economists expect the government to achieve disinvestment receipts of 40,000 crore. However, they believe the government will pencil yet again a 65,000 crore disinvestment target in FY24 as well. Hence, no change from the previous budget.

Also, Axis Securities in its note said, "FY23 Disinvestment receipt is expected to be lower than the BE and based on the last couple of years track record." But the brokerage expects disinvestment estimates for FY24 likely to be modest.

According to Yes Bank's economists, for FY24, the focus will be to carry out the disinvestment process that has been already approved by the cabinet including IDBI Bank, ConCor, BEML, Shipping Corporation of India, NMDC Steel, HLL Lifecare, and PDIL.

Overall, the economists said, this Budget would have the daunting task of progressing towards consolidation after the covid related fiscal push. On the other hand, an eye needs to be kept on economic growth in an atmosphere of slowing global growth and tightening domestic financial conditions. On a strategic level, the broad reform process should continue with outlays earmarked for rural development, boosting manufacturing, employment generation, and capacity building through infrastructure.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget FY23-24 on February 1st and it would be the last full-year budget before the Union Election 2024.

Despite this being the last Budget before general elections, the economists said, "we do not anticipate much in terms of tax dole-outs for the masses. For FY24E we anticipate the Budget deficit to increase to 17.8 trillion, GFD/GDP to print at 5.9% (after attaining the 6.4% target for FY23BE). Net and gross borrowings are likely to increase in FY24E to 11.7 trillion and 15.4 trillion respectively. Despite RBI pausing after another 25bps hike in February 2023, we see a scope for yields to rise in H1FY24 towards 7.60-7.75% as centre targets to front-load borrowings in H1."

Disclaimer: The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, and not of Mint.
MUMBAI : The Adani group faces a formidable challenge as its 20,000 crore follow-on public offer (FPO) struggles to gain momentum amid a plunge in group company stocks that erased 4.4 trillion of investor wealth over two days. The FPO received bids for only 470,000 shares, or just 1% of the shares on offer, on Friday, the first day of the three-day share sale.

Despite the situation, the group is moving ahead with its FPO. In an interview on Sunday, Adani group chief financial officer Jugeshinder Singh said, Our objective remains, one, to highlight to stakeholders and investors that the report is just a collection of misrepresentations and, secondly, to continue with the FPO."

While it remains to be seen how the FPO pans out, Mint looks at various scenarios and what they would mean for the share sale.

Goes ahead with the current deal:

If Adani sticks to its stance, it needs to ensure that the offer is at least 90% subscribed for it to succeed. Oversubscription in the non-institutional/HNI and retail investor categories cant be adjusted for under-subscription in the institutional category. However, oversubscription in the institutional category can be allocated against subscriptions in other categories. Thus, a strong oversubscription in the institutional category will be key.

Considering that only 50% of the offer price is to be paid upfront, the deal needs to generate a demand of 10,000 crore as of now. QIB (qualified institutional buyer) being 50% of the deal means an institutional book size of 5,000 crore, of which 3,000 crore approx has already been raised from the anchor book, leaving another 2,000 crore in the main book in the QIB category. To ensure 100% subscription of the offer, the 2,000 crore institutional book will need to see bids worth 3.5 times to ensure the deal goes through," a capital markets lawyer said on the condition of anonymity.

Another alternative to investor demand could be underwriting. Adani could ask its merchant bankers to underwrite the shortfall in investor demand to ensure the deal goes through. Yes Banks 15,000 crore FPO in 2020 used the underwriting option after the deal managed to raise only 14,267 crore from investors.

FPOs are not underwritten. There is no specific requirement for this. Thats not a contingency for us anyways," Singh said. Extend the offer; cut the offer price

A book-building public offer can be extended under Sebi laws. Any extension, however, needs to be accompanied by a price revision. Sebi allows companies to revise the price band by 20%, upwards or downwards. The offer period will have to be extended by three working days at least. Overall, the rules allow a book-building public offer to remain open for subscription for 10 working days.

The price range of the FPO has been fixed between 3,112 and 3,276. Retail investors have been offered an additional 64 discount per share. To be sure, extending the offer period with a price revision can have its own complications. Retail investors can either withdraw or revise their bids within the offer period, and an extension and downward price revision could result in retail investors withdrawing their bids. On the other hand, anchor investors cannot revise or withdraw their bids. A price cut would mean that these investors will be sitting on a loss on day one. Additionally, a price cut would mean that the company will raise less money than intended, which will affect the use of proceeds outlined in the prospectus.

Defer/Call-off the deal

Adani can call off the deal either immediately or post the bidding period, wait for the current storm to blow over and then return to the market when stock prices have stabilized. Under capital market laws, there is no cooling period for launching a second attempt at an FPO. The group can alternatively look at other fundraising avenues.However, calling off the deal will carry a serious reputational risk for the group and impact the groups stock prices.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Swaraj Singh Dhanjal " Based in Mumbai, Swaraj Singh Dhanjal is responsible for Mints corporate news coverage. For the past eight years he has been writing on the biggest deals in private equity, venture capital, IPO market and corporate mergers and acquisitions. An engineer and an MBA, he started his journalism career in 2014 with Mint. " Read more from this author
Morgan-Stanley Infrastructure-backed iBus Network and Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd is looking to raise $200 million from private equity investors. iBus , which offers in-building solutions to enterprises, is exploring more inorganic opportunities, after acquiring a clutch of companies in the passive telecom infrastructure space over the past two years.

Talks have been initiated for raising the funds, part of which will be used towards capex and organic growth, as it seeks to expand services and solutions into 5G, Internet of Things and wi-fi, two people in the know said seeking anonymity.

Theyre raising $200 million and the talks have begun," an industry executive said.

Queries to iBus did not elicit any response till press time.

Earlier, the company said it aims to build on existing verticals and expand into hospitals, airports and high-end residences, besides foraying into overseas markets. IBus has applied for spectrum for deploying 5G private captive networks.

However, the government is yet to come up with the guidelines for issuing airwaves for such networks. This could be the largest fund raise by the company which raised 125 crore from Japanese financial services group Nomura last year in September, and in April last year, it raised 150 crore from Morgan Stanleys North Haven India Infrastructure fund. Previously, it has raised $40 million from investors including Enams Vallabh Bhanshali, US-based N Squared, TV Mohandas Pai, and others.

It has acquired companies to expand its portfolio of services amid the rapid scaling up of 5G networks by Indian telecom service providers, and growing investments by enterprises on automation and digitization.

Earlier this year, the Bengaluru-based services provider had picked up a 100% stake in Chennai-based Microsense Networks, which operates in India besides in the US, UAE, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. iBus offers wi-fi infrastructure across hospitality and retail businesses such as malls and hotels. It is looking at the 5G space in India to offer wi-fi infrastructure to telecom service providers allowing them to offload traffic from their core networks.

In 2022, iBus had acquired D-VoiS Communications wi-fi managed service assets to get access to education and co-living sectors, besides hospitality.

It also acquired Ubico Networks, which designs, deploys and maintains neutral shared in-building passive telecom infrastructure for 100 crore, from Shyam Group, to beef up its neutral in-building as well as in-campus network coverage capabilities. In 2021, it had partnered with iWire Group, an IoT solutions provider for the asset-tracking industry.
City-based real estate developer Kalpataru Ltd may file draft papers for a 2,000 crore initial public offering (IPO) in the first quarter of next fiscal, two people aware of the plans said.

The offer will largely comprise a fresh issue of shares, besides an offer for sale of 250 crore, the people cited above said on the condition of anonymity, adding the net proceeds will be used mainly for the companys expansion plans.

As far as the companys strengths are concerned, promoters have a good track record and brand name. Kalpataru has the ability to identify and acquire suitable land parcels for development while also having a strong portfolio on ongoing projects in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region", said one of the persons cited above.

The company has hired Axis Capital, Nomura, ICICI Securities, JM Financial and SBI Capital Markets to be book running lead managers to the issue, the people added.

An email query sent to the company remained unanswered.

Founded in 1969, Kalpataru developes residential, commercial, retails, townships, lifestyle gated communities and redevelopment projects. It also caters to real estate development, property and project management and construction (EPC) contracting for power transmission and infrastructure projects including road projects warehousing and logistics.

According to its website, the real estate firm has projects in Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Indore, Noida and Dubai. Some of the projects include Kalpataru Park Riveria, Vista, Vienta, Magnus, Serenity, Elitus, Parkcity, Namaah and Eternia. Its commercial spaces include Kalpataru Infinia, Summit and Avenue.

According to Prime Database, a research database firm, nearly 57 companies have received the market regulators approval for IPOs worth more than 85,754 crore, while nearly 55, 620 crore worth of public offers are yet to receive the Sebi nod.

Arun Kejriwal, market expert, Kejriwal Research said The Adani debacle (Hindenburg report) can have a chilling effect on upcoming IPOs. Because of this, what has happened is valuations will take a hit. Only those companies which come with money on the table will make the cut. Investors will be even more conscious this time if companies come with higher valuations. More so, if the pricing of an IPO is not justified, investors may ignore such issues. The role of valuations will be paramount in most cases."
With global demand for oil surging and many countries trying to increase production, Colombia is rolling back its petroleum industry.
Law enforcement work an investigation of an early morning shooting that left three people dead and four wounded, on Jan. 28, in the Beverly Crest neighborhood of Los Angeles, just north of Beverly Hills. AFP-Yonhap



Three people were killed and four others wounded in a shooting at a multimillion dollar short-term rental home in an upscale Los Angeles neighborhood early Saturday, police said.



The shooting occurred about 2:30 a.m. in the Beverly Crest neighborhood. This is at least the sixth mass shooting in California this month.



Sgt. Frank Preciado of the Los Angeles Police Department said earlier Saturday that the three people killed were inside a vehicle.



Two of the four victims were taken in private vehicles to area hospitals and two others were transported by ambulance, police spokesperson Sgt. Bruce Borihanh said. Two were in critical condition and two were in stable condition, Borihanh said. The ages and genders of the victims were not immediately released.



Investigators were trying to determine if there was a party at the rental home or what type of gathering was occurring, Borihanh said.



Borihanh said police have no information on suspects. With the shooting over, the block was sectioned off as investigators scoured for evidence.



The mid-century home is in Beverly Crest, a quiet neighborhood nestled in the Santa Monica Mountains where houses are large and expensive. The property, estimated at $3 million, is on a cul-de-sac and described in online real estate platforms as modern and private with a pool and outdoor shower.



LAPD Officer Jader Chaves said the department did not know if the house had a history of noise or other party-related complaints.



The early Saturday morning shooting comes on top a massacre at a dance hall in a Los Angeles suburb last week that left 11 dead and nine wounded and shootings at two Half Moon Bay farms that left seven dead and one wounded.



Last Saturday, 72-year-old Huu Can Tran gunned down patrons at a ballroom dance hall in predominantly Asian Monterey Park, where tens of thousands attended Lunar New Year festivities earlier that evening. He drove to another dance hall but was thwarted by an employee. Many of the dead were in their 60s and 70s.



Tran later killed himself as police closed in on the van in which he sat.



On Monday, a man shot and killed four people at the mushroom farm where he worked, then drove to another farm where he had previously worked and killed three people there, authorities said. Chunli Zhao, 66, is in jail and faces murder charges in what police called a case of workplace violence.



The killings have dealt a blow to the state, which has some of the nation's toughest firearm laws and lowest rates of gun deaths.



For the third straight year, the U.S. in 2022 recorded over 600 mass shootings in which at least four people were killed or injured, according to the Gun Violence Archive. (AP)




Russia has managed to keep its oil moving to world markets, defying fears that sanctions imposed last month would lead to a plunge in exports.

A small office in a suburb of Mumbai helps explain how Russian crude continues to flow. The address is home to an Indian shipping company that didnt manage a single ship until 2022. It took control of two dozen tankers after the Russian military invasion of Ukraine and has put them to work shuttling Russian crude along newly established trade routes to the Mediterranean, Turkey and India, vessel-ownership and tracking data show.

Gatik Ship Management is among the most active of the upstart companies that have snapped up aging oil tankers to replace Western-owned ships no longer dealing with Russia. That parallel fleet is helping Moscow get crude to buyers in Asia, according to shipping executives, brokers and vessel-tracking, ownership and insurance data.

A person who answered the phone at Gatiks office confirmed that the company managed about 25 tankers. He said he was an employee of a company that is part of the same corporate group as Gatik.

The shipping market has always been able to adapt to political change," said Lars Barstad, chief executive officer of tanker owner Frontline Ltd.

A European Union oil embargo and a U.S.-led price cap have upended how Russia gets its oil to market. The price cap forbids Western shippers and insurers from dealing with Russian crude that trades above a $60 a barrel. Many tanker owners have opted to stay away from the Russian market completely. Russian oil now sells mostly to buyers in Asia, requiring much longer sailings compared with Europe.

The resiliency of Russian oil exports indicates that the price cap is working as intended, preventing a surge in oil prices from the European embargo while complicating Moscows ability to make top dollar on its exports.

There is no real indication that there is a shortage of vessels to transport the oil," said David Wech, chief economist at Vortexa, though he said problems could emerge down the line.

Global benchmark Brent is trading at around $87 a barrel, not far above where it was when the sanctions took effect on Dec. 5.

Russias oil industry, the lifeblood of its economy, still faces stiff challenges. Chief among them is the large discount it offers on its crude to lure buyers. Another round of sanctions will hit vital exports of refined fuels such as diesel next month.

Russia is on track to export 158 million barrels of crude by sea this month, according to commodities-data firm Kpler. That would be one of the top five months on record but is partly a rebound from a drop in shipments after the sanctions took effect in December.

The availability of tankers isnt posing a problem, Russian shipping executives said.

Also doing heavy lifting: A Dubai-based subsidiary of Russias state-owned shipping giant PAO Sovcomflot. Some major Western shipping firms, including one of Greeces largest, are moving Russian crude, too, trading oil under the price cap.

A Sovcomflot spokesperson didnt respond to queries.

Among those providing tankers is Gatik. Since June it has taken 25 ships under its wing, according to a European Union shipping database. Their average age is 17, when tanker owners typically consider sending ships to scrap.

Gatik is the manager of the ships, not the owner, according to the EU database. The registered owners of 20 of the tankersmany of which are named after Greek mythological figures such as Electra, Odysseus and Hectorhave the same Mumbai address as Gatik. The company that owns a Gatik tanker called Buena Vista, which delivered Russian crude to India this month, is Social Club Inc.

Corporate structures in which individual tankers are owned by distinct shell companies are common in the shipping industry.

In mid-January, Gatiks 249-meter Atalanta loaded up on Russias Urals crude at Primorsk on the Baltic Sea. From there the St. Kitts & Nevis-flagged tanker sailed toward Vadinar on Indias West coast, Refinitiv and MarineTraffic data show.

Six other Gatik tankers loaded up on Russian crude between Dec. 5 and Jan. 14, including one that made the trip twice, vessel-tracking data show.

Gatik ships have sailed from Russias Baltic Sea and Black Sea ports where crude trades beneath the cap.

The U.S. designed the sanctions so Western and Japanese insurance clubsassociations that provide coverage against accidents such as oil spillswould underwrite tankers. Gatik took out this cover, called protection-and-indemnity insurance, from the American Club, according to an insurance database and a senior manager at the club.

Insurers require tanker operators that move Russian crude to give a written assurance that the price will be below the cap to abide by the sanctions.

Other ships carrying Moscows oil are doing so outside the mechanism specified by the cap. More than 75 loadings of Russian crude from Dec. 5 through Jan. 14 were onto tankers that lacked insurance from Western and Japanese clubs, which dominate shipping insurance, insurance data show.

Tankers run by Sun Ship Management, Sovcomflots Dubai subsidiary, accounted for 46 of the 160-plus loadings of Russian crude in that period.

All told, tankers controlled by companies in the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, China, India and Russia shipped more than 60% of Russian crude since the price cap took effect, according to Yen Ling Song, analyst at S&P Global Commodities at Sea, while 29% moved on European-controlled ships, mostly from Greece and Turkey. In contrast, European and American operators accounted for more than 90% of Kazakh oil shipments from Russian ports, showing how Western shippers are avoiding Moscows crude. Ships carrying Russian oil were on average six years older.

Some mainstream tanker operators are making use of the price cap. Among the most active is Greeces TMS Tankers Ltd., founded by shipping tycoon George Economou and part of TMS Group. TMS-managed tankers loaded Russian crude 14 times between Dec. 5 and Jan. 14, shipping data show.

A TMS spokeswoman didnt respond to requests for comment. TMS tankers including Lipari, Stamos and Lovina picked up Russian crude from the Baltic and Murmansk in January,people familiar with the shipments said.

The TMS tankers were insured by Norways Gard P. & I. (Bermuda) Ltd. according to a spokeswoman for the insurance association. Nobody wants an uninsured tanker grounding on their shores," she said.
India Inc. has been preparing to replace over 2,000 independent directors, as they complete their tenures in 2024. The hunt is on for managing directors and chief executives across sectors, industry executives said.

While search firms and consultants are wooing independent directors from overseas to join Indian firms, some companies are looking at right the candidate who will fit into the cultural aspects of the organization, and will be able to lead the environmental, social, and governance (ESG), sustainability and digitization initiatives.

Demand for independent directors will increase during this year due to the upcoming cliff. Companies are applying a strategic lens to board composition and asking for directors with experience in digitization, sustainability, etc.," said Pankaj Arora, the managing director of search firm Russell Reynolds Associates. Now the challenge is getting directors with these experiences, along with governance credentials."

Arora, and head hunters like him, are struggling to attract independent directors due to a regulatory clause introduced in 2014. Independent directors shall hold office for a term of up to five consecutive years on the board of a company and shall be eligible for reappointment for another term of up to five consecutive years on passing a special resolution by the company," the Securities and Exchange Board of India had said in a circular in 2014.

According to data collated by primeinfobase.com, terms of 2,024 independent directors are expiring by the end of December 2024. The directors are from 961 firms listed on the National Stock Exchange.

Search firms said mandates include looking for directors who are in a position to scrutinize the companies with more intent. The role of independent board directors in India has been evolving rapidly over the last couple of years. It is no more a tea and snack gathering of friends and family," Amit Agarwal, managing director, Singapore and India, Stanton Chase, said.

Agarwals team is running three searches for independent directors, while another three are in discussion stage. We are scanning Indians with relevant experience and capability in both domestic and offshore markets, especially markets of Singapore, Hong Kong and London." The firms are looking for directors who can not only help with strategic decisions but are also experts in latest technologies and needs of the Indian industry.

Before finalizing candidates, boards must ask questions on sustainability, governance and performance, besides finding out how they can contribute to the developing strategy over the long-term, and whether they have the required knowledge and the expertise.

The companies are looking to learn from other sectors. According to Monica Agrawal, managing director, financial services, Asia-Pacific, India lead board services for Korn Ferry said cross-pollination is happening across sectors and chief experience officers of companies are being encouraged to join the board of a company from a different sector so that they can learn from each other.

There are many successful CEOs and CXOs in their late 50s and 60s who are wondering what they should do next. Now they are in demand to be on the boards," Agrawal said.

The talent pool is extensive and retired regulators as well as public servants are in the fray, she added.

Professionals are now getting board-ready, and thats a welcome sign, Agrawal said. 2024 will be a watershed year when India Inc. has to make the change."
Omega Seiki Mobility (OSM), a part of the Anglian Omega Group on Sunday announced a joint venture with iM3NY, a battery technology player in the US, to bring battery cell technology in the Indian market for the first time from the subcontinent.

OSM had earlier signed a Joint Venture with Jae Sung: Korean Technology Player, for manufacturing of localized EV powertrains fuelled by Jae Sungs expertise and technology prowess. A total of 6 variants of the powertrain company have been developed from 7.5 KW to 34 KW for the entire range of OSMs electric Vehicles making Omega Seiki Mobility countrys first completely integrated electric OEM, manufacturing with its own Battery packs, Power trains, metal assemblies, Vehicles and providing mobility solutions.

technologies give us the control over the critical parts of the supply chain thus helping us become a large scale player in the industry. As cell and battery technologies are evolving rapidly, any serious OEM will need to continuously invest in them. Alliance with iM3NY ensures our access to a world class technology in batteries," Uday Narang, Founder and Chairman, Omega Seiki Mobility said.

Post the COVID-19 pandemic, the world economy faced a meltdown and its aftermath has established major challenges for the global EV supply chain. With slower shipments, global political unrest, price hikes across raw material sources, inflated demand, and strained relations with the Chinese economy, is making the task challenging for EV players.

Indias battery market accounts for a total demand of 3GWh and is slated to increase to 20 GWh in 2026 and 70 GWh in 2030. With the requirement of enhanced battery pack manufacturing capacity, India also requires quality-oriented focus and delivery. As of now, the focus of players in the segment has been local manufacturing using local materials and technology.

On its part, Omega Seiki Mobility proposes to set up two New Green Field Manufacturing facilities to manufacture EV components with an investment of 800 crore. The company already has four state-manufacturing factories for its electric vehicles in Delhi NCR and Pune.

iM3NY is a leading player in Li-ion batteries in the USA. Founded by a group of companies including C4V, Magnis Energy Technology, and others, and led by ex-Tesla employee Chaitanya Sharma, iM3NY operates a Gigafactory in upstate New York. The company targets both the ESS and EV markets.

iM3NY Li ion cells utilize a differentiated technology known as Bio mineralized Lithium Mixed Metal Phosphate (BM-LMP). This chemistry touts a number of advantages over typical LFP chemistries, from increased energy density to improved cycle life. This will translate to better-performing packs for EV applications that is also required for the Indian market.
Spadikam, a 1995 Malayalam-language action drama film written and directed by Bhadran and produced by R. Mohan, will re-release in cinemas on 9 February in 4K. The film stars Mohanlal and Thilakan with Urvashi, Spadikam George, K. P. A. C. Lalitha, Rajan P. Dev, Silk Smitha, Nedumudi Venu, Chippy, and V. K. Sreeraman in supporting roles.

Movie theatres are re-releasing old hits, and curating special screenings on birth anniversaries of popular yesteryear stars to bring audiences back to the cinemas as new films are failing to draw audiences.

Multiplex chains INOX and PVR said theyve seen positive response to the Amitabh Bachchan festival organized for the actors 80th birthday in October, Dilip Kumars 100th birth anniversary in December, as well as Rajnikanths birthday, besides a special screening of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge.

While older hits, especially of south Indian stars, would be re-released in cinemas even in pre-covid times, the strategy gained more traction recently with 50-60 halls across metros screening old films for a period of four to five days.

According to industry insiders, a dash of nostalgia helps the films grab eyeballs despite being on streaming platforms.

We have organised screenings of old hit films in the past, too, but it was done on a limited scale, so was not as viable. Since the Amitabh Bachchan festival though, the response from audiences has been overwhelming. It also has to do with the fact that we have been able to increase the number of screens and properties, as a result of which marketing has been viable, Rajendar Singh Jyala, chief programming officer, INOX Leisure had said in an earlier interview.

All these films are available on streaming platforms, but nostalgia has a big role to play in watching them on the big screen, Jyala said. INOX will continue to seek opportunities around special occasions in the lives of yesteryear stars.
The start of 2023 was meant to be Indias. The nations fast-growing economy and rapidly expanding equity markets had convinced money managers from Morgan Stanley Investment Management to State Street Global Advisors to call it a top investment destination.

Then came the $50 billion selloff in billionaire Gautam Adanis corporate empire.

Its a shock that forces Wall Street to reexamine its confidence on Indias expansion and its pro-business government, which helped the benchmark Sensex index trade last quarter at the highest in a decade versus the S&P 500. Those already-lofty valuations  combined with a scathing New York short-seller report attacking Adani Group  spotlights the contradictions within Indias runway for growth.

View Full Image Graphic: Bloomberg

India has to show its institutions are strong," said Rajeev De Mello, a global macro portfolio manager at GAMA Asset Management, who owns the nations equities as part of his overweight emerging-market position. Governance issues are a concern for all markets. But when valuations are higher than other countries, maintaining the integrity of the financial markets is critical."

Investors have been increasingly drawn in by the narrative of opportunity in Indian assets. While bonds have been slowly making their way into global benchmark indexes, a flurry of companies have rushed to sell shares, increasing the size of the nations burgeoning stock market.

Indias stocks now account for more than 14% of MSCIs emerging-market equities index, trailing only China, after it surpassed the weightings of Taiwan and South Korea last year. Morgan Stanley predicts Indias equity market is set to be the worlds third largest before the end of the decade.

But such optimism is whats led shares in the Sensex index to trade at about 21 times their forecasted earnings, a metric that shows investors are willing to pay a premium on the prospect of stronger growth. Amid such high valuations, the Sensex index is headed for a second month of losses even as broader emerging equities rally.

The 100-page report by short seller Hindenburg Research last week containing allegations of stock manipulation and accounting fraud by Adani enterprises added more fuel to selling.

Hindenburg released its report just days before the billionaires flagship firm Adani Enterprises Ltd. launched Indias biggest ever primary follow-on public offering thats seeking to raise 200 billion rupees ($2.5 billion).

The Adani Group dismissed the report as maliciously mischievous" and said its exploring legal action.

For some, including Hasnain Malik, a strategist at Tellimer in Dubai, bad behaviour by one corporate, should that prove to be case in this instance, usually does not derail confidence in the entire equity market."

Even so, the downfall of one of Indias most-sprawling businesses could be what holds the nation back as it competes against China as an investment magnet.

Cheaper alternatives

Indian stocks will be vulnerable to portfolio shifts as investors reduce their exposure to expensive assets and instead bet on Chinas economic reopening its beneficiaries, such as Taiwan and South Korea, said Jon Harrison, managing director for emerging-market macro strategy at TS Lombard in London.

Carrhae Capital LLP, whose emerging-market hedge fund beat peers last year, also prefers to bet on Chinas reopening. The manager will only seek bargains in Indian structural growth" stories if investors rush out of India to chase the China story," said Ali Akay, the firms London-based chief investment officer.

I personally do not think the structural story in India has changed much," Akay said. The increasing perception of China a strategic competitor rather than a partner has enabled India to assume the mantle of the regional bulwark against China that the West needs to build up and integrate further with."

In an environment of heightened geopolitical risk  with the increasing rivalry between the US and China and Beijings mounting pressure on Taiwan  India provides a degree of safety," said Gaurav Mallik, chief investment strategist at State Street Global Advisors. The money manager has an overweight position in India, drawn to a growing middle class that bodes well for consumption plays," he said.

Mark Mobius, who spent more than three decades at Franklin Templeton Investments, plans to put more money into India, which may have already surpassed China as the worlds most-populous nation. A young and growing workforce could boost productivity if education and infrastructure investment can keep up.

The long-term future of the market is great," said the co-founder of Mobius Capital Partners LLP, which counts India as one of its top allocations.
The overwrought selling in Adani stocks last week dragged the broader market. January 27th turned into a black Friday for the billionaire Gautam Adani-backed group's seven listed stocks, which were battered to the point majority of them froze to their lower circuits. While some of them nosedived into double-digit drops. The losses were overwhelming. Also, the 20,000 crore worth follow-on public offer (FPO) faced the heat of an amassed selloff. All because of a research report by a US-based firm accusing Adani over stock manipulation and fraud schemes. Adani's FPO alongside its actions against Hindenburg are some of the key factors that will influence its listed stocks on market bourses in the week ahead.

Last week, on Friday, the majority of Adani Group stocks hit their lower circuits, which meant that there existed multiple sellers but no buyers.

Three Adani stocks namely Adani Transmission, Adani Green Energy, and Adani Total Gas closed at 20% lower circuits each on January 27th. While Adani Power and Adani Wilmar also took a beating to get locked at 5% lower circuits each. Further, Adani Ports also struggled and tumbled by over 16% at the end of the day.

Meanwhile, Adani's flagship company, Adani Enterprises, which launched its FPO on Friday, plummeted by at least 20% before closing at 2,762.15 apiece on the BSE.

The massacre in Adani stocks led to a steep correction in Gautam Adani's net worth. Asia's richest man's wealth is to the tune of $92.7 billion as of January 29, holding a seventh rank at the Bloomberg Billionaire Index.

According to the index, Adani's net worth has dropped by $20.8 billion at the latest. However, year-to-date, Adani's wealth has dipped by $27.9 billion.

Not just that, Adani's stocks selloff also weighed down on the broader markets performance, with benchmarks Sensex and Nifty 50 diving by 2% each on Friday. By end of day, Sensex closed at 59,330.90, down by 874.16 points or 1.45%, while Nifty 50 shed 287.60 points or 1.61% to finish at 17,604.35.

Ajit Mishra, VP - Technical Research of Religare Broking said, the carnage in the Adani group stocks cascaded across the board and the banking sector faced the maximum pressure. Participants were already facing challenges due to mixed global cues and caution ahead of the Union Budget and this breakdown has further added to worries.

In the week between January 23rd to 27th, Adani Wilmar and Adani Total Gas stock has dropped by around 7% each. Adani Power's weekly drop is around 10%. Adani Enterprises shares plunged by around 20% this week. The worst hit were Adani Transmission stock tumbling by nearly 27% in the week followed by Adani Green Energy and Adani Ports equity shares which have dipped by nearly 25% and 23% respectively, on Dalal Street.

The chaos in Adani stocks comes after a New York-based investment research firm, Hindenburg Research, accused Adani of stock manipulation and fraud schemes.

Hindenburg's research report dated January 24, said, "we reveal the findings of our 2-year investigation, presenting evidence that the 17.8 trillion ($218 billion) Indian conglomerate Adani Group has engaged in a brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud scheme over the course of decades."

However, Adani's top management had denied Hindenburg's accusations, calling the research report of latter as "maliciously mischievous, unresearched report". The management has also called Hindenburg's report as principal objective of damaging Adani's 20,000 crore FPO, which is one of the biggest follow-on public offers in India. Also, Adani has given detailed clarity over the accusations by Hindenburg.

Read here: 'Myths of short seller': Adani gives point by point reply to Hindenberg's allegations

Will selloffs in Adani stocks continue this week?

As per Nirav Karkera, Research Head at Fisdom, Adani group stocks have been challenging investor sentiments through a variety of concerns. Right from a burgeoning debt structure to rich or grotesquely expensive valuations depending on the entity and valuation methodology employed, these concerns have pushed investors to the edge of their seats. However, the recent report seems to be the straw that broke the camel's back.

Adani's FPO will stay in focus as well. On the first day of the issue, Adani Enterprises recorded bidding of merely 4,70,160 equity shares against the offered size of 4,55,06,791 equity shares, as per BSE data. The price band for the FPO is set from 3,112 to 3,276 per FPO equity share for all categories of investors.

Adani has ruled out the possibilities of making changes in its FPO despite lacklustre demand on Day 1 due to a steep selloff after Hindenburg's allegations. The group has stated that Adani Enterprises will continue its FPO as per schedule and on the announced price band. Hence, there will be no change in the FPO.

Karkera explained that with the ongoing FPO priced at a premium to AEL's post-correction share prices and the group's stance to continue with the FPO schedule and pricing exudes confidence, but a reflection of the same in investor sentiment is questionable.

Apart from this, Adani's stances on Hindenburg's allegations will be keenly watched ahead. Reports have stated that a legal lawsuit is likely in the offing by Adani against the US-based research firm.

Further, Karkera added, "The initial and sharp decline appears to be majorly led by individual investors, some domestic institutions and trading entities. The bulk of ownership across most entities belonging to the group is retained by select domestic and foreign institutions and other promoter group entities. With such a steep drawdown already taken effect and the slim probability of institutional entities selling at this point, prices could move largely within the range unless further developments trigger otherwise."

Going forward, Fisdom expert believes adani stocks to remain range-bound with limited downside and a potential to surprise strongly on the upside.

Meanwhile, Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, Adani stocks are likely to continue under pressure due to the fallout from the Hindenburg report. The elevated valuations of Adani stocks are a serious concern.

Also, Manish Chowdhury, Head of Research at Stoxbox said, "with lots of noise around Adani Group shares over the last two days, it is advisable for investors to stay away from them till clarity emerges on the various controversial remarks from the US-based Hindenburg Research."

Disclaimer: The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, and not of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
Beginner investors take their first steps toward personal finance, and these investors often attempt to produce high returns at low risk. Before you make a choice, be sure you are aware of how much risk you are okay with. Financial objectives, budget, risk tolerance capacity and time horizon all have a significant influence on how to commence investing for personal finances. And when it comes to investment advice for newbies, mutual funds are frequently the most popular choice because they not only have a history of producing higher returns than other instruments, but they also enable inexperienced investors to select from a variety of funds with the added benefit of portfolio diversification.

Based on the exclusive interview with Kavitha Krishnan, Senior Analyst  Manager Research, Morningstar India, the spokesperson said Mutual funds work well for a first-time investor because they dont have to try and look at the market dynamics of how it functions. A skilled fund manager invests money in a pool of stocks that are well researched. The manager aims to generate positive returns for an investor, while minimizing risks at the same time. There are other benefits too  for example, first time investors who want to start small can choose to invest small amounts and can also go down the SIP route. This helps investors average out their returns over the long term."

The following FAQs for new mutual fund investors are based on our discussion with Kavitha Krishnan.

Which mutual fund category should one pick as a beginner? Please give suggestions as per aggressive, moderate and conservative risk appetite.

We typically suggest that first time investors tailor their portfolio with a focus on a slightly lower risk. Balanced funds can give investors a flavor of equity as well as debt, taking on the role of basic asset allocation too. So, investors dont have to think about how much equity and debt they want to hold as part of their portfolio. However, if investors choose to do their own asset allocation between equity and debt, we typically recommend a 70% exposure towards equity and 30% exposure to debt for an aggressive investor. This is typically applicable for people who have a higher risk-taking capability. For the moderate investor, we recommend that they bring down the equity level to 60% wile for a more conservative investor, they could bring it down further to 50%, thus making a corresponding increase towards debt.

Its also important that fund selection for first time investors is based on a combination of their long-term goals, their investment horizon and their risk appetite. While all these factors might seem slightly overwhelming for a new investor, I would like to highlight the availability of educational content that is quite easily accessible for a first-time investor. Most AMCs and fintech platforms make available reading material and training as part of their investor education initiative that cover the basics and make investing easy for investors. Moreover, technology has made investing easier, especially now that everything is available on digital platforms. Investors can invest, monitor, redeem and switch their investments through digital modes with ease.

What should be the ideal investment horizon for a beginner?

At Morningstar, we always recommend that anyone who wants to invest, does so over the long term. The power of compounding is something that only that patient investor can comprehend, and this is one of the most important factors to consider while investing. Often, we have witnessed that investors redeem their investments in a rush, when they see a fund underperforming; without actually evaluating the reasons for the funds underperformance. The opposite also holds true, as investors rush to invest in a fund that they see is performing well. But both of these types of investors often incur losses  investors who opted to redeem when the markets tumble most likely make mark to market losses in the process and redeemed just as the markets would have witnessed a change in the cycle.

On the other hand, investors who rush into investing in a fund that gives them blockbuster returns, often witness a neutral of a negative return simply because they joined the party a little too late. We think that timing the markets is not something that any investor can or should do, wed much rather recommend that there is a strong growth in averaging returns and compounding an investors wealth. Wile out forefathers mainly focused on wealth preservation, the current generation is also taking about wealth creation, and maintaining a strict investment discipline is essential when to come to investing.

How senior citizens can plan their retirement planning with Mutual funds? Could you pleasE suggest some funds?

The ideal asset allocation strategy for senior citizens is to focus on wealth preservation, rather than compound their wealth like the younger generation would want to do. Based on this, a large focus on debt funds is an idea avenue for them to invest in. Having said that, the requirements of senior citizens could be different, if they want to earn a consistent income from their investment, they could also opt for plans that payout dividends on a consistent basis as opposed to reinvesting them. This will give senior citizens a timely return, while still giving them the opportunity to preserve their capital.

In the mutual fund industry, these plans are known as dividend plans. Its important that the NAV and the total return of a growth option will always be higher because dividends that are reinvested compound overtime too. But a dividend payout could prove useful for senior citizens. Mutual funds also allow investors to create more flexible withdrawal plans if required and have a more personalized and diversified portfolio as compared to other financial products.

Conclusion

As with investing in individual stocks, the stock prices, the company fundamentals and the market movements matter, with mutual funds, its important that an investor picks the right fund manager. Look for a manager who has a consistent long term track record and prefer to invest in a risk-averse strategy for a first-time investor. While its important to look at the past performance of the fund, its also essential to remember that past performance is not an indicator of how a fund is likely to do in the future. When it comes to markets, its important to remember that they are cyclical in nature. Its highly likely that a fund thats been a top performer for one year can take a tumble the year after. Whats important is the managers consistent approach when it come to managing a fund and his adherence to the funds philosophy, said Kavitha Krishnan, Senior Analyst  Manager Research, Morningstar India.

Disclaimer: The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, and not of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
Apple devices have been making the buzz for saving lives of people. In a similar incident in Canada, the Apple iPhone 14s Emergency SOS via satellite feature has reportedly saved two lives stranded in the snow near McBride.

As per a report by the Times Colonist, two women returning from a trip to Alberta in Canada were struck by a highway closure. Soon they checked Google Maps to find the alternate route and decided to take a detour through the Holmes Forest Service Road.

After covering a distance of 20 kiolmeters, the women faced a dead-end as the road ended and they got stuck in thick snow with signals in their mobiles or any other means to return. Fortunately, one of the women was using an iPhone 14. She used the Emergency SOS via satellite feature and called for help activating the feature.

According to the report, RCMP and Robson Valley Search and Rescue used GPS location to find the women and planned the rescue operation accordingly. They found them, pulled their vehicle out and got them turned around and back on the way. Its kind of thing that it potentially may have saved their life," says Dwight Yochim, Senior Manager, BC Search and Rescue.

Furthermore, he expressed, If they hadnt had the Apple iPhone 14 handy, what would have happened is eventually the family or their work would have said hey, they didnt show up and so the search area would have been from wherever they were last seen to where they were supposed to be and that could have been several hundred kilometers."

In another life saving incident, a woman from Costa Mesa has claimed that her Apple Smartwatch saved her life after a medical emergency while she was pregnant.

Jess Kelly from Costa Mesa, California, has claimed that her Apple Watch has saved her life during her 37th week of pregnancy. As per Kelly, on Dec 17, she was not feeling well. It was fortunate that Kelly received a high heart rate alert on her smartwatch device. The device informed her that her heart beat was above 120 beats per minute, while inactive for more than 10 minutes.

Kelly says that she received the alert two more times after a half hour period. By the third time I thought something was going on, and maybe I should get this looked into," added Kelly.

After receiving the three alerts from Apple watch, Kelly rushed to the hospital and found out that she was in labour and losing blood due to the complications in her pregnancy. Kelly delivered a healthy baby girl and named her Shelby Marie. Shelly gives credit to her Apple Watch for saving her life.
According to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, unsuccessful efforts are being undertaken to split the country's citizens. PM Modi, at a National Cadet Corps (NCC) event on January 28 in New Delhi, exhorted the populace to stick together for the sake of the nation's development.

PM Modis comment comes as there is an ongoing controversy around a BBC documentary on Gujarat Riots 2002. His performance as the chief minister during the 2002 riots is criticised in the documentary.

Links to the documentary "India: The Modi Question" were ordered to be blocked by the Center on Twitter and YouTube. The contentious documentary, which the Central government rejected as "propaganda" and a "reflection of a colonial mindset," was attempted to be screened by students at numerous campuses, including Delhi University, TISS Mumbai, and the Opposition parties in some places.

Also Read: PM Modi's BBC documentary, Kashmir Files screened at Hyderabad university campus

The BBC should be shut down for its documentary on Prime Minister Modi, claim the Hindu Sena that posted notices outside the BBC office on Kasturba Gandhi Marg in New Delhi. The organisation has charged the BBC with participating in a global plot to damage India's reputation and that of Modi.

Many excuses and polarising topics are being raised in order to prevent India from progressing and from following its motto, "Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat", said PM Modi while pointing out that such people would still fail even after tens of thousands of such attempts. He asserted that the only way to lead the nation to new heights in the world is via togetherness as a nation.

Also Read: Jamia: Classes get suspended after students try to screen Modis BBC documentary

The mantra of ekta is our medicine against these attempts," PM Modi added. According to him, India's citizens must make sure that there are no such obstacles on the way to prosperity. We have to live for our country and witness its success. Thats the minimum we can do," he said.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Sounak Mukhopadhyay Sounak Mukhopadhyay, who also goes by the name Sounak Mukherjee, has been producing digital news since 2012. He's worked for the International Business Times, The Inquisitr, and Moneycontrol in the past. He's also contributed to Free Press Journal and TheRichest with feature articles. He covers news for a wide range of subjects including business, finance, economy, politics and social media. Before working with digital news publications, he worked as a freelance content writer. Read more from this author
An Air India Express flight from Sharjah encountered what seemed to be a hydraulic malfunction during landing on Sunday evening, according to a Cochin International Airport spokesperson, and a full emergency was momentarily declared.

An Air India Express spokeswoman confirmed that all 183 passengers and six crew members on board aircraft IX 412 were safe.

Air India Express flight from Sharjah makes emergency landing at Cochin International Airport following suspected hydraulic failure: Airport spokesperson  Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) January 29, 2023

According to the CIAL, a major emergency was declared at the international airport at 8:04 PM, however it stated that no flights were diverted or a runway was blocked.

At 8.36 p.m., the emergency was called off, and air operations were deemed to be normal, according to the CIAL.

Later in a statement, a representative for Air India Express claimed that the landing was routine and occurred at the planned time of arrival (8.34 PM), and that the pilot made no urgent or emergency calls to Air Traffic Control (ATC).

The statement further confirmed that there was no emergency landing on the Sharjah-Kochi route.

He said that the pilot had alerted the ATC about a change in the hydraulic pressure system after noticing it.

The representative for Air India Express added that after a smooth landing in Kochi, the flight system was also examined, but no anomalies were found.

(With inputs from PTI)
A view shows a tree smashed by shell fragments during a Russian military strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Chasiv Yar, Donetsk region, Ukraine Jan. 28. Reuters-Yonhap



Ukraine and its Western allies are engaged in ''fast-track'' talks on the possibility of equipping the invaded country with long-range missiles and military aircraft, a top Ukrainian presidential aide said Saturday.



Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Ukraine's supporters in the West ''understand how the war is developing'' and the need to supply planes capable of providing cover for the armored fighting vehicles that the United States and Germany pledged at the beginning of the month.



However, in remarks to online video channel Freedom, Podolyak said that some of Ukraine's Western partners maintain a ''conservative'' attitude to arms deliveries, ''due to fear of changes in the international architecture.'' Russia and North Korea have accused the West of prolonging and taking a direct role in the war by sending Kyiv increasingly sophisticated weapons.



''We need to work with this. We must show (our partners) the real picture of this war,'' Podolyak said, without naming specific countries. ''We must speak reasonably and tell them, for example, 'This and this will reduce fatalities, this will reduce the burden on infrastructure. This will reduce security threats to the European continent, this will keep the war localized.' And we are doing it.''



The U.S. and Germany agreed Wednesday to share advanced tanks with Ukraine along with the Bradley and Marder vehicles promised earlier, a decision that led to criticism not only from the Kremlin but from the prime minister of NATO and European Union member Hungary.



Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban asserted Friday that Western countries providing weapons and money to assist Ukraine in its war with Russia have ''drifted'' into becoming active participants in the conflict. Orban has refused to send weapons to neighboring Ukraine and sought to block EU funds earmarked for military aid.



The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said it would summon Hungary's ambassador to complain about Orban's remarks. A ministry spokesperson, Oleg Nikolenko, said Orban told reporters that Ukraine was ''a no-man's land'' and compared it to Afghanistan.



''Such statements are completely unacceptable. Budapest continues on its course to deliberately destroy Ukrainian-Hungarian relations,'' Nikolenko said in a Facebook post.



President Joe Biden's announcement that the U.S. would send 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine reversed months of arguments by Washington that they were too difficult for Ukrainian troops to operate and maintain.



The U.S. decision persuaded German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who had expressed concern about a unilateral action drawing Russia's wrath, to agree to send 14 Leopard 2 tanks from Germany's stocks and to allow European countries with tanks to send some of theirs.





The U.S. are to send some 31 of their M1 Abrams tanks, above, to the Ukraine, U.S. President Biden announced on Jan. 25 EPA-Yonhap




Today marks the 75th anniversary of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhis death. After shooting Gandhi on 30 January 1948, Nathuram Godse must have assumed that he had removed the Mahatmas impact. He lacked the vision to distinguish between a mans physical presence and that of his thoughts. Godse had no idea that Gandhis thoughts could not be killed.

There has been much discussion over what factors contributed to Gandhis stature as a mahatma". I wont delve into the specifics, but it is clear that Bapus thoughts are as relevant today as they were in his day. The more he is opposed, the more powerful he becomes. If you dont trust me, check the last three years record. Every Gandhi Jayanti, an attempt is made to trend" Godse instead of Gandhi, but this endeavour is proving futile.

We are living in a period when efforts are being made to establish new values and ideological effigies in place of global personalities. Can effigies enter the mainstream of history? Godse is recognized solely for being the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi, which he proudly referred to as vadh". On the contrary, the Mahatma changed the course of human history numerous times. For the sake of peace, the world must continue to heed his advice.

Consider the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Both countries have been at war for the last eleven months, during which we have witnessed many incidents that put the twenty-first century to shame. Russia and Ukraine are significant foodgrain and edible oil exporters. The war negatively impacted their yield, production and export. If 2022 was a year of hunger, 2023 is likely to be a year of famine. If the world is to be saved from famine, this war must end.

What would Gandhi have done in this situation, were he been alive?

Let us return to August 1939. Clouds of war were gathering in Europe at the time. Hitler was set to attack Poland. Countries such as the UK and France wanted to stop him, but their confidence was undermined. In such circumstances, Gandhi sent a letter to Hitler. He clearly said: It is quite clear that you are today the one person in the world who can prevent a war which may reduce humanity to the savage state. Must you pay that price for an object however worthy it may appear to you to be? Will you listen to the appeal of one who has deliberately shunned the method of war not without considerable success? Anyway I anticipate your forgiveness, if I have erred in writing to you."

Gandhi also advised the British: I would like you to lay down the arms you have as being useless for saving you or humanity. You will invite Herr Hitler and Signor Mussolini to take what they want of the countries you call your possessions. Let them take possession of your beautiful island, with your many beautiful buildings. You will give all these but neither your souls, nor your minds. If these gentlemen choose to occupy your homes, you will vacate them. If they do not give you free passage out, you will allow yourself man, woman and child, to be slaughtered, but you will refuse to owe allegiance to them."

What was Gandhis status at the time he wrote these letters? He was only an activist of a slave country, but his moral might was boundless. You may wonder what the benefit of this correspondence was. The war could not be stopped, but his sentiments made international headlines. Why? Because every person seeking peace was looking to stop the devastating war. If Gandhi were alive today and had access to social media, just imagine how successful his efforts would have been.

This is why Gandhi has been remembered at least 300 times in the last three years. During the covid era, when the most powerful heads of state in the world locked the doors to their homes, seized control of their nations borders, used their financial clout for the safety of their citizens only, and allowed more than two-third of the population to perish, people felt the need for someone like Gandhi with such a broad appeal.

Global personalities can easily accomplish what dwarf heads of state cannot. If you dont believe me, examine his role when the South African plague epidemic broke out in 1904. He was then just a social worker, but established an example of service and dedication. He devotes two chapters to black death" in his memoir. He was then viewed as a thinker, a volunteer, and as an activist" who awakened those in positions of power.

The greatest tragedy of our fast-paced world is that we no longer have people like Gandhi.

Shashi Shekhar is editor-in-chief, Hindustan. Views are personal.
Haryana Police raided Casa Danza nightclub in Gurugram on January 28 after officials had received information on the use of illegal drugs, said Udyog Vihar ACP Manoj Kumar. Huge amounts of drugs were seized from the club, including heroin, cocaine, MDMA, ganja, charas and other questionable ones. Blood samples of 288 people were sent for testing, Kumar said.

Following the police raid at a pub bar in Gurugram on the suspicion of drug use, a FIR was filed against as many as 288 individuals. The police found 10.67 grams of hashish, 6.30 grams of marijuana cigarettes, 6.30 grams of heroin, 6.30 grams of cocaine, 3.67 grams of MDMA, and some tablets, according to ACP Udyog Vihar. The police added that they were expecting the blood sample reports for more information.

Also Read: Gurugram: Fire at slum in Sector-49 guts 200 shanties

A case has also been filed against the club's three owners and three managers, according to the authorities. The police claimed that for the previous two months, they had been keeping an eye on what was happening in the beer bar Casa Danza. The intelligence team made many trips to the pub bar and reported their findings to the crime branch. ACP Crime, ACP Udyog Vihar, ACP East and four Crime Branch teams conducted the raid based on the report.

In August 2022, a bouncer at Casa Danza was accused of sexually assaulting a girl and her friend, which led to uproar. Seven club employeesincluding the property managerwere detained by the Gurugram Police after assaulting a group of patrons. While the police had already booked 10 people in connection with the fight, one of the club's employees was also detained for inappropriately touching a woman.

Also Read: Gurugram man thrashes woman for honking during traffic jam

A video of the altercation, captured by a bystander, shows a group of men punching one to three people while a woman begs them to stop. Additionally, according to the complainant, the bouncers stole a smartwatch and about 12,000 in cash.

(With agency inputs)
New Delhi: A roundtable, Reaching Out- India and the SCO" was organized along the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Film Festival.

The aim of the session was to facilitate engagement between the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Indian industry stakeholders, filmmakers and jury members of the film festival to explore possible avenues of collaboration between India and the SCO countries.

During the session, SCO member nations were urged to promote talent exchange and explore co-production agreements with India and avail benefits of the existing Indian film incentives through joint ventures," the I&B Ministry said.

As there are relatively strong film industries in India and the participating countries, there is a lot of potential to promote India as a destination for film industries of other nations.

India currently has bilateral audio-visual co-production agreements with China and Russia. There is active consideration for co-production agreements with member countries such as Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, and dialogue states such as Turkey. There is also close co-operation between the film industries of India, Nepal and Sri Lanka although there are no bilateral agreements. Over the past six years there has been one Indo-Chinese co-production and one Indo-Russian co-production," the ministry added.

A number of films for the SCO countries such as China (5), Iran (2), Kazakhstan (1), Nepal (1), Russia (2), Sri Lanka (1) and Turkey (1) have been granted permission to shoot in India. The objective of the roundtable was to share experiences and provide insights and suggestions for improving the overall ecosystem and outreach in terms of incentives for foreign production and official co-productions announced by the Government of India.

The roundtable was organized under the aegis of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the National Film Development Corporation, and the Film Facilitation Office, Invest India. The session was chaired by Neerja Sekhar, Additional Secretary, I&B Ministry.
Centre is likely to include HPV vaccine in the national immunisation programme for girls aged nine to 14 years in June, sources close to the government informed adding that a global tender for the same is likely to be floated in April. HPV vaccine are critical to stop the spread of cervical cancer.

"The ministry is likely to float in April a global tender for 16.02 crore doses of HPV vaccine, which will be supplied by 2026. Apart from domestic manufacturer Serum Institute of India, global vaccine manufacturer Merck is also likely to participate in the tender," an official source said, as quoted by news agency PTI.

Apparently, only last week, SII launched the made-in-India HPV vaccine "CERVAVAC". The vaccine was launched by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in presence of the SII CEO Adar Poonawalla and Prakash Kumar Singh, its Director-Government and Regulatory Affairs.

In July last year, India's drug regulator granted market authorization to Serum Institute of India's indigenously developed HPV vaccine. It has also been cleared by government advisory panel National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) for use in the public health programme.

Currently, India is completely dependent on foreign manufacturers for HPV vaccines. The vaccines are extremely expensive as each dose is priced at more than 4,000. In contrast, the "CERVAVAC" vaccine would cost 200 to 400, Poonawalla had said in September 2022

India, which is home to about 16 % of the world's women, accounts for about a quarter of all cervical cancer incidences and nearly a third of global cervical cancer deaths. Indian women face a 1.6% lifetime cumulative risk of developing cervical cancer and a 1% cumulative death risk from cervical cancer, according to officials.

Recent estimates state that every year almost 80,000 women develop cervical cancer and 35,000 die in India due to it. On what prevented India from introducing the HPV vaccine till now, NTAGI chief Dr N K Arora had said that the vaccine supply has been a limiting factor globally.

Fortunately, over the last five years, the global supply of the HPV vaccine has been improving gradually.

(With inputs from agencies)
New Delhi: India has reported 109 new covid cases and two deaths in the last 24 hours, as per the data released by the union health ministry Sunday. The total number of covid cases, since the onset of covid pandemic, have reached about 4.47 crore, with 530,740 covid-related deaths so far.

At present, Karnataka has 181 active cases, while Kerala has 1,184 active cases, Maharashtra 80 active cases, Odisha 82 cases, Rajasthan 4 cases, Tamil Nadu has 49 active cases, Uttar Pradesh 10 and West Bengal has 54 active cases.

The country has conducted over 1,48,464 tests in the last 24 hours taking the total trajectory of covid testing to 91.53 crore so far.

Under the covid vaccination drive, more than 220.4 crore vaccine doses have been administered to the people across the country. In the last 24 hours, around 2,11,833 vaccine doses were administered.

Meanwhile, INSACOG under the supervision of Department of Biotechnology (DBT) is keeping a close watch on the covid situation in the country and continue to do constant genome sequencing to track any new variant.

Besides, surveillance at the hospital level is also going on to monitor lnfluenza-like illness (lLl) & SARI cases.

Government officials have warned that the next 40 days would be crucial in determining the possibility of a resurgence of covid-19 cases in India as they urged people to follow safety protocols and complete their vaccination doses.

With large number of covid cases being reported in China and other countries, the central government has tightened covid preparedness measures urging people to take their vaccination doses and follow covid-19 preventive measures.

The government is also planning to mandate RT-PCR testing for people returning from China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Thailand and South Korea, the officials said.

The government may make mandatory filling up of Air Suvidha forms for travellers from six countries under which 72-hour prior RT-PCR testing would be made compulsory from the coming week.
New Delhi: The Union budget, which lays out a roadmap for Indias fiscal and financial reforms, is a widely anticipated event every year. Over the years, various governments have tried to strike a balance between economic growth and social equality through allocation of the resources in their budgets. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has a similar task cut out for her in the upcoming budget. Mint brings you interesting data points about budgets over the decades.

Parting Pains

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The economic burden of the massive humanitarian crisis created by the partition was evident in the first budget of independent India presented by R.K. Shanmukham Chetty in November 1947. The defence forces played a pivotal role in the rehabilitation of refugees. The country was also in the middle of a military conflict with Pakistan. As a result, a staggering 47% of the total expenditure was earmarked for defence. The fiscal deficit was as much as 21% of the expenditure.

FM Score

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Twenty-six finance ministers have presented 89 Union budgets so far since Independence. Morarji Desai presented 10 of them, the most among all. P. Chidambaram comes next, with nine budgets, followed by Pranab Mukherjee with seven, spanning across the early 1980s and 2009 to 2012. The current finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, is set to present her 5th budget on Wednesday, which will put her at joint seventh in the list. Four finance ministers went on to become prime ministers.

Tiny Pockets

67%: This is the share of ministries traditionally having a minuscule allocation in the overall budget spent. In the last 14 years, 37 ministries and departments had a share of less than 1% in the Centres expenditure. This includes the ministry of social justice and empowerment and the department of atomic energy. On the other side, an average of over 50% of the outlays over a decade have gone to only two ministries. Finance and defence made up 39% and 13% in Budget 2022.

Not So Women-friendly

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With an aim to track the budgetary allocations through a gender lens, gender budgeting was first introduced in 2005-06. Historically, around 5% of the funds were spent on schemes benefiting women, and the share stood at nearly 4% last year. The schemes are of two kinds: those that are fully women-specific (Part A) and those partially addressing womens developmental needs (Part B). Part B schemes dominate the gender budget with an 84% share in 2022-23.

Taxing Gains

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The tax receipts of the central government have stayed at nearly 7% of GDP since FY10, after crossing 8% of GDP for a few years. The share of non-tax revenues has also dropped since then, mostly remaining below 2% and now just over 1%. For FY23, the government had budgeted a 9.6% increase in both gross and net tax revenues over the revised estimates for FY22, and the collections are expected to overshoot the estimates. The non-tax revenues were budgeted to decline 14%.

Getting it Right

6:4: The annual financial statement also comes up with economic growth forecasts each year. Over the past decade, the budget has overestimated the nominal GDP on six occasions while it underestimated the economic output in the other four years. In the pandemic-hit 2020-21, the government had pegged a nominal GDP of 224.9 trillion, but the final figure came to be 198 trillion, 12% lower due to the lockdown.

Thumbs Down

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Historical patterns suggest that equities have traded weakly on budget day. In the past 20 budgets, including both the interim and the full-year budget in election years, the Sensex has given a thumbs down on 11 occasions, while it advanced nine other times, with the highest gain of 5% in 2021. The broader markets typically follow suit as only few among the key sectoral indices tend to end in green on the D-day. However, auto, FMCG and banks cheered in over 55% instances.

Budget Curiosity

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This annual financial exercise which sets the tone for policy and financial reforms every year derives its name from the French word bougette, which means a leather briefcase. The much-hyped event generates a lot of interest as Indians watch out for tax reliefs and other major announcements. Google search interest for the word budget" last year was the highest in major state economies such as Maharashtra and Karnataka, and Delhi.
An Air Asia flight from Lucknow to Kolkata made an emergency landing at the Lucknow Airport here on Sunday due to an incident of a bird hit, as reported by news agency ANI.

"Air Asia flight return back to the Lucknow airport after aircraft suffered bird hit, aircraft was landed safely and all passengers are also safe," an airport official told ANI.

An Airbus aircraft of Air Aisa with around 170 passengers was deployed for the Kolkata operation, all of whom are safe, Air Asia said.

"Flight i5-319, scheduled to operate from Lucknow to Kolkata, encountered a bird-strike during the take-off roll. As a result, the aircraft returned to bay and was grounded for detailed inspection. Impacted guests were attended to and we are making all efforts to mitigate the impact on the integrity of other scheduled operations," said an Air Asia statement.

"We apologise for the inconvenience caused due to circumstances beyond our control," it said

Earlier on 18 January, a Vistara flight from Singapore to Mumbai returned to Changi Airport after a technical snag was detected in one of the engines of the Airbus A321 aircraft, an airlines official said.

As a precautionary step, the pilots decided to turn back and landed the aircraft safely at Changi Airport," The Straits Times newspaper quoted a Vistara spokesman as saying.

He said a technical snag was detected in one of the engines of the aircraft shortly after take-off from here, the spokesman said, adding that the airline was working with partner airlines to offer alternative flight options to the affected passengers.

According to the Flightradar website, flight UK106 departed Singapore at about 11 am (local time).

It was then seen circling over Malaysia before returning to the airport.

Most of the passengers have been transferred to other flights scheduled to take off on the same day, the Singapore daily cited the spokesman as saying.

Although Vistara did not say how many passengers were on board, its website states that the Airbus A321 in its fleet can seat 188 passengers.
NEW DELHI : In a bid to counter Chinas dominance in the region and ensure energy security, India plans liquefied natural gas (LNG) pipeline connectivity with Myanmar and Bangladesh, said two people aware of the development.

The proposal for a gas pipeline connecting the three countries was initially discussed in 2005-06.

The talks got scuttled after Myanmar decided to go ahead with a pipeline to China.

However, guided by its Act East policy, and the recent volatility in energy markets due to the Ukraine war, India plans to renew the efforts for interconnectivity of the gas grids of the three nations.

Pipeline connectivity with the eastern neighbours is being looked at as both the countries have large gas reserves and they should be willing to sell their produce," said one of the two officials.

The plans is to connect the pipeline with the North East Natural Gas Pipeline Grid operated by the Indradhanush Gas Grid Limited (IGGL) in Tripura, said the official.

IGGL is a joint venture of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL), ONGC, GAIL, Oil India Ltd (OIL) and NRL.

Estimates show that as of 2021, Myanmars reserves of natural gas stood at 22.5 trillion cubic feet.

China and Thailand are among the major importers of LNG from Myanmar. Public sector major ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) and GAIL also own 17% and 8.5% stakes respectively, in the A1 and A3 blocks in the country.

However, in 2013, China prevailed over the Myanmar government to sell it gas through a bilateral pipeline, after which the plan for a pipeline between India and Myanmar was shelved.

While Bangladesh has seen a decline in its reserves, and has its own high requirements for power generation, the government in Dhaka is making efforts to increase its reserves, taking up more exploration activities across the country. Last year, Bangladesh discovered a new gas field with the capacity to produce 20 million cubic feet of gas per day (MMCFD) at the Koilastila Gas field.

Queries sent to the ministries of petroleum, external affairs, the Bangladesh High Commission in Delhi and the embassy of Myanmar remained unanswered till press time.

Under the Hydrocarbon Vision 2030 for the North-east India, the government also plans to make the North-east a hub of oil and gas transit.

If this pipeline comes up, it would give the plan a boost.

India has been looking at increasing its domestic hydrocarbon production and also expanding its sources of energy imports. India imports around 85% of its total energy requirement.

The Russia-Ukraine war and its impact on the energy market have accelerated Indias efforts to secure more and more sources of LNG and oil supplies. The efforts come in the backdrop of Russian company Gazproms former subsidiary, Gazprom Marketing and Trading Singapore (GMTS) defaulting on its long-term contract for the supply of LNG to GAIL since May last year. Attempts to secure more long-term contracts and new suppliers of LNG are being after spot purchases of LNG crossed the $40 per million British thermal units (mBtu) mark in September.

On 26 January, Mint reported that state-run IOCL and GAIL are in talks with the UAEs Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) for a long-term LNG supply contract.

India is already making efforts to establish cooperation in the region to meet mutual energy requirements and in a way keep a check on Chinas dominance. The 130-kilometre India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline which would connect Siliguri in West Bengal and Parbatipur in Dinajpur district of Bangladesh and help India export petroleum products to the eastern neighbour is also underway and is expected to be commissioned soon.
NEW DELHI : The Union government has asked all medical colleges and post-graduate medical institutions in the country to sign up as adverse drug reaction monitoring centres (AMCs), as it tries to promote patient safety and protect Indias image as the worlds pharmacy.

The direction, made by the National Medical Commission (NMC) under the health ministry, comes after the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) made a request in this respect. The IPC collects and analyses data, monitors adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and make suitable recommendations, which are used by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation(CDCSO) to make regulatory interventions for the safety of medicines.

All recognized medical colleges and standalone PG institutions are informed that IPC is functioning as the national co-ordination centre, pharmacovigilance programme of India (PvPI) to collect, analyze and monitor the adverse drug reactions (ADRs) from Indian population to promote patient safety and safeguard the health of patients by ensuring the benefits of use of medicines outweigh the risk associated with its use," said Dr Pulkesh Sharma, secretary, NMC.

The decision comes in the backdrop of controversy over the deaths of children in Gambia and Uzbekistan allegedly due to contaminated cough syrups. In December, Uzbekistan said 18 children died after consuming contaminated cough syrup manufactured by Indias Marion Biotech. Earlier in October, Gambia had said 69 children died due to kidney damage after consuming contaminated cough syrup made by Indias Maiden Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

The decision to sign up medical colleges was taken at IPCs 22nd governing body meeting chaired by Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan, where it was decided that all medical colleges and hospitals should enrol as AMCs with IPC, which sets the official standard for drugs produced in India.

The safety of medicines is a concern for the patients. Each medical colleges and hospitals should have ADR monitoring centres irrespective of whether they are in private or public sector. This will help medical students to understand the subject in detail while they are posted in different wards so that they can collect evidence of adverse drug reaction and it will help in establishing the culture of reporting in our country," an official aware of the matter said on the condition of anonymity.

The official said that at present, there is no concrete data on ADRs as it varies from patient to patient; however, after the onset of the covid pandemic, the reporting of ADRs has increased.

We have seen the tremendous response in the reporting culture of adverse drug reaction cases in the country particularly during the covid-19. Last year, around 1 lakh individuals case safety report were collected from Indian population across India," said the official.

Queries sent to the health ministry remained unanswered.
Odisha's Health Minister Naba Kishore Das, a confidant of the chief minister, passed away on Sunday, 29 January from bullet injuries, reported Apollo Hospital Bhubaneswar. The state health minister was shot and grievously injured when he got out of his car on Sunday, allegedly by a police officer who was captured, officials said.

The minister was airlifted from Jharsuguda to Bhubaneswar and was battling for his life at Apollo Hospitals there. The hospital authorities were quoted by news agency PTI saying, Odisha's Health and Family Welfare minister Naba Kishore Das dies of bullet injury".

The shooting took place in Brajrajnagar town around 1 pm when the minister was on his way to attend a programme in the district.

"Assistant Sub-inspector of Police (ASI) Gopal Das opened fire at the minister, who sustained bullet injuries," Brajrajnagar SDPO Gupteswar Bhoi told reporters. The accused ASI was nabbed by locals, who then handed him over to the police, he said.

Condemning the incident, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said that the crime branch has been directed to take up the investigation of the case.

I am shocked at the unfortunate incident of attack on honourable minister Naba Das. I strongly condemn the attack on him."

Initially, he was taken to the Jharsuguda district headquarters hospital, the SDPO said.

Das was airlifted to Bhubaneswar in an air ambulance and admitted to Apollo Hospital, Bhubaneswar.

Tension prevailed in Brajrajnagar in the wake of the incident, with supporters of the BJD minister questioning "security lapses".

Bhoi said that the ASI was currently being interrogated, and more details will be available after a thorough probe.

The minister, a strongman in the mining hub of Jharsuguda, had switched over to the BJD from the Congress ahead of 2019 elections. He is known to have business interests in coal mining, transportation and hospitality sectors.

Meanwhile, Gopal Das's wife Jayanati told reporters at her residence near Berhampur in Ganjam district that she heard the news about her husband firing at the minister from television channels.

Jayanati said Das suffered from mental disorder for the last seven-eight years, and was taking medicines and appeared quite normal.

She said her husband had made a video call to their daughter in the morning.

Das had no personal enmity with the minister, said Jayanati, demanding a proper investigation into the matter to find out the truth.
Israeli right-wing activists protest next to the east Jerusalem Palestinian neighborhood of Shuafat, calling for retaliation after the shooting at a synagogue in Neve Yaakov area of Jerusalem, Israel, Jan. 28. EPA-Yonhap



Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed "strong" and rapid action on Saturday following two attacks in annexed east Jerusalem carried out by Palestinians, one of which killed seven people outside a synagogue.



The attacks came after one of the deadliest Israeli army raids in the occupied West Bank in two decades, rocket fire from militants in the Gaza Strip and retaliatory Israeli air strikes.



Netanyahu who returned to power in December after just 14 months in opposition has for decades branded himself as the leader best suited to keep Israel safe and will be tested by the deadliest spate of violence targeting Israelis in years.



"Our response will be strong, swift and accurate," Netanyahu said ahead of a meeting of his security cabinet.



"We're not seeking an escalation but are prepared for any scenario."



The bloodshed continued on Saturday, when a 13-year-old Palestinian boy shot and wounded a 47-year-old Israeli father and his army officer son, 23, in east Jerusalem.



The Saturday morning gun attack was in Silwan, just outside the walled Old City of east Jerusalem.



The boy blamed for the attack was shot and wounded at the scene.





Emergency services work at the scene of a shooting at a synagogue in Neve Yaakov area of Jerusalem, Israel, Jan. 27. EPA-Yonhap



Anger growing



On Friday, a 21-year-old Palestinian killed seven people outside am east Jerusalem synagogue.



Police announced 42 arrests in connection with Friday's shooting, which coincided with International Holocaust Remembrance Day.



After the synagogue attack, crowds shouted "Death to Arabs" at the scene.



Palestinians held spontaneous rallies to celebrate the killings in Gaza and across the West Bank, including in Ramallah where large crowds thronged the streets chanting and waving Palestinian flags.



Israeli police have renewed a call for people with licences to carry guns, while extreme-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said more people should get permits to bear arms.



"When civilians have guns, they can defend themselves," he told reporters outside a Jerusalem hospital on Saturday.



The army has also announced it is reinforcing troop numbers in the West Bank.



Speaking ahead of the Saturday night cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said he would present further measures "to combat terror", including denying national insurance payments to "terror-supporting families".



The Israeli premier also renewed his appeal against vigilantes and acts of revenge.



"I call again on all Israelis  don't take the law into your hands," he said. "We have a sovereign state with an army, a government and excellent security forces."





Mourners attend the funeral of Israeli couple Eli Mizrahi and his wife, Natalie, victims of a shooting attack Friday in east Jerusalem, at the cemetery in Beit Shemesh, Israel, early Sunday, Jan. 29. AP-Yonhap
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the first Mann Ki Baat of the year 2023 today. The 97th edition of Mann Ki Baat, a monthly radio programme of the Prime Minister, will be aired at 11 am on Sunday.

Yesterday, PM Modi addressed the annual 'NCC PM' rally at the Cariappa Parade Ground, Delhi.

During the event, the prime minister cautioned against attempts to sow differences and create divisions in the country and asserted that such efforts will not succeed.

Modi said the mantra of unity was the only way for India to achieve grandeur.

The prime minister said that the entire world was looking towards India because of the youth of the country. Modi said his government had unleashed digital, start-up and innovation revolutions which are benefiting the youth.

"This is the time of new opportunities for the youth of India. Everywhere it is evident that India's time has arrived," he said.

At the same time, the prime minister urged caution against attempts to divide the country.

"Desh ko todne ke kai bahane dhoonde jaate hein. Bhaanti, bhaanti ki baatein nikaal kar, Maa Bharti ki santaano ke beech main doodh mein daraar karne ki koshishe ho rahi hein (Several pretexts are being raised to break the country. Several issues are raked up to create divisions among the children of Mother India)," the prime minister said.

The prime minister's remarks came against the backdrop of the raging controversy over a BBC documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots that has been banned in India.

Modi lauded the NCC cadets who participated in the Republic Day celebration and said the priority for the country would always be the young people who are brimming with energy and enthusiasm.

He said the youngsters have immense opportunities as his government was encouraging private participation in space and defence sectors where start-ups were making huge strides.

He highlighted the reforms in the defence sector, saying assault rifles that were imported earlier were now being manufactured within the country.

The prime minister said fast-paced border infrastructure work was taking place and it would open a new world of opportunities and possibilities for the youth.

Modi said it was also a time of great possibilities for the daughters of the country.

Earlier, the prime minister released a special Day Cover and a commemorative specially minted coin of 75 denomination, commemorating 75 years of NCC.

(With PTI inputs)
Puducherry Administration has imposed Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure(CrPC) in areas around the hotels and accommodation centres where delegates for the upcoming G20 event will stay. A G20 summit will be held in the Union Territory on January 30 and 31.

As per the district administration, the prohibitory order will stay in effect from midnight of January 29 till February 1. A notice from the administration states that if more than four people congregate together or are suspected persons in areas between Laspettai Airport via Hotel Accord to Chinna Veerabattinam they will be arrested.

The order will be applicable near (1) Hotel The Residency Twoers, Anna Salai (2) Hotel Radisson, Chinna Veerampattinam (3) Hotel Accord, Rajiv Gandhi Square (4) Suganya Convention Centre, 100 Feet Road (5) Puducherry Airport, Lawspet and (6) en-route to meeting places.

"This order does not restrict any usual public movement/lawful gatherings," a statement from the District Magistrate read

"Any gathering in the form of demonstration, protests or agitations at the above locations shall be considered as unlawful assembly and legal action under section 183 of tor Indian Penal Code 1860 and other relevant provisions of law shall be initiated against the violators" the statement further read

However, the order will not impact the movement of tourists in the UT and a case has also been registered against a person claiming on social media that there would be a ban on the movement of tourists.

The G20 conference will be held in a private convention centre and would discuss on science and technology and sustainable development. Around 75 delegates from different countries are expected to participate. The delegates will also visit the Auroville International township on January 31 in the neighbouring Tamilnadu limits.

India holds the presidency of G20 from December 1, 2022, to November 30, 2023. As part of its presidency, the country will host over 200 meetings in over 50 cities across 32 different workstreams. The final New Delhi Summit will see 43 Heads of Delegations participating in September next year.

The G20, or Group of 20, is an intergovernmental forum of the world's major developed and developing economies.

(With inputs from Agencies)
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday unfurled the national flag at Kashmir's Lal Chowk during Bharat Jodo Yatra. The Congress party took to Twitter and shared the video of the minister unfurling the flag at Srinagar's Lal Chowk.

The Congress leader drove to the Pradesh Congress Committee headquarters on Maulana Azad Road before heading to the clock tower, locally known as 'Ghanta Ghar,' to unfurl the national flag.

Gandhi was accompanied by his sister and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and party leaders from Jammu and Kashmir for the flag hoisting.

The whole area around Lal Chowk was sealed off and a multi-layer security ring was deployed around the city centre.

Rahul Gandhi resumed the final lap of the Bharat Jodo Yatra today from Srinagar's Pathanchowk. The yatra began at 10:45 am in his white trademark t-shirt.

After Lal Chowk, the yatra will travel to Nehru Park in the Boulevard area of the city, marking an end to the 4,080-km walkathon, which started from Kanyakumari on September 7 and traversed 75 districts across the country.

On Monday, Gandhi will unfurl the tricolour at the party headquarters on the M A Road here, following which a public rally will be held at the SK stadium, for which 23 opposition political parties have been invited.

The yatra which started from Kanyakumari on September 7 reached Pantha Chowk on the outskirts of Srinagar on Saturday.

With Indias national election less than 15 months away, Gandhi is trying to divert attention from Modi, who is angling for a third consecutive term. By stopping in the smallest and most remote of villages, Gandhi has sold himself as one among the masses, and as a leader capable of counteracting what government critics see as the BJPs efforts to push Hindu majoritarian views in a secular nation.

We will keep on opening shops of love in the bazaar of hate," Gandhi said at a press conference in the northern town of Hoshiarpur in Punjab. The aim of the march is to stand against violence, unemployment, price rises, and income inequality."

But some political observers are still doubtful that Gandhis walk, which ends Monday in the city of Srinagar, will do much to dent the BJPs dominance on the national stage -- unless the Congress Party figures out a way to widen its base. More than a third of respondents in a recent survey said the march created a buzz, but wouldnt change Indias current political hierarchy.

Modis approval rating consistently hovers around 60% and party coffers are full. The BJPs income for 2021 topped the combined wealth of the next seven largest national parties. The Congress Party holds just 52 of 543 seats in Lok Sabha while that of the BJP stands at 303.
An official statement mentioned that in a meeting with his cabinet on Saturday, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath advised that the ministers should visit the districts under their charge regularly.

Azamgarh and Ayodhya districts have been assigned to Agriculture Minister Surya Pratap Shahi. Aligarh and Etawah have been assigned to Minister for Sugarcane Development Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary. Jaiveer Singh, the minister of tourism and culture, has been given responsibility for Varanasi and Bareilly. Arun Kumar Saxena, the minister of the environment and the forest, has been given the Bulandshahr district. They will be in charge of these districts for a whole year.

According to Adityanath, a message of hope was conveyed to the populace through the circle tours by the group of ministers in the spirit of "Sarkar Aap Ke Dwaar" following the establishment of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state.

During their tours to the districts, the ministers were also told to speak with the populace directly.

The chief minister stated that in addition to law and order, factors pertaining to women's safety, police patrols, child sexual abuse, business concerns, action against gangsters, traffic management, efforts for revenue collection, etc. should be considered during these visits.

He stated that the concerned minister should regularly assess the situation if there is a district with a lack of aspirational growth.

"Today, the entire country is celebrating the Millet Year under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi," Adityanath said.

He also mentioned that the chief minister's residence was hosting a banquet on Saturday featuring dishes made with coarse grains. Similar dinners should be hosted by all ministers for local public figures and intellectuals, according to Adityanath, who also emphasised the need to raise awareness of the value of millets.

He announced that the Global Investors Summit will take place from 10 to 12 February and all the districts of the state will be connected with the main function.

"This will be the first time that investments will be made in all the 75 districts of the state simultaneously. The doors to immense possibilities will open for all the districts," the chief minister said.

(With inputs from PTI)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to make an official visit to India in the first week of March, according to sources familiar with the matter. The purpose of the visit is being finalized but is believed to be a prelude to President Joe Biden's meeting with the leaders of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD).

The visit by Blinken is seen as an important step in strengthening the US-India relationship, as the two countries discuss a wide range of bilateral and regional issues.

"Secretary Blinken will be meeting his Indian counterpart and other officials to lay the groundwork for the upcoming Quad leaders summit in May 2023," the source added.

The upcoming annual leaders' summit of the Quad member countries - India, Australia, Japan, and the US - will take place in Sydney. It will be the third such summit and will be attended by all four leaders - President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. This gathering will serve to strengthen the cooperation between the Quad nations.

The last summit was held in Tokyo in May 2022.

During his visit to India, Blinken will participate in the Raisina Dialogue, a prominent international conference. The event, which takes place from March 2-4, is hosted annually by the Observer Research Foundation and the Ministry of External Affairs of India.

The conference focuses on topics related to geopolitics and geo-economics and provides a platform for international leaders to discuss and address pressing global issues. As a key speaker, Secretary Blinken is expected to bring a valuable perspective to the dialogue.

Prior to his visit to India, Secretary Blinken and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had the opportunity to meet during the ASEAN-India summit in Cambodia last November. During their meeting, they discussed a range of important topics, including the conflict in Ukraine, the Indo-Pacific region, and bilateral ties between India and the United States.

Although no official announcements have been made as of yet, it is anticipated that the US Secretary would visit China in early February to resume conversations regarding one of America's most important and challenging relationships.

(With inputs from ANI)
Drones attacked a convoy of trucks in eastern Syria Sunday night shortly after it crossed into the country from Iraq, Syrian opposition activists and a pro-government radio station said. There was no immediate word on casualties.

The strike comes amid heightening tension between Iran and its rivals in the region.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack on the convoy in the Syrian border region of Boukamal, which is a stronghold of Iran-backed militias.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said the drones appear to have been from the U.S.-led coalition, adding that they targeted six refrigerated trucks. The group said there were casualties and ambulances rushed to the area.

Another activist said the strike hit a convoy of trucks of Iran-backed militiamen. Omar Abu Layla, a Europe-based activist from Deir el-Zour who runs a group that monitors developments, tweeted that there was no immediate word on casualties.

The pro-government Sham FM radio station also reported that six refrigerated trucks were hit.

In Baghdad, an official with an Iran-backed militia confirmed there was a strike saying it only targeted one truck. He gave no word on casualties.

"Six refrigerated trucks were the target of strikes by unidentified aircraft in the Albu Kamal border region after they crossed into Syrian territory from Iraq," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The strikes destroyed the convoy, killing or injuring those on board, the Observatory added, without providing a specific number of casualties.

"The trucks were transporting Iranian weapons," Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.

Tehran provides military support to its ally Damascus in Syria's civil war, including through armed factions.

The Observatory, which relies on a vast network of sources in the war-torn country, said at least two similar convoys had entered Syria from Iraq this week, offloading their cargo to pro-Iran groups in the eastern town of Al-Mayadeen.

Pro-Iran militias have a major presence around the Iraq-Syria border, and are heavily deployed south and west of the Euphrates in Syria's Deir Ezzor province.

Both Albu Kamal and Al-Mayadeen are in Deir Ezzor, and Albu Kamal has seen similar strikes in the past.

The Observatory said in November that a strike in the area hit a pro-Iran militia convoy of "fuel tankers and trucks loaded with weapons", killing at least 14, though an Iraqi border guard official said there were no casualties.

A US-led coalition fighting the remnants of the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria has carried out strikes on pro-Iran fighters in Syria in the past.

Israel has also acknowledged carrying out hundreds of air and missile strikes in the country since civil war broke out in 2011, targeting both government positions and Iran-backed forces.

The attack in eastern Syria came hours after bomb-carrying drones targeted an Iranian defense factory in the central city of Isfahan causing some damage at the plant.

Last month, Israels military chief of staff strongly suggested that Israel was behind a strike on a truck convoy in Syria in November, giving a rare glimpse of Israels shadow war against Iran and its proxies across the region.

Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, who finished his military service earlier this month, said Israeli military and intelligence capabilities made it possible to strike specific targets that pose a threat.

Israeli leaders have in the past acknowledged striking hundreds of targets in Syria and elsewhere in what it says is a campaign to thwart Iranian attempts to smuggle weapons to proxies like Lebanons Hezbollah militant group or to destroy weapons caches.

The November strike hit tanker trucks carrying fuel and other trucks carrying weapons for the militias in Syrias eastern province of Deir el-Zour, the Observatory reported at the time. It said at least 14 people, most of them militiamen, were killed in the strike.

The strike, along the border with Iraq, targeted Iran-backed militiamen, Syrian opposition activists said at the time. Some of those killed in the attack were Iranian nationals, according to two paramilitary officers in Iraq.

At the time, Israel declined to comment on the strike.

Iran is a main backer of Syrian President Bashar Assad and has sent thousands of Iran-backed fighters to help Syrian troops during the countrys 11-year civil war. Both Iran and Assads government are also allied with Hezbollah, which has fought alongside Assads forces in the war.

Israel consider Iran to be its chief enemy and has warned against what it views as its hostile activities in the region.
Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan will be running for all 33 parliamentary seats in the upcoming by-elections, set to take place in March, according to the announcement made by his political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

During a press conference held on Sunday, the Vice Chairman of PTI and former Foreign Minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, revealed that this decision was made during a core committee meeting.

"Imran Khan will be PTI's sole candidate in all 33 parliamentary seats. The decision was taken in the party's core committee meeting which was presided over by Khan at Zaman Park Lahore on Sunday," Qureshi said.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) recently announced that by-elections for 33 seats of the National Assembly will take place on March 16. The by-elections have come about due to the resignation of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers after former Prime Minister Imran Khan was ousted from power in a parliamentary vote of no-confidence in April 2022.

Despite the mass resignation, Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf did not accept the resignations, stating that he needed to verify the individual resignations to ensure they were done voluntarily.

The ECP de-notified 35 PTI lawmakers last month after the speaker accepted their resignations.

After Khan announced his intention to return to the National Assembly and call for a vote of confidence in Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the speaker later accepted another 35 resignations from PTI lawmakers (and the ECP de-notified them) as well as the remaining 43 resignations.

43 lawmakers from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) still awaiting de-notification from the ECP. If the remaining lawmakers are de-notified, PTI may be virtually wiped out of the National Assembly.

In October of last year, PTI contested eight parliamentary seats, with former Prime Minister Imran Khan winning six. The federal coalition of nine parties, known as the Pakistan Democratic Movement, has stated that they may not participate in the upcoming bypolls. This could potentially pave the way for PTI to win all 33 seats without any opposition.

Of the 33 bypolls, 12 will be held in the Punjab province, 8 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 3 in Islamabad, 9 in Sindh, and 1 in Balochistan. The outcome of these elections will be crucial in determining the future political landscape of the country.

The PTI, led by Prime Minister Imran Khan, recently dissolved the provincial assemblies in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, calling for early elections. This move was intended to pressure the Shehbaz Sharif government to hold snap polls.

PTI has taken legal action against the caretaker chief minister and governor of Punjab for failing to announce the election date within the constitutional time-frame of 90 days following the dissolution of the assembly.

The party also plans to file a similar case in the high court in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa against the governor and caretaker chief minister for not setting a date for elections in the province.

(With inputs from PTI)
Israel appears to have been behind an overnight drone attack on a military factory in Iran, a U.S. official said on Sunday.

Iran claimed to have intercepted drones that struck a military industry target near the central city of Isfahan, and said there were no casualties or serious damage.

The extent of damage could not be independently ascertained. Iranian state media released footage showing a flash in the sky and emergency vehicles at the scene.

A spokesperson for the Israeli military declined to comment. Arch-foe Israel has long said it is willing to strike Iranian targets if diplomacy fails to curb Tehran's nuclear or missile programmes, but it has a policy of withholding comment on specific incidents.

Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said no U.S. military forces were involved in strikes in Iran, but declined to comment further.

That U.S. officials were pointing to an Israeli role in the attack was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, citing several unidentified sources. One U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters it did appear that Israel was involved. Several other U.S. officials declined to comment, beyond saying that Washington played no role.

Tehran did not formally ascribe blame for what Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian called a "cowardly" attack aimed at creating "insecurity" in Iran. But state TV broadcast comments by a lawmaker, Hossein Mirzaie, saying there was "strong speculation" Israel was behind it.

The attack came amid tension between Iran and the West over Tehran's nuclear activity and its supply of arms - including long-range "suicide drones" - for Russia's war in Ukraine, as well as months of anti-government demonstrations at home.

The extent of the damage could not be independently confirmed. Iran's Defence Ministry said the explosion caused only minor damage and no casualties.

"Such actions will not impact our experts' determination to progress in our peaceful nuclear work," Amirabdollahian told reporters in televised remarks.

An Israeli strike on Iran would be the first under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since he returned to office last month at the helm of the most right-wing government in Israeli history.

In Ukraine, which accuses Iran of supplying hundreds of drones to Russia to attack civilian targets in Ukrainian cities far from the front, a senior aide to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy linked the incident directly to the war there.

"Explosive night in Iran," Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted. "Did warn you."

War logic is inexorable & murderous. It bills the authors & accomplices strictly.

Panic in RF - endless mobilization, missile defense in Moscow, trenches 1000 km away, bomb shelters preparation.

Explosive night in Iran - drone & missile production, oil refineries.

 did warn you    (@Podolyak_M) January 29, 2023

Iran has acknowledged sending drones to Russia but says they were sent before Moscow's invasion of Ukraine last year. Moscow denies its forces use Iranian drones in Ukraine, although many have been shot down and recovered there.

MINOR DAMAGE

"Around 23:30 (2000 GMT) on Saturday night, an unsuccessful attack was carried out using micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs) on one of the ministry's workshop sites," the Defence Ministry said in a statement carried by state TV.

It said one drone was shot down "and the other two were caught in defence traps and blew up. It caused only minor damage to the roof of a workshop building. There were no casualties."

A military official in the region said given the location of the strike in central Iran and the size of the drones, it was likely that the attack was staged from within Iran's borders.

Separately, IRNA reported early on Sunday a massive fire at a motor oil factory in an industrial zone near the northwestern city of Tabriz. It later said oil leakage caused that blaze, citing a local official.

Iran has accused Israel in the past of planning attacks using agents inside Iranian territory. In July, Tehran said it had arrested a sabotage team made up of Kurdish militants working for Israel who planned to blow up a "sensitive" defence industry centre in Isfahan.

Several Iranian nuclear sites are located in Isfahan province, including Natanz, centrepiece of Irans uranium enrichment programme, which Iran accuses Israel of sabotaging in 2021. There have been a number of explosions and fires around Iranian military, nuclear and industrial sites in recent years.

Talks between Iran and world powers to revive a 2015 nuclear deal have stalled since September. Under the pact, abandoned by Washington in 2018 under then-President Donald Trump, Tehran agreed to limit nuclear work in return for easing of sanctions.

Iran's clerical rulers have also faced internal turmoil in recent months, with a crackdown on widespread anti-establishment demonstrations spurred by the death in custody of a woman held for allegedly violating its strict Islamic dress code.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.
In order to better the lives of many foreign-born scientists, engineers, and doctors, the Biden administration has the right to provide employment authorisation to all beneficiaries of accepted employment-based immigrant visa petitions. US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has determined it has the right to take this action, according to a leaked memo created during the Barack Obama administration.

To apply for "adjustment of status" at present, individuals with approved immigrant petitions in the employment categories may need to wait several years for an immigrant visa number to become available.

A foreign citizen cannot change occupations or launch a business while holding temporary H-1B status; they can only do so after filing for adjustment of status. Holders with H-1B visas can change employers, but not as frequently as other workers. The USCIS memo suggested a different approach.

Also Read: Planning a job in US? Check how Indian citizens can get work visa

The Biden-Harris Administration believes that one of Americas greatest strengths is our ability to attract global talent to strengthen our economy and technological competitiveness," Forbes quoted a 2022 White House statement.

Immigration lawyer Greg Siskind claimed in an interview that he got a USCIS memo in an envelope without a return address in 2015. Through a former USCIS employee, Siskind was able to verify the validity of the document. The paper suggests steps the Biden administration might take to accomplish its goal of luring and keeping highly educated foreign nationals.

The main contention of the Obama administration document is that it is acceptable to issue employment permission to the recipients of accepted employment-based immigrant visa petitions.

Also Read: Heres how US plans to issue 1 lakh visas every month to Indian applicants

Regardless of whether they have submitted their applications for adjustment of status, the memo adds that USCIS is now recommending changing its regulations to issue employment authorisation to the recipients of accepted employment-based immigrant visa petitions.

Given the Secretary of Homeland Security's considerable legal discretion to choose which categories of immigrants, beyond those for whom work authorization is required by statute, should be regarded authorised for employment in the United States, this extension would be allowable, the memo adds.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Sounak Mukhopadhyay Sounak Mukhopadhyay, who also goes by the name Sounak Mukherjee, has been producing digital news since 2012. He's worked for the International Business Times, The Inquisitr, and Moneycontrol in the past. He's also contributed to Free Press Journal and TheRichest with feature articles. He covers news for a wide range of subjects including business, finance, economy, politics and social media. Before working with digital news publications, he worked as a freelance content writer. Read more from this author
The specialized police unit that included least some of the Memphis officers involved in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols was disbanded on Saturday, the police department announced, as more protests were planned in U.S. cities a day after harrowing video of the attack was released.

In a statement, the department said it was permanently deactivating the SCORPION unit after the police chief spoke with members of Nichols' family, community leaders and other officers.

Video recordings from police body-worn cameras and a camera mounted on a utility pole showed Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, repeatedly calling "Mom!" as officers kicked, punched and struck him with a baton in his mother's neighborhood after a Jan. 7 traffic stop. He was hospitalized and died of his injuries three days later.

The release of the clips on Friday sparked protests in Memphis and elsewhere and prompted numerous cities to prepare for additional demonstrations on Saturday.

Nichols' family and officials, including President Joe Biden, have expressed outrage and sorrow but have urged protesters to remain peaceful. Demonstrations so far have been free of violence.

Five officers involved in the beating, all Black, were charged on Thursday with murder, assault, kidnapping and other charges. All have been dismissed from the department.

In Memphis on Saturday, protesters chanting, "Whose streets? Our streets!" angrily catcalled a police car that was monitoring the march, with several making obscene gestures. Some cheered loudly when they learned of the disbandment of SCORPION.

The unit, the Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in our Neighborhoods, was formed in October 2021 to concentrate on crime hot spots. Critics say such specialized teams can be prone to abusive tactics.

Taken together, the four video clips showed police pummeling Nichols even though he appeared to pose no threat. The initial traffic stop was for reckless driving, though the police chief has said the cause for the stop has not been substantiated.

Friends and family say Nichols was an affable, talented skateboarder who grew up in Sacramento, California, and moved to Memphis before the coronavirus pandemic. The father of a 4-year-old child, Nichols worked at FedEx and had recently enrolled in a photography class.

Nate Spates Jr., 42, was part of a circle of friends, including Nichols, who met up at a local Starbucks.

"He liked what he liked, and he marched to the beat of his own drum," Spates said, remembering that Nichols would go to a park called Shelby Farms to watch the sunset when he wasn't working a late shift.

Nichols' death is the latest high-profile example of police using excessive force against Black people and other minorities. The 2020 murder of George Floyd, a Black man who died after a white Minneapolis officer knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes, galvanized worldwide protests over racial injustice.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.
Protesters gather during a rally against the fatal police assault of Tyre Nichols, in Atlanta, Georgia, on Jan. 28. AFP-Yonhap



The specialized police unit that included the five Memphis officers charged with the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols was disbanded on Saturday as more protests took place in U.S. cities a day after harrowing video of the attack was released.



The police department said in a statement it was permanently deactivating the SCORPION unit after the police chief spoke with members of Nichols' family, community leaders and other officers. A police spokesperson confirmed all five officers were members of the unit.



Video recordings from police body-worn cameras and a camera mounted on a utility pole showed Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, repeatedly screaming "Mom!" as officers kicked, punched and struck him with a baton in his mother's neighborhood after a Jan. 7 traffic stop. He was hospitalized and died of his injuries three days later.



Five officers involved in the beating, all Black, were charged on Thursday with murder, assault, kidnapping and other charges. All have been dismissed from the department.



Nichols' family and officials expressed outrage and sorrow but urged protesters to remain peaceful. That request was largely heeded on Friday when scattered protests broke out in Memphis - where marchers briefly blocked an interstate highway - and elsewhere.



Cities across the United States saw renewed nonviolent demonstrations on Saturday. In Memphis, protesters chanting, "Whose streets? Our streets!" angrily catcalled a police car that was monitoring the march, with several making obscene gestures. Some cheered loudly when they learned of the disbandment of SCORPION.



Hundreds of protesters gathered in New York's Washington Square Park before marching through Manhattan, as columns of police officers walked alongside them.





People take part in a protest following the release of a video showing police officers beating Tyre Nichols, the young Black man who died three days after he was pulled over while driving during a traffic stop by Memphis police officers, in New York, U.S., Jan. 28. Reuters-Yonhap



Taken together, the four video clips released Friday showed police pummeling Nichols even though he appeared to pose no threat. The initial traffic stop was for reckless driving, though the police chief has said the cause for the stop has not been substantiated.



The SCORPION unit, short for the Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in our Neighborhoods, was formed in October 2021 to concentrate on crime hot spots. Critics say such specialized teams can be prone to abusive tactics.



Friends and family say Nichols was an affable, talented skateboarder who grew up in Sacramento, California, and moved to Memphis before the coronavirus pandemic. The father of a 4-year-old child, Nichols worked at FedEx and had recently enrolled in a photography class.



Nate Spates Jr., 42, was part of a circle of friends, including Nichols, who met up at a Starbucks in the area.



"He liked what he liked, and he marched to the beat of his own drum," Spates said, remembering that Nichols would go to a park called Shelby Farms to watch the sunset when he wasn't working a late shift.



Nichols' death is the latest high-profile instance of police using excessive force against Black people and other minorities. The 2020 murder of George Floyd, a Black man who died after a white Minneapolis officer knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes, galvanized worldwide protests over racial injustice. (Reuters)





Protesters march downtown a day after the release of video footage showing the encounter earlier this month between Tyre Nichols, 29, and five Memphis police officers which resulted in Nichols' beating and subsequent death, in Memphis, TN, Jan. 28. EPA-Yonhap




Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said for the first time Sunday that Ankara could accept Finland into NATO without its Nordic neighbour Sweden.

Erdogan's comments during a televised meeting with younger voters came days after Ankara suspended NATO accession talks with the two countries.

Its decision threatened to derail NATO's hopes of expanding the bloc to 32 countries at a summit planned for July in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius.

Finland and Sweden dropped decades of military non-alignment and applied to join the US-led defence alliance in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Turkey and Hungary remain the only members to have failed to ratify the two bids by votes in parliament.

The Hungarian legislature is expected to approve both bids in February.

But Erdogan has dug in his heels heading into a tightly contested May 14 election in which he is trying to energise his conservative and nationalist support base.

Erdogan's main complaint has been with Sweden's refusal to extradite dozens of suspects that Ankara links to outlawed Kurdish militants and a failed 2016 coup attempt.

He drew a clear distinction on Sunday between the positions taken by Sweden and Finland in the past few months.

"If necessary, we can give a different response concerning Finland. Sweden will be shocked when we give a different response for Finland," Erdogan said.

He also repeated his demand for Sweden to hand over suspects sought by Ankara.

"If you absolutely want to join NATO, you will return these terrorists to us," Erdogan said.

First option

Sweden has a bigger Kurdish diaspora than Finland and a more serious dispute with Ankara.

Both countries have been trying to break down Erdogan's resistance through months of delicate talks.

Sweden has approved a constitutional amendment that enables it to enact tougher anti-terror laws demanded by Ankara.

And both nations have lifted bans on military sales to Turkey that they imposed after its 2019 military incursion into Syria.

But Ankara reacted with fury to a decision by the Swedish police to allow a protest at which a far-right extremist burned a copy of the Koran outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm earlier this month.

Ankara has also been outraged by a Swedish prosecutor's decision not to press charges against a Kurdish support group that hung an effigy of Erdogan by its ankles outside Stockholm City Court.

Swedish officials have roundly condemned the protests but defended their country's broad acceptance of free speech.

The standoff between Ankara and Stockholm prompted Finnish officials to hint for the first time last week that they might be forced to seek NATO membership without Sweden.

The two nations had sought to join the bloc together from the start.

"We have to assess the situation, whether something has happened that in the longer term would prevent Sweden from going ahead," Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said last Tuesday.

But Haavisto also stressed that a joint accession remains the "first option".

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization Film Festival opened in Mumbai with the notable absence of Pakistan. The festival, which opened on Friday and will close on Monday, will feature filmmakers and artists from SCO member countries. However, Pakistan was conspicuous by its absence after it turned down an Indian invitation to attend.

In view of the prevailing tensions between the two countries and the recent developments, it has been decided that Pakistan will not participate in the SCO Film Festival being held in India," read a statement by the Pakistani authorities.

The SCO counts China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan among its members. India and Pakistan joined the grouping in 2017.

India currently holds the Chairmanship of the SCO for a period of one year. The film festivals is being organized as part of an effort to deepen cultural exchange between member countries. A round-table was also held on the sidelines of the film festival to promote the same.

During the session, SCO member nations were urged to promote talent exchange and explore co-production agreements with India and avail benefits of the existing Indian film incentives through joint projects. Given that there are relatively strong film industries in India and the participating countries, there is immense potential for promoting India as a destination for film industries of other nations. Potential also exists for providing facilities for Indian films being filmed in these countries," reads a press release by the Press Information Bureau.

India currently has bilateral audio-visual co-production agreements with China and Russia. There is active consideration for co-production agreements with member countries such as Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Dialogue States such as Turkey. There is close co-operation between the film industries of India, Nepal and Sri Lanka although there are no bilateral agreements," the statement goes on to read.
Following the warnings from its Western partners about potential terror attacks in Turkey, the middle-eastern nation issued a warning to its nationals on Saturday against "possible Islamophobic, xenophobic, and racist attacks" in the United States and Europe.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry advised its residents in the US and Europe to "act calmly in the face of possible xenophobic and racist harassment and attacks" and to "stay away from areas where demonstrations may intensify."

According to the ministry, recent spikes in "anti-Islamic and racist activities" demonstrate the perilous extent of religious intolerance and hostility in Europe.

Security advisories were issued for its people on Friday by a number of embassies in Ankara, including those of the United States, Germany, France, and Italy, warning of "potential retaliation strikes by terrorists against houses of worship."

The event came after recent Quran burnings in Europe. The foreign ministry of Sweden similarly warned its citizens on Saturday to stay away from gatherings and protests while they were in Turkey.

Tensions between Sweden and Turkey have increased as a result of a far-right, anti-immigrant lawmaker burning a Koran last week near the Turkish embassy in Stockholm. Ankara has condemned similar Koran-burning incidents that occurred in the Netherlands and Denmark.

(With inputs from Reuters)
The Britain prime minister Rishi Sunak on Sunday sacked his Cabinet minister and Conservative Party chairman, Nadhim Zahawi, who had breached the Ministerial Code.

Nadhim Zahawi, who held no portfolio as the chief of the governing Tory party, faced pressure in recent days to quit over questions about his finances after it emerged that he had agreed a penalty settlement with His Majestys Revenue and Customs (HMRC) department.

Britain PM Rishi Sunak had ordered an independent investigation into the Iraqi-born former Chancellors tax affairs after growing Opposition demands fto sack Zahawi.

His independent ethics adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus, submitted his assessment on whether the HMRC settlement amounted to a breach of the ministerial code.

When I became Prime Minister last year, I pledged that the government I lead would have integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level," writes Sunak in his letter to Zahawi, released by Downing Street.

"Following the completion of the independent adviser's investigation  the findings of which he has shared with us both  it is clear that there has been a serious breach of the Ministerial Code. As a result, I have informed you of my decision to remove you from your position in His Majesty's government," he said.

He added that Zahawi should be "extremely proud" of his "wide-ranging achievements in government over the last five years", particularly crediting his "successful oversight of the COVID-19 vaccine procurement and deployment programme".

In the correspondence to Sunak, also released by Downing Street, Magnus said his overall judgement was that "Mr Zahawi's conduct as a minister has fallen below the high standards that, as Prime Minister, you rightly expect from those who serve in your government".

Earlier this week, Zahawi said he welcomed the investigation and looked forward to "explaining the facts of this issue" to Magnus  the UK Prime Minister's Independent Adviser on Ministers' Interests.

"In order to ensure the independence of this process, you will understand that it would be inappropriate to discuss this issue any further, as I continue my duties as chairman of the Conservative and Unionist Party," Zahawi said at the time.

The minister has insisted he "acted properly throughout" and any tax error was due to being careless" and not deliberate.

The Opposition parties and even some members of the Conservative Party had called for Zahawi to step down as Tory chairman amid too many unanswered questions.

In his report, dated 29 January, Magnus notes: "Given the nature of the investigation by HMRC, which started prior to his appointment as secretary of state for education on 15 September 2021, I consider that by failing to declare HMRC's ongoing investigation before July 2022  despite the ministerial declaration of interests form including specific prompts on tax affairs and HMRC investigations and disputes  Mr Zahawi failed to meet the requirement to declare any interests which might be thought to give rise to a conflict."

He adds: "I also conclude that, in the appointments process for the governments formed in September 2022 and October 2022, Mr Zahawi failed to disclose relevant information  in this case the nature of the investigation and its outcome in a penalty  at the time of his appointment, including to cabinet office officials who support that process.

"Without knowledge of that information, the Cabinet Office was not in a position to inform the appointing Prime Minister."
US Air Mobility Command chief General Mike Minihan expressed that he had a gut feeling that a US-China war would take place in 2025. According to NBC, General Minihan said he hoped he was wrong. He claimed that the US and Taiwan presidential elections would provide China a chance to take action against Taiwan. General Minihan has asked officers under his command to prepare for the war.

The administration of US President Joe Biden has frequently voiced worry over China's military expansion and what the US perceives as a more assertive Chinese approach toward Taiwan. China was identified as the sole US competitor with the will and, increasingly, the economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to remake the world order, as per the national security policy that the administration released in October.

Also Read: India, Nato to hold strategic talks; focus on regional security, China

My gut tells me we will fight in 2025. Xi secured his third term and set his war council in October 2022. Taiwans presidential elections are in 2024 and will offer Xi a reason. United States presidential elections are in 2024 and will offer Xi a distracted America. Xis team, reason, and opportunity are all aligned for 2025." The Washington Post quoted General Minihan as saying.

The thousands of soldiers under Minihan's command are urged by his memo to get ready for war in a number of other ways. He tells everyone reporting to him to be more active in their training and to examine their personal concerns.

Also Read: US trade shifts on Covid and China tensions, but no 'decoupling' yet

The current US defence budget proposal, which enables up to $10 billion in arms sales to Taiwan, has drawn criticism from China for exaggerating the threat of China and meddling in its internal affairs.

Meanwhile, General Minihans comments don't reflect the Pentagon's position on China, a Defense Department official was reported by NBC as saying. According to a representative for Air Mobility Command, the letter is a component of their attempt to get ready for war if deterrence fails.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Sounak Mukhopadhyay Sounak Mukhopadhyay, who also goes by the name Sounak Mukherjee, has been producing digital news since 2012. He's worked for the International Business Times, The Inquisitr, and Moneycontrol in the past. He's also contributed to Free Press Journal and TheRichest with feature articles. He covers news for a wide range of subjects including business, finance, economy, politics and social media. Before working with digital news publications, he worked as a freelance content writer. Read more from this author
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services on Sunday announced the dates for the initial registration period for H-1B visa cap. The registration period will begin from March 1, 2023 and will run through till March 17,2023.

In this period, prospective petitioners and representatives will be able to complete and submit their registrations using our online H-1B registration system, said the immigration agency in a press release.

H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Technology companies depend on it to hire thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.

USCIS said that it will assign a confirmation number to each registration submitted for the FY 2024 H-1B cap. The number can be used to track registration.

"This number is used solely to track registrations; you cannot use this number to track your case status in Case Status Online," said the agency.

All prospective H-1B cap-subject petitioners or their representatives are required to use the account to register each beneficiary and pay $ 10 as 10 H-1B registration fee for each registration submitted on behalf of each beneficiary.

Registrants, i.e., US employers and agents will use registrant account and they will be able to create new accounts from February 21.

"Prospective H-1B cap-subject petitioners or their representatives are required to use a myUSCIS online account to register each beneficiary electronically for the selection process and pay the associated $10 H-1B registration fee for each registration submitted on behalf of each beneficiary. Prospective petitioners submitting their own registrations (U.S. employers and U.S. agents, collectively known as registrants") will use a registrant" account. Registrants will be able to create new accounts beginning at noon Eastern on Feb. 21," said the agency.

"Representatives may add clients to their accounts at any time, but both representatives and registrants must wait until March 1 to enter beneficiary information and submit the registration with the $10 fee. If we receive enough registrations by March 17, we will randomly select registrations and send selection notifications via users myUSCIS online accounts. If we do not receive enough registrations, all registrations that were properly submitted in the initial registration period will be selected. We intend to notify account holders by March 31," it added.

The U.S. Department of Treasury has approved a temporary increase in the daily credit card transaction limit from $24,999.99 to $39,999.99 per day for the FY 2024 H-1B cap season.

"The U.S. Department of Treasury has approved a temporary increase in the daily credit card transaction limit from $24,999.99 to $39,999.99 per day for the FY 2024 H-1B cap season. This temporary increase is in response to the volume of previous H-1B registrations that exceeded the daily credit card limit," it ssaid.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived Sunday in Egypt at the start of a Middle East trip on which he will look to notch down Israeli-Palestinian tensions after an eruption of violence.

Blinken, who will travel Monday and Tuesday to Jerusalem and Ramallah after his stop in Cairo, had long planned the visit to see Israel's new right-wing government, but the trip takes on a new urgency after some of the worst violence in years.

A Palestinian gunman on Friday killed seven people outside a synagogue in a settler neighbourhood of east Jerusalem, and another attack followed on Saturday.

Ten people were killed in an Israeli army raid Thursday on the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, in one of the deadliest such operations in a long time.

Israel said it was targeting Islamic Jihad militants and later hit sites in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip in response to rocket fire.

Blinken will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas and call "broadly for steps to be taken to de-escalate tensions", State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said as he condemned the "horrific" synagogue attack.

"The most important thing in the near term is to try to get some calm," Blinken told an interview Sunday with Saudi-owned news outlet Al Arabiya, according to a State Department transcript.

The violence is also likely to figure in talks Monday between Blinken and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, whose country's traditional role as a Middle East mediator has helped him remain a key US partner despite President Joe Biden's criticism of his human rights record. - 'Intense flurry' - The United States, with its close relationship to Israel, has historically taken a lead on Middle East diplomacy.

But experts questioned whether Blinken could achieve any breakthroughs.

"The absolute best they can do is to keep things stable to avoid another May 2021," said Aaron David Miller, a veteran US negotiator, referring to 11 days of fighting between Israel and Hamas that ended with an Egypt-brokered ceasefire.

Ghaith al-Omari, a former Palestinian official now at The Washington Institute, expected Blinken to repeat traditional US positions rather than break new ground.

"The trip itself is the message," he said.

"Blinken will ask Abbas to do more but it is not clear what they can do," he said, referring to the Palestinians.

Blinken's visit is part of the Biden administration's efforts to engage quickly with Netanyahu, who returned to office in late December leading the most right-wing government in Israel's history.

Israel's longest-serving prime minister had a fraught relationship with the last Democratic president, Barack Obama, as Netanyahu openly sided with his Republican adversaries against US diplomacy with Iran.

Biden's national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, visited this month to discuss Iran after efforts to restore a 2015 nuclear accord -- despised by Netanyahu -- all but died.

"I've never seen such an intense flurry of high-level contacts under any administration as you're watching right now," said Miller, now at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. - 'Flooding the zone' - The Biden team is looking "to avoid confrontation with Netanyahu", Miller said, noting strong support for the Israeli leader among Republicans who now control the House of Representatives.

David Makovsky, also at the Washington Institute, said he also understood that CIA Director Bill Burns has been visiting the region.

"It looks a little like flooding the zone," he said.

Netanyahu has hailed as a key achievement the 2020 normalisation of relations with the United Arab Emirates, which has moved full speed ahead on developing ties despite public concerns over the new government's moves.

Blinken is expected on his trip to reiterate US support for a Palestinian state, a prospect few expect to advance under the new Israeli government.

The State Department said Blinken would call for the preservation of the status quo at the flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound, which is holy both to Jews and Muslims.

Itamar Ben-Gvir, a far-right ideologue who holds a security post in Netanyahu's government, in early January defiantly visited the site, which Jews call the Temple Mount.

In Egypt, Blinken is also expected to discuss regional issues such as Libya and Sudan, the State Department said.

Blinken told Al Arabiya that elections in Libya were a "the most critical next step" for the conflict-torn country.

Egypt remains one of the top recipients of US military assistance, but the cooperation faces scrutiny from parts of Biden's Democratic Party over Sisi's rights record.

Authorities released hundreds of political prisoners last year, but rights groups estimate some 60,000 remain in detention.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.
When we play songs on Spotify to get us through the day, they can be intimateand sometimes also publicly visible.

Many people have sharing settings enabled on the music-streaming service, making it easy for friends or strangers to find out what theyre listening to, and by extension, what theyre doing or how theyre feeling. A guilty pleasure (MMMBop," anyone?), your repeat listen (yes, Taylor Swifts Midnights") or a playlist name may reveal personal information to those who are snooping.

People who have been Spotify snooping" have been coming clean on TikTok in recent months. Some users have posted videos detailing how they discovered their crush is dating someone, while others have shared tips on how to do some snooping of your own.

Regina Ticoalu, an 18-year-old college student in Colorado, says she has done some Spotify snooping to form deeper bonds with friends and acquaintances. She also snoops at times to check on people no longer in her life.

When Ms. Ticoalu looked up what her ex-boyfriend was listening to in November, she saw Glimpse of Us" by Joji, a song about starting to date again after a relationship ended. Because he played the song so soon after their breakup, it led her to believe the two events were related.

It does lead me to overthink a lot," Ms. Ticoalu says.

Spotify snooping has helped Ms. Ticoalu on the rebound, too. She says she uses it to figure out how to start a conversation with someone she doesnt know too wellor what to say on a date.

I can tell a lot about someone just by their music taste," she says.

Following friends

Spotify introduced Friend Activity for its desktop music player in 2015. You can follow people within the streaming service by looking up their usernames, or by connecting your Facebook account to add friends.

The function arrived in an era where many companies were linking with Facebook. Some people turned on the social features and then forgot about them. Others keep them on to make sharing music with family and friends easier.

Friend Activity is off by default. You can navigate to the Social section of settings on desktop or mobile to activate it. The settingShare my listening activity" on desktop, Share what I listen to" on mobilemakes public what songs you listened to, the artist who sang it and when you played it. The Social tab includes other sharing options such as publishing your playlists or showing your recently played artists on your profile.

Once Friend Activity is on, anyone can add you and see what youve been listening to. Theres no friends only" optionits all or nothing. You can turn on a private session in settings when you want to keep particular music choices private.

Theres no Friend Activity view on mobile devices, though the music you play on mobile is shared. Spotify is testing some of the sharing features in a Community hub that some users can access. In August 2021, it also introduced Blend, which lets users create shared playlists with other people.

Other streaming services offer different levels of insight into friends activity. Apple Music allows you to add friends, and see their playlists and what theyve been listening to, but theres no timestamp. Amazon Music users can follow someone if they know that persons profile URL, but they can only see content that someone has publicly shared.

A musical connection

There are other ways to find out what someone is listening to on Spotify.

One popular method is linking your Spotify account to the social-chat platform Discord. You can share what youre streaming on your profile and next to your username. Anyone whos browsing through a public Discord server can see what youre playing.

Ash LaPoint, a 27-year-old technical-support specialist for live-streaming software company Streamlabs, answers customer queries in a Discord channel. She and her co-workers, who all work remotely, have their Spotify linked so they can see what each other is listening to.

Mostly its a conversation starter among colleagues. Sometimes they take screenshots and shame each other, like when a manager is listening to Nicky Minajs Super Freaky Girl" for the hundredth time.

Ms. LaPoint does wonder if anyone she helps during a customer-service session will comment on what shes playing.

This person is probably wondering, Who is the person thats listening to Pussycat Dolls?" she says. How can you be productive while you listen to that?"

Not all those who Spotify snoop use the music service.

Andie Newman, a 25-year-old who works at a film school in London, is an Apple Music subscriber. As she scrolls through her Discord servers, she cant help but check out the Spotify songs her friends, and strangers, are listening to, she says.

She noticed a friends new boyfriend was listening to a song she liked. The common ground gave her a way to know him better, she says.

Its a weirdly intimate connection to people," Ms. Newman says.
There was widespread regret on the occasion of the death of Patrick (Patsy) Briody, Aughavaines, Loch Gowna, who passed away suddenly at the Mater hospital, Dublin on Tuesday, January 3, 2023.

Aged 92, Patsy was a native of Drumgore, Loughduff and along with his brothers Jimmy (Drumgore) and the late Tom (Aughaloora), they were involved in the building trade.

Known locally as the Briodys they ran a very successful construction business and such was their standard of work they were always in demand over a wide area.

In this parish, apart from the usual domestic and farming work they reconstructed the two churches and the parochial hall, a testament to their expertise.

A very respected, quiet, softly spoken man Patsy was re-deceased by his beloved wife Elizabeth (nee Gibney, Legwee) his daughter Kathleen Bouchier, daughter-in-law Margaret, brother Tom and sisters Rose Fitzpatrick and Bridgie Lee.

He is survived by his family, Padraig, Seamus, Anna (McGahern), Thomas, Elizabeth (Shannon), Sean and Brendan, daughters-in-law Annemarie, Sheila, Patsie, Vera and Mags, sons-in-law; Mel, Pat and Aidan, brother Jimmy, sisters; Maureen and Kathleen, sister-in-law Nora, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nephews, nieces and extended family members to whom we extend our sincere sympathy.

His remains reposed at Lakelands Funeral home, Cavan on Thursday, January 5 where large crowds paid their respects and burial followed mass in the Church of the Holy Family, Loch Gowna on Friday, January 6 to adjoining cemetery.

May his gentle soul rest in peace.
Sweden's NATO process paused, says FM

Xinhua) 10:21, January 29, 2023

Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom speaks at a press conference in Stockholm, Sweden, on Jan. 24, 2023. (Ninni Andersson/Government Offices of Sweden/Handout via Xinhua)

Billstrom told Swedish Television on Saturday that the ministry of foreign affairs had put a lot of work into the recent weeks' anger against Sweden, and that it might take a while for it (anti-Sweden sentiment) to subside after such a big event.

STOCKHOLM, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- Sweden's Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said on Saturday that the country's North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) process has paused, local media reported.

"The events of the last few weeks have temporarily caused the process to a pause," Billstrom told Expressen newspaper, adding that the Swedish government was now investing energy and time to try to push forward the process.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (C), accompanied by Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom (R) and Defense Minister Pal Jonson, speaks at a press conference in Stockholm, Sweden, on Jan. 24, 2023. (Ninni Andersson/Government Offices of Sweden/Handout via Xinhua)

Billstrom told Swedish Television on Saturday that the ministry of foreign affairs had put a lot of work into the recent weeks' anger against Sweden, and that it might take a while for it (anti-Sweden sentiment) to subside after such a big event.

Sweden suffered a major setback in its bid for NATO membership after events earlier this month that saw protests against the Turkish president and the burning of a copy of the Quran in Stockholm.

Turkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday warned Sweden that it should not expect Ankara's backing to join the NATO after the events. And a meeting between Turkiye, Sweden and Finland planned for February had also been postponed indefinitely.

In a recent survey by the semi-official Anadolu agency, 92.5 percent of the respondents in Turkiye said no to Turkiye approval of Sweden's NATO bid, the news agency reported.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson attend a joint press conference in Ankara, Turkiye, on Nov. 8, 2022. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
This image grab taken from a UGC video posted on Jan. 29 reportedly shows an explosion in Iran's Isfahan province. AFP-Yonhap



A loud explosion struck a military industry factory near Iran's central city of Isfahan overnight, in what Tehran said on Sunday was a drone strike by unidentified attackers.



There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, which came amid tension with the West over Tehran's nuclear work and supply of arms for Russia's war in Ukraine, as well as months of anti-government demonstrations at home.



The extent of the damage could not be independently confirmed. Iran's Defence Ministry said the explosion caused only minor damage and no casualties.



Iranian media video showing a flash of light at the plant, which the official IRNA news agency described as an ammunitions factory. Footage showed emergency vehicles and fire trucks outside the complex.



"Around 23:30 (2000 GMT) on Saturday night, an unsuccessful attack was carried out using micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs) on one of the ministry's workshop sites," the Defence Ministry said in a statement carried by Iran's state TV.



It said one drone was shot down "and the other two were caught in defence traps and blew up. It caused only minor damage to the roof of a workshop building. There were no casualties."



The attack "has not affected our installations and mission...and such blind measures will not have an impact on the continuation of the country's progress."



Seperately, IRNA reported early on Sunday a massive fire at a motor oil factory in an industrial zone near the northwestern city of Tabriz. It gave no information about the cause of that blaze.





This image grab taken from a UGC video posted on Jan. 29 reportedly shows an explosion in Iran's Isfahan province. AFP-Yonhap
Arts & Culture

By Jacob Alvear Published: January 29 2023

People enjoyed reading about Long Island history.

Our historical posts about Long Island history have kept people informed and entertained all year. We love Long Island as much as you do and we love delving into the history of our home to share those facts with you. Below are the most popular articles in our Crazy Facts About Long Island series. Enjoy.

Photo: Shutterstock.

Crazy Facts About Fire Island - Our most popular post was all about the go-to summertime spot on Long Island. Key fact: Storms in the 1690s created the Fire Island Inlet, which eventually became the name of the entire island. Read more here.

Photo: Entenmann's Website.

Crazy Facts About Entenmann's - Our second most popular post was about the dessert that apparently never deserted our hearts based on the number of people who read this one. Key fact: In the 1950s, Frank Sinatra would call the Entenmanns Bay Shore bakery and place a weekly order for a crumb coffee cake. Read on for some more cool and crazy facts.

Photo: kyselak / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)

Crazy Facts About Plum Island - At a time when we were all worried about Covid-19, people found interest in the island next to our island where government experiments have been carried out. The stories have been shrouded in secrecy, controversy and myth for decades. Key fact: In the early 1950s the Army set up a biological warfare research program on the island in Building 257 but it was quickly disbanded. Click here to get more facts.

Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant in Shoreham. Date: 15 April 2007. meta nemegi - Paul Searing / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)

Crazy Facts About the Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant - The idea for cheap energy that spawned a thousand protests, op-ed articles and finger pointings. This project seemed to be doomed from the start. Key fact: The final cost of the Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant is estimated at $5.5 billion and it never generated any power for Long Island. Click here to read more hot facts.

Photo: Shutterstock.

Crazy Facts About Long Island Potatoes - When people of a certain age were young and growing up on Long Island they heard the cliche that all this was once potato fields. Key Fact: By the late 1940s there were over 70,000 acres of potato farms and 1,000 farmers on Long Island. At the time, up to 80% of all farming on Long Island was dedicated to potatoes. Click here to peel back myth from fact about Long Island potatoes and the farmers.

Left photo: Unknown author / Public domain. Right photo: Tower standing: Unknown author(Life time: Unattributed) / Public domain.

Crazy Facts About Teslas Wardenclyffe Tower on Long Island - Teslas idea was speculative and revolutionary: a global, wireless system for communication and power transfer by using the Earths conductivity for transmission of electrical currents. Sound familiar? Click the switch to learn more.

Postcard of MacArthur Airport. Photo: Long Island MacArthur Airport Facebook page.

Crazy Facts About MacArthur Airport - When you dont want to schlep into the city and fight the crowds at JFK or - gasp - LaGuardia, then your only other choice is Long Islands hometown airport, MacArthur. Key fact: In 1942 after Pearl Harbor was bombed, the airport was built on Islip Town-owned land for military use during the war. Take off with more crazy facts.

Photo: U.S. Navy photo by Photographers Mate Airman Kristopher Wilson / Public domain.

Crazy Facts About the F-14 Tomcat - The coolest fighter jet in the world. Full stop.Key fact: The F-14 first flew on December 21, 1970 in Grummans facility in Calverton and flight tested over Long Island Sound. Hit the throttle by clicking here to get more facts.

Brookhaven National Lab Main Entrance Sign. Photo: Brookhaven National Lab.

Crazy Facts About Brookhaven National Lab - With around $650 million in annual funding, employing over 2,500 people, and home to seven Nobel Prizes, Brookhaven National Lab is a heavy-hitter in the scientific community right here on Long Island! Key fact: The particle accelerators at BNL take stationary charged particles, such as electrons, and drive them to velocities near the speed of light. When they collide they produce new particles and reactions, some that havent existed in a natural state since just after the Big Bang. Get your mind blown with more facts by clicking here.

English: Lord Stirling leading an attack against the British in order to buy time for other troops to retreat at the Battle of Long Island, 1776. Public Domain.

Crazy Facts About George Washingtons Long Island Spies - You might have watched the AMC television show TURN: Washingtons Spies but did you know how to sort fact from fiction in the show? We tried to expose many of the facts related to what became known as the Culper Spy Ring. Key fact: Morton Pennypacker was a historian who in 1939 wrote the book "George Washington's Spies, which brought to light the efforts of the spy ring. Previously no one had ever really known about the work the spy ring had done since the Revolutionary War. Uncover more historical facts by clicking here.
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.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)  Bomb-carrying drones targeted an Iranian defense factory in the central city of Isfahan overnight, authorities said early Sunday, causing some damage at the plant amid heightened regional and international tensions engulfing the Islamic Republic.

The Iranian Defense Ministry offered no information on who it suspected carried out the attack, which came as a refinery fire separately broke out in the country's northwest and a 5.9 magnitude earthquake struck nearby, killing three people.

However, Tehran has been targeted in suspected Israeli drone strikes amid a shadow war with its Mideast rival as its nuclear deal with world powers collapsed. Meanwhile, tensions also remain high with neighboring Azerbaijan after a gunman attacked that country's embassy in Tehran, killing its security chief and wounding two others.

Details on the Isfahan attack, which happened around 11:30 p.m. Saturday, remained scarce. A Defense Ministry statement described three drones being launched at the facility, with two of them successfully shot down. A third apparently made it through to strike the building, causing minor damage to its roof and wounding no one, the ministry said.

Iranian state television's English-language arm, Press TV, aired mobile phone video apparently showing the moment that drone struck along the busy Imam Khomeini Expressway that heads northwest out of Isfahan, one of several ways for drivers to go to the holy city of Qom and Tehran, Iran's capital. A small crowd stood gathered, drawn by anti-aircraft fire, watching as an explosion and sparks struck a dark building.

Oh my God! That was a drone, wasnt it?" the man filming shouts. "Yeah, it was a drone.

Those there fled after the strike.

That footage of the strike, as well as footage of the aftermath analyzed by The Associated Press, corresponded to a site on Minoo Street in northwestern Isfahan that's near a shopping center that includes a carpet and an electronics store.

Iranian defense and nuclear sites increasingly find themselves surrounded by commercial properties and residential neighborhoods as the country's cities sprawl ever outward. Some locations as well remain incredibly opaque about what they produce, with only a sign bearing a Defense Ministry or paramilitary Revolutionary Guard logo.

The Defense Ministry only called the site a workshop," without elaborating on what it made. Isfahan, some 350 kilometers (215 miles) south of Tehran, is home to both a large air base built for its fleet of American-made F-14 fighter jets and its Nuclear Fuel Research and Production Center.

The attack comes after Iran's Intelligence Ministry in July claimed to have broken up a plot to target sensitive sites around Isfahan. A segment aired on Iranian state TV in October included purported confessions by alleged members of Komala, a Kurdish opposition party that is exiled from Iran and now lives in Iraq, that they planned to target a military aerospace facility in Isfahan after being trained by Israel's Mossad intelligence service.

Activists say Iranian state TV has aired hundreds of coerced confessions over the last decade. Israeli officials declined to comment on the attack.

Separately, Irans state TV said a fire broke out at an oil refinery in an industrial zone near the northwestern city of Tabriz. It said the cause was not yet known, as it showed footage of firefighters trying to extinguish the blaze. Tabriz is some 520 kilometers (325 miles) northwest of Tehran.

State TV also said the magnitude 5.9 earthquake killed three people and injured 816 others in rural areas in West Azerbaijan province, damaging buildings in many villages.

Iran's theocratic government faces challenges both at home and abroad as its nuclear program rapidly enriches uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels since the collapse of its atomic accord with world powers.

Nationwide protests have shaken the country since the September death of Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish-Iranian woman detained by the country's morality police. Its rial currency has plummeted to new lows against the U.S. dollar. Meanwhile, Iran continues to arm Russia with the bomb-carrying drone that Moscow uses in attacks in Ukraine on power plants and civilian targets.

Israel is suspected of launching a series of attacks on Iran, including an April 2021 assault on its underground Natanz nuclear facility that damaged its centrifuges. In 2020, Iran blamed Israel for a sophisticated attack that killed its top military nuclear scientist.

Israeli officials rarely acknowledge operations carried out by the countrys secret military units or its Mossad intelligence agency. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who recently re-entered the premiership, long has considered Iran to be the biggest threat his nation faces. The U.S. and Israel also just held their largest-ever military exercise amid the tensions with Iran.

Meanwhile, tensions remain high between Azerbaijan and Iran as Azerbaijan and Armenia have fought over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Iran also wants to maintain its 44-kilometer (27-mile) border with landlocked Armenia  something that could be threatened if Azerbaijan seizes new territory through warfare.

Iran in October launched a military exercise near the Azerbaijan border. Azerbaijan also maintains close ties to Israel, which has infuriated Iranian hard-liners, and has purchased Israeli-made drones for its military.

Anwar Gargash, a senior Emirati diplomat, warned online that the Isfahan attack represented one more event in the dangerous escalation the region is witnessing. The United Arab Emirates was targeted in missile and drone attacks last year claimed by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

It is not in the interest of the region and its future, Gargash wrote on Twitter. Although the problems of the region are complex, there is no alternative to dialogue.

___

Associated Press writer Joseph Krauss contributed to this report.
Warsaw  Poland's armed forces have seen a record level of interest since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine 11 months ago.

Poland's armed forces recruited 13,742 new professional soldiers last year, Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said in Lublin. "This is a record since the abolition of conscription."

The last time conscripts were drafted in Poland was in 2008. Soon after, military service was suspended.

Poland's armed forces have a total of 164,000 servicemen and women, including 36,000 members of volunteer homeland security units.

Warsaw is currently raising investments in defence since the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine. Poland's army is due to expand to 250,000 professional soldiers and 50,000 homeland security members.

Warsaw has moved to attract more citizens to the armed forces, introducing voluntary basic military service and one-day military training courses nationwide for those who are interested.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has altered the security architecture across Europe and beyond, with governments raising their investments in defence as well as sending aid to Kiev.
PRAGUE (AP)  Petr Pavel, a retired army general, decisively defeated populist billionaire Andrej Babis in a runoff vote Saturday to become the Czech Republic's new president.

Pavel, 61, will succeed controversy-courting Milos Zeman in the largely ceremonial but prestigious post. His election is expected to cement the countrys Western orientation following Zeman's decade in office.

With all the ballots counted by the Czech Statistics Office, Pavel had 58.3% of the vote compared with 42.7% for Babis. Turnout was just over 70%, a record high for a presidential vote.

We can have different views of a number of issues, but that doesnt mean were enemies, Pavel said in a message to voters who cast ballots for Babis after what was considered a nasty presidential campaign period. We have to learn how to communicate with each other.

Babis conceded defeat and congratulated Pavel on his victory. He called on his supporters to accept that Ive lost and accept we have a new president.

Pavel, who ran as an independent, is a former chairman of NATOs military committee, the alliances highest military body. He fully endorsed the Czech Republic's military and humanitarian support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia's invasion and stresses the importance of the country's membership in the European Union and NATO.

Foreign policy is his strong point, Petr Just, an analyst from the Metropolitan University Prague, said. Just noted that Pavel's NATO experience and views would boost the country's Western leanings.

The president picks the prime minister after a general election, one of the offices key responsibilities, and appoints members of the central bank. The office-holder also selects Constitutional Court judges with the approval of Parliaments upper house.

Otherwise, the president has little executive power since Czechia is run by a government chosen and led by the prime minister.

President Zuzana Caputova of Slovakia, who beat established politicians to win her country's 2019 presidential election, joined Pavel on a Prague stage Saturday to congratulate him in front of his supporters.

Your victory is a victory of hope, of hope that decency and honesty is not a weakness but a power that could lead to victory even in politics, Caputova said.

Personally, Im happy that we have a new head of state in our region and Europe who respects democratic values, she said.

Pavel said he planned to travel to Slovakia and Ukraine for his first foreign trips as president, and also to Poland to assure President Andrzej Duda that his country fully respects its NATO commitments and the alliances principle of collective defense.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy congratulated Pavel in a tweet written in Czech, adding he looked forward to their close cooperation.

Czechia has been a firm supporter of Ukraine in its fight against Russias invasion. The Ukraine war was a core campaign issue. Babis presented himself as a peacemaker and labeled Pavel a warmonger due to his military past.

In his most controversial statement, Babis said he wouldnt send troops to Poland or the Baltics if the NATO allies were attacked. He later backtracked.

Losing the race to Pavel was another major defeat for Babis 68, a former prime minister. His centrist ANO (YES) movement ended up in opposition after losing the 2021 general election.

Zeman, the outgoing president, had backed Babis, one of countrys richest people. The two men share euroskeptic views and the habit of using anti-migrant rhetoric.

While Babis has been a divisive figure, he maintained his popular support with older voters. He accused Pavel, during a campaign marred by false accusations, of having been a KGB-trained communist spy. He provided no evidence for the claim, and went on to compare his opponent to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Zeman, who took office in March 2013, was the country's first president elected by popular vote. His second and final five-year term expires in March. Lawmakers elected the previous two presidents, Vaclav Havel and Vaclav Klaus.

Before the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Zeman divided the nation with his pro-Russia stance and support for closer ties with China.
Read the original article on Business Insider.

U.S. forces extensively rehearsed a secret raid to take out a senior Islamic State financial operative this week, using a specially-built recreation of the rugged target area, U.S. officials said.

The Pentagon revealed on Thursday that U.S. forces conducted an assault in northern Somalia the day before and killed Bilal-al-Sudani, an ISIS leader in the country who has played a key role funding operations around the world  including in Afghanistan where 13 US service members were killed in a 2021 ISIS bombing  and growing the group's presence in Africa.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement that the raid "resulted in the death of a number of ISIS members." A senior Biden administration official told reporters that 10 other fighters were killed by U.S. forces. No civilians or U.S. troops were injured during the operation, they said.

To carry out the operation, the official said special forces rehearsed the operation at sites that were specifically built to recreate, or simulate, the terrain  a remote, mountainous cave complex  where the operation would eventually take place.

This preparation and training strategy is similar to one used by Navy SEAL forces ahead of the dramatic 2011 Neptune Spear raid that killed Osama bin Laden.

Admiral William McRaven, who planned and executed that raid in Pakistan, wrote in his 2019 book "Sea Stories" that the CIA built a mock-up of the compound in Abbottabad, where bin Laden lived. U.S. forces used the mock-up to practice what their ground movements and helicopter approaches would look like during the actual raid.

McRaven wrote that the CIA "had done a masterful job of constructing the mock-up." A chain-link fence simulated the walls of the compound, while a "Lego formation" of shipping containers simulated the living spaces.

Still, McRaven said, there were a few unfortunate shortcomings due to a lack of time and intelligence. For example, the CIA was unable to replicate the thickness of the walls surrounding the compound, nor could it assess what the inside of the living quarters looked like, gaps that would prove problematic during the actual raid.

That a similar approach was used for Bilal-al-Sudani speaks to his importance as a target.

Wednesday's raid in Somalia comes as the United States and partner forces continue to track down ISIS fighters in Syria. U.S. Central Command said in late November that a raid carried out by local Syrian forces weeks prior led to the death of Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, who was then the leader of the terror group.

Meanwhile, the raid in Somalia also took place during a week in which U.S. forces carried out several strikes against al-Shabaab, a Somalia-based terror group with links to Al Qaeda that Bilal-al-Sudani previously supported. US Africa Command said 32 al-Shabaab fighters were killed in two separate engagements on January 20 and 23.

"This action leaves the United States and its partners safer and more secure, and it reflects our steadfast commitment to protecting Americans from the threat of terrorism at home and abroad," Austin said of the latest raid. "We are grateful to our extraordinary service members as well as our intelligence community and other interagency partners for their support to this successful counterterrorism operation."
How to use the mindat.org media viewer

Click/touch this help panel to close it.

Welcome to the mindat.org media viewer. Here is a quick guide to some of the options available to you. Different controls are available depending on the type of media being shown (photo, video, animation, 3d image)

Controls - all media types

Zoom in and out of media using your mousewheel or with a two-finger 'resize' action on a touch device.

Use the mouse or your finger to drag the image or the view area of the image around the screen.

< and > at the left and right hand side of the screen move forwards and backwards for the other images associated with the media you selected. Usually this is used for previous/next photo in a gallery, in an article or in search results. Keyboard shortcuts: use shift + the left and right arrow keys.

< and > in the bottom center are used for switching between the photos of the same specimen. Keyboard shortcuts: use the left and right arrow keys.

> in the bottom center, raises the information box giving details and further options for the media, < at the top of this box then hides it. Keyboard shortcuts: use the up and down arrow keys.

? opens this help window. Keyboard shortcuts: use the H key or the ? key.

Other keyboard shortcuts:

1 Fit image to screen 2 Fill screen with image 5 Display at full resolution < Make background darker > Make background lighter space Hide/dim titles and buttons

Scalebar

If the field of view (FOV) is specified for the photo, the scalebar appears in the left bottom corner of the viewer. The scalebar is draggable and resizeable. Drag the right edge to resize it. Double click will reset the scalebar to it's default size and position. If the scalebar is in default position, double click will make it circular.

Controls - Video

Video files have a standard set of video controls: - Reset to start, - Skip back, - Play, - Pause, - Skip forwards. Keyboard shortcuts: You can stop/start video play with the P key.

Controls - Animation (Spin Rotation)

Animation (usually 360 degree spin rotations) have their own controls: - enable spin mode. Note that while images are loading this option will not be available but will be automatically activated when the animation has loaded. Once active you can spin the image/change the animation by moving your mouse or finger on the image left/right or by pressing the [ or ] keys.

The button switches to move mode so that you can use your mouse/fingers to move the image around the screen as with other media types.

The button, or the P key will start playing the animation directly, you can interrupt this by using the mouse or finger on the image to regain manual movement control.

Controls - 3D Stereoscopic images

If a stereoscopic 3D image is opened in the viewer, the 3D button appears in the bottom right corner giving access to "3D settings" menu. The 3D images can be viewed in several ways:

- without any special equipment using cross-eyed or parallel-eyed method

- with stereoscope

- with anaglyph glasses.

- on a suitable 3D TV or monitor (passive 3D system)

For details about 3D refer to: Mindat manuals: Mindat Media Viewer: 3D

To enable/disable 3D stereo display of a compatible stereo pair image press the 3 key. If the left/right images are reversed on your display (this often happens in full-screen mode) press the 4 key to reverse them.

Controls - photo comparison mode

If a photo with activated comparison mode is opened in the viewer, the button appears in the bottom right corner giving access to "Comparison mode settings" menu.

Several layouts are supported: slider and side by-side comparison with up to 6 photos shown synchronously on the screen. On each of the compared photos a view selector is placed, e.g.: Longwave UV . It shows the name of currently selected view and allows to select a view for each placeholder.

Summary of all keyboard shortcuts
28.01.2023 LISTEN

January is Cervical Health Awareness month. Most Cervical Cancer is caused by persistent infection with viruses called High Risk Human Papilloma viruses (HPV) which is sexually transmitted. Cervical Cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide, and each year, about 604, 000 new cases occur. In 2020 there were 342 000 deaths, with a WOMAN DYING OF CERVICAL CANCER EVERY 2 MINUTES. About 90% of the new cases and deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. The disparity in incidence of Cervical Cancer between higher resource countries and those in Africa like Ghana, lies in their high national prioritization, funding and implementation of national health policies, and the determination to decrease or eliminate it through Education, Screening and Vaccination. These countries have been implementing these measures for years and it has paid off. Australia claims elimination of Cervical Cancer in 2035 and Canadas aim is for 2040.

Cervical cancer takes years for affected cells of the cervix to turn cancerous; therefore, this gives us time to prevent the incidence by identifying precancer cells and treating them in the early stages.

In November 2020, the WHO launched the Global Strategy to accelerate the elimination of Cervical Cancer using these targets:

90% of girls fully vaccinated by the age of 15 years.

70% of women screened by the age of 35 to 45 years.

90% treatment of precancerous lesions and management of 90% of invasive cancer cases.

RESPONSIBILITY OF GOVERNMENTS

It is estimated that every year 2,797 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer and 1,699 die from the disease in Ghana. It is the second leading cause of cancer in women in Ghana after breast cancer. These numbers can be reduced with screening and treatment of Precancerous lesions. What actions should governments in Africa take?

1.Educating the society (both women and men) about the disease

2.Screening of women should be year-round engagement.

3.Making Pre Cervical cancer screening part of the training course for midwives and nurses.

4.Use of mid-level health providers (nurses, midwives and community health workers) in the community setting or CHPS Compounds 5.Use of mobile devices and other methods for screening/treatment of precancerous lesions.

6.Reaching out to the vulnerable in our towns and villages who should pay very minimal or be screened for free.

PRIVATE INITIATIVES- THE BATTOR STORY

In Ghana the Cervical Cancer Prevention and Training Center (CCPTC) at The Catholic Hospital at Battor under the able leadership of Dr. Kofi Effah has demonstrated that low-cost methods can work in limited resource countries. The center was established in 2017 and as of end of 2022, 302 health care workers from all 16 regions of Ghana covering 116 districts out of 216, with 3 others from West Africa have been trained. The many trained mid-level health professionals from CCPTC are screening women all over Ghana and I applaud the center and the able team working to do this. The Ghana Health Service could take a cue from their page and help Ghana be one of the first African countries to reach the WHO goal of 90-70-90 targets by 2030 to get on the path to eliminate cervical cancer within the next century.

INDIVIDUAL PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY

Our government has a responsibility and we as individuals do as well. These include:

-Women getting Screened and Vaccinated (up to the age of 45 years)

-Parents getting your children, both female and male vaccinated where it is available.

-Men encourage the women in your life to be screened and vaccinated.

-Avoid high risk sexual behaviour.

-Quit Smoking if you do smoke.

-Avoid exposure to HIV/HPV e.g.use Condom

-Avoid multiple sexual partners.

-Let us lobby our politicians to make reduction/elimination of cervical cancer a Public Health priority.

Please share on your social media platforms

Dr. Barbara Entsuah - Family Medicine

#Loveyourbody# 

(Physician, Author, Speaker)

Webpage: www.Barbaraentsuah.com

Latest Book: A Womans Guide to Her Body and Her Total Body.
The Ghana Securities Industry Association (GSIA) has become the third financial sector player to agree to the government's Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP).

This comes after the Ghana Association of Banks and the Ghana Insurers Association had this week agreed to participate in the programme for institutional bondholders.

In a joint press statement, the Ministry of Finance and the Association announced the agreement on terms for participation by capital market operators.

The agreement entailed extending agreed improved terms with the banks to all GSIA members and the removal of all clauses in the Exchange Memorandum that empowers the Republic to, at its sole discretion, vary the terms of the exchange.

Similar to the terms of banks, the government has agreed to pay a five per cent coupon rate for 2023 and a single coupon rate for each of the 12 new bonds to be issued, resulting in an effective coupon rate of 9 per cent.

The Government has also committed to providing support to GSIA members impacted by the programme via the liquidity and solvency window of the Ghana Financial Stability Fund (GFSF).

Collective Investment Schemes (CIS) and individuals who hold bonds in Trust Accounts with Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved firms, would be offered any enhanced commercial terms agreed with, or exemptions granted to, Individual Bondholders, the statement read.

GSIA said the agreement was necessary to restore market normalcy and confidence in the economy.

GSIA urges its members to seek all required internal approvals and clients' consent to participate in the DDEP per the new terms in the updated Exchange Memorandum, the statement read.

The Government invited eligible holders of domestic notes and bonds of the Republic, E.S.L.A. Plc and Daakye Trust Plc to exchange approximately GHS137.3 billion for a package of new bonds issued by the government on Monday, December 5.

Failure to patronise the voluntary offer has necessitated further consultation with stakeholders as the government sought to restructure its debt which has reached an unsustainable level, with a domestic debt obligation of approximately GHS137 billion.

Ghana's debt servicing is now absorbing more than half of total government revenues and about 70 per cent of tax revenues, while total public debt stock, including that of State-Owned Enterprises, exceeds 100 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Debt restructuring to ensure Ghana's debt reaches at least 55 per cent of its threshold is part of the conditions for the International Monetary Fund to provide the country a US$3 billion loan facility.

GNA
Unesco has added the historic centre of Ukraine's port city Odesa to its World Heritage in Danger List because of threats of destruction that have been hanging over the site since the beginning of the Russian invasion.

The 21 member states of the Unesco's world heritage committee approved inscribing designated areas of the Ukrainian city with six votes in favour, one against and 14 abstentions.

"While the war continues, this inscription embodies our collective determination to ensure that this city, which has always surmounted global upheavals, is preserved from further destruction," said Unesco director-general Audrey Azoulay.

Although generally spared since the beginning of the Russian offensive in February 2022, Odesa, notably known for its monumental Potemkin staircase and its architecture, has nevertheless been hit several times by Russian bombing.

"This is a huge victory for the people of Odesa and for the whole of Ukraine," the city's mayor, Gennady Troukhanov, told RFI.

"Odesa has the status of a European city, it was built by great Italian architects, it was administered by the French, the Greeks. It was originally a European city. That's why I feel joy and pride, especially because this is happening at a time when our armed forces are defending our independence. Our soldiers are now fighting for every piece of our land. We fought for our city, to preserve its cultural heritage," added Troukhanov.

'Politically motivated decision'

After the decision was adopted, Russia's mission to Unesco claimed in a statement that the vote had been taken under pressure from the West and disregarded the rules of procedure.

The mission said the world heritage committee had ceased to be a platform for professional dialogue. "World heritage status has become a bargaining chip for settling political scores," it added.

In Moscow, Russia's foreign ministry accused a group of Western countries of pushing through what it called a politically motivated decision in violation of standard procedures.

Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, who requested the listing in October to shield the city from Russian bombardment, welcomed the decision.

"Today Odesa got Unesco protection," he tweeted. "I'm grateful to partners who help protect our pearl from the Russian invaders' attacks."

Six other Ukrainian sites have already been inscribed on the Unesco's World Heritage List, including the Saint-Sophia Cathedral in the capital Kyiv and the historic centre of the western city of Lviv.

(With AFP)
28.01.2023 LISTEN

On January 21st, 2023, all hell broke loose in Monterey Park, California, when a gunman opened fire in a crowded place. The residents were celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year there at that time. That fateful night claimed 12 lives and injured 9 more. The incident was covered by newspapers worldwide. Within the next 48 hours, another incident of mass shooting took place in Half Moon Bay that claimed 7 more lives.

However, these are not the first incidents of mass shooting this year, rather these incidents got media attention due to the high number of casualties. Mass shootings and gun violence are inducing insecurity within US society. It is also adversely affecting the societal fabric of the US.

Mass Shooting Scenario

According to the Gun Violence Archive (GVA) data, the Half Moon Bay incident is the 38th recorded mass shooting incident in the USA. Currently (24th January), the rate of incidents per day is 1.58. In these 38 incidents, 69 people were killed and 169 were injured.

In 2022, there were 647 incidents recorded by GVA. The situation was further grim in 2021 as 690 mass shooting incidents took place that year.

Almost all public place has been affected by mass shooting including Church, school, public gathering, bars, and restaurants. As a result, public places have also been securitized heavily. After the Uvalde elementary school shooting, there were reports of employing armed security guards at schools in many states. Many schools also armed the teacher to prevent mass shootings. However, such securitization policies also sparked further debate with whom the responsibility for providing a safe environment lies, and whether it would reduce or escalate the risk of shootings.

As mass shooting is an unprecedented event without any prior alarm, it is also inducing insecurity in US public life. Common citizens do not have the guarantee that they wont be the next victim. As a result, it is also forcing the citizens to increase their defensive gear, namely buying more firearms; ultimately creating a vicious circle of insecurity and distrust among the community. The public support for gun law amendment is also affected by this vicious circle, as according to Gallup Survey, public support for stricter gun law has fallen from 66% last year to 57% this year.

Where does the Problem Lie?

The problem of mass shootings lies within the American gun culture. Even though many defend it as an American heritage, it is deeply rooted within the settler culture of the country. Such colonial and settler culture is unfit in the modern civilized world considering the risk factors and the empirical evidence.

According to the Small Arms Survey, the US is the worlds top civilian gun-owning country with 120 firearms per 100 residents- a number more than double of Yemen- a country affected by civil war and domestic instability. In number, the US had 390 million civilian-possessed firearms in 2018. Such a large number of gun possession also impact the countrys homicide landscape as 79% of homicide cases were carried out by firearms. In 2022, 44 thousand civilians lost their lives from gunshots; more than half committed suicide.

The lack of political will and consciousness are also the reasons behind rampant gun violence and mass shooting. Political parties and their gun lobbies do not want to pass effective policies to restrain civilians from gun-owning. The settler mindset within the larger US society and the attraction of vote banks are the common reasons behind such politics.

In the aftermath of the Monterey Park shooting, President Joe Biden urged Congress Monday, January 23rd to pass a pair of bills seeking to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines and raise the purchasing age to 21, imploring lawmakers to act quickly. However, such bills may hardly contribute anything to the current scenario considering the wide age range of the shooters and the weapons they used. The Monterey Park Shooter is a 72 years old man who used a handgun to kill 12 people and injure 9. The arming Teacher incidents in the aftermath of the Uvalde elementary school shooting also sparked a new debate on safety and security and hardly contributed anything to the issue. The ultimate issue to address in this regard is the settler culture of civilian gun possession that enables a person to turn into a shooter.

However, such settler culture is adversely affecting American society by increasing violent trends, civilian insecurity, and deteriorating the social fabric of US society. It is also deteriorating US human rights scenario also.

The US is considered the Champion of Human Rights in the world. Yet its mass shooting and gun violence are worrisome issues that are affecting the US domestically. And at the center of the problem lies an old settler culture that is unfit for the current world. In the Westphalian state system, one of the basic characteristics of the state is to possess a legitimate monopoly over means of violence. Civilian gun possession at this scale in the US is contradicting the characteristics of the state.

Besides, the Biden administration is also prioritizing democracy and Human Rights in its foreign relations. Therefore, it also brings the debate of hypocrisy in US policy. Lastly, the US should address its domestic concerns; for which it must give up its settler culture and introduce effective gun possession laws going beyond the gun lobby interest.

Doreen Chowdhury is a doctoral researcher at the University of Groningen
29.01.2023 LISTEN

The Member of Parliament for Ablekuma Central Constituency in the Greater Accra Region, Hon. Abdul Latif Dan has donated food items to the founder and leader of the Islamic Foundation for Peace and Development, Sheikh Yahaya Amin to support the 55th annual Greater Accra Maulid celebration.

The donation forms part of the MP's annual donation towards the celebration which marks the birth of the Holy Prophet and is scheduled to be held on January 28, 2023 in the Ablekuma Central Constituency.

The items include a cow, sheep, fifteen bags of rice (25kg each), two 6-litre gallons of oil and 30 packs of bottled water.

Hon. Latif Dan stated that the Maulid brings people from all walks of life to the Constituency and therefore it is prudent to support make this year's celebration more successful to the glory of Allah.

According to him, the Greater Accra Maulid has over the years attracted over thousands of people with many Islamic scholars from different countries, Muslim, tribal and traditional Chiefs in the country to witness the celebration and narration of the birth of the holy Prophet Mohammed (PBH).

He expressed his belief that the donation will go a long way to support his constituents to feed the overwhelming majority of visitors who will be coming to the constituency.

The MP was accompanied by the Constituency Chairman Mr. Solomon Amu and his executives as well as other leaders within the constituency.

Receiving the items, Sheikh Yahaya Amin who doubles as the Deputy Supreme Leader of the Supreme Council for Tijaniya Islamic Affairs, Ghana expressed his profound gratitude to Hon. Abdul Latif Dan and the leadership of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for their kind gesture.

The internationally recognized Sheikh prayed for the MP and his delegation for Allah's blessings and guidance.

The Greater Accra Maulid is an important religious event for the Muslim community in the Ablekuma Central Constituency, as it marks the birth of the holy prophet Mohammed (PBH).
Obrempong Nyanful Krampah XI

29.01.2023 LISTEN

The Omanhene of the Gomoa Ajumako Traditional Area, Obrempong Nyanful Krampah XI has welcomed the elevation of the Member of Parliament for Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam, Hon. Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson as Minority Leader in Ghana's Parliament House.

According to him, the Chiefs and people of the Central Region are extremely happy that a son of the land has been appointed to such an enviable position in Ghana's Parliament House.

He added that Dr. Ato Forson's appointment has raised the image of the region.

"It is a welcoming news to those of us in the Central Region and we accept it wholeheartedly. The Central Region has long been hoping for such high level position in the Parliament.

"While congratulating Hon. Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, I will like to make a passionate appeal to the NDC leadership to ensure that peace prevails among the ranks and file of the party, especially within the Minority Caucus in Parliament.

"I once again congratulate the newly appointed Minority Leader and pledged the unflinching support of Nananom in the Central Region for his new office to enable him discharge his assigned duties as enshrined in the Constitution Of of the Republic of Ghana," Obrempong Nyanful Krampah XI noted.

The Gomoa Ajumako Omanhene said this in an interview with newsmen at Gomoa Ajumako in the Gomoa West District of the Central Region last Friday.

He noted that even though Nananom play non-partisan roles, it behoves on them to encourage politicians to work hand in hand with the custodians of the land to improve the quality of lives of the people in their traditional areas.

The Gomoa Ajumako Omanhene therefore called on Ghanaians to recognise Nananom as development partners and not enemies to any government or political party either in government or in opposition.

"As I always say, traditional rulers, being custodians of the land in the country will continue to support any move that would create more job opportunities for our people to be self-sufficient.

"That explains why we always encourage our people to aspire to higher positions to spearhead infrastructure development in our communities.

"Our doors are opened for Government and political parties to assist in reduction of unemployment associated with economic related hardships," he stressed.

Obrempong Nyanful Krampah XI emphasised that the Gomoa Ajumako Traditional Area has put in place achievable measures to enforce its bye-laws on education, health and sanitation, expensive funeral, widowhood rites and other anti-cultural practices that are alien to Ghanaian culture and traditions.
28.01.2023 LISTEN

Every society thrives when the old generation plant trees that they know clearly, they will not profit from its fruits. H.E John Mahama has a personality that attracts the likeness of people but far more than that, he has an amazing story telling approach to delivering speeches.

It may not be considered a hasty conclusion if you make the assertion that he is the presumptive next president of the Republic of Ghana. I have closely followed most of his international invitations to public meetings from January 2022 till now to make contributions to strategic discussions on economic growth, security and terrorism in the Africa sub-region as well as education and gender inclusivity in leadership. If you are a good student of our Ghanaian politics, you will observe that most of our international development partners have started a realignment process to strengthen their relationship with him against the backdrop of him being the likely winner of the 2024, December 7, presidential general election.

Today, Mr. Mahamas speech on Africas strategic priorities and global role at CHATHAM House is one that worth paying a closer attention to, both for the good and for the ugly if you are Ghanaian below forty years. Most African leaders are very real with facts and figures when dealing with international partners especially during projective conservations.

Mr. Mahama narrated a delineation of the African story and narrowed it down to Ghanas story. I started sweating copiously when he reminded us that in less than six weeks, Ghana will be celebrating sixty  six years of nationhood far from being an occasion to celebrate independence, we will mark this day under the yoke of the worst economic situation arguably in our history as a country. We are currently bankrupt and burdened with a national debt, we are simply unable to service both external and domestic debt.

How can a country unable to service its external and domestic debt create jobs for its ever-increasing population? Mr. Mahama indirectly left this question on my mind.

There are deeper pointers in Mr. Mahamas speech than just the soundbites media houses will promote, history is conclusive on the fact that our last IMF program as a country which ended under this current government brought some stability but gains were spent on governments consumptive options.

The most important missing link provided by Mr. Mahama in his speech is his proposal to fix our value system as a country, I have observed the switch in the speech of H.E Mahama post-2020 election. Consistently, he has shown the way that criticism and complaining are futility, it has brought no substantive benefit to the nation rather the new order is to restore the value system of the country.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has urged countries on the African continent to work with a sense of urgency to guarantee economic security and prosperity for the citizens.

He thus called on African political and business leaders, as well as other strategic stakeholders to harness the opportunity presented by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement to boost intra-African trade.

Closing the three-day maiden Africa Prosperity Dialogue series at the Peduase Lodge in the Eastern region on Saturday, President Akufo-

Addo said the collective desire to transform the African continent necessitated quick wins as well as concentrated focus on the steps towards the prosperity of Africa.

We in Africa must with a sense of urgency work together to guarantee the economic security and secure the prosperity of our peoples.

To accomplish this shared objective, African political and business leaders, as well as other strategic stakeholders should use the opportunities presented by the AfCFTA agreement to boost intra-African trade in order to enhance the productive capacity and strengthen its resilience to external shocks, he said.

Dubbed the Kwahu Summit, the first of the annual dialogues, brought together Africa's political and business leaders to discuss intra-Africa trade, with a focus on the Africa

Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

The series, an initiative of the Africa Prosperity Network (APN), was on the theme: AfCFTA: From Ambition to Action, Delivering Prosperity through Continental Trade.

The summit deliberated towards building a strong and effective single market of Africa's 1.3 billion people to help create more opportunities for its citizens and build a more prosperous Africa.

With the AfCFTA targeting the elimination of tariffs on 97 per cent of goods traded within the African continent, President Akufo-Addo noted that the offering presented a significant opportunity for businesses to set up and expand in Africa.

While we recognize the enormous challenges we may face, it is the smart actions that we take, the investments we make in our people, and the speed and effectiveness in implementing the common African market that will guarantee that the 1.3 billion people who call this continent home can enjoy a prosperous and fulfilling life, he stressed.

The President noted however that there was a great deal to be done to realise the full benefits of intra-African trade.

Africa, he told the gathering needed to invest in productive capacity and physical infrastructure.

The continent ought to improve its business and investment climate and look to value addition and promotion of economics of scale. It should scale up efforts to mobilise domestic resources to support its development agenda, including the productive sectors.

President Akufo-Addo noted the need to pay serious attention to and arrest illicit financial outflows from the continent, which are estimated about some 88 billion dollars annually, depriving Africa of significant resources that could be used to support our development agenda.

We must urgently and collectively institute comprehensive and unambiguous tax policies to combat tax-motivated illicit financial flows, strengthen legal and law enforcement systems and bring together national agencies to stem such flows.

We need concrete measures to stop the systemic impoverishment of our continent and the theft of its resources, he said.

The President harped on the need for Africa to invest in and harness technology and innovation to transform economic structures and educational systems.

He said it is imperative for Africa to build technology and trade policy convergencies and to adopt new approaches to sustain technological and market competitiveness.

President Akufo-Addo said Africa was an opportunity for the world, and the continent must rise and reclaim its place.

We must now with great zeal and fortitude back this great ambition with our collective action to harness fully the benefits of a liberalized single market for goods and services, this must be our solemn and moral obligation to our continent, to our children and future generations.

We cannot afford to fail, as African nations, we must join hands with each other and work diligently to pursue this noble cause, he said.

GNA
In the DR Congo's boisterous capital Kinshasa, a road close to the city centre is lined with traders hawking unusual merchandise: church pulpits.

The typical buyers are evangelical preachers, whose numbers have mushroomed over the years in the traditionally Catholic country which Pope Francis is set to visit on Tuesday.

"Pastors come here," said vendor Frederic Kimbaya. "It's good business."

Catholicism has long been the dominant religion in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a vast nation the size of continental western Europe that gained independence from Belgium in 1960.

But since the 1990s, evangelical churches, also called revivalist churches, have exploded in popularity, appealing particularly to the poor.

Despite huge mineral wealth, the DRC is one of most impoverished countries on the planet. About two-thirds of the population of around 100 million lives on under $2.15 a day, according to the World Bank.

The turn from Catholicism also traces its roots to former dictator Mobutu Sese Seko, who ruled between 1965 and 1997, said Gauthier Muzenge Mwanza, a sociologist at the University of Kinshasa.

Mobutu encouraged evangelical pastors in order to weaken the power of the Catholic Church, an independent force that often rallied opposition against him, said Mwanza.

"Anyone could start a church," he said, explaining that no legal restrictions were placed on starting religious establishments.

According to estimates, about 40 percent of the country is Catholic, 35 percent Protestants of various denominations, nine percent Muslims and 10 percent Kimbanguists -- a Christian movement born in the Belgian Congo.

Official Vatican statistics put the proportion of Catholics in the DRC at 49 percent of the population.

Miracles, money

Today, many Congolese evangelical leaders style themselves as archbishops and prophets, or even apostles.

They are often well spoken and immaculately dressed. Some own television channels.

Most also promise their flock a better life, or money or love, according to Mwanza.

All that is required of the faithful is prayer, dance -- and cash donations to the preacher.

Despite the popularity, some former Catholics who joined the evangelicals are beginning to return to the mother church as the promised miracles fail to show up, said political scientist Christian Ndombo Moleka.

DR Congo. By (AFP)

More people are questioning their moral conduct, politics and "relationship with money," he said.

Evangelical churches nevertheless remain ubiquitous in Kinshasa, a megacity of an estimated 15 million people.

Ascertaining their precise number is difficult. But last year, a Congolese MP pushed to close 10,000 churches deemed to be corrupt.

'Wolves'

Emie Kutino, a snappily dressed evangelical preacher, pushed back against the image that revivalist churches are all on the take.

There are "wolves" who exploit people's misery among evangelicals and Catholics alike, she said.

"There are also real ones, who do a great job," added Kutino, who has a degree in theology, on a Sunday before a service in her church.

Kutino's husband Fernando is the founder of Kinshasa's "Army of Victory," which is one of the oldest revivalist churches in the city.

Pope Francis' upcoming visit to DR Congo and South Sudan was scheduled for last year but had to be postponed because of health problems. By Tiziana FABI (AFP)

He was imprisoned between 2006-2014 due to an arms-possession charge, and is now living in France after suffering a stroke.

Kutino said the charge had been "fabricated" for political reasons, as her husband had criticised the government of the time.

"If it wasn't for the presence of the churches, this nation would fall apart," she said, pointing to the ravages of the long-running conflict in eastern DRC.

"But we pray, and in church we can offer something to the widow and the orphan," she added.

Although not a Catholic, Kutino said the Pope's visit on January 31 would be a "blessing" that may encourage peace.
Galvanised by the success of their first downing of tools against pension reforms earlier this month, trade unions are calling for new demonstrations across France from Tuesday and threatening more industrial action into February.

After their tour de force on 19 January  more than two million took to the streets according to the organisers  France's eight main trade unions have called for "a more massive mobilisation on 31 January".

However, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne has stood firm, saying the raising of the retirement age to 64 in France is "no longer negotiable".

Unions are hoping for massive popular wave against the proposals of the "unfair reform" and its key measure: the postponement of the legal retirement age from 62 to 64 years.

Setting the bar high

But after their first successful action mid-January, "the bar has been set high," according to political scientist Dominique Adolfatto, and the unions "can't afford a slip-up".

The militant CGT union remain confident, believing turn out will be larger this coming Tuesday, as polls show public opinion a turning against the reform .

France's largest CFDT union maintains the French population is "very unfavourable to the project and this opinion is tending to grow"  and for the government to ignore the protests would be a mistake.

French PM holds her ground

Meanwhile, speaking from her constituency in Calvados, Normandy, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne deplored "misinformation" on the government's proposals.

In an interview with Franceinfo broadcast on Sunday morning, Borne said she was open to a discussion on the use of "education" and "maternity" advantages obtained by women during their careers.

However the prime minister has insisted, the postponement of the retirement age from 62 to 64 "is no longer negotiable."

Political balancing act

This Tuesday, more than 200 rallies have been planned across France.

In Paris, the strike march will end at Invalides  close to the National Assembly  where the examination of the controversial bill will already have begun.

More than 7,000 amendments have been tabled  mainly by the left  which intends to drag out the debates, while the right is trying to raise the stakes.

The French right-wing are fully aware that their votes will be crucial to the adoption of the reform.

The government also has to deal with its own majority, where many are calling for improvements and some are reluctant to vote for the text.

Disruptions are expected on public transport this Tuesday  particularly at the SNCF rail and RATP metro operators  and school closures are also anticipated, with the number of primary school teachers on strike to be known by Monday.
I have to be honest; I don't like the US government. My reasons are that, apart from malaria, they spread other man-made diseases, such as HIV, Aids, nodding disease, Burkitt's lymphoma, Kaposi's sarcoma, tuberculosis, and Ebola across Africa, while working with the World Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control, to convince the world that bats, monkeys, primates or bush meat, are responsible for the spread of those diseases in Africa.

However, they conceal their medical crimes against humanity and call for African governments to uphold LGBTQ rights. If the US government calls for justice, equality, and peace for homosexuals and lesbians in Africa while abusing those rights and killing African-Americans regularly, is this not the worst kind of hypocrisy? Everyone is aware that the US prison system serves as the primary venue for criminal offense punishment and rehabilitation, so why do black inmates make up about 40% of the prison population?

Police officers beating up Tyre Nichols. His death reveals another injustice against black people in America.

Without addressing the problems African-Americans also experience, I am unable to talk about the concerns Ghana as a country faces, such as the deliberate spread of diseases throughout Africa and the destabilization of African economies out of greed. America frequently accuses African governments of violating the rights of LGBTQ people, but they treat African-Americans the worst. Blacks who serve prison sentences have such poor access to employment opportunities that many would rather return to prison.

The US government still extols virtue while engaging in sin and immoral behavior. It is very depressing that African-Americans still can't lead normal lives like white Americans decades after slavery was abolished. Many people experience racism and see discrimination as a tool to get better housing and healthcare. More than any other group of individuals in the United States of America, black people are more likely to experience outright violence and police brutality.

Police brutality against African-Americans has occurred on several occasions in the past, but this is far from ending. The US government is having trouble finding better ways to let African-Americans live better lives, just as it has failed miserably to control the guns that are killing people everywhere. That's why I've said before that just because the US supports the rights of LGBTQ groups in Africa doesn't imply they love or care about them; rather, it is because of the continent's abundant resources.

The imperialists, especially the US government and the colonial overlords of the West, cannot have a better economy to support the workforce without African resources. The encouragement of homosexuality in Africa is one of their political agendas since they are constantly looking for a method to stop population growth. African leaders are undoubtedly foolish if they cannot improve living circumstances for the populace despite enslavement, violent colonial rule, Apartheid, and the deliberate propagation of diseases.

Only a few instances of police brutality against African-Americans have been documented on video in the past. The violent beating of the late Rodney King was caught on camera, and the entire world watched in horror. Following the capture of George Floyd's manhandling, there were numerous protests across America. There is a brand-new video today showing cops abusing Tyre Nichols, another African-American. Why does the US government interfere in foreign issues but cant solve its problems?

African leaders must improve living conditions for the populace and stop traveling to developed nations to beg for food and money because we have the resources and don't need to be beggars. If Africans are treated humanely, the US government will stop treating African-Americans as second-class citizens.
29.01.2023 LISTEN

The Chief Executive Officer of the Youth Employment Agency YEA Mr. Kofi Baah Agyepong has told Ghanaians that the President, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-AddoI is very sensitive to the plight of Ghanaians in the face of global economic crises.

He noted that the President is resolved to reduce the burden of Ghanaians through further creation of jobs, skills acquisitions and entrepreneurial development of the youth.

According to Mr Agyepong, this is evident in the creation of over 17,000 jobs in the last four months by the Youth Employment Agency through its Community Heath Worker Programme CHWS, Prisons Office Assistants, Community Protection Assistants, the YEA Jobcentre and partnerships with the private sector.

Mr Agyepong made the revelation when he was addressing a passing-out parade of 1,064 of the second batch of CPAs beneficiaries drawn from the Bono, Ashanti, Bono East, Ahafo and the Western North region. This represented a total 5,400 beneficiaries who were concurrently passing out at the various Police Training Schools in the country.

In his speech, the CEO averred that Akufo-Addo's government has conceded that times are hard and charged YEA and other agencies to refocus on creating employment and improving conditions of service for employees. According to him, the Agency has already created over 17,000 jobs since his assumption as CEO and is poised to create more jobs before the close of 2023.

Apart from rolling out the traditional modules, he added that allowances of beneficiaries have now been increased to 500 cedis.

According to him, there is also a deepened partnership with the diplomatic community and private sector to create more private sector-led jobs.

Mr Agyepong also told the gathering that YEA's new agenda also creates a platform for people in the technical and Artisan sector with an oncoming partnership with NEIP, NVTI, GEA etc.

To the beneficiaries under the Community Protection Assistants CPAs module, the CEO advised them not to compromise on their professional integrity in the course of discharging their duties in the communities. He added that the Agency would not hesitate to weed out any CPA personnel by the GPS for infractions.

Mr Kofi Agyepong explained that such caution was in line with assurance by the GPS to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (M.O.U) with the Agency to give consideration and priority to CPA personnel in future recruitment into the mainstream service.

He explained that the Agency had taken the necessary steps to clear all outstanding arrears owed beneficiaries. He stressed that the NPP government had made strenuous efforts in spite of the economic turbulence to release funds timely to meet the monthly stipends of the beneficiaries.

The passing-out ceremony was concurrently held in Pwalugu Police Training School led by the Deputy CEO in charge of Operations, Alhaji Ibrahim Bashiru, in Accra by Director of Technical Service Chris Arthur and Eastern Region by the Regional Director Jerry Adu Poku.
Thousands of demonstrators rallied in Burkina Faso's capital Ouagadougou on Saturday in support of the ruling junta, days after France confirmed its special forces there would withdraw.

Packing Nation Square in central Ouagadougou, protesters held signs bearing slogans including "Down with imperialism", "Down with French policy in Africa" and "Forwards for Burkina's sovereignty".

Former colonial power France has special forces based in Ouagadougou, but its presence has come under intense scrutiny as anti-French sentiment in the region grows.

Paris confirmed last week that the troops, deployed to help fight a years-long jihadist insurgency, would leave within a month.

Two coup d'etats in one year

It was anger within the military at the government's failure to stem a jihadist insurgency that has raged since 2015 that fuelled two coups in Burkina Faso last year.

Violence by insurgents linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group has killed thousands of people and forced around two million more to flee their homes.

According to Alassane Kouanda, head of an association backing the planned transition to civilian rule, junta leader Captain Ibrahim Traore was acting for the state's sovereignty and "an army powerful enough to fight jihadists."

Anti-colonial legacy

Some commentators say the Burkinabe government's request for France to withdraw its troops is reminiscent of the ideals of former president, left-wing anti-colonial hero Thomas Sankara.

A coalition of organisations supporting Sankara's ideas welcomed "the complete liberation of our country from the yolks of Francafrique, imperialism and deadly capitalism" using a term to describe French influence in its former African colonies.

Mahamadou Sawadogo, leader of the Burkina-Russia association, said during Saturday's protest that there were "other opportunities for cooperation" in the fight against jihadists, notably from Moscow.

Russian influence

Some protesters on Saturday held Russian flags and giant posters of the leaders of Mali and Guinea  West African neighbours which like Burkina Faso are ruled by military juntas following coups.

Other signs denounced the "diktat" of French President Emmanuel Macron.

However, turning away from France in favour of Russia  and the Wagner mercenary group in the anti-jihadist fight  has not convinced all Burkinabe citizens.

"We demanded the French soldiers' departure. Now that it's done, we must not let in other imperialists," said Ibrahim Sanou, a 28-year-old shop worker.

"It's up to us to take full responsibility because the fight for true independence in Burkina Faso begins now."
Madam Paulina Magyam, the Oti Regional Women's Organiser, National Democratic Congress (NDC), has urged all party members to throw their support behind the newly elected National Executives to ensure victory in 2024.

I want to use this occasion to appeal to members of the party  both home and abroad, as well as the good people in the Oti region, to rally support behind the new leadership  regional and national, to ensure a resounding victory for the NDC in the 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections, she said.

Madam Magyam said this on Sunday when she and other constituency members joined the Abunyanya Church of Pentecost-Central Assembly to thank God for seeing her through the party's regional elections, last year, when she emerged the winner.

She called on all faiths across the country to pray for peace, harmony, and oneness for the common good of the country.

The Women's Organiser appealed to the worshipers and the people of Oti to keep faith with the NDC as the Party was poised to rescue the country from the current economic crisis.

Trust the NDC for better governance and economic liberation come 2025, she said.

Madam Magyam was accompanied by her deputy, Mary Dunyame Mensah, the former Oti Regional Deputy Youth Organiser, Mr Wisdom Uworborken, and Deputy Women Organiser for Atiwa West, Janet Asantewaa, among other branch executives.

The team donated plastic chairs to the Church to support God's work.

GNA
Ghana recorded four deaths and 116 confirmed cases of Monkeypox disease in 2022, in 14 out of the 16 regions.

Two deaths were recorded in Upper East and one each in the Greater Accra and Central regions.

The Savannah and Ahafo regions did not record any cases, Dr Farida Abdulai, the Deputy Director, Ghana Health Service (GHS), disclosed during a community stakeholder engagement at Ningo-Prampram in the Greater Accra Region.

It was organised by the GHS, in collaboration with the USAID Breakthrough Action-Ghana programme, to educate the public on measures to overcome the disease.

Dr Abdulai said Monkeypox could affect anyone despite the age, disclosing that a 13-day-old baby got infected and died.

However, more than half of the confirmed cases were aged between 16 and 39 years.

In August, 2022, Monkeypox was renamed 'Mpox' to stem stigmatisation, she said, and the virus spread through respiratory droplets and close contact with the rashes of an infected person.

Dr Abdulai mentioned the symptoms to include acute fever with a body temperature of more than 38 degrees Celsius, coughing, cold, backache, sore throat, weakness, and rashes.

Therefore, seek immediate medical attention anytime you experience these symptoms, she said, and that a free lab test would be run to determine whether one had the infection or not.

The result is then taken to the National Public Health Reference Lab for confirmation.

Dr Abdulai advised against the intake of alcohol or bathing in the sea as treatment of the disease as those were mere myths.

Those are not the remedy for the sickness, rather seek proper health care services, she stated.

GNA
Rightify Ghana has reacted to the commitment by government to protect the rights of the LGBTQI+ community in the country.

At the 4th Cycle Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland on January 24, the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice of Ghana, Hon. Godfred Yeboah Dame delivered a statement of support for LGBTQI+ rights.

In a press release from Rightify Ghana, it says it welcomes the commitment by the government.

We commend the governments commitment to protecting LGBTQI+ rights and its stance against violence, cruelty, and torture of any group of people, part of a release from Rightify Ghana signed by Deputy Director Danny Bediako reads.

Meanwhile, Rightify Ghana is calling government to take concrete action to combat violence and discrimination.

We call on the Attorney-General and the State to actively support LGBTQI+ rights and take action to address the ongoing violence and discrimination faced by the community.

We also urge victims of violence to report their cases to the appropriate authorities and for those authorities to take appropriate action to ensure that justice is served, the release added.

Below is a copy of the press release:
The Obuasi branch of the Ghana Federation of Disability Organiations (GFD) has called on Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to factor the needs of members in the planning and implementations of policies.

It said incorporating the needs of vulnerable groups in the planning and budget allocations was the way to go to ensure inclusive development.

Mr Karim Iddrisu, the President of the Obuasi Chapter of GFD, said this at Obuasi during a programme to mark the 2022 World Disability Day.

He charged the MMDAs to demonstrate commitment towards empowering PWDs by prioritising their needs at the conception of their development programmes.

The World Disability Day is celebrated annually on December 3, instituted by the United Nations in 1992, to promote understanding of disability issues and mobilise support for the dignity, rights and well-being of Persons with Disability (PWDs).

It also seeks to increase awareness of gains to be derived from the integration of PWDs in every aspect of social, political, economic and cultural lives.

The Obuasi Chapter of the Federation decided to climax the month- long celebration in January, on the theme: Transformative Solutions for Inclusive Development: The Role of Innovation in Fuelling an Accessible and Equitable World.

Mr Iddrisu said though some assemblies had been supporting PWDs, with the Obuasi Assembly not an exception, more needed to be done in terms of equal opportunities for employment and skills development.

He bemoaned the lack of support for PWDs during the peak of the COVD-19 outbreak, saying that the period saw many of them wallow in poverty.

It was very unfortunate that Government did not come out with any policy targeted at supporting PWDs during the peak of the COVID-19. A lot of our people really suffered and are currently suffering from post- Covid-19 losses, he noted.

Mr Elijah Adansi-Bonah, the Obuasi Municipal Chief Executive, called for a national dialogue on some of the issues raised by the participants, especially on the need to make special provision for PWDs in job creation.

He said the District Assemblies Common Fund had been the major source of support for PWDs but its disbursement had specific directives.

He implored the GFD to submit its needs to the Assembly to be captured in the planning and budgetary processes.

Mr Peter Owusu Ansah, the Municipal Director, Department of Social Welfare, said 543 PWDs had been registered to benefit from government interventions and urged all members to register.

Mr Samuel Asante Yeboah, the Municipal Director of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, said his office was always opened for the Federation to seek redress on human rights violations.

Members of the Ghana Deaf Association took the opportunity to appeal to the Government to engage the services of sign language interpreters in public institutions, especially hospitals and schools, to ensure effective communication.

GNA
29.01.2023 LISTEN

Bawku Central Member of Parliament, Mahama Ayariga, has said there are no instances where the Minority Leader in Parliament was removed in the mid-term.

Speaking on the Key Points on TV3 Saturday, January 28, regarding the removal of Haruna Iddrisu as Minority Leader, he said I dont recall we ever changing a leader in the middle of a term while in opposition. I dont even recall our colleagues in the NPP ever doing that in the middle of a term. So you cant even say that there is a practice and that there is a precedent.

It is easier to change leaders when you are in government and we have done that several times. Because when you remove a leader when you are in government very often, probably, you have other exciting things for the person to do, sometimes people even fight to leave and join the executive when you are in government.

So there is precedent when we are in government but we dont have a precedent and practice for us when in opposition. So if you ask me what is the precedent I will say I dont know any.

He further pledged to resist any claim that Haruna Iddrisu was removed because of incompetence.

He described Mr Iddrisu as an exceptional person who is competent.

His comments come after a professor at the University of Ghana, Ransford Gyampo on the same show that the decision to remove Haruna Iddrisu as the Minority Leader and the others was not an easy decision.

Professor Gyampo said such actions do not come cheap.

He said the audacity to look into the face of astute and accomplished political leaders and to tell them that we have had enough of you, we are reshuffling you doesnt come cheap. If for nothing at all, the current regime has shown that it is difficult, the president finds it too difficult to look into the face of very top people, very accomplished people, and to tell them that we are reshuffling you.

This is very difficult, unprecedented in the political history of Ghana to look into the face of accomplished politicians like Haruna Iddrisu that we are reshuffling you even though we have gotten to midstream, it shows a certain confidence, boldness and audacity that doesnt come cheap.

It tells you that in future there is hope, this practice of keeping people in office even when they can be described as nonperforming assets will one day give way.

Reacting to him, Mr Ayariga said I seriously want to take exception to the direction in which you are going. I have worked with Haruna for close to two decades now, he is an exceptional guy. His political abilities, his organizational abilities, his leadership of the caucus, his capacity to think on his feet and articulate our position has been exceptional.

Haruna uniquely comes from a background of having studied some economics at the foundational level, done some political science at the tertiary level and then ended up as a lawyer with some capacity to think logically and flow in the tone of training of lawyers.

This is an exceptional person. That is why anytime I am told that Haruna will lead you I yield. So any indication that he is being removed because of incompetence I will fight it. If you give any indication that you are removing Haruna because he is incompetent I will fight it. That is why I said I did not like the tone of Asiedu Nketias press conference and I thought that silence would have been golden.

Who says economists are the best spokespersons on economic matters and who says that they must lead in order to articulate economics position fluently and well. You can say anything but never in my face trying to question the competence and the ability of Haruna Iddrisu.

Following the changes made to the Minority Leadership, the National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Johnson Asiedu Nketia, in explaining the reasons for the changes made to the leadership of the Minority in Parliament, said the key topics that come up for debates lately centre on the economy, energy and infrastructure.

To that end, he said the party felt it necessary to get their best men who are on top of these issues forward.

He said on Tuesday, January 24 that The debates and the other discussions will focus on the economy so you need to put your best man in the economy forward, that is what we have done.

We also looked at energy. These petroleum and electricity challenges and so we needed to settle on Kofi Armah Buah, our former Energy Minister to be the deputy minority leader and then the other area is infrastructure, Kwame Agbodza being our man in infrastructure should play a key role. So that generally is what informed the changes.

Some Members of Parliament for the NDC raised concerns against the changes.

For instance, MP for Agotime Ziope, Charles Agbeve has demanded explanations into the decision by national executives of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to change the leadership of the Minority in Parliament.

Mr Agbeve said the NDC lawmakers were surprised following the announcement of the changes because consultations were not done on this matter.

He told TV3 in an interview that I am flabbergastered, the news hit me because it is one of the last news I am expecting at this time, and so I am surprised.

It took me a long time to really appreciate the news because normally, the national executives will engage the leadership of Parliament and if leadership thinks the engagements, they can't get to a consultation, they meet the whole caucus and so, I can count countless engagements between the caucus and the national executives on all issues.

There are issues when they come up, leadership thinks let us take some advice from the national executives and then they give the direction. So one would have thought that if there is going to be a shake-up like this, there would have been some engagements and that engagement would have watered down the shock and surprise.

You will know there is going to be some changes here and there and then people will make inputs and suggestions but this was not done and I will like to know what went into this thinking, I will want some explanations, that will give all of us reasons to support it. 

The General Secretary of the National Democratic Congres (NDC) Fifi Kwetey explained the reason for the changes.

He stated that the decision is to reposition the party for the elections 2024.

Apart from replacing Haruna Iddrisu with Ato Forson, the party has also removed James Klutse Avedzi as Deputy Minority Leader.

He has also been replaced with Ellembelle Member of Parliament Kofi Armah Buah.

'It has become necessary for you to deploy you from your current position as Deputy Minority Leader with immediate effect, a statement signed by General Secretary of the party Fiifi Kwetey said on Tuesday, January 24.

I wish on behalf of the party to express our deepest appreciation to you for your service over the years in this capacity,' the statement added.

It further said  please kindly arrange with the new officer to effect the necessary handing over processes. Please accept our assurance of the highest regard.

-3news.com
For the thirty-third consecutive year, the first foreign trip by Chinas Foreign Minister was to Africa. Chinas new Foreign Minister, Qin Gang, the former Ambassador to the United States, traveled to Ethiopia, Gabon, Angola, Benin, and Egypt, from January 9 to 16, 2023. In addition to visiting these five African nations he was also invited to meet with African leaders at the African Union and the League of Arab States Headquarters. The stated purpose of the trip was: To deepen the China-Africa comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnership and boost friendly cooperation between China and Africa.

Friendship Remains Strong

Starting in the year 2000, China organized the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), which meets every three years, alternating between China and Africa. These conferences provide a unique opportunity for African leaders and Chinese President, Xi Jinping, to discuss future economic, cultural, and political collaboration. Contrary to continued efforts by the U.S. to malign Africa-China cooperation, China and Africa have remained steadfast in their shared common interest; the development of their people.

Chairperson of the African Union Commission, H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat, and Qin Gang at ribbon cutting ceremony at the new Africa CDC. (Courtesy of African Union-au.int)

One of the highlights of Foreign Minister Qin Gangs visit to Ethiopia, was to inaugurate the new Headquarters of the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). The new Africa CDC, located outside of Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, was built by China and given as a gift to Africa.

This is a critically important contribution to Africa, a continent of one and a half billion people, which was given a very low priority for vaccinating against COVID 19, and continuously suffers from a weak healthcare system.

Foreign Minister Qin met with Ethiopias Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed, and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen. He was the first foreign government official to visit Ethiopia following the signing of the peace agreement of November 2, 2022, that ended a two year long war in northern Ethiopia. He expressed Chinas support for Africans in solving African problems in African ways. This attitude differs dramatically from the U.S. and Europe, who undermined the government of Ethiopia during the war. Foreign Minister Qin pledged to assist Ethiopia in its reconstruction efforts, which are formidable following the terrible damage that the country suffered in fighting to maintain its sovereignty. Additionally, he announced that China will forgive thirty million dollars in Ethiopian debt.

In December 2022, the U.S. convened its first U.S.-Africa Summit in eight years. The unspoken secret topic and motivation for the three-day conference was, how to counter Chinas growing influence on the African continent.

There are yet to be any deliverables from the U.S.-Africa Summit. While the Biden administration seems to be more focused on exporting the infrastructure of democracy, China is building and financing more hard infrastructure projects in Africa than the rest of Western nations combined. These projects impact the daily material needs of the African people, which is essential to eliminate poverty on the continent.

China-Africa Trade Not Debt

Chinas trade with Africa during 2022 expanded to its largest single year total of $282 billion. China exported $164.5 billion to Africa and imported $117.5 billion over that twelve-month time, which represented an increase of 11% over 2021. From January to November of 2022, U.S. exports to Africa, were $28.5 billion and imports of $38.9 billion for a total trade of $67.3 billion, almost no increase over 2021. Thus, U.S. trade with Africa was approximately one-fourth that of China for 2022. If the U.S. intends to counter or challenge China in Africa, it will have to do a lot more than exporting democracy.

As you can see from the chart below the myth spun by Western officials and the media that China is primarily responsbile for Africas debt, is simply not ture. This intentionally false allegation has been refuted again and again, but Western governments continue to propagandize Africa nations that China is using a debt-trap diplomacy to seize their resources. Chinese Debt Trap is a Myth-Biden Would be Wise Not to Continue Trumps Attacks on China in Africa,

The total outstanding debt for sub-Saharan African nations to foreign entities totals: 454.4 billion USD. China is not even close to being the largest debt holder. China owns 79 billion USD of sub-Saharan Africas debt, less than one firth-17%. The debt held by bondholders, the World Bank, and the IMF, equals 286.9 billion USD,-63% of the total foreign debt of sub-Saharan Africa,

Courtesy of Reuters Graphics

Investing in Manufacturing

Contrary to Western propaganda, which accuses China of stealing Africas resources, China is actually expanding Africas manufacturing sector. This is a vital contribution since African nations suffer from an anemic production capability to add value their natural resources. A good example is the investment by Dinson Iron and Steel Company (DISCO), a Chinese steel manufacturer, who intends to invest in building a lithium battery manufacturing plant in Zimbabwe. chinese firm to manufacture lithium batteries in zim. The Zimbabwean government has wisely banned the export of raw lithium. Having its own manufacturing plant, will create jobs and improve the standard of living of Zimbabweans, since mining and export of valuable minerals does not lead to economic growth for the population.

This kind of investment in local manufacturing along with Chinas Belt and Road strategy of building infrastructure throughout Africa, is exactly what is needed to assist African nations in creating strong sovereign economies.

Lawrence Freeman is a Political-Economic Analyst for Africa, who has been involved in economic development policies for Africa for over 30 years. He is a teacher, writer, public speaker, and consultant on Africa. He is also the creator of the blog: lawrencefreemanafricaandtheworld.com. Mr. Freemans stated personal mission is; to eliminate poverty and hunger in Africa by applying the scientific economic principles of Alexander Hamilton
29.01.2023 LISTEN

Yesterday evening, at around 18:40pm GMT, I saw a young man clambering up the electricity pole in front of where I live at the Gomoa Buduburam State Housing estate, with feet-clamps.

I immediately became suspicious, and ventured out to speak to the young chap who seemed to be the leader of the two-man gang.

I then asked him what it was that they were doing - whereupon he proceeded to implicate himself in an illegality that causes massive revenue-leakage to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), nationwide, and which severely affects its finances, a well as impairs its ability to provide a world-class service for consumers across Ghana.

The young men were apparently from Camp Liberia - part of which I happen to share a fence-wall with.

Like all slums in our country, the demand and supply of a modern-day essential, like electricity, in Camp Liberia, is enveloped in the foggy-miasma, of a thriving black market, which rips off the very poor, ruthlessly. That one can understand.

However, the ECG must ensure that formal settlements like the State Housing estate where one lives in, are monitored strictly, and on a regular basis.

The ECG can begin that new chapter by sending their Central Regional branch's loss control unit to check the lines from the ECG pole outside where one resides, as soon as is practicable. If fire occurs there (God forbid!) because of the activities of bold and hungry young criminals, such as the two aforementioned young men, we will sue the ECG for zillions, oooo. The ECG needs to wake up, oooo, Ghanafuo. Haaba. Yoooooooo...
A stalwart of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Ashanti Region, Mr Odeneho Kwaku Appiah aka COKA on Saturday January 28, 2023, joined mourners at the funeral and burial rites of the police officer who died in a fire disaster with his family at Ejisu Apromoase.

The Police officer identified as Sergeant Owusu Asante of the Anti-Robbery Squad of the Ashanti Regional Police Command was killed together with his wife, Yaa Achiaa and three months child in a fire outbreak of a four-storey building at Apromase in the Ejisu Municipality.

The deceased family was laid to rest at Asante Akim Adomfe about two weeks after the unfortunate disaster.

The funeral grounds have been flooded by hundreds of mourners from across the country including Mr Odeneho Kwaku Appiah, who happens to be a good friend of the police officer.

Speaking to this reporter at the sidelines of the funeral, Mr Odeneho Kwaku Appiah who said he was heartbroken described the fire incident as unfortunate.

"I have been heartbroken since the very day I learnt about the passing of my friend and his family. I and the team stand with the family during this terrible time of tragedy and sorrow.

"As we prepare to finally bid my good friend and his family farewell, my heart is with the remaining families and so I send my deepest condolences to the families for losing their loved ones in this unfortunate fire disaster," he stated.

Mr Odeneho Kwaku Appiah described Sergeant Owusu Asante Baafi as a patriotic police officer who served the nation in all honesty during his time as a police officer.

"The country has lost a good citizen and fine police officer who had a distinguished police career.

We thank him for his service to our nation and the world he will forever be in our history books as one of the professional police officers who served Ghana wholeheartedly," he stressed.

Mr Odeneho Kwaku Appiah however presented Gh5,000 to the family to support the burial service of his friend.
A batch of 1,064 Community Protection Assistant Recruits under the Youth Employment Agency (YEA) graduated

29.01.2023 LISTEN

A batch of 1,064 Community Protection Assistant Recruits under the Youth Employment Agency (YEA) has graduated from the Ashanti Regional Police Training School.

The recruits who underwent two weeks of intensive training were taken through traffic control and accident management drills, community-based policing, physical training and code of conduct.

All 1064 recruits were drawn from the Ashanti, Bono East, Ahafo and Western North Regions.

In his remarks, on Friday January 27, 2023, the Chief Executive Officer for YEA, Mr Kofi Baah Agyepong observed that community policing was the knowledge impacted into the personnel and for that reason, they were expected to hold on to that role and serve as good ambassadors of the agency.

"We are expecting the new recruits to exhibit high professional standards in the discharge of their duties," he stated.

He cautioned that the agency would not hesitate to dismiss any CPA who misconducts himself or herself when discharging their duties by arrogating to themselves status of police officers and officer ranks to misrepresent themselves.

He disclosed that over 5000 people had been recruited by government under the Community Protection Assistants module, a clear indication of governments commitment to helping the youth in Ghana.

Mr Kofi Agyepong expressed his determination to put skills training and acquisition among the youth high on the agenda of his administration.

He observed that the absence of relevant skills among the youth continues to increase the high rates of unemployment in the country, despite the availability of vacancies for employment.

He however commended President Akufo-Addo for ensuring that YEA is provided with the needed financial assistance.

"I can assure you that President Akufo-Addo has not only increased the monthly stipends to YEA personnel, he has also provided enough funds for their payments, he emphasised.
The Obuasi branch of the Ghana Federation of Disability Organizations (GFD) led by its President Karim Iddrisu has made a passionate appeal to MMDAs to factor in the needs of persons with disability during policy planning and implementation processes.

Speaking at an event held in Obuasi to mark 2022 World disability day, Mr. Iddrisu charged MMDAs to demonstrate commitment towards empowering PWDs by factoring their needs during policy formulation and implementation as well as budget preparations.

He however conceded that though some districts including the Obuasi Municipal Assembly have been supporting persons with disability, more needs to be done in terms of giving them equal opportunities during employment and skills development.

World Disability Day which is celebrated annually on December 3, was set aside by the United Nations in 1992 to promote the understanding of disability issues and mobilise support for the dignity, rights and well-being of persons with disabilities.

It also seeks to increase awareness of gains to be derived from the integration of persons with disabilities in every aspect of social, political, economic and cultural life.

The Obuasi chapter of the Federation decided to climax the month-long celebration on January 27, 2023 under the theme " Transformative Solutions for Inclusive Development: The Role of Innovation in Fueling an Accessible and Equitable World".

Karim Iddrisu also bemoaned the lack of support for PWDs during the outbreak of COVID-19 saying the period saw them wallow in abject poverty since most of them were not able to work.

"It was very unfortunate that Government did not come out with any policy targeted at supporting PWDs during the outbreak of Covid. A lot of our people really suffered and are currently suffering from post- Covid-19 losses".

The event was graced by the Chief Executive for Obuasi Municipal Hon Elijah Adansi- Bonah who called for a national dialogue on some of the issues raised by persons with disability saying, a national policy is needed to make special provisions for PWDs in the area of job creation.

He was impressed with how the Federation has organised and comported themselves over the years. He added that the District Assemblies Common Fund has been the major source of support for PWDs but the fund comes with directives and measures. He implored the Ghana Federation of Disability organisation to make available their needs to the Assembly to enable their inputs to be captured by the Assembly during the planning and budgetary processes.

There were solidarity messages from other departments including the Social Welfare Department. The Municipal Director Peter Owusu Ansah said the department works closely with PWDs in Obuasi saying so far the department has registered 543 PWDs made up of the deaf, blind, physically challenged and persons with intellectual disability.

He seized the opportunity to appeal to PWDs who have not registered with the department to do so to enable them get support from government.

The Municipal Director of CHRAJ Samuel Asante Yeboah also mentioned that their doors are opened to PWDs who wish to seek redress on grounds of human rights abuse.

PWDs intensify calls for sign language interpreters in hospitals and schools

Members of the Deaf Association also appealed to Government to engage the services of sign language interpreters in public institutions especially hospitals and schools.

They believed this will enable them communicate effectively when they seek services in public institutions.
Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) has commended President Muhammadu Buhari for approving a 10-day extension of the deadline for the swapping of old currency to the newly redesigned Naira notes.

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele had during his visit to the President at his Daura country home disclosed that President Buhari had approved the extension of the deadline after their closed door meeting to enable Nigerians, who were yet to exchange their old Naira notes with new ones, have opportunity to do so.

The CNPP, in a statement signed by its Secretary General, Chief Willy Ezugwu, on Sunday, urged the apex bank to ensure that commercial banks do not hoard the new notes again, calling on all security agencies to immediately swing into action, as a matter of patriotic duties to ensure that the new notes do not find their way into bullion vans belonging to some politicians and their allies.

While calling on the people to ensure that they utilise the opportunity provided by the new swap window to immediately get their old notes exchanged, the CNPP hailed President Muhammadu Buhari for showing the political will to keep to his promise that no politician would be allowed to compromise the ongoing electoral process.

The CNPP has been observing with keen interest the ongoing currency swap and has a reasonable suspicion that there are anomalies which could be attributed to some commercial banks and politicians bent on sabotaging the efforts of President Muhammadu Buhari on ensuring free, fair and credible elections in 2023.

For this reason, we call on all security agencies, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Department of State Services (DSS), and the Nigeria Police Force, to carry out already issued presidential orders on ensuring that no money bag-politician compromises the 2023 electoral process.

The best legacy of President Buhari administration is the redesigned high denominations of the Naira notes, comprising N200, N500 and N1,000, which have become legal tender since December 15, 2022, after they were unveiled by President Buhari on November 23, 2022, in Abuja.

We equally call on the House of Representatives to target commercial banks and their collaborators who have been hoarding the new notes, not the CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, who is simply following presidential directives.

From the continued attack and threats on the CBN Governor, rather than cooperating with President Buhari administration to ensure the success of the ongoing cashless policy of the federal government, federal lawmakers are now making Nigerians believe that they are working to sabotage the President's good intentions.

We therefore urge the authorities to ensure that banks and individuals hoarding the new notes are appropriately sanctioned in accordance with the law, the CNPP stated.
From left: Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills, Jr, Emmitt Martin III, Justin Smith and Tadarrius Bean

29.01.2023 LISTEN

Blacks in America have been the primarythough certainly not the onlytarget of police violence in the United States.

Black adults are generally about five times as likely as whites to say they've been unfairly stopped by police because of their race or ethnicity.

There is a substantial body of evidence showing that people of non-white skin, especially African Americans, are at greater risk of experiencing criminal justice contact and police-involved harm than are whites.

When it comes to police brutality in the United States, the unjustified or excessive, and often unlawful, use of force against civilians by U.S. police officers is more pronounced against blacks, particularly men and youths.

As we decipher the role of race in police officers use of force, as in the case of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old black man in Memphis, Tennessee, who was hospitalized after his traffic arrest by the now-fired black police officer in January 2023 and died three days later from the heinous beatings and injuries he sustained. Nichols was brutally beaten or injured to death this time by black officers, not by white officers, as it is mostly known in America.

Black America Cries About Police Brutality Is Not Just About Race But About Justice

On the video, officers can be seen holding Nichols down and repeatedly striking him with their fists, boots, and batons as the black motorist screamed for his mother. The video is filled with violent moments showing the officers chasing Nichols like a runaway slave and leaving him on the pavement propped against a squad car as they fist-bump and commemorate their horrible actions.

As the black officer violently pulled Nichols out of a car, Nichols could be heard saying, "I didn't do anything," as a group of officers began to wrestle him to the ground. One officer is heard yelling, "Tase him!" "Tase him!" Nichols calmly says, "OK, Im on the ground." "You guys are really doing a lot right now," Nichols says. "Im just trying to go home." "Stop! "I'm not doing anything!" he yells moments later. Nichols can then be seen running as an officer fires a Taser at him. His mother's home, where he resided, was only a few houses away from the scene of the beating.

The officers in the video can be seen chasing Nichols. As they got him, the officers beat him with a baton and kicked and punched him. Security camera footage shows some officers surrounding Nichols as he lies in the street; officers hold Nichols to the ground as he moves about; and then another officer appears to kick him in the head. Nichols slumps more fully onto the pavement with the officers surrounding him, and an officer kicks him again. They were pepper spraying him and hitting his face; how does hitting him in the head and face, kicking and punching him help, especially when he was defenseless and unharmful?

Nichols on the back is barely able to stay upright. Yet it took more than 20 minutes after Nichols is crushed down before any sort of medical attention is provided.

Some officers' claims about Nichols' behavior, such as attempting to grab a police gun, appeared to be made up for defense purposes, and one other officer admitted that no drugs were found in Nichols' car.

The officers are supposed to know how to deescalate tension, but instead we see an overly sized officers exerting brutal physical force on Nichols, who has been out of control to the extent that they are tired, trying to catch their breath, and making jokes marked with profane languages. Nichols, with his hands behind his back, was dehumanized through and through.

For far too long, we have focused on white police officers in terms of police sensitivity and responsiveness to minority communities; however, it appears that the use of force in this matter differs from white officers' racially biased behavior. As we witnessed black officers repeatedly punching, kicking, and pepper spraying Nichols, as well as striking him with batons and shocking him with Tasers. The story line "White cop kills unarmed black man" remains a reality, but not in this case.

The message that black people are inferior, undeserving, and dangerous remains persistent in America. Self-hatred is a real thing, especially among blacks. Black people can harbor anti-Black sentiments and act on those feelings in harmful ways. Such could have been the case with these five black officers.

The abuse of power and oppression of blacks by police authorities continues, partly due to anti-black racism, meaning that the average black American has been scarred by self-hatred. Unlike white racism, also known as white racial domination over those racialized as non-white and likened to white supremacy, race-based internalization or internalized racism has not received systematic attention in the policing of non-white neighborhoods. In fact, internalized racism is rarely discussed in law enforcement affairs.

Internalized racism, or internalized racial oppression, is the acceptance of stereotypes and discriminatory beliefs that have negative effects on the mental health and identity of non-white officers.

A little history here past and present tell us that from the moment Africans arrived on American shores, there was a deliberate effort by some to demean, demean, disregard, manipulate, and maltreat people of African ancestry.

People of African descent especially have generally come to accept the superiority of the white population. When this occurs, a person is said to have "internalized racism." These black officers could have been suffering from internalized racism, defined as the conscious and unconscious belief in a racial hierarchy in which whites are steadily ranked above non-whites.

As racism is thought to be a major cause of police brutality directed at African Americans and other ethnic groups, internalized racism is also a major cause of police brutality as it affects black people in authority, such as these black officers, who allow themselves to see other blacks as less than them and treat those who dare to challenge their official authority.

These black officers could be basically adopting and promoting prejudicial behavior within the police department, such as police violence against racial minorities.

The negative stereotyping of low-status racial populations has been ever-present in the public consciousness, and it has affected relations not just between blacks and whites but also between blacks and blacks, among other racially minority people. So, these black officers may have this in their unconscious or conscious minds.

Officers of all colors, including black police officers, could have internalized those messagesand sometimes act on them. So, training of a different type should be provided for black officers. There are some simple steps police officers can take to act more decisively in terms of training in the areas of self-esteem, self-image, and anti-internalized racism in order to reduce feelings of acceptance of negative stereotypes about their own racial group, which could be associated with psychological distress marked by insecurity, depression, and anxiety symptoms.

Training should focus on reducing the deleterious effects of internalized racism, which is often subtle and unconscious and driven by racial inequality that shapes the way that the oppressed think of themselves and other members of their group.

White officers certainly need training in cultural competence, but blacks and other non-whites like black officers also need cultural competence training and need professional conversations about blackness in racial minority communities. Internalized race-based stress training should be organized by mental health professionals to help black officers gain internal racial comfort while at the same time lowering various types of anger and frustration that could trigger a range of defensive and aggressive moves. There is need for respectful communication and relationship skills, a strong work ethic, professional ethics, accountability, fair practices, and compassion for others are all examples of professional behavior.

On a community level, Tyre Nichols' mother RowVaughn Wells said it well: these black officers now sacked and charged with second-degree murder brought "shame on their own families and the black community."

As black law enforcement professionals, yes, they should be maintaining law and order irrespective of the ethnic community, but they also ought to be working towards reducing negative psychological dynamics in the black experience that contribute to destructive and unnecessary black victimization (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7R-9DUBOAA).
The email spam filters at The Morning Call have been doing an awful job lately, which in my world is a blessing and a curse.

Its a pain deleting the worthless emails. But it also gives me a first-hand look at the latest scams so I can warn you about them. One I havent seen before tries to trick you into believing there is a shipment of cash being held for you at the airport.

I received several of these messages within a few days of each other. They all came with the subject line of CONSIGNMENT BOXES from people posing as United Nations inspectors at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

During our investigation, I discovered An abandoned shipment through a Diplomat from United Kingdom which was transferred from JF Kennedy Airport to our facility here in Atlanta, and when scanned it revealed an undisclosed sum of money in 2 Metal Trunk Boxes weighing approximately 110kg each, inspection officer James Edwards told me.

The consignment was abandoned because the Content was not properly declared by the consignee as money rather it was declared as personal effect/classified document to either avoid diversion by the Shipping Agent or confiscation by the relevant authorities, he said. The diplomats inability to pay for Non Inspection fees among other things are the reason why the consignment is delayed and abandoned.

He estimated that each box contained $4. I assume he meant to say $4,000 or even $4 million. Even the most gullible person wouldnt bother trying to collect $4.

Inspector Edwards offered to help me obtain the package, for a price, of course.

I am ready to assist you in any way I can for you to get back this packages provided you will also give me something out of it (financial gratification), he wrote.

There are so many signs that this is a scam that I cant imagine anyone falling for it.

If he really was a government inspector, he wouldnt be asking to be paid to do his job. He also wouldnt be using a gmail address. And hed have a better grasp of the English language.

Another version of the scam came from an inspection officer Shirley Franklin, who also asked me to respond to her at a gmail address. Her demands were more specific. She wanted 30 percent of the supposed $6 million being held for me.

Anyone who is foolish enough to respond to these emails likely would be asked to provide bank account information where their money could be deposited, or to pay the collection fee in advance.
At the last in-person meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum, in Tuvalu in 2019, then-Secretary General Dame Meg Taylor, left, joined with then President Hilda Heine and Prime Minister Jacinda Arden in a press conference.
Staff Reporter

Richelle obtained a bachelor of arts degree in mass communications from the Far Eastern University in Manila, the Philippines. She was a junior reporter for Marianas Variety from 2009 to 2010, and from 2014 to 2015. In the Maldives, she worked as a news reporter and marketing executive. In her free time, shes a painter, pianist, and mom baker.
For about 25 years, Laura Baylo would wake up multiple times each night, gasping for air.

Baylo, 58, was diagnosed with sleep apnea in her early 30s, but it wasnt until about two years ago she found the treatment that helped her finally get a good nights sleep.

Thats when she underwent surgery at St. Lukes University Health Network to implant a device known as Inspire, a nerve stimulation device first approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2014 but only recently available locally.

It makes a huge difference just having better sleep. You just feel better, Baylo said. I feel much more energized. Its night and day, honestly.

Sleep apnea is underdiagnosed, but it is estimated that about 26% of men between 30 and 70 years old and 11% of women in that age group have it. It can also occur in some younger people, including children. Some traits, medical conditions and lifestyle factors make sleep apnea more likely to occur.

There are two forms of sleep apnea; the most common is obstructive sleep apnea, which occurs when muscles in the back of the throat relax too much and make breathing difficult. The less common is central sleep apnea, which happens to people whose brains regularly stop telling their body to breathe while they sleep. It is possible to have both types of sleep apnea.

Untreated sleep apnea is associated with numerous health problems, such as daytime fatigue, high blood pressure, heart problems, type 2 diabetes, non-alcoholic liver scarring and abnormal cholesterol levels. Studies have found people with severe sleep apnea are at higher risk of death.

Continuous positive air pressure, or CPAP, machines have been the most common way of treating obstructive and central sleep apnea for decades, though there are other treatment methods available. For most sleep apnea sufferers, CPAP machines are highly effective when used correctly. But they are also noisy, bulky and require using a breathing tube and mask while sleeping that need to be fitted properly over the face.

Baylo, of Bethlehem Township, spent 20 years on and off trying to make her CPAP machine work for her, with little success. She tried losing weight, which did not improve her condition, and sleeping on her side, which helped only a little.

But since she got the Inspire implant, her sleep apnea has been virtually nonexistent. As long as she remembers to use her remote to turn on her implant, she is guaranteed a good nights sleep and all the health benefits that come with it.

I take the remote, I put it over my chest, I hit the button and it activates. And then it sleeps for 30 minutes and it allows you to go to sleep, Baylo said. After 30 minutes, it just turns itself on and it puts a little pull on the back of your tongue. Its never woken me up, ever. People ask me that all the time, but its never woken me up. Its very subtle.

Laura Baylo holds her sleep apnea device Thursday, Jan. 25, 2023, at her home in Bethlehem Township. St. Lukes started using a new treatment for sleep apnea that involves something similar to a pacemaker that helps keep people with sleep apnea breathing.

How the Inspire implant works

Inspire works in a similar way to a pacemaker, but instead of keeping the heart beating it keeps the airway unobstructed.

Dr. Jarrod Keeler, chief of surgery at St. Lukes Allentown Campus, was first in the Lehigh Valley to perform the procedure, in September 2020. Since then he and two fellow surgeons at St. Lukes have performed about 115 of these procedures. Lehigh Valley Health Network is set to start offering the implant in March.

Keeler said the procedure is minimally invasive and takes only about 60 to 90 minutes to complete. It involves two incisions, one near where the jaw and neck meet, which is where a stimulator is placed, and the other in the chest where the Inspire impulse generator and a breathing sensor are placed. The impulse generator is smaller than a wallet or smartphone and similar in appearance to a pacemaker.

Keeler said patients leave the hospital the same day the procedure occurs and only need a few days of rest at home before they can return to normal life. After that, patients need to wait about a month to activate the Inspire device, so their bodies have time to fully heal.

While CPAP machines work to counter sleep apnea by sending a continuous flow of air through the tube and mask into the mouth, keeping the tongue, uvula and soft palate from shifting too far into the airway, Inspire sends pulses to stiffen the tongue and displace it so it doesnt obstruct breathing.

Maintenance requirements for the device arent high either; the implants battery lasts about 10 years. The surgery to replace the battery takes about 30 minutes, Keeler said.

The dangers of untreated sleep apnea

Dr. Joseph Schellenberg, a pulmonologist with LVHN, said sleep apnea-related health problems arent all simply a result of poor sleep. The sudden and violent way sleep apnea wakes the body triggers a stress response.

Its like me sitting next to you and shaking you, Schellenberg said.

Immediate effects on the body from a sleep apnea incident can include blood pressure fluctuations and increased production of cortisol, which can lead to other long-term issues if left unchecked.

Baylo said her health was suffering before she got the implant. Her cardiologist told her a lower chamber of her heart stopped closing all the way,likely due to the untreated sleep apnea. She also developed high blood pressure, for which she start taking medication. She said it was her cardiologist who recommended she look into Inspire.

By that time, Baylo had given up on trying to make her CPAP machine work for her.

In the very beginning, it seemed OK, but it just didnt last, Baylo said. It was either I was waking up with it on the floor because I would unknowingly take it off in the middle of the night or the mask would come off of my mouth  Im a mouth breather so it would pop off and then the air would get through.

Keeler said about 30% of sleep apnea patients, like Baylo, dont tolerate CPAP machines well or at all.

Some face the problem Baylo did, where they cant get used to wearing a breathing mask while sleeping, cant find one that fits properly on their face or cant stop the mask from coming off while they sleep.

For others, the CPAP machine keeps them breathing at night, but the sounds it makes wake them up. If the sleep apnea sufferer has a spouse or long-time partner, that may mean they have to sleep in different rooms so their loved one doesnt hear the noisy machine.

Keeler said hes had multiple patients tell him their CPAP machines made them less confident about pursuing new romantic opportunities.

They dont have to have that stigma when going out on dates or in new relationships, Keeler said.

Keeler said having the Inspire treatment available is a major win, as it finally gives people like Baylo a good alternative.

However, Inspire is not going to replace CPAP machines for all sleep apnea patients, Schellenberg said.

Its certainly exciting to have something to offer but it is going to be select patients and its certainly not going to be a treatment for all comers, Schellenberg said.

At this time, only those who are 18 or older, have moderate to severe sleep apnea and are not significantly overweight are eligible for the procedure. Patients also need to undergo examinations and evaluations prior to the procedure. Keeler said the limitations on body mass and severity of sleep apnea is primarily an insurance issue, but Inspire Medical Systems is looking to expand the list of who can receive the implant.

The implant procedure is elective and isnt entirely risk-free, either. The most common side effects associated with the implantation of the device are minor and include temporary pain at the incision site or on the tongue, mouth dryness or discomfort. Less than 2% of patients who received the implant experienced a severe adverse reaction following the operation, according to the Mayo Clinic. The most common type was an infection, a potential risk with any surgery. Other severe adverse reactions included neuropraxia, the mildest form of serious nerve injury, as well as bruising and fluid build-up.

Baylo said she experienced no side effects from the procedure or the implant, and its brought nothing but positives into her life.

It was the best thing I ever did. It is a no-brainer for me  it fixed, it literally fixed it, Baylo said. Im off my high blood pressure medication and my cardiologist agreed that he thinks its because of the treated sleep apnea.

Morning Call reporter Leif Greiss can be reached at 610-679-4028 or lgreiss@mcall.com.
MERIDEN  Even though Meriden opened one of Connecticuts seven adult-use dispensaries earlier this month, cannabis is still a federally controlled substance. As a result, immigration lawyers warn of potential consequences cannabis might have for Connecticut residents applying for permanent residence or citizenship.

Theres a big disconnect between states that have passed laws permitting the use of marijuana and the U.S. governments view of marijuana, said Joseph Marino, executive director and immigration attorney with Immigration Advocacy & Support Center in New London.

The Drug Enforcement Administration lists cannabis as a Schedule I drug. This is a category reserved for drugs with currently no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. In addition to cannabis, Schedule I drugs include LSD, heroin and ecstasy.

Starting in July 2021, possession of cannabis among adults age 21 and over was legalized in the state by Senate Bill 120. According to state law, adults can carry less than 1.5 ounces and own less than 5 ounces in their homes or locked in their car trunk. The bill also regulated the sale of cannabis and prohibited the sale of cannabis without a license.

This gray area in the law doesnt really affect U.S. citizens, said Sr. Mary Ellen Burns, the executive director and an attorney with Apostle Immigration Services. She said even though cannabis is listed as a Schedule I substance, the federal government doesnt prosecute marijuana use or possession.

However, referencing two titles of the Immigration and Nationality Act, Burns explained that possession or sale of cannabis still has broad implications for immigrants  even without an arrest or conviction. It can affect people seeking admission to the U.S., people seeking permanent residence, permanent residents seeking readmission after leaving, and even establishes grounds to deport those who already have residence permissions.

In practice, she said cannabis use is most likely to become an issue for those looking to become citizens or obtain permanent residency. For cannabis users, she explained that use might be an issue in the mandatory medical exam required for getting a green card.

For non-users, Marino echoed the concern and said being associated with cannabis might have implications for the immigration process.

If youre working for a dispensary thats legally selling marijuana in Connecticut, that could incriminate you on a federal level and certainly affect your immigration process, he explained. You are committing a very big federal offense when youre not committing any offense at all in Connecticut.

Nevertheless, Burns said Immigration and Citizenship Services has discretion to interpret the act and what it considered drug trafficking.

It would take [Immigration and Citizenship Services] forever to thoroughly examine any possible thing that any of us might have, but they can change their practices in that use of discretion.

Last fall, Presiden Biden called on the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Attorney General to review how marijuana is scheduled under federal law. As Connecticut joins 20 other states and Washington, D.C. that have legalized recreational use for adults, the issue is likely to grow.

There has actually been a lot of discussion about it, Marino said. Because it doesnt seem quite fair to punish somebody on a federal level for things that are perfectly legal to do on the state level  especially now its becoming more of a bigger and bigger issue as more and more states get on the bandwagon of permitting marijuana use.

lguzman@record-journal.com, Twitter: @lguzm_n

Latino Communities Reporter Lau Guzman is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms. Support RFA reporters at the Record-Journal through a donation at https://bit.ly/3Pdb0re, To learn more about RFA, visit www.reportforamerica.org.
Bears were mysteriously missing toes. These scientists cracked the case. WaPo

Water

As the Colorado River Shrinks, Washington Prepares to Spread the Pain NYT. The crisis over the Colorado River is the latest example of how climate change is overwhelming the foundations of American life  not only physical infrastructure, like dams and reservoirs, but also the legal underpinnings that have made those systems work.

#COVID19

Pfizer Responds to Research Claims (press release) Pfizer

Who is Jordon Trishton Walker? Investigate Everything with Brian OShea. This is as close as I can come to actual reporting on Walker, the Pfizer executive recorded by Project Veritas. It looks thin to me, but Google has become so bad.

* * *

Why The White House Shouldnt Privatize COVID Vaccines Teen Vogue. By the authors of Health Communism.

SARS-CoV-2 variant biology: immune escape, transmission and fitness Nature. From the Abstract: SARS-CoV-2 shows a complicated relationship among virus antigenicity, transmission and virulence, which has unpredictable implications for the future trajectory and disease burden of COVID-19. So much for the yearly shot!

Whats CH.1.1? Meet Orthrus, a new wildcard Omicron strain with a concerning Delta mutation Fortune. Good, level-headed round-up.

Weak immune system? Government offers advice to help at-risk people avoid COVID-19 infections USA Today. Now that Evusheld is defunct:

I just clarified some of the points here it just doesn't seem very helpful! https://t.co/IQIIiMh920 pic.twitter.com/0NF2lPh4KZ  Amanda Hu (@amandalhu) January 28, 2023

Oh, and at risk in the headline is obvious question begging.
(Natural News) German officials met in secret several times with executives from several American Big Tech companies to come to an agreement about what kinds of content regarding the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) should be censored.

This is according to German-language newspaper Bild, which reported that at the height of COVID-19 pandemic in the summer of 2020, the government of former Chancellor Angela Merkel met with representatives from Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, and Google, which also controls YouTube. (Related: FBI director tells WEF the future of national security is in partnership between tech companies and government.)

This first confidential meeting, held with officials from the Federal Ministry of the Interior and the Federal Press and Information Agency on June 2, 2020, discussed the coronavirus pandemic and the spread of misinformation, false information and disinformation that can be observed in this context.

Members of several other government ministries, including the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Family Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, were also present in the meeting.

In plain language, this means that the government discussed with the operators of social media networks, which tens of millions of Germans use every day, how to take action against the dissemination of information that they considered false and dangerous, wrote Filipp Piatov of Bild.

Piatov added that it is still unclear what the government promised the social media networks in exchange for clamping down on so-called misinformation. A government spokesperson contacted by Bild admitted that the meetings happened, but claimed that no resolutions were passed as a result of those meetings.

Merkels government may have violated Germanys Basic Law

The current government of Germany, which took power following Merkels resignation in late 2021, uncovered the confidential meetings through a series of disclosure requests. Now, this government is demanding that the former issue a clarification about what was agreed upon in the meetings.

Without this clarification, the current government could be led to believe that Merkels government may have violated the German constitution by aiding or calling for the suppression of speech online.

Current Vice President of the Bundestag Wolfgang Kubicki of the Free Democratic Party, a member of the current government, warned the former government that the Basic Law, Germanys constitution, forbids the suppression of speech.

Article 5 of our Basic Law [constitution] states: There is no censorship,' said Kubicki. The citizens must expect that the previous federal government under Angela Merkel did not violate this principle.

Of course, we cannot rule out the possibility that there was a possible influence on Twitter [and other social media companies], not only in the U.S.A., but also in this country, he added. The question, he noted, is which speech the former German government was willing to surrender to the tech giants during the pandemic.

I expect the Federal Ministry of Health and the Chancellery to create the necessary transparency so that wrong conclusions about possible influence can be avoided, he said.

Learn more about the tech industrys latest actions at BigTech.news.

Watch this episode of the Health Ranger Report as Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, talks about indicting censorship pushers from Big Tech and Big Government.

This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

China wants to legitimize censorship by creating UN convention that will criminalize dissemination of false information online.

WEF globalists in Davos announce implementation of laws criminalizing hate speech coming soon  goodbye, First Amendment.

TWITTER FILES: Pfizer board member and former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb used Twitter lobbyist embedded at White House to silence debate on COVID vaccines.

Major lawsuit filed against legacy media conglomerates for colluding to censor views critical of COVID-19 policies, vaccines.

White House busted calling for social media companies to directly censor Tucker Carlson, others over vaccines.

Sources include:

ReclaimTheNet.org

Bild.de

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) Bill Gates, long recognized as one of the worlds foremost proponents of vaccines, raised some eyebrows at a recent talk in Australia when he admitted there are problems with current COVID-19 vaccines.

(Article by Michael Nevradakis, Ph.D. republished from ChildrensHealthDefense.org)

Speaking at Australias Lowy Institute as part of a talk entitled Preparing for Global Challenges: In Conversation with Bill Gates, the Microsoft founder made the following admission:

We also need to fix the three problems of [COVID-19] vaccines. The current vaccines are not infection-blocking. Theyre not broad, so when new variants come up you lose protection, and they have very short duration, particularly in the people who matter, which are old people.

Such statements came as a surprise to some in light of Gates longstanding support of  and investments in  vaccine manufacturers and organizations promoting global vaccination. However, they were the latest in a string of developments in recent weeks that have increasingly called the COVID-19 vaccines, in particular, into question.

This is a grift: Gates investments in mRNA vaccines reveal conflict of interest

Several analysts and commentators were critical of Gates  but not due to disagreement with the statements he made in Australia. Instead, they argued that he had previously heavily invested in mRNA vaccines at the same time he encouraged a global COVID-19 vaccination campaign and supported mandatory vaccination.

Speaking Jan. 25 on The Hill TVs Rising, co-hosts Briahna Joy Gray and Robby Soave addressed Gates statements. Soave initially agreed at face value with Gates criticism of current mRNA vaccines, saying:

He really nails it on the issues that were having: the short duration of protection, not a significant discernable impact on the transmission of cases  not a massive benefit for a lot of otherwise healthy and younger people.

However, Soave  who on Jan. 19 revealed Facebook files indicating the CDC significantly influenced content moderation and censorship on the platform pertaining to COVID-19 vaccines  then pointed out Gates prior investments that contributed to the development of mRNA vaccine technology.

Soave said, Bill Gates was a major proponent of mRNA technology  he was an investor in BioNTech, which developed the mRNA vaccine for Pfizer.

We were just doing some digging, continued Soave, [and] we saw that he sold a lot of those shares at  how much profit was that?

10x, replied Gray. He invested $55 million in BioNTech back in 2019 and its now worth north of $550 million. He sold some stock  at the end of last year, I believe it was, with the share price over $300, which represented a huge gain for him over when he invested.

Soave then unleashed critical comments directed at Gates:

Lets follow that trajectory: [Gates] invests heavily in BioNTech, mRNA vaccines are great, this is the future, he talks about the vaccine timeline and how we can develop it faster, we might have to cut some corners on safety  All in  sells it  makes a huge amount of money  but now its yeah, its okay, it could be better, but what we really need is this breath spray.

Soave was referring to a statement Gates made during his recent talk in Australia, immediately prior to his remarks regarding the mRNA vaccines, where he said:

We think we can also have, very early in an epidemic, a thing that you can inhale that will mean that you cant be infected, a blocker, an inhaled blocker.

Gray raised the issue of conflicts of interest between individuals such as Gates who hold significant positions with drug and vaccine manufacturers, and the federal governments spending of large sums of taxpayer money to purchase these products. She said:

This is a grift. These companies are extracting money, taxpayer money as it were, to pay for medical treatments that are not indicated by medical professionals and are less useful than what we already have.

At the same time, the Biden administration is opening its doors, revolving doors, to people from these various industries like Jeff Zients, who is the new chief of staff for Joe Biden  who has spent his entire career at the kinds of companies, investing in the kinds of companies, that have been overcharging the government for Medicare and Medicaid payments and exact kinds of overpayments. It is an enormous grift and one that is incredibly common.

Zients was formerly the Biden administrations COVID czar and publicly pushed for universal vaccination.

Soave then said that Gates statements, and the broader issue of conflicts of interest between drug and vaccine proponents and the federal government, give credence to the assertions long made by anti-vaxxers and the like. He said:

For there not to be more interrogation of his conflict of interest here by the mainstream is deeply disturbing, and for people who have been skeptical of this aspect of Pfizer and the drug development around COVID and who have been shot down in the media as kooks, anti-vaxxers and the like, I frankly think that this issue of pharmaceutical corruption and people pushing various interventions, having an investment in profit, should have been an issue that the left was leading on.

We have to be more transparent about the fact that people who are having input in what the government policy is going to be, whats going to be required people, the Biden administration tried to require people to get this, shouldnt it be known at least when there are hundreds of millions of dollars of financial interests at stake for the people advising this? And their tune changes as it follows the money!

Investigative journalist Jordan Schachtel also had scathing remarks following Gates statements in Australia, writing on his blog:

Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who served as one of the architects of Covid hysteria and had more of an impact than any other individual on the disastrous global pandemic policies, has finally acknowledged that the mRNA shots hes been promoting for two years are nothing more than expired pharma junk.

Translation: Gates admits that the shots are impossible to align with rapidly developing variants, they expire in lighting speed, and they dont stop transmission. And they dont work for the only at-risk portion of the population.

Schachtel called this an incredible reversal from the man who once advertised the shots as the cure to the coronavirus, drawing upon Gates previous statement: everyone who takes the vaccine is not just protecting themselves but reducing their transmission to other people and allowing society to get back to normal.

In 2021, Gates described the mRNA vaccines as magic, saying they would be a game changer in the next five years.

Gates warns about next pandemic, praises lockdowns, calls for more pandemic simulations

As reported by the Daily Mail Jan. 23, Gates talk in Australia was notable for some additional statements he made.

Gates called for greater global cooperation using the COVID-19 pandemic as an example of how countries could improve on their response if they worked together, arguing that political leaders needed to set aside their differences and work together to prepare for the next virus.

He also praised Australias strict lockdown policies, saying:

Some of the things that stand out are that Australia and about seven other countries did population scale diagnostics early on and had quarantine policies.

That meant you kept the level of infection low in that first year when there were no vaccines.

Gates also called for more pandemic simulations to assist world leaders in dealing with future pandemics. He said:

The one thing that still hangs in the balance is will we have the global capacity and at the regional and country levels that would mean that when an (infectious disease) threat comes up we act in such a way that it doesnt go global.

We need to be doing every five years a comprehensive exercise at both country and regional levels of pandemic preparedness and you need a global group thats scoring everybody.

As part of such preparedness, Gates called upon countries to have standby tools, including vaccines, in place for the next pandemic:

So theres a class thats got measles in it, a class of flu, a class of coronavirus, and a fourth class, all of which we need to have standby tools, both antivirals and vaccines that can deal with those. Its very doable. So on the tools front, we can be far more prepared.

Schachtel noted that Gates was a sponsor of Event 201, a simulation conducted Oct. 18, 2019, which predicted a global coronavirus pandemic. One of the sponsors of Event 201 was the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF).

The BMGF is a partner of Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance and holds a seat on its board. In turn, Gavi closely collaborates with the ID2020 Alliance, a strong proponent of vaccine passports, as previously reported by The Defender. Microsoft and the BMGF are founding members of ID2020.

According to the same report by The Defender, the BMGF in September 2022 pledged $1.27 billion in support of global health and development projects.

And as previously reported by The Defender, the BMGF previously committed, in June 2020, $750 million toward the development of the AstraZeneca vaccine at Oxford University, and conditional funding of $150 million to the Serum Institute of India  the worlds largest vaccine manufacturer by number of doses produced and sold.

The Serum Institute also received a $4 million grant from the BMGF in October 2020 to support research and development as part of the COVID-19 response, while in August 2020, the Serum Institute, in partnership with the BMGF and Gavi, agreed to produce up to 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines for low- and middle-income countries.

In a posting on his official blog in December 2020, Gates wrote that his foundation took on some of the financial risk for the vaccine, so that if the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine was not approved, the Serum Institute wouldnt have to take a full loss.

Gates remarks latest in a string of negative press for COVID, mRNA vaccines

Gates remarks in Australia  and the attention they received from the press  represent the latest in a series of less-than-flattering media portrayals about COVID-19 and mRNA vaccines in recent weeks.

On Jan. 22, the Wall Street Journal published a highly critical editorial regarding the FDAs non-disclosure of data pertaining to the efficacy of the COVID-19 bivalent boosters. Allysia Finley, a member of the newspapers editorial board, wrote:

Federal agencies took the unprecedented step of ordering vaccine makers to produce them and recommending them without data supporting their safety or efficacy.

She also accused vaccine makers of deceptive advertising.

Thanks @WSJ for taking vaccine makers + federal agencies to task for pushing the bivalent COVID-19 boosters without having any data to demonstrate that they are either safe or effective.https://t.co/cwPhbyXafd  Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) January 23, 2023

On. Jan 13, during a live television appearance on the BBC, cardiologist Dr. Aseem Malhotra truthbombed the network when he made the unprompted suggestion that mRNA vaccines pose a cardiovascular risk.

An undercover video released by Project Veritas released Jan. 25 showed Jordon Trishton Walker, Pfizers director of research and development, strategic operations, admitting the pharmaceutical company is exploring mutating COVID-19 ourselves via directed evolution, to then preemptively develop new vaccines against them.

A follow-up video showed Walker assaulting Project Veritas founder James OKeefe when confronted with the recording of his statements.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) on Thursday called for a Congressional investigation against vaccine manufacturers and the COVID-19 vaccine approval process, in response to the Project Veritas revelations.

Federal health agencies have been captured by Big Pharma and grossly derelict in their duties throughout the pandemic, said Johnson.

Its time for Congress to thoroughly investigate vaccine manufacturers and the entire COVID vaccine approval process, he added.

And today, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) sent a letter to Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla in response to the Project Veritas videos, stating:

I write in response to troubling reports on Pfizers intention to mutate the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID) virus through gain-of-function, or directed evolution, as detailed by Pfizer Director of Research and Development, Jordan Walker.

As has been proven time and time again, attempts to mutate a virus, particularly one as potent as COVID, are dangerous. If the claims detailed in the video are true, Pfizer has put its desire for profit over the concern of national and global health and must hold itself accountable.

Statements made by cartoonist Scott Adams of Dilbert fame regarding the COVID-19 vaccines also garnered attention. In a video dated Jan. 22, Adams said, The anti-vaxxers clearly won, youre the winners! due to their distrust of the government and corporations.

And Elon Musk, owner and CEO of Twitter, responding to separate comments made by Adams about the significant prevalence of COVID-19 vaccine-related adverse events, tweeted: I had major side effects from my second booster shot. Felt like I was dying for several days. Hopefully, no permanent damage, but I dunno.

Musk followed up with a second tweet, stating: And my cousin, who is young & in peak health, had a serious case of myocarditis. Had to go to the hospital.

Several comments from journalists tweeted in response to Musks statements anecdotally referred to increasing numbers of individuals experiencing such COVID-19 vaccine injuries.

Read more at: ChildrensHealthDefense.org
Votes in the U.S. House

H.Con.Res.7: Condemning the Iranian regimes human rights abuses against the brave women and men of Iran peacefully demonstrating in more than 133 cities.

Voting 420 for and 1 against, the House on Wednesday passed this concurrent resolution that commends the bravery, courage, and resolve of the women and men of Iran who are participating in the current protests to defend their fundamental human rights, and risking their safety to speak out against the human rights abuses committed by the Iranian regime.

The resolution condemns the brutal beating and death of Mahsa Amini; and the violent suppression by the Iranian regime of women and men participating in the current demonstrations, including children, and calls for transparent accountability for all killings of protesters by Iranian security forces.

Finally, the resolution encourages continued efforts by the Biden Administration to respond to the protests, including the recent sanctioning of the Iranian morality police.

Yes: Brian Fitzpatrick, R-1st (Bucks, parts of Montgomery and Philadelphia); Dan Meuser, R-9th (Schuylkill, parts of Carbon and Berks); Madeleine Dean, D-4th (Montgomery, parts of Berks); Susan Wild, D-7th (Lehigh, Northampton, parts of Monroe); Matt Cartwright, D-8th (most of Monroe).

HR 400: Investing in Main Street Act of 2023

Voting 411 for and 13 against, the House on Wednesday passed a bill that authorizes certain banking entities to invest up to 15% of their capital and surplus in one or more small business investment companies or in any entity established to invest solely in SBICs. The current limit is 5%.

Yes: Fitzpatrick, Meuser, Dean, Wild, Cartwright,

HR 346: NOTAM Improvement Act of 2023

Voting 424 for and 4 against, the House on Wednesday passed a bill to establish a task force on improvements for notices to air missions, and for other purposes.

Yes: Fitzpatrick, Meuser, Dean, Wild, Cartwright,

HR 300: Settlement Agreement Information Database Act of 2023

Voting 425 for and 0 against, the House on Tuesday passed a bill that requires executive agencies to submit information regarding settlement agreements to a public database.

Specifically, an agency must submit information regarding any settlement agreement (including a consent decree) entered into by the agency related to an alleged violation of federal law. If an agency determines that information regarding an agreement must remain confidential to protect the public interest, the agency must publish an explanation of why the information is confidential.

Yes: Fitzpatrick, Meuser, Dean, Wild, Cartwright,

HR 159: Chance to Compete Act of 2023

Voting 422 for and 2 against, the House on Tuesday passed a bill that modifies examination requirements and other components of the federal hiring process for positions in the competitive service.

Specifically, the bill provides that a qualifying examination includes a resume review that is conducted by a subject matter expert. Additionally, beginning two years after enactment, the bill prohibits examinations from consisting solely of a self-assessment from an automated examination, a resume review that is not conducted by a subject matter expert, or any other method of assessing an applicants experience or education; an agency may waive these requirements when necessary but must report any such waivers and may not use waivers to fill more than 10% of agency positions.

Agencies may use subject matter experts to develop position-specific technical assessments that allow applicants to demonstrate job-related skills, abilities, and knowledge; assessments may include structured interviews, work-related exercises, procedures to measure career-related qualifications and interests, or other similar assessments. The bill also allows agencies to establish talent teams to support and improve hiring practices.

Yes: Fitzpatrick, Meuser, Dean, Wild, Cartwright,

Votes in the U.S. Senate

S.Res.13: A resolution raising awareness and encouraging the prevention of stalking by designating January 2023 as National Stalking Awareness Month.

The Senate passed this resolution Thursday voting 94 for and 0 against.

Yes: Bob Casey (D), John Fetterman (D)

Brendan Owens, Department of Defense

Voting 60 for and 35 against, the Senate on Monday confirmed Brendan Owens, of Virginia, to be an Assistant Secretary of Defense, vice Lucian Niemeyer.

Yes: Casey, Fetterman
(Natural News) Google hates the truth. They always have. Theyre in the business of narrative-building and the narrative theyre building regarding the recent Project Veritas bombshell is a lie: Nothing to see here.

(Article by J.D. Rucker republished from TheLibertyDaily.com)

Heres what Project Veritas noticed on Thursday:

Something odd is happening when you Google Search for Pfizer Project Veritas ? @pfizer#DirectedEvolution pic.twitter.com/wJp5U5PVsy  Project Veritas (@Project_Veritas) January 26, 2023

The results have since been fixed, quite literally. Most of the top listings for the phrase, pfizer project veritas show fact check websites claiming the video is unverified or corporate media news outlets calling the incident alleged. Others published a story, then retracted it later.

In other words, theyre running the Hunter Biden laptop play on this one. It wouldnt be shocking if Deep Staters released a letter saying the video is Russian propaganda.

Congressman Ken Buck went on with Tucker Carlson to discuss. Watch:

This is why its so important for patriots to spread the word themselves. Dont wait for corporate media or Big Tech to do it because they wont. The people need to know just how evil Pfizer really is.

Read more at: TheLibertyDaily.com
(Natural News) Over the past few years, a cottage industry of fact checkers and misinformation experts has emerged to advance the lefts mission of silencing dissent to its agenda around the world. Analysis of the funding of these organizations leads back to a familiar figure: left-wing billionaire George Soros.

(Article by Allum Bokhari republished from Breitbart.com)

The New York Post broke down the trail of Soros dollars linking a global network of organizations intent on suppressing and discrediting conservative voices online.

Via the New York Post:

Later in the year, heading into the midterms, in an open letter signed by 11 other leftist groups, the Soros-funded Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights called on Big Tech CEOs to take immediate action to spread so-called voting disinformation to help prevent the undermining of democracy. The signatories had received a combined $30.3 million from Soros in just a four-year period. As the Hungarian publication Remix revealed, of the 11 Facebook-approved fact checking organizations for Central and Eastern Europe, eight were funded by Soros. As is the case for the US, these fact checking groups are largely critical of the political right. One project of the Poynter Institute specifically, the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), was launched in 2015 with its initial funding coming from the National Endowment for Democracy (backed by the US State Department), the Omidyar Network, Google, Facebook, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and George Soros Open Society Foundations.

Fact checking is an important element in the lefts online censorship machine, giving social media companies a politically neutral pretext so censor conservative viewpoints.

Facebook notoriously uses fact checkers to dodge responsibility for censorship, even though its infamous decision to suppress the Hunter Biden laptop story took place before any third party fact checkers had weighed in. In court, Facebook has admitted that fact checks, despite their pretense of impartiality and objectivity, are just opinions.

Read more at: Breitbart.com
(Natural News) On January 25, the case of Hoeg v. Newsom prompted a federal judge to pause Californias covid misinformation and disinformation law for violating the First and 14th Amendments to the Constitution.

Five doctors who are plaintiffs in the case say Assembly Bill 2098 violates their constitutional rights. These include Drs. Tracy Hoeg, Ram Duriseti, Aaron Kheriaty, Pete Mazolewski, and Azadeh Khatibi.

Gov. Gavin Newsom and other elected officials, including the president and members of the Medical Board of California, are named as defendants in the case (and there is also a second lawsuit, separate but related in nature, called Hoang v. Bonta that makes similar allegations).

AB 2098 puts a muzzle on California doctors, preventing them from providing information to their patients that the state deems to be misinformation or disinformation.

Doctors who advise and treat their patients based on science rather than lies face the potential loss of their medical license under AB 2098. (Related: Learn more about AB 2098 and what it threatens to do to Californias already corrupt medical system.)

Recognizing the merits of these cases, Senior U.S. District Judge William Shubb, a George W. Bush appointee, ruled it plausible that the Medical Board of California could be in direct violation of state law with AB 2098 given the ambiguity of the term scientific consensus and of the definition of misinformation as a whole.

Because the definition of misinformation fails to provide a person of ordinary intelligence fair notice of what is prohibited, [and] is so standardless that it authorizes or encourages seriously discriminatory enforcement, the provision is unconstitutionally vague, Shubb decided, noting that his ruling weighs in favor of the plaintiffs having standing.

Accordingly, the court concludes that plaintiffs have demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits of their vagueness challenges.

AB 2098 is unconstitutional because it violates the First Amendment rights of doctors in the Golden State

Newsom signed AB 2098 into law last September, and it came into effect on January 1 of this year. It defines misinformation as false information that is contradicted by contemporary scientific consensus, as well as prohibits physicians from putting forth misinformation or disinformation related to COVID-19, including false or misleading information regarding the nature and risks of the virus, its prevention and treatment; and the development, safety, and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines.

Any doctor in California who deviates from the Center for Disease Control and Preventions (CDC) guidance concerning covid  no matter how outlandish  is now practicing medicine in violation of AB 2098.

The state medical board is required by law to act against any licensed doctor charged with unprofessional conduct, reported The Epoch Times. The courts ruling effectively halts the law while the legal challenge plays out.

The American Civil Liberties Alliance (ACLA), the legal organization representing the doctors, maintains that AB 2098 puts its clients in a difficult position. They are no longer free to practice medicine, but are instead now being forced to lie to their patients and deprive them of information that the state of California has deemed as false or misleading.

AB 2098 stands in contrast to the First Amendment, ACLA says, which protects the rights of all Americans  including doctors  to speak and express themselves freely. Free speech doesnt end where medicine begins, in other words.

They are being put between a rock and a hard place, fearing repercussions for acting in their patients best interests by honestly giving them the information they believe their patients need in order to make informed care decisions, ACLA wrote in a summary of the case shared on its website.

If you enjoyed reading this story, you will find more like it Censorship.news.

Sources for this article include:

TheEpochTimes.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) James OKeefe of Project Veritas followed up with Jordon Trishton Walker, the now infamous Pfizer Director who was caught on camera explaining Pfizers predatory vaccine development program, which includes intentionally mutating SARS-CoV-2 in a lab using animal experimentation.

Prior to the confrontation, an undercover journalist with Project Veritas had interviewed Jordon Walker. In the interview, the Pfizer Director gave away some of the companys darkest secrets. Among the revelations, Pfizer scientists are working on mutating the covid-19 virus to create new vaccines. Walker called this gain-of-function research directed evolution. He was arrogant about the revolving door between Pfizer and the government, and touted Pfizers regulatory capture over the FDA and other alphabet agencies.

Pfizer Director goes berserk when confronted by Project Veritas

Jordon Walker is in charge of Pfizers Worldwide R&D Strategic Operations and mRNA Scientific Planning. Initially, an undercover investigative journalist from Project Veritas took Jordon Walker out on a date where Walker shared some wicked secrets about Pfizers control over the government and their plans for humanity.

When James OKeefe confronted Walker with a simple follow-up question about his own statements during the initial interview, the Pfizer Director went berserk and eventually assaulted James OKeefe and the Project Veritas staff. The incident was captured on video in a mom-and-pop restaurant in New York City.

In the video, James OKeefe approaches Jordon Walker with a video of the initial interview. Jordon Walker looks around frantically and darts around the restaurant like a squirrel. Walker desperately appealed to the restaurant staff and claimed that he didnt feel safe, while appealing for the Project Veritas team to be arrested. He told the restaurant staff to lock the doors and call the cops on the Project Veritas team, as he tried to deflect the questions and hide from the cameras. But the more he talked, the more he squirmed, the more guilty he looked.

During the confrontation, the Pfizer Director played the victim. He cried, Why are you doing this to someone whos just working at a company to literally help the public? James OKeefe referred back to the video and pressed Walker on his own statements, as Walker grew angrier. In another breath, Walker goes mad and points his finger in James OKeefes face. What is your name, because you f***** up. You really did.

When the intimidation didnt work, the enraged Pfizer Director tried to get the restaurant owners to turn against the Project Veritas team. Walker even brought the issue of race into the matter, and claimed he didnt feel safe as he counted all the white people that surrounded him.

James OKeefe was as professional as one could be and even respected the restaurant owners wishes to take the interview outside. However, the Pfizer Director verbally tried to hold the team hostage in the restaurant while he called the police, as if the NYPD was his own personal gestapo. James OKeefe pressed on with follow-up questions about the initial interview. Walker then hid behind the bar and pestered the entire restaurant staff, feverishly holding his phone up to record his own stupidity and guilt. As James OKeefe held his ground, Walker tried to take the video out of OKeefes hands. Walker scrapped with the Project Veritas team, and was further humiliated.

After being assaulted, James OKeefe and his team prepared to leave, but found out they had been locked in. The Project Veritas staff pleaded with the restaurant owner to let them go. After they left, the enraged Pfizer Director ran into the street and in front of a vehicle to get their license plate. One member of the Project Veritas film crew stayed behind to capture the footage as the rest of the team drove away to safety. When the police arrived, they said they would have arrested the Pfizer Director had the victim, James OKeefe been present when they arrived. Stay tuned for more on this breaking story that is blowing the lid open on Pfizers predatory gain-of-function research program which includes directed evolution of viruses to create so-called vaccines.

Watch Pfizer Director go berserk and assault James OKeefe and the Project Veritas staff:

The original video where Pfizer Director admits to mutating covid-19 to create new vaccine boosters:

Sources include:

Brighteon.com

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) The latest bombshell revelations unearthed by Project Veritas about Pfizer and its secret covid-mutating vaccine scam are making waves across the independent media. And we have more truths to share with you about it, including the link between Pfizers Jordon Trishton Walker and Boston Consulting Group (BCG), a corporate infiltrator that appears to have colluded with the United States government to unleash covid injections before the so-called pandemic even arrived.

Brian OShea on his Substack wrote that Walker appears to be on loan from BCG to Pfizer, where he helped develop market forecasts for oncology-related therapeutics in 2021. Walker also conducted an impact evaluation of value-based payment models and covid-related changes in hospital reimbursement policies for a U.S. federal health agency.

Does this mean Boston Consulting Group or Pfizer or both were working with the U.S. government to actually create POLICIES THAT AFFECT U.S. TAXPAYERS? OShea asks.

Before covid hit Americas shores, Walker was also busy learning Mandarin (Chinese) in a BCG-sponsored language and business immersion program  which is highly suspicious based on its timing.

Does this mean BCG and / or their Clients (who are either Pfizer, the U.S. Government, or both) knew that these vaccines would be (or were already) being made in China? OShea speculates.

Business immersion (I am guessing business terms and colloquialisms) was also a focus. Does this mean he and his Clients knew in 2019 or earlier that a mass vaccination / pharma boom was about to hit that both the CCP (who control the Chinese pharma industry and, of course, all of the BSL-4 labs the research occurred in) & Pfizer et al would be partnered on?

(Related: Check out our bombshell report on Walkers admissions to the Project Veritas undercover reporter.)

Who really is Jordon Trishton Walker?

There is no denying that Walkers role at Pfizer involves marketing, which is his specialty. It appears as though Walker was brought in to join Pfizers Vaccine Confidence team, the job of which is to strategize ways to manipulate the American public into getting repeatedly vaccinated for covid.

Some of Walkers background, at least what is stated publicly on various websites that show his credentials, is also questionable. One of them claims he attended Yale University  but this is the only site that does.

During his time at BCG, which dovetails with his entrance into the Pfizer fold in May 2021, Walker developed a five-year growth strategy for a large biopharma. What, exactly, is the identity of this biopharma, we wonder?

Walkers hiring at Pfizer is also listed on various people search pages as being a signal hire. What is the context of this, we wonder?

Even stranger is the fact that ever since Project Veritas released its bombshell undercover video exposing Walker and Pfizer, his LinkedIn page has vanished. OShea called on his followers and readers to send him an archived page if you have one.

Walker also seems to use a variety of aliases, which is strange for someone who is supposed to be a credible professional.

Ive never met a legitimate doctor with so many different name combos, wrote a commenter about this little factoid.

Another anomaly is that in some instances Walker is referenced as being a doctor while in others he is not. Why is it unclear, based on this, whether the guy is really a doctor?

The timing of his various academic and professional positions doesnt add up, this same commenter added. There is absolutely nothing about this guy before 2019 that says top pharma exec in charge or worldwide operations. Highly, highly suspicious.

More of the latest news about the Pfizer scandal can be found at Corruption.news.

Sources for this article include:

BrianOshea.substack.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) In order to continue peddling an endless stream of new high-profit vaccines on the public, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer is engaging in directed evolution projects designed to mutate the virus on purpose.

Project Veritas learned all this in another undercover bombshell interview, this time with Jordon Trishton Walker, Pfizers Director of Research and Development, Strategic Operations, and mRNA Scientific Planner. Walker revealed that Pfizer is intentionally trying to spread new variants and subvariants of covid in order to create and sell new injections.

One of the things were exploring is, like, why dont we just mutate it [covid] ourselves so we could create  preemptively develop new vaccines, right? So, we have to do that. If were going to do that though, theres a risk of, like, as you could imagine  no one wants to be having a pharma company mutating f***ing viruses.

Walker urged the interviewer: dont tell anyone, promise you wont tell anyone. He then proceeded to reveal how Pfizer is going about trying to mutate covid using primates. (Related: In 2021, Project Veritas blew the lid on Facebooks global censorship of vaccine hesitancy.)

The way it [the experiment] would work is that we put the virus in monkeys, and we successively cause them to keep infecting each other, and we collect serial samples from them.

You have to be very controlled to make sure that this virus [covid] that you mutate doesnt create something that just goes everywhere, he added. Which, I suspect, is the way that the virus started in Wuhan, to be honest. It makes no sense that this virus popped out of nowhere. Its bulls**t.

Be sure to watch the full undercover video interview below:

Pfizer is mutating covid on purpose, but that is not what we say to the public, Walker admits

Right off the bat in the interview when asked if Pfizer is thinking about mutating covid, Walker admitted that while this is not what we say to the public, it is exactly what Pfizer is doing to keep the vaccine cash flowing.

The interviewer then responded to say that what Walker described sounds a whole lot like gain-of-function research, which is illegal. Walker immediately responded with no, no, no, no, and proceeded to instead describe the process as directed evolution.

You do things like selected directional mutations to try to see if you can make it more potent, Walker revealed. So there is research ongoing about that. I dont know how thats going work.

Theres a revolving door for all government officials, Walker further stated. Its pretty good for the industry, to be honest.

In other words, many of the people working at regulatory bodies like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) either previously worked at, or will soon work at, a drug company like Pfizer to grease the skids for all the new drugs coming down the pipeline.

Its bad for everyone else in America  because if the regulators who have to approve our drugs, you know, that once they stop being a regulator, they want to come work for the company, theyre not going to be as harsh on the company, is how Walker explained it.

Pfizer using selected directional mutations to make new covid strains that are more potent

The undercover Project Veritas reporter really pressed Walker about the directed evolution protocols, which sound a whole lot like gain-of-function research. Walker initially denied that these are the same, but later in the conversation admitted that Pfizer is, in fact, employing a type of gain-of-function research that is slightly different than the one employed in Wuhan to create the original covid strain.

Well, youre not supposed to do gain of function research with the viruses, Walker responded to the reporters questions about the differentiation. They recommend not. But you do things like selected directional mutations to try to see if you can make it more potent.

Theyre still kind of conducting the experiments on it, but it seems like from what Ive heard theyre kind of optimizing it. But theyre going slow, because everyones very cautious. They obviously dont want to accelerate too much. But I think theyre also just trying to do it as an exploratory thing because you obviously dont want to advertise that youre trying to figure out future mutation.

Pfizers use of the term directed evolution rather than gain-of-function apparently lets the company off the hook for this kind of research, which would otherwise be illegal  and probably still is.

Walker explained that by tampering with covid in this manner, Pfizer can predict, so to speak, which new variants and subvariants will emerge next and have an ongoing stream of new vaccines at the ready for rapid distribution.

So part of what they want to do is to some extent try to figure out if, like, you know how theres all these new strains and variants that just pop up? Walker explained. Why dont we try to catch them before they pop up in nature and we can develop a vaccine prophylactically for new variants.

So thats why theyre thinking if you control it in a lab, then you say Oh, this is a new epitope. And so then if it comes out later on in the public, we already have a vaccine kind of working on it.

Pfizer doesnt always get it right, Walker admitted, but either way its going to be a cash cow.

Covid will probably be a cash cow for us for a while going forward which I obviously like, Walker said with a grin.

All government positions are a revolving door, Walker says

But wait: is this not all illegal? It would be if the entire government wasnt a revolving door with industry. According to Walker, all government positions are a revolving door with industry.

So in the pharma industry, all the government officials who review our drugs, mostly they come work for pharma companies, he explained. Like in the military, all the army and defense government officials eventually go work for the defense companies afterwards.

The latest news about the pharmaceutical industry can be found at Corruption.news.

Sources for this article include:

ProjectVeritas.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) Prior to Russias invasion, Ukraine was known as one of the most, if not the most, corrupt country in all of Europe, a fact that helps explain why Hunter and Joe Biden were doing business there.

Apparently, not much has changed as the one-year anniversary of the invasion approaches next month.

Reports this week said that a string of Ukrainian officials has either resigned or have been fired by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, mostly likely at the direction of the U.S. regime for the purposes of enticing more NATO allies to pour weapons and money into Kyiv. And not surprisingly, much of the current corruption is tied to military aid.

According to Breitbart News:

A string of senior Ukraine government officials were sacked or resigned amidst a flurry of corruption claims Tuesday, with those shown the door accused of taking illicit payments as the Ministry of Defence allegedly signed overinflated military contracts.

Reports of foul play in Ukraines high offices first broke over the weekend, with critics pointing to under the table payments to deputy ministers and suspect military equipment contracts, however only now are details being made public and those accused named.

As noted by Agence France Press, those who have been let go or who were told to step down include Deputy Defence Minister Vyacheslav Shapovalov, Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Kyrylo Tymoshenko and Deputy Prosecutor General Oleksiy Simonenko, among others.

In addition, The Guardian reported that the entire list of now-former Ukrainian officials is very long. The report claims that Tymoshenko asked Zelenskyy personally to relieve him of his duties as part of the mass exodus of government officials.

The wave of departures comes as a new corruption scandal was breaking: Infrastructure Deputy Vasyl Lozinskyi was fired and then detained for allegedly helping himself to around $400,000 of the winter aid budget, which is huge considering the amount of damage, economically and physically, that has occurred in Ukraine at the hands of the Russians.

As Breitbart News previously reported, military weapons in the country have allegedly been sold to international buyers for cash using the encrypted messaging app Telegram, including some weapons supplied by the U.S. and paid for by American taxpayers.

A Canadian NGO has warned that Western weapons shipped to Ukraine could not only end up in Russian hands but may even end up being sold on the international black market. https://t.co/l2AAXFUock  Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) March 19, 2022

Vyacheslav Shapovalov, Ukraines deputy defense minister, has also stepped down; he was responsible for supply Ukrainian troops with equipment and food. He cited media accusations of corruption that both he and the ministry said were unfounded. That said, the ministry posted a message on its website stating that Shapovalovs resignation was a worthy deed that would build trust within the defense sector and government.

Deputy prosecutor general Oleksiy Symonenko has been removed from his post, according to the prosecutor generals office, and two deputy ministers resigned from Ukraines Ministry of Communities and Territories Development  Vyacheslav Negoda and Ivan Lukerya, Breitbart News reported. According to the Guardian, the heads of five regional authorities across the country have also been dismissed, in Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhya, Kyiv, Sumy and Kherson.

Last week, Euro News reported that an investigation by a Ukrainian newspaper accused the Ministry of Defense of signing off on contracts to supply food to troops fighting at the front lines for two to three times the regular price, leading many to believe that MoD officials were skimming off the top.

This war is not going to end without one country  likely Ukraine  in ashes.

Sources include:

Breitbart.com

NewsTarget.com

TheGuardian.com
(Natural News) Violent protests erupted Friday, Jan. 27, in Memphis, Tennessee and New York City (NYC) following the release of bodycam footage of police officers who beat up 29-year-old Tyre Nichols.

The bodycam footage, which has been seen by members of Nichols family, showed Nichols being tased, pepper-sprayed and restrained following a traffic stop on Jan. 7. Since the attack, authorities had withheld the bodycam footage for fear that it would spark protests.

Demonstrators in Bluff City chanted say his name while others blocked a bridge on Interstate 55 that connects Tennessee and Arkansas over the Mississippi River. Federal employees in Memphis had been told to go home early, and workers had also begun boarding up buildings.

Antifa taking advantage of new protests to burn, loot and murder

In the Big Apple, Antifa called on demonstrators to gather at various locations there and burn it all down as the group saw another opportunity to burn, loot and murder just like what it did in 2020 during the George Floyd riots. (Related: The political Left used George Floyds dead body as a social justice marionette.)

In its call for New Yorkers to go out and protest, Antifa encouraged demonstrators to bring rocks, heavy objects, pipes, spray paint, kerosene, lighters [and] umbrellas. Antifa also advised participants to bring a knife or other tool to free illegally detained comrades.

Many protesters answered the call and took to the streets.

One male protester jumped on a police car and smashed its windshield. Officers from the New York City Police Department (NYPD) later tried to drag him down from the vehicle, eventually arresting him. At least three demonstrators  including the protester who destroyed the police cars windshield  were taken into custody by the NYPD Friday evening, according to NBC New York.

An NYPD police captain said officers were documenting any damage to other vehicles in the vicinity. He added that they also seized bicycles from demonstrators trying to prevent arrests from being made.

Nichols, a Black father to a four-year-old- boy, moved to Tennessee from California in February 2020 following advice from his friends to start a new life. He was pulled over by five Black officers from the Memphis Police Department (MPD) while in his car on Jan. 7, just minutes away from his home, over alleged reckless driving.

According to the MPD, a confrontation occurred as cops approached the car and Nichols ran away. When officers caught up with him, another confrontation occurred in which the five policemen beat Nichols like a human pinata. The 29-year-old succumbed to his injuries and died on Jan. 10.

The five MPD officers were terminated by Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis following the attack. They were also charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault, two counts of aggravated kidnapping, two counts of official misconduct and official oppression. Four out of the five have been released from custody on a combined $1 million bond, however.

Nichols mother calls for peaceful protests

RowVaughn Wells, Nichols mother, called for peaceful protests. I dont want us burning up our cities [and] tearing up the streets because thats not what my son stood for. You can get your point across, but we dont need to tear up our cities  because we do have to live in them, she said.

NYC Mayor Eric Adams seconded Wells, saying: My message to New Yorkers is to respect the wishes of Nichols mother. If you need to protest, do it peacefully. We should be able to express our sorrow and rage, but we must take all that pain and turn it into purpose.

Even President Joe Biden chimed in: I join Tyres family in calling for peaceful protest. Outrage is understandable, but violence is never acceptable. Violence is destructive and against the law. It has no place in peaceful protests seeking justice.

Visit Rioting.news for more about the protests against the death of Tyre Nichols.

Watch this video about Antifa attacking NYPD officers and starting riots back in 2020.

This video is from the ZGoldenReport channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Antifa and BLM riot in Richmond, Virginia costs Virginia Commonwealth University over $100,000 in damages.

Antifa and BLM rioters attempted to BURN DOWN Portland police unions office building.

NO HUMANITY: Antifa and BLM rioters in Chicago attack building housing sick children.

Sources include:

DailyMail.co.uk

NBCNewYork.com

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) YouTube has suppressed Project Veritas latest documentary, which exposed Pfizers plan to deliberately mutate the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) to continue profiting from the vaccines.

The Project Veritas documentary features an undercover journalist talking to Jordon Trishton Walker, who the investigative journalism outlet noted is Pfizers director of research and development for strategic operations and mRNA scientific planning.

In the short, 10-minute video, Walker openly admits that Pfizer is exploring the possibility of directing COVIDs mutation via directed evolution to preempt the development of future vaccines.

Rather than letting this shocking revelation remain on its social media platform and allow people to view it, YouTube took it down for allegedly violating the social media platforms community guidelines.

Furthermore, the Project Veritas channel on YouTube has been given a strike and its ability to upload any new videos has been restricted for a week. YouTube further threatened Project Veritas with permanent removal from the platform if it continued to violate the platforms policies.

Review your content with our policies in mind Understand that this strike will expire after 90 days, and that deleting the video will not remove the strike, reads YouTubes warning to the organization. A second strike will prevent you from publishing content for two weeks. Three strikes in any 90-day period will result in the permanent removal of your channel. (Related: YouTube censorship of suppressor content & wholesale deletion of creators.)

BREAKING: @YouTube has just removed our @Pfizer story from the platform due to a violation of our Community Guidelines Project Veritas channel has been given a strike and ability to upload ANY new videos is restricted for a week with threats of future permanent removal pic.twitter.com/YgrvceQc1w  Project Veritas (@Project_Veritas) January 28, 2023

Pfizer working to control future mutations of COVID-19 to keep profiting off vaccines

In Walkers admission to the undercover Project Veritas journalist, he noted how Pfizers directed evolution plan is defined as a mutation that confers new or enhanced activity. This means that Pfizer hopes to continue mutating the coronavirus to make it more potent or deadly.

One of the things we [Pfizer] are exploring is, like, why dont we just mutate it [coronavirus] ourselves so we could create  preemptively develop new vaccines, right? said Walker. So, we have to do that. If were gonna do that though, theres a risk of like, as you could imagine  no one wants to be having a pharma company mutating fg viruses.

Walker added that Pfizer scientists are currently in the process of optimizing the mutation process for the coronavirus, but progress on this new virus is still very slow because everyone is very cautious.

Obviously, they dont want to accelerate it too much, said Walker. I think they are also just trying to do it as an exploratory thing because you obviously dont want to advertise that you are figuring out future mutations.

Walker then pointed out how the development of COVID-19 vaccines has been instrumental in Pfizers recent successes. He agreed with the Project Veritas journalist when he pointed out how the ongoing development of new vaccines is the best business model for the Big Pharma company.

Learn more about YouTubes suppression of free speech on its platform at YouTubeCensorship.com.

Watch Project Veritas full documentary exposing Pfizers plan to mutate the coronavirus so it can develop new vaccines.

This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Phreakazoid Pfizer executive goes BERSERK when confronted by Project Veritas over HIS OWN claims of virus mutation research and vaccine profiteering.

Pfizer has a shockingly long history of engaging in illegal activities and human experimentation.

Evidence shows that its not just Twitter and the FBI, the State Department, CISA, Facebook. YouTube and Google are also working to censure and ban the information you receive.

YouTube announces new certification protocol for videos containing medical information; everything must align with WHO dictates.

DOUBLE STANDARD: MSM information stays up on YouTube indefinitely while truth media is labeled disinformation and gets censored, even when true.

Sources include:

Twitter.com

ProjectVeritas.com

Brighteon.com
A strange blue spiral that swirled quickly was seen in the night sky over Hawaii. The mysterious origins of this sighting are explained by the Japan Observatory.

Mysterious Blue Swirl

A strange blue "flying spiral" was spotted in Hawaii by a Japanese telescope camera. The National Astronomical Observatory of Japan's Subaru Telescope shared the bizarre video on its official YouTube channel featuring the "mysterious" spiral galaxy-shaped whirlpool of light that appeared briefly in the night sky above Mauna Kea in Hawaii, on January 18.

In their caption, Subaru Telescope said that on 2023-01-18 UT, a "Mysterious" Flying Spiral was spotted over Mauna Kea.

The caption went on to say that it was an unusual, rare view discovered by their observant viewers.

A "Mysterious" Flying Spiral over Maunakea 2023-01-18 UT /  https://t.co/N2jPoBcmwu via @YouTube  Witchy Fandom Ph (@WitchyFandom_ph) January 28, 2023

According to the account, The footage came from the Subaru-Asahi STAR Camera, which is jointly run by the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun, Subaru Telescope - NAOJ.

Social Media and Mysterious Sighting Videos

Internet users responded to the video right away.

They were puzzled by the enigmatic flying spiral and wanted to know why it was there.

YouTube users commented with much gusto, with "alien" and "spaceship" jokes taking the lead.

A user jokingly commented that Andromeda had arrived 4 billion years too early, and another asked whether Elon Musk might be to blame for the swirl in the sky or if it were aliens.

The Right Answer

Meanwhile, the stunning spiral was made of frozen rocket fuel that was ejected during a SpaceX launch, according to the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ).

The Japanese space agency said that the launch of a new satellite by the SpaceX company appears to be connected to the spiral, NDTV reports.

According to Space.com, the SpaceX launch being referred to was a Falcon 9 rocket that took off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on January 18.

The report also noted that similar spirals had previously been observed.

Typically, it appears that the Falcon 9's upper stage dumps extra fuel into the sea.

Also Read: Bright Green Comet From the Stone Age Will Light Up the Sky Once Again This January

Other Weird Sightings

Pulsating Wave. A mysterious object beyond anything astronomers have ever seen was found by an Australian-led team searching the cosmic muddle for radio waves on January 27, according to Cosmos.

One of the brightest radio sources in the sky, GLEAM-XJ162759.5-523504 emits a massive burst of energy that crosses our line of sight about three times an hour.

However, a crucial characteristic of radio transients is that they "come and go," according to Curtin University's Natasha Hurley-Walker, who led the team that made the discovery.

Observing astronomers are baffled by their appearance and disappearance because there aren't enough observational data to determine what might have produced the signal.

Bullseye. Near Gakona, Alaska, the High-Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) has been using radio waves for nearly two decades to study the ionosphere and magnetic field of the Earth.

HAARP was able to create an odd bullseye pattern in the night sky in February 2008.

Todd Pedersen, a US Air Force Research Laboratory research physicist and the head of the team that experimented HAARP, reports that instead of the anticipated blurry, doughnut-shaped blob, unexpected irregular luminescent bands radiated outward from the center of the bullseye.

This study was published in the journal Nature in 2009.

Related Article: Captivating Light Pillars Display in Minnesota Night Sky on Thursday Explained by Experts
A federal appeals court has upheld a lower courts dismissal of a lawsuit alleging that the mayor of Philadelphia discriminated against Italian Americans in renaming the citys Columbus Day holiday to Indigenous Peoples Day.

A U.S. District judge ruled a year ago that the plaintiffs, a council member and three Italian American heritage groups, hadnt been harmed by Mayor Jim Kenneys executive order, and therefore none of them had standing to sue over the issue.

Judge David Porter, writing for the three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday, said the government does not violate the Equal Protection Clause every time it affirms or celebrates an ethnicity. Otherwise, Columbus Day itself would arguably have been an equal protection violation  but of course it wasnt.

As it stands, Irish American city employees who wish to celebrate St. Patrick must take a personal day, and the city doesnt close for Yom Kippur or give time off for the Lunar New Year, the court said.

The plaintiffs might have a case if the city celebrated every ethnicity but conspicuously excluded Italian Americans, but not from selective celebration of particular ethnicities alone, the court said. For plaintiffs seeking redress for such an offense, the court said, their remedy is political, not legal.

Attorney George Bochetto, who filed the lawsuit, told The Philadelphia Inquirer in an email Friday evening that the plaintiffs are disappointed but he has every intention of appealing the matter to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Many Italian Americans have embraced the 15th century explorer  once hailed as the discoverer of America  as a cultural hero and emblem of the citys deep Italian heritage. Kenney has said that despite centuries of veneration, Columbus had a much more infamous history, enslaving Indigenous people and imposing harsh punishments.

Bochettos lawsuit on the holiday argued there was a pattern of the city targeting Italian Americans, citing attempts to cover and remove a Columbus statue in south Philadelphia and removal of a statue of ex-mayor and police commissioner Frank Rizzo at the municipal services building near City Hall after it became a target for protests.

Bochetto won a separate lawsuit against the city last month when a state court ordered the removal of a box covering the south Philadelphia Columbus statue. The statue, which dates to 1876 and was presented to the city by the Italian American community to commemorate the nations centennial, was covered in June 2020 after it became a focus of racial justice protests following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Kenney argued for removal of the statue as a matter of public safety, and a city arts panel and a historical commission agreed, but a judge reversed the citys decision, citing a lack of evidence that the statues removal was necessary to protect the public. Before its removal, the box covering the statue had been painted in green, white and red bands, mirroring the Italian flag, at the request of the city council member who represents the district.
A 5.9 magnitude earthquake struck northwest Iran, near the country's border with Turkey on Saturday, January 28.

Initial reports estimated the powerful tremor killed at least three people and injured more than 300 people, according to local sources.

Both Iranian and US seismic officials registered the quake with a 5.9 intensity, which is already relatively strong for the Middle Eastern nation.

Iran's Saturday earthquake is a result of yet another collision of tectonic plates underneath the country.

With a fragile infrastructure compared to other earthquake-proof nations, the impact of tremors in Iran can be devastating, based on previous reports.

While frequent, earthquakes in Iran can range from moderate to high intensity, which sometimes result in casualties and infrastructural damage.

Destructive Iran Earthquake

State media and official news agency IRNA reported the said death toll and cited the head of emergency services at a university in the city of Khoy, near the earthquake's epicenter.

An emergency official told the state TV the region was experiencing snow in some of its areas, with reported freezing temperatures and power cuts, as cited by Reuters.

The IRNA said the quake struck Khoy, which is situated in West Azerbaijan province, at around 9:444 p.m. local time, which cited the Iranian Seismological Center in the Iranian capital city of Tehran, according to CNN.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) also recorded the earthquake as a 5.9 magnitude under the Richter scale, a parameter used to measure an earthquake's strength.

Iran's state media said the powerful tremor was felt in many regions across the province, raising concern among residents.

The quake's shockwave was also felt in several cities, including in the neighboring province of East Azerbaijan's Tabriz city.

Also Read: Massive 7.8 Earthquake In Iran Felt Across The Middle East [VIDEO]

Earthquake Impact

The USGS also said the magnitude 5.9 earthquake in Iran was also felt in Turkey and this case is plausible since the US seismic agency confirmed the epicenter is specifically located 14 kilometers south-southwest of Khoy.

Furthermore, the quake had a relatively low depth of 10 kilometers, meaning the epicenter can be more felt on the surface.

The USGS also reported two other earthquakes ranging 4.1 and 4.5 in intensity following the 5.9 quake.

This entails that aftershocks or other succeeding earthquake could strike the region in the coming hours or days.

Earthquakes in Iran

The American Iranian Council (AIC) stated Iran is an "extremely earthquake-prone country" and these natural disasters have caused loss of life and infrastructure damage worth billions of dollars.

With this, the Iranian government reportedly implemented some measures to mitigate the damage.

However, these mitigation efforts are not sufficient, the AIC said.

While disruptive and deadly earthquakes have occurred in the country in recent years, Iran's strongest earthquake in recorded history occurred in September 1978, wherein the Tabas region saw a 7.8 magnitude on the Richter scale, resulting in approximately 20,000 deaths, according to the website Worlddata.info.

Related Article: 37 Dead, 850 Injured In Iran Earthquake, Officials Say No Damage To Nuclear Power Station
An Arctic cold front will cause intense frigid temperatures and dangerous wind chill across the Northern US, including areas in the Great Plains, Mississippi Valley, and Northwest United States, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).

The forecast comes as cold air mass from the Arctic region in the Northern Hemisphere travel southward, affecting not only the US but also parts of Canada.

NWS Arctic Cold Front Forecast

The Arctic cold front will bring heavy snow over parts of the Great Lakes and cause pockets of rain or freezing rain in areas from the Southern Plains to the Great Lakes region, according a short-range forecast on Saturday, January 28, from the Weather Prediction Center (WPC), which is under the NWS.

The NWS forecast suggests a wave of low pressure above the Middle Mississippi Valley will traverse in a northeastward pattern off the coast of Northern New England Coast by Monday evening, January 30.

North of the system, snow will develop in the valley overnight from Saturday evening to Sunday morning, January 29.

On Sunday, the WPC says light to moderate snow will occur over parts of Northern New England and northern New York state.

Meanwhile, light snow will continue to manifest over the Great Lakes, causing potential Lake-effect snow from the region on the same day.

Also Read: Persistent Snowy Weather to Cause Potential Travel Chaos in the Rockies

Dangerous Arctic Blast

FOX Forecast Center gave a term the Arctic cold front as a "dangerous Arctic blast," which is considered the coldest air of 2023, as of late January, across the Northern US.

A phenomenon called the "Alberta Clipper" will reportedly cause temperatures down to over 20 degrees below than normal for the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest, with wind chills well below zero, frostbite can start in several minutes.

FOX meteorologists says the arctic blast blanketing the northern tier of the US is producing "dangerously" cold weather, making the coldest temperatures since December to spread southward.

In addition, 25 to 40 degrees below average temperatures are forecasted on Sunday for the central-northern Plains and Midwest, with highs of over 30 degrees below average from Montana to western Kansas, the center added.

Furthermore, many communities in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, and South Dakota could face similar plunging of temperatures in an already cold territory.

The US is currently in its winter season, which spans from December to February each year.

What is an Arctic Cold Front?

Arctic cold fronts are boundaries between Arctic and polar air masses.

This boundary is based on the process involving Arctic air mass forming when the air above a snow- or ice-covered surface cools down due to the very low solar heating and strong heat emission from the surface.

The Colorado State University stated that "Arctic Fronts" transpires frequently over the Arctic Sea, sometimes over the Scandinavia region and even as far south as the North Sea.

The university describes an Arctic front that separates the cold polar air mass from the much colder air mass of the Arctic region.

Related Article: Arctic Blast: Cold Air to Cover Most Parts of the US Before Christmas Day
Deadly flooding due to continuous heavy rain in Auckland, New Zealand, resulted in multiple deaths, as thousands of people became stranded when raging floodwaters overwhelmed streets, homes, and businesses, according to local sources.

Initial reports said at least three people died and one remains missing since heavy showers started pouring in the city on Friday, January 27.

Local authorities reportedly consider that New Zealand's largest city on Friday experienced its "wettest day on record."

The authorities also declared a local state of emergency as a means to further manage evacuations, enforce disaster mitigation efforts, and access public emergency funds for recovery.

The situation remains volatile as torrential rain has continued as of Sunday, January 29.

New Zealand weather forecasts indicate that the rain and floods may continue in the city until early next week, primarily between Monday and Tuesday, January 30 and January 31.

During this period disruption to travel and utility services is possible to continue.

Since Friday, thousands of properties experience power outages and water supply cuts.

Auckland Flooding Casualties

New Zealand's weather forecaster, MetService, issued a warning that further severe weather is possible on Sunday and Monday across the north island, adding that the continuance of intense rainfall could lead to surface flooding and flash flooding.

The weather agency released severe thunderstorm warnings in affected areas, primarily in the Northland and Auckland areas, where a severe thunderstorm watch is in place.

The MetService stated a slow-moving front to the west is expected to pass over northern Auckland and Northland from Sunday evening to Monday morning.

In addition, the forecast added that thunderstorms are possible to occur due to the front, some of which could be severe.

The agency clarified that whether thunderstorms will occur or not, there is still a possibility of heavy precipitation of rain, which can intensify from 20 to 40 millimeters per hour.

This is especially the case between 9:00 p.m. on Sunday and 10:00 a.m. local time on Monday.

Conditions may also likely to ease for Auckland during the said period.

Also Read: Severe Weather Warnings Issued for New Zealand Due to Heavy Rain and Snowfall

Climate Change and Global Warming

The record-breaking amount of rainfall in New Zealand on Friday was acknowledged the country's climate science body the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), as cited by the BBC.

In relation to the warning by climate scientists about climate change, research conducted by NIWA reveals global warming could lead to more extreme weather events in New Zealand.

During a tweet on Saturday, climate Change Minister James Shaw noted that the natural disaster in Auckland is linked to climate when he expressed his support for individuals affected by the flooding, as cited by Reuters.

To further understand the cause of New Zealand's ongoing adverse weather, AccuWeather International Meteorologist Jason Nicholls stated the heavy rain in Auckland was due to a moisture from a former tropical depression.

Still, heavy rain and flooding are still likely to continue for Auckland in the coming hours.

Related Article: Auckland Under State of Emergency as Waist-Deep Flash Flood Causes Power Outages, 1500 People Call for Help
A buffalo attacked an Australian man in his 50s, with its sharp horns that pinned him into a fence and crushed his windpipe, according to a medical report.

The man from the Australia city of Wagga Wagga survived the incident, which has highlighted once again the dangers of the Australian outback life.

The victim also hypopharyngeal perforation due to the punctured windpipe.

Buffalo attacks have occurred in the past, notably related encounters and incidents that were unprovoked.

In Australia, the case in the medical report outlines the differences in the different types of buffalo species and their nature.

The case of the Wagga Wagga man talks about the rare complication called hypopharyngeal perforation, which affecting the throat.

Australia Buffalo Attack

The medical report was published in the British Medical Journal Case Reports, where researchers shed light on the possible pathogenesis of the disease, which is believed to have caused by blunt force trauma.

The case study started with the premise that a male in his 50s arrived by ambulance at a regional Australian hospital after being crushed instead of being gored.

Different parts of the man's body were reportedly crushed, including the abdomen, lower limbs, and torso, according to the study's description of the accident.

The buffalo attack victim was sent to the Wagga Wagga Base Hospital, where one of the doctors named Jack Peter Archer cited research suggesting that the condition can be potentially life-threatening, who told Newsweek.

Despite the man's severe condition, the BMJ case reports patient can still recover.

There are still no reports that would suggest the Australian man either provoked or not the wild animal.

Also Read: Study on Foot and Mouth Disease Among African Buffalo Offers Understanding on Pathogens

What is Hypopharyngeal Perforation?

In January 2022, a study published in the Journal of Surgical Case Reports shows that a 75-year-old male suffered from hypopharyngeal perforation, which is more of a respiratory syndrome.

The elderly man complained of him experiencing odynophagia and severe neck pain.

Such accidents are often occur during road traffic accident which affects the person's throat, particularly the paryngoesphl, which are the windpipe and the esophagus.

Related Buffalo Encounters

As a comparison, current windpipe injuries are often linked to road accidents, where most often is the hitting of the neck along the wheel during a road traffic accident.

However, one might take into consideration during a buffalo attack the nature, species, and size of the said wild animal, which are categorized into two species in Australia.

First, there is the river buffalo whose horns can grow but curl backwards.

On the other hand, the horns of the swamp buffalo can grow outwards and become dangerous due to its pointed edge.

In recent years, buffalo encounters have occurred in Australia, according to Newsweek.

In 2017, a charging buffalo sent a 61-year-old tour guide into the hospital after the latter jumped into action as the buffalo was charging another man.

In 2020, a Sydney woman was attacked by a buffalo, causing the victim's leg to be injured.

Related Article: Tamaraws, the Smaller Cousins of Buffalo, Hit Dangerously Low Numbers
Chinese New Year celebrated in Belgium

Xinhua) 10:33, January 29, 2023

BRUSSELS, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese New Year, or Year of the Rabbit according to the Chinese lunar calendar, was celebrated on Saturday in the central Belgian city of Namur.

Nearly 3,000 people participated in the festivities, which included traditional dances and other cultural performances.

Organized by the Federation of Chinese Communities in Belgium, the celebration allowed visitors to experience a wide range of Chinese culture and folklore, including gastronomy, Chinese liquor, painting and calligraphy, porcelain, Tai Chi, traditional Chinese medicine, lion dances and lanterns.

For Elise Boucher, a 23-year-old Belgian student at the University of Mons, the idea of celebrating Chinese New Year in Namur is incredible. "I discovered the gastronomy, the Chinese liquor and there is something for everyone. What I liked most about these visits was the food tasting," she said.

"It's really interesting to be able to share this culture. I liked the artist's calligraphy lessons. I found it impressive to see how in a few strokes he can express so many things in his painting," said Veronica Dakpui, an architecture student at the University of Liege, who is also taking Chinese classes at the Confucius Institute in Liege.

For 63-year-old Jean Michel Paulin who teaches Tai Chi in Jambes, not far from Namur, the celebration is "an additional discovery of Chinese culture."

"I have already been to China several times. I practice Tai Chi, I teach it. It's great to see so many people and so many Chinese," said the Tai Chi practitioner.

In his opening speech, Chinese Ambassador to Belgium Cao Zhongming hailed the relations between China and Belgium.

These relations, he said, "have maintained a good momentum of development," and the people of the two countries benefited from the cooperation in economic, commercial and cultural fields.

China is also working to make the whole world benefit from its development, the ambassador said. "This will inject a new dynamic into Sino-Belgian relations and bring new opportunities for Belgium's development."

Denis Mathen, governor of the province of Namur, noted that this occasion of the Chinese Spring Fair was an opportunity to "participate in the reestablishment of ties with China, your immense country that geographers call the 'Middle Kingdom'."

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
SIX contractors that were doing business with Government have been blacklisted by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ)s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) for trading on the foreign currency black market, while bank accounts of five leading wholesalers have been frozen for manipulating prices of goods and services, it has been learnt.

The authorities are doubling down on ensuring market discipline. Government released substantial amounts of money to contractors and service providers in December after the value-for-money audits that were meant to ensure fair pricing. It is believed some companies used the funds to mop up US dollars on the black market. FIU director-general Mr Oliver Chiperesa said the unit had tightened the screws to ensure market discipline.

So far, we have identified six or so (contractors) that we have taken action against, including referring to the Ministry (of Finance and Economic Development) for blacklisting. We expect the stability to continue. I think Government suppliers are no longer really getting involved on the parallel market because they are aware of the consequences, he said.

Its only a few that are still doing it and we have taken stern action against those by freezing their accounts and referring them to the ministry. So, following the action taken by the ministry last year, we continue to refer more companies periodically, as and when we find them.

Last year, Government blacklisted 19 suppliers and contractors over similar malpractices. Some wholesalers, Mr Chiperesa said, were charging ridiculously high prices when selling in local currency, a move that was tantamount to devaluing the Zimbabwe dollar.

We are not confining ourselves to the parallel market drivers only, but also wholesalers who are overcharging. So far, in the last two weeks, we have frozen the accounts of five major retail and wholesale shops pending further investigations. We are continuing with our work. Our teams are out there identifying more companies and entities that are doing the same.

Some companies that are mopping up US dollars are understood to be also benefitting from the RBZ foreign currency auction market.

There is really no excuse for the companies to be using parallel market rates at all at this stage with the near convergence that we have enjoyed over the last few months between the parallel market and official rates. Its just greediness that is driving some of these companies to do that, he said.

Mr Chiperesa said there has been relative stability in the market owing to a combination of sound policies and the enforcement of market discipline.

Parallel market rates went up somewhat at the end of December, but, as the FIU, we have since intensified the scrutiny of accounts that may be involved in fuelling the parallel market and companies that supply goods and services to the Government. However, we also have been concerned about retailers and wholesalers who use forward pricing and exchange rates that are above the willing buyer, willing seller rate, he said.

Economist and RBZ Monetary Policy Committee member Mr Persistence Gwanyanya said monetary authorities will continue to be vigilant.

As RBZ implements measures to reinforce stability, it should maintain a watchful eye on the market. This is necessary because, if left uncontrolled, the behaviour of some market players can spin the markets out of control. Given the structure of our economy, it is easy for some few powerful players to destabilise the market through participation in the black market.

Arbitrage activities, he said, have the capacity to weigh down all efforts by RBZ and Treasury to stabilise the economy. Sunday Mail
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Former detective Jaison Muvevi, who is facing four murder charges including the killing of a top policeman, has a pending attempted rape case and had two luxury cars seized by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) before his latest killing spree.

Muvevi was apprehended in Mozambique while attempting to evade arrest after shooting and killing three people in Hwedza.

His victims include a senior police officer Maxwell Hove, a bartender Munashe Mujanhi and an apostolic sect leader Crispen Mubvana Kanerusine.

The 42-year-old has since been linked to six other murder cases that took place in and around Harare and Chitungwiza over the past three years.

A background check on Muvevi by this publication that involved interviews with his family members revealed that he has a pending court case of attempted rape.

They said the former Central Investigations Department officer, who was in the minerals department and was once deployed at the rich Chiadzwa diamond fields, allegedly attempted to rape a real estate agency employee who was showing him a house for rent.

Muvevi allegedly tried to lure the woman with money while in the house, but was turned down.

He allegedly attempted to force himself on the woman, but she managed to escape and report the case.

The matter is still pending before the courts, the source disclosed.

His lawyer in the case refused to comment.

The attempted rape case allegedly happened when Muvevi was looking for a house to rent in Harare after he abandoned his family in Zvishavane last year.

He was allegedly running away from his landlord, who is a medical doctor, after he failed to repay a US$20 000 loan. The landlord reported him to the police.

The police, who went to him after the doctor reported him to the police discovered that he had two vehicles, a 2017 Land Cruiser S200 and a Toyota Fortuner GD6, one of his family members said.

The police officers raised alarm and Zimra investigations revealed that duty for his cars was undervalued.

The duty for the Land Cruiser, which often ranges between US$40 000 and US$50 000, was pegged at US$20 000.

Zimra seized the car towards the end of last year, while the Toyota Fortuner had been taken earlier.

The authority refused to comment on Muvevis cars citing confidentiality issues.

Client specific information is protected under the secrecy provisions of the Customs and Excise Act and Revenue Authority Act, Zimra spokesperson Gladman Njanji told Standard People. Standard
A new study has examined the pain perception among people with autism and found that they experience pain at a higher intensity than the general population and are less adaptable to the sensation. This finding is contrary to the prevalent belief that people with autism are supposedly 'indifferent to pain'. The researchers expressed the hope that the findings of their study will lead to more appropriate treatment on the part of medical staff, caregivers, and parents toward people with autism, who do not always express the experience of pain in the usual way.

The study was funded by the Israel Science Foundation, and was led by four researchers: Dr. Tami Bar-Shalita of the Sackler Faculty of Medicine at Tel Aviv University who initiated the study, in collaboration with Dr. Yelena Granovsky of the Technion and Rambam Medical Center, and Prof. Irit Weissman-Fogel and Prof. Eynat Gal of the University of Haifa. This study constitutes a framework for the theses of PhD students Tzeela Hofmann and Mary Klingel-Levy, and three articles based on it have already been published or approved for publishing. The present study has been published in the prestigious PAIN journal.

Dr. Bar-Shalita explains: "approximately 10% of the general population suffer from sensory modulation dysfunction, which means sensory hypersensitivity at a level that compromises normal daily functioning and quality of life. These people have difficulty, for example, ignoring or adapting to buzzing or flickering of fluorescent lights, humming of air conditioners or fans, or the crunching of popcorn by someone sitting next to them in the cinema. In previous studies in the lab we found that these people suffer from pain more than those without sensory modulation dysfunction. Since it is known that sensory modulation dysfunction occurs in people with autism at a rate of 70-90%, it constitutes a criterion for diagnosing autism, and is associated with its severity. We were interested in exploring pain perception in autism, so we asked: do people with autism hurt more than the general population? This question was hardly studied in the lab before we got started."

According to the researchers, for many years the prevalent opinion was that 'people with autism hurt less' or that they were 'indifferent to pain'. Actually, 'indifference to pain' is one of the characteristics presented in the current diagnostic criteria of autism. The proof of this was, supposedly, their tendency to inflict pain on themselves by self-harm. Dr. Bar-Shalita: "this assumption is not necessarily true. We know that self-harm could stem from attempts to suppress pain, and it could be that they hurt themselves in order to activate, unconsciously, a physical mechanism of 'pain inhibits pain'."

This study is a laboratory pain study approved by the ethics committee of the academic institutions and Rambam Medical Center. The study included 52 adults with high-functioning autism (HFA) and normal intelligence - hitherto the largest reported sample in the world in studies on pain among people with autism. The study made use of psychophysical tests to evaluate pain, commonly used in the area of pain study. These methods examine the link between stimulus and response, while the researcher, using a computer, controls the duration and intensity of stimulus and the examinee is asked to rank the intensity of the pain felt by him on a scale of 0 to 100. The findings have proven beyond doubt that people with autism hurt more. Furthermore, their pain suppression mechanism is less effective.

The researchers: "we conducted a variety of measurements, aimed among other things at examining whether the hypersensitivity to pain derives from a sensitized nervous system or from suppression of mechanisms that are supposed to enable adjustment and, over time, reduce the response to the stimulus. We found that in the case of people with autism, it is a combination of the two: an increase of the pain signal along with a less effective pain inhibition mechanism."

Dr. Bar-Shalita concludes: "our study constituted a comprehensive, in-depth study of the intensity of pain experienced by people with autism. The prevalent belief was that they are supposedly 'indifferent to pain', and there are reports that medical and other professional staff treated them accordingly. The results of our study indicate that in most cases, the sensitivity to pain of people with autism is actually higher than that of most of the population, while at the same time they are unsuccessful at effectively suppressing painful stimuli. We hope that our findings will benefit the professionals and practitioners handling this population and contribute to the advancement of personalized treatment."

In additional articles soon to be published, the researchers have examined the brain activity of people with autism during pain stimuli, and sub-groups within this population concerning their perception of pain.
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THERE are robust mechanisms to curb drug and substance abuse in schools, which include expelling culprits through laid-down procedures meant to create a safe learning environment for all learners, an official in the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has said.

This follows last weeks expulsion of eight learners at Dominican Convent High School, a top Harare girls school, who were allegedly found in possession of illicit substances stashed in their belongings during a recent school trip to Nyanga.

The matter is currently under police investigation.

In an interview, Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education spokesperson Mr Taungana Ndoro said: We have carried out quite a number of community outreach programmes with partners, including those from the Zimbabwe Republic Police; the Ministry of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation; and various other stakeholders to ensure we try and curb this scourge and nip it in the bud before it progresses.

As the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, we have a robust mechanism of outreach programmes to ensure that we stop drug and substance abuse in all our schools.

He said school heads are obliged to suspend a learner for 14 days where they reasonably suspect them of serious misconduct, pending investigation.

If the head is satisfied, after a fair hearing, that the learner is guilty of serious misconduct that merits expulsion after consultation with the district schools inspector, then the pupils will be expelled, he said.

Where a head has decided to expel a learner, they should give the parents written notice of the date on which the expulsion is to take effect and, in the notice, they should state the reason for the decision to expel the learner.

Upon being notified of the expulsion, he said parents may appeal in writing to the provincial education director within 14 days of receiving the notice.

While the appeal is being determined, the learner who has been expelled is permitted to attend school.

However, provided that if the head of the school believes, on reasonable grounds, the learners attendance may lead to indiscipline or may result in injury of another person or damage to property, the head can prevent the learner from attending school for not more than a month after the appeal has been launched.

In a separate interview, national police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said investigations into the Dominican Convent matter were ongoing.

The matter is work in progress and we are still carrying out the investigations, he said. Sunday Mail
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

The Embassy of India organised the first Open House of 2023 on Friday, during which Ambassador Piyush Srivastava met 40 Indian community members who sought redressal of their urgent and non-routine consular and employment issues.

On the occasion, the Ambassador thanked the overwhelming participation of Indian community members at the Flag Hoisting Ceremony and reception celebrating the 74th Republic Day of India.

The Ambassador also thanked the tireless efforts of ICRF, World NRI Council, Bharathi Association, TKS, BKS, Indian Club, Budaiya Gurdwara and TASCA.

The Embassy and ICRF held five consular visits to jails and labour camps and organised Medical Camps in different locations in Bahrain.

Ambassador thanked the local government authorities for their continued support and cooperation.
Vehicles piling up in Bahrain garages as chip & parts shortage drags on

Vehicles piling up in Bahrain garages as chip & parts shortage drags on

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

Report by Zahra Ayaz

The days of R Shankar, an Indian expatriate in Bahrain, now start not with the usual cup of tea or a Good Morning. Nowadays, he wakes up to an unusual task. Call the garage.

And this has been his routine for the past month.

The task is simple. Find out if the spare parts needed for his car has arrived.

It has been more than a month since his daily commute is waiting for critical parts to arrive at the service station.

Each time I call, they hang up, saying: not yet ready.

Waiting for parts to arrive. Shankar says the pain it gives is tremendous, as air, water and shelter are not just enough for humans to survive, as the vehicle is our primary need.

This, however, is not just the case for Shankar alone, as several others here are facing the same trauma  a shortage of spare parts.

Shankar is among the legions of people in Bahrain who is living in misery after sending their cars to service stations.

To find out the root cause of this crisis, The Daily Tribune contacted Industry experts here.

And all of them blame the crisis squarely on the supply chain crisis fuelled by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Besides, also playing its part is the worsening chip crisis caused by supply chain disruptions and logistics, where the demand for integrated circuits or "semiconductor chips" exceeds the supply.

The Daily Tribune had reported on the chip crisis during the pandemic season.

Severe weather events, including the droughts in Taiwan during the summer of 2021, were also significant contributing factors.

Not brand specific

Mohammed Zaki, General Manager of Zayani Motors, also holds the pandemic responsible for the spare parts shortage.

He also points out that the crisis is not brand specific.

Every brand has the same issue, he said, adding there is a shortage even for new vehicles.

The global auto industry is severely impacted by the chip shortage which powers dashboards, power winders, and other devices.
Japanese citizens will once again be able to get Chinese visas, Beijing said, reversing a previous ban over COVID testing China had slammed as "discriminatory."

The Chinese government on Sunday said it would resume granting visas for Japanese citizens.

"Starting today, the Embassy and the Offices of the Consulates-General of the People's Republic of China will resume issuing ordinary visas for Japanese citizens," a statement posted online by the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo said.

China had stopped the issuing of ordinary visas for Japanese nationals from January 10. The ban was prompted by Tokyo saying it would require COVID-19 testing for travelers from mainland China.

Travelers coming from China into Japan will need a negative test in the 72 hours before boarding their flight, with Chinese visitors subject to further testing upon arrival. ...continue reading
Japanese decluttering queen Marie Kondo, who is known for keeping things in order, and removing any sort of clutter, has accepted that even she fails to maintain a spotless and tidy home after her third kid's birth in 2021.

The decluttering queen accepted to have "sort of given up" on maintaining the immaculately clean and tidy house while speaking at a webinar as reported by The Washington Post.

"My home is messy, but the way I am spending my time is the right way for me at this time at this stage of my life," Kondo stated, as reported by the outlet.

"Up until now, I was a professional tidier, so I did my best to keep my home tidy at all times," she said. Kondo added that she understands what is important for her now.

Because of her technique, Kondo became well-known across the globe. The decluttering queen also wrote a book on the KonMari method and a series was produced by Netflix on the same. ...continue reading
, Jan 30 ( Japan Today ) - Nitori is a major home furnishings chain in Japan with hundreds of stores across the country. They even expanded to North America for about a decade under the brand Aki-Home, with both names deriving from the founder Akio Nitori.

However, as a company gets as large as Nitori, it can be difficult to keep tabs on the entire workforce. When that happens all sorts of problems, from frequent customer complaints to harassment, can begin to emerge, but even a company like Nitori was probably caught off guard to learn that one of their security personnel was stealing from the store he worked at.

On January 25, Saitama Police arrested 47-year-old Hiroyuki Hashimoto for stealing from a Nitori store in Kumagaya City, Saitama Prefecture, where he was employed part-time as a security guard.

According to police, Hashimoto confessed to stealing eight items from the store on the night of January 11 after it closed. The items included a pot lid and mattress and had a total value of 38,000 yen. He also admitted to stealing from the store since March of last year. ...continue reading
Connected transportation and telematics leader commits to worldwide sustainable and responsible business practices

TORONTO, Jan. 26, 2023 /CNW/ - Geotab Inc. ("Geotab"), a global leader in connected transportation solutions, today announced it has joined the United Nations Global Compact initiative (UN Global Compact)  a voluntary leadership platform for the development, implementation and disclosure of responsible human right, labor, environmental and anti-corruption business practices.

Geotab joins UN Global Compact (CNW Group/Geotab Inc.)

By joining the UN Global Compact, Geotab is committed to taking accountable business action and supporting universal sustainability principles. The UN Global Compact is a call to companies everywhere to align business operations and strategies with ten universally accepted principles , and to take accountable action in support of UN goals and issues embodied in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) . Launched in 2000, the UN Global Compact is the largest corporate sustainability initiative in the world, with more than 15,000 companies and 3,000 non-business signatories based in over 160 countries, and more than 70 local networks.

"We are committed to the principles of the UN Global Compact, and Geotab is proud to join the initiative," said Neil Cawse, CEO and Founder, Geotab. "The time for global leaders to unify efforts and address societal issues is now. By leveraging our shared values and principles to inform strategies, policies and procedures, and establishing a culture of integrity, we increase our chances of achieving a more sustainable, equitable, ethical future."

"With our signing of the UN Global Compact, we look forward to showing our commitment to taking action on sustainability across our organization," said Chuck Van Kempen, Associate Vice President, Corporate Sustainability, Geotab. "By learning and growing alongside peers and partners from a global network of participants, all of us at Geotab will play an important part in securing a successful future for our community and our business."

"To address the threat posed by climate change, we need employers to serve as active leaders," said Dave Mullaney, principal on RMI's Carbon-Free Mobility team. "Geotab's membership in the UN Global Compact will encourage other employers to join the initiative."

Geotab is committed to social sustainable governance, and has invested in initiatives to ensure the company and its customers can attain high reaching goals in corporate responsibility. A signatory of the Climate Pledge and with its carbon emissions reduction targets validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), Geotab published its inaugural Sustainability Report in 2021 , and published its 2021 GHG Emissions Report in October of 2022, showing climate action and moving the company toward a more sustainable future.

About Geotab

Geotab is a global leader in connected transportation solutions. We provide telematics - vehicle and asset tracking - solutions to over forty thousand customers in 150 countries. For more than 20 years, we have invested in ground-breaking data research and innovation to enable partners and customers, including Fortune 500 and public sector organizations, to transform their fleets and operations. We connect to over 3.2 million vehicles and process more than 55 billion data points a day so that customers can make better decisions, increase productivity, have safer fleets, and achieve their sustainability goals. Geotab's open platform and Marketplace, offers hundreds of third-party solution options. Backed by a team of industry leading data scientists and AI experts, Geotab is unlocking the power of data to understand real-time and predictive analytics - solving for today's challenges and tomorrow's world. To learn more, visit www.geotab.com , follow @GEOTAB on Twitter and LinkedIn or visit the Geotab Blog.

SOURCE Geotab Inc.

For further information: Media Contact: Hanna Corrente, Manager, Strategic Communications & Public Affairs, [email protected]
Literature pundits, especially those who have read William Shakespeares Julius Caesar would be familiar with the reason Brutus participated in the murder of his very close friend.

Brutus justified his actions because Caesar had become ambitious and wanted to be the king of Rome.

Enter July Moyo, a colourful and cunning politician who is Zimbabwes Local Government and Public Works minister in President Emmerson Mnangagwas Cabinet.

Moyo is also the Zanu PF national secretary for transport and welfare after being elevated from his previous post of deputy national secretary for administration.

To say Moyo is an ambitious politician could be an understatement, he is a political craftsman.

However, his cunning and ambitious nature has also been his downfall in some instances where he has found himself in his leaders crosshairs.

Former president Robert Mugabe was not a keen admirer of Moyos shenanigans, punishing him regularly for his ambitious moves. The rise of Mnangagwa to the presidency of Zanu PF and subsequently to the presidency of Zimbabwe in 2017 saw Moyos political career being resurrected.

He landed the minister's post at the Local Government ministry. However, Moyos ambitious nature coupled with several misteps has seen him suddenly on the ropes after reports that Mnangagwas trust in him was waning.

Moyo has also been tripping himself in government where, as the minister responsible for local governance, he has been in and out of the spotlight, albeit for the wrong and career-threatening actions.

Former Higher Education minister Jonathan Moyo once revealed on Twitter that the Local Government minister was entertaining hopes of succeeding Mnangagwa.

He cited an incident that allegedly took place at the presidents farm in Kwekwe involving juju that soured relations between Moyo and the first couple.

If he entertained any ambitions of becoming Zimbabwes next leader then a recent ruling by the High Court that effectively clipped his wings put a severe dent on them.

High Court judge Pricilla Munangati-Manongwa on January 17 set aside Section 314 (2) of the Urban Councils Act Cap 29:15 that gave the minister overbearing control of the affairs of local authorities.

The ruling followed an application by the Combined Harare Residents' Association, Borrowdale Residents and Ratepayers' Association, Clive Rambanapasi, Ian Makone and Elvis Ruzani to stop Moyos meddling in local authorities' affairs.

Their lawyer Tendai Biti had argued that the Urban Councils Act gave the minister unnecessary powers to make decisions even on non-policy issues.

Harare Residents Trust executive director Precious Shumba said Moyos powers had become excessive and retrogressive.

Shumba cited a number of directives by the minister, which he said were a heavy burden to local authorities.

These include the fire engines from Belarus and the Pomona dumpsite deal with Geogenix BV of the Netherlands, he said.

Additionally, he has been unable to submit any Bill on the implementation of devolution in Parliament in line with Section 264 of the constitution of Zimbabwe.

The inability to enact a law on devolution has meant that the minister has overall supervisory and oversight roles over local authorities where it has become excessive and therefore retrogressive for most urban and rural local authorities.

He also argued that Moyo had failed to direct the Local Government Board to expedite the firing and recruitment of senior management in urban local authorities whose key departments are being led by acting directors.

Service delivery has resultantly been compromised. Overall, the minister scores 5/10 on a scale with 10 as the best performance with 1 as the lowest score.

Shumba added that according to the HRT, the role of central government in the local authorities should be minimal, but firm in the protection of the citizens' interests.

Left alone, local authorities are arrogant and do not safeguard the residents' interests, he said.

Firebrand independent Norton legislator Temba Mliswa, who has his roots in the Midlands province, also once claimed that Moyo harboured presidential ambitions.

Mliswa even warned Mnangagwa that Moyo had appointed himself the de facto prime minister of Zimbabwe.

Political analyst and social commentator Ricky Mukonza said Moyo, as the Local Government minister, had become Mnangagwas hangman for anyone deemed to be a problem in that space.

This is politics, it could be true that ED has realised that July has become too ambitious, Mukonza said.

This happens when one has been in proximity to the top office for some time. We must also remember the expose by Temba Mliswa on the ambitions of Moyo.

It could also be intelligence that the president has on him.

Mukonza, however, predicted that Moyo would not lose his government position.

It would be difficult to get rid of him.

The same way that Mugabe dealt with ED is the same strategy we are likely to see Mnangagwa using on political foes and friends, he said.

There is another pending case in the High Court where Harare residents want the controversial Pomona waste management deal, which was allegedly imposed on the local authority by Moyo, cancelled. Standard




The Adamawa Police Command said it has foiled an attempt to kidnap a local businessman in Jambutu.





A statement by the Commands Public Relations Officer, SP Suleiman Yahaya Nguroji, disclosed that operatives attached to the State Intelligence Bureau, SIB, foiled an attempt to kidnap Emmanuel Ebel, a resident of Jambutu, Yola North Local Government Area on January 26, 2023.





According to the statement, the operatives, after a tip-off, designed a security ring around the target leading to the arrest of the five-man kidnap gang, identified as Chubrandom Nana Safinga, 30, Ibrahim Tala, 32, Ngosso Ndjombe, 28, Mmai Bmie Rostand, 32 and Nossu Ngambewo Ricky, 27. The suspects were all from nearby Cameroon Republic and were all residents of Douala With the exception of Safinga, who lived in Yaounde.





The suspects, all of whom were illegal immigrants, were arrested 20 minutes before committing their crimes.





Commissioner of Police S.K. Akande who commended the SIB operatives for their gallantry called on the public to work with the police to flush out criminal elements in society.




The Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke has expressed satisfaction with the passionate show of love and rejection of the Osun guber election petition tribunal judgment.





Adelekes reaction is coming after massive protests demonstrating support for him and the Peoples Democratic Party rocked major towns across the state.





Since the Friday, January 27, 2023, judgement by Justice Tertsea Kume-led tribunal in favour of former Governor Adegboyega Oyetola and the All Progressives Congress (APC) on July 16, 2022, Osun gubernatorial election, massive protests have rocked the state.





On Saturday, streets in major towns were blocked as protesters trooped out in large numbers to show their disapproval at the judgment.





Expressing delight at the reaffirmation of popular support for his governorship mandate, Adeleke in a personally signed statement assured the people that their mandate will not be stolen by whatever means possible.





In his words, I have read stories of multiple protests and I have seen many videos from all over the state. From Central, West and East, I am overwhelmed by your open defence of our mandate. I express my appreciation to our people for their show of support. Your love for me is much appreciated.





We have not done anything wrong. We won clearly with a wide margin. Local and foreign observers hailed our election as the best in recent Nigerian history. Be rest assured that by God and Man, justice will be done. Our mandate wont be stolen.





The governor who cautioned the people against taking laws into their hands also called for calm.





He disclosed that he has already appealed the judgment and was sure of victory.





Meanwhile, the Osun chapter of the PDP has accused the tribunal chairman, Justice Tertsea Kume of bias and sabotage of the new Electoral Act.





The party is also contemplating reporting the judge to judicial disciplinary bodies.





Addressing a press conference on Saturday in Osogbo, Akindele Adekunle, the partys caretaker chairman in the state, alleged that the judgement was way billed by the APC as the Tribunal Chairman abandoned legal arguments and submissions to dwell on trivialities as the foundation for his pronouncement.





The party also alleged that the plot by the APC went beyond the Osun guber election of 2022 to the coming general elections.





For us as a party, we understand the desperation of those behind the jankara judgement. We understand the trap they tried to set against the BVAS innovation in our electoral system. We understand the desperation goes beyond the Osun election or Governor Ademola Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke.





The evil plot is ultimately against the coming general election where in their usual fraudulent habit, millions of voter cards have either been cloned, registered with ghost names and are being made ready to be deployed especially for the presidential election, in which they could smell their total rejection far ahead of time.





In this wise and in their fraudulent anticipation, the use of BVAS machine must be discredited and rendered impotent ahead of their planned invasion of the electoral field with their fraudulent antics. However, ladies and gentlemen, this is a battle they cannot win!





Adekunle, however, called on the residents and citizens of the state and Nigerians to be vigilant.




Former Niger Delta freedom fighter, Alhaji Mujahid Asari-Dokubo, has predicted a landslide victory for the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.





Asari-Dokubo, who also rallied the Kalabari Kingdom to support the APC in the forthcoming 2023 presidential elections, declared that it is only Tinubu that can protect Kalabariland and develop the kingdom.





He made the declaration while speaking at the 48th birthday celebration of President Belema Oil, Tein Jack-Rich, at Harrys Town, Obuama, Akuku-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State.





According to him, with Jack-Rich holding a significant and prominent position in the Tinubu campaign structure, a victory for Tinubu would place the Kalabari Kingdom in a pole position to benefit from the government.





Asari-Dokubo who spoke in the Kalabari language and English urged the people of the Kingdom to support Jack-Rich in his assignment as Chairman Finance Committee of the Tinubu campaign.





He said: If Asiwaju Bola Tinubu wins, Kalabari would be on top with Tein Jack-Rich. Tein Jack-Rich needs us. The direction he points to us politically is where we should follow because if we dont follow, we would cry and cry again. Are we going to cry and cry again? Kalabiri this is the time. We are political. In the presidential election, we are going to vote for the one that our people are very strategic and close to. I can walk into the bedroom of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. Trust me, you know me. I have paid my dues. Bola Tinubu is the person that can secure Kalabari people, if you throw your votes away, dont blame anybody.





Speaking further on the presidential election, he said the chiefs of villages in Kalabari Kingdom have used the occasion to declare that they are in support of the work Tein Jack-Rich is doing in the Tinubu campaign and would vote for Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election.





Tein Jack-Rich is representing the interest of our people. He occupies a significant and prominent position in the Asiwaju Bola Tinubu campaign structure. We are celebrating him and giving him our full support on his 48th birthday. The whole Kalabari gathered, all the chiefs from Kalabiri villages gathered and all have endorsed him to represent and speak for them. They have said, come the presidential election, they are going to support Tinubu to become the next President of Nigeria, he said.





Asari-Dokubo predicted a clear victory for Tinubu, noting that going by antecedents, other frontliners who were former governors and former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar cannot stand the record of achievements of Tinubu.





Go to Lagos, two frontliners contesting with him are former governors, except Atiku who was Vice-President. Let us compare their records and see how they performed. What Ahmed Tinubu did in Lagos, he would replicate in Nigeria. Tinubu will win very clearly, he added.








Barely few hours after Kano State Governor, Umar Ganduje advised President Muhammadu Buhari against visiting his state, he has now rescinded his early decision, saying the president was now free to go ahead with his scheduled Monday visit to state.





He changed his mind after he led a delegation from the state to meet with President Buhari in his country home in Daura, Katsina State on Sunday.





According to Ganduje, We are now ready to receive him and we have a lot for him to commission including federal government projects and state government projects. They are state-of-the-art projects.





Ganduje, had in an interactive session with some stakeholders including scholars, legislators, political leaders and business community in the state, revealed that his government had requested the President to postpone the trip, saying that the state was deeply concerned about the hardship principally induced by the ongoing cash swap from old to redesigned notes.





He said the decision was taken to avoid any unforeseen circumstance.





Consequently, the state government wrote a letter to the President outlining the reasons why the planned visit is no longer auspicious at this time.





In a statement issued on Saturday by Abba Anwar, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, the decision to advise the President against the visit was endorsed by the critical stakeholders of the state.





The statement by the governors spokesman reads in parts: Deeply concerned with the hardship caused by limited time given for halting use of old Naira notes by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and for security reasons, the Kano State governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, reveals that the state resolved and wrote to Presidency that, the visit of the President to commission some projects be postponed.





As we are waiting for this important visit, we found ourselves in this situation, which puts citizens into untold hardship. For security purpose we wrote to Presidency that President Muhammadu Buharis visit to Kano be postponed.





We got an acknowledgement copy of the letter. People are really suffering because of this policy.





There are no banks in most of our rural communities. How these people get new Naira notes is of great concern. Just look at what is happening in our urban areas, people go and spend hours upon hours in banks. And without any assurances of getting the new notes.





But despite the Governors objection, Buhari had made up his mind to go ahead with the Monday visit.





Presidency sources had disclosed that he would go there to commission some projects implemented by the federal government.





But during Sundays visit to the President, Ganduje affirmed that he led the delegation to Daura over the issue of the ongoing currency swap and was happy with him.





He said: Seeing is believing. You can see that I have led a powerful delegation from Kano State on the issue of new naira notes and we have seen Mr. President. We have laid the complaints of the Kano people and we are very happy.




Rampaging gunmen struck again on Saturday night killing two soldiers and three policemen in Enugu-Ebonyi border.





It was gathered that the gunmen, who operated in a Toyota Sienna, first killed the two soldiers in a checkpoint in Enugu before proceeding to the Enugu-Ebonyi border.





Three policemen were reportedly shot dead at the border checkpoint.





Another wounded policeman is said to be receiving treatment




A Delta State Magistrate Court sitting in Ibusa, Oshimili North Local Government Area, has remanded a man at Ogwashi-Uku Correctional Centre for allegedly r@ping his girlfriends 17-year-old daughter.





An activist handling the case, Marvin Mordi, alleged that the suspect had been molesting the victim since she was 11 years old and infected her with HIV virus.





The teenagers mother was aware of the situation but chose to cover it up because she didnt want to lose her relationship.





Confirming the incident, popular activist, Comrade Israel Joe, in a post accompanied by the mans picture on his Instagram page, disclosed that the man infected the victims mother with HIV.





Today, a magistrate court in Ibusa remanded this man who infected a woman with HIV and also has been defiling her teen daughter. I saw this man at State CID Asaba on Thursday and thanked God he was not released; hence the jungle justice would have taken place, he wrote.




The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) has condemned the silence of the Federal Government and the military since the death of over 40 pastoralists and butchers in Nasarawa State.





A statement on Saturday by the Public Relations Officer, Muhammad Abdullahi said the body wants an explanation over the seemingly intentional killings in Rukubi village under Doma Local Government Area.





MACBAN described the posture of the authorities to the January 25th incident as reprehensible and a lack of regard for the loss of lives of ordinary Nigerians.





The deceased went to Makurdi earlier in the day to retrieve their 1,250 cows earlier impounded by the Benue State livestock guards after paying a fine of N29 million.





Abdullahi said they are victims of high handedness of the Benue government and the officers of the Makurdi-based Operation Whirl Stroke who deployed an aircraft/drone that killed the innocent pastoralists.





If nothing, we expect the President to commiserate with the families of the victims of this heinous crime.





MACBAN said the Rukubi shelling was the third in one year, citing previous bombing of pastoralists and livestock in Nasarawa, Benue and Taraba States.





The recent killings constitute a war crime and a panel of inquiry must be constituted to find out on whose authority the drone/aircraft was used and punish the culprits.





MACBAN said it holds the Benue government liable, insisting the trucks carrying the livestock were closely monitored until they reached the destination before the armed drone was unleashed.





The herders leadership found it shameful that while people were being killed, the President was enjoying a state dinner in Katsina State





Abdullahi stressed that those who died were bona fide citizens whose fundamental human rights recognised by the Constitution must be protected.





The loss of one life is bad enough, not to talk of over 40 innocent lives in a single swoop. This is an unacceptable and most despicable crime against humanity.





The statement urged the National Human Rights Commission to investigate the case and others involving aerial attacks by the Air Force in Nasarawa.




The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, on Sunday announced the arrest of five leaders of syndicates operating in different parts of the world.





The special operation lasted weeks during which different quantities of skunk, methamphetamine and ephedrine as well as air compressors used to conceal and distribute them globally were seized.





A statement by NDLEA Media Director, Femi Babafemi, said the cartel leaders were spread across UAE, Benin Republic, Togo, Oman, Thailand, Europe, and in the Nigerian states of Lagos, Imo and Anambra.





Babafemi said while on Christmas and New Year holidays in various parts of Nigeria, they were still coordinating efforts to send illicit consignments to Dubai and other countries.





Their cover was exposed on December 29 when their freight agent, Onyeisue Collins Chukwudi was arrested by NDLEA officers at the SAHCO export shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Lagos.





Chukwudi attempted to export three big automobile air compressors to Dubai and a follow-up operation led to the recovery of additional five compressors in his home at 24 Legacy Road, Ayobo, Lagos.





A total of 27.50kgs of skunk were taken out of the air compressors after welding tools were used to cut them open.





Discovering the agent was working for a bigger organized criminal group, the NDLEA deployed operatives to track the first kingpin, Onuoha Peter Obioma who lives in Benin Republic and Togo, but visited Lagos occasionally.





On January 7, Obioma walked into the waiting arms of operatives with a bag containing additional air compressors used to conceal 15.7kg of skunk and methamphetamine.





His statement led to the unravelling of two other cartel leaders: Dubai-based Ugo Kelechi Alex (aka KC) and Iwueke Ugochukwu (aka Odugwu), an Anambra-based businessman, who were still enjoying the Christmas and New Year holidays in Imo.





They were arrested during an operation on January 10 at their ancestral homes in Umuobi village in Igbejere community, Ihitti-Uboma LGA, Imo where a Lexus SUV and a Toyota jeep were recovered from them.





After days of surveillance, the NDLEA eventually nabbed the cartel boss, Ezenwekwe Obinna Nicodemus, an automobile parts dealer at Alaba International Market, at a bar in Mazamaza, Mile 2, on January 14.





A search of his home led to the recovery of 607g of ephedrine, a handful of cannabis weighing 20g as well as other paraphernalia, including 271g of dimethyl sulfone used as a cutting agent for ephedrine, Babafemi said.





Also recovered from him were a chemical precursor and an active ingredient for the production of methamphetamine, a weighing scale and an international passport.





Meanwhile, no fewer than 2,601.5 kilograms of cannabis and 102,500 pills of pharmaceutical opioids were seized during interdiction operations across Plateau, Edo, Delta, Taraba, Kogi, Kano, Lagos and Adamawa States in the past week.
A Nigerian, Valentine Ezike, has been arrested by agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency Regional Office 4-A in Barangay Biclatan, Cavite, Philippines.





The Philippines News Agency on Sunday quoted a PDEA report as saying, authorities seized from Ezike of Palmdale Village, Governors Hill around 500 grams of suspected shabu, (a variant of methamphetamine), a box containing two resealable transparent plastic bags containing more or less 1,000 grams each of brownish granules substance, plastic basin containing weighing scale, and four identification card, among others.





PDEA said Ezike was believed to be a member of the West African Drug Syndicate that recruits Filipinos to transport illegal drugs.





Ezike will be charged with violation of sections 5 and 11, Article II of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.




The presidential campaign council of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says Nigerians have rejected Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The PDP campaign asked Tinubu to accept the general rejection and concede defeat ahead of the February 25 presidential election.

In a statement on Saturday, Kola Ologbondiyan, PDP campaign spokesperson, urged Nigerians to collect their permanent voter cards (PVCs) ahead of the deadline and vote for Atiku Abubakar, the partys presidential candidate.

The campaign urges Nigerians to note that their only chance of expelling the insensitive, corrupt and vicious All Progressives Congress (APC), that has brought monumental anguish and pains to our country in the last seven and half years, is by collecting their PVCs and voting for Atiku Abubakar, the Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to instate a purposeful leadership and commence the onerous task of rebuilding our nation, the statement reads.

Our campaign appreciates the tremendous support, contributions and solidarity by overwhelming majority of Nigerians towards Atiku Abubakar in furtherance of their consensus that Atiku is the candidate with the desired experience, capacity, competence, integrity and national acceptability to lead our nation out of the abyss in which she has been sunk by the APC.

All eligible Nigerians, irrespective of ethnic, religious, sectional or even political affiliations must therefore rise to the occasion, collect their PVCs, go the polls, elect Atiku Abubakar and defend their votes as a patriotic duty to redeem and rescue our nation at this critical time.

Atiku/Okowa Campaign stands with Nigerians in charging INEC to put all measures in place to ensure free, fair, transparent and credible electoral process that will be a reflection of the will of the people as expressed at the ballot.

Our campaign therefore urges President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure that all institutions charged with the responsibilities of delivering credible polls to Nigerians deliver on their respective mandates in the collective interest of our nation.

The Atiku/Okowa Campaign counsels the APC and its Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to read the handwriting on the wall and eat the humble pie by apologising to the nation, accept their general rejection and concede defeat ahead of the presidential election.
Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP), says if elected, his administration will ensure significant developmental projects are channelled to the north.

Speaking on Saturday at a rally in Maiduguri, the Borno capital, Obi said his plans for the north would include focus on agriculture and education.

Addressing supporters of the party, he said with the LP administration, there would be a new Nigeria.

We want you to hold us responsible for a new Nigeria. For a long time, people have wasted the future of Nigerians and we cannot continue like that, he said.

We will secure and restore Nigeria to what it should be.

My administration has big plans for the north, particularly in areas of agriculture and education that will help pull it out of poverty.

On his part, Datti Baba-Ahmad, LP vice-presidential candidate, said he believes Obis experience as a governor will provide the necessary background for quality representation as president.

Baba-Ahmed also said LP remains the alternative to make the country better.

In her remarks, Aisha Yesufu, an activist, urged residents to participate actively in the elections, while Ibrahim Mshelia, Borno LP governorship candidate, urged the people not to sell their votes but to support the LP.

Obi also visited the southern part of the state, the Shehu of Bornos palace, and held meetings with youth and women groups.




Osun State governorship election Tribunal appears to have taken a swipe at the dancing skills of Governor Ademola Adeleke.





The Chairman of the Election Petition Tribunal, Terste Kume, on Friday, during his judgement mocked Governor Adeleke for dancing to Kiss Daniels Buga song the day he was declared winner of the election last year.





Delivering judgement, two out of the tribunals three-member panel held that the petitioner was able to prove that there was indeed overvoting in some of the polling units.





Consequently, the majority judgment of the tribunal ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to withdraw the certificate of return from Adeleke and issue a fresh one to Oyetola as the duly elected governor of the state.





The judge said Adeleke was dancing to Kiss Daniels Buga song after he was declared winner of the governorship election in July 2022, maintaining that the election was not held in compliance with the electoral act.





After deducting the unlawful votes, Mr Oyetolas tally came down to 314, 931 votes while Mr Adeleke scored 290,666. The declaration and return are hereby declared null and void, the chairman had ruled.





Reacting to this in Osogbo on Saturday while addressing the newsmen, the party leadership led by the State Caretaker Chairman, Dr Adekunle Akindele, said the judge abandoned legal arguments and submissions to dwell on the trivial as the foundation for his pronouncement.




Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to direct the Inspector-General of Police Usman Baba to probe the attack on Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP.





The rights organisation also called for the investigation of other cases of election-related intimidation, harassment and violence across the country.





The former Anambra governor was reportedly pelted with stones as he made his way to the airport after a rally in Katsina State.





SERAP said the attack came on the heels of 339 reported incidents of election-related intimidation, harassment and violence recorded in 2022.





SERAP demanded that IGP Baba and the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, name and prosecute culpable politicians and other perpetrators of violence.





An open letter on Sunday by Deputy Director, SERAP, Kolawole Oluwadare also charged Buhari to caution governors to end reported suppression of campaigns of opposition parties within their states.





The body believes going tough on the issue would stop further violence, facilitate free and fair elections, and encourage Nigerians to freely exercise their right to vote.





Oluwadare said free and fair elections mean polls conducted under conditions that enable voters to cast their votes as they wish without facing intimidation or violence before, during and after elections.





SERAP threatened to sue the president and compel relevant agencies to comply with its request if he fails to act.





The letter added that government has the responsibility to take concrete actions to hold governors to account for any infractions of the Constitution, the Electoral Act, and international human rights obligations.




Troops of Operation Hadin Kai alongside members of the civilian joint task force have reportedly annihilated a top Boko Haram commander, Abu Illiya alongside his 32 fighters.





The feat was said to have been achieved during an intelligence-led aggressive fighting patrol in some identified Boko Haram enclaves in Kayamari, Habasha and Yuwe villages in Konduga Local Government Area of Borno State.





According to Zagazola Makama, a counter-insurgency expert and security analyst in Lake Chad, multiple intelligence sources indicated that the troops superior firepower forced the surviving terrorists to flee in disarray thereby abandoning their property and weapons.





The troops also recovered and destroyed 50 bicycles from the terrorists hideouts.





The newly appointed Theatre Commander, Joint Task Force, North East Operation Hadin Kai, Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Ali shortly after taking over the command pledged to sustain efforts towards ending the fight against the Boko Haram insurgency in the North East.





To achieve this, according to the new commander, all hands must be on deck.
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Exactly one year to the day.

Thats how long Shirley and Tang Lee stayed retired before opening their new spot, Miss Shirleys Chinese Restaurant in Uptown in December.

The Lees ran Royal China in Metairie for 44 years. The pandemic convinced them they were tired and needed to sell their restaurant. They spent almost seven months traveling, visiting their grandkids and other family members in Singapore.

Miss Shirley's Chinese Restaurant What Miss Shirleys Chinese Restaurant Where 3009 Magazine St., (504) 354-2530; missshirleyschineserestaurant.com When Lunch Thu.-Sun., dinner Wed.-Mon. How Dine-in and takeout Check it out Shirley Lee serves Cantonese dishes at her new spot in Uptown

But then their daughter Carling Lee Gannon, a local real estate attorney and now their business partner, found out that Jungs Golden Dragon II was closing on Magazine Street.

I thought it was perfect and just three blocks from my house, Lee Gannon says. Commercial property doesnt come up for sale in that neighborhood too often, so I bought the building.

The Lees came home for Lee Gannons wedding, and while they didnt agree to open Miss Shirleys right away, their actions spoke volumes about the possibility. Although most mothers of the bride are pretty involved in the planning, Shirley Lee had a project of her own.

As soon as they got home, mom called up a lot of her old customers and started cooking for them, Lee Gannon says. Shed do two lunch seatings and an early dinner at her formal dining table at home  I never sat at that table in my life. Id say, Mom, can you come to pick out flowers with me? and shed say, Sorry, I cant. Mr. Mike is coming for take-out. It was obvious she missed the restaurant so much.

Her mother knew December could typically be a slower month for restaurants and was worried that her old customers might not find her on Magazine, Lee Gannon says. But the response from the community was immediate.

We werent even ready to open, and people were at the door, Lee Gannon adds. Of course, shed let them in.

When Lee Gannon started posting on social media, diners started coming to the new spot. We didnt have a phone in the beginning because the number didnt have an eight in it, she says. Its a Chinese thing, a lucky number. Finally, I said, Mom, we cant be open without a phone, so she had to let that go.

The new spot is more intimate than the Metairie restaurant  cozy and inviting with a long bar along one wall. A slate blue and gold color scheme is accented with a scattering of light wood tables.

Miss Shirleys is open for lunch half of the week and dinners most days. The restaurant doesnt accept reservations, and there was an hour wait on a recent Thursday night. Lee Gannon recommends coming at 5 p.m. or 8 p.m. to avoid a wait.

Miss Shirleys menu is full of the dim sum and Cantonese specialties connected with the couples roots in Hong Kong. Its a little more succinct, Lee Gannon says. We took away a few of the more American-Chinese dishes  mandarin chicken, sweet and sour chicken. Thats not our jam.

Instead, there are tender snow pea leaf dumplings stuffed with shrimp, steamed pork soup dumplings tangy with garlic and ginger, and plates of clams that are rich with fermented black bean sauce and chili.

NOCHI graduating class opens pop-up Indian restaurant Sai this week NOCHI students told us about learning to cook, planning Sai and what will be on the menu at the pop-up restaurant.

Crabmeat udon noodles are Lee Gannons go-to comfort food. The noodles are stir-fried in an umami-rich black bean garlic sauce studded with jumbo lumps of crabmeat in the deeply satisfying dish.

I was so lucky, she says. My mom would make me that whenever I asked for it. It was my macaroni and cheese.

Shirleys fried rice features brown rice fried with shrimp, pork chicken and vegetables. Jalapenos come stuffed with shrimp, squid, tofu or salt and pepper fish. Glazed tropical fried shrimp has a sweet chili glaze and is served with blueberries and pecans.

Beyond the familiar won ton and hot and sour soup, theres a Chinese dumpling and mushroom soup, a spicy soup packed with seafood and five kinds of mushrooms, and beef noodle soup with glass noodles and cilantro. For dessert, beignets are made to order in crowd-sized portions.

As in her previous restaurant, the ever-smiling Miss Shirley circles the dining room to visit with customers when she takes a break from the kitchen.

Im so happy to see my customers, she says. My restaurant was a lot of hard work because I was raising my kids, too. When you enjoy it, its not such hard work after all.
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.
Civil rights activist icon Martin Luther King Jr. will be honored in an upcoming special presentation at The Gary Public Library.

The program "An MLK Visual Experience," presented and produced by Mark Spencer, director of West Side Theatre Guild, will be held Jan. 30 through Feb. 9 at Gary Public Library.

It'll be a multimedia presentation celebrating the life of Dr. King as well as Black History Month.

"It's important for us to remember this iconic figure of justice and to celebrate his life and look at his contributions to society," Spencer said.

Spencer said he'll be narrating the free program, which will include a collage of historical photos, video, spoken word, songs and movement. The program will feature students as well as members of the community.

"We want to remind people of his accomplishments," Spencer said about the signifcant historical figure.

In addition to Spencer as the narrator, the program will feature performers Altovise Ferguson, Jalaiyah Prince, Dwayne Coleman and Dwayne Coleman Jr.

Spencer said he's excited to be back in a live theatrical performance capacity after such a long shutdown due to the pandemic.

"We're excited to be back to honor Black History Month too," he said. Spencer said this work was planned before the pandemic but had to be halted until now.

While the performance space for the program will be the Gary Public Library at 220 W. 5th Ave. Gary, tickets for the performance are available at all Gary Library locations.

The performance will last 45 minutes. Spencer said individuals who aren't able to pick up a ticket from one of the library locations in advance, may also feel free to attend the performance on the day of their choice as well.

FYI: Performance dates and times are Jan. 30 at 10 a.m.; Jan. 31 at 10 a.m. (sold out); Feb. 1 at 11 a.m.; Feb. 2 at 6 p.m.; Feb. 3 at 6 p.m.; Feb. 4 at 3 p.m. and Feb. 9 at 6 p.m.
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

Porter County police officer Tyler Ball swiftly unbuckled his seat belt and jumped out of his police vehicle with one hand resting on the holster of his firearm.

His K-9 partner, who he named Osok for the acronym One Shot, One Kill, barked and growled in the back seat as Ball approached a car during a routine traffic stop. The motorist cruised through a stop sign in a school zone as children exited the building.

Ball, a former U.S. Marine Corps sniper specialist, immediately set his sights on the vehicle and hit the accelerator to speed up. Osok, whos 2, immediately began making noise and jumping around, knowing he could be called into action.

He loves action, Ball said after returning to his vehicle, a dark and unmarked Ford Explorer.

Ball and Osok are expertly trained and naturally wired for their jobs to serve and protect, sniffing out criminal indicators and aggressively acting on their instincts. They are in tune with each others behaviors after being trained at the same time using German language commands and universal body language.

Ball illustrated their professional connection by allowing Osok out of the vehicle to conduct more training. The dog, a Dutch Shepherd from Belarus, eagerly bounded from the backseat and ran toward Ball, who held a bite-suit tug cloth.

Osok clamped down on the chew toy and didnt let go. Ball swung the dog around in the air. He didnt release his bite until Balls verbal command. (View more photos, and a video, at nwi.com.)

His aggression is in his blood, Ball explained.

The same can be said for Ball, who enlisted in the Marines one week after graduating from Kouts High School in 2013. He served two deployments in the Middle East, the first as an infantryman and the second as a member of a scout sniper platoon. It was his childhood dream.

After serving Uncle Sam for four years, he returned to this Region to serve the public as a Porter County sheriffs officer with a K-9 partner, another dream job from his youth.

Are you alright back there, buddy? Ball asked Osok, who whimpered for action.

Police dogs reflect their handlers, he said. You need to train it well to perform well.

Ball needed Osoks keen sense of smell to track down a suspect on foot in a residential area. The man tried thwarting the officers pursuit by calling 911 and posing as a woman whose home was being burglarized a couple streets away. The ploy worked, but Osok still found a dropped dollar bill with the mans scent on it.

We arrested him the next morning, Ball said.

Another case involved a female motorist who began swallowing illegal narcotics when she got pulled over. Osok sniffed out the residue anyway, circling around the spot, then sitting down and facing Ball.

As if hes saying, I found the dope. Whats next, boss? Ball joked.

On the day I rode shotgun in Balls vehicle, he pulled over a few motorists for different violations. Each time, Osok whimpered as Ball exited his vehicle. Ball approached each motorist with one hand on his holstered weapon and a clip of initial questions to gauge the motorist's condition or character or situation.

Ive never met them before, so I dont know who they are, where theyre going, or their intentions, Ball told me as he ran a drivers license through his laptop computer. Some of my questions dont pertain to the traffic stop, but I just want to get to know the person a little better. Or figure out if theyre lying about something.

On his patrols, Ball has a keen sense for identifying criminal indicators by motorists. He spots small details about their vehicle or behavior that most civilians would miss. He also instinctively notices when motorists suspiciously attempt to evade him, turning into gas stations or ducking behind other cars.

Ball covers a lot of ground during his eight-hour shifts, driving through the northwest part of Porter County, labeled as 1A. He issued one male motorist a verbal warning for a traffic violation. The driver replied with a sneer, Well, I learned my lesson if it makes you happy.

In South Haven, Ball noticed a car without a visible license plate driving 65 mph in a 45 mph zone. In Portage, he ran the plates of a vehicle, alerting him to another infraction. Each time Ball returns to his vehicle, he pushes a button on his police vest to deactivate its recording device.

Stopped recording, an automated female voice states.

The vehicle also has a recording device that automatically turns on when its emergency lights are activated. Todays law enforcement officers have a RoboCop array of high-tech devices at their disposal. And yet, the county police department is again hiring more officers in addition to the handful of rookie officers already on the force.

Ball knew he wanted to be a cop since he was a young boy. In middle school, he did his own ride-along in a police vehicle with an officer who he now works with.

I never thought this part of my dream would ever happen, Ball said.

His father, Winfield Town Marshal Dan Ball, is a veteran police officer who didnt have to do much to influence his sons decision to become a cop.

I remember hearing all his police stories at the dinner table, Ball said. And now Im telling those stories to my own family.

Ball, 28, is married with a young daughter and a son expected in April.

I enjoyed being stationed in California, living near the ocean. But this is my home here, he said as Osok whimpered in the back seat. And hes my new partner.
EAST CHICAGO  A triple shooting in the Atlas apartment buildings left three residents injured Saturday morning.

Police Chief Jose Rivera said investigators believe that the incident stems from "two feuding neighbors" and that the public is not in danger.

Officers were called around 10:45 a.m. to the apartments at 4425 Indianapolis Blvd. for a report of a shooting, Rivera said. The caller told dispatch that two women had been shot.

A man outside the rear of the residence had been wounded by a gunshot to the leg, Rivera said, and the two women were found inside the building. One was shot in the hip, the other in the leg.

Rivera said all victims were taken to local hospitals to receive care for injuries that were deemed not life-threatening.

Preliminary investigation indicates the shooting occurred in a hallway inside the apartments. No additional information will be released at this time, Rivera said.

Anyone with information can contact East Chicago police's Criminal Investigation Division at 219-391-8318 or call in an anonymous tip at 219-391-8500. Download Atlas One "Cardinal Connect" to submit anonymous tips via the city's public safety app.
There is still plenty of room on the May 2 primary ballots in Lake, Porter and LaPorte counties for last-minutes candidates.

More than 50 of those public offices are being contested by two or more candidates for their partys nomination to run in the general election this fall.

But as of Friday, there are four times as many offices where only one candidate or, in many cases, no one is putting their name in front of voters.

The filing deadline is noon Feb. 3.

Several dozen Democrats and Republicans joined Northwest Indianas crowd of primary-election candidates last week, bringing the total to nearly 300 running for mayor, clerk-treasurer and municipal councils.

Lake County

Those who filed last week for municipal executive offices include Gary Mayor Jerome Prince, a Democrat, who is running for re-election. Travis Francis, a Republican, filed to run for East Chicago mayor. Pat Alexander, a Republican, filed to run as clerk-treasurer for the city of Lake Station.

Porter County

Democrats Terri Clark and Elizabeth (Turzai) Modesto are running for clerk-treasurer of Portage. Kouts Clerk-Treasurer Laurie Tribble is running for re-election, as is Burns Harbor Clerk-Treasurer Jane Jordan.

LaPorte County

Among the recent candidate filings:

Republican Tracy Williams is running for clerk-treasurer of Westville. Trail Creek Clerk-Treasurer Joshleen Denham, a Democrat, is running for re-election.

Mike Walker is running for Michigan City mayor on the Libertarian Party ticket. Democrat Ron Meer hopes to return to office as Michigan City mayor. Meer previously served eight years as mayor there.
I think its indicative of a greater issue, which is that public outreach and public comment in our environmental affairs is just nonexistent up here," Dabertin said.

Once all of the correct entities are notified, Dabertin said, he hopes representatives from Chicago and Cook County governments will take a stand against WLT's wastewater discharge.

Boos fears WLT's wastewater is harming Wolf Lake's surrounding plants and wildlife. Boos also noted that the water in Wolf Lake eventually flows into Lake Michigan, meaning contamination could impact drinking water.

By no means have we won, ... but we won the clear issue that we deserve to be notified and that this matters to Northwest Indiana," Dabertin said. This is not an end. This is the beginning and people should take note."

To stay updated on AWLI's efforts, contact Boos at booscommunications@gmail.com.
VALPARAISO  When former Mayor Jon Costas entered the 2023 mayoral race, he said he would ensure that Valparaiso stays the course. However, new candidates say what the city actually needs is a change.

Costas, who was Valparaiso's chief executive for 16 years, threw his hat in the ring shortly after Mayor Matt Murphy announced that he would not be seeking another term. During his December launch, Costas said the city "cannot afford to miss a beat. This is not a time to change horses in the middle of a fast-moving stream ... proven leadership is necessary now more than ever."

Murphy, a Republican, was elected in 2019 after Costas, also a Republican, announced his retirement. At the end of November, Murphy said he would not be seeking a second term because his family's small business, Jifco Products Inc., was acquired by Urschel Laboratories and he was offered a position that would require his daily presence at the Urschel headquarters in Chesterton.

Murphy has filed to run for an at-large council seat.

If elected, Costas has said, he will continue several of the projects started during the Murphy administration, including the Linc apartment complex, the Valpo for all Generations Parks Department initiative, the skate park coming to Fairgrounds Park and the Grand Gardner boutique hotel planned for the former Valparaiso Boys & Girls Club, 354 Jefferson St.

Some of the developments, most notably the Linc apartment complex and the Lincoln Highway parking garage, have drawn critiques from residents and from Costas' challengers. Hannah Trueblood, who has filed to run as a Democrat, and Art Elwood, who filed as a Republican, said all the new projects coming to Valparaiso are pricing residents out.

Were not even taking care of our own people," Elwood, 67, said. "I didnt think I lived in a rich community."

Trueblood said she's seen residents and businesses leave the city because they can no longer afford rent.

"We're at a tipping point here," Trueblood said, and the city is going in a "direction that's benefiting only a certain number of people and kind of turning a blind eye to everybody else."

Pamela Schroeder, 77, who has filed as a Democrat, said she does not want to share her campaign platform yet.

Elwood, who retired from the Valparaiso Fire Department three years ago, said city leaders are not transparent enough.

"About a year ago I attended a City Council meeting and I was told I couldnt ask any questions, that we could write a question down and they would get back to us," he recalled. "They (council members) are not accountable to the residents."

Elwood, a lifelong Valparaiso resident, started working for the Police Department in 1987; after 13 years, he transferred to the Fire Department. He served as an at-large councilman for one year and worked for the town of Porter as a building and code enforcements officer for four years.

If elected, Elwood said, he would ensure that community members have more input on the developments coming to the city, take a critical look at the tax incremental financing district, and make the school board and the Redevelopment Commission elected bodies.

Valparaiso School Board members are elected by the City Council. Three of the RDC members are appointed by the mayor and two are appointed by and from the council. The one nonvoting RDC member is appointed by the mayor from the School Board. Instead, Elwood said, one RDC member should be appointed by and from the City Council and the rest should be elected by residents.

For Trueblood, who has worked as a real estate agent in the area for six years, "it feels like everything is kind of going on behind closed doors ... even if you go to a City Council meeting, a lot of those things have already been decided before they get brought to the table."

Trueblood said she is running because her two children, ages 9 and 5, are growing up in a city that is markedly different from the Valparaiso she was raised in. She said the city needs more affordable housing options instead of expensive apartment complexes like the Linc.

One of her interests is establishing a Community Land Trust, a nonprofit entity that maintains ownership of properties while entering into long-term leases with homeowners instead of a traditional sale. Because the trust retains ownership, it can ensure that the housing remains affordable.

At 28, Trueblood said she would be the city's youngest and first female mayor.

Her vision for Valparaiso involves making it "a city where everyone can flourish. We'll be able to preserve our history while growing and expanding in a healthy way."

The last day candidates can file to run for the spring primary is Feb. 3.

PHOTOS: Jon Costas announcement Former Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas announces his candidacy for mayor Former Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas announces his candidacy for mayor Former Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas announces his candidacy for mayor Former Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas announces his candidacy for mayor Former Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas announces his candidacy for mayor Former Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas announces his candidacy for mayor Former Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas announces his candidacy for mayor Former Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas announces his candidacy for mayor Gallery HTML code
The South Shore Roller Derby teams are lacing up their skates as the new season quickly approaches.

Weve been rolling around the Region for 10 years now, said Ellen Kapitan, president of SSRD's board of directors.

The league was established in 2013 as the South Shore Roller Girls. In 2021, its members removed girls in an effort to be more inclusive.

Hearing the word 'derby' at the end instead of 'girls' means something more, said Kapitan, an active skater.

Northwest Indianas premiere flat-track roller derby league will begin its 2023 home season with a doubleheader Saturday, March 11, at the Hammond Civic Center  opponent information and time to be determined.

The South Shores two teams, the Derailers and Runaways, will compete in multiple two-minute jams over the course of two 30-minute periods. Teams of up to five players will skate in a counter-clockwise direction attempting to score points by passing opposing players.

Before joining SSRD in 2017, Lisa Stojanovich hadnt worn skates in more than 10 years. She describes it as one of the greatest feelings in the world.

Its this fun combination of feeling very outside of yourself, but also completely honing in and paying attention to what every part of your body is doing, the 33-year-old said. Youre so dialed in on everything happening around you that everything else floats away.

Women 18 and older are encouraged to join SSRD, even if they don't have skating experience. Some members are in their mid-40s.

Additional information about the league can be found on the SSRD website, SouthShoreRollerDerby.org.

If theres anyone out there interested, they should definitely get in touch with us, Stojanovich said. I hope that anyone whos thinking about it comes and checks us out.

SSRD will host its second doubleheader Saturday, June 24, at the Franciscan Health Pavilion at Bulldog Park in Crown Point. The final home season bout is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 16, at Urschel Pavilion at Central Park Plaza in Valparaiso. Theres no confirmed travel schedule yet, but Kapitan said SSRD will likely participate in three of those bouts as well.

Amanda Luna had to relearn how to roller skate when she became a member in 2014. She found SSRD to be a stress-reliever from her teaching position and an interesting opportunity to meet new people. She has since met some of her best friends.

Shes nervous leading up to events, but its an exhilarating experience being on the track with her team.

Its been amazing throughout my personal life how roller derby has helped me gain confidence, Luna said. So often women are self-conscience about taking up space, and in roller derby we get to do that. Were of all different body types. Theres a specific space and place for everyone on the track.

She describes herself as strong and capable when shes in her skates. Roller derby has allowed Luna to become more vocal and communicative by meeting strong-willed people, she said.

One of the really cool things is, were about to have an addition of a third team. In the years leading up to COVID, things were very sparse. Now with our numbers solidly learning toward a third team, its a super exciting endeavor were going to be taking on.
By the time they walk into Kiaundra Jacksons office for their first therapy session, many couples are in crisis. Some have waited years to get help, said Ms. Jackson, a licensed marriage and family therapist in Los Angeles. Things between the two may be extremely horrible. Many couples she sees are on the brink of divorce, or one partner has practically dragged the other in.

Still, Ms. Jackson believes there is hope. I dont think there is a time when its too late if both parties are still willing to put in the work, she said.

Ideally, couples seek therapy as soon as they recognize a certain pattern is getting set and they dont know how to work their way out of it, said Orna Guralnik, a Manhattan-based clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst featured in the Showtime documentary series Couples Therapy. She urged couples not to wait until those patterns completely calcify and love  or good will  runs out.

But it can be daunting to find a therapist who is a good fit for both partners, and not just because thorny relationship dynamics are at play. Theres also the practical issue of knowing where to start looking.
Urologists often deal with health problems that arise from two very intimate functions: peeing and sex. Because of this, most urologists tend to have a lot of brevity and a bit of humor, because we know these are hard topics for our patients, said Maria Uloko, a urologist at UC San Diego Health and assistant professor of urology at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine.

In my experience (as both a patient and a health journalist), urologists will happily discuss the subjects that some of us laypeople tend to avoid: erectile problems, peeing too much, peeing too little, painful sex, dwindling or nonexistent orgasms, urinary tract infections and the list goes on.

Rachel Rubin, a urologist and sexual health specialist based outside Washington, D.C., said many people dont share these issues with their doctor even if they are ongoing; they simply learn to live with discomfort. Theyll tell themselves, Well, thats just aging. Suck it up, Dr. Rubin said. But, if it bothers you and it matters to you, then its a medical problem with medical solutions.

There are two parts of a urologists job. Theres the serious illness stuff, like cancers, said Nelson Bennett, a professor of urology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, who specializes in male sexual function. But theres a big chunk of our practice that is basically quality of life. I tell my patients that no one dies of not having an erection, but theyre still suffering. All of this may be why people who have seen a urologist (present company included) sometimes say the results are life altering.
Six people were killed on Saturday following a collision between a truck and a bus on a highway in upstate New York close to the Canadian border, state police officials and local media said.

Law enforcement officials responded to the crash at 6:02 a.m. on State Highway 37, in the town of Louisville. A Penske rental truck and an express bus carrying fifteen people were involved, according to a statement from the New York State Police. Two others who had been traveling on the bus were in serious condition, and another person was in critical condition, the statement said. The injured passengers were being treated at various hospitals.

The collision happened in icy conditions  as of Saturday evening, six inches of snow had fallen in Louisville. Photos showed that the vehicles might have crashed head-on on the highway, which had tall snow banks on either side.

The bus, which looked like a shuttle van, appeared to be affiliated with a solar energy company in central New York, according to a report from the local television station WWNY.
Harold H. Brown, who as a teenager overcame racial prejudice in the American South to become an Army Air Corps fighter pilot during World War II  a member of the famed Tuskegee Airmen  only to be downed over Austria and face a lynch mob of vengeful villagers, died on Jan. 12 in Huron, Ohio. He was 98.

His death, at a nursing home, was confirmed by his wife, Marsha Bordner.

Dr. Brown flew 30 missions during the war in Europe and later served in the Korean War. He spent 23 years in the military before retiring, earning a doctorate and becoming a college administrator.

He was one of the last surviving members of the Tuskegee Airmen, a group that included 355 pilots who served in segregated units operating from the wars Mediterranean theater after beginning their training at the historically Black Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. Fewer than 10 are still living, according to Tuskegee Airmen Inc., an organization dedicated to preserving their legacy.

After taking off from Italy at dawn on March 14, 1945, Dr. Brown, a second lieutenant at the time, was piloting a P-51 Mustang strafing a German freight train near Linz, Austria, when the locomotive exploded, hurling shrapnel into the engine of his single-propeller plane.
The man accused in the attack of Paul Pelosi, the husband of the former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, made a disturbing surprise phone call to a California television station on Friday and said that he had no remorse about his actions last October. He suggested that he regretted not causing more harm.

The man, David DePape, who has been charged in the attack against Mr. Pelosi, called a reporter for KTVU from his San Francisco County Jail cell on Friday and said that he was only sorry I didnt get more of them. The station is a Fox affiliate in the Bay Area.

His remarks to the reporter, Amber Lee, who said on-air that the statements sounded scripted, came on the same day that a San Francisco court released police body camera footage showing the frenzied moment of the attack. The call to Ms. Lee was unexpected, the station reported, but Ms. Lee had previously reached out to him following his arrest last year.

The body camera footage shows that when officers approached the couples San Francisco home in the early hours of Oct. 28, they found the assailant and Mr. Pelosi standing calmly, each with a hand on a large hammer.
South Africa: Police lauded for conviction of gang members

Continued efforts to deal with the scourge of gang violence on the Cape Flats has resulted in the sentencing of four people who were involved in violent crimes in Ravensmead, Western Cape.

The accused were sentenced in the Western Cape High Court on charges of murder and the possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.

Members of the 'Ama dont care' gang arrived at a residence in Geranium Street in Ravensmead on 25 March 2019, with the intention to extort the resident at the mentioned address. They returned the next day 26 March 2019 for more protection money, and the resident resisted their actions.

Later in the day unknown males returned to the house, firing gunshots at the victim, fatally wounding Christopher Cornelius and his four year old grandchild Likeshia Joubert. On 7 April 2019, the only witness Glenda Ruiters was gunned down in Erica Road by unknown men while her daughter escape injuries when the gang members shot at her in a bid to kill her with her mother, the South African Police Service (SAPS) said on Sunday.

The SAPS said the investigating officer attached to the Anti-Gang unit was committed to ensure the perpetrators of crime were brought to justice.

He pursued every bit of information and subsequently arrested and detained four suspects on charges of murder and possession of unlicensed firearm and ammunition. He successfully opposed bail for the suspects and they were remanded in custody for the full duration of the trial.

The investigating officer faced a massive onslaught from the defence lawyers in a bid to derail him. The detective however kept his focus on the Judge, calmly stating the facts as he was on the crime scenes and was in the best position to paint a credible picture. The investigating officer was lauded as a credible investigator, the SAPS said.

Western Cape Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Thembisile Patekile, lauded the investigating officer for the sterling investigation with the aim of proving the States case beyond reasonable doubt.

He reiterated that criminals can run but they cannot hide in the province, as committed investigating officers will ensure that they answer in a court of law.

On 14 October 2022 the accused were convicted and sentencing was remanded to Thursday 26 January 2023. The four suspects were sentenced as follows:

Dawnay Davids was sentenced to 25 years for the murders of Christopher Cornelius and Likeshia Joubert. Five years for the possession of an unlicensed firearm and five years for the possession of unlicensed ammunition.

Mahlubandile Jacobs was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Christopher Cornelius, life imprisonment for the murder of Likeshia Joubert, life imprisonment for the murder of Glenda Ruiters, 10 years for the possession of an unlicensed firearm and 12 years for the possession of unlicensed ammunition.

Moegamat Swarts was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment for the murder of Glenda Ruiters, 10 years for the attempted murder on Nikita Ruiters and eight years for the possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.

Vincent Davids was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Glenda Ruiters and12 years for the possession of an unlicensed.

 SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2023-01-29. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Interview: China offers healthier, more balanced example of global cooperation, says Senegalese expert

Xinhua) 13:14, January 29, 2023

DAKAR, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- The cooperation model that China offers to African countries and the rest of the world is healthy, fair and based on the principle of mutual benefit, a Senegalese expert has said.

Far from the drastic conditions or eligibility criteria that other nations or institutions advocate for African countries, China seeks mutually advantageous and equitable cooperation with Africa according to the priorities defined by African countries, said Amadou Diop, a Senegalese expert on China.

China's assistance to Africa "is largely aimed at achieving socio-economic and cultural projects of great importance, such as road infrastructure, hospitals, schools, bridges," Diop said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

Cooperation between the two sides is focused on development, the expert said, adding that China has helped Africa in building various quality infrastructure throughout the continent.

"There is a wealth of examples, notably those in Senegal and in most African countries," Diop said, citing the Blaise Diagne-Mbour-Thies International Airport highway and the Mbour-Fatick-Kaolack highway both funded by Chinese corporations in his country.

Africa-China cooperation will undoubtedly grow stronger, he said, pointing to the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) as "a good example."

In 2000, FOCAC was established to form a collective dialogue mechanism between China and African countries on the basis of equality and mutual benefit. The forum opened a new chapter of pragmatic cooperation in the China-Africa friendship.

The African continent and China have ushered in a harmonious and increasingly prosperous cooperation dynamic, Diop said. "The strengthening of cooperation between China and Africa is increasingly raising new hopes for the future of Africa," the expert said.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
The officers currently assigned to the unit agree unreservedly with this next step, the department said in the statement. It added that while the heinous actions of a few cast a cloud of dishonor on the unit, it is imperative that we, the Memphis Police Department, take proactive steps in the healing process for all impacted.

Lawyers for Mr. Nicholss family called the decision appropriate and proportional.

The unit  its full name is the Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods unit  had been central to efforts by city and police officials to combat persistent violence and crime at a time when the citys murder rate had been climbing, stoking fears about public safety. Jim Strickland, the mayor of Memphis, had highlighted the units importance to his crime-fighting strategy during his State of the City address a year ago.

Scorpion was launched in 2021 by Chief Davis just months after she took over the department. The group consisted of about 40 officers who drove unmarked vehicles, making traffic stops and hundreds of arrests as well as seizing weapons.

Mr. Nichols was stopped on the evening of Jan. 7 as he was headed to the home he shared with his mother and stepfather in the southeastern corner of Memphis. The video footage released on Friday that captured Mr. Nicholss interactions with officers showed him being pulled out of his car, and he can be heard saying, Im just trying to go home.

Mr. Nichols fled on foot, and when officers caught up to him, he was kicked, struck by a baton and pepper-sprayed, at one point screaming, Mom! Mom! Mom! He was hospitalized in critical condition and died three days later.
Irans Defense Ministry said that it had thwarted an attack Saturday on one of its munition centers in the central city of Isfahan by shooting down three drones.

In a statement, the ministry said the attempted attack occurred around 11:30 p.m. local time with quadcopter drones and it reported no casualties. It said the facilitys roof had sustained minor damage.

Video footage posted on social media by witnesses showed a large explosion erupting in the night sky above the military facility, which is on a major road in northern Isfahan. A man standing on the side of the road as traffic whizzed by is heard on the video saying antiaircraft missiles were fired before an explosion was heard. Its a drone, its a drone, he said of the target.

State television said the authorities were investigating what was behind the attempted attack on the munitions center and the extent of the damage.
In 1916, Karl Adler, a German Jew, purchased a Pablo Picasso painting now viewed as a masterpiece, Woman Ironing, from the owner of a prestigious gallery in Munich.

But 22 years later, when he and his family fled Germany to escape Nazi persecution, he was forced to sell the painting back to the gallery for a pittance, according to a recently filed lawsuit that describes the sale as a desperate attempt to raise cash needed to flee.

Now several of Adlers distant relatives are suing the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, to which the painting was donated more than four decades ago, claiming ownership of the work, and citing the 1938 sale price  $1,552 (the equivalent of about $32,000 in todays dollars)  as clear evidence that it was sold under duress.

Adler would not have disposed of the painting at the time and price that he did, but for the Nazi persecution to which he and his family had been, and would continue to be, subjected, says the complaint filed this month in New York Supreme Court by the heirs and several nonprofits that are the residual heirs of one of the deceased relatives.
That was extremely interesting, because were talking about an hour of music here. If he thought about it as a cycle, thats a very ambitious undertaking, and a much bigger cycle than any that were known at the time. Clara Schumann would always select pieces from her husbands music, rarely playing Kreisleriana as one, or Carnaval as one. Sure enough, one gets into a state of mind and it seems to work out well  the contrasts between the pieces, and this wonderful farewell, On the Holy Mountain, which is such a benediction. Its a real journey.

Listening to your recording, I wondered whether the musics fate has not just been about preconceptions about the writing, but the fact that an hourlong cycle is tricky to program.

Even the single pieces are not known. I played these pieces in Prague in November, and I met the daughter of Rudolf Firkusny, the great Czech pianist. She said, Maybe I can remember that my father played the third piece a couple of times as an encore, but she didnt know the music. Can you imagine? Firkusny played so much Czech music, and was famous for playing the Piano Concerto.

Does the cycle have a narrative to it, or is it more a series of tableaux along the lines of Mussorgskys Pictures at an Exhibition?

More like that, maybe a picture of Czech life. What I love about the cycle is, you have very spiritual pieces, the mystery of The Old Castle and Twilight Way, and on the other hand you have a piece called Toying. Another piece is called Tittle-Tattle. Its everyday life, which you also have in Pictures at an Exhibition, or even in late Beethoven.
MAAME, by Jessica George

You can get a sense of Maddie Wrights life from her Google searches, which pop up at regular intervals throughout Jessica Georges sparkling debut novel, Maame. Here are a few windows on her worried soul: Is Parkinsons disease genetic?; Jobs with the happiest employees; Back pain in your mid-20s; How long do guys wait before asking a girl out on a date?

The results are complicated for Maddie, the London-born daughter of Ghanaian immigrants, who, at the outset, appears hopelessly gridlocked between filial duty and adulthood. While her fellow 25-year-olds are pursuing the holy grail of fulfilling employment, respectable paychecks, their own digs and meaningful companionship (not necessarily in that order), Maddie takes care of her 57-year-old father, who has Parkinsons. This isnt cozy, blanket-tucking companionship; its nitty-gritty caregiving, with all the stress that bubbles over when the buck stops with you. Maddie prepares his snacks and meals before leaving for work, coordinates with her dads caregiver and relays news of his worsening condition to her too-busy brother and absentee mother, who bounces between England and Ghana while overseeing a family business and an extracurricular relationship.

George paints this untenable situation in bold, bright strokes, arming Maddie with a quiet power that almost (but not quite) erases your sympathy for her. Then something terrible happens on a rare occasion when Maddies dad is her moms responsibility. In the aftermath of the tragedy, lets just say that Maddie feels guilty, resentful and a tiny bit free. Shes also worried about how shes going to pay her rent, having just been fired from her theater job by an epically bad boss. She knows shes a few steps behind her friends professionally and romantically, and miles  fathoms, light-years, eons  ahead in maturity.
U.S. grapples with another police beating

The release of a video on Friday showing five officers with the Memphis Police Department pummeling and pepper-spraying Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, prompted horror and disgust from law enforcement officials, lawmakers and other people across the U.S.

The officers, according to the video, escalated their use of physical force and gave conflicting orders. It does not appear that Nichols fought back during the beating. At one point, he yelled out for his mother. Once medics were on the scene, they stood by for more than 16 minutes without administering treatment.

Nichols had been stopped for what the police originally said was reckless driving. He died three days later, and an independent autopsy found that he suffered extensive bleeding caused by a severe beating.

The City of Memphis released the video a day after the officers were charged with second-degree murder and other felonies. The five officers are all Black, a fact that has shifted the national conversation toward police culture itself. Many argue that the police system and its tactics foster racism and violence more than the racial identity of any particular officer does.
When Multnomah County in Oregon convened a recent public hearing on the health hazards posed by pollution from gas stoves, a toxicologist named Julie Goodman was the first to testify.

Studies linking gas stoves to childhood asthma, which have prompted talk of gas-stove bans in recent weeks and months, were missing important context, she said. Levels of pollutants in the kitchen, particularly a well-ventilated one, were negligible, Dr. Goodman told people at the November meeting. In fact, she said, the simple act of cooking itself, baking, frying and sauteing, also released emissions that had nothing to do with gas.

What Dr. Goodman didnt tell the crowd was that she was paid to testify by a local gas provider. Dr. Goodman is a toxicologist who works for Gradient, a consulting firm that provides environmental reviews for corporations. She appeared at the county hearing on behalf of NW Natural, the local utility that is heavily reliant on gas, an affiliation she didnt state during her testimony.

In recent months, Dr. Goodman has also worked with the American Gas Association, the industrys main lobby group, to help it counter health concerns linked to gas.
Its function can change over the decades. A rental that generates income for young homeowners might later become a refuge for returning young adults, then become a way for older homeowners to defray housing costs and remain in their neighborhoods.

In an aging nation, an A.D.U. makes particular sense for people in their 60s and up who dont want to move and will need nearby caregivers, either family members or hired aides. Mr. Silva died at home of pulmonary fibrosis, and in his final weeks and months, his daughter and son-in-law had to walk only a few yards to help care for him.

They came over and did whatever needed to be done, Ms. da Silva said. With such proximity, everybody has to be respectful, she acknowledged. But for us, its been wonderful.

As affordable housing grows increasingly scarce for both young and old, A.D.U.s provide several advantages. They create housing that doesnt alter the look or feel of a community, said Zoe Baldwin, the New Jersey director of the Regional Plan Association, a nonprofit group in the Northeast.

Its a way to add capacity within the existing footprint, she said, a strategy planners sometimes call gentle density. A.D.U.s dont require much government investment in infrastructure, and they reduce energy consumption and costs.
A man wearing a ski mask lit the wick of a Molotov cocktail and hurled it at the front door of a synagogue in Bloomfield, N.J., early on Sunday morning, the latest episode in an uptick of harassment and violence targeting Jews and Jewish institutions, the authorities said.

The Molotov cocktails bottle broke, and the synagogue, Temple Ner Tamid, was undamaged, the Bloomfield Police Department said in a news release.

Surveillance video footage that the police released on Monday shows a man in a ski mask and dark clothing, including a shirt that appears to have a skull-and-crossbones design on it, approaching the synagogue holding a Molotov cocktail. The man ignites the wick with a lighter and throws it before fleeing on foot. The entire episode lasts less than two minutes.

Image The police released this image from the synagogues surveillance footage of the attacker. Credit... Bloomfield Police Department

About six hours after the 3:19 a.m. attack, members of the temples staff discovered what had happened and notified the police. The synagogue said in a statement that the fire went out on impact and that the door was secure.
Consider Michel de Montaigne, who in 1571, fed up with his job as a magistrate in the city of Bordeaux, quit at the age of 38. Retreating to his library, he inscribed his reason on the wall of his study. Weary of the servitude of the courts, Montaigne declared, I am determined to retire in order to spend what little remains of my life, now more than half run out  consecrated to my freedom, tranquillity, and leisure.

He went on to invent an entirely new kind of writing  the essay  by which he launched an extraordinary experiment in self-examination. Yet he experimented lazily. I have to solicit it nonchalantly, he wrote about his memory. What I do easily and naturally I can no longer do if I order myself to do it by strict and express command, he wrote. For the man who transformed our way of reading and writing, he was seriously unserious. If I encounter difficulties in reading, I do not gnaw my nails over them; I leave them there. He added: I do nothing without gaiety.

A few centuries later, a fellow Frenchman proved equally industrious when it came to laziness. The radical thinker Paul Lafargue is famous today for a pamphlet published in 1880: The Right to be Lazy. Not surprisingly, then, that he depended on the financial support of someone else: Friedrich Engels, who did the same for Lafargues father-in-law, Karl Marx.

In an odd twist, Lafargue kept running out of money or being run into prison because he was busy making the case for the workers right to be lazy. Our natural state, he argued, is leisure. Yet industrialists and ideologues, to enjoy lives of ease, had inculcated in the rest of us the belief in the right to work.

As a result, Lafargue declared, the proletariat, perverted by the dogma of work, had betrayed its instincts and historic mission. Rude and terrible has been its punishment. All its individual and social woes are born of its passion for work. Predictably, this did not go down well either in the workers paradise of Stalins Russia, which decried Lafargues apology for laziness, or Marxist historians, who derided him as a hedonist.
To the Editor:

Re Held and Beaten by Memphis Police as He Cried, Mom (front page, Jan. 28):

It is a basic tenet of police training that officers are not to be the judge, jury and executioner of the people they take into custody.

The five officers who beat Tyre Nichols to the point of his eventual death were either poorly hired or poorly trained. Most police departments put candidates through a very stringent hiring process to weed out people who should not become police officers; the job is not for everyone.

The kind of police officer a community wants carrying a firearm and possessing the legal authority to use deadly force is the officer who would have apprehended Mr. Nichols, handcuffed him so the officer is protected, placed him safely and securely in the back of the cruiser, and taken him to the station to be processed, charged, etc.

As a deputy police chief, now retired, I specifically looked at candidates wanting to join my department who had empathy, who wanted to be officers not so much for the power that came with the job, but for the ability to protect helpless victims of crime, and arrest those who would do harm to others.
As someone whos managed people in newsrooms and digital start-ups and has hired and fired people in various capacities for the past 21 years, I think this approach is not just cruel but unnecessary. Its reasonable to terminate access to company systems, but delivering the news with no personal human contact serves only one purpose: letting managers off the hook. It ensures they will not have to face the shock and devastation that people feel when they lose their livelihoods. It also ensures the managers wont have to weather any direct criticism about the poor leadership that brought everyone to that point.

Legally, companies have plenty of recourse if laid-off employees steal trade secrets or sabotage systems, and employees who need to find new jobs have little incentive to behave criminally, no matter how upset they may be. But even so, concerns about liability shouldnt preclude treating employees like human beings.

Some defenders of the practice argue that theres simply no way to coordinate these things at such large scales, but that, too, rings hollow. There is no rule that all layoffs have to happen simultaneously. If managers interact directly with their workers in everyday business, theres no reason to believe that would suddenly be impossible when its time to lay them off.

The first time I had to fire someone, I was 25, and it was for cause. In theory, firing people because theyre underperforming or insubordinate should be easier than when theyre doing a good job and the company simply cant sustain its payroll, but this time it wasnt. I felt nauseated going into the meeting, and when the person I was firing began tearing up in the middle of the conversation, I had no idea what to do. I stammered and apologized, and by the end of the meeting, the person I was firing was comforting me.

Since then, Ive hired and trained first-time managers and taught them how to do this in a way that respects the dignity of the people who are losing their jobs: Look people in the eye. Answer questions. If someone is upset, show some sympathy. Treat people the way we would wish to be treated. At the very least this demands an actual human conversation. It is more effort than sending a platitude-laden mass email, but it demonstrates respect.
What does it mean when a Hindu from the South Side of Chicago joins forces with an evangelical Christian from Louisiana to fight for the rights of religious minorities abroad? Maybe it means that were all human, and when we lean into that common humanity, good can come of it. Mr. Perkins, Ms. Bhargava and their fellow commissioners pushed for the release of people imprisoned for their beliefs, including a Quranist Muslim in Egypt, an Ahmadi Muslim in Pakistan and a Christian pastor in Turkey.

I first learned about their unusual friendship on Jan. 7, 2021, the day after the attack on the Capitol. Ive known Ms. Bhargava since college  she was my roommate. I called her to process the shock of what had just happened. The country felt like it was coming apart at the seams. One thing that gave her hope, she told me, was an email from Tony.

Tony who? I asked.

She explained who he was and told me that he had just written her to let her know that he opposed the lawlessness that had unfolded at the Capitol. He wanted to distance himself from the hateful statements that others were spewing and tell her what her friendship had meant to him.

Based upon our religious backgrounds we have different worldviews, he wrote. That said, I respect you and I want you to know that when I am often addressing issues (totally unrelated to USCIRF) which we differ on, I often think of you wanting to state my views in a way that would not be offensive to you because of that respect and friendship.

Hed treated her with respect from the first moment she met him, Ms. Bhargava told me. He made an effort to learn how to pronounce her name, even as another Republican commissioner refused to do so. They sat next to each other at a dinner retreat in North Carolina and started chatting. Hed once worked in a prison and had witnessed injustices there. His daughter was interested in becoming a lawyer. He asked her advice.
In the past half-century, 17 percent of the Amazon  an area larger than Texas  has been converted to croplands or cattle pasture. Less forest means less recycled rain, less vapor to cool the air, less of a canopy to shield against sunlight. Under drier, hotter conditions, even the lushest of Amazonian trees will shed leaves to save water, inhibiting photosynthesis  a feedback loop that is only exacerbated by global warming.

According to the Brazilian Earth system scientist Carlos Nobre, if deforestation reaches 20 to 25 percent of the original area, flying rivers  rain clouds that recycle the forests own moisture five or six times  will weaken enough that a rainforest simply will not be able to survive in most of the Amazon Basin. Instead it will collapse into scrubby savanna, possibly in a matter of decades.

Losing the Amazon, one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on Earth, would be catastrophic for the tens of thousands of species that make their home there. What scientists are most concerned about, though, is the potential for this regional, ecological tipping point to produce knock-on effects in the global climate.
But Mr. Harrison had his own ideas. He had had a profound experience, as he put it, when he was 11 and a sledding accident sent him into a monthslong coma, after which he had to relearn how to move and speak. Years later, when he became a designer and educator, he was determined to make systems and objects as easy to use as possible, and to sensitize his students to the drawbacks and the possibilities of the man-made world. In short, he was a pioneer in universal design, a term coined in the late 1970s by Ronald L. Mace, an architect who had used a wheelchair since contracting polio as a child.

The new Cuisinart, which appeared in 1978, turned what had been a drab-looking machine with unlovely signage into a stylish, must-have kitchen tool  an aspirational object for the aspirational kitchen  and a design icon. Its pure lines were the inspiration for early Macintosh computers; Steve Jobs had admired Cuisinarts on the shelves at Macys.

Image In 1978, Mr. Harrison redesigned the Cuisinart food processor, turning what had been a drab-looking machine with unlovely signage into a stylish, must-have kitchen tool  an aspirational object for the aspirational kitchen. Credit... Marc Harrison

The Cuisinarts success was perhaps not surprising to Mr. Harrison, because he believed that if you designed for all abilities, you couldnt help but make better products. So when he was asked to rethink the American home as a showcase for prefabricated components  also known as manufactured or industrialized housing  he and his students tackled the assignment the same way. And then they built the house themselves, right down to the furniture.

What they came up with was a knockout, although it had an awkward name: the ILZRO House, for the International Lead Zinc Research Organization, the trade group that funded it, whose members were eager to get into the housing market. (It was Mr. Harrisons practice to bring industry and government sponsors and commissions into his classroom.)
The Traitors, a new reality game show, hinges on startling revelations. In episodes of the series, which is framed as a whodunit, cast members are regularly murdered (kicked off). Others are banished (also kicked off). But some of the most astonishing reveals have nothing to do with the plot  and everything to do with what outfit the shows host, the actor Alan Cumming, will appear in next.

There are pink plaid suits. Herringbone tweed capes. Sleek little kilts. Perhaps, rather alarmingly, Mr. Cumming said, the vast majority of the clothes were mine.

Some fans of The Traitors, which premiered this month on Peacock, said Mr. Cummings knack for turning natty looks became a favorite part of tuning in. I really appreciated that he was dressing in so many colors, said Catherine Maddox, 39, a lab manager in Boston.

The series, which is based on a show from the Netherlands, arrived in the United States after a British adaptation (not hosted by Mr. Cumming) became a surprise hit last year. Contestants on the American version are a mix of celebrities made famous by past reality shows  including Arie Luyendyk (The Bachelor), Cirie Fields (Survivor) and Kate Chastain (Below Deck)  and people who have yet to earn their 15 minutes of fame.
When the first Chinese tourists landed at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok this month, they were greeted like celebrities with welcome banners, flowers, gifts, and a scrum of reporters and photographers.

It was the moment that hotels, airlines, tour operators and government officials had long been waiting for  the reopening of Chinas borders after nearly three years of pandemic restrictions that effectively cut the world off from Chinese travelers, once the largest source of global tourism revenue.

It is very exciting to visit warm beautiful places again, said Hua Liu, 34, a graphic designer from Shanghai, who was among the first visitors to Thailand, where she took a two-week beach vacation late this month, as part of a Lunar New Year trip. I will make up for the lost time, she said in a telephone interview. Her plan: Stay at nice hotels, book spa treatments, eat at fine restaurants and buy nice gifts for myself and my family.

Before the coronavirus pandemic paralyzed international travel in 2020, China sent more travelers overseas than any other market, with about 150 million Chinese tourists spending $277 billion abroad in 2018, according to a study by the United Nations World Tourism Organization and the China Tourism Academy. That outflow halted in 2020 and in the last year, even as countries around the world eased travel restrictions, China maintained an international travel ban for its citizens as part of its zero Covid policy.
When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and the constitutional right to abortion in June, it declared that it was sending the issue back to the people and their elected representatives. But the fight has largely moved to a different set of supreme courts and constitutions: those in the states.

On a single day this month, South Carolinas highest court handed down its ruling that the right to privacy in the State Constitution includes a right to abortion, a decision that overturned the states six-week abortion ban. Within hours, Idahos highest court ruled in the opposite direction, saying that states Constitution did not protect abortion rights; the ban there would stand.

Those divergent decisions displayed how volatile and patchwork the fight over abortion rights will be over the next months, as abortion rights advocates and opponents push and pull over state constitutions.

For abortion rights groups, state constitutions are a critical part of a strategy to overturn bans that have cut off access to abortion in a wide swath of the country. Those documents provide much longer and more generous enumerations of rights than the United States Constitution, and history is full of examples of state courts using them to lead the way to establish broad rights  as well as to strike down restrictions on abortion. They offer a way around gerrymandered state legislatures that are pushing stricter laws.
SACRAMENTO  California bans guns for domestic violence offenders. It bans them for people deemed a danger to others or themselves. There is a ban on large-capacity magazines, and a ban on noise-muffling silencers. Semiautomatic guns of the sort colloquially known as assault weapons are, famously, banned.

More than 100 gun laws  the most of any state  are on the books in California. They have saved lives, policymakers say: Californians have among the lowest rates of gun death in the United States.

Yet this month, those laws failed to stop the massacres of at least 19 people in back-to-back mass shootings. The tragedies in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay have confounded Americans who regard California as a best-case bastion of gun safety in a nation awash with firearms.

Inside the state, gun rights proponents say the shootings show that Californias strategy is a failure. Gun safety groups, meanwhile, have already begun mobilizing for more laws and better enforcement. As details emerge in the investigations, numerous shortcomings have been highlighted, even with Californias voluminous law.
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A series of knocks rattled his apartment door one day last fall, and Maksim peered through the peephole to see two soldiers in uniform. They were military enlistment officers, he knew, expanding the vast conscription effort for the war in Ukraine to Russias remote Far East.

The 44-year-old fisherman kept in motionless silence until the officers moved along. Knowing they would be back, Maksim went that night to the home of a friend, Sergei, who had received an unwelcome visit of his own. Together, they pored over maps at Sergeis kitchen table, trying to find a way to flee the country and a war where thousands of young Russian men were dying. Sergei then offered a plan that, at first, seemed unfathomable.

I propose that we travel by sea, Sergei said.

The idea was the start of a daring and daunting journey in which the two men set off in a small fishing boat with a 60-horsepower motor to travel hundreds of miles over several days  past Russian border guards and through the treacherous Bering Sea  to win asylum on U.S. shores. It was a desperate quest for freedom, and one that did not go according to plan.
It is possible that Mr. Sonder made the whole thing up, but Dutch officials in charge of the search thought this was unlikely, documents indicate. Another theory is that one or more of the government searchers had secretly already found it. And yet another  and what some people consider to be the most likely  possibility is that one of the Nazi soldiers who hid the treasure went back and quietly unearthed it himself.

No scenario has been proved, and it is unclear whether Mr. Sonder is still alive.

It is not the first time that the village, which is especially quiet in the winter without the cyclists and campers who flock to the area in the summer, has been the site of archaeological buzz. In 2016, three searchers found a trove of 31 golden Roman coins.

Not everyone has joined the excitement about the possible Nazi treasure.

I think itll blow over, said Dicky Briene, 76, who has lived in the same house in Ommeren for 54 years and said she had not seen any visitors with shovels or metal detectors. And therell probably be nothing.
Russian forces were wrestling for control of villages in eastern Ukraine near the city of Bakhmut over the weekend, the latest flash point in a battle that Moscow views as crucial for its push to seize the Donbas region in the east.

Ukraines general staff said on Sunday that its soldiers had repelled attacks on the small village of Blahodatne and several other settlements in the area. The statement came a day after Russias Wagner group, a private military company that has conducted much of the fighting around Bakhmut on Moscows behalf, claimed that its forces had captured Blahodatne, near a key supply line for Ukrainian forces.

Blahodatne is under our control, Yevgeny Prigozhin, a Russian businessman and the head of the Wagner group, said on Saturday in a statement posted on a website for one of his companies. Russias defense ministry has not confirmed the report and the claim could not be independently verified. Mr. Prigozhin has sought to cast his mercenaries as the most effective fighting force in the area and previously has claimed credit for battlefield advances ahead of Kremlin confirmation.

Blahodatne lies between Soledar, a salt-mining town that Russian forces recently captured after weeks of intense fighting, and a road that runs north from the city of Bakhmut. The road serves as a crucial supply line for Ukrainian forces defending the city.
Struggling to dispel an ethical cloud that has hung over his government, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Sunday fired the chairman of Britains Conservative Party, Nadhim Zahawi, over his personal tax affairs.

Mr. Sunak acted after his ethics adviser concluded that Mr. Zahawis failure to promptly disclose an inquiry into his taxes  which resulted in a settlement and penalty with the British tax authority estimated to be roughly 5 million pounds (about $6.2 million)  was a serious breach of the ministerial code.

In a briskly worded letter to Mr. Zahawi, whom he also fired from an accompanying role as a government minister, Mr. Sunak said he had promised voters when he became prime minister in October that the government I lead would have integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level.

As a result of the ethics investigation, conducted by a government adviser, Laurie Magnus, the prime minister wrote, I have informed you of my decision to remove you from your position in His Majestys government.
A Palestinian man was fatally shot outside an Israeli settlement in the West Bank and Israeli settlers carried out nearly 150 attacks against Palestinians and their properties across the region, according to reports on Sunday by Palestinian state media and the Israeli Army.

Sundays violence was the latest to grip the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Jerusalem since Thursday, in a series of raids and attacks that have left more than 20 people dead.

The Israeli military said that the man who was shot on Sunday, Karam Salman, 18, was armed with a handgun and was killed by a settlement security team in Kedumim. The Palestinian official news agency, Wafa, reported that the circumstances of Mr. Salmans killing were unclear.

The latest violence began on Thursday with a military raid in the Israeli-occupied West Bank in which 10 people were killed. A 24-year-old man who was wounded in the raid died of his injuries on Sunday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. Thursdays incursion, the Israeli military said, was aimed at apprehending members of the Islamic Jihad group who were involved in planning and executing multiple attacks on Israel. It was the deadliest military operation in the occupied West Bank in at least a half-decade.
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Planning permission has been granted for a new outdoor swimming pool on the banks of the River Shannon in Banagher.

The project's committee, the Shannon Bank Development Group, are currently looking at all funding options.

In a Proposed Site Layout Plan submitted to Galway County Council as part of the planning application process it's stated that the new development will include three new access stairs, each with handrails. A disabled access ramp down onto the pool deck will also form part of the new development.

Walkways in the green area adjacent to the pool will be extended and the green area will feature a park with wildflowers and a skatepark.

Situated adjacent to Cromwell's Castle the development will include upgrading the seating and creating a canoe pontoon.

Around the new pool there will also be fixed seating areas on pontoon platforms. The proposed pool level will be about five metres below the main road level (in winter). The pool level will increase during the summer months.

"The project is going to cost 400,000," said Darragh Kelly of the Group, "and we hope to start building the new pool and surrounding infrastructure during the summer. We'll be able to slot the new pool into place during the summer over a week or two."

The aim would be for the project to be built this summer but obviously this will be down to accessing funding, grants etc, so this timeline may be later.

He said the group is going to get a government grant for 75% of the costs but has to find 100,000 in match funding.

"We've already raised 10,000 through a nameplate scheme, where people pay 100 per nameplate. The nameplates will surround the pool. This scheme is still open. Another fundraising project will be a swimathon during the spring, early summer."

A lot of familes are purchasing the nameplates and will be putting their kids names on them as a nice family keepsake. Each personalised nameplate will be fixed around the new pool seated area. They cost 100 and for people to register their interest for a nameplate the email address is banagherpool@outlook.com .

Phase 1 includes the main works and will consist of the new pool and upgraded seating with disabled access, all other elements are conceptual for future development. The Shannon Bank Development Group will be managing the pool installation and upgrade works.

The planning application was submitted on behalf of the trustees (with permission) by Colm Keane & Daragh Kelly and Planning Permission was granted on the December 12th 2022.

Cllr Clare Claffey warmly welcomed the news. It's very exciting, she said, and will be fantastic for the town. The outdoor pool has been used a lot over the past couple of summers and has attracted visitors from all over. A lifeguard would be the icing on the cake.

Last summer the councillor pointed out that a full-time lifeguard is needed at the pool during the busy summer months.

Cllr Claffey said the temperature of the new pool will be the same temperature as the river.

There are eleven outdoor swimming pools in Ireland and the Banagher pool has proved perennially popular each summer.

However, it's a long time since any work was done on the Banagher facility and a lot of locals will be very happy to see this upgrade taking place.

The proposed plans were recently put on display in Banagher's SuperValu, which created a buzz of positivity because the plans looked really good.

Banagher outdoor pool is one of Irelands most memorable pools. Located in the Shannon beside Banagher bridge, its riverside location is striking.

The pool is situated in Banagher Park, which is owned by the community and managed by Banagher Shannon Bank Park committee, a group of trustees who are responsible for the overall management of the facility since 1979. Shannon Bank Park Trustees manage the running of the park on behalf of the community. The project is not being overseen by the trustees but by the Shannon Bank Development Group.

The pool is free to use and is open all year round. Many people like to use it to make a great start to the day by going for an early morning swim. During the summer other swimmers like to dry off with a picnic on the riverside after their swim or explore Banaghers heritage at Cromwells Castle, located next to the swimming pool.
THE Ulster Bank in Tullamore will close its doors on April 21, 2023.

This means customers will no longer be able to make cash or cheque lodgements either at the counter or through internal automation devices. In addition they will not be able o make any form of a withdrawal at the Tullamore branch or any branch (except for ATM services).

In the period from April 1 to 21 staff at the Tullamore branch will be focusing on helping customers to move to a new banking provider and close their accounts.

Tullamore is one of 63 remaining branches to close. 25 Ulster Bank branches closed this month as part of the the transaction with Permanent TSB, and are reopening as Permanent TSB branches.

Ulster Bank also confirms that customers will no longer be able to access Ulster Bank services through An Post outlets after March 31 2023. Customers will not be able to make lodgements or payments through their Ulster Bank accounts in any of An Posts network of post offices and outlets across the country.

Ulster Bank is also encouraging customers who have not yet taken action, to begin the process of choosing a new provider, moving their transactions and closing their current and deposit accounts within their notice period.

All current and deposit accounts that have passed their six month notice period are now queued for closure, with the exception of known vulnerable customers and customers in receipt of Social Protection payments.

The Bank will commence the freezing of personal and commercial customer accounts with higher levels of activity on or after 02 February 2023.

Ulster bank first came to Tullamore in 1893 and was founded in 1836. That same year the Bank of Ireland also opened on High Street. At one time Ulster Bank had branches in Ferbane, Clara, Kilcormac and Edenderry.

Offaly History recall that the manager of the Tullamore branch was shot dead in 1922 by the Republican IRA in a Civil War robbery.
At least 15 Melbourne councils are hunting for lollipop people, as dangerous school crossings are frequently going unsupervised.
An internationally acclaimed play called seven methods of killing kylie jenner has been showing in Melbourne, but The Age couldnt review it.
Scorching temperatures will continue on the second day of 2023, but a cool change is coming for Melbourne.

Brisbane Times 01 Jan 2023
I am convinced 2023 will be the year Sydney regains its mojo. However, it will take a collective effort by all involved, including the citys army of workers.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP)  Elon Musks enigmatic personality and unconventional tactics are emerging as key exhibits in a trial revolving around one of his most polarizing pursuits  tweeting.



The trial, centered on a pair of tweets announcing Musk had obtained the money to take Tesla private in 2018, reeled the 51-year-old billionaire into a federal courtroom in San Francisco for three days of testimony that opened a peephole into his often inscrutable mind.



Musk, who now owns the Twitter service that he deploys as his megaphone, was often a study in contrasts during his roughly eight hours on the stand. The CEO of the electric carmaker is facing a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of Tesla shareholders after Musk tweeted about a company buyout that didnt happen.



Through both his testimony and the evidence submitted around it, Musk came across as impetuous, brash, combative and contemptuous of anyone who questioned his motives as a game-changing entrepreneur who has inspired comparisons to Apple's late co-founder, Steve Jobs.



At other times, Musk sounded like the savvy visionary that his supporters hail him to be  an intrepid rebel who by his own estimates has raised more than $100 billion from investors. They have been richly rewarded from his leadership of pioneering companies that include PayPal in digital payments, Tesla in electric vehicles and SpaceX in rocket ships.



It is relatively easy for me to get investment support because my track record is extremely good, Musk wryly observed.



But his confidence in his ability to get the money he wants to pursue his plans is one reason he found himself in court. The three-week trial is set to resume Tuesday and head for jury deliberations by Friday.



Here's what to know so far:



PLANTING THE SEEDS



Evidence and testimony...
On January 12, Julie Chrisley reported to prison in Kentucky to serve out her seven-year jail sentence for bank fraud and tax evasion.
Eurasia Review 30 Jan 2023

To Russia and Ukraine, the crisis is an existential issue. To the US and NATO, its a regime-change game. To Europe, it means the..
Tyre Nichols was punched, kicked and tasered, beaten with a baton and had chemical spray used on him during a violent arrest by police in Memphis, video footage shows.
Many in the city where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated over five decades ago are struggling to understand how five Black officers could be behind the violent death of Tyre Nichols.
Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis said on Wednesday said she had five fired police officer who were found to be "directly..

Upworthy 26 Jan 2023
A young man named Tyre Nichols was beaten up by cops in United States' Memphis and succumbed to his injuries after a few days.
Sheffield United forward heads his side into the lead in the second minute of their FA Cup fourth round tie against Wrexham at the..

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Ukraine's military said on Sunday its forces repelled an attack in the area of Blahodatne in the eastern part of the Donetsk..
A Palestinian house near Ramallah was set on fire by masked men believed to be right-wing extremists on Saturday night.
Liberals said the police beating of Tyre Nichols is an example of racism despite the fact that all five officers are Black.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP)  Former President Donald Trump on Saturday said the footage of the brutal beating of Tyre Nichols by five..

PIX 11 29 Jan 2023
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP)  The Memphis police chief on Saturday disbanded the city's so-called Scorpion unit, reversing an earlier statement that she would keep it intact and citing a cloud of dishonor from the officers who beat Tyre Nichols to death. Police Director Cerelyn CJ Davis said she listened to Nichols' relatives, community leaders and [...]
The Memphis police chief has disbanded the city's so-called Scorpion unit, reversing an earlier statement that she would keep it intact and citing a cloud of dishonour from the officers who beat Tyre Nichols to death. Police Director Cerelyn CJ Davis on Saturday said she listened to Nichols' relatives, community leaders and uninvolved officers in making the decision.
AstroPay the international digital payments firm, unveils Visa prepaid cards in Peru

Published January 29, 2023 by OCR Editor

AstroPay, a leading digital payments corporation with a global presence, has revealed the launch of its Visa prepaid card in Peru. This new offering will allow customers in the country to easily and securely make online purchases and conveniently access their funds. With the intro of this card, AstroPay continues to expand its reach and deliver more options for its clients to handle their finances.

London, 24th January 2023 - AstroPay, a leading online payment solution used by millions worldwide, has declared the launch of a Visa prepaid card in Peru issued by Tebca Peru. This new offering will allow users to buy at any e-commerce store that accepts Visa and empower customers, particularly those without a bank account, to access the digital economy and engage in online transactions.

The Visa debit card offered to exist, and new AstroPay users provide a simple, secure, and convenient way to enter the financial system. Users can activate and use the card instantly, with no charge, and enjoy benefits such as cashback.

Peru is a strategic target for AstroPay, given the rapid growth and improvements in the payments industry, as well as the widespread acceptance of Visa in the country. The Visa prepaid card will allow users to shop on any site that accepts Visa globally and make payments in American dollars and Peruvian Soles.

AstroPay plans to expand its prepaid card product to other territories, including already launching it in the UK and now Peru. Next on the timetable is to expand across Latin America, targeting countries such as Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina.

Guillermo Dotta, CTO & Chief Product Officer of AstroPay, wrote:

It is a great time for AstroPay to strengthen its position as a key player in Perus growing payments industry. Standing on our existing operations in the country, we are offering our existing and new users a simpler experience with their finances and creating a frictionless experience for unbanked customers looking to enter the financial system. This launch is part of our continuous effort to deliver simple, safe and convenient solutions tailored to meet the needs of our loyal customers in all Latin America.

Gilberto Chaparro, General Manager for Visa Peru, worte:

At Visa, we work with fintechs worldwide to transform the digital payments industry and offer more and more people and businesses the benefits of digitalization. We celebrate our work with AstroPay, with whom we developed a solution that will enable more Peruvians to have access to fast, secure and convenient payments. Likewise, the creation and implementation of innovative payment solutions, hand in hand with fintechs, allows us to contribute to developing a more inclusive economy in the country.
So far as I recall, I first came to the island of Maui in 1970. (I visited the Hawaiian Islands for the first time, and for the only time prior to 1970, when I was five years old. But I think that we went only to Oahu and Kauai on that occasion, and not to Maui.) I remember staying in the old Pioneer Inn, in Lahaina. Its still there, beside a very impressive and very old banyan tree. From there, one day, I walked along the beach to Kaanapali. If there was any development in Kaanapali at the time, it didnt stick with me. There may have been one or two hotels, or not, but what I really remember was the vast, richly green expanse ascending up the flank of the much-eroded West Maui Volcano. Im pretty clear that the volcano had gone extinct by then.

Ive published several columns about Hawaii, usually (if not always) prompted by a visit to one or more of the Islands. Here is a list of them that I think is more or less complete:

The still point of the turning world (20 February 2014)

Diving into the afterlife in Hawaii (22 February 2014, with William J. Hamblin)

They were dead  but  they were all so happy! (9 October 2014)

Remembering the history of the LDS Church on the Hawaiian Islands (18 February 2016)

O thou who changest not, abide with me! (23 February 2017)

The twilight of the Hawaiian gods came suddenly (3 March 2017, with William J. Hamblin)

Encountering a landmark of Japanese Buddhism in Hawaii (21 July 2017, with William J. Hamblin)

The Sacred History of the Church in Hawaii (18 May 2021, for Meridian Magazine)

The Surprising Latter-day Saint Connections in Hawaii (9 February 2022, for Meridian Magazine)

See also, among others, this 12 August 2017 blog entry: George Q. Cannon and seeing the Savior

Some observations on Acts 1:15-26, which reads as follows in the New International Version or NIV:

15 In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) 16 and said, Brothers and sisters, the Scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus. 17 He was one of our number and shared in our ministry. 18 (With the payment he received for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. 19 Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) 20 For, said Peter, it is written in the Book of Psalms:  May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in it, and,  May another take his place of leadership. 21 Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, 22 beginning from Johns baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection. 23 So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. 24 Then they prayed, Lord, you know everyones heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen 25 to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs. 26 Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.

The term , at Acts 1:20, is translated in the NIV as [his] place of leadership but is rendered in the King James Bible at Acts 1:20 as [his] bishoprick (that is, in modern English, as bishopric). I dont know that any Latter-day Saint reader has ever actually been confused by the phrase in Acts 1:20, his bishoprick let another take. But I can imagine such confusion. Wasnt Judas an apostle? Why, then, is there a reference to his bishopric? Our word bishop actually comes from this same Greek word-family, and specifically from the term  or episkopos. (Just remove the initial e and take off the masculine nominal ending os, and youre left with -piscop-, which should make the resemblance pretty obvious.)

But the word episkopos (from epi-, over, or upon, and skopos, which conveys the idea of looking, as in telescope, microscope, and so forth) very literally means overseer (thinking Germanly) or, also very literally (but thinking Latinly), superintendent. And, while that fits the duties of a bishop quite well, the word seems pretty clearly in this case to have been used more broadly.

Browsing through other, more modern, English translations, youll find that what the KJV translates as his bishopric rendered most commonly as his position or his office. Youll also occasionally find such things as his place of leadership, his job, his place of service, his position of responsibility, his overseership, his work, and his ministry. I would think that his stewardship wouldnt be too far wrong. Maybe even, more loosely, his calling.

In other words, appointment to the apostleship in the earliest Christian church, just like such appointment in todays restored Church, seems pretty clearly to have entailed administrative responsibilities. Some critics of the Church, including some of its own members, have expressed disappointment that todays apostles bear managerial responsibilities and arent simply wandering charismatic preachers. But that seems always to have been the case. At Acts 4:32-37 and 5:1-11, for instance, the ancient apostles are deeply involved in managing the material possessions of the members of the church. In fact, according to Acts 6:1-4, such management became so burdensome to them that they felt impelled to call assistants to help them meet the responsibility. Acts 10 and Acts 15 show the apostles making crucial decisions relating to the direction to be taken by the infant Christian church. And so forth.

As Acts 1:21-26 (quoted above) clearly shows, both Matthias and Joseph Barsabbas (or Justus) were qualified, spiritually and by personal experience, to become witnesses of Christs resurrection. But only one of them was to be chosen to assume responsibility for the   the administrative or leadership position  that Judas had forfeited because of his transgression.

I close with a quintet of appalling horrors from the Christopher Hitchens Memorial How Religion Poisons Everything File that I dont believe that Ive shared here previously:

Church Partners with Women of Faith to Help Survivors of December 2022 Floods in Kinshasa

Church Donates New Clinic in Umguza District, Zimbabwe: The new Maboleni clinic will bring medical services much closer to over 15,000 residents of the Umguza District.

Church Members in DR Congo Help Mothers Pay their Hospital Bills and Be Home for Christmas: Lighting the world by following Christs example of charity

JustServe and Magic Yarn Project Unite to Help Children with Cancer: More than 350 volunteers participated in the project that donated 159 wigs of all kinds and colors for children in need

Ukrainian Members Learn Emotional Resilience, Coping Skills From Church Seminars: Even with power outages, people in Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees join weekly online seminars on emotional health

And, as an addendum, I offer this outrageous talk by President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: Helping the Poor and Distressed

Posted from Kaanapali, Maui, Hawaii
Last week, two people  one Pagan, one Christian  asked me how did the universe come into being? I wasnt able to go into any depth with either answer, and I want to do that here in this post.

I want to start with the only answer we can be certain is correct: we dont know.

Ive heard fundamentalists say if you cant explain why theres something rather than nothing, you dont have a religion. First of all, why theres something rather than nothing isnt a question of religion. Its a question of metaphysics (literally, before physics or above physics), which belongs in the realm of philosophy. Religion (from the Latin religare meaning to bind together and religio meaning obligation and reverence) is concerned with how we form and maintain relationships with our Gods, our ancestors, our fellow humans, and the world around us. You dont have to know how we got here to figure out how we can best live given that we are here.

Secondly, just because you want a clear and simple explanation doesnt mean such an explanation exists. To paraphrase early 20th century journalist H.L. Mencken, for every complicated question, theres an answer that is simple, neat, and wrong. And there is perhaps no more complicated question than how all this began.

Still, we can explore this question and develop partial answers and tentative answers. They will never be complete answers, certainly not in the lifetime of anyone alive today and probably not ever  I think. But they can be enough to help us understand our place in the universe, even if they dont entirely satisfy our curiosity.

Creation myths are myths, not proto-science

Most (though not all) cultures have creation myths  stories they told to explain where the world came from and their place in it. These are not primitive attempts at science. Theyre myths  stories to live by.

Our ancient ancestors were biologically identical to us. They had the same brains and the same intelligence as us. The idea that they childishly believed their creation myths were what literally happened is insulting to them. Their myths said hey, we dont know what happened, but heres a story that helps us understand where we belong in all this, and thats enough.

Fundamentalists who claim their creation myth is literal truth miss the point. So do those of us who think our ancestors believed their myths were historical accounts. They knew their stories were myths  and that was enough for them.

Science tells us much  but not everything

Modern astrophysics has done an amazing job of observing the visible universe, examining the evidence, deducing the laws of nature, and running back the film of the development of the universe. We can be very confident that the Big Bang happened about 14 billion years ago. The problem is that when you get within a tiny fraction of a second of the Big Bang, the laws of physics break down.

Perhaps our science is simply not far enough along yet. Quantum physics, string theory, and the multiverse theory are attempts to fill in that tiny but critically important blank in the history of the cosmos. Heres a very good piece from Scientific American that concludes with this quote:

Cosmology by its very nature is arrogant. The idea that we can understand something as vast in both space and time as our universe is, on the face of it, preposterous.

Current science can tell us what happened. It cant tell us how there was anything there to happen. And that leads to speculation.

The Prime Mover is intuitively attractive but not necessarily correct

Our intuitive observations tell us that everything comes from something that preceded it. The Greek philosopher Aristotle (384322 BCE) said this means there must be an unmoved mover  something or someone who began the process of creation.

This idea made its way into Christianity (theres a lot more Greek philosophy in Christianity than most Christians care to admit), where Christians claim that their God created the universe. However, we should remember that Aristotle was a polytheist, not a monotheist and certainly not a proto-Christian. His ideas were formed and presented in a polytheist world.

The details of Aristotles thinking are far too complex for a brief blog post. There are two things that are important for us here. One is that whatever his Prime Mover may be, it is not any being who actively participates in this world. Its not any of the Many Gods and it is not the Christian God.

The other thing of importance is that the Prime Mover is an intellectual speculation, not an observation or a testable hypothesis. That doesnt mean its wrong  it just means its not provable.

Fundamentalists insist the universe must have a creator and they insist that creator is their God. When asked where their God came from, they say he always was (and its always he and never she but thats another rant for another time). That just pushes the problem back a level. If their Creator God has always existed, why cant the universe have always existed?

On some days Im a pantheist

Pantheism is the idea that the universe and the divine are one and the same. Its more than that  the Wikipedia page on pantheism is a good introduction. But for our purposes here, whats important is the possibility that the universe has always existed and will always exist (that it appears to be continuously expanding raises some concerns about that, but perhaps not).

Pantheism is quite compatible with polytheism. Gods are the mightiest of spirits, but They are spirits similar to other-than-divine spirits (which include humans). They can live and participate in an all-encompassing universe the same as we can.

If this is the case, then the universe exists on its own account  it needs no creator.

Further, if the human soul (the essence of who and what we are) is immortal going forward, perhaps its also immortal going backward. Perhaps we too have always existed. If pantheism is true, then I would argue that we must have always existed, because we are a part of the universe. Perhaps birth is what gives us our individuality from the undifferentiated whole. Think  metaphorically, not literally  of stars and planets being born from the undifferentiated whole that preceded the Big Bang.

Or perhaps its more complicated than that. Simple answers are comfortable, but theyre rarely complete.

But its possible that the universe (or maybe the multiverse, if there is such a thing) is all there is, both physically and spiritually. If so, it was not created. It simply is.

On some days Im a panentheist

Panentheism is the idea that the divine is in all things, but that it also transcends all things. That sentence greatly oversimplifies about 250 to 350 years (depending on whether you count panentheism as beginning with Spinoza, which Im not really qualified to judge) of deep philosophical and metaphysical thinking. But its the logical conclusion that flows from Aristotles Prime Mover.

If panentheism is true, then there is a God (if we can properly use that term here, and Im not sure we can) from whom all the universe flows. Neoplatonism proposes that this is an on-going eternal process, not a one-time event. That would fit nicely into the multiverse theory.

No cultures creation myth is literally true. But it is possible there is a Creator who is in all things but also separate from them.

On some days I believe matter flows from consciousness

We experience our consciousness through our brains (we think) and our brains are matter, so many of us assume consciousness flows from matter. But animism teaches that trees, for example, have consciousness  and trees clearly do not have brains. Perhaps consciousness does not flow from matter  perhaps consciousness is primary.

This turns the whole creation model upside down. Perhaps the reason science cant see what existed before the Big Bang is that theyre looking for a material answer to what is ultimately a question of consciousness. Or a question of spirits. Or both.

Of course, if matter does flow from consciousness, then were back to the question of which consciousness or whose consciousness? And that likely points back to either pantheism or panentheism.

Though its equally likely that it points to some other possibility that weve never even imagined.

On most days Im creation-agnostic

I am eternally curious. Part of my mission in life is to learn as much as I possibly can, for the sheer joy of knowing. I would love to know all about the ultimate origin of the universe, whether material or spiritual or both.

But I dont think I can.

My best guess is that the ultimate origin of the universe is something that is not merely beyond our current science, but beyond our capacity to know as humans with powerful but still limited brains. To quote biologist J.B.S. Haldane, the universe is not only queerer than we suppose, but queerer than we can suppose.

Further, this question isnt particularly relevant to our quest to live a deep, meaningful, and virtuous life. How it all began 14 billion years ago is far less important than what we do here and now with the few years allotted to us. How we relate to an unmoved mover who needs nothing and wants nothing  if a relationship with such a being is even possible  is far less important than how we relate to our Gods, our ancestors, and all the many persons with whom we share this world.

I do wonder about the ultimate origins of the universe. I cant help but wonder.

But I spend most of my time wondering about other things.

We could do worse than a new creation myth

Our ancient ancestors wondered too, and so they told stories. Some of those stories became myths. Myths are not made up stories  theyre stories to live by. Theyre stories that help us orient ourselves in the wider world.

What cant be understood directly can often be understood metaphorically.

I like the myth that says in the beginning, all was one. And then it exploded into stars and planets. On at least one of those planets there was water. And then life began, though we do not know how. And from that first life grew microorganisms, and complex life, and grass, and trees, and fish, and dinosaurs, and a seemingly insignificant group of creatures called mammals. And then a meteor struck the Earth and killed the dinosaurs and made room for what would become primates. And then came Australopithecus and Homo Habilis and Homo Erectus and Neanderthals and Denisovans and finally, a species known as Homo Sapiens.

And here we are, part of this very new species, living lives that are so very short, but experiencing it all and being a part of it all. And as we do, forming and maintaining relationships with Gods and ancestors and spirits and other living creatures and our fellow humans. We are separate, but we are not alone.

And we wonder if someday, we will all be one once again.
Hon. Samuel A. Jinapor, the substantive Minister for Lands and Natural Resources and Caretaker Minister for Trade and Industries has urged the Private sector in Ghana and in Africa to own the AfCFTA Agenda; to boost Intra-African trade and Africas prosperity within the context of the African Unions Agenda 2063 and continue to work with Governments in achieving its full implementation.



The Private sector, he said will not only be the driving force of AfCFTA, but will also be the primary beneficiary of the single market when Africa achieves the desired levels of trade between Africans as a people, adding that the advancement of intra-continental trade would mean private businesses can expand their markets, and venture into new territories which were previously inaccessible to them.



The Caretaker Minister, Samuel A. Jinapor was speaking at the closing of a two-day Business and Policy Dialogue, dabbed The Kwahu Summit on Africa's Prosperity, organized by The African Prosperity Network (APN) in collaboration with The Presidency and the AfCFTA Secretariat on Friday, 27th, January, 2023.



While targeting the private sector, he noted that "we must drill down further to address the needs of Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises in our respective countries, as they contribute more than half of the continents Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Indeed, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) estimates that Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs) account for some ninety percent (90%) of all businesses in Africa, and provide for some eighty percent (80%) of jobs across the continent".



Closing on the theme AfCFTA: From Ambition to Action, Delivering Prosperity Through Continental Trade", Hon. Jinapor indicated that The quality of presentations, the constructive exchanges, and active participation over the past two days, are clear testimonies of their collective desire to move from ambition to action, and to deliver prosperity through AfCFTA for the Africa We Want.



He added that the discussions over the last two days, have shown that through public-private and multi-sectorial engagements, Africa can unblock the bottlenecks that hamper the full realisation of the single market agenda.



Hon. Samuel A. Jinapor therefore called on Ministers, policymakers, government representatives, and representatives of regional economic communities, to work with the private sector to institute the requisite institutional and logistical frameworks for the private sector to thrive.



He enlightened participants that Ghanas Ministry of Trade and Industry, as the lead policy advisor of Government on matters of domestic and international trade and industry, places a lot of premium on the AfCFTA, which is the fulcrum around which most of our trade policies revolve.



In view of the importance Ghana places on AfCFTA, the Caretaker Minister disclosed a number of initiatives the Ministry has undertaken in collaboration with the AfCFTA Secretariat saying;



" Since the establishment of the AfCFTA Secretariat in Accra, the Ministry has worked closely with the Secretariat, and has undertaken a number of initiatives aimed at promoting the AfCFTA, including the establishment of the National AfCFTA Coordination Office, the development and implementation of a comprehensive National Policy and Action Plan for AfCFTA, and the implementation of an AfCFTA Facilitation Programme aimed at promoting local companies to produce and export to the AfCFTA market".



On behalf of the President of the Republic of Ghana, H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and the Government of Ghana, The Caretaker Minister, Hon. Jinapor appreciated the efforts of the African Prosperity Network (APN), led by its Executive Director, Dr. Eugene Owusu, and all other partners, particularly the Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), led by its distinguished Secretary-General, H.E. Wamkele Mene, for facilitating the holding of such a high-level business and policy dialogue on the very consequential issue of the AfCFTA.



The Africa Prosperity Dialogues, first of it's kind in Ghana, is uniquely designed to offer a strategic and trusted annual platform to drive intra-African trade. It is a platform where the highest political and business decision makers in Africa, discuss and come up with clear, actionable initiatives to enhance trade and prosperity in Africa, aligned with the AU's Agenda 2063.



The two day event brought together Ministers of State, Members of Parliament, Representatives of Regional Economic Communities, Business Executives and Associates, Technocrats, Women, Young Entrepreneurs, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and the media, to dialogue and proffer actionable solutions to boost Intra-African trade and Africas prosperity within the context of the African Unions Agenda 2063.

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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The Police have restored calm and arrested suspect Nana Osei Gyeabour alias Point, for his alleged involvement in violent disturbances which resulted in the death of one person at Krofrom, a suburb of Kumasi in the Ashanti Region.



The suspect in the company of some others attacked the deceased victim, Kwabena Azure, on 25th January 2023 and inflicted multiple machete wounds on him. The victim was pronounced dead shortly after arrival at the hospital.



Following the death of the victim, on 27th January 2023 a group of people believed to be friends of the deceased besieged the scene at Krofrom where the deceased was attacked and set the place ablaze.



The Ghana National Fire Service managed to put out the fire and the Police have since restored calm, law and order in the area.



Investigation continues and a manhunt is on to get the remaining suspects who are on the run arrested to face justice.

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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An opportunity to have university education is supposed to be an exciting moment but for many freshmen, that could also be a moment of frustration and anxiety, as they are thrust into a worrying situation even before they settle down to the new phase of life.



This is because, like the biblical son of man, some of them would have nowhere to lay their heads while on campus. Gaining admission to any of the public universities in may be easier these days, but having accommodation as part of the admission arrangement is not.



In recent times, improved performances from students and the introduction of the free senior high school (FSHS) policy have tripled the number of applicants which has also impacted on the number of applicants who successfully gain admission.



With the varied programmes they offer, the University of Ghana (UG) Legon, University of Cape Coast (UCC) and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) are often the first choice of majority of students.



Though the accommodation available does not commensurate with the numbers for the successful freshmen admitted each year, the KNUST and UCC have by and large, managed the situation efficiently such that accommodation for first-year students is not an issue. Even if it were, it did not leave students and parents frustrated, compared to what pertained at the UG.



For instance, the KNUST and UCC have since 2013 implemented the in-out-out-out system where freshmen are offered accommodation on admission, but subsequently from Level 200, they are required to make their own accommodation arrangements with the hostel facilities within and in neighbouring communities.



These arrangements have contributed to greatly minimize accommodation challenges in these two universities for first-year students, but their colleagues who opt to be at the nations premier university in Accra have no such comfort.



In-Out-Out-Out policy does magic for KNUST



As part of the in-out-out-out policy, the traditional halls of residence at KNUST are strictly reserved for only first-year students, reports Emmanuel Baah.



Aside from the universitys six traditional halls on campus, which accommodate an estimated number of 10,000 students, assigned on first come, first served basis, there are over 480 private hostels off campus that are working closely with the university, which has very much helped to resolve the issue of inadequate students accommodation.



For instance, this year, the KNUST admitted 15,000 freshmen and after placing 10,000 in the traditional halls, the 5,000 found accommodation at the partner hostels.



We are expecting 15,000 fresh students. So once 10,000 of them are accommodated on campus, there are available hostels for the remaining 5,000, Dr Noris Bekoe, the University Relations Officer (URO), told this reporter in an interview on Friday January 20, 2023.



As we speak, even managers of some of our private hostels have been complaining to us [University] that they have not gotten the full capacity of their hostels, he emphasised.



Allocation



Dr Bekoe said all those hostels were on a common online platform known as KNUST Off-Campus Students' Accommodation Support System(KOSASS), which prospective students were accessing via https://kosass.knust.edu.gh



Also, to help students prepare adequately, the university shared the locations and the rate of the various hostels and the number of occupants per room to enable them to make informed decisions.



So far, no student has complained of his or her inability to access accommodation, he said, and that aside from the online platform, a desk has also been created at the Universitys administration block to assist students who failed to log onto the online portal so they can secure accommodation.



The accommodation fee at the hostels, either public or private, were in four categories: A,B,C, and D, and the rates ranged from GHC 2000 to GHC 4,500, depending on the category and ones preference.



For those who secure accommodation off the university campus, shuttle services have also been made available to convey students who live outside campus to their various faculties on a daily basis with the Tech Junction being the pickup point , Dr Bekoe assured, emphasising that the safety, comfort and security of students, particularly, freshmen who were getting used to their new environment, were the universitys utmost priority.



No issues at UCC



Also running an in-out-out-out accommodation policy in favour of first year-students is the UCC, which does not experience the issue of long queues of frustrated students reported on other campuses.



Shirley Asiedu-Addo reports that some first-year students of the university were full of commendation for the university for arrangements to provide first years with accommodation on campus.



They also commended management for the smooth processes in the allocation of rooms.



Several students the Daily Graphic spoke to said they were happy not to have struggled with accommodation, adding that arrangements made and the processes made to ensure they were placed in halls were less stressful.



A fresh student, Gloria Aba Bentum, of the VALCO Hall said nobody took any illegal money from her at the hall.



Everything is alright with the accommodation. There were no struggles with getting accommodation. Nobody took monies from me, it was cool, she said.



Another student, Lordina Arthur, of the Kwame Nkrumah Hall said the accommodation was just fine. The rooms are not too big but I am happy I did not have to worry much over accommodation.



Others indicated that apart from a few electrical works and some carpentry works that had to be done on the rooms, all was fine.



We went through smooth processes and we were given the keys to our rooms, a student of Adehye Hall stated.

Joyce Akua Blay, who is at the Supernaution Hostel, said she opted for the hostel and she liked clean state of the facility.



Christabel Adarkwah of the VALCO Hall also said: Accommodation here is not bad at all. I am happy I didnt have to go through so much stress getting accommodation.



The Director, Public Affairs of the university, Major Kofi Baah Bentum (retd), in an interview, said the carefully crafted in-out-out-out accommodation policy of the university was to give priority to the first-year students who were often not familiar with the terrain.



Not until the freshers get accommodation, continuing students cannot, that is the policy, he stated.



All continuing students must leave the halls of residence for the freshmen.



He said the continuing students were aware of this and usually made arrangements even before school vacated for hostels in nearby communities and on campus.



He however stated that some freshmen who did not get into the halls of residence were given prior information and made arrangements for alternative accommodation after accepting admissions on those terms.



Some who fell within the late admissions and who could not be offered accommodation at the halls of residence were told and they accepted admissions with that in mind, Major (retd) Bentum explained.



Chaos at Legon



For students of UG, there is no such comfort or preferential treatment as over 6,000 freshmen out of the 16,000 admitted, have been left on their own to secure accommodation either through trying to apply for rooms online for the traditional halls or queue at the various hostels in a bid to secure a room.



Some of the students who spoke to the Daily Graphic expressed dismay about the situation, wondering why the countrys premier university had not been able to find a solution to this challenge that comes up every year.



A Bachelor of Arts student who gave her name as Elizabeth said she was on campus to complete her manual registration after she was unable to secure a room on the portal.



I came here to finish my manual registration processes because I have accepted that I wont get into any hall. From the moment it was opened, the portal kept telling me it was full.



I dont even know what to do now, Ill just try to rent around somewhere, I just hope I can afford it, she said.



Another fresher, Mavis, said the entire process was daunting and psychologically stressful.



I have been roaming since morning trying to figure out what is going on. In less than five minutes the portal said rooms were full. I cannot be coming from home every day, she lamented.



After the closure of the portal for accommodation placement, hundreds of students who were unsuccessful also went to Evandy Hostels, hoping to secure a room as an alternative to avoid the stress of securing one through the portal, but most of them were left disappointed as it ended up being a venture for protocol where parents arrived in their big vehicles, jumped the queue and in no time, secured rooms for their wards, a group of freshmen told the Daily Graphic.



Lectures have begun and there are still students who have not had their accommodation challenge resolved and have to commute to lectures from home for now.



More students, fewer rooms



The Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, in charge of Academic and Student Affairs, Professor Gordon A Awandare, admitted there was very little the university could do immediately to resolve the challenge, though there were plans to improve upon the situation going forward.



We were only able to upload about 1,500 rooms, but there are 16,000 students trying to get accommodation so thats why within five minutes its full. There is no trick there, it is just the pressure.



It is a problem that bothers us and we are working very hard to resolve it, he stated.



On plans to resolve the problem, Prof. Awandare said the university had embarked on many hostel projects and had also given land leases to investors to build private hostels



Theres one the university itself is completing which we thought would be ready by now, but it is not, hopefully next academic year.



Also, our GUSS, which is our Retirement Fund, is about to build a hostel. Managers are still going through the procurement process to get a contractor to start working on it and that will also augment the accommodation on campus, he said.



Additionally, the Pro-Vice-Chancellor said the university had annexed a private hostel near the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) which will bring on board 650 beds.



New policy, no solution



Though a new policy has been introduced by the University of Ghana management, it seems it is rather to deal with rising incidents of violent clashes among some students, rather than resolving the accommodation challenge for freshmen.



The University Council on December 12, 2022, decided to implement the recommendations from the Residence Board and the Academic Board regarding changes to student residence arrangements.



It said those changes were requested by the council following repeated incidences of violence involving students.



The measures, which took effect from the start of the 2022/2023 academic year, are to prevent future occurrences of violence.



These include all continuing students of Commonwealth Hall and continuing male students of Mensah Sarbah Hall not returning to these halls, or to any of the traditional halls.



Also from the 2022/2023 academic year, only Level 100 and graduate students (Masters and PhD level) will be assigned to Mensah Sarbah and Commonwealth Halls and subsequently, undergraduate students will vacate the halls at the end of Level 100 and could secure accommodation in the private hostels from Level 200 until completion.



For Level 100 students who opt for traditional halls, they will be randomly assigned to the halls and progressively, all the traditional halls (Mensah Sarbah, Commonwealth, Volta, Legon and Akuafo halls) will be reserved for Level 100 and graduate students only, culminating into a full in-out-out-out policy by 2025/2026.

Source: graphic.com.gh









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Dr Bernard Okoe-Boye, a medical doctor and Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Insurance Authority has shared some tips on how to avoid food poisoning, particularly waakye.



Speaking on Metro TV, Dr Okoe-Boye encouraged lovers of the waakye staple to always opt for the black pepper instead of the red.



He explained that due to the process for the preparation of the black pepper, poisoning substances are most likely to be extinguished by the time it is fully prepared.



Compared to the fresh pepper, referred to widely as red pepper, Dr Okoe-Boye says that the process for the preparation of that stew is less thorough and therefore susceptible to food poisoning.



He detailed that the only way the black pepper would be poisoned after going through that process is if a chemical poison is deliberately planted in it.



On how the location of waakye joints makes them open to food poisoning and how it can be prevented, Dr Okoe-Boye counselled people to take in the food when it is warm with vapor coming out it.



The heat from the waakye, Dr Okoe-Boye says makes it difficult for poisonous substances to thrive.



For waakye in particular, anything that is fried is usually safer. The black pepper for instance, even if it is contaminated, by the time it goes through the process, it is largely safer, so you are safer eating the black pepper than the red pepper. The fresh is always a risk if it is not prepared under hygienic conditions.



The time it is prepared and the time consumed is also a problem. If its takes quite a period, it would have gone through some changes and because it is fresh, organism plays on it so it is not safe. The black pepper is less healthy compared to the fresh but it is safer. So what I advice people is that if you want to enjoy kenkey, buy the kenkey and prepare the red pepper yourself.



Even if the waakye is by the gutter once it is hot and theres vapour coming out whiles being served, then you are safe. Make sure that the time you are being served, there is vapour coming out or you warm it when you eat at home. If its cold, microwave it, he said.



His expert advice comes in the wake up of a report that some five persons including a pregnant woman died after taking waakye from a particular joint.



The waakye was bought at a joint at Oyibi Bush Canteen Junction in Greater Accra.



Aside from the five dead people, over 30 persons have been affected and rushed to the Valley View Hospital, Ga East Municipal Hospitao, Oyibi Hospital, Dodowa Hospital, and other facilities after they complained of severe stomach ache, the victims include the waakye seller.



The affected individuals are said to have eaten the Waakye last Friday at a popular joint called Yellow Sisi.



According to a Daily Graphic report, during their visit to Valley View Hospital, officials confirmed some people were rushed into the hospital but have been treated and discharged.



The hospital also said they are investigating to ascertain if the patients' cases were indeed from food poisoning.



"As at now, some other people are still visiting the hospital and, therefore, until all the necessary laboratory tests are complete, we cannot give specific data on the number of people who have been affected or whether it was indeed a case of food poisoning," Dr Esther Danquah said.





Source: ghanaweb.com









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An Accra High Court has ordered the immediate former National Chairman of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo and a Communication Officer of the party, Kwaku Boahen, to open their defence in a trial in which they are accused of planning to assault the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission and others.



The court, presided over by Justice Samuel Asiedu, a Supreme Court judge sitting as an additional High Court judge, gave the order after it held that the prosecution had proved its case against the two, hence they ought to give their side of the story.



The order followed the courts decision in applications for submission of no case filed by counsels for the accused persons filed in November last year after the prosecution closed its case, arguing that the prosecution failed to establish the allegations against the accused, hence they had no case to answer.



But the court in its ruling rejected the arguments of the defence lawyers and held that the prosecution had made a prima facie case against the accused persons, and subsequently ordered them to open their defence on February 10, 2023.



Trial



Mr. Ofosu-Ampofo and one of the partys leading communicators, Anthony Kwaku Boahen, are on trial over the tape which captures how the opposition NDC is allegedly planning to commit crimes in the country and turn round to blame them on the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).



Among the strategies were the creation of a general state of insecurity in the country through kidnappings, arson and verbal attacks on public officials like the Chairman of the NPC, Prof. Emmanuel Asante, and EC boss, Jean Mensa.



Mr. Ofosu-Ampofo has been charged with one count of conspiracy to cause harm and two counts of assault against a public officer.



Mr. Boahen, on the other hand, is facing one count of conspiracy to cause harm.



Tape



The controversial tape which is the subject of the trial was tendered in evidence by the case investigator, Detective Chief Inspector Bernard Berko, in his evidence-in-chief by the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Yvonne Atakora-Obuobisa.



The over two hours tape which was recorded at a meeting of NDC communicators somewhere last year or so, had Mr. Ofosu-Ampofo telling the party members to make life uncomfortable for the targeted persons who included the Chairpersons of the Electoral Commission (EC) and National Peace Council (NPC).

The leaked tape also detailed how the party would approach campaign strategies, including what he described as overt and covert operations in the wake of the disturbances that characterised the Ayawaso West Wuogon bye-election.



I want to assure you that as long as I remain the leader of our party, my approach to elections and security has completely changed and we need to marshal all the human and material resources, Mr. Ofosu-Ampofo stated when he took his turn to address the party faithful as captured on the tape.



Forensic Examination



A forensic examination conducted on the leaked audio tape has confirmed it to be his voice on the tape.



The examination which was carried out by the Israeli Forensic Science Institute was to compare the controversial tape to another voice recording of the NDC guru when he addressed supporters of the party at the Police Headquarters in Accra after he was granted police enquiry bail.



According to the report, there is 90 per cent probability that the voice of Mr. Ofosu-Ampofo on the tape addressing the party faithful is the same as the voice on the leaked tape.



The report also indicated that There is also 85 per cent probability of coincidence of speech features and defects.



Alibi



Chief Inspector Berko also told the court that while the matter was in court, Kwaku Boahen pleaded an alibi that he was in Bomfa Achiase in the Ashanti Region on February 3, 2019, when the said meeting was held at the NDC headquarters in Accra.



He said a team was constituted to investigate the alibi, and a report was produced after the investigations.

Source: dailyguidenetwork.com









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At least 4,000 Burkina Faso nationals are seeking refuge in some parts of the Bawku West District of the Upper East Region, following terrorists attacks in some border communities in Burkina Faso.



The refugees moved to Ghana after some homes in Zoago, Bugri and Zabre, farming communities in Burkina Faso, including a police station, were attacked by terrorists believed to be jihadists, leading to loss of lives.



Many people, especially women and children, have been displaced as a result while others have sought asylum in other areas, including Ghana.



The situation is causing fear and panic among residents in the border communities, including Widnaba, Soogo, Sapeliga, Kansoogo and Googo in Bawku West District and also in Bansi in Bawku where most of the refugees are being hosted.



Apart from that, it is also putting stress on their finances and foods with residents expressing fear of imminent food shortage in the area if concrete actions were not taken to address the challenge.



Although Bawku District Security Council (DISEC) has beefed up Security with the Ghana Immigration Service, the Military and Ghana Police Service along Ghanas border and in some of the host communities, the residents complained that the many unapproved routes were a source of concern.



Mr Elisha Afuugu Abilla, the Assemblyman for the Widnaba Electoral Area, where more than 1,773 refugees are being hosted, told the Ghana News Agency that the residents were living in fear because of the presence of the refugees.



He said most of the refugees were women and children, who are being hosted by some community members in their homes, while others were staying in uncompleted buildings, shops and stores in the community.



He appealed for more vigilance at the border, especially on the many unapproved routes in the area.



Because of relationship, whatever we prepare, we share with them because as they were running, they could not pick anything apart from their children.



But the issue is that we did not get good yields due to poor rainfall and invasion of elephants during the farming season and the little that we thought could have taken us through to the next season is what we are spending on the refugees which in the long run will affect us, he said.



Mr Issahaku Tahiru, the District Chief Executive for Bawku West, told the GNA in an interview that more than 4,000 refugees were registered in the district so far as result of the recent attacks in Burkina Faso but noted that DISEC was on top of the issues.



He said security had been beefed up along Ghanas borders and appealed to the residents to remain calm and report any suspicious characters or activities to the security agencies for action.



We, at the DISEC level are to ensure that our borders are properly policed and that is being done perfectly. The Military has taken charge, the police have increased surveillance and the Immigration are busy registering and screening them to ensure we, both in internal and at the border levels are well secured, he said.



While commending Zugraan, Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka II, Paramount Chief of Kusaug Traditional Area, for donating 104 bags of rice and four bags of corn for the upkeep of the refugees.



The DCE also explained that the Assembly was working to support the refugees.

Source: GNA









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Former president John Mahama is backing Ghanas Foreign Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchweys bid to contest as secretary-general of the Commonwealth.



The position is currently being held by Rt Hon Patricia Scotland from Dominica. She was picked at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Malta in 2015.



She is the second secretary-general from the Caribbean and the first woman to hold the post.



Botchwey has expressed interest in the position.



Delivering a public lecture at Chatham House in the UK on Friday (27 January) on the topic, Africas strategic priorities and global role, Mahama said: Im hearing it for the first time that our Foreign Affairs Minister is interested in the position of the Commonwealth secretary-general.



I have worked closely with Baroness Patricia Scotland, shes chosen me to lead several election observation missions in Kenya, Sierra Leone, and other places, Mahama said.



I know her very well, shes been quite a capable secretary-general. Incidentally, she comes from the Caribbean, the Dominica. And so if its Africas turn, why not, I mean we will have a Ghanaian secretary-general, female. Its something I will support.



About Commonwealth



The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 56 independent and equal countries.



It is home to 2.5 billion people, and includes both advanced economies and developing countries. 32 of our members are small states, including many island nations.



Our member governments have agreed to shared goals like development, democracy and peace. Our values and principles are expressed in the Commonwealth Charter.



The Commonwealths roots go back to the British Empire. But today any country can join the modern Commonwealth. The last two countries to join the Commonwealth were Gabon and Togo in 2022.

Source: Asaaseradio









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A woman who broke up with her fiance has been ordered to pay him financial damages for psychological anguish.



The court in Kanungu, Uganda said Richard Tumwine paid 9.4m shillings ($2,550; 2,060) for Fortunate Kyarikunda's law studies, which she must now repay plus his legal fees.



By calling off their engagement after four years, Magistrate Asanasio Mukobi ruled that Ms Kyarikunda had broken a promise to the detriment of Mr Tumwine.



The court said it was "unreasonable, a misrepresentation and a fraud" for the defendant to argue that her parents told her not to marry an older man, saying she "had all the opportunity to reject the plaintiffs love requests at the earliest point possible and avoid interfering with his financial obligations".



It is not known if Ms Kyarikunda will appeal against the judgement.



Critics tell the Monitor newspaper that the verdict is flawed because an engagement, unlike a marriage, is not legally binding.



Meanwhile, Sheila Kawamara, of the women's advocacy group ED EASSI, warns there are sometimes exploitative circumstances where a man gives money to a woman on the condition that she will marry him.







Source: BBC









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A video which captured moment a sex worker retaliated after being assaulted by her client is trending online.



According to the aggrieved woman, her client assaulted her after she asked for payment for the all night service she rendered.





She dragged out the man from the hotel room and held on to her manhood while crying. Efforts by other hotel guests to make her let go of his manhood proved futile as she insisted she gets paid for her service.







Watch the viral video below.....

Business partners

When you carry day break and refused to pay her pic.twitter.com/nh6DmQotZV  Scrummy  (@Auntyscrummy) June 25, 2022















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Charles Owusu, former Head of Monitoring Unit at the Forestry Commission, has lauded the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for causing changes in their leadership in Parliament.



The party led by its National Chairman, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, in a statement, has removed Haruna Iddrisu as Minority Leader and replaced him with the Member of Parliament for Ajumako-Enyan-Esiam and a former Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson.



The statement also named a new Minority Whip in the person of Hon. Kwame Agbodza to replace Muntaka Mubarak.



The new leadership would be charged to recommend consequential changes in the Ranking membership to the headquarters of the party for approval, the statement also said.



But the NDC leadership has come under intense criticisms and pressure from some members and supporters of the party to reinstate the two leaders.



The Majority Caucus of the ruling New Patriotic Party in Parliament have also raised concerns over the shakeup in the Minority Caucus.



Reacting to the matters, Charles Owusu believed the NDC has taken a bold decision that will help the party.



"I commend the national executives. They've shown that they mean business and that is leadership because, you see, in as much as I agree with other people saying there was no consultation and that it would have been better if they had done a lot of consultations, which I agree, it doesn't take it away that they have shown that they are in for business," he told Nana Yaw Kesseh during a panel discussion on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo" show.



He asked the NPP to mind their business and stop complaining about the NDC's decision.



"When I hear the NPP talking about this, I ask myself are you [NPP] also talking? You were able to suspend an elected General Secretary and elected Chairman because you felt you had a vision, and in the NDC, when they felt that some things are not going well they have changed them. Does the leadership belong to a person? Is the Minority Leader someone's personal property?...The NDC, is it for Haruna Iddrisu? Is it for Muntaka?"



He further slammed the Majority in Parliament saying "even the NPP don't have balls to make changes. You can't even do a reshuffle in your government and if someone is doing a reshuffle, you are complaining. How are you complaining?...You don't have the balls to do it, so allow the NDC to have peace and do their work".



"Let the NDC have its peace. I commend them for that bold decision," he asserted.





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this





Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here
Samuel Cobian Wins $3,000 PCA Mystery Bounty ($239,658)

January 28, 2023 Adam Lamers Contributor

There were 22 players who returned to the felt for the third and final day of the $3,000 PCA Mystery Bounty and it was Samuel Cobian who topped them all to take home the first-place prize of $239,658.

Cobian overcame a star-studded field of 763 entries to record his largest career poker score after defeating Andy Wilson in a heads-up match. He will also add 15 bounties to his total, all of which were of the $1,000 minimum variety, but he couldn't wipe the smile off his face after capturing the illustrious PokerStars trophy.

$3,000 PCA Mystery Bounty Final Table Results

Place Player Country Prize (USD) 1st Samuel Cobian United States $239,658 2nd Andy Wilson United Kingdom $149,450 3rd Justin Steinbrenner Germany $106,750 4th Yuliyan Kolev Bulgaria $82,100 5th Matthew Lambrecht United States $63,150 6th Rui Bouquet Portugal $48,600 7th Kayhan Mokri Norway $37,400 8th David Peters United States $28,750

Winner's Reaction

"This feels great man," Cobian told PokerNews in his post-win interview. "I never thought this could happen. But it does, and it did."

The recreational poker player from Indianapolis said this isn't often where he and his wife travel in the winter, but his wife convinced him to come to the 2023 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure.

"We usually go to Florida in the winter but my wife convinced me to come to The Bahamas and play some poker this year."

Cobian can often be seen at the WSOP in Las Vegas where he's cashed the Main Event on multiple occasions. He's already won a seat for this upcoming summer trip.

Cobian was off to get his winner's photo taken but said the chances of playing in the PSPC later this week is definitely a possibility.

"You'll just have to buy in!" his wife shouted with exuberance on their way out of the tournament room.

Cobian has guaranteed this will be the most successful winter getaway that he's experienced, and he plans to keep the run-good going.

Day 3 Action

With 22 players returning for Day 3, there was no shortage of action in the opening levels of the day. There were 10 eliminations in the first two hours of the day that included PokerStars ambassador Rafael Moraes, David Stamm and Kitty Kuo. During the rush of eliminations, Kayhan Mokri was busy at the "tickle trunk" redeeming his bounty tickets. A burst of excitement was overheard as Mokri managed to find the last $100,000 bounty prize, going along with Sebastien Aube, who pulled his six-figure prize last night.

Kayhan Mokri pulled one of two $100,000 mystery bounties

When the field finally reached the final table, Wilson came in as the chip leader and extended his lead with the quick eliminations of Michael Uguccioni and David Peters. With seven players still remaining, Wilson had accumulated over one-third of the chips in play. The talkative Mokri was next on the chopping block as one of the short stacks and was forced to settle for just over $37,000 and seventh place. However, the $100,000 and change in bounties will no doubt keep his spirits high.

Justin Steinbrenner was down to less than four big blinds but managed to double up and then go on to eliminate the next two players in Rui Bouquet and Matthew Lambrecht. Steinbrenner went from 600,000 to 6,000,000 chips in the blink of an eye and was all of a sudden in the running. Yuliyan Kolev bowed out in fourth place which set up a dynamic three-handed battle.

Wilson started three-handed play with a huge chip lead and over half of the chips in play. He continued to grow his lead and looked poised to capture his first PokerStars title. However, the tide turned and not just once, but on multiple occasions. The three remaining players exchanged chip leads over the course of nearly two hours, with Cobian finding himself with just four big blinds after a failed bluff attempt. Cobian managed to double-up on three straight attempts and was right back in the match.

Runner-up Andy Wilson

Steinbrenner also held the chip lead at one point but it didn't last very long much to the dismay of the German rail cheering him on. Steinbrenner eventually shoved all in from the small blind and was called by Cobian's ace-high in the big blind. An Ace on the flop spelled disaster for Steinbrenner who was kicked to the rail in third place.

Cobian took a healthy lead into the heads-up duel with Wilson and never looked back as he managed to finish the match in just a few hands. On the final hand of the day, Cobian's king-high was ahead of Wilson's jack-high with all of the chips getting in the middle preflop. Wilson was unable to find any help on the board and fell just short of the PCA title.

That wraps up the coverage for this event but there is still plenty to come from the Baha Mar Resort so stay tuned to PokerNews for all of the up-to-date coverage from around the event.

Click here for more on the 2023 PCA Live reporting hub

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PN Podcast: Chopped-Pot Elimination, Guests Ike Haxton & Vanessa Kade from PCA

January 28, 2023 Chad Holloway Executive Editor U.S.

On the latest PokerNews Podcast episode of 2023, Chad Holloway and Jesse Fullen discuss a controversy from the WSOP Circuit Kings Resort that was a chopped pot but accidentally resulted in the elimination of one player at the final table.

They then turn their attention to the 2023 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) down in The Bahamas. It was there that Isaac Haxton continued his heater, and he spoke with PokerNews after winning the $100K Super High Roller. Plus, Connor Richards caught up with guest Vanessa Kade, who discussed what it was like to be awarded a coveted Platinum Pass.

Other stories discussed include Jackie Glazier being back on Australian Survivor, High Stakes Poker Season 10 premiering on PokerGO, Gabe Kaplans unexpected retirement from poker commentary, and the recent PokerNews article on the Top 5 Poker Movies You Must Watch.

Listen to those stories and more on the latest episode of the PokerNews Podcast!

Here are PokerNews' Top 5 Poker Movies to Watch!

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Tell us who you want to hear from. Let us know what you think of the show  tweet about the podcast using #PNPod, and be sure to follow Chad Holloway, Jesse Fullen, and Connor Richards on Twitter.

Subscribe to the PokerNews Podcast on Apple Podcasts here!

Check Out Past Episodes of the PN Podcast Here!

Sharelines PokerNews Podcast: Hear from guests @ikepoker & @VanessaKade at the #PCA2023.
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Chuck Todd took apart Jim Jordans rationale for his special select committee during an interview on Meet The Press.

Video:

Meet The Presss Chuck Todd asked Jim Jordan, You keep talking about this raid on Donald Trump. The amount of time there was nine months between the initial action of the archives for the request of documents before they even turned it over to the Justice Department. The subpoena was issued 60 days before they actually executed the subpoena. And more importantly the only time the public found out about it is because Donald Trump told the public. This was not some sort of  you paint it as a picture of the FBI did this, this, and this within hours of each other when it was actually a year and a half of Donald Trump not complying with any of the requests from National Archives. A year and a half. This is not some sort of proof that somehow theyve weaponized and are playing politics over here.

Jordan replied, They raided Trumps home. They havent raided Bidens home.

Todd was ready, Because Biden didnt defy a subpoena, congressman. He defied a subpoena. By the time he had 60 days to comply with the subpoena before they actually executed the search warrant.

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For the second week in a row, Chuck Todd put a stop to Republican lies and distortions on Meet The Press.

The Meet The Press moderator takes a ton of justifiable criticism for the way that he has let Republicans off of the hook for years and allowed them to spew false statements and talking points unchallenged, but over the last few weeks, Todd has stuck to facts, and not allowed Republicans to distort the classified documents story.

If the media continues to cover Jordans sham select committee in this way, it will go nowhere.
Of the thousands who relocate to homes in coastal South Carolina each year, many are often pleased by the low property taxes. But they also can get a case of sticker-shock when they learn the cost of insuring those dwellings.

Long-time Palmetto State residents know that insurance costs have soared, and they just keep rising. What some residents don't know is that South Carolina offers an income tax credit for "excessive" insurance costs.

That tax credit's been around since 2007, but it's easy to overlook because it's not specifically mentioned on the state's income tax form 1040. Instead, it falls under "other nonrefundable credits" and requires an extra tax form (the 1040TC) and the simple worksheet TC-44.

You can find those forms at dor.sc.gov if you want to give them a look.

Here's how the credit works: If the amount of money you paid to insure your legal residence in South Carolina is greater than 5 percent of your federal adjusted gross income, you get a state tax credit for the difference, up to $1,250.

So, that's pretty straightforward. For example, if your federal adjusted gross income is $60,000 and you paid more than $3,000 to insure your home, you can get a tax credit for the excess.

In some areas, particularly on the barrier islands, homeowners can have to pay enormous premiums. The first time I wrote about this tax credit, I heard from several island dwellers who were unaware of it, and who ended up filing amended returns for prior years.

As premiums continue to rise, more people could qualify for the tax credit, so I usually write about it each tax season.

Without knowing that credit exists, people could easily skip past the "other nonrefundable credits" line on their tax forms and leave money on the table.

For this credit, legal residence means the home where you live and qualify for the lower property tax assessment that applies to owner-occupied homes.

Insure means traditional property insurance plus hurricane (wind and hail) policies and flood insurance, or hazard insurance if it's a mobile home.

Like many South Carolina tax credits, the "Excess Insurance Premium Tax Credit" is what's known as non-refundable. That means it can reduce the amount of tax owed to the state, but if it's greater than the amount of tax owed you don't get a check for the difference. But any leftover amount can be carried forward to future tax returns, for five years.

The non-refundability means that some homeowners with excessive insurance bills won't be able to benefit, because they owe little or no income tax. Retirees often fall in this category because of South Carolina's generous tax treatment of retirement income.

Conversely, high-wage earners who pulled down too much to qualify for this credit while working could find in their retirement years that their insurance premiums exceed 5 percent of their federal adjusted gross income.
I speak about my personal experiences with mental health in writing. It ends up having me hear from Black men either on the fence about getting therapy or, at least when they get it, treats it as a secret. Read moreFight the Power: The life of being a Black man embracing therapy
Last Sunday was Sanctity of Life Sunday, a day proclaimed by President Ronald Reagan in 1984. And it was a hard subject to preach in my new church.

Unfortunately, the Bible gave me little help. The Old Testament only hints at abortion in Numbers 5:11-31. You might find some favored assumptions in the New Testament, but its silent of literal references  rather strange since abortion is likely as old as birthing.

Yet with Bible in hand this past Sunday, Christians on both sides marched with parading placards as local preachers proclaimed the certitude that comes from reducing lifes most difficult times into formulas and platitudes.

In my sermon, I asked my parishioners that they pause before they join the march for or against abortion to remind themselves that Life is complicated.

I suggested that everyone put down the placards and let me guide them through a mental picture of the hospital where I once worked as the chaplain for women and children.

This is where black and white views often wilt under the glaring light of reality. They are the gray areas often distilled by lifes complications.

For instance, prolife folks might want to test their convictions as I revisit the hospital chapel where I sat with a couple who agonized over the choice to abort her Trisomy 18 baby. Doctors told the woman that her child would certainly die in his first weeks, if not minutes, of life.

Or if youre prochoice, then turn your attention to that childs weeping father as he begged his wife to carry that baby full-term.

But the story was different with another couple. Follow me downstairs to the delivery room to meet Sue and Mike Reed as they welcomed Gigi, their Trisomy 18 baby. The parents made the monumentally difficult decision to allow her entry into this world for 80 minutes just so they could say goodbye.

When I wrote their story 10 years ago, some readers thought Sues decision undeniably selfish, and others saw it as enormously heroic. But I never make that call because life is complicated.

Certainty fails us when we meet a mother who made a different decision. Her baby had a malformation of the heart, spine and brain  all complications that presented a real danger to the life of both mother and baby.

Chaplain, she told me in a later email, The clinic made me sign a paper declaring that I didnt want the baby.

Her tears bled from her writing as she explained, I wanted this girl more than anything. We wanted her to be OK. But she wasnt.

But most of all, we wanted her not to suffer no matter how much that meant that we suffered with the burden of making this choice.

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Her faith was clear as she declared her belief that God gave women the joy, responsibility and the burden of childbirth. God knew that, as mothers, we would make any sacrifice for our children.

She confessed she would suffer the trauma of an abortion the rest of my life, but would do it again if it meant that her baby would not suffer a single day. We hope abortion is a choice that parents never have to make. But it was our responsibility to make.

Now distanced from the procedure, she warned those on both sides who want to preach there is only one story of abortion.

I am mad at the liberals who think this procedure would be liberating. I am mad at conservatives who might assume I wasnt responsible.

My sermon last Sunday ended without a defining conclusion because chaplaincy constantly prompts me to see that life is rarely black and white. The health care community reminds me that we dont have all the answers and I need to listen more before I impose my beliefs on others.

I suppose thats why a grieving mother made this concluding request, What we need from your readers now is simply to listen to our truth and pain.

I told her how I wish there was better direction from the Bible on this subject.

Ah, but there is, she said as she quoted Psalm 139:13-14.

For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mothers womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

She paused with expectant news.

Im pregnant again. A baby girl.

I expect she will be fearfully and wonderfully made.
SWITCHED ON: Bob Moog and the Synthesizer Revolution. By Albert Glinsky. Oxford University Press. 496 pages. $39.95. Read moreReview: 'Switched On' a thorough, absorbing dive into the history of the Moog synthesizer
Kingstree, SC (29556)

Today

Scattered thunderstorms during the morning. Partly cloudy skies this afternoon. High 79F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy early with increasing clouds overnight. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 58F. Winds light and variable.
NORTH CHARLESTON  Plans are moving forward to transform the northern end of the old Navy base into a waterfront destination.

North Charleston is searching for a developer to partner with the city in building 70-acre Battery Park, which calls for a high-density development at Noisette Creek.

The city released a request for proposal Jan. 27 for the project, which is to be built at the foot of North Charleston's newly constructed pedestrian bridge over the creek from popular Riverfront Park.

The Battery Park project would cover 70 acres of land that is largely undeveloped, save for a few old warehouses and military personnel, and include high-rise condos, parks, bike and walking trails and businesses.

"More than anything it establishes a true downtown feeling," Mayor Keith Summey said. "We've never had that. Our development over the years, even before we became a city, was just sporadic."

North Charleston owns about 50 of the 70 acres, and the Air Force owns 21 acres. Roughly 10 additional acres are nearby. But that land is already developed with projects that fit into the city's Battery Park vision, housing a nonprofit and brewery.

The Air Force's acres, currently being used for engineering and research purposes to support the Navy and Marine Corps, will be turned over to the city in exchange for property elsewhere that could house the military's operations, the city said. The city has said the Naval Weapons Station in Goose Creek would be an ideal location.

"A more secure environment behind a gated area would fit them better," Summey said.

Revitalizing the old base has been an uphill battle since the U.S. government closed the complex in 1996.

North Charleston's Noisette Plan, announced two decades ago, envisioned a mixed-use community across several hundred acres on the former federal complex. That plan ended in foreclosure.

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The developer for the Battery Park proposal should be someone who has experience in doing this kind of work, the mayor said. At some point, the 70 acres will be owned by the developer.

Housing affordability should also be kept in mind. The city is asking its future builder to set aside residences for people earning up to 120 percent of the area median income, or individuals who make up to $77,160.

There are incentives for constructing the project. Because the properties are in a tax increment financing district, the development could participate in a reimbursement program for public infrastructure improvements. Also, the designation of the sites as a federal Opportunity Zone offers tax advantages to investments over the next 10 years. Lastly, the project will see expedited permitting by the city.

"This is something we're only going to get one shot at," Summey said. "We have to make sure that it's done properly."

The project is good for the city of North Charleston, serving as a good use of industrial land, said Silas Harrington, president of the nearby Cameron Terrace/Oak Park neighborhood organization.

But parking is an issue, he said. At some point, the city should consider creating a parking facility at Riverfront Park, home to large festivals and concerts, Harrington said.

Harrington's main concern is the uptick in traffic that the development will bring to the already-bustling Park Circle area.

"It's a great thing for the city of North Charleston," Harrington said, but, "I hope the city is coordinating with the (state) Department of Transportation to keep traffic out of residential areas.

Those interested in taking on the project have until March 17 to apply. Responses can be submitted by mail or hand-delivered to the Procurement Department, located on the third floor of City Hall at 2500 City Hall Lane North Charleston, 29406.

For more information, contact Denise Badillo at dbadillo@northcharleston.org or go to www.northcharleston.org/NavyBaseRFQ.
From nature paintings and watercolor creations to digital art and tie-dye fiber projects, the creative opportunities appear endless at the Blair Center for the Arts during the summer camp season. Read moreCamp Guide: Blair Center camps promote creativity
The state bridge work will close the southbound lane of I-77 from 9 p.m. on April 14 through April 23 between mile marker 0 at I-26 and mile marker 5 at Bluff Road. Read moreBuckle up for more detours as I-77 South shuts down for bridge repairs near Columbia
On the afternoon of April 7, four teenagers and an adult were shot on an Isle of Palms beach crowded predominantly with high school students. Though its causes remain under investigation this week, it marked the 143rd mass shooting in the United States on the 96th day of the year, joining Na Read moreCommentary: IOP mass shooting highlights national public health crisis
After all that hand-wringing about statues, South Carolina Republicans will be the ones who actually cancel John C. Calhoun.

Which might be funny if it werent so ridiculous.

See, the latest salvo in the culture wars is Statehouse legislation that would ban racist concepts in public school history courses and require teachers to stick with fact-based lessons.

Which isnt quite the win these lawmakers think it is.

As The Post and Couriers Seanna Adcox reports, a group of House Republicans is pushing a transparency act for public schools  even though state law already bans teaching anything about any race being superior to another and anyone being responsible for past abuses because of their race.

Which is kind of a legally sanctioned safe space for folks triggered by the notion that some people in history  not them  did bad things. But its a problem for Mr. Calhoun, given his inherent belief in the superiority of the white race. As demonstrated in February 1837, when he said  on the floor of the U.S. Senate  that:

Never before has the black race of Central Africa, from the dawn of history to the present day, attained a condition so civilized and so improved, not only physically but morally and intellectually. It came among us in a low, degraded, and savage condition, and, in the course of a few generations, it has grown up under the fostering care of our institutions, as reviled as they have been, to its present comparative civilized condition.

Institutions, by the way, is a euphemism for slavery.

Thats when Calhoun called slavery a positive good and claimed the enslaved were generally happy.

Even those who make the reasonable point that people should be judged by their times  not modern standards  have to admit that, even back then, Calhoun was way out there.

So, what, we simply dont teach students about one of the most consequential, albeit controversial, figures in South Carolina history?

The proponents of this legislation say thats not the intent; they only want to ban indoctrination. Which is hilarious, because the call for fact-based education is founded in a fact-free conspiracy theory indoctrinating people with the idea that South Carolina schools teach critical race theory.

Thats a theory that comes up in law schools, but its become code for any less-than-flattering chapter of U.S. history. Such as, the enslavement of an entire race, the violent resistance to civil rights or basically anything some people dont find sufficiently jingoistic.

Now the Democrats are getting in on it. Last week, state Rep. Jermaine Johnson introduced a bill to restrict schools from teaching anything about slaveholders.

And ... there goes the first 200 years of South Carolina history. But Johnson was being sarcastic to make a point.

Whats going to stop people from going all over the state and throwing out crazy lies and accusing teachers of things when they just talk about Martin Luther King? Johnson says.

Yep.

To her credit, state Rep. Raye Felder said thats not what her bill is meant to do.

Instruction should be non-biased and include the broad scope of history, both inspirational history and shameful history of our great country, she said. The bill does not prevent teaching of controversial topics. Instead, it specifically provides that schools can teach that history.

Thats reasonable. The problem, as many point out, is this will put more pressure on already frazzled teachers  because theres a provision to let parents report any teacher that they think strays from facts.

Uh, hows that work when no one can agree on what a fact is anymore?

This is a state where a lot of people still argue the Civil War, and South Carolinas secession (which triggered it), wasnt about slavery. Even though its spelled out in the states declaration of immediate causes  nearly 20 times.

Of course, some of these people make the head-spinning argument that others should get over history while filing lawsuits to shove theirs down everyone elses throats.

Truth is, all that history is important. Teachers cant omit parts of the story without changing the meaning of other parts. Without explaining the opposition to civil rights, how do you teach about South Carolinians who made historic change to this country?

Without teaching what Calhoun said, how does anyone understand why some might find a monument to him offensive?

Answer: You dont. Which is probably the ultimate goal.

But some of these folks should brush up on history. Theyd see that every time someone tries to obscure the sins of the past with propaganda, history doesnt treat them kindly.

That's a fact.
One could almost feel the intensity of her emotions as Osarieme Oziegbe, 28, told the story of her birth and recalled the ugly consequences of the removal of her clitoris (genitalia) by a nurse in Benin City, Nigeria, as narrated to her by her mother.

The nurse had convinced Ms Oziegbes mother to circumcise the new baby as part of the cultural rites of the Binis. She told her that it validates the birth of a girl child.

Ms Oziegbe said: I learnt that after my delivery, and the counselling by the nurse, my mom agreed to cut my clitoris but that she almost lost me because I bled uncontrollably. Thank God, I survived it.

Ms Oziegbe told PREMIUM TIMES that she was struggling to deal with broken relationships because of her lack of interest in sexual activity. She said she did not understand why she had never found the thrill of sex as talked about by her peers until she began asking questions.

There were times when I had young men getting close to me and seeking intimacy, but honestly, the urge wasnt there. I never felt anything; my first sexual experience wasnt fun. I always asked myself why people refer to sex as one of the best feelings in the world. I didnt get the excitement, I understood that it wasnt any of those.

Even at times I tried to explore my own body by touching myself, yes the urge comes, but within a few seconds, its all gone, I lose interest, she added.

Ms Oziegbe believes her sexual experiences stem from the removal of her clitoris.

About FGM

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), the removal of part of the whole of the clitoris, is a form of discrimination against women and girls. It is said to be one of the most inhuman acts of gender-based violence (GBV) perpetrated against women, and a violation of their human rights.

The process of FGM is mainly carried out by traditional circumcisers, who often play other central roles in communities, such as attending childbirths. However, in some parts of Nigeria, healthcare providers perform FGM. The procedure is considered safer when performed by trained healthcare providers.

However, the World Health Organisation (WHO) strongly advises healthcare providers not to perform FGM because of the numerous short- and long-term effects, which are often negative and can cause permanent damage to the victims or survivors.

Some of the immediate effects of FGM, as highlighted by David Osifo, a medical doctor and former commissioner for health in Edo State, are infections and bleeding, especially when done in the local setting, which can sometimes result in death.

Is FGM a solution to promiscuity?

There is a popular belief among the people of Bini in southern Nigeria that an uncircumcised female is a taboo. Circumcision in this part of Nigeria is a mark of cultural identity, supposedly done to prevent promiscuity among young women/girls. They also believe that circumcision is hygienic and allows for safe delivery during reproductive age.

Proponents believe that new babies could die if they make contact with an uncut clitoris during delivery.

Blessings ordeal

Some of the reasons used to justify the act of FGM in Nigeria are to preserve virginity, curb promiscuity, and prevent extra-marital sex or to protect female modesty and chastity. But the big question is; does FGM really curb promiscuity?

Unlike Ms Oziegbe who lacks interest in sexual activities, Blessing (real name withheld) is one of many Bini women who have suffered from societal backlash and stigmatisation for engaging in intercourse with several partners.

While sharing her story with PREMIUM TIMES, Blessing explained how girls who tend to be very sexually active and keep multiple partners often end up with demeaning name tags such as ashawo (prostitutes) due to their busy sex lives.

She said: I thought I was a sex addict because I always felt like I couldnt control the urge; I would do anything to get to a man. Yes, it got me into so many troubles; I always had to lie to my parents, I kept late nights, I got talked about. That was the most painful part I faced, backbiting.

Blessing believes being cut early influenced her choice of multiple sexual partners; as she needs multiple partners to reach orgasm.

Mr Osifo agrees that that could be a reason.

According to Mr Osifo, the former health commissioner, who now works at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), the presence of the clitoris stimulates the woman and drives her to an early orgasm.

However, the absence of the clitoris as a stimulator makes it difficult for the woman to climax to orgasm, he said.

The gynaecologist explained that once a man or woman reaches orgasm, they lose interest in sexual urges for some time. But females who are circumcised lack the stimulation that initiates orgasms and are likely to stay longer during sexual intercourse.

This reality he said brings to light the extent to which FGM can influence the sexual relationships of survivors and how they cope with the sexual and physical challenges prompted by the practice.

Obazee Imafidon, a gender advocate, explained that one of the reasons sexually active women can not stick to one sexual partner at a time is because of the lack of the stimulator (clitoris), which creates an intimate bond between both parties.

Whenever they are having intercourse, the man feels the sensitivity that takes him to the peak, but the woman has no limit and expects more. So, in a nutshell, FGM doesnt help the female gender; it harms them.

FGM prevalence

Also known as Female Genital Cutting, FGM involves the partial or total removal of external female genitalia or other injuries to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. It can cause severe bleeding and problems urinating, complications during childbirth and an increased risk of newborn death.

FGM has a lot of other effects on the sexual reproductive health of women and girls. One is the resulting limitation on or the inability of survivors to use some parts of the genitals.

With an estimated 19.9 million survivors, Nigeria has the third-highest number of women and girls who have undergone FGM worldwide (accounting for 10 per cent of the 200 million FGM survivors worldwide). The prevalence of FGM is highest in the South-east (35 per cent) and South-west (30 per cent) and lowest in the North-east (six per cent).

FGM has a lot of effects on the sexual reproductive health of women and girls. One is the resulting limitation on or the inability of survivors to use some parts of the genitals.

Others include severe bleeding and problems urinating, later cysts, infections, complications in childbirth and an increased risk of newborn deaths.

Other long-term effects of this traditional practice, according to Mr Osifo, include epidermal inclusion cyst or clitoridal cyst, which he said is the most common. This infection results in the clitoris developing a swelling that continues to grow and sometimes looks like a penis.

The gynaecologist said many victims, as a result of this, formulate psychological effects associated with having such a bulge in their perineum.

FGM as a form of sexual disability in women

A disability means any condition of the body or mind (impairment) that makes it more difficult for the person with the disorder to do certain activities in the same way as most people.

There have been several types of research on the nuances and impacts of disability. Still, a primary under-explored form of disability is Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and how it affects the sex and sexuality of women and girls. Are victims of FGM experiencing a form of disability, and how are their lives affected by it?

There is the argument that FGM can be considered a disability as it is a measurable impairment that interferes with a womans ability to use some of her body parts.

This argument notes that victims of this harmful practice face immediate consequences and possibly long-term effects, including the loss of sexual functioning. As such, women who have undergone FGM, like other people with various forms of disabilities, evolve multiple strategies that help them cope with this disability.

According to Mr Osifo, the total removal of the female genitalia often ends up being a disability in women when the labia minora is completely removed and makes it difficult for the survivors to be impenetrable during sexual intercourse. There are also the effects of loss of sexual desires in most women.

In some cases of FGM, the vagina ends up closed and not pliable the way a normal vagina would be, making penetration and childbirth a problem. I have had to reconstruct even girls who got married, and there is no hole at all. They got married, and their husbands could not penetrate or find a way in; we then have to reconstruct the vagina hole for them to gain access, the medical expert said.

He added that others who can manage to have sexual intercourse usually have difficulty during childbirth because the vagina cannot expand to accommodate the babies. We then have to do an episiotomy to deliver the babies.

Are anti-FGM laws working?

International instruments such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), and the Beijing Declaration of 1995, provide a framework for the promotion and protection of the rights of women and girls.

They require countries including Nigeria to provide an effective framework for the protection of the rights of women and girls. This is amplified by regional instruments such as the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, and the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa, 2006 (the Maputo Protocol).

By virtue of the Nigerian constitution, the ratification of international treaties and instruments, and the adoption of the SDGs framework; Nigeria is under obligation to respect, protect and fulfil the rights of women and girls. However, the rights of women and girls remain adversely impacted by negative and harmful traditional practices, including FGM.

Laws against FGM in Nigeria only on paper

Ronke Ojekere is an executive member of the Edo State Gender-Based Violence Management Committee. She has over the years worked on projects that seek to protect women and girls in Edo from harmful practices. While highlighting some of the laws that criminalise FGM in the state, Mrs Ojekere decried low implementation of these laws, saying they exist only on paper.

While accusing traditional birth attendants and community health workers of being enablers of FGM, the GBV expert called for more sensitisation to educate rural dwellers about the dangers of the act.

She cited the case of a woman who had refused circumcision for her child, but while unconscious, her mother, in connivance with the birth attendant, went ahead to cut her girl child without her permission. In this case, Mrs Ojekere questioned the extent to which the law can be evoked, saying it would be unfair and irrational for the woman to sue her mother for the act.

Also speaking on the role of anti-FGM laws in protecting women and girls against any form of violation, the chairperson of the Edo State chapter of the International Federation of Female Lawyers (FIDA), Violet Olumese, said significant milestones have been recorded in the implementation of policies such as the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act over the years, including the enactment of the legislation.

According to her, the challenges remain in the elimination of this practice throughout the country. Thus, it is imperative that the policy be reviewed and a new one developed to provide the basis of actions/steps that will drive the implementation of interventions.

The Nigerian Constitution provides in Section 34 that no person shall be subjected to any form of torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Legal experts believe that FGM falls under the preceding categories and thus can be punishable under the section.

The Child Rights Act (CRA), passed in 2003 in Nigeria, also has some provisions that outlaw this practice. Section 11(B) of the Act also provides that no child shall be subjected to any form of torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. These laws build on existing gains and address emerging gaps and challenges in the elimination of this harmful practice and human rights violation. It also provides a foundation for further actions to ensure the elimination of FGM in Nigeria.

Global efforts to end FGM

In 2007, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) initiated the Joint Programme on Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting to accelerate the abandonment of the practice.

In 2008, WHO and nine other United Nations partners issued a statement on the elimination of FGM to support increased advocacy for its abandonment. Tagged Eliminating female genital mutilation: an interagency statement, it provided evidence collected over the previous decade about the practice of FGM.

The procedure is mainly practised in the western, eastern, and north-eastern regions of Africa, in some countries in the Middle East and Asia, and among migrants from these areas. FGM is, therefore, a global concern that needs urgent attention.

Gender experts like Oyin Nwabuzor, the national coordinator of the Association Against Child Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, admitted that there is still a large gap to fill in eliminating the practice of FGM. She, however, believes that massive health education and sensitisation about the dangers of female genital cutting will lead to a change in the behaviours of local enablers.

We thank God that associations, NGOs, and faith-based organisations are at the forefront to act as a stop-gap to the age-long practice. I encourage every one of these organisations to keep up with the fight for a better society free of all forms of violation against women. This will also give courage to victims and survivors to speak up, Mrs Nwabuzor said.

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The Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Muda Yusuf, on Sunday said the 10-day extension given by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for the phasing out of old naira notes isnt adequate.

In a statement on Sunday, Mr Yusuf criticised the CBN over the numerous gaps identified in the implementation of its naira redesign policy.

The CPPE believes that 10 days is grossly inadequate to make up for the glaring shortcomings of the apex bank in this process, the statement said.

The CBN on Sunday announced a 10-day extension of the deadline for the use of old naira notes across Nigeria amidst complaints from Nigerians over the scarcity of the new notes ahead of the 31 January deadline.

The CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, who spoke to journalists Sunday morning, said he had the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari for the extension.

Mr Emefiele also announced 10 February as the new deadline for the phasing out of the old notes.

Earlier at the weekly episode of PREMIUM TIMES TwitterSpaces titled  New Notes scarcity vs. January deadline and the implications for Nigerians held Saturday, Mr Yusuf had criticised Nigerias Central Bank (CBN) over its defiant reaction to the outcry from key institutions and many Nigerians affected by its policy.

He said it has become very obvious that the apex bank has grossly underestimated what it takes to execute this transition from the old notes to the new notes.

We (Nigerians) have seen clear evidence of lack of capacity with respect to production from the CBN because if something is available in adequate supply it would show and if otherwise, it will still be obvious as it is currently the case with Nigerians, he said.

Clearly we are dealing with a situation of acute shortage, thats when you relate whats made available to the demand for the new notes. Even up to last Friday, some banks and ATMs were still dispensing the old notes.

He explained that the current situation is not a result of a lack of trying on the part of the citizens, but the aftermath of the banking systems inability and lack of capacity to respond to the exponential demands for new notes.

Threats to national security

Also reacting to the CBN 10-day extension, Dairy Hills Limited CEO, Kelvin Emmanuel, said: I think the National Security Council has prevailed on the President to ask the CBN to extend the deadline, and I expect him to continue extending the deadline in increments to avoid a pandemonium that will threaten national security.

Mr Emmanuel said about 55 per cent of Nigerias population is unbanked, adding that there are just four banks, 25 ATMs and 170 POS machines per 100, 000 Nigerians.

He explained further that Nigeria does not have sufficient telecom and Internet infrastructure to power adequate banking across Nigeria, and this is also because there are high-security risk areas that make the business case and insurance premiums for setting up these infrastructures unviable.

The expert said financial inclusion is not something you can force, but something that can only be incentivised, and that section 20(3) of the CBN Act gives the people the right to still bring in their currency notes into the banking system in the event of a currency swap.

The CBN cannot outlaw legal tender without sufficient notice, he added.

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Chief executives usually have an interest in who succeeds them. It appears to be the best way to protect their policies, reputation and perhaps even their lives and freedom after office. Many would do all they can to prevent a political enemy or an ideological opponent from taking over power from them.

In the Fourth Republic, in which Nigeria has had its only experience of a regular series of orderly changes of government at the national and sub-national levels, state governors have always tried to decide who their parties field to take over from them. Some have even been known to take extra-legal means to ensure they retain the loyalty of the successors they prodded to power.

At the national level, only President Olusegun Obasanjo has so far enjoyed the privilege of conducting the election that produced his preferred successor. After having his ambitious vice president, Atiku Abubakar, expelled from the ruling party, he virtually handpicked Katsina Governor Umar YarAdua and his running mate, Goodluck Jonathan. But those measures did not prevent Mr Obasanjo from being almost immediately stripped of the powers and influence he designed to retain for himself after office, as the chairman of his partys board of trustees.

Buhari not Obasanjo

It is safe to say President Muhammadu Buhari did not influence his partys nomination of his successor last June. He has also repeatedly stated, to the chagrin of his party members, that he does not care who Nigerians elect to take over from him on February 25, whether the person is from his own All Progressives Congress (APC) or from any of the 17 opposition parties.

Is the presidents unusual aloofness in this matter the result of lessons learnt from the frustration that Mr Obasanjo and many state governors have had with their handpicked or anointed successors? Or is it just a statement on Mr Buharis own nature, reflected even in the manner that he has run his government over the last seven and a half years?

At the height of his imperial military presidency, General Ibrahim Babangida said he did not know who would succeed him but he knew those who would not. He eventually ensured that the man who emerged from the election he conducted ended up in jail in Abuja, rather than at the Aso Rock Villa.

If President Buhari does not know who would succeed him on 29 May, does he also know who would not? His party members have reasons to be apprehensive, given the public perception of his relationship with (or attitude to) Bola Tinubu, the APC presidential candidate.

Cold War?

Is there a rift, or a cold war as some commentators have recently described it, between the two men whose alliance produced the first opposition victory in a Nigerian presidential election, eight years ago?

The truth is that the speculation of a rift has been going on almost forever. However, it became rife in the run-up to the presidential primaries of the party. Mr Tinubu was the first notable aspirant to declare his intention to seek the ticket of the party. He had made the announcement to State House correspondents after a visit to the president at the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja.

According to an associate, Mr Tinubu had broached the subject of his ambition with the president earlier in late 2021. He said the former Lagos governor was prepared to drop his interest at that point had the president told him of a different preference. Tinubu said he would have only requested the president to allow him to make an input to the composition of that ticket, the associate who prefers not to be named said.

After what he saw as encouragement from the president, Mr Tinubu announced his bid about three months later. The choice of location for the announcement appeared intended to communicate his anointing by the president. But after a few weeks of hesitation, the dam gate burst open as many other aspirants, including Mr Buharis ministers and many long shots, joined the race.

By the time Vice President Yemi Osinbajo too declared his bid and some curious names such as former president Goodluck Jonathan, Central bank governor Godwin Emefiele and African Development Bank President Akinwunmi Adesina dropped into the mix, the perception had crystalised that Mr Buhari might not want Mr Tinubu to take the ticket.

Subsequent repeated statements by the president or his aides that he had no anointed candidate did not change the perception of his antagonism to Mr Tinubus ambition. Many still believe that had the northern governors of the party not resolutely backed Mr Tinubu, the president, or whichever of the different factions of the cabal in his presidency had prevailed, would have imposed Senate President Ahmad Lawan, Mr Jonathan or Mr Emefiele on the party.

Abeokuta Outbursts

Mr Tinubus first outburst in Abeokuta, Ogun State, during which he made the controversial Emi lokan statement, was believed to be borne out of his frustration with the shenanigans in the party traced to some trusted aides of the president.

Events since his eventual landslide victory at the primary election have thickened the suspicions of a frosty relationship with the president.

The ruling party had been spared a post-convention crisis of the magnitude that has divided the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Yet, many of Mr Tinubus opponents at the primary, including the vice president and some former ministers, have refused to take part in his campaign. Some observers believe that an intervention by the president would have persuaded such aspirants to change their attitude.

Aloofness

However, the president himself has been aloof from the campaign. He attended the flag-off rally in Jos, Plateau State, back in October but, immediately after, recoiled into his Aso Rock shell while the candidate, his supporter governors and party officials toured the country. After questions were raised about his detachment from the campaign, the party and the presidency announced that he would attend rallies in 10 states.

But on the day the first of the stated rallies was held in Ilorin, Kwara State, the president flew to Mauritania for an award ceremony. Following news of the presidents foreign trip, information emerged that the rally had been postponed. But this was immediately denied with another announcement that Vice President Osinbajo, who himself has not appeared at any of the rallies, would stand in for the president. But Mr Osinbajo did not attend the rally either. Instead, he was at Lagos for another ceremony.

Party sources said Mr Buhari had earlier rejected a request by Mr Tinubu for him to recommend names for consideration as a vice presidential candidate. And since the choice of Kashim Shettima sparked the same-faith controversy, the president has not spoken out or tried to pacify party leaders, including some of his own officials, who appear to have taken umbrage with the Tinubu campaign over the issue.

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The speculations on the relationship between the president and his partys flag bearer hit the headlines again last week after Mr Tinubu returned to Abeokuta and again made some critical remarks.

At a rally in the Ogun State capital on Wednesday, Mr Tinubu said the protracted fuel shortages that had been on for weeks across the country, and indeed for months in some parts of the country, as well as the shambolic implementation of the redesign of the naira were a plot to scuttle the general elections.

They dont want elections to take place, but we wont accept that. They want to hide under fuel scarcity to cause a crisis so that there wont be an election, he said before thousands of his supporters.

Whether there is fuel or not, we will vote. Without fuel, we shall vote. You know me very well, we are going to win. We are going to take over from them. We shall meet on Election Day. This election is a revolution, we are going to vote and we are going to win.

The opposition immediately interpreted the remarks as an attack on President Buhari and Mr Tinubus concession of an election defeat. Others accused the ruling party candidate of attacking the currency redesign policy because it would stop him from buying votes during the election.

The CBN had on 26 October 2022, announced the plan to redesign the N200, N500 and N1,000 banknotes and have them swapped for the old designs between December 15 and January 31. The policy was aimed at promoting a cashless economy and checking counterfeiting, terrorism funding and vote buying, among other benefits.

However, the implementation of the policy has been chaotic as new notes remain scarce across the country, two days to the close of the window for the swapping. Many calls have been made, including by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), for the extension of the 31 January deadline. But the CBN governor, Mr Emefiele, has insisted there will be no extension and President Buhari has backed him on it, despite the public outcry.

APC members, in particular Mr Tinubus supporters, think Mr Emefiele adopted the policy so close to the elections to hurt politicians for frustrating his bid to join the presidential race. Mr Emefieles clandestine bid had drawn him flak from within and outside the APC as he was rumoured to be the candidate of some aides of the president who had benefitted directly from his policies at the CBN or favour him for his generous funding support for government programmes and projects.

No rift with Buhari

On Saturday, Mr Tinubu dismissed the rumours of a rift. At a rally in Gusau, the Zamfara State capital, he said he has a deep respect for and a good relationship with the president. I have supported President Buhari even before his first day in office. I will continue to be his supporter and friend after his last day in office.

He tackled the problems other leaders ran from. He has earned a place in history that cannot be denied. I have said this before and will say it again now: when the true history of this moment is written, President Buhari shall be treated very kindly because of his contributions to the nation.

Upon returning to Abuja from Abeokuta, he had reportedly met with governors Aminu Masari of Katsina, Babagana Zulum of Borno, and Abubakar Bagudu of Kebbi before they proceeded to Daura to see the president, who was on a working visit to his home state, on Thursday night.

Mr Tinubu had taken a similar step after his first outburst in Abeokuta. He had rushed over to the State House to apologise to Mr Buhari for his remarks that were considered derogatory to the president.

Buharis style

Given his taciturn ways, it is difficult to read the mind of the president on this issue. His aloofness to his partys campaigns is not a recent development. After his reelection in 2019, Mr Buhari did not attend any more rallies despite knowing that his partys candidates faced serious opposition in some of the states that he had won with big margins. Eventually, the party lost the state elections in Bauchi and Sokoto and needed a supplementary poll to escape defeat in Kano.

While campaigning in Imo and Ogun states where the APC was split into factions, he refused to intervene in the disputes. Instead, he shockingly told voters at his rallies in those states to vote for him and whoever they preferred in the governorship elections.

There has been a rumour, promoted especially by the PDP, that some of the presidents aides have entered a pact to support the PDP candidate, Atiku Abubakar. Two spokespersons of Atiku, Dino Melaye and Daniel Bwala, went further to claim that 11 APC state governors were also working for Atiku. The APC and the presidency have denied those claims.

But given what we saw in the APC primaries, it is not inconceivable that some close aides of the president may be doing just as has been alleged. The leadership style of the president tends to allow his aides to decide their own directions even on critical issues. Because few get to see the president, those close to him have learnt to exercise his authority without taking responsibility for the consequences.

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Commercial banks in Nigeria are grumbling due to inadequate supply of the new naira notes by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as pressure mounts ahead of the 31 January deadline for the circulation of the old notes, bank officials and security sources told PREMIUM TIMES on Saturday.

In a last-minute move to improve the circulation of the new naira notes, the apex bank has intensified efforts by providing the new notes to banks for onward circulation among Nigerians, especially in rural areas.

However, sources familiar with details of the CBN operation told PREMIUM TIMES Saturday that the apex banks supply of the new notes has been grossly inadequate, making it difficult for commercial banks to meet customers demands.

A security source told this newspaper that banks are receiving an average of N12 million in some parts of the country, an amount the source explained was grossly inadequate to meet operational demands.

Cash needed for ATM operations alone in this place is about N25m, and thats apart from other cash transactions within the bank, the source said. Bankers are scared to complain openly.

Security agencies, particularly the State Security Service, have been monitoring the implementation of the new notes policy and have been questioning bank officials including those of the apex bank, PREMIUM TIMES learnt.

The scarcity of the new notes was also confirmed to this newspaper by bank managers of commercial banks in Lagos and Abuja.

The CBN has been lying to Nigerians. Even me, as a branch manager, I dont have the new notes and customers keep calling me to help them get it, a branch manager of a new generation bank in Lagos said.

The bank chief said his branch normally needs about N10 million to fill its ATMs for use by customers.

But throughout last week, we only got a total of N2 million of the new note. That is why our ATMs have been idle with nothing to dispense because we have been ordered not to use the old notes, the source added.

Another branch manager of another new-generation bank, in Abuja, expressed the same frustration.

We are not getting enough cash. Our ATMs are not working as we have no money to load, the bank official said.

All the bank chiefs spoken to asked not to be named to avoid sanctions by their head offices and the central bank.

In recent weeks, many Nigerians operating in the cash-dependent informal sector of the economy have had to scramble for the new notes. Although the Nigerian government has tried to deepen financial inclusion and promote a cashless economy in recent years, much of the activities in the nations informal sector are still driven by cash. According to a report by the International Monetary Fund, the informal sector in Nigeria is estimated to be around 65 per cent of the GDP, which is higher than the sub-Saharan average of 34 per cent.

Earlier in the week, the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, said that the 31 January deadline that the apex bank announced for the validity of the old N200, N500 and N1,000 notes remains. Speaking after the apex banks Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in Abuja on Tuesday, Mr Emefiele claimed that kidnapping and ransom-taking incidents have reduced since the three banknotes were redesigned. He also argued that the time given for the swap of the old naira notes with new ones was enough for Nigerians to get the new notes from commercial banks.

I must say here that unfortunately, I dont have good news for those who feel that we should shift the deadline. My apologies, Mr Emefiele said.

The reason is because 90 days, we feel its 100 days, should be enough for those who have the old currency to deposit it, the money, in the banks. And we took every measure to ensure that all the banks were open to receive all old currencies. 100 days, we believe, is more than adequate.

However, while the CBN did give about 100 days notice, the scarcity of the new notes has hindered the smooth transition, leading to calls for an extension.

On Saturday, President Muhammadu Buhari acknowledged that many Nigerians were facing hardships due to the new notes policy.

While taking note that the poorest section of society is facing hardship as they often keep hard cash at home for various expenses, President Buhari gave strong assurances that the government will not leave them to their own fate, Mr Buharis spokesperson, Garba Shehu, wrote in a statement.

The Nigerian leader, however, kept mum about calls for an extension of the deadline.

Background

Last November, weeks after the apex bank announced its plan to redesign the three banknotes, President Muhammadu Buhari unveiled the redesigned N200, N500 and N1,000 notes as the apex bank fixed the January 31 deadline for the validity of the old notes.

Since the notes were introduced, many Nigerians on social media have expressed reservations about the circulation of the new notes. While many claim that they are yet to see the new naira notes, others complain of hoarding on the part of the deposit money banks even as the January 31 deadline for the rejection of the old notes approaches.

Last week, as part of measures to deepen circulation, the CBN warned banks to load their ATMs with the new notes and threatened to sanction erring banks.

If truly, (commercial) banks are hoarding the new notes, why has the CBN not sanctioned any bank, a bank manager told this newspaper.

The CBN also recently directed commercial banks to halt over-the-counter payment of the old notes and load their Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) with the redesigned naira notes to boost circulation.

Similarly, the apex bank also launched a cash swap programme nationwide to enable those in unbanked areas to exchange their old notes for new notes before the 31 January deadline.

However, the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) last weekend set up a six-member committee to engage the CBN to address anomalies in the countrys monetary management and financial system, especially in the issuance of new Naira notes.

Uncertainty Looms

As the 31 January deadline approaches, many Nigerians have continued to wonder how the apex bank plans to regulate the amount of money in circulation and deepen the spread of the new notes. Analysts argue that a significant amount of old naira notes still remain in circulation as the only means of exchange for goods and services among people across many parts of the country.

Checks by PREMIUM TIMES earlier in the week showed that in major cities across Nigeria, the old notes in circulation are still more than the redesigned new notes. However, in some local stores and among traders in major markets, the old notes are being rejected as legal tender.

On Friday, PREMIUM TIMES observed that many ATM points in Lagos were besieged by frustrated Nigerians who lamented the scarcity of the new notes and complained about bank ATMs dispensing the old notes.

In the midst of the melee, the CBN has insisted that its deadline remains sacrosanct. On Saturday, amid growing concerns over the impact of the naira redesign policy on the state of the economy, the CBN in a tweet insisted that the deadline for the return of old notes remains 31 January.

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At least three police officers were shot dead and another injured on Saturday night when gunmen attacked the security operatives at a checkpoint along the Enugu/Abakaliki expressway.

The gunmen, who arrived in two Toyota Sienna vehicles, reportedly opened fire when they arrived at the checkpoint, killing three policemen on the spot.

Another police officer who was shot in the leg is said to be receiving treatment at a hospital in the Ebonyi State capital.

The incident took place Saturday night at the checkpoint located on the expressway between Enugu and Ebonyi states.

The police spokesperson in Ebonyi, Chris Anyanwu, confirmed the incident.

He said the hoodlums operated in two Sienna vehicles.

Yesterdays attack by unknown gunmen at Ebonyi/Enugu boundary took place at about 1808hrs.

Three police personnel of Operation Safer Highway, fatally injured. Later confirmed dead.

Hoodlums operated in two sienna vehicles, drove into the Check-point, opened fire on the policemen, he said in a statement.

Saturdays attack is the latest in the series of deadly attacks on the police and other security agencies in the South-east.

Gunmen have been unleashing terror in Ebonyi and other South-eastern states in recent years, attacking civilians, security operatives and offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

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Last December, gunmen attacked a police checkpoint in Abakaliki, killing a police officer. The gunmen stormed the checkpoint on a motorcycle on 5 December 2022 and opened fire on the police operatives.

A week earlier, suspected arsonists set the INEC office in Iboko ablaze. Iboko is a community in the Izzi Local Government Area of the state.

The federal government has accused Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) of being responsible for the deadly attacks in the region.

But the group has repeatedly denied any involvement in the attacks.

The separatist group is leading the agitation for an independent state of Biafra which it wants to be carved out from the South-east and some parts of South-south Nigeria.

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Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced a 10-day extension of the deadline for the use of old naira notes across Nigeria.

The CBN governor, who spoke to journalists Sunday morning, said he had the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari for the extension.

The new deadline is now 10 February instead of the former 31 January deadline, he said.

Mr Emefiele spoke in Daura, Katsina State, after a meeting with the president who is in his home state for official duties.

Mr Emefiele said Nigerians, who are yet to change their naira notes from the old to new ones, now have an opportunity to do so.

He said people must utilise the opportunity because the deadline will not be extended again.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how the CBN last October introduced redesigned 200, 500 and 1000 naira notes and gave a deadline of 31st January for the use of the old notes.

However, the new notes have been scarce, thus leading to calls for an extension.

Mr Emefiele did not elaborate on what the central bank was doing to resolve the scarcity of the new notes.

Background

Last October, the apex bank announced its decision to redesign the notes, adding that members of the public were hoarding banknotes, with statistics showing that over 85 per cent of the currency in circulation is outside the vaults of commercial banks.

On Sunday, Mr Emefiele assured that the currency has yielded significant results.

Available data at the bank showed that in 2015, currency-in-circulation was only N1.4 trillion. As of October 2022, currency in circulation had risen to N3.23 trillion; out of which only N500 billion was within the banking Industry and N2.7 trillion held permanently in peoples homes, he said.

He said since the commencement of the programme, the CBN has collected about N1.9 trillion, leaving us with about N900 billion (N500b + N1.9trillion).

We are happy that so far, the exercise has achieved a success rate of over 75 per cent of the N2.7 trillion held outside the banking system.

According to him, Nigerians in the rural areas, villages, the aged and the vulnerable have had the opportunity to swap their old notes, leveraging the Agent Naira Swap initiative as well as the CBN Senior staff nationwide sensitisation team exercise.

Aside from those holding illicit, stolen Naira in their homes for speculative purposes, we do aim to give all Nigerians that have Naira legitimately earned and trapped the opportunity to deposit their legitimately trapped monies at the CBN for exchange.

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The Adamawa Police Command says it has arrested five Cameroonians suspected to be involved in the attempt to kidnap one Emmanuel Ebel, a resident of Jambutu, Yola-North LGA.

Suleiman Nguroje, the commands spokesman, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday in Yola.

He stated that the crime was foiled following reliable information received from a good Samaritan that led to the arrest of all illegal immigrants.

The Command Operatives attached to State Intelligence Bureau in sustained effort foiled an organized crime to kidnap one Emmanuel Ebel, a resident of Jambutu, Yola North local government area.

The command upon receiving the information designed a security ring around the target and luckily engaged the suspected kidnappers, he stated.

Mr Nguroje listed the suspects to include; Chubrandom Safinga, 30; Ibrahim Tala, 32; Ngosso Ndjombe, 28; Mmai Rostand, 32; and Nossu Ngambewo Ricky 27.

All illegal immigrants from the neighbouring Cameroon Republic were arrested 20 minutes before implementing their organized crime.

The Commissioner of Police, CP Sikiru Akande, while commending OC SIB and his men for gallantry performance and professional conduct displayed leading to their arrest, also directs them to sustain the tempo as a strategy for Crime prevention, he said.

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Mr Nguroje said that the commissioner urged residents to always inform the police of the whereabouts of criminals and their accomplices.

He equally assured the government and good people of Adamawa State of the sustained effort of the police in protecting the lives and property of the citizens.

(NAN)

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Accord Party on Saturday in Lagos inaugurated its Presidential Campaign Council (PCC).

The party also handed over its victory flag to its presidential candidate, Christopher Imumolen.

While receiving the flag, Mr Imumolen said that Nigeria needs a visionary leader.

He said that the country was blessed and needs a leader that would rescue it.

With a visionary leader, the youths who make up 70 per cent of the electorate will begin to have aspirations again.

There is a need for a leader that would give the citizens a bright future and prepare them for the great harvest.

Nigerians should begin to think of a new leader who has demonstrated selflessness and passion for the people, he advised.

Mr Imumolen said that many had benefitted from his scholarship programme while farmers had been empowered and women would also be empowered.

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The National Chairman of the party, Mohammed Nalado, said that the party wanted to bring a positive change in the country.

He urged the electorate to ignore some people parading themselves as Accord Party officials.

He described them as impostors who had seen that the party was growing fast.

According to him, Mr Imumolen is the partys presidential candidate recognised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The national chairman said that the PCC members were people of integrity who were loyal to the party and would deliver on their mandate.

The vice presidential candidate, Bala Maru, said that Accord Party would provide employment opportunities for the youth if elected.

Mr Maru said that the youth would be empowered by providing trading platforms they could use to earn income.

(NAN)

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The Presidential Campaign Council of the ruling APC has commended the CBN for extending the deadline for the deposit of old naira notes.

The apex bank announced the extension from the initial 31 January to 10 February after the banks governor, Godwin Emefiele, met with President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday in Daura, Katsina where he is on a working visit.

Before the extension, Nigerians had expressed difficulty in getting the new notes despite the repeated claims of Mr Emefiele that the commercial banks had enough of the new notes to meet customers demand.

A press statement on Sunday signed by Bayo Onanuga, director of media and publicity APC PCC, praised the CBN and Mr Emefiele for listening to the voice of well-meaning Nigerians on the exigency of extending the deadline for change of old N200, N500 and N1000 naira notes to the new ones.

Following difficulties experienced by Nigerians across the country from getting the new notes via ATMs and over the counter from Banks, many Nigerians especially requested an extension of the 31 January deadline

We welcome the 10-day extension of the deadline and the additional seven days of grace, a part of the statement read, noting that the new window will enable Nigerians especially those in rural and remote areas to have more time to change their old notes and avert the panic that would have followed.

The statement also commended President Buhari for approving the extension, and for his leadership and statesmanship.

In the same vein, we praise our presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his forthrightness in addressing the concerns of Nigerians at his campaign rally in Abeokuta last week.

Asiwaju Tinubu didnt take the easy road by shying away from what would have caused serious inconvenience for our teeming masses.

Asiwaju showed leadership and compassion for the welfare of Nigerians, at the most appropriate time, the statement noted.

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Villagers embrace new life in SW China's Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture

People's Daily Online) 13:47, January 29, 2023

Aerial photo taken on Oct. 13, 2020 shows a view of Sanhe Village in southwest China's Sichuan Province. (Xinhua/Zhang Xiaoyu)

People in Sanhe Village in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest Chinas Sichuan Province, have embraced a new life thanks to various poverty alleviation measures.

In early 2018, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the then impoverished village and discussed targeted poverty alleviation.

The village has since become a tourist destination, with asphalt roads connecting each household and rows of new brick houses built with well-decorated walls.

Looking at it today, it is hard to believe it was once a poverty-stricken village with unsurfaced roads and houses built with adobe.

Sanhe Village still had 792 impoverished people from 148 households in 2020. To lift the village out of poverty, Li Kai was appointed as the first Party secretary in the village. Since then, Sanhe Village has explored different development paths.

We established an agricultural planting and animal husbandry mode that integrates short, medium and long-term development needs, and regarded developing industries as a key to prosperity, said Li.

Li said that in the short term, local officials have encouraged young and middle-aged villagers to work outside the village and gain practical skills. Meanwhile, by leveraging its unique natural conditions, Sanhe Village has introduced superior cattle and bee varieties, and local agricultural products with relatively higher output value, such as Sichuan peppers, have continued to emerge.

Thanks to these efforts, the per capita disposable income of local villagers who walked out of poverty has increased from 4,615.5 yuan (about $680) in 2018 to 13,678 yuan in 2021.

Sanhe Village has implemented a campaign to establish a mechanism for cultivating role models in achieving prosperity. Luogu Youge, deputy secretary of the Party branch in Sanhe Village, is such a role model, and he aims to help farmers scale up their breeding business so they can then help other villagers and achieve common prosperity.

He is optimistic about the future of the village because of the sustainable development of the agricultural planting, animal husbandry, and contract farming. He aims to bring better development to the village by building green brands in the future.

After cooperating with ecological agricultural companies, Sanhe Villages tourism sector has embarked on a stable track of development, attracting more and more tourists. In 2020, Sanhe Village was listed as one of 100 key rural tourism villages in Sichuan. The former site of the village was also listed as a protected cultural site under provincial-level protection, becoming one of the teaching bases for the Sichuan Long March Executive Leadership Academy.

We will vigorously develop rural tourism by combining our villages former site, current site and the village history museum to embark on a path of rural vitalization, said Li.

Now, the village is developing tourism routes featuring the culture of the Yi ethnic group. It will build more B&Bs, hotels and stores to provide more job opportunities for villagers and boost their incomes.

(Web editor: Xian Jiangnan, Liang Jun)
A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Umo Eno, and his counterpart in the All Progressives Congress (APC), Akanimo Udofia, have withdrawn their participation in the political debate for the forthcoming election in the state.

The debate, which is organised by the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Akwa Ibom State Council, is going on at the moment in Uyo.

The Chairperson of the organising committee, Aniekan Udofia, informed the audience that the two candidates, Messrs Eno and Udofia, have withdrawn from the debate.

This morning, after a firm confirmation from the PDP gubernatorial candidate, Pastor Umo Eno, we received a letter addressed to the NUJ chairman stating his withdrawal from the debate, Mr Udofia said.

Again, this afternoon, while we were also preparing for the debate, the committee had met with the APC gubernatorial candidate, Obong Akan Udofia, and he said he is indisposed and not feeling too good, so he will not be at the debate.

Five candidates participating in the debate are John Akpanudoehehe of the New Nigeria Peoples Party; Iboro Otu, the African Action Congress; Ezekiel Nya-Etok, the African Democratic Congress; Ekere Essien, the Action Democratic Party; and Bassey Albert, the Young Progressives Party, who is joining via zoom.

The NUJ Chairperson in Akwa Ibom, Amos Etuk, said in his opening remarks that the debate was evening of history in the 35-year-old state.

He thanked the participating candidates, saying the debate would help Akwa Ibom people to make informed choices.

Nigerian media, especially in Akwa Ibom State, will continue to set agenda for good governance and hold the government accountable, Mr Etuk said

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A former governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi, has sued a former senatorial aspirant in the state, Kayode Otitoju, and Arise Television for alleged defamation of character and malicious airing of offensive broadcast against him.

In the suit filed before an Ekiti State High Court, Mr Fayemi is demanding a sum of N250 million from Mr Otitoju and another N250 million from Arise TV for alleged libellous statements made by the politician as an analyst on the television station.

According to the Writ of Summons of the suit made available to journalists on Sunday, Mr Fayemi through his lawyer, Babatunde Oke, demanded a retraction of the said defamatory statements.

The former Governor is also demanding a public apology which must be published in at least three prominent national newspapers in Nigeria and posted on the internet/social media.

Mr Fayemi is also seeking the leave of the court for a perpetual injunction restraining the defendants from making similar or further defamatory statements or publications against him while also demanding the sum of N20 million cost of the suit from them.

Another relief being sought by the ex-Governor from the court is 10 per cent interest on the judgement sum from the date the judgement is delivered until the judgement sum is finally liquidated.

He said Mr Otitoju, who is also a former Commissioner for Information in the state, made several grievous and damaging allegations against his person while appearing on the said programme on Arise TV on 22 November 2022 in which he (Otitoju) described him (Fayemi) as the problem we have in Ekiti.

He alleged that Mr Otitoju had accused him of colluding with Justice Babs Kuewumi of the Federal High Court, Ado Ekiti Judicial Division to perpetrate perversion of justice in the suit filed by an All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant, Kayode Ojo, against the governorship primary victory of Biodun Oyebanji on January 27, 2022.

The 1st Defendant was also said to have alleged that the Claimant had manipulated the primary that produced Mr Oyebanji as APC candidate and subsequently brought him (Oyebanji) to power.

Mr Otitoju had also accused Mr Fayemi of soiling the reputation of respected judges like Justice Kuewumi who had to leave the substance and ruled that the suit filed by Mr Kayode Ojo was technically wrong.

Mr Otitoju is a Social Democratic Party (SDP) chieftain and a senatorial aspirant in Ekiti North.

He was also shown on the programme accusing Mr Fayemi of conducting a nocturnal sitting at the Ekiti State House of Assembly to get the former Speaker, Rt. Hon. Gboyega Aribisogan impeached and installed Rt. Hon. Bunmi Adelugba.

The politician also accused Mr Fayemi of wanting to impose his wife, Bisi Fayemi, as the senator for Ekiti North in the run-up to the 2023 National Assembly elections.

In his Statement of Claim before the Court, Mr Fayemi said since the 1st Defendant (Otitoju) made the malicious statements and airing of same by the 2nd Defendant (Arise TV), he and his political associates and followers have been inundated with calls, mails, text messages from within and outside the shores of Nigeria.

The former governor averred further that members of his family, friends, all over the globe, former and incumbent Governors in Nigeria, APC leaders and supporters, prominent indigenes of Ekiti State home and abroad and numerous well-wishers have expressed their shock and disappointment on the issues raised by Mr Otitoju and made it clear that they dont want to have anything to do with him again.

Mr Fayemi said that he had instructed Octodas Attorneys, to write the Defendants demanding a retraction of the offending statement/publication via letters dated 25th November 2022 and 15th December 2022 to comply with the demands therein but the defendants refused to do so.

The Claimant averred that on account of Defendants warped, myopic, untrue, ungodly and reckless malicious statements, he has been exposed and subjected to unwarranted public ridicule, odium, opprobrium, embarrassment and unprecedented disrepute.

He maintained that the malicious statements/publication made by the Defendants concerning him was not a true and mere fabrication and falsehood orchestrated to paint him black and taint his good image and record as an upright man and to destroy his future political career in Ekiti State and Nigeria.

Copies of the letters and the recorded version of the programme made by the 2nd Defendant have been pleaded.

No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.

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The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has called for the extension of the 31 January deadline for the validity of old naira notes.

Atiku, in a pre-recorded video clip he posted on his Facebook account on Saturday, said the deadline set by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) would adversely affect unbanked and rural populations.

The ongoing policy of the CBN to redesign the naira has generated wide reactions across the country and beyond, he said in the 2.13 minutes long video clip.

This exercise is a worldwide practice and therefore, not new. Especially as the January 31st deadline draws closer, a great number of Nigerians, out of good conscience, have expressed apprehension about how the deadline will make life more difficult for a large number of Nigerians.

The large number of (the) unbanked population who do their businesses, especially in the rural area, will find it almost impossible to meet up with the deadline of January 31st to exchange their old bank notes for the redesigned currency.

Im aware of the challenges that farmers and others, like artisans, in remote areas of the country go through in moving cash from remote areas to commercial banks for conversion.

In recent weeks, Nigerians have been rushing to meet the CBN deadline for the phase-out of the old naira notes of N200, N500, and N1,000. This is against the backdrop of the countrys poor distribution of the newly redesigned notes, which has led to long queues at some ATMs and high charges for citizens at Point of Sale (POS) centres.

Although many have expressed opposing views on whether the CBN should extend the deadline of 31 January, the CBN has insisted that the deadline remained.

President Muhammadu Buhari Saturday acknowledged that many Nigerians were facing hardships by the policy but kept mum on the call for an extension.

Slight extension

But given the chaos and disruptions to businesses that the scarcity of the new notes has caused, Atiku urged CBN to slightly extend the 31 January deadline.

He noted that the deadline would certainly cause heavy discomfort for many citizens.

The former vice president also urged the government and regulatory agencies to ease the burden on the people in the public interest.

On this note, Im compelled to align my position with the upsurge of demands for a slight extension of the monetary conversion policy.

The January 31st deadline will certainly cause a heavy discomfort on our people and it will be magnanimous on the part of government and regulatory agencies to ease the burden on the people in the public interest, he said.

READ ALSO: Uncertainty as banks grumble over inadequate supply of new naira notes by CBN

Atiku also asked the CBN to continue sensitising the public about the importance of mobile banking while it considers an extension.

While we can continue to sensitise the public on the impending imperative of mobile banking policy, it is important for the CBN to consider an extension of time that the public can convert their unbanked monies into new notes thereby reducing the financial consequences on these vulnerable citizens, he said.

I believe such a painful experience is not the intention behind the currency redesign initiative.

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Florence Obi, the vice chancellor of the University of Calabar, has directed the Medical Board of the institution to urgently conduct a thorough investigation into the circumstances leading to the death of a student.

The deceased, Precious Agini, is a 3rd-year student of the Department of Library and Information Science. She died on 28 January at the institutions Medical Centre.

The order for investigation is contained in a release signed on Sunday in Calabar by the Registrar of the University of Calabar, Gabriel Egbe.

Mr Egbe said that the vice-chancellor, as well as the entire institution, valued the lives of her students and is devastated by the painful loss reported at the medical centre of the institution.

The Medical Board is to investigate the circumstances surrounding the deceaseds admission at the University Medical Centre.

READ ALSO:

The Medical Board is also to determine if the death could have been prevented, and examine the roles played by the individual staff of the Medical Centre in managing the patient.

The Board is also expected to establish the veracity or otherwise of allegations of carelessness or negligence of duty among the staff of the hospital in handling the patient and advise management on how to avoid a reoccurrence of similar situations in the future.

The report of the board is expected to reach the Vice-Chancellor on or before Feb. 2.

(NAN)

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As part of his plans for the economic development of the country, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Atiku Abubakar has vowed to reopen all of Nigerias land borders if elected president in February general elections.

Land borders in the country were closed by the Muhammadu Buhari administration, with the president accusing Nigerias neighbours of allowing massive smuggling into Nigeria to the detriment of the country. At least four of the borders were reopened two years later while the others remain closed.

Atiku made the pledge at the partys presidential campaign in Birnin-Kebbi, the Kebbi State capital on Saturday.

The former vice president, who was an officer of the Nigeria Customs Service, said he has more knowledge of border issues than his rivals in the presidential contest.

READ ALSO:

According to him, reopening the borders would foster trade and investment between Nigeria and other neighbouring countries.

I promise you that I will open the borders that have been closed. I am more knowledgeable on border issues than all the other presidential candidates.

The borders would foster trade and investment between Nigeria and her neighbouring countries. Nobody must stop us from trading with our neighbours, he said.

Atiku also promised to tackle the security challenges in the country to promote agricultural activities.

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Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu who is seeking reelection says he will not be sharing a podium with his main opponent, Abdulazeez Jandor Adediran of the PDP, following the violence that erupted in the Surulere area of the state, an official has said.

Gbenga Omotosho, the information commissioner, in a statement on Saturday, said the governor will not be present at the debate to give an account of his stewardship and speak to the electorate on his plans for the next four years due to the PDP sponsored violence that took place on Friday.

The debate is organised by The Platform Nigeria, a medium founded by Poju Oyemade, who is also the Senior Pastor and founder of The Covenant Nation.

According to the organisers, this debate is to determine who is most able to manage the 5th largest economy.

The event will be transmitted live on DSTV and ChannelsTV by 6 p.m.

Reason for Sanwo-Olus absence

Following advice from competent sources, including elders and respectable Lagosians, we will henceforth shun any forum that may require us being together with PDP and its agents of violence, the statement read.

Consequently, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu regrets to announce that he will not be participating at The Platform Governorship Debate of January 29, 2023.

The Governor holds Pastor Poju Oyemade and the Covenant Christian Church family in high esteem and cherishes future opportunities to engage the congregation and render accounts of his stewardship to them as integral parts of the Lagos electorate.

We will never be found in the company of those to whom the lives of innocent Lagosians mean nothing. Mr Sanwo-Olu wont share a podium with them.

Violence

In a video making the rounds, some thugs numbering about 12 are seen shooting in a neighbourhood at about midday. One of them was wielding an axe.

Some seconds into the one-minute video, a car  Sienna, which appears to be a governorship campaign car of the PDP candidate, drove in and one of the gunpersons opened the front seat and kept his bag in it.

This is happening in front of my shop. Jesus! I cant even go out to close my shop. Oh my world! the shop owner who secretly took the video said.

Debate

The state government said security agencies in the state were investigating the video and they will fish out and prosecute the evil actors, who are believed to be henchmen of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

We condemn this savagery that has portrayed our state, the safest in Nigeria, in a bad light. That is not who we are; we are civilized and cultured.

Mr Sanwo-Olu, Mr Adediran, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour of the Labour Party and 15 others are contesting for the governorship seat in the 11 March election.

Many times, the PDP governorship candidate had cried out that his campaign team was attacked by hoodlums allegedly sponsored by the APC.

PDP reacts

Reacting to the development, Hakeem Amode, the PDP state publicity secretary said in a statement on Saturday that It is an act of cowardice to use the Friday attack as an excuse to avoid a debate with Jandor.

The PDP said the governor refused to appear in the debate to save his face from impending embarrassment at the debate.

The party further said the violence was orchestrated by the APC before the campaign team of Mr Adediran arrived in the local government area.

Mr Adediran is on a campaign tour of some wards and people at the grassroots level in the state.

A responsible government that truly cares about the people should have received a briefing on the incident to know that his party thugs were the ones who attacked the campaign convoy of our governorship candidate, the PDP said.

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Nigerias seat of power, known as the State House, will lead the way in keying into renewable energy sources to help mitigate the impacts of climate change in the country.

Other public buildings are expected to key into the alternative energy sources in line with the countrys Energy Transition Plan, Ibrahim Gambari, Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, has said.

The Plan seeks to tackle the dual crises of energy poverty and climate change with renewable energy contributing at least 30 per cent to the energy mix by the year 2030.

Read the full statement below:

STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE

NIGERIAS ENERGY TRANSITION PLAN; STATE HOUSE LEADS THE WAY FOR PUBLIC BUILDINGS

The Chief of Staff to the President, Professor Ibrahim Gambari has declared that the State House will lead the way in keying into the global shift towards renewable energy choices by government institutions in line with Nigerias Energy Transition Plan.

The Plan seeks to tackle the dual crises of energy poverty and climate change with renewable energy contributing at least 30 per cent to the energy mix by the year 2030.

Professor Gambari said this in State House, Abuja, when he received in audience a three-man team from EM-ONE Energy Solutions that paid him a courtesy visit as a follow up to an earlier presentation on options available to the State House to address its energy challenges.

According to the Chief of Staff, the world is now focused on reducing the effect of climate change. What we are looking for is the energy solution that comes with environmental sustainability. For us in the State House, there is the need to live by example. Just like I was impressed by your first presentation, your growing capacity and technological innovation continued to enhance your ability to deliver on your projections. I am happy to note that you could actually upscale the renewable energy solution with more space for the solar panels.

I am also glad that you have come to update us as this will enhance our process of deciding which way to go. State House cannot afford not to be at the forefront with the First Family here, and we cannot afford blackouts and need to reduce how much we spend on diesel and, cut down on carbon footprint; so this is the direction we want to go, he stressed.

The Chief Executive Officer of EM-ONE, Mir Islam, thanked the Chief of Staff for the opportunity given to the team, noting that, having grown up in this country, we dont want Nigeria to be left behind in the global energy transition programme.

More than 50 percent of the energy need of the State House can be provided in the Phase One and can go up to 80 percent, but for space constraints with the possibility to export the excess power generated into the national grid in line with the Energy Transition Plan of Nigeria on public utilities.

He added that the companys Pilot Renewable Energy at the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing in Mabushi, Abuja, is a good case study for other public buildings in Nigeria, noting that a similar project would provide the resilience and the cost saving measure that the State House requires.

According to him, State House, being a very important edifice would be a role model for all other public buildings especially as climate change is now a point of global focus.

In his remarks, the Permanent Secretary State House, Tijjani Umar, said he brought the team following the charge by the Chief of Staff to work out the best way out of the growing power challenges of the State House; prohibitive cost of power generation as well as the unsustainable carbon footprint on the environment, which is not environmentally friendly and also costly to sustain. Based on this, we invited EM-ONE for a presentation which recommended the option of a renewal energy solution which is the current trend the world over.

So, they provided options in their initial presentation which will enable us scale down what we spend on power and are here with a follow up presentation with additional value-adds to enable us arrive at a decision for a sustainable power solution for the State House, Umar said.

Abiodun Oladunjoye

Director, Information

January 29, 2023

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Eleven persons were burnt to death on Sunday in a road accident at the Soka Bridge in Ore, Odigbo Local Government Area of Ondo State.

The accident was a collision between a heavy-duty trailer and a luxury Marcopollo bus.

A witness said the accident was caused by the trailer driving against traffic.

The trailer passed through one way and collided with the Marcopollo bus which was coming from Benin road. The bus caught fire in the collision, the source said.

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Unit Commander in Ore, Sikiru Alonge, confirmed the accident, saying the 11 victims were burnt beyond recognition.

He said the accident caused traffic congestion along the road.

The fire has been extinguished, while the traffic is being controlled on the Benin/Lagos Lane, said Mr Alonge.

Efforts are on top gear with other security agencies to remove crashed vehicles from the road.

He, however, urged motorists to always obey traffic rules to avert further tragedy.

It would be recalled that in December, a similar tragedy struck on an Ondo highway, killing three persons.

That accident occurred close to the Federal Government Girls College on the Akure-Owo highway in Akure.

The accident, which involved a Toyota Sienna van with registration number: LND778YG and another Toyota Hummer bus with registration number: KTN 298 YJ was also a head-on collision.

It occurred when one of the vehicles overtook a trailer on the single-lane highway.

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A regional coalition of pro-democracy civil society organisations has said Nigerias general elections have implications for similar polls taking place in two West African countries within the year. The two other West African countries are Sierra Leone and Liberia.

The West Africa Democracy Solidarity Network (WADEMOS) said this on Friday during its four-day official visit to Nigeria. The coalition highlighted areas the country needed to improve on to achieve credible polls.

Nigeria holds its presidential and National Assembly elections on 25 February and governorship elections in various states on 11 March.

Sierra Leone queues behind Nigeria as it holds its own elections in June, while Liberia will follow suit in October.

Addressing journalists in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, on Friday, the leader of the WADEMOS delegation, Kojo Asante, said the Nigerian election is particularly important for the entire sub-region as it sets the tone for subsequent elections in Sierra Leone (June 2023) and Liberia (October 2023).

This, according to Mr Asante, necessitated the need to solidarize with civil society, especially the WADEMOS members in Nigeria, assess the level of preparedness of key electoral stakeholders towards the elections, and offer recommendations to key stakeholders for redress on challenges identified.

Mr Asante, who is the director, Advocacy and Policy Engagement, the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), Ghana, said his delegation met with an array of stakeholders in Nigeria during its visit between 24 and 28 January.

Those they met in Abuja included ECOWAS, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the National Human Rights Commission, the National Peace Committee, the Inter-party Advisory Council (IPAC), and some media platforms.

Assurance, progress

He said the delegation received strong assurance from INEC on its preparedness towards the conduct of the election and lauded the deployment of technology for the conduct of the elections.

He also noted, a significant increase in public interest and enthusiasm in the election was observed with the large number of new voters that were registered in the mop-up exercise, and this is encouraging particularly among young people.

He lauded the huge voting community of 48 million out of the total 92.3 million registered to vote in the upcoming elections.

Issues

Weeks before the elections, the WADEMOS delegation has identified a long-running incidence of fuel scarcity as a major threat to the deployment of materials and logistics ahead of the election.

Since last year Nigerians across the country have been queuing up for long periods to buy fuel in different parts of the country including the federal capital, Abuja, and Lagos, the nations economic hub.

We strongly note the postponement of previous elections in Nigeria, partly due to logistical concerns, WADEMOS said.

It also identified other issues that could threaten the smooth conduct and the credibility of the poll including the inability of registered voters to obtain their permanent voter cards (PVC) at collection centres, large-scale malfunctioning of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BIVAS) on the election day, multiple security concerns., among others.

Recommendations

Mr Asante enumerated the various recommendations of WADEMOS to INEC, the Nigerian government, political parties, the media, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Union and the international community at large.

Part of its recommendations is that INEC must ensure that ad-hoc staff are adequately trained to minimise potential human errors,s, particularly around the deployment of the BVAS on election day.

It also urged INEC to provide clarity on the electoral law which stipulates that the winner of the presidential race must attain the majority of total votes and 25 per cent of votes in at least two[1]thirds of states in Nigeria and the FCT.

This is against the backdrop of multiple interpretations assigned to the law and expected competitiveness around the 2023 presidential race, it said.

It also recommended that there should be a commitment on the part of security agencies towards ensuring that known hotspots of violence and conflicts are prioritized for adequate security coverage and interventions ahead of the election and on Election Day.

Also, the security agencies must be properly equipped and adequately resourced to provide security for the election.

It also urged the government to resist the temptation to abuse incumbency in its administration of the election and avoid election violence.

It added: Government should ensure increased participation of women in politics and governance through affirmative action policies and programs. Political Leaders and Interest Groups

It called on political parties and their candidates to eschew violence and avoid all forms of incitement as tools for mobilising and canvassing for votes among their supporters.

It also urged them to adhere to the peace accord and its commitments before, during and after the election.

It advised the media to popularise and demand accountability in the implementation of the peace accord.

WADEMOS also said the media must be on high alert to intercept and counter any instances of disinformation and misinformation particularly on the day of the election.

On the roles of ECOWAS, the African Union and the international community, WADEMOS called on the to continue to monitor proceedings in the lead-up to the elections and maintain their support for free, credible and fair elections in Nigeria in line with relevant regional instruments guiding elections.

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The court has disqualified the candidate of the Labour Party (LP) for Anambra Central District in Anambra State, Victor Umeh, from taking part in the 2023 senatorial election in the district.

The election is less than one month from today (Sunday).

Mr Umeh, who confirmed the development in a statement he issued on Sunday, said the Federal High Court, Awka, gave the judgement against him based on a petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Uche Ekwunife.

He rejected the judgement and vowed to appeal it.

The plaintiffs, according to him, lacked the locus standi to challenge his nomination.

I elected to issue this statement to reduce the palpable anxiety gripping a broad spectrum of the Anambra Central people and many Nigerians.

I have read this morning, the judgment, and without going deep into the details of the Judgment, I wish to let the public know that I am completely dissatisfied with the judgment and reject the same, Mr Umeh said.

Mr Umeh said the judge, Hyeladzira Nganjiwa, had earlier dismissed the suit filed by a senator, Ifeanyi Ubah, and the Young Progressives Party which challenged the nomination of Chris Azubogu as the candidate of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) for Anambra South District for lack of locus.

He wondered why the judge would hand down a different judgement on a matter that is similar.

My lawyers and those of the LP have been instructed to file appeals against the judgment. I thank my numerous supporters and well-wishers and I urge all to remain calm. I have confidence that the Court of Appeal will redress the wrong, he said.

Justice Nganjiwa on 27 January disqualified Mr Umeh on the grounds of non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act, saying that there was no evidence that his resignation letter was received by the APGA.

The court held that Mr Umehs name was still in the membership register of APGA as of 30 September 2022 when he contested the partys primary.

(NAN)

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Hoodlums on Saturday attacked the Presidential Campaign Committee office of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ilesa, Osun State.

The spokesperson for the APC PCC in the state, Remi Omowaiye, said the hoodlums, armed with guns and other dangerous weapons, invaded the office around 9 a.m., shooting sporadically.

Mr Omowaiye said campaign billboards of the APC presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, and his running mate, Kashim Shettima, were destroyed.

He also said the CCTV cameras installed outside the building, window glasses of the building were broken and solar panels mounted within the building were also destroyed.

There has been tension since the judgement was declared. But today, one of the thugs who attacked me in the market last year, led the thugs back to our office. They vandalised our office. They destroyed cameras and solar panels in the office, he said.

They could not gain access to the office because we had erected a burglary, so they were only able to break the window glass and also destroy the solar and camera within the office, he noted.

Mr Omowaiye alleged that the attack was carried out by members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The attack was carried out by members of the PDP, people saw them when they were passing and we have some other videos that we are going to make available to security operatives, he said.

He said the incident had been reported to the police and the security officers had visited the scene for inspection.

Immediately it happened, I called the police, the DPO of state division immediately mobilized his team to the place but by the time they arrived at the office, those hoodlums had already left, he added

But, Yemisi Opalola, the police spokesperson in the state, said no attack was carried out.

I have asked and made enquiries from all the authorities in Ilesa, even the CP had made enquiry, nothing of such happened, she said.

The only TinubuShettima campaign office we know is in Osogbo, we are not aware that any TinubuShettima campaign office is in Ilesa.

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The Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Dauda Ali Biu, has expressed deep concerns over the fatal crash that occurred today on the Ojuelegba Bridge in Lagos State, with nine people killed, and another that claimed 11 lives at the Soka bridge on the Lagos-Benin Highway.

There have been recurring container crashes on Ojuelegba bridge that have claimed several lives.

Reacting to Sundays incident, the FRSC Corps Marshal recommended the construction of barricades against articulated vehicles (tankers, trucks, trailers and other heavy duty vehicles) on Ojuelegba Bridge as a permanent solution to the reoccurring crashes.

Speaking on the Soka Bridge (Lagos-Benin Expressway) crash, Mr Biu, according to the spokesperson for the FRSC, Bisi Kazeem, cautioned commuters against route violation (popularly referred in the local parlance as One Way) as well as driving against prescribed legal speed limits on all roads.

The statement by Mr Kazeem also provided details of a hurried inquiry into the crashes.

Mr Kazeem said, According to preliminary investigation conducted into the fatal crashes, the OJUELEGBA crash involved a Mack Truck with a 40ft container with the registration number KJA 380 KD, who apart from engaging in excessive speed, also indulged in an act of wrongful overtaking and a Suzuki mini bus registered as KTU 921 YD; while the SOKA avoidable menace involved a Truck driven against traffic and a Macopolo Bus.

The container mounted on the Mack Truck at Ojuelegba, according to our operatives, fell off the truck and landed on the Suzuki mini bus filled up with passengers which obviously led to the death of 9 of the passengers.

As at the time of this statement, 11 victims were burnt beyond recognition at the SOKA Bridge while the Ojuelegba crash involved 13 people comprising of nine males and four females. Out of the 13 people, nine were killed comprising of five male adults, one male child, one female child and two female adults.

Out of the four victims who survived the Ojuelegba crash, two were rescued without injuries while the remaining two sustained various degrees of injuries.

The FRSC spokesperson said the corps marshal frowned at the incident, while also explaining the importance of barricading the bridge against articulated vehicles.

Mr Biu, according to Mr Kazeem, cited some of the dangers that come with their continuous use of the bridge as he calls for efforts to be made towards expanding the connecting roads under the bridge to accommodate all articulated vehicles.

He revealed that FRSC rescue teams in collaboration with other Emergency Management Agencies have cleared obstructions from the crash scenes for ease of movement while the driver of the Mack Truck has been arrested and handed over to the Police for further investigation and possible prosecution; also efforts are in top gear to arrest the driver that caused the SOKA bridge crash.

The Corps Marshal also reiterated the need for the enactment of laws that will bring justice to victims of these crashes and where such laws already exist, efforts should be made to activate them so that justice will be served accordingly to both the drivers and the victims.

He admonished the public to always patronize the FRSC toll free line 122 and the National Traffic Radio 107.1 FM which are always available for all road users to report emergencies at any given time.

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Traders in different markets in Lagos have narrated how their wares were destroyed by thugs for supporting the PDP governorship candidate, Abdulazeez Jandor Adediran.

The traders spoke at a press conference held by the PDP in the state at the Protea Hotel in Ikeja on Sunday.

The traders recounted their losses after Mr Adediran spoke about the many attacks against his campaign.

The governorship candidate is on a campaign tour of the 245 wards in the state. He has visited 194 so far.

In some of the videos shown at the event, the PDP campaign buses were damaged.

Some thugs mounted roadblocks to prevent the campaign team from accessing the wards while brandishing cutlasses, bottles and stones in the presence of some armed police officers.

Traders

One of the traders, Adeniyi Idowu, also known as Iyalaya, a fruit seller at the Jakande market, said that she got a call that the PDP deputy governorship candidate was at the market entrance.

She said that they had gotten a music band to welcome Ms Akindele who is also an actress into the market but were prevented by some thugs.

She said the market secretary said, they wont enter the market.

However, in a video earlier seen by PREMIUM TIMES, the market secretary said he didnt get any letter of notification about the visit.

She also claimed that at around 3 p.m., another market executive came and ordered some thugs to destroy the wares of those supporting the opposition while adding that the thugs came with bottles, cutlasses and guns.

Ms Idowu said that they reported to the Ketu police division but no action was taken. She said since the incident occurred, they had not been able to visit the market.

A pomo seller, Alimi Tawa, in Agege said that she and her colleague alongside a customer were discussing the negative impact of the economy on their livelihood.

She added that the customer also told them to vote out the APC if they want a positive turn around and they agreed.

But unknown to us, some traders went to tell the market leaders. We just saw them (market leaders), they were about 20 and they said we should leave the market, she said.

They said that the market is owned by the APC and not the PDP. They said we should go to PDP market to sell our wares.

Many attacks

Mr Adediran at the event spoke again about the incessant attacks.

He said Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu failed to condemn the attacks in the state.

He said they were attacked at Badagry, Agege, Kosofe and Surulere.

He added that his deputy, Ms Akindele, was turned back by thugs at the fruit market in Kosofe.

According to him, thugs and their sponsors have his itinerary.

Despite the attacks on his campaign team, Mr Adediran said that he would not back out.

It is our constitutional right to campaign, we wont succumb, he said.

He also noted that nobody has been held accountable by the police.

Speaking on the presence of his campaign vehicle at the shooting in Surulere, Mr Adediran said thugs hijacked the branded vehicle following his presence in the area.

Also, Arike Akinde, a member of the party from Surulere, said on Thursday around 11:30 p.m., the ward chairman hoisted the campaign banner. Shortly after that, two Danfo drove into the place asking for the PDP chairman. But thank God they didnt succeed at that point.

She said that in the morning by 8 a.m., about four vehicles drove in with guns and machetesthe canopies were damaged to the extent that everyone in that area was running. They were shooting in broad daylight unchecked.

Benjamin Hundeyin, the police spokesperson in the state, said the incident is being investigated. He also said three people were injured.

The PDP ward chairman in Kosofe, Titilayo Adetayo, said they reported the matter to the police but two of the complainants (traders) were arrested but were released later.

She said despite her visits to the police division in the area about the attacks on the traders, nothing was done.

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The APC presidential campaign council has accused the opposition PDP of planning to unleash fake news to discredit the presidential candidate of the party, Bola Tinubu, as the country counts down to the 25 February election.

Fake news and disinformation are twin evils that usually confront Nigerians during electioneering and elections.

Politicians are fond of spreading fake news, especially through the agency of social media platforms, to discredit their opponents.

The campaign council in a statement on Sunday signed by its director of media and publicity, Bayo Onanuga, said the PDP has hired many social media actors to help carry out the campaign of calumny against Mr Tinubu and the APC by proxy.

The statement noted that to carry out the sinister plot, the PDP has created many parody social media accounts such as Vanguard Hausa, Dailyand Trust Hausa to circulate fake news on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Whatsspp and other digital platforms.

The APC PCC advised the two newspapers  Daily Trust and Vanguard  to inform Facebook and Meta that they have been cloned by fake news merchants, for political offensives, masterminded by PDP.

The statement urged Nigerians and most especially those in Northern Nigeria not to allow themselves to be deceived, saying that the PDP and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, know they cant win this coming election.

They also know Nigerians will never vote for PDP to take over the leadership of Nigeria after inflicting 16 years of misery on Nigerians, a part of the statement read.

Read the full statement below:

UNMASKING PDPS ORCHESTRATED PLOT TO UNLEASH FAKE NEWS AND DISINFORMATION DAYS TO ELECTION

We want to alert Nigerians to the sinister moves and orchestrated plans of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party to unleash a wave of fake news, especially in the Hausa language to malign, defame and delegitimise Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the APC before Nigerians.

This scurrilous campaign by the PDP has already been perfected with a dedicated team working day and night from the PDP national headquarters at Wadata House, Abuja.

The party has also recruited many social media actors to carry out the campaign of calumny by proxy.

We uncovered this evil plot targeted to manipulate Nigerians and most especially Northerners to see Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in a bad light as the only way for PDP and its failing presidential campaign to have a chance at the February 25 presidential election.

We consider it necessary at this point to advert the mind of Nigerians to this evil plan capable of causing disharmony, ill-will and needless crisis with attendant security implications in the country.

PDP and their hired social media influencers have already started pushing their nefarious content by spoofing and using parody social media accounts of popular newspapers and blogs to disseminate fake news with the sole aim of hoodwinking gullible Nigerians.

Many parody social media accounts such as Vanguard Hausa, DailyTrust Hausa have been created and also being used to circulate fake news on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp and other digital platforms.

On Facebook, we found that Daily Trust Hausa was first created as K.R.K Media on 9 August 2021. It changed its name to Daily Trust Media on 7 December 2022 and has a fake website address daily.com.

A second Daily Trust Hausa Facebook account was created 13 August 2022 as Facos News Hausa, with the objective of publishing posts on Musicians. It changed its name on 29 December 2022, just 22 days after its other clone.

Vanguard Hausa was created 21 December 2021. Its website failed to open

All these parody Facebook accounts were used by the PDP on Saturday to publish malicious fake news that trucks carrying old Naira notes, belonging to Tinubu were arrested in Lagos.

For clarification, Daily Trust does publish a Hausa paper called Aminiya, which is also on Facebook with the same name. We are not aware that Vanguard has a similar publication.

We implore the two newspapers, Daily Trust and Vanguard to inform Facebook and Meta that they have been cloned by fake news merchants, for political offensives, masterminded by PDP.

Part of the PDPs evil machinations will be to make false claims and allegations against President Muhammadu Buhari, Asiwaju Tinubu, his running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima and other APC National, Regional, Zonal and State leaders in manipulated videos, doctored voice overs, photoshop images and other means all in a bid to win election by hook or crook.

PDP and its Presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar know they cant win this coming election. They also know Nigerians will never vote for PDP to take over the leadership of Nigeria after inflicting 16 years of misery on Nigerians.

The legacies the party left behind were insecurity, badly managed economy, looted treasury, derelict national infrastructure in roads, power, ports, rail, pipelines among many others. The Buhari administration is still struggling to unmake the massive damage done to our country by the party.

Because Atikus Presidential Campaign is heading to a crash, PDP futilely hopes to avoid the impending electoral defeat by sponsoring a coordinated fake news assault on APC, our presidential candidate and even against the government.

We use this medium to urge Nigerians and most especially our compatriots in Northern Nigeria not to allow themselves to be deceived.

Atiku and PDP have nothing good to offer Nigerians other than his rabid ambition to enrich himself, family members and cronies as revealed in audio and video leaks by Atikus former Media Aide, Mike Achimugu.

The APC administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is working very hard to solve many of Nigerias decades-long problems across sectors and it is only another APC administration of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Senator Kashim Shettima that can continue, sustain and improve on the trajectory of good governance that began from 2015.

Bayo Onanuga

Director, Media & Publicity

APC Presidential Campaign Council

January 29, 2023

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The issues are in the form of rhetoric. You will recall that Tinubu, on a campaign train to the ancient city, had stirred the hornets nest when he alleged that the currency re-designation policy of the Muhammadu Buhari government and the current fuel scarcity that has literally turned Nigeria into a Dystopian disaster were orchestrated by a veiled God-knows-who, with the aim of ensuring that he didnt win next months presidential election.

In a piece I wrote entitled A o Merin Joba At Tinubus Colloquium (1 April, 2018) I warned that the man who has now become the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu, was making a strategic mistake in assuming that Buhari loved him. Or that he would probably want to relinquish power to him. Using a famous folklore rendered as a tale told by the moonlight in traditional African Yoruba, but which Chief Obafemi Awolowos minister of works and folklorist/writer, Joseph Odunjo, brought into vivid perspective in his Alawiye Yoruba literature series, I explained how Tinubu, resting on an erroneous belief that Buhari would requite the good done him in making him president, would make a fatal mistake.

Using the animal world as a motif, Odunjo told this story which ancient Yoruba belief used to depict gross human deception and how human beings are easily susceptible to and capable of mischief. Represented as a character with power, majesty and acclaim, the mammoth-sized elephant, the beast, was the untouchable king of the jungle and lord of the manor whose humongous size was a huge bother to other animals in the jungle. Several efforts were made to oust him, to no avail. So, a plot was hatched using his majesty as his destruction. Tortoise, a cunning and serpentine animal, was procured to do the hatchet job. Tortoise resolved that, given Elephants size and height, violence would not bring him to his hilt but a seemingly innocuous strategy of deception, praise-singing and bootlicking.

Tortoise then went into the cave of the Almighty Elephant. His message was that, all animals had purposed to make him their King in the jungle. Elephant was to come to the palace adorned in the full regalia of a King. Prior to the day, Tortoise had dug a very deep ditch that could swallow Elephants elephantine and mammoth size by the palace. He however decorated it with a beautiful wool carpet worthy of a kings royal feet, complete with an ornamented chair just at the edge of the royal carpet. Encircling the carpet, all the animals in the town clapped and hailed the new King dressed in flowery royal robe as he walked majestically towards the royal carpet. They cheered the Elephant on, shouting a o merin joba, eweku ewele. The Elephant, in turn, fascinated by the splendor and cheer, walked majestically to be crowned and fell into the ditch and unto his death.

My conclusion in that piece about the Tinubu-Buhari silent tango was: The President is thus prepared to play the Tortoise, sing a o merin joba and fawn Tinubu the elephant so as to humour him. The strategy would be that, by the time it would be too late for Tinubu to make a U-turn, the Hannibal and Chaka the Zulu would lift up his scabbard, draw out his dagger and skewer the flesh of an Elephant who cannot see that he is on a dangerous path. Is this folklore apt in the description of what is playing out between the duo today?

As they say in legal parlance, the most recent outburst of Tinubu in Abeokuta, Ogun State, last Wednesday has provoked issues for determination. The issues are in the form of rhetoric. You will recall that Tinubu, on a campaign train to the ancient city, had stirred the hornets nest when he alleged that the currency re-designation policy of the Muhammadu Buhari government and the current fuel scarcity that has literally turned Nigeria into a Dystopian disaster were orchestrated by a veiled God-knows-who, with the aim of ensuring that he didnt win next months presidential election.

To be sure, the allegation of a conspiracy theory was already in the public domain, long before Tinubu made that allegation. With this final Tinubu affirmation of the ploy woven masterfully in high places against him, the headline of this piece should then have been The Columnist As A Seer. In previous installments entitled Emefieles Terrorism Mess (25 December, 2022) and Buhari and Emefieles Buga Handshake (20 January) except for the fuel scarcity addition to the conspiracy theory, I submitted that the naira re-designation policy could be targeted at the APC candidate.

Even a fool knows that Buhari does not want Tinubu to succeed him. Second is that there is a mutual disdain between the two, which both have clothed in shawls over the years. Buhari has, over the decades, built an impregnable moral universe round himself; a universe whose precinct was delineated by him, membership of which he defines from his narrow conception. Tinubu does not fit that definition. Tinubu is also too agitative, too, perhaps in the mould of MKO Abiola

In Abeokuta last week Wednesday, Tinubu mortally bit the bullet again. In his now familiar drawl, delivered in Yoruba, he hit his bare knuckles on the spatula. If they like, they can change the ink in the naira note, we will shock them, we will win the election; the opposition (the umbrella party) will be defeated We will take over the government from them; they are traitors that want to wrest the government from usWe will use our PVCs to take over the government from them, if they like, let them say there is no fuel, we will trek there. They are full of mischief, they want to create fuel crisis, they have started creating fuel crisisLet the price of fuel continue to increase, they are the ones that know where they are hoarding it. They are hoarding naira notes, they are hoarding fuel, we will vote and we will win, he told a jubilant but rowdy crowd of supporters. He thereafter revved the people up to a revolution.

The issues for determination from this outburst are tripodal. One is the domain that Tinubu always chooses to rouse Nigerian people to militant action and provoke the beast in them, apologies to Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. Why the choice of Abeokuta? Is it deliberate? Was Tinubu doing this, conscious of the historical signification of Abeokuta or it occurs by mere happenstance?

Second, who exactly were these arrows shot at? Forget the very jejune and I dare say, lacking-creative-acumen press release issued by the Directorate of Media and Publicity of the APC Presidential Campaign Council. In the statement, it pointed the arrows shot by Tinubu at the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) .

For the records, Asiwaju Tinubu during APC campaign rally at Abeokuta on Wednesday, in his statement, did not mention, blame or accuse President Muhammadu Buhari for the current challenges in the country (he) was only adverting governments attention to the sabotage being carried out by some Fifth columnists in the system, possibly working in cahoots with the PDPTinubu is aware of the salutary efforts by President Buhari to end the fuel queues, by chairing a 14-man panelHow does an advisory genuinely made by Asiwaju Tinubu to protect and create goodwill for the government of his party become an attack? It can only be so in the jaundiced view of the PDP, the statement said.

But for the dog-eat-dog mentality and sabre-rattling deployed as language of communication and accepted as part and parcel of the political language and temperature of Nigeria, the APC PCC should be scandalised nationally by this barefaced cookery. It is a very tame effort at assuming that the Nigerian is a fool and has a very low reasoning capacity. The reasons are obvious.

Was Atiku Abubakar the they who wanted to change the ink in the naira note? Is the PDP currently in government, to whom Tinubu swore that we will take over the government from them? Is Abubakar the if they like, let them say there is no fuelthey are full of mischief, and who want(s) to create fuel crisis and are hoarding naira notes, they are hoarding fuel, to whom he promised that we will vote and we will win?

should Tinubu have been making those off-the-cuff outbursts when he knows that he would eventually crawl on his belly like a coyote to beg Buhari? I dont think so. Is it an effective strategy to tame Buhari with revelations of his nocturnal political gambles, so that he can be railroaded from his preference of a successor? Maybe, but in war, which Tinubus current quest for the presidency can be likened to, you dont half-decapitate your enemy.

A few days after the Tinubu outburst, media reports claimed that the man, famously dubbed the Landlord of Lagos, did a nocturnal sneak into Daura, Katsina State home of Buhari, in company with three APC governors, on a fence-mending with the president. As at the time of going to press, this alleged sneak had not been denied nor, as usual, attributed to the handiwork of PDP and Labour Party sympathiser journalists by the Tinubu Ananias and Saphirra clown in the APC PCC. The question I ask is, what is responsible for this sabbatical that honour has taken from political parties communication machinery in Nigeria? Methinks that, rather than make mockery of oneself and the decades that one had put into journalism practice, deep thinking should show journalpreneur wolves in sheeps clothing currently speaking for politicians that they should not allow reversible politicians tarnish what is left of their perceived honour?

Now, was Tinubu right in assuming that they are fighting him? I think he was. I had always argued that, rather than basing his political tomorrow on Buhari, Tinubu should have cleaned up his Yoruba home and won its confidence while using it as a bargain for 2023. He rather believed that it was more expedient to do obeisance for the Cow in the hope that he would honour him with his chunky meat. For instance, in another piece I did which I entitled Tinubu the Apejalodo and His Strange Fish Friend, (16 September, 2018) using an ancient tale told in traditional African pre-colony, which helped to tame the greed of pre-and post-colonial Yoruba society, as well as any tendency within it to play God, I argued that, as the Yoruba would say, constant removal of perceived bad woods from the log of woods under a cooking pot would boomerang. It was the time Tinubu was said to have made up his mind to remove Akinwumi Ambode. Now that Buhari is playing God with Tinubus presidential aspiration, that piece makes sense for its Karmic significance, doesnt it?

Even a fool knows that Buhari does not want Tinubu to succeed him. Second is that there is a mutual disdain between the two, which both have clothed in shawls over the years. Buhari has, over the decades, built an impregnable moral universe round himself; a universe whose precinct was delineated by him, membership of which he defines from his narrow conception. Tinubu does not fit that definition. Tinubu is also too agitative, too, perhaps in the mould of MKO Abiola; too much of a disrupter of long-established rulership codes, in spite of the contradictions of his being a member of that same ruling caste. Atiku Abubakar is a lesser evil for the president and occupiers of his fiefdom to banter with.

The third issue for determination is whether Tinubu deliberately spins those nukes or they are mere Freudian slips. Mainly used in psychoanalytic theories, Freudian slips, also called parapraxis, was authored by Sigmund Freud. It is defined as an error in speech, memory or physical actions which occur due to interference from an unconscious or subdued mind with or an internal train of thought. You will recall that, in June, 2022, hours before the APC congress, Tinubu had made similar spark where he literally called Buhari out.

Considered a denigration of Buhari, he narrated how, without him and God, Buhari could not have been president in 2015 after he lule-ed three times in his bid for the presidency and had to weep on national television. Tinubu concluded that it was his turn to take over power. It was a daring speech, which many thought was the derring-do that would finally collapse his presidential aspiration. Unexpectedly, that speech finally became a deus ex-machina of Tinubus aspiration, giving it a huge leap, we were told. From that speech was extracted the most notoriously mentioned phrases in social and political discourses of today  O lule and emi lo kan.

Finally, should Tinubu have been making those off-the-cuff outbursts when he knows that he would eventually crawl on his belly like a coyote to beg Buhari? I dont think so. Is it an effective strategy to tame Buhari with revelations of his nocturnal political gambles, so that he can be railroaded from his preference of a successor? Maybe, but in war, which Tinubus current quest for the presidency can be likened to, you dont half-decapitate your enemy. You slash their necks with deft, brutal precision. If Buhari holds the key to Tinubu transmuting from the Lord of Lagos to Lord of Aso Rock, those revelations should have been guided confidentially like a licked bowl of soup, which the Yoruba say does not make a pendulum-like swing and sound in the bowels of an elder. Revealing them publicly and seemingly making mockery of an unforgiving General like Buhari could be a fatal blow to his presidential ambition.

Festus Adedayo is an Ibadan-based journalist.

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It should be clear that this is not something that any state should have entertained or allowed. This kind of project guarantees an impression of improper interference in the administration of justice. This deserves the attentions of the NBA, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, and the National Judicial Council to ensure that this first will also be the last and the only instance of this kind of donation anywhere in Nigeria.

Nothing is to be done which creates even a suspicion that there has been an improper interference with the course of justice. Lord Hewart, 9 Nov, 1923 in R v. Sussex Justices, [1924] 1 KB 256

Something extraordinary happened in Ikere-Ekiti in Ekiti State, South-West Nigeria, on 19 January, 2023. On that day, the governor of the state, Abiodun Oyebanji, received and commissioned a new courthouse built by senior lawyer, Chief Oluwole Oladapo Olanipekun. Luminaries from various walks such as politics, faith, business, and the professions graced the event. ThisDay newspaper led in describing the project as an act of selfless philanthropy. Governor Oyebanji himself invited the states indigenes all over the world to emulate this act of generous giving back.

Chief Olanipekun, who built the courthouse, is a proud son of Ikere, where the new courthouse is located. His credentials in the universe of Nigerian philanthropy are not in dispute. He is a benefactor of leading universities in the country, including the Universities of Ibadan and Lagos, as well as the Ajayi Crowther University. He gave generously to alleviate suffering during the worst months of the COVID-19 pandemic. For decades, Chief Olanipekun has run a scholarship scheme to support the tuition and stipends of indigent students in various levels of education in Nigeria, up to graduate studies, as well as vocational studies in the Nigerian Law School. With some justification, philanthropy has been described as his way of life.

Chief Olanipekun is arguably the most successful Nigerian lawyer of his generation. He runs one of the biggest law firms in the country and is the lawyer of choice to presidents, politicians, and profitable companies. He became a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in 1991, before being elected president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), eleven years later. He has served as Pro-Chancellor and Chair of Governing Council of several universities around the country. He also now leads the Body of Benchers, the statutory body responsible for admitting new lawyers into the legal profession. He is himself a father of two SANs.

The construction of this courthouse was not done in secret. As Chief Olanipekun made plain at the commissioning ceremony, the project was initiated with the consent and permission of the Honourable Chief Judge of Ekiti State, who also approved and modified the drawings appropriately.

the credibility of judicial function and public trust in its institutions is a high constitutional value dependent (in the words of Nigerias constitution) on public perceptions of the independence and impartiality of the courts. If one man builds a courthouse in a state from which he comes and in which he owns property, business, it is difficult to see how any decision issued in that courthouse can be free from the whiff of partiality.

This is where the problems begin: What exactly was the Chief Judge thinking when he gave consent for a lawyer in active private practice to build and donate a courthouse to the judiciary? Despite everything that can be said in favour well-appointed courthouses, the idea of any person building and donating one to the judiciary anywhere is so staggering in its implications that it must be rejected out of hand as a model for addressing the manifest challenges of Nigerias judicial system. Of the many reasons that can be adduced for this, five stand out.

Let us begin with the most basic. Courthouses go to the very essence of statehood. The state exists for the wellbeing of all who live within it. To protect them, it enjoys certain basic monopolies. One is a presumptive monopoly on the legitimate use of violence; the other is a monopoly of legitimate adjudication. The latter monopoly in fact precedes the former. If the state dispenses justice credibly, it diminishes the likelihood that grievances can boil over into violence. This is why the monopoly over legitimate adjudication is not one to be trifled with.

Second, the credibility of judicial function and public trust in its institutions is a high constitutional value dependent (in the words of Nigerias constitution) on public perceptions of the independence and impartiality of the courts. If one man builds a courthouse in a state from which he comes and in which he owns property, business, it is difficult to see how any decision issued in that courthouse can be free from the whiff of partiality. Even people who come from his village and whose cases have to be decided in that court will never be free of the perception that their cases may have been decided in a particular way because the courthouse was built by their famous son. Judges who sit in such courts could live under a perpetual cloud. No matter how hard they try to be fair, firm, and just, their decisions will never be impartial enough.

Third, a lawyer in active practice cannot be allowed to build or donate a courthouse for obvious reasons: Such a project can never be free of perceptions of professional influence peddling. This particular donation could soon prove to be more expensive than it is worth. In time, it will become grounds for appeal against decisions of judges who sit in it, exposing them to innuendoes and denuding them of the intangible assets of trust and confidence on which the judicial function is anchored.

Fourth, this idea of donation of courthouses invites the classic slippery slope. Let us begin from the premise that this donation is motivated by the purest of intentions. Not every person who may choose hereafter to invest in this model of philanthropy can be credited with the same purity of purpose. If one man can build and donate a courthouse, then every big man who has stolen money will sooner-or-later adopt that same model as their own down payment on impunity. In no time, courthouses around the country could become annexed into private estates of questionable provenance and their preoccupation will not be the administration of justice but decision making on who gets shafted, both in reality and in the public perception.

It is not in doubt that Nigerias judicial system has far reaching problems of both capital and recurrent kinds. The state may well be unable to fully pay for all that the courts need. If private contributions are needed, one response could be to adopt the model of the security trust fund established by many states to address insecurity and policing. A parallel for the judiciary could take the form of an Administration of Justice Trust Fund under suitable statutory guarantees.

Above all, it is impossible for this kind of project to avoid a violation of the constitutional rules of fair hearing and the Judicial Code of Conduct. Rule 1(4) of the Code precludes every judge from contacts that may lead people to speculate that there is a special relationship between him and someone whom the Judge may be tempted to favour in some way in the course of his judicial duties. How does a judge who sits in a court built by one man avoid the impression that he or she has a special relationship with the owner of the court?

It is not in doubt that Nigerias judicial system has far reaching problems of both capital and recurrent kinds. The state may well be unable to fully pay for all that the courts need. If private contributions are needed, one response could be to adopt the model of the security trust fund established by many states to address insecurity and policing. A parallel for the judiciary could take the form of an Administration of Justice Trust Fund under suitable statutory guarantees.

The only question that remains is what to do with this donation already made in Ekiti State. It would be proper to extend appreciation to the donor for his high sense of public duty. However, the facility can be repurposed for other uses  such as a public library  which will not impinge on public perceptions of the administration of justice. The public interest in a justice system that works for everyone demands no less.

It should be clear that this is not something that any state should have entertained or allowed. This kind of project guarantees an impression of improper interference in the administration of justice. This deserves the attentions of the NBA, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, and the National Judicial Council to ensure that this first will also be the last and the only instance of this kind of donation anywhere in Nigeria.

Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, a lawyer, teaches at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy can be reached at chidi.odinkalu@tufts.edu.

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Be a value distributor and not a problem announcer. Men will respect you. Doors will open to you. Many strategic relationships will be born. Your spouse will find it hard to live without you. The principle works across all spheres of life. Start today. Identify your core areas of strength and competences. Brand them very creatively and look for how to add value to everyone around you.

One of the principles I learnt very early in life is this: I must never be a liability or burden to people, especially to strategic relationships. And thats the mistake many of us are making. Even when there is no problem for us to solve for some great men, we deliberately create statements of problems from not too obvious situations, and offer them solutions to those problems. So that they will always see us as relevant to their lives. A senior man of God whom I once serve told me, it will be difficult for any man of God to release you. I laughed. I understood him perfectly. Its a principle. While I was with him, it was always about how to help him solve his problems, despite my own problems. He would hardly see my calls and not pick them. You have to be intentional about creating value.

Value is driven by assets more than by liabilities. Its the same principle in marriage. When a man or a woman turns himself or herself into a burden to the other person, his or her value drops. I dont call people more than twice. Once I call and you dont pick it, and then you dont call back, then I would know that my value hasnt really gone up with that person. I wont call again.

I met two beloved people on Facebook, who now work remotely for our ministry, and are on our payroll. How did it happen? They all used this same strategy; the strategy of smart people: Sir, I can help you develop an app that will transmit your messages to more than fifty countries. Who would not like that? And that was it, I drafted him in.

When I visit strategic people, I dont talk nonsense. I dont ask for favours from them. I dont even ask for water. I wont ask for money. I tell them what I can do to boost their ministries or businesses or profiles. And time and again, that principle has given me access to valuable people and information. They will just open up their hearts and begin to reel out information and ideas to me. Rather than labouring and sweating after people, be a problem solver. Build value. Make yourself indispensable. A couple of years ago, I went to see a key father in the body of Christ in Nigeria. Like I always do, I went there with bags of gifts and a serious financial gift just to honour him for his labour and sacrifices over us. I have never asked him for a favour or anything. On meeting him, I rolled out the strategy: Sir, I can help you expand your ministry in this area. He looked at me and replied, I dont want to expand our ministry in that direction now. I said, OK sir.

I said to myself, maybe daddy does not know my value in this area. Why would he say that? I have the grace to do this for him. Well, I left his office. Then, about a year later, I went to see him again, and with another gift, but this time around, I took along a couple of my books. He stood up to receive me and I prostrated as a properly raised Yoruba man. I didnt say anything. I just presented my books to him. He could not believe it. He opened and began to read the first one. Two pages into it, he stopped and asked, What about this thing you said you would do for me to expand our ministry? I replied, Daddy, but you said that you are not interested in my proposal. Then it became a gentle father-son argument, When did I tell you that I was not interested?, he replied. Wow! What has changed? My value had gone up. And right there, he gave me the mandate to do the work for him.

God is sending me to someone today. No, you are not empty. There is something you can do to build value for others. Stop advertising your problems. Start branding and advertising your values. When you meet key people, dont bombard them with needs. It will drop your value and they will run away from you. They are not picking your calls because they dont see your value.

I met two beloved people on Facebook, who now work remotely for our ministry, and are on our payroll. How did it happen? They all used this same strategy; the strategy of smart people: Sir, I can help you develop an app that will transmit your messages to more than fifty countries. Who would not like that? And that was it, I drafted him in. God is sending me to someone today. No, you are not empty. There is something you can do to build value for others. Stop advertising your problems. Start branding and advertising your values. When you meet key people, dont bombard them with needs. It will drop your value and they will run away from you. They are not picking your calls because they dont see your value. I stumbled on an amazing article that speaks to the signs to watch out for in an employer who is about to dismiss a staff. Being a voracious reader, I jumped at it. The articles first point is this: Any time your employer no longer gives you problems to solve or work to do, you will soon be dismissed. Its an HR red flag. So, whenever I am around key people, I identify problems in their systems, and I tell them that I can help them solve these. I must never be found dispensable.

No matter how bad things are, learn to control yourself. Be a value distributor and not a problem announcer. Men will respect you. Doors will open to you. Many strategic relationships will be born. Your spouse will find it hard to live without you. The principle works across all spheres of life. Start today. Identify your core areas of strength and competences. Brand them very creatively and look for how to add value to everyone around you. Live your life with so much of integrity and value that when people see your call, they will drop all they are doing to attend to you. Its all about value! The sky wont even be your limit. God bless you.

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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Kano State Government will welcome President Muhammadu Buhari to commission some projects in the state.

The state government earlier postponed the planned visit, saying it was to forestall unforeseen circumstances due to the governments refusal to postpone the deadline for the return of old naira notes.

After the government announced an extension of the deadline, the Governor of the state, Abdullahi Ganduje, said Kano State is now prepared to receive the President.

Mr Ganduje alongside Barau Jibrin  chairman Senate committee on appropriation, led a delegation from the state, and met President Buhari in Daura, after which it was announced the state visit will proceed as originally planned.

We are very much ready to receive him and we have a lot for him to commission including federal government projects and state government projects. They are state-of-the-art projects, Mr Ganduje told reporters in Daura after meeting the president.

Mr Ganduje said his team from Kano also discussed with the president the issue of the ongoing currency swap and was happy with him.

Seeing is believing. You can see that I have led a powerful delegation from Kano State on the issue of new naira notes and we have seen Mr President. We have laid the complaints of the Kano people and we are very happy.

He explained to us and also assured us that the time is extended and the quantity of new naira (notes) will increase so that the suffering of the people will be reduced.

We informed him that Kano is the most populous state in the federation and also the commercial nerve centre of the northern part of Nigeria, second to Lagos.

But in terms of cash transactions, Kano is much higher than Lagos because Lagos has gone far in terms of a cashless society, and cashless transactions. But Kano State is comparatively a rural state, so say, still, we have 24 local governments without banks. Most of the banks are concentrated within Kano metropolitan.

So, you can imagine the suffering of the rural areas, rural people in terms of cash transactions. But we are happy that the time has been extended and also the quantum of the naira notes will be increased.

So, we are so grateful to the President for their effort, Mr Ganduje said.

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The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has distanced itself from the purported letter of suspension of its governorship candidate in Akwa Ibom, Umo Eno.

The party in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, on Saturday in Abuja, said Mr Eno remained the partys candidate in the March election.

The attention of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP has been drawn to a fake letter purported to have been signed by Ologunagba and mischievously claiming that our Governorship Candidate in Akwa Ibom State, Eno has been suspended from the Party.

The PDP states in clear terms that Eno remains the governorship candidate of the party in Akwa Ibom State for the 2023 general elections.

He is not suspended from the party; the NWC has no contemplation in that regard and there are no issues whatsoever to warrant such, he said.

Mr Ologunagba said that contrary to the claims in the fake letter, the NWC did not at any time hold any emergency meeting on any matter related to Eno.

Mr Ologunagba added he did not at any time issue any letter to Eno on any matter whatsoever.

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Moreover, there is no issue of violation of rules around our Governorship Candidate in Akwa Ibom State either at the ward, state or national level to warrant any meeting of the NWC or any organ of our party at any level on him in that regard.

The PDP therefore in very strong terms condemns the said fake letter which is clearly the handiwork of enemies of our party whose aim is to cause disaffection and disunity in our party in Akwa Ibom State, he stated.

Mr Ologunagba urged Nigerians, particularly PDP teeming members and supporters in Akwa Ibom, to disregard the said fake letter as Mr Eno was never suspended from the party.

He said that the partys NWC had already started an investigation into those behind the malicious letter.

He also stated that the NWC would take firm legal and punitive actions against any individual found culpable in accordance with the law as well as the Constitution of the PDP.

(NAN)

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GUANGZHOU, China, Jan. 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- MINISO Group Holding Limited (NYSE: MNSO; HKEx: 9896) ("MINISO," "MINISO Group" or the "Company"), a global value retailer offering a variety of design-led lifestyle products, today announced that Mr. Steven Saiyin Zhang has resigned from his positions as the chief financial officer, executive vice president and an executive director of the Company, effective on January 31, 2023, for personal reason and in order to spend more time with his family. Mr. Steven Zhang will continue to serve as a senior consultant to the Company.

Following Mr. Steven Zhang's resignation, the board of directors of the Company (the "Board") will be comprised of five members, including three independent non-executive directors and two executive directors. In addition, the Board has appointed Mr. Eason Jingjing Zhang, currently the Company's vice president of capital markets, as the new chief financial officer of the Company, effective on January 31, 2023.

Mr. Guofu Ye, founder, chairman of the Board and chief executive officer of the Company, commented, "On behalf of our Board and the management team, I would like to thank Steven for his exemplary service and significant contributions to the Company's business, financial management, capital markets transactions and corporate governance during the past 5 years since he joined the Company. His sound judgment and leadership have been instrumental in our company's growth, earning respect and commendation throughout the Company."

"Steven has designed a detailed succession plan to transition his responsibilities to Eason, who has played a key role in driving MINISO's success in various capital market transactions and several internal finance management projects, demonstrating a clear understanding of our business and establishing confidence in MINISO among the investor community. We look forward to working with him in his new capacities and together taking the Company to new heights."

Mr. Eason Zhang has served as the Company's vice president of capital markets since September 2022, in charge of the Company's capital markets matters, including investor relations, strategic investment and acquisitions, as well as corporate strategy and treasury. Mr. Eason Zhang joined the Company in January 2021 as director of capital markets. Since then, he has played a key role in driving the Company's success in various capital market transactions and several internal finance management projects. Mr. Eason Zhang has 12 years of experience in capital markets. He started his career in auditing at PricewaterhouseCoopers, after which he served in various roles mainly in capital markets in the U.S., Hong Kong and China A share markets. Mr. Eason Zhang, a Chartered Financial Analyst and a non-practicing member of the Chinese Institute of Certified Public Accountants, received his dual bachelor degrees in World History and Business Administration from Nankai University and is currently an FMBA candidate of the executive program at China Europe International Business School.

Mr. Steven Zhang has confirmed that he has no dispute or disagreement with the Board or the Company and that there is no matter in respect of his resignation that needs to be brought to the attention of the shareholders of the Company.

About MINISO Group

MINISO Group is a global value retailer offering a variety of design-led lifestyle products. The Company serves consumers primarily through its large network of MINISO stores, and promotes a relaxing, treasure-hunting and engaging shopping experience full of delightful surprises that appeals to all demographics. Aesthetically pleasing design, quality and affordability are at the core of every product in MINISO's wide product portfolio, and the Company continually and frequently rolls out products with these qualities. Since the opening of its first store in China in 2013, the Company has built its flagship brand "MINISO" as a globally recognized retail brand and established a massive store network worldwide. For more information, please visit https://ir.miniso.com/.

Safe Harbor Statement

This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by words or phrases such as "may," "will," "expect," "anticipate," "aim," "estimate," "intend," "plan," "believe," "is/are likely to," "potential," "continue" or other similar expressions. MINISO may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its periodic reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), in announcements, circulars or other publications made on the website of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the "Hong Kong Stock Exchange"), in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about MINISO's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement, including but not limited to the following: MINISO's mission, goals and strategies; future business development, financial conditions and results of operations; the expected growth of the retail market and the market of branded variety retail of lifestyle products in China and globally; expectations regarding demand for and market acceptance of MINISO's products; expectations regarding MINISO's relationships with consumers, suppliers, MINISO Retail Partners, local distributors, and other business partners; competition in the industry; proposed use of proceeds; and relevant government policies and regulations relating to MINISO's business and the industry. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in MINISO's filings with the SEC and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. All information provided in this press release and in the attachments is as of the date of this press release, and MINISO undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law.

Investor Relations Contact:

Raine Hu

MINISO Group Holding Limited

Email: [email protected]

Phone: +86 (20) 36228788 Ext.8039

Eric Yuan

Christensen Advisory

Email: [email protected]

Phone: +86 1380 111 0739

SOURCE MINISO Group Holding Limited
Ayodhya, Jan 29 : Mahant Paramhans Das, the head priest of Tapasvi Chhawni in Ayodhya, has called for the beheading of Samajwadi Party (SP) MLC Swami Prasad Maurya and has announced a reward of Rs 500 for it.

Maurya is in the eye of a storm for his remarks on Ramcharitmanas.

The Mahant had recently announced an award of Rs 10 crore on the "tongue" of Bihar Minister Chandra Shekhar for his remarks on Ramcharitmanas.

The remarks of both the leaders have led to outrage among Hindu religious leaders and the BJP has demanded Maurya's dismissal from the government.

Meanwhile, standing firmly by his reservation over some verses of Tulsidas' Ramcharitmanas, SP leader Maurya took on mahants for announcing a bounty on his head.

"Had someone from another religion made a similar announcement, he would have been branded as a terrorist. Now if seers and mahants are announcing a bounty on my head, shouldn't they be called a terrorist?" he said.

Reiterating that he stands by his statement about reservation over certain verses in Ramcharitmanas, Maurya said: "Have I said something that was wrong that I should withdraw my statement? I respect all religions but disrespecting any religion or any individual cannot be allowed. I have only demanded that certain verses, which are disrespectful towards women, tribals, Dalits and backward classes, should be removed."
Kampala, Jan 29 : Uganda has rolled out a polio vaccination exercise in districts that were affected by the Ebola outbreak, which was contained early this month.

Ministry of Health said the 10-day exercise targeting children aged five years and below started on Friday in the districts of Mubende, Mityana, Kampala, Wakiso, Kassanda and Mukono. The districts missed out on the nationwide exercise last November when the country was battling the Ebola outbreak.

In the Central District of Wakiso, Dorothy Asiimwe, community health officer, told Xinhua on Saturday that so far, the exercise is going on smoothly and many parents have brought their children for immunisation.

Simon Lutwama, who brought his three-year-old daughter for vaccination, said he supported the exercise because he wants to ensure that all children are born free from polio, Xinhua news agency reported.

Uganda in August last year reported a polio outbreak in the country after samples from faecal matter collected in the capital Kampala tested positive.

The country was certified polio-free in October 2006 by the WHO after having reported no indigenous polio cases for 10 years.

According to the WHO, polio is a highly infectious disease caused by a virus that mainly affects children under five-years-old.
Tehran, Jan 29 : An Iranian official has vowed that the legal pursuit of former US President Donald Trump and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will continue until justice is done for the assassination of Iran's top commander Qassem Soleimani.

Pompeo's "horror is quite serious and real," as he, along with Trump and all the other "criminals," must be tried and punished in a just court on the charge of assassinating Iranian and Iraqi officials, said Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei, who heads a special legal committee tasked to investigate Soleimani's assassination, in a Twitter post on Saturday.

In early January, Pompeo said he was intimidated by Iran's warnings of exacting revenge on him and Trump for the assassination of Soleimani, calling on the incumbent US government to provide him with protection, Xinhua news agency reported.

On January 3, 2020, the US military, at the order of Trump, assassinated Soleimani and the deputy commander of Iraq's paramilitary Hashd Shaabi forces Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis near Baghdad International Airport. The assassination was condemned by Iran as "state terrorism".
Jerusalem, Jan 29 : Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to act after a shooting attack killed at least seven people and wounded three others on Friday in a Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem.

Netanyahu, who arrived at the scene shortly after the attack, said the authorities "decided on a few immediate measures" and he convened a special security cabinet meeting on Saturday evening to discuss further measures.

During the attack on Friday evening, a gunman opened fire on people near a synagogue. Israeli police said that the assailant, identified as a 21-year-old resident of East Jerusalem, was shot dead by a police officer, Xinhua news agency reported.

The attack came a day after an Israeli military raid in the West Bank resulted in the killing of nine Palestinians. After the raid, Palestinian militant organisations vowed revenge.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is scheduled to visit the West Bank and Israel later this weekend, condemned the attack on his Twitter account.

According to a statement from the White House, US President Joe Biden spoke to Netanyahu after the attack. The President "offered all appropriate means of support to the government and people of Israel over the coming days," said the statement.
Tehran, Jan 29 : A senior Iranian lawmaker said the country's parliament has drafted a plan for retaliating in the "harshest possible way" against Europe's "meddlesome" behaviours.

Vahid Jalalzadeh, Chairman of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, made the remarks in an interview with the official news agency IRNA on Saturday.

He said the plan is aimed at imposing sanctions on the armed forces of some EU states as a tit-for-tat measure for their "interventionist" behaviours, Xinhua news agency reported.

Jalalzadeh added that the plan's preparation gained greater momentum following some European states' "contradictory and meddlesome" behaviours during the recent "riots" in Iran and the European Parliament's adoption of a resolution calling for naming Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) as a "terrorist" organisation.

He stressed that the plan is ready to be reviewed during an open session of the Iranian parliament.

Jalalzadeh warned Europe against continuing its "irrational behaviour," saying the Iranian parliament is closely monitoring the EU Council's behaviours.

If the council gives in to hardliners' demand, the Iranian parliament will immediately adopt the retaliation plan, he added.

On January 19, the European Parliament approved a resolution calling on the EU to designate the IRGC as a "terrorist group".
Damascus, Jan 29 : The Syrian Foreign Ministry has slammed as "lacking credibility" a recent report by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) accusing the Syrian air force of being behind a 2018 alleged chemical attack near the capital Damascus.

In a statement, the Ministry on Saturday listed Syria's own accusations and condemnations in response to the OPCW report, pointing at the possible role of the US in politicising and fabricating reports about incidents in Syria, Xinhua news agency reported.

"The report lacks any scientific and objective evidence, and no sane person or specialist can reach the misleading conclusions of its authors, who neglected the objective observations raised by state parties, experts, academics, and former inspectors from the organisation who are known for their experience and knowledge," the Ministry said.

It urged the OPCW and the UN to assume their responsibilities to preserve the independence, credibility, and future of the OPCW, and not to allow the US-led Western countries to dominate its work and role, or to politicise its tasks and use it as a tool to achieve their political goals.

On Friday, the OPCW Investigation and Identification Team issued a report, claiming that "there are reasonable grounds to believe that the Syrian Arab Air Forces were the perpetrators of the chemical weapons attack on April 7, 2018, in Douma, Syria".

It said that during the attack, at least one helicopter of the Syrian "Tiger Forces" Elite Unit dropped two yellow cylinders containing toxic chlorine gas on two apartment buildings in a civilian residential area in Douma, killing 43 named individuals and affecting dozens more.

The Syrian government has repeatedly denied previous reports that indicated an involvement of the Syrian military in the alleged attack.
Jerusalem, Jan 29 : Clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police erupted in Jerusalem on Saturday evening in the wake of two anti-Israeli attacks in the disputed holy city.

Israeli police entered Arab neighbourhoods in the city looking for people who may have assisted the assailants in the previous attacks, sparking clashes with Palestinians.

On Friday evening, a Palestinian resident of East Jerusalem shot dead seven Israelis and wounded three others. On Saturday morning, a 13-year-old Palestinian from the city shot at a group of Israelis, wounding two of them.

"The forces are encountering stone throwing, Molotov cocktails and fireworks," said a police statement, adding the police's increased operational readiness "will continue in the coming days".

Footage on social media showed widespread firing of fireworks in several Jerusalem neighbourhoods, Xinhua news agency reported.

On Saturday, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said that a Palestinian assailant shot at a restaurant near the Dead Sea. There were no casualties and the shooter escaped from the scene.

Israeli media also reported the Israeli military entered the West Bank Palestinian city of Jericho. The details of the raid were unclear and it was not confirmed by the military.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a security cabinet meeting later Saturday to discuss the response to the latest events, vowing the response "will be strong, swift and precise".

Earlier this week, a raid by the Israeli military in the West Bank city of Jenin resulted in the killing of nine Palestinians, triggering vows of revenge from Palestinian militant organisations.
Kolkata, Jan 29 : Soon after taking over as the new governor of West Bengal in the closing quarter of the last year, CV Ananda Bose had sent a message of working in close coordination with the state government. He also said as the constitutional head of the state his relationship with the state secretariat will be more "administrative" than "official".

His message and the sequence of events thereafter hinted at a smoothening process in the Governor House-Secretariat relations. Political observers felt that the days of regular spats that reached their peak during the tenure of Bose's predecessor and current Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar are over and the process has begun for a workable Raj Bhavan-Secretariat relationship.

This perception strengthened further after a recent meeting of the governor with the vice-chancellors of the state universities, which was also attended by the education minister. At a joint press conference after the meeting on January 17 both the governor and the minister said that they will work jointly for the development of the state's education sector.

What was significant at the press meet was that the minister was repeatedly addressing the governor as "chancellor". This led to speculation that the state government might re-amend the previous bill amended during Dhankhar's regime, making the chief minister the chancellor of all state universities by replacing the governor.

While the state BJP leaders were not happy with the growing bonhomie between the state government and the governor, they refrained from making any official comment on the matter.

However, things changed on January 26 when Saraswati Puja coincided with Republic Day. Respecting the traditional belief that Saraswati Puja is the most auspicious occasion for 'Hate Khori', a ritual to mark the beginning of learning, Bose took his first lesson of learning Bangla on Thursday in the presence of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who was the chief guest on the occasion.

That opened a Pandora's box and the state BJP leaders vociferously started attacking the governor for participating in the event and allegedly dishonouring the post of the constitutional head of the state.

Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari remained absent from the programme despite being invited. He said that since the 'Hate Khori' programme was "cunningly orchestrated" by the state government and the chief minister to camouflage the scams in the education sector for which several officials of the education department, including the former education minister, are behind bars, the governor in future should be wary of being part of such programmes.

BJP leader and party MP Dilip Ghosh said that it does not behove the governor to get involved in such a drama and from the event it is clear that the governor was being guided by someone else.

Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha member Santanu Sen said the recent coordination between the governor and the state government is irksome to the BJP leaders, who always want a strained relationship between the two as happened during Dhankhar's tenure.

It remains to be seen whether the ire of the saffron camp in West Bengal will increase in the coming days or will the new governor amend his style? Political analyst Amal Sarkar feels that it is too early to conclude from the isolated 'Hate Khori' incident that the current governor is turning out to be a study in contrast to his predecessor.

"It will also depend on equations between the Union government and the West Bengal government or rather between the BJP and the Trinamool Congress in the long run. The same governor who is quite pally with the state government in the current context might adopt the same path of collision if the forthcoming West Bengal assembly polls is marred by massive violence by the ruling party. It is natural for the state BJP leaders to be irked over the 'Hate Khori' incident since for a long time they had been enjoying the regular Governor House-Secretariat spat during the tenure of Bose's predecessor. But I find their reactions to this programme a bit immature and an expression of anguish," Sarkar said.

Another political analyst Arundhati Mukherjee too feels that the unhappiness of the state BJP leaders is premature before the new governor settles down.

"Even in the short time since he has occupied the chair, Bose has already exercised his authority over the incidents of ruckus in front of the court of Justice Rajasekhar Mantha of the Calcutta High Court as well as recovery of slanderous posters from in front of his residence. He summoned the chief secretary, home secretary and the Kolkata police commissioner and this gave a strong message to the state government on this issue. Here he honoured his own commitment that his relationship as the constitutional head of the state with the state government will be more administrative rather than being political. As regards the 'Hate Khori' event, it is too small an issue that is being highlighted," she said.
Jaipur, Jan 29 : Rajasthan, blessed with scenic beauty and heritage places, encompassing proud pages of history and lavish forts, will soon script another glorious story of the past with the Pratap Circuit. It will be developed soon in the desert state, confirmed Jaipur's former princess and Rajsamand MP Diya Kumari speaking exclusively to IANS.

With the new circuit coming in, tourists and history lovers from across the world will be able to see the places where the great warrior Maharana Pratap was born, where he grew up, where his coronation was done and where he fought the battle of Haldighati against the Mughals. Also the place where he spent his last days and passed away can be visited by avid travellers, she confirmed.

Diya Kumari told IANS: "Rajasthan is blessed to be the place where Maharana Pratap was born. There are many places associated with his life which include his birthplace and the place where he grew up. Places such as Kumbhalgarh where Pratap was born, Gogunda where his Raj Tilak was done, Chavand where he spent his last days are still present here, but certain facilities are missing." The MP added that when she met Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently, she discussed the proposal for a 'Pratap Circuit' so that "tourists coming from far-flung areas can see these glorious places of the past associated with Maharana Pratap and his life." The idea is that all the places associated with Maharana Pratap should be developed into a Pratap Circuit, Diya Kumari said. The originality of these places should be maintained and facilities should be developed so that the tourists can easily visit them. "The PM took these proposals seriously and hence we should expect to see the 'Pratap Circuit' come up soon," she added.

Maharana Pratap was born in Kumbhalgarh and was crowned as king in Gogunda Palace in 1572. It was from here that the Battle of Haldighati was fought in 1576. He spent his last days in Chavand.

"Everyone wants to see these places and original structures so while maintaining their originality we need to bring in tourist facilities, Diya Kumari said. "This initiative will help in generating employment and new business opportunities," she added.

Talking about the work she has done as the Rajsamand MP, Diya Kumari said: "The people of Rajsamand believed in me and helped me win despite knowing that I am from Jaipur. They trusted me, so I owe them a lot." She added: "During the Lok Sabha polls, I was assigned two major tasks, first one was Mavli Marwar gauge conversion and second is Gomti Beowar four lanes, now both these tasks have been accomplished."
Patna, Jan 29 : During every election, leaders of various political parties promise the rejuvenation of industries, handicrafts, litchi farming, jute farming, sugarcane farming in Bihar but they hardly even think of it post election.

One of the famous handicrafts is Bihar's Madhubani or Mithila paintings which was extensively discussed by the leaders of every political party including Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the 2020 assembly election. Surprisingly, they failed to encourage people to associate with it more and more.

Madhubani or Mithila paintings are recognized in various countries but the artists associated with this are not more than 10,000. These artists are natives of Darbhanga, Madhubani, Sheohar, Sitamarhi, Araria, Purnea, Muzaffarpur, East Champaran and some other districts of North Bihar.

"Gyanwanti Devi, an artist of Madhubani painting and a native of Darbhanga said: "It provides a source of earning but not much. The loan policies of the government are not right and the interest is also high. As paying instalments would not have been easy for me, I chose not to take a loan and continue the work with whatever capital I have." Another artist of Madhubani paintings named Smriti Devi said: "The prices of items needed for painting are increasing all the time. The state government should look into it and provide subsidies for it. Unfortunately, no one is looking into the core issues we are facing." "The process of doing paintings on one bed sheet takes time. For example, one bed sheet and two pillow covers need at least one week. So, we hardly make 4 pieces in one month. We do not have enough money to hire painters on a daily or monthly basis," said Poonam Kumari, an artist from Simri village in Madhubani's Bipsi block.

Sailendra Kumar, father of Poonam Kumari, said: "I have taken a loan once but paying the instalments is an issue. Hence, we have not taken any further loan. We used to start production only after getting the orders. Unlike Khadi Gramodyog, we have no such platform to sell our products. Hence we do not manufacture products in advance and stock them." Kumar added: "My entire family is associated with it and we earn money but not much to expand our business. We need state government help in selling our products. Every party makes tall promises during the elections but they do not even think about addressing our core issues after forming the government." Usha Jha, an entrepreneur associated with Madhubani paintings for the last 30 years and who also runs an outlet in Patna called Petal Craft, told IANS: "The market size of Madhubani paintings is big, but the encouragement given to the artists by the government is not enough. The state government is offering funds under the Mukhyamantri Yojana and so does the Centre through a start-up but the process of getting funds is not easy." "There are so many documents to be processed to get funding. Hence, a large number of people who want to enter the business or are already associated with it are failing to expand their business because of the lack of funds." Jha concluded by saying: "Madhubani paintings have wide acceptance across the country. I came into the field in the early 1990s with the idea to encourage handicraft work and the source of earning for myself as well as those people who are associated with this field." "I visited many countries such as Russia, Singapore and Indonesia and people appreciated the paintings. The price of a bed sheet with two pillow covers starts from Rs 1,500 and it goes to Rs 8,000 depending on the quality of the paintings and the cloth," Jha said.

There's hope, but the light seems only to be flickering at the far end of the tunnel.
Patna, Jan 29 : Anand Kumar, the founder of the famous educational institute Super 30, is happy to find his name in the list of Padma Shri recipients, but has said that this is not the last stop in his journey.

He said that there is still a long way to go as meritorious children from economically weaker families remained to be benefited.

In a conversation with IANS after the announcement of the Padma Shri award, Kumar talked about his upcoming ventures and got nostalgic about the past.

Kumar said that he had received many awards abroad, but the country's Padma Shri award has its own importance.

Describing the award as special, he said that he was thankful to everybody for making him worthy of the honour.

Kumar's father was a clerk in a post office and was unable to afford his children's fees for a private school.

Due to financial constraints, Kumar studied in Patna High school - a Hindi medium government school and pursued his further studies from BN College.

Due to a personal setback, when he could not afford to go abroad to study despite being selected, he decided to take classes for students from economically weaker sections of the society to help them prepare for the IIT exams, free of cost.

He started Super 30 and his whole family helped, where free food and accommodation, along with study material for one year was provided to 30 students from poor families.

Hundreds of his students have created history by clearing the exam in their first attempt.

When asked about actor Hrithik Roshan's biographical drama film Super 30, he said that one feels more content if success is achieved after a struggle.

Kumar said that he had been working on more plans.

He assured the students preparing for IIT exams that they would be successful if they worked hard and remained dedicated to their goal.

He said that his family went through a really hard time after the death of his father.

Kumar added that he used to sell papad made by his mother on the streets of Patna, but did not stop teaching the students.

He said that he received a lot of wishes and love from students in India and abroad, after the award's announcement.

He added that the students expressed happiness as if they had themselves won the award.

On his upcoming plans, he said that he intends to increase the number of students in Super 30 and adopt an online teaching method.

He said that he wants to include the children from across India and abroad who want to join Super 30 and are unable to do so.
When it comes to the Ukraine War, Belarus is definitely a Frenemy (friend and enemy) of southern neighbor Ukraine and a hostage to eastern neighbor Russia. Belarus only has about a fifth of Ukraines population and a less vibrant and aggressive form of nationalism. Technically Belarus is an ally of Russia in its war in Ukraine, yet most Belarusians are pro-Ukraine. Some have actively helped Ukraine from inside Belarus while a few have crossed the border and joined the Ukrainian Foreign Legion.

The ruler of Belarus since 1994 is Alexander Lukashenko, a veteran communist official in the Soviet Union until 1991. Lukashenko was active in the three-year process to create a new constitution and hold elections. Lukashenko won the first presidential election, which was his only legitimate victory. After that he rigged the elections in one way or another to remain in power. He developed close ties with Russia and Vladimir Putin but refused to back Russian demands that he allow closer links with Russia that would eventually make Belarus part of Russia. This resistance was tolerated because Lukashenko was otherwise an ally of Russia and used Russian assistance to block efforts in Belarus to reduce Russian influence. This helped Lukashenko remain in power but also enabled Russia to stage part of the 2022 invasion from Belarus. Belarussian railway workers sabotaged the rail lines into Ukraine and that played a role in the defeat of Russias northern offensive into Ukraine and attempt to seize the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. Eventually some of the railway workers responsible were identified, prosecuted and sent to prison. Most Belarussians considered these railway workers heroes. Popular attitudes like this made Lukashenko even more dependent on Russian protection. This included stationing Russian troops in Belarus and Lukashenko allowing Russian troops to be trained in Belarus.

Despite all this Lukashenko refused to send his troops to join Russian forces inside Ukraine. The main obstacle to that happening is that Russia wants to annex Belarus as well as Ukraine. Before 2022, Belarus was seen as the next former Soviet territory to be annexed by Russia. The response of Ukrainians to Russian invasion has changed attitudes towards annexation of Belarus. This is despite the fact that the longtime (since 1994) Belarus president-for-life Alexander Lukashenko has ruled Belarus as a loyal ally of Russia. That has not helped the Belarussian economy or improved the lives of Belarus voters. A new post-Soviet Union generation of voters noticed how life was better in democracies, especially other former victims of Russian rule like neighboring Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Ukraine. They blame Lukashenko for the poverty and mismanaged economy in Belarus, as well as an incompetent response to covid19.

Since 2020 Lukashenko has faced growing popular protest against government incompetence and decades of rigged elections, corrupt rule, and inability to do much of anything effectively. Since the late 1990s Lukashenko has won reelection with 80-90 percent of the vote in visibly fraudulent elections. Lukashenko is a Soviet era official, who runs Belarus using the Soviet Union as a model. Belarus is a police state, where elections, and everything else, are manipulated to keep the same politicians in power. It's a tricky business but so far Lukashenko has kept his security forces loyal and up to strength. He bribes or bullies key officials to keep the country running. Lukashenko has maintained good relations with Russia, getting him cheap fuel supplies and other aid. Belarus is small (9.5 million people) compared to neighbors Russia (146 million) and Ukraine (42 million) and Russia wants to absorb Belarus and Ukraine to rebuild the centuries old Russian empire that the czars created and the communists lost. Lukashenko, like most Belarussians, opposes annexation by Russia. So far Russia is not actively seeking to annex Belarus or send in security forces to help suppress what has turned into a rebellion against Lukashenko.

Lukashenko is becoming more of a liability for Russia but is currently still a favored ally. Russia would like to be rid of Lukashenko but there is no one in Belarus with his skills, experience and pro-Russia attitude. Russia has created a major problem for itself in Belarus. Not as bad as the mess in Ukraine, but still another setback in the Russian effort to rebuild the Soviet-era Russian empire. Lukashenko noted what happened to pro-Russia Ukrainian politicians after the Russians invaded and most Ukrainians joined or supported the fight against Russian domination and any pro-Russia Ukrainians. Lukashenko openly admitted his surprise at how the Ukrainian invasion had slowed down and the ability of the Ukrainians to organize a counteroffensive. While Ukraine might defeat Russia and clear them out of Ukraine, Russia will still be there and still a threat to Belarussian independence. At the same time Lukashenko needs economic assistance and some Russian troops to keep himself in power. This is a dangerous game but one Lukashenko has been playing successfully for over twenty years.

An example of how Lukashenko operates became public back in 2011 when it was revealed that the former commander of the Belarusian air and missile defense forces (Igor Azarenok) had been arrested in 2010 and eventually convicted in a secret trial of corruption. He was found guilty of taking a $30,000 bribe from a Russian arms manufacturer. Azarenok was sentenced to nine years in prison. The Russian who bribed him was also prosecuted and sentenced to six years. What was unusual about this was that such corruption is rampant in Belarus, and has been for some time. Apparently Azarenok freelanced, and did not pass on any of the money to his superiors. Such inadequate sharing is a serious offense in Belarus, and so is dealing with a foreign government without permission. Azarenok's arrest and trial were revealed to make the most corrupt man in Belarus, president Lukashenko, look good. This apparently didn't work and most Belarusians still consider Lukashenko a corrupt tyrant who once preached clean government, but soon went over to the Dark Side.

Lukashenko doesn't confine his corrupt dealings to Belarus. In 2006 the U.S. accused Belarus of running a major illegal arm exporting operation. The weapons sales, mainly to Iran and African countries and warlords in general, was bringing in over two billion dollars a year, with most of the profits going to senior government officials, particularly president Lukashenko. This is how he remains in power. This behavior has led to numerous economic sanctions on Belarus which have put a lot of Belarussians out of work, and Lukashenko hasnt come up with a solution for this problem. Too many unemployed Belarussians may be what ultimately causes Lukashenko to lose his own job.
New Delhi, Jan 29 : As thousands were laid off in a Big Tech mayhem, some were left in shock as they never anticipated this would happen to them. They wrote emotional pieces on LinkedIn and Twitter, praying for jobs as they were on short notice in a foreign land.

Shilpi Soni, a software engineer from India, was among those who lost her job at Goldman Sachs, which laid off around 3,200 employees.

Impacted by the layoff, Soni took to LinkedIn and shared her situation and how she managed to land a job in the US despite coming from a rural family in India.

"I take pride in being the first person in my family to pursue a Master's in a foreign country. I come from a rural family so it has been one roller coaster of a journey, overcoming social and financial restrictions to come here," Soni wrote in her LinkedIn Post.

Another Indian-origin worker, who lost his job in the layoffs made by Google, said, "he waited for six months to join Google".

Kunal Kumar Gupta, a Technical Program Manager at Google in California, writes in his LinkedIn post: "As the news is out that Google has done a 12,000 strong layoff, unfortunately, I have been impacted by the same. After 3 years and 6 months at Google." Gupta added that he had waited six months to join Google and worked as a Teaching Assistant to maintain his immigration status after graduating from the US-based Carnegie Mellon University in 2019.

Moreover, among Microsoft, which laid off around 10,000 employees, there was an Indian-origin employee who was sacked after giving 21 years of his life to the company.

Prashant Kamani, a principal software development manager at Microsoft in Washington, writes in his post, "Today, I was informed that my position at Microsoft has been eliminated. As I reflect on it today, I feel a sense of gratitude more than anything else. Microsoft was my first job after college, and I still remember coming over to a foreign land all nervous and excited, wondering what life has in store for me." "If you know of people hiring for software management positions, do connect me," he added.

Another Indian-origin worker who got laid off by Microsoft shared her story on LinkedIn in which she said that "she is on visa and has limited time to find a new position".

Harshita Jhavar, a data and applied scientist at Microsoft, who spent four years in the company in Washington, writes in her LinkedIn post, "Please help me find a suitable position to connect with a team where I can have a relevant role to play. I will be persistent until I crack my next move".

Apart from Indian-origin workers, there was also an IT professional from Kenya who sold his home and his car to join Amazon in Europe, but was fired just four days before his relocation. Tom Mboya Opiyo was among the 18,000 people impacted by Amazon's mass layoffs.

Impacted by the layoff, Opiyo took to LinkedIn, where he wrote, "Well, last week, I shared about my impending exciting move abroad. It was a relocation role to Europe with a leading global company.

"Sadly, it has fallen through due to business changes as part of the organisation's 'annual operating review' that impacted the role and many others." He added: "We were to travel this weekend so that I start work on Monday, 16th Jan, and the call came 4 days to that date." Opiyo further said that his family is truly devastated after planning for the move for six months and believes that God will have a better plan for them.
San Francisco, Jan 29 : Micro-blogging platform Twitter has removed the option to send a direct message to another account directly from a profile page on Android and iOS applications, many users reported.

The "DM" button, which usually appears next to the follow and notification buttons, has disappeared without any replacement, reported 9To5Google.

This seems to be the situation for all Twitter accounts and is probably just a small bug.

It is difficult to figure out whether this was done on purpose by the platform given the way the service is now run.

In the meantime, users can still send a direct message by looking up the desired account in the messages tab, the report said.

Last week, Twitter Boss Elon Musk had announced that a higher-priced subscription to the microblogging platform with no ads will be available in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, Musk also announced that the upcoming update of the platform will make it less mandatory for users to use the "For You" algorithmic timeline.
New Delhi, Jan 29 : The staff of aviation company Air India, residing in Delhi's Vasant Vihar area, is hoping to get some respite from the Delhi High Court following the Bombay High Court's recent order restraining Air India from deducting penal rent and damage charges from the salary of the employees residing in AI staff quarters at Kalina, Santacruz.

"We are now hopeful that we too might get some relief from the Delhi High Court and our salaries won't be deducted," an AI employee said on the condition of anonymity.

The AI employees and the airline have been at loggerheads over vacating the quarters since last year. The 116 petitioners and residents of Air India Colony pleas will be heard on January 31 in Delhi High Court.

"I had received a notice on December 29, 2022 regarding eviction from the residential colony and deduction of salary. Just two days after the notice from AI, Rs 1,20,000 were cut from December salary leaving me with not enough money even to run my house," she said.

"They even did not give us 14 days' time after the notice as they knew we might knock on the doors of court against their notice," said another AI employee.

The notice or letter, a copy of which is with IANS, sent to Air India employees residing in Air India Colony at Kalina, Mumbai and Delhi's Vasant Vihar, said a fine of Rs 15 lakh and Rs 10 lakh, respectively, will be deducted from their salaries and others.

"In addition, you are also liable to pay damage charges of Rs 15/10 lakh. Any liable charges, penal rent or damage charges would be recovered from salary/retirement/service benefits and any financial benefits accrued or likely to accrue in future, including JDC arrear admissible to you," the letter read.

The employees, who have not vacated their flats since August 2022, have had their salaries deducted since that month and it will continue till they vacate the properties.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) sent a letter to Air India, conveying that those not vacating their accommodations will have to pay the monthly rent at twice the market rate, in addition to the fine.

"Hence, in terms of the letter dated 29.9.2021 of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, it has been decided to levy the penal rent equivalent to the sum of normal occupancy charges and double the market rent for the period of your unauthorised stay w.e.f, 01.08.2022 till date or till you vacate the company accommodation @ Rs 64,000 per month, which will be recovered from your salary / other dues, payable to you," read the AI notice to its employees.

The residents claim that though airlines have been bought by the Talace Private Limited, a Special-Purpose Vehicle of Tata Sons, it is still working on government directions. "Why isn't the company supporting us? Instead they are transferring or giving punishment postings to us," said a resident of the colony which houses the company's cabin crew members, pilots, engineers and other staff.

In January 2022, Tata took over Air India, and around 800 families of the employees living in the colony were told to vacate their homes. The employees living in society in Mumbai's Kalina faced the same direction as well.

The airline staff quarters were not part of the privatisation deal and was transferred to Air India Asset Holding Ltd, a government-owned special purpose vehicle set up to handle non-core assets and 75 per cent of Air India's debt.

The Bombay High Court while hearing petitions filed last year by All India Service Engineers Association, Aviation Industry Employees Guild and Air Corporation Employees Union on Friday had said that the AI shall also not deduct penal rent and damage charges till the next date which is February 22.
Seoul, Jan 29 : A senior North Korean official on Sunday rejected alleged weapons transactions with Russia, warning the US of an "undesirable result" if it continues to spread such rumours.

Kwon Jong-gun, director-general in charge of US affairs at North Korea's foreign ministry, claimed the US again talked about the "groundless rumour" of arms dealing between North Korea and Russia in an attempt to justify its offer of weapons to Ukraine, Xinhua News Agency reported.

The US has recently announced its decision to send 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine to help its fight against Russia's invasion. Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of the country's leader Kim Jong-un, said Washington is crossing the "red line." "Trying to tarnish the image of the DPRK by fabricating a non-existent thing is a grave provocation that can never be allowed and that can not but trigger its reaction," Kwon said in a statement carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"The US should be mindful that it will face a really undesirable result if it persists in spreading the self-made rumour against the DPRK." Kwon did not say what he meant by an undesirable result.

Earlier this month, the US said North Korea continues to provide ammunition to Russia, releasing satellite imagery of Russian railcars travelling between Russia and North Korea on November 18 and November 19 for what the US called the initial delivery of North Korean weapons to a private Russian military company, the Wagner Group, for use in Ukraine.

Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War
Chennai, Jan 29 : The Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies special squads and the police are on high alert as the smuggling of Public Distribution Scheme (PDS) rice is on an increase in the state.

In the latest incident of smuggling, 11,440 kg rice was seized by the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies officials on the Chennai- Bengaluru highway on Friday night.

The department had received information that rice was being smuggled from Kancheepuram district into Karnataka and the special squad and police chased the national permit lorry, which was used for transporting the smuggled rice. Kancheepuram district police seized the vehicle after a chase and arrested three men.

The Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation has been arresting people who are indulging in smuggling of rice and other PDS commodities to other neighbouring states like Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.

The Tamil Nadu Police have also intensified patrolling in the border check posts to prevent the smuggling of rice.

A senior official of the Tamil Nadu civil supplies told IANS that rice is distributed for free for BPL card holders and this rice is being bought by middlemen and smuggled out into other states.

The Kerala Police had intercepted a national permit truck in Walayar that was smuggling rice into the state from Tamil Nadu. On questioning the driver and helper in the truck, it was found that the rice was meant for some mills in central Kerala. This rice will be converted into branded products and sold at a higher price.

With an increase in smuggling of rice from Tamil Nadu, the concerned district police have posted special police teams to manage the check posts.
New Delhi, Jan 29 : A colony that used to be abuzz with kids playing here and there, residents gathering in groups, and elders taking a stroll in the evening, is in ruins now with barely anyone around.

While speaking to IANS, a resident of the Air India colony located in south Delhi's Vasant Vihar told how the whole eviction threat by the company has taken a toll on not just them but the kids as well.

"Mumma, I don't want to go outside. It's dark and I am scared," said an 11-year-old son of an Air India employee, who wished to remain anonymous and told us how all the kids are now scared to play outside in the streets of the colony with no lights and unoccupied flats.

"And not just kids, even we are scared to go for a walk inside our own colony that is allotted to us," said another employee, on condition of anonymity, who has two young children.

In January last year, when Talace Private Limited, a subsidiary of Tata Sons, took over Air India, and around 800 families of the employees living in the colony were told to vacate their homes, residents were devastated.

"We never realised that we are working so hard only to face this today," said a resident adding that "we have been employed at Air India for so many years now and they have no empathy for us." The benches in the park lay empty and buildings deserted as we went around the colony to speak to more residents in detail.

Amenities as basic as electricity and water have been snatched from the residents and it is the collective efforts of the remaining residents that are running the colony. A colony, which is spread across 30 acres and sheltered 2,000 families initially, which later reduced to 800, is now home to only 250 families.

When water is one of the most essential things humans consume, AI colony residents have been denied that, too.

A resident, on condition of anonymity, said: "They also stopped giving us water supply. Even after the court's order to continue giving us its supply, they haven't restored it to date." "We have been maintaining common electricity, water supply, and other staff including lift operators after coordinating with the Residents' Welfare Association of the colony," he added.

Where the colony's security was in the hands of 30 guards before, has now been reduced to only five new guards, who tell us that they have been hired to take care of the property alone and not the "people" residing in the colony.

"I am a single parent and every time I have to go on long-haul flights, I have to call my elderly parents repeatedly to make sure they are safe with my son inside and if the doors are locked," a resident chipped in.

"Theft has become an everyday thing here. In fact, only yesterday a robber tried getting inside our home from the back door," the resident added, saying that it has become very tough to manage things now.

What has become even more challenging for the residents is ensuring untroubled education for their children. "Changing schools mid-way is not easy. Getting admission to a decent school is not an easy task. There is so much to look at," another resident said.

"We are scared to even voice our complaints because we are ultimately worried about our kids. Most of us living here are in our middle age and leaving this job means no other mode of earning livelihood for our family," he said.
Dubai, Jan 29 : Desert Vipers pulled off an exciting 12-run victory over Dubai Capitals in the 20th match of the DP World ILT20 at the Dubai International Stadium on Saturday night to regain the top position in the points table.

Though Desert Vipers could post only a moderate total of 149 for 9 through a captain's knock of 40 off 32 balls with two boundaries and two sixes from Colin Munro, Dubai Capitals were restricted to 137 for 5 in 20 overs through a splendid and accurate bowling by Rohan Mustafa (2 for 27) backed well by Matheesha Pathirana and Tom Curran. For Dubai Capitals, Adam Zampa playing his first match, bowled brilliantly take three wickets for 16 to bag the Player of the match award.

Dubai Capitals' skipper Rovman Powell (34n.o) and Yusuf Pathan (35n.o) put on an unbeaten partnership of 52 runs in 6.3 overs, but their effort went in vain before the tight bowling.

Dubai Capitals won the toss and elected to bowl. Desert Vipers' opener and UAE's Rohan Mustafa fell to the fifth ball of the first over from Jake Ball edging to wicketkeeper Robin Uthappa for 1. Skipper Colin Munro joined their prolific scoring opener Alex Hales. After scores of 83n.o, 64, 110, 99, 62n.o, Hales failed for the first time, charging out to Akif Raja and missing a good length delivery to be bowled for 12.

Munro hit Fred Klaassen for a six and a boundary off successive deliveries. Sam Billings too picked a boundary to mid-wicket off Raja. Munro then hit Raja for his second six. Desert Vipers scored 68 runs during their powerplay. Munro went on to pick two more boundaries off Jake Ball's sixth over, but after that they failed to maintain the momentum.

Sikandar Raza and Adam Zampa, who bowled the seventh and eighth over respectively, tightened the run flow giving away only five runs each. In the tenth over, Zampa trapped Billings leg before for 25 with a googly ending the 65 runs partnership off 44 balls for the third wicket.

Wanindu Hasaranga lasted only seven balls to score nine runs before lifting Zampa straight to Sikandar Raza at long-on. Zampa picked his third wicket in the 14th over, when Munro pulled him into the hands of Dasun Shanaka for 40.

With half the side back in the dug-out for 110 in 15 overs, Sherfane Rutherford and Tom Curran added 40 more runs in 32 balls for the sixth wicket before Ball had Rutherford brilliantly caught by a diving Shanaka at extra cover for 22. Curran fell to the first ball of the last over, caught by Rovman Powell at long off for 21. Desert Vipers' innings ended one run short of the 150 mark after Klaassen got Ali Nasar out caught by Shanaka for 1 to the fifth ball and Gus Atikinson getting run out to the last ball. In the last five overs Desert Vipers scored only 39 runs and lost four wickets.

Chasing a target of 150 runs, Dubai Capitals lost opener Robin Uthappa for 1 in the second over when Curran took a running catch at mid-on. In the third over, opener Hazratullah Zazai too fell edging Sheldon Cottrell to wicketkeeper Billings for 6. UAE's Chirag Suri and Shanaka took the score to 45 in 8.1 overs when Hasaranga had Shanaka brilliantly caught and bowled for 24. Suri scored 16 before lifting Rohan Mustafa to Hasaranga at deep mid-wicket.

At the half way mark, Dubai Capitals were 53 for 4, needing another 97 runs to win. Sikandar Raza joined his skipper Powell. In the 13th over from Hasaranga, Powell hit a huge six to long-on and also cracked a boundary to take 14 runs off the over. Raza hit Mustafa's first two deliveries of the 14th over for two consecutive sixes but perished to the third ball caught behind off his gloves to wicketkeeper Billings for 15.

With 65 runs needed off 39 balls, Yusuf Pathan joined Powell and hit Matheesha Pathirana for a boundary and a huge six over long-off. He also cracked another boundary and a six off Curran over mid-off. Pathirana bowled a tight 17th over giving away only three runs. Curran made it tougher giving away only seven runs in the 18th over.

The Saturday crowd moved to the edge of their seats with 23 needed of the last 12 deliveries. Pathirana yielded only six runs in the 19th over making it 17 needed from the last over from Curran. He gave away only four runs and helped Vipers win by 12 runs. Powell's unbeaten 34 came off 26 balls with one boundary and two sixes while Pathan's unconquered 35 came off 26 balls with three boundaries and two sixes.

Dubai Capitals remain on fifth slot with two victories and four defeats and only five points.
New Delhi, Jan 29 : The Indian IT and electronics leaders on Sunday urged the Centre to lift certain tariffs and announce incentive schemes for sectors impacted by recession in the Union Budget for FY24.

Pankaj Mohindroo, Chairman of India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA), said that tariffs on inputs and components are an important barrier to increasing localisation.

"However, some of the smaller tariffs should be done away with to support local businesses and bring ease of doing business. ICEA recommends that the tariff of 2.75 per cent (including social welfare surcharge), among other smaller tariffs which have no beneficial impact and only create a burden for legitimate manufacturers, is removed," Mohindroo said in a statement.

Further, the duty on the mechanics is high but the vertical has not grown because unintended duties on inputs were imposed.

"All inputs duties on mechanics should be removed. Additionally, open cell is a hugely capital-intensive industry, and it is important to encourage it. However, the duties imposed on cells and chip on film (COF) have created an inverted duty structure for the manufacturing of open cells in India," Mohindroo added.

ICEA recommended reducing the inputs of the open cell at zero duty.

The association also suggested that the government should ease the BCD (basic customs duty) on high-end phones.

According to Mahesh Kumar Nutalapati, Vice President and Head, Finance and Accounts, Cyient Ltd, on the lines of production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, "the government should consider service-linked incentive (SLI) schemes for industries in service sector by interlinking the incentive schemes for setting up offshore service units and employee generation opportunities." Also, to tame the current recession, it is imperative for the government "to announce incentive schemes for sectors impacted by recession through achievement of metrics such as retaining headcount or additions to headcount," Nutalapati said.

Chocko Valliappa, Founder and CEO, Vee Technologies, said that the information technology industry can play a significantly bigger role in right-skilling engineering students by providing them meaningful internships to make them industry ready.

"The finance minister can help shape this talent pool for the job market by permitting the industry to invest 50 per cent of their CSR spend as stipend for internships to engineering students. This provision can turn out to be a win-win for both students and the tech companies," Valliappa added.

According to Varun Gupta, Founder and CEO of Boult Audio, the consumer electronics tech sector has significantly fostered the Indian economy even during the pandemic.

"To continue doing so, the government needs to rationalise taxes, promote R&D and provide incentives to ramp up manufacturing in line with the 'Make in India' campaign. Another crucial factor that the government must consider in the upcoming budget is the focus on cost management in the logistics industry," he noted.
Islamabad, Jan 29 : At least 39 people were killed when a bus fell into a ravine in Pakistan's Lasbela district on Sunday.

The vehicle carrying 48 passengers was proceeding towards Karachi from Quetta, Lasbela Assistant Commissioner Hamza Anjum, was quoted as saying by Dawn.

The speeding vehicle rammed into pillar of a bridge while taking a U-turn near Lasbela and caught fire, Anjum added.

Three people have been rescued, he said, adding that number of deaths may increase.
Mumbai, Jan 29 : Rakhi Sawant has shared a video informing her fans about the demise of her mother, Jaya Bheda, at a hospital in Mumbai due to endometrial cancer.

In a live chat on January 9, she told her fans about her mother's illness and also shared that she has been admitted.

She lost her mother late on Saturday night and shared a video in which she was seen crying while sitting on the floor in the hospital.

She wrote in the caption: "Aaj meri maa ka haat sar se uth gaya.. Or mere pass khone ke liye kuch nhi bacha.. I love you MAA.. Aap ke bina kuch nhi raha,ab koun meri pukar sunega or koun mujhe gale lagayega maa.. Ab Mai kya karuakaha jauuuu.. I miss you Aai." (Today my mother's hand was lifted from my head...and I have left with nothing to lose..I love you maa..Nothing is left without you..now who will listen to me..Now what should I do...where should I go..miss you aai) Rahul Vaidya, Jasleen Matharu, Pavitra Punia and Jackkie Shroff, among others extended condolences.

Shefali Bagga mentioned: "Stay strong Rakhi..may her soul rest in peace. Om Shanti." Vindu Dara Singh also wrote: "Her blessings will always be on you all." A video of Rakhi taking her mother's mortal remains to their house went viral on social media. In the video, she was seen crying and her friends and family members were seen supporting her. She was seen telling the paparazzi about her mother's death.

She can be heard saying: "Maa ab nahi rahi...(Mom is no more)." She even asked her friend, "Adil kahaan hai? Adil ko phone karo." (Where is Adil? Call him).
Despite the enormous cost of the war in Ukraine, Russia manages to allocate money to continue upgrades of its SMF (Strategic Missile Forces.) A decade ago, Russia converted one of its silo-based missile divisions from the Cold War era RS-18 (SS-19) to the new RS-24 Yars. A Russian ICBM division has three regiments each with three battalions and each battalion has three ICBMs. Russia believes Yars is a worthy successor to the venerable, reliable and aging RS-18s. Reinforcing that attitude was another successful test of an RS-24 on December 24th. Russia began deploying RS-24s in 2010. The latest move, to replace RS-18s with RS-24s, indicates a high degree of confidence in the RS-24 and enough cash to retire the RS-18s and build RS-24s to replace them.

The 106-ton RS-18 is a 24.5 meter (76 foot) long missile that uses storable liquid fuel, meaning that the missile is inherently more complex than a solid fuel missile. The RS-18 entered service in 1975, and it wasn't until the 1980s that Russia began producing reliable solid fuel rocket motors large enough for ICBMs (the 45-ton RS-12M). The last RS-18s were manufactured in 1990 and Russia expected each RS-18 to last 30 years if well maintained, regularly refurbished and needed badly enough. The RS-18 was developed as a "light" ICBM, in effect, a competitor for the U.S. Minuteman series. The RS-18 was the first Russian ICBM to carry MIRV (multiple independently targeted reentry vehicles). The RS-18 carries six warheads and has a range of 10,000 kilometers. Topol-M/Tars has a range of 11,000 kilometers. Russia is also extending the life of its heavier (217 ton) RS-20 ICBMs to 30 years. This missile carries ten warheads and is also being converted to launch satellites. Eventually Yars replaced all of these.

In 2009 Russia announced that the latest version of the Topol series, the RS-24 (Yars), had entered service. The RS-24 appears to be a slightly heavier version of the 46-ton Topol-M (or RS-12M1/M2). The RS-24 was deployed in silos as well as on wheeled vehicles. The RS-24 carried more warheads (up to ten) than the Topol-M. The Russians developed the RS-24 to enable them to use all the additional warheads to penetrate American missile defenses.

At one point Russia planned to develop a liquid-fuel ICBM to replace its RS-18 and RS-20 (SS-18) ICBMs. The prototype was built but not tested. Russia had also announced plans to replace the old liquid-fuel missiles with the Topol M and this plan was implemented with the RS-24. It was never explained why they were sticking with liquid-fuel technology for the Cold War era heavy missiles. It might have something to do with the liquid-fuel missiles being able to lift heavier loads, making it possible to use them to also launch satellites. The liquid fueled missiles weighed 100-220 tons and had warhead weights of 5-9 tons. In contrast, all American ICBMs in the past 60 years (including those launched from subs) are solid-fueled and have a warhead weight similar to the Topol (about a ton). Russian SLBMs (Sea Launched ICBMs) also have the one-ton warhead.

Russia continued to test launch older RS-18 and RS-20 ICBMs. A decade ago, Russia still had over a hundred (out of a 1980s peak of 360) RS-18s in service and kept some of them active until recently. The test firings for most of the last two decades have been successful, and other quality-control tests have come back positive. Despite the post-Cold War collapse of the Russian military, cash and quality personnel kept going to the missile forces, which are the final defense of the largest nation on the planet.

Another example of the continued work on ICBMs was the first test launch of the production version of its new RS-29 Sarmat ICBM. The test was successful. This came two years after the RS-28 ICBM was ready for service, along with its Avangard hypersonic warhead. RS-28 missiles were supposed to begin replacing older RS-18 missiles by the end of 2020 but that was delayed as a few more technical problems had to be fixed with the production model. The successful launch from a silo of a production missile allows those already built to begin replacing older ICBMs.

Design errors and quality control problems have become customary with Russian ICBM and SLV (satellite launch vehicle) rockets and the Russians have adapted by making allowances for that as well as work-arounds. An example of this can be seen in the 2020 decision to delay acceptance of the solid-fuel SS-26, which was also supposed to carry the Avangard hypersonic warhead. The solid-fuel RS-26 had run into a lot more problems than the liquid-fuel RS-28. In 2019 Russia announced the suspension of the RS-26, one of the two ICBM projects that were designed to use the Avangard, a revival of a Cold War era hypersonic glide vehicle system. RS-26 was a solid fuel missile based on the Topol M, which was the first successful solid fuel ICBM missile Russia was able to deploy. It is comparable to the 1960s era U.S. Minuteman. Solid fuel is tricky to manufacture, and after many abortive attempts, the Russians stuck with liquid fuel until the 1980s. They finally perfected their solid fuel technology in the 1980s with the successful test launch of the 45-ton Topol in 1985. The 52-ton Topol-M followed ten years later. Both missiles have a range of 10,500 kilometers. This is the second time Russia ran into problems adapting the Topol M for other uses. The first effort was to turn Topol M into Bulava, an SLBM (Sea Launched Ballistic Missile) for the new Borei class SSBN ((ballistic missile nuclear subs). The Bulava problems were largely caused by a shortage of competent engineers and manufacturing specialists. Getting Bulava to work took a lot longer and cost a lot more than expected. Sensing the same pattern with the RS-26, Russia suspended work on this until 2027, or whatever future time when the personnel and manufacturing quality control problems can be solved.

The other new missile designed to carry Avangard, the 220-ton RS-28, had fewer problems but was still behind schedule and officially not expected to be ready until 2021. RS-28 was finally ready to use in 2022. Because of several successful test launches, Russia declared the Avangard/RS-28 missiles ready for deployment in 2019. That means these missiles are being taken off the production line, equipped with their Avangard third stage and headed for an existing R-36M (SS-18) base at Orenburg (1,500 kilometers southeast of Moscow) where those R-36M silos have been prepared to accept the RS-28 missiles. Satellite photos confirmed that many RS-28s were now in the R-36M silos. Given Russian production and budget problems, only a token number of RS-28s were in those silos by the end of 2019, with the number slowly increasing. The Orenburg ICBM base has been in service since the 1960s and has 62 silos. Since the 1990s most have been taken out of service. Some of those silos were used for launching ICBMs modified to carry commercial satellites. A dozen or more silos are available for the RS-28s and loading a silo with a new missile is a very visible (from the air) and time-consuming process.

RS-28 development began as a replacement for Cold War era ICBMs that are rapidly becoming too old and unreliable to use. By 2016 the RS-28 had also evolved into the primary carrier for the new hypersonic glide vehicle project Russia announced in 2013 but was believed to have suspended because of budget cuts brought on by low oil prices and sanctions. That crisis is still active and made worse by additional sanctions in 2022 because of the Ukraine invasion. The defense budget has undergone cuts for several years in a row. Yet the Avangard project remained quite active and has apparently received budget priority to get it into service as soon as possible.

The RS-28 was originally scheduled for testing before the end of 2016. That did not happen and there followed the usual succession of delays because of technical or manufacturing problems. RS-28 has been in development since 2009 and was originally scheduled to enter service in 2018. Russia has had a growing number of quality control problems throughout the Russian space problem and military tech development in general. The cause was the return of a market economy to Russia in the 1990s. At that point, most of the more talented people in defense industries found better-paying jobs in the commercial sector or overseas. No solution to this has been found, especially not with Russia suffering from an economic recession and pervasive corruption. Despite the fact that the government has devoted a lot more money and management talent (also in short supply) to nukes, ballistic missiles and nuclear subs, the problems and delays persist.

Russia believes the RS-28 is essential for state security because it can carry nine or more independently targeted warheads and will be the most important weapon in its ICBM arsenal. Moreover, the missile RS-28 is replacing (R-36M), is aging to the point where refurbishment is no longer able to keep these decades old missiles operational. The Russians saw this problem coming and in 2003 decided to refurbish its force of 1970s era R-36M (SS-18 or "Satan" in the West) ICBMs so they could remain in service another 10-15 years (2013-18). Both the old (210-ton, 32.2 meter long and 3.05 meters in diameter) R-36 and new (210-ton, 36.3 meter long and 3 meters in diameter) RS-28 are similar in size. The new missile is longer and that will require some adjustments to the existing R-36 silos. Some of that work appears to have already been done.

The R-36M was designed in 1969, first tested in 1972 and entered service in 1975. It's the largest ICBM the Russians ever built, with a liftoff weight of 210 tons and a warhead weighing eight tons. While it's a liquid fuel rocket, storable liquid fuel is used. This avoids lengthy fueling procedures common with earlier Russian ICBMs. Modifications and upgrades for the missile produced six separate models, the last one entering service in 1990. Russia wanted to refurbish a hundred of the most recently built (in the 1980s, for the most part) R-36Ms. Shortages of cash and resources reduced the number refurbished and as of 2016 only about fifty were operational. By 2018 only about 30 will be usable and by 2020 none were. The RS-28 is very similar to the R-36M, weighing 220 tons and a warhead hauling up to ten tons of smaller warheads (up to 15) or 24 Avangard vehicles.

The secretive Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle project was something that began during the Cold War but never got into service. Suspicions that Russia had changed its mind may have been a side-effect of China revealing in early 2016 that they had perfected the technology for a maneuverable ballistic missile warhead. This came a little after it was revealed that since 2014 China had conducted six tests of a maneuverable gliding warhead for ballistic missiles. Five of the six tests were successful and this hypersonic glide vehicle was officially known as the DF-ZF.

In effect, this Chinese hypersonic glide vehicle is a warhead that can glide rather than simply plunging back to earth, and is maneuverable enough to hit small moving targets in space or down on the surface. The DF-ZF was initially developed as China sought to perfect a version of the DF-21 ballistic missile that could hit moving warships at sea. DF-21 is a 15 ton, two-stage, solid fuel missile. The DF-21D (the carrier killer version) missile using the DF-ZF warhead is also more difficult for anti-missile missiles to hit. This is what the Russian hypersonic glide vehicle is designed for.

Russia and the United States had developed this technology much earlier but neither has deployed it in the form the Chinese appear to favor. The original work in this area was by the Germans during World War II. The U.S. and Russia both investigated the concept more during the Cold War but never felt it worth building. In the 1990s the United States proposed reviving work on hypersonic glide vehicles for its Prompt Global Strike system. This would put hypersonic glide vehicle warheads, using high-explosive and not nuclear explosives, on ICBMs. This meant a very expensive weapon that could hit a target anywhere on earth in less than an hour of the order being given. In any event, the United States successfully tested its version of the hypersonic glide vehicle in 2011 but with the defense budget shrinking the project was halted. This was encouraged when a 2014 hypersonic glide vehicle test failed. Now, this effort has been revived, sort of.

The United States moved ahead with reviving its Cold War era hypersonic glide vehicle ballistic missile warheads. In late 2017 the U.S. revealed several active research projects like TBG (Tactical Boost Glide) and HAWC (Hypersonic Air-Breathing Weapon) which are similar in size and shape to the cruise missiles carried by bombers, and launched from high altitudes into orbit or remain in the atmosphere, but moving at hyper speeds (over 5,000 kilometers an hour). This is similar to the X-51A Waverider project that was halted in 2013 but not forgotten. The problem with the X-51A was that it could not be made reliable enough. A 2010 flight test had the 8 meter (36 foot) long, cruise missile-like X-51 aircraft boosted to 3,300 kilometers an hour, using a solid fuel rocket, at which point the scramjet engine took over, and successfully operated for over two minutes, achieving speeds of nearly 6,000 kilometers an hour. This was the longest a scramjet had ever operated (the previous best was ten seconds). By 2013 the 4th test got the liquid fuel engine going for five minutes.

What makes scramjets work is the compression of incoming air without the use of a fan system (as in conventional jet engines). But while scramjets have been in development for half a century, the lack of adequate materials (that can handle the high heat and pressure), and adequate design tools, frustrated attempts to build workable and reliable scramjets. Scramjets have few moving parts but must cope with very extreme conditions and the design challenges have proved very frustrating. The recent X-51 tests, like all previous ones, ended with the aircraft crashing. The next step was to get longer hypersonic engine use, de-acceleration, and landing via parachute (and eventually an auxiliary engine.) Going beyond the 2013 test proved too expensive and time consuming to continue when there were cheaper alternatives available and these depended more on getting into orbit and letting gravity provide and maintain the high speed. It was definitely easier to achieve those high speeds with orbital technologies like TBG and HAWC. Or the new Chinese systems like DF-ZF.

Russia stresses the need for Avangard to deal with American missile defense systems. This doesnt make sense to Westerners because the American anti-ICBM systems are limited and meant to deal with small numbers of ICBMs from North Korea or Iran. Russia interprets it differently because Russian leaders since 2010 have blamed their internal problems on the growing threat of NATO. The reality is that the NATO threat is a myth but Russias growing economic problems are not. This is made clear via opinion polls and international economic surveys. Corruption rankings put Russia among the most corrupt nations, and those are the ones that have the worst economic and military performance. The most recent corruption surveys show Russia as more corrupt than China and getting worse. Avangard is an expensive defense against an imaginary threat. Meanwhile, the growing corruption and shortage of competent people (who are leaving Russia or avoiding defense industries) make it more and more difficult to complete high-tech weapons projects of any kind.
Kolkata, Jan 29 : The central inspection team from the Union education ministry to West Bengal to review the implementation of the mid-day meal scheme might conduct random height-weight ratios of the students covered under the scheme.

According to sources aware of the tentative schedule of the central inspection team to conduct the review from January 30 to February 6 in different districts, there are several methods to evaluate whether the mid-day meal beneficiaries are receiving adequate nutritious food or not and examining the height-weight ratio is one of the most effective ways to do that.

From the constitution of the nine-member team, which will arrive in Kolkata on Sunday afternoon only, more than bureaucratic representation the focus has been given on inducting specialists in the field of nutrition. This has been done to make the field inspection process more fruitful.

The central inspection team will be led by Dr Anuradha Dutta, the head of the department for foods & nutrition department of Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, which is based out of Pantnagar in Uttarakhand. Three members of the nine- member fact-finding team are chief consultants with the Union ministry of education. A representative from the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) will also be a member of the team.

Sources from the state secretariat said that as per preliminary information communicated to them by the Union education ministry, the central inspection team will also conduct on-spot examination of the cooked mid-day meal to check the nutrition value there. They will also check whether proper management information system chain is followed in the entire process.

While these will be the part of the inspection aspect from the nutrition side, the Central team will also evaluate the financial and management aspect in implementation of the scheme. This second aspect will involve the inspection of the infrastructure facilities like the condition of the kitchens, involvement of the teachers in monitoring the cooking system, payment mechanism to the cook hired for the purposes and status of Aadhaar- linking of those outsourced in the system.

The central inspection team is visiting the state amid complaints of irregularities regarding the implementation of the mid-day meal scheme. The leader of the opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari has even complained of diversion of the mid-day meal funds for paying compensation to the victims of Bogtui carnage in March last year.
New Delhi, Jan 29 : The Centre and the judiciary friction over the collegium system for appointment of judges seems to be far from over, as former Supreme Court judges have vehemently criticized Law Minister Kiren Rijiju for his comments against the collegium system.

Fierce criticism by the judges has not deterred Rijiju from voicing out his opinion on the collegium system and recently in a media interaction, he said the Supreme Court collegium publishing inputs of Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) and intelligence bureau (IB) on candidates recommended by the collegium for judgeship, is a matter of grave concern.

In an interview to a news channel, Rijiju said the appointment of judges is a sensitive issue, which we cannot discuss on public platforms and emphasized that he cannot discuss the process, but can say, the government takes its considered decision carefully and follows a policy.

Former Supreme Court judge justice Rohinton Nariman, at a public event, slammed the Law Minister for his "diatribe" against the collegium system for appointment of judges.

Justice Nariman said, "This sitting on names is a very deadly thing against the democracy of this country. Because what you are merely doing is you are waiting for a particular collegium and hoping that the next collegium changes its mind..." Justice Nariman was part of the Supreme Court collegium till he retired in August 2021.

Similarly, former Supreme Court judge justice Madan B. Lokur, in an interview to a news website earlier this month, said the justification given by the law minister for his suggestions -- that 2015 apex court judgment "directed to restructure the Memorandum of Procedure of the collegium system" -- is "flawed".

Justice Lokur, who was also a former member of the Supreme Court collegium, called the law minister's suggestions "unacceptable" and, if implemented, would "damage and undermine the independence of the judiciary".

Similarly, Justice Nariman had also emphasized what would be the independence of judiciary if judges, who are fearless and independent are not being appointed. He said, "If you don't have fearless and independent judges, say goodbye...There is nothing left...As a matter of fact, according to me if finally, this last bastion falls or was to fall we would enter the abyss of a new dark age".

In December last year, a Supreme Court bench of three-judges headed by justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and comprising justices Abhay S. Oka and Vikram Nath told the Attorney General R. Venkataramani that just because there are some sections of the society who express a view against the collegium system, it will not cease to be the law of the land.

The top court had also deplored Centre sitting on files of candidates recommended by the collegium for judgeship. And, on January 6, the Supreme Court told the Attorney General (AG) R. Venkataramani elevation of lawyers, picked up by the collegium for appointment as judges, should not be objected merely due to their point of view, and a court must reflect different philosophies and points of view.

The Law Minister, in the interview, said that when it was said from the Supreme Court bench that the government is sitting on files, then, in a democracy, it becomes necessary for him to reply. He stressed that the government does not sit on files normally, rather it follows the process as required.

The apex court collegium published resolutions reiterating names of some advocates for judgeship in various high courts. The apex court cited inputs by RAW and IB on candidates, whose files were returned by the Centre to the collegium for reconsideration.

In a statement, in connection with appointment of openly gay lawyer Saurabh Kripal as a judge of the Delhi High Court, the collegium said: "From the letters of the Research & Analysis Wing (R&AW) dated 11 April 2019 and 18 March 2021, it appears that there are two objections to the recommendation which was made by the collegium of this court on 11 November 2021 approving the name of Saurabh Kirpal namely: (i) the partner of Saurabh Kirpal is a Swiss National, and (ii) he is in an intimate relationship and is open about his sexual orientation".

Reiterating Kripal's name, the collegium said there is no reason to pre-suppose that the partner of the candidate, who is a Swiss National, would be inimically disposed to our country, since the country of his origin is a friendly nation.

"Many persons in high positions, including present and past holders of constitutional offices, have and have had spouses who are foreign nationals," the collegium added.
Tehran, Jan 29 : At least three people were killed and 816 others injured after a 5.9 magnitude quake hit Iran's Khoy city.

The quake hit the region at 21.44 p.m. local time on Saturday and its depth was 7 km, the state media reported.

Governor-general of West Azarbaijan province Mohammad Sadegh Motamadian said injured have been rushed to various hospitals, Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported.

Seventy villages were damaged in the quake, he added.
Panaji, Jan 29 : BJP Government under Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has no right to continue in power and must resign immediately for murder of Mhadei, said Leader of the Opposition in Goa Assembly, Yuri Alemao.

His reaction came after Union Home Minister Amit Shah during a rally in Karnataka's Belagavi on Saturday said that the BJP has provided water to the neighbouring state by resolving a dispute with Goa over Mhadei river diversion.

"Amit Shah has acknowledged the commitment of the Congress Party in Goa towards protecting and saving our Mother Mhadei. His statement also made it clear that the BJP Government has killed our lifeline mother Mhadei," Alemao said.

During a rally in Belagavi, Shah said: "Sonia Gandhi during a speech in Goa in the year 2007 said that the Congress government will not allow Mhadei water diversion to Karnataka. In 2022, Congress in their manifesto stated that Karnataka will not get a single drop of water from Mhadei. Today, I am here to tell you that the BJP at the Centre has resolved the long dispute between Goa and Karnataka over Mhadei and allowed the diversion of Mhadei to Karnataka to satisfy the thirst of farmers of many districts." "BJP Government under Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has no right to continue in power and must resign immediately for Murder of Mhadei. Truth always prevails, God is great," the Leader of the Opposition said.

He said that the people of Goa will now realise that the Congress Party had made it a point in our Election Manifesto of 2022 that not a single drop of water will be allowed to be diverted. "We stood by our commitment and will continue to do so," Yuri Alemao added.

Congress Party has also circulated the video of assembly election campaign in regards to protecting river Mhadei.

"It is the Triple Engine BJP Government at the Centre, Karnataka and Goa who connived time and again to betray Goans and kill our lifeline Mhadei," he said.

Alemao appealed all Goans to unite and come out to protest against the anti-Goa decision of the BJP.

"BJP Government need to be taught a lesson," he said.
Gandhinagar, Jan 29 : Gujarat Panchayat Service Selection Board (GPSSB) has blamed the contractor for the Sunday paper leak in the recruitment examination for the post of junior clerk.

The contractor was given the contract to get question papers printed.

The GPSSB has said that an interstate gang is involved in the paper leak racket.

As per a GPSSB statement, the examination was scheduled between 11 a.m. in various districts of Gujarat, but after a midnight paper leaked,the exam was cancelled. A total of 9,53,000 candidates had applied for 1,150 posts.

GPSSB member Rajika Kacheria told media persons, "To maintain secrecy of the paper printing, the contract was given to an agency. None of the officers or the board members has any role in the paper printing or selecting the printing press. It is the private agency's responsibility, and the police will investigate their role too." She further said that a part of the paper was leaked at midnight. "The police after detaining a candidate with the paper shared the leaked paper with the board. On verifying the original paper, it was found that some questions were leaked, so in the larger interest of the aspiring candidates, the board decided to cancel the written exams for junior clerks," she said.

Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) caught 15 people from Vadodara for their alleged involvement in the paper leak, said Sunil Joshi, Superintendent of Police (ATS).

He added that since the last three days, the ATS team was working on the movement of some suspects and Saturday night a candidate was caught with the paper. Following the lead, 15 persons were rounded up, Joshi said.

According to police sources, "The paper was leaked from Andhra Pradesh or Telangana. A racketeer, who was in the past involved in the Odisha paper leak case, his name has surfaced in this paper leak also. The racketeers were looking for sound buyers who could pay from Rs 3 to 4 lakh."
Lucknow, Jan 29 : Even as the Uttar Pradesh government prepares to table its annual budget for 2023-24, a low utilisation of funds earmarked in the state budget for 2022-23 reflects the state of administration and also puts a question mark on development claims.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has now asked many of its departments to ensure that these allocations are used by March 20, 2023. He has warned that the performance of the department in the current financial year would be considered while deciding the upcoming budget provision by the Finance Department.

According to official sources, till December 31, 2022, many departments have been able to use only half of the budgetary provisions.

Though UP government has consistently monitored the utilisation of funds, the low expenditure has remained a cause of concern for many departments.

Allocated funds, if not used within a given financial year (when the budget is passed), are not carried over to the next financial year.

"The situation is monitored at various levels of the state government almost every month and steps are taken to ensure that the maximum funds are used before the end of year," said an official in the state finance department.

A close scrutiny of the budgetary provisions and allocations indicates that the expenditure by different departments was nearly 50 per cent or even less than 50 per cent of the funds earmarked in the first three quarters (up to December 31, 2022) when the last review was conducted early in January 2023.

The departments, which have not been able to use funds up to satisfactory levels, include the PWD, medical and medical education, vocational education, social welfare, women's welfare, tourism, environment and civil aviation.

The state government's progressive expenditure (as indicated on the koshvani.up.nic.in on January 19, 2023) indicates that many departments have not been able to make improvement in the situation after the last review.

The PWD (special area programme) was able to spend only Rs 175.67 crore against budgetary provision of Rs 700 crore and allocation of Rs 113.60 crore.

A sum of Rs 6118.47 crore has been used under PWD (roads) head against the budgetary provision of Rs 26,594.41 crore and allocation of Rs 12827.80 crore.

A sum of Rs 4,980.69 crore has been used against budgetary provision of Rs 10,390.76 crore and allocation of Rs 7974.44 crore) for medical (allopathic medicine) while Rs 801.27 crore and Rs 386.41 crore have been used against budgetary provision of Rs 1784.94 crore and Rs 684.55 crore for medical (Ayurvedic and Unani) and medical (homeopathy).

The vocational education department used Rs 608.70 crore against budget provision of Rs 1222.98 crore. The social welfare department utilised Rs 5647.29 crore against the budget of Rs 12158.09 crore and allocation of Rs 9820.93 crore.

The women's welfare department used Rs 2341.95 crore against budget provision of Rs 4643.86 crore. A sum of Rs 528.22 crore has been used by the tourism department against budgetary provision of Rs 1104.20 crore and allocation of Rs 594.73 crore.

The environment and civil aviation departments used Rs 5.78 crore and Rs 577.71 crore, respectively, against budgetary provision of Rs 18.20 crore and Rs 2315.68 crore, respectively.

Meanwhile, a UP minister, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, "The problem is that the bureaucracy has become so dominating that most officers do not work in accordance with what the minister says. Red tapism has become the order of the day which leads to delays."
Chennai, Jan 29 : South Indian Superstar Rajinikanth has issued a public notice on the infringement of rights, and warned of legal action against those who commercially exploit the actor's name, image, voice, etc., without taking his consent.

His advocate S. Elambharathi issued a public notice warning civil and criminal proceedings against those who infringe upon the actor's personality, including his voice, image, name, and other unique behaviour of his.

The notice issued on Saturday stated that only the actor has the control over the commercial utilization of his personality, name, voice, image, etc.

The notice also said that several mediums, platforms, product manufacturers were misappropriating his name, image, voice, caricature image, and artistic image, and AI-generated images to create confusion among the public and to entice them to buy certain products or to access the medium through which the actor's manners were misused.

The notice said, "His charisma and nature as an actor and human being has earned him the title of 'Superstar' called by millions and millions of his fans across the world. The sheer proportion of his fan base and his respect across the film industry is unmatched and indisputable. Any damage to his reputation or personal life would entail a great loss to our client." It is to be noted that Rajinikanth is presently shooting for the big-budget movie, 'Jailor' in which Malayalam superstar Mohanlal is playing a cameo role.
Tehran, Jan 29 : Drones attacked a defence facility in Iran's Isfahan city, media reports said.

"An explosion has occurred in one of the military centres affiliated to the Ministry of Defence," deputy head of security for Isfahan Governorate Mohammad Reza Jan-Nesari told Fars News Agency, CNN reported.

Iran successfully repelled a drone attack on one of its military plants on Saturday, the defence ministry said in a statement after local media reported that a loud blast had been heard at a military plant in the city.

One of the drones was hit and brought down by the plant's air defence system and the other two were caught in its defence traps and exploded, Islamic Republic News Agency reported quoting the statement.

No casualties were reported and the attack only caused slight damage to the roof of the defence equipment facility.
Bengaluru, Jan 29 : Telugu superstar Junior NTR and his family members visited famous Telugu actor and politician from Telugu Desam Party Nandamuri Taaraka Ratna at the Narayana Hrudayalaya hospital in Bengaluru on Sunday.

Minister for Health Dr K. Sudhakar accompanied Junior NTR, Kalyan Ram and others to the hospital. Taaraka Ratna is being treated at the hospital after suffering a massive heart attack. His condition is critical.

Junior NTR and family arrived to HAL airport and went straight to the hospital. The health bulletin stated that he will continue to be under rigorous evaluation and treatment in the coming days.

Nandamuri Taaraka Ratna suffered cardiac arrest in Kuppam on January 27, during a public programme and was shifted to a hospital in Kuppam with resuscitation for 45 minutes and primary treatment.

Due to his critical condition, he was transferred to Narayana Institute of Cardiac Sciences (Narayana Hrudayalaya), Bengaluru. A team of doctors from Narayana Hrudayalaya travelled to Kuppam to evaluate his condition.

He was transferred to Narayana Hrudalaya via road at 1 a.m. on January 28. Telugu Superstar Nandamuri Balakrishna visited Nandamuri Taaraka Ratna at the hospital.

Telugu Desam party Chief N. Chandrababu Naidu also paid a visit.
New Delhi, Jan 29 : Veteran actor Annu Kapoor got discharged on Saturday from Delhi's Sir Ganga Ram hospital where he was admitted on January 26, after he complained of chest discomfort.

After he underwent treatment by the cardiology team, the 66-year-old actor was discharged on Sunday morning.

"Mr Annu Madan Lal Kapoor who was admitted to Sir Ganga ram hospital on 26th January early morning with complaints of chest discomfort has been discharged today. He underwent treatment by cardiology team comprising Dr J.P.S. Sawhney, Dr Rajneesh Jain, Dr Rajiv Passey, Dr B.S. Vivek and Dr Sushant Wattal," said Dr Ajay Swaroop, Chairman (Board of Management), Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.

"Annu Kapoor is in a stable condition," said Dr Jain.
New Delhi, Jan 29 : The staff of aviation company Air India residing in Delhi's Vasant Vihar has urged the government to provide five to six acres of land in the 30 acre colony to the members at market rate where they can build their own township.

"We were facing salary delays and even cut up to 25 per cent before Air India was bought by Talace Private Limited, a subsidiary of Tata Sons and now all of a sudden they want us to vacate the quarters," said the staff of aviation company Air India, residing in Delhi's Vasant Vihar.

"Neither did they (company) make other residential arrangements. Just asked us to vacate. Isn't it the company's responsibility to handle the issue and make prior arrangements," said a 41-year-old AI employee and resident of the colony.

The employees living in the colony sheltered 2,000 families initially, which later got reduced to 800 and is now home to only 250 families. Earlier, they had also requested the government and Air India for five to six acres of land in the 30 acre colony.

"As few families are now living here, we proposed a plan to them in which we requested five to six acres of land to be given to us as per the market rate and we will build our own township. But no one paid heed to our request," said another employee and resident, on condition of anonymity.

"What will the government do with this 30 acres of land? They cannot construct high rise buildings here as the underground metro route is beneath the colony. Why not sell it to us when we are also ready to monetise as per market rate," said the resident.

"The government and Air India are not even ready to know our problem. And that is the reason we had to go to the court to fight for rights. Now when we are fighting they are harassing and forcing us to vacate by snatching our basic amenities and deducting salaries," said a 48-year-old resident of the colony.

The AI employees even claimed that whoever had raised their voices against the company, they have been either transferred or given punishment postings. "Around 1,000 employees have left the company since it was taken over by the Tata group. They did not leave the company, when the airline was running at a loss and we were not getting salaries. Why now?," said an employee.

In January 2022, Tata took over Air India, and around 800 families of the employees living in the colony were told to vacate their homes. The employees living in society in Mumbai's Kalina faced the same direction as well.

The airline staff quarters were not part of the privatisation deal and was transferred to Air India Asset Holding Ltd, a government-owned special purpose vehicle set up to handle non-core assets and 75 per cent of Air India's debt.
Bhubaneswar, Jan 29 : In a shocking incident, a police officer opened fire at Odisha Health Minister Naba Kishore Das in Jahrsuguda district, police said.

The incident occurred near Gandhi Chhak of Brajarajnagar in Jharsuguda district on Sunday. The police officer opened fire at Das when he was on the way to attend an inaugural function.

The critically injured Minister was admitted to a local hospital. He is likely to be airlifted to Bhubaneswar for further treatment.

Brajarajnagar sub divisional police officer (SDPO) Gupteswar Bhoi said police ASI Gopal Das suddenly opened fire from his office revolver on the Minister. The accused has been detained. Strong action will be taken against the ASI following an investigation.

Further details on the case will be known after the probe, the SDPO said.
New Delhi, Jan 29 : Naked short selling is not permitted in the Indian securities market and all investors would be required to mandatorily honour their obligation of delivering the securities at the time of settlement.

As per SEBI norms, short selling shall be defined as selling a stock which the seller does not own at the time of trade. All classes of investors, viz., retail and institutional investors, shall be permitted to short sell.

The securities traded in the F & O segment shall be eligible for short selling. SEBI may review the list of stocks that are eligible for short selling transactions from time to time.

The institutional investors shall disclose upfront at the time of placement of order whether the transaction is a short sale. However, retail investors would be permitted to make a similar disclosure by the end of the trading hours on the transaction day.

The brokers shall be mandated to collect the details on scrip-wise short sell positions, collate the data and upload it to the stock exchanges before the commencement of trading on the following trading day. The stock exchanges shall then consolidate such information and disseminate the same on their websites for the information of the public on a weekly basis. The frequency of such disclosure may be reviewed from time to time with the approval of SEBI.

The issue of short selling has come to the fore following the market meltdown and the crash in Adani group stocks.

Markets regulator, SEBI is likely to probe short selling in the Indian stock markets in the last few days.

Sources said Indian markets have been under onslaught in the last few trading sessions and a probe will ascertain the role of short sellers in bringing the market down.

According to a SEBI discussion paper, short selling -- the sale of a security that the seller does not own -- is one of the long-standing market practices, which has often been the subject of considerable debate and divergent views in most of the securities markets across the world.

The votaries of short selling consider it as a desirable and an essential feature of a securities market. The critics of short selling on the other hand are convinced that short selling, directly or indirectly, poses potential risks and can easily destabilise the market. In an efficient futures market, the relationship between spot price and futures price of the underlying asset is governed by cash-and-carry arbitrage and reverse cash-and-carry arbitrage. The latter requires that traders should be able to sell the underlying security short unless of course there are enough traders who own the security and are able to sell it cash to take advantage of too low a futures price.

It is noteworthy though, that despite the conflicting schools of thought, securities market regulators in most countries and in particular, in all developed securities markets, recognise short selling as a legitimate investment activity. Such jurisdictions also have an active market for equity derivatives which includes stock futures. Some of the jurisdictions even recognise the usefulness of naked short sales in certain circumstances and instead of prohibiting short sales; the regulators have permitted it to take place within a regulated framework. The International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has also reviewed short selling and securities lending practices across markets and has recommended transparency of short selling, rather than prohibit it.

As per media reports, in 2022, the US prosecutors considered racketeering charges in a sprawling probe of hedge funds and research firms that bet against stocks.

The US Justice Department issued subpoenas to dozens of firms as part of the sweeping probe focused on potentially manipulative trading around negative reports on listed companies published by some of their investors, media reports said.

Adani Group has said in a statement that accounting (or fraud type assertions) "investigation" by Hindenburg are devoid of facts. Of Adani portfolio's nine public listed entity's eight are audited by one of the Big 6.

On leverage or over leverage issue - 100 of our various companies are rated ( these account for nearly 100 per cent of our EBITDA), Adani Enterprises said in a stock exchange filing.

On revenue or balance sheet being artificially inflated or managed -- out nine listed companies in Adani portfolio six are subject to specific sector regulatory review for revenue, costs and capex, Adani Group said.

In relation to governance, four of our large companies are in the top 7 per cent of the peer group in the emerging markets or the sector or the world. On the LAS position do note that overall promoter leverage is less than 4 per cent of promoter holding, the group said.
Kolkata, Jan 29 : West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose on Sunday said that he will frequently make tours to different corners of the state to have first- hand information both about the geography of the state as well as grassroots level administrative activities.

He announced this after paying a visit to the iconic Dakshineswar Kali Temple, established by great Indian philanthropist Rani Rasmoni, which became globally famous at a later stage because of the association of Ramakrishna Paramahansa and Swami Vivekananda.

"Bengal is my second home. The culture and values of the people of the state are of very high stature. So I will start making tours within the state to know the state better," the governor said.

Speaking on the occasion, the governor was all praises about the Dakshineswar Kali Temple as he said that this temple is a symbol of the classical culture of India. "This temple is also a symbol of unity in India. There will be a unity march to spread the message of unity with focus on Dakshineswar Kali Temple," the governor said.

Bose is also scheduled to visit The Mother House of the Missionaries of Charity in central Kolkata on Sunday blessed by the association of the Nobel Laureate for Peace Mother Teresa. The governor will also pay floral tribute to Mother's tomb there.

In fact, the practice of making statewide tours was started by Bose's predecessor and the current Indian Vice- President Jagdeep Dhankhar. However, those tours by the former governor were not taken lightly by the Trinamool Congress government, who viewed Dhankhar summoning of district administrative officials during those tours as an "unnecessary interference" in the affairs of the government.

However, with Dhankhar's days being over and so far the Governor House- State Secretariat relationship having portrayed a rosy picture, all eyes will be on the probable impact of the new governor's statewide tours.

Recently, Bose faced the ire of the state BJP leaders for his participation in 'Hate Khori', a ritual to mark the beginning of learning where Bose took his first lesson of learning Bangla in the presence of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who was the chief guest on the occasion.
Patna, Jan 29 : The Dutch-era Record Room building in the Patna Collectorate which featured in movie 'Gandhi' that won eight Academy Awards, has been demolished, but eight pillars of the historic structure have been preserved.

The 300-year-old building, situated on the banks of Ganga river near Anta Ghat, was spread across 12 acre lands with massive doors, attractive ceilings, skylights and pillars. It was used as record rooms by Dutch as well as district magistrate offices.

The Bihar government had proposed the demolition of the historic structure in 2016 and construction of a high-rise complex, drawing huge criticism from all sections, including historians, conservation architects, scholars and Gandhians. Even the Dutch High Commissioner to India and the London-based Gandhi Foundation asked the Bihar government to avoid demolition.

A Delhi-based heritage body INTACH had filed a petition in Patna High Court in 2019 seeking a heritage site status for the structure. After losing the case in 2020, INTACH moved the Supreme Court which granted a stay on September 18, 2020. However, the Supreme Court finally rejected INTACH's plea on May 13, 2022, paving way for its demolition.

The Patna High Court in its judgement had allowed for demolition but directed not to bulldoze the pillars.

The demolition first started on May 14, 2022 and part of the portion was demolished by May 17, 2022. The complex had eight buildings, of which two were constructed post independence.

"We have shifted the important documents to a new building. We have preserved the pillars. The construction of the new building has already begun and once it will be completed you can see the modern and the ancient buildings. We will also display the important documents as well," said an officer of the building construction department.

Ironically, the complex is still mentioned as a cultural site on the official website of Bihar tourism.

In 'Gandhi', the Record Room building was featured as Motihari jail while the British-Era district magistrate office which was demolished in June last year, was dressed up as a courtroom to film the Champaran trial.
New Delhi, Jan 29 : A woman fugitive, who was wanted in more than 23 criminal cases of cheating in Delhi and Haryana, including Gurugram-Manesar industrial model township land grab scam, was arrested from Mumbai by a team of Delhi's Crime Branch, officials said on Sunday.

Ravindra Singh Yadav, Special Commissioner of Police (Crime) said that the accused was identified as Sona Bansal.

"The team of ARSC, Crime Branch meticulously worked on detecting the most wanted fugitive couple. Inspector Arun Sindhu got a tip off about the accused who was hiding in Mumbai. The information was developed and the team was sent to Mumbai.

"A raid was conducted in a high end society in Mumbai and Sona Bansal was arrested from there. Her husband Atul Bansal was not found there and his whereabouts are being ascertained. Though both are natives of Delhi, they had been residing there with the assumed identities of Mrs. Sulochana and Arun Gupta prepared fake and forged documents," said the police.

During interrogation, she claimed that her husband died a few years ago but she has failed as of now to prove her claims.

What is the case? Accused Atul Bansal and his wife Sona Bansal were wanted in several high profile white collar economic crimes, including the 'Gurugram-Manesar Industrial Model Township Land Grab Scam' amounting to Rs 1,500 crore. Both were the directors of the builder firm named after their son 'Aditya Build Well (ABW) Infrastructure Limited'.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had initiated money laundering investigation on the basis of the FIR registered at Manesar police station, Gurugram and thereafter investigation was taken up by the Anti-Corruption Bureau, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), against them.

Several alleged persons, including Atul Bansal and his wife Sona Bansal of ABW Infrastructure Limited, were charge-sheeted by the ED which found in its probe that the accused grabbed the land from farmers and land-holders at nominal rates by instilling in them the fear of acquisition of their land.

Believing the accused and under the fear of losing their land to acquisition, the farmers and land holders sold their lands to such private entities, who ultimately sold the same to various builders, who obtained licences and gained handsome profits in a fraudulent manner.

Most of the land parcels were purchased by ABW Infrastructure Ltd. group, which were controlled by Atul Bansal, Sona Bansal and others. After obtaining licenses, A.B.W. Infrastructure Limited further sold the licensed/unlicensed lands and building licences to some private persons.

The CBI also registered a criminal case against the accused persons in September, 2015 for duping farmers and grabbing their 400 acres land at throw away prices. At that time, the land was valued at around Rs 1,600 crore, but the same were bought by the alleged builders for around Rs 100 crore only.

In 2018, the Panchkula Court declared them Proclaimed Offenders. Cash reward of Rs 50,000 was also declared by Delhi Police on her arrest Apart from this land scam, the firm also did not deliver any of its projects to the buyers.
Gadchiroli, Jan 29 : Way back in 2002, a 17-year-old Bharti M. Bogami felt her world crumbling when her father, a Congress leader and Sarpanch, Malu Kopa Bogami was sprayed with bullets by Maoists - a day before her crucial HSC Science exams, at her village in Laheri.

Numbed by the abrupt family tragedy, Bharti remembered the legendary Murlidhar Devidas Amte, alias Baba Amte's golden advice - "learn from past experiences, but look at the future" - and stoically went for her exams to emerge successful.

Today, that plucky girl is a BAMS graduate, Dr. Bharti Bogami, 39, is married to Dr. Satish Tirankar, 40, and the couple is now a 'messiah', selflessly serving thousands of tribals, scattered in 52-odd villages in Bhamragad, sprawled across 35 kms of hostile terrain on the Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh borders.

Recounting her valour in the face of several tragedies, Dr Bharti said that barely two years after her dad's gruesome murder, her mom Madani suffered facial paralysis in 2004.

"She was away from home, dumped into a truck by locals and the police, and rushed to a distant hospital. I was in Pune and my 2 sisters and brother somehow reached the hospital to take care of her," Dr Bharti told IANS.

While pursuing her medical course at Pune's Bharatiya Sanskriti Darshan Trust (BSDT) Ayurved College, another personal calamity befell her in 2005 - a bone-tumour - which she battled for nearly two years, but stuck to her studies.

"I cannot forget the support and financial help extended by the BSDT authorities, my classmates and doctors at Sahyadri Hospital during my medical ordeal. Here too, Baba Amte and his son, Dr Prakash Amte and wife Dr Mandakini's sheer inspiration helped me conquer the bone tumour completely," Dr Bharti acknowledged in a grateful tone.

The legendary Amte family - all conferred the Ramon Magsaysay Award at different times - gently advised how, besides her medical treatment of chemotherapy and radiation, "a positive outlook in life" was necessary to cure and heal her fully, and she lives by their words even today.

Incidentally, she had come in contact with the Amte family long ago; upon completing her primary at the Adivasi Government Ashram School, Laheri, she was admitted to their famed 'Lok Biradari Prakalp Ashram Shala' in Hemalkasa, a boarding institution, some 70 kms from her home.

In 2010-2011, armed with a medical degree, the proud Dr. Bharti shunned the glamour of working in big cities like Mumbai, Pune or Nagpur and preferred a 'ghar wapsi' to Gadchiroli - when she plunged into the unglamourous service of the poorest of tribals in the most godforsaken areas through primary health care.

She managed a small private practice for some time and was later assigned two Ashram Shalas in Bhamragad and Etapali, and in 2015, charged with monitoring the health of all students in all the Zilla Parishad schools there.

"There are over 18,000 people in the 52 villages here, with all types of big and small issues, we counsel or treat them or refer them to other hospitals in Chandrapur, Nagpur, etc," said Dr Tirankar.

Dr Bharti and Dr Tirankar (MBBS) had an arranged marriage in 2018 and the couple dote on their 5-year-old son Advik, who keenly observes how his parents serve the masses.

Since doctors are a luxury in such remote areas, the medico couple works practically 24x7, 365 days without rest or complaints, and, in Dr Bharti's words: "I want to return something to the society which gives us so much." Earlier, Dr Tirankar used to work in Beed with postings in Nandurbar and Ahmednagar, but post-marriage consciously took a transfer to Gadchiroli, and is "extremely happy and peaceful here with the locals;" and even his mother loves to visit them often.

Some of the worst problems they grapple are rampant cases of malaria, snake bites or scorpion stings, scores of other minor or serious medical issues in the hilly, forested terrain with little or no road networks, mobile communication or other amenities that are the norm in the urban centres, he said.

The situation is so bad that the tribals traverse long distances, at times walking 4-5 hours, to reach the primary health centre, and the couple keep it running round-the-clock to ensure none goes away untreated.

Dr Bharti and Dr Tilankar 'wish' and have sought for more doctors, around a dozen, with enhanced medicare facilities, to ensure that the entire tribal population remains healthy and don't need to go to far off urban centres, but there are hardly any individuals available to take up the challenges.

"I have been drilling into the students, especially the girls, here - 'go to school, college, study and improve your lives, families and society' - and now there are many from my region who are studying medical or other professional courses in Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, but are determined to return and serve their roots," said Dr Bharti with a tinge of pride.

(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at: q.najmi@ians.in)
Los Angeles, Jan 29 : Hollywood actor Gerard Butler is still feeling guilty over an incident with co-star Hilary Swank on the set of their 2007 romcom, 'P.S. I Love You'.

During a recent episode of 'The Drew Barrymore Show', the 53-year-old actor talked about how he "almost killed" Swank on the film set, reports Deadline.

It seems that Butler's character was required to dance shirtless, garbed only in a pair of suspenders. "I literally shot that scene for a day and a half and I had to dance like an idiot in the suspenders," Butler recalled, quoted by Deadline. "At one point, the clip, which was a crocodile clip, got stuck in the television as I'm crawling towards her and she's right in front of me and she's laughing hysterically." The clip was "so dangerous" that the camera crew devised plastic covers as protection.

"I had to ping it, and it would go past my face. And this time I'm crawling towards the bed. It gets stuck," he said. "It releases, flies over my head, hits her in the head, slashes her head. I cut her open." Swank was taken to the hospital. "Imagine a studio, and in three seconds, everybody's gone, and I'm just sitting there in my boxer shorts and my boots and a pair of socks and I just started crying," he said.

"'I just scared Hilary Swank!' I almost took her eye out and I just made a fool of myself for two days and this is what I have to show for it. She's off to the hospital." Swank has forgiven him.
Hubballi, Jan 29 : Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday stated that the one-day visit of Union Home Minister Amit Shah has electrified Karnataka and a pro-BJP wave is building up across the state.

Speaking to reporters here a day after Shah's visit to the region, Bommai said the BJP has been quite strong in Kittur Karnataka and Shah has instilled more strength and enthusiasm among workers.

Bommai ridiculed the opposition Congress party for their aggressive posturing when the assembly polls are still a few months away.

"Congress leaders are posing as if they have already come to power. Let anybody say anything, the truth is different. And it is expressed during the visit of the BJP leaders. Not only the big turnout but the spirit and enthusiasm in them clearly indicate the saffron party coming back to power as it is strong from the booth level and that is their base and strength," Bommai said.

He said the list of candidates is not finalized as the survey work is going on.

Bommai claimed that Shah did not give any specific instructions to the state leaders in Belagavi meeting but told them to make the preparation for the Assembly polls.

Bommai ruled out any dissidence in the BJP and stated that party leader B.L. Santosh had visited Kolar, Chikballapur, Tumkur, Chitradurga, Mysuru, Mandya, Bagalkot and Vijayapura for party organizational work.

"There is no dissidence in our party and will abide by what our party leaders say. This is what has happened here and there is no dissidence in Belagavi." Responding to the Congress leaders' verbal attacks on him, Bommai said he has never made allegations against anybody in the last one and a half years and he has not made any harsh statements on anyone and has replied politely. The political culture of Karnataka is not individual-based or vengeance-based but only issue based and develop-oriented.

"We are going before the people with the achievements of the State and Union Governments and that is seen in their campaign. Without criticising anyone or any party, we are seeking the votes only on the basis of performance. The Congress Party has become desperate due to which that party leaders use such language. The state has been witnessing those kinds of languages that were never used in the past."
Tokyo, Jan 29 : Several people were found unconscious after an avalanche hit a ski resort in Japan's Nagano prefecture on Sunday, local media reported.

The accident took place around 2:30 p.m. local time (0530 GMT) in the backcountry area outside the course of Tsugaike Kogen Ski Resort, Xinhua News Agency reported quoting local police.

The accident site is on a slope eastside of Mount Norikura, at an altitude of more than 2,100 meters, the country's public broadcaster NHK reported.

Several snowboarders were involved, with the exact number of people involved and their degree of injury remaining unknown, reported NHK, citing local police and firefighters.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, there was almost no snow in the northern part of Nagano prefecture during the day, but the depth of snowfall in Otari village reached 103 centimeters as of 3 p.m. local time, NHK reported.

The weather agency also issued an avalanche warning for Nagano prefecture due to the sudden increase in heavy snowfall after January 24.
Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 29 : A 55-year-old woman in Kerala's famed tourist destination Kovalam was hit by a speeding bike on Sunday while trying to cross the road.

The woman, identified as Sandhya, was thrown away from the road and died on the spot.

The biker was also admitted to the hospital with multiple injuries. The body of Sandhya would be handed over to her relatives after a post-mortem, said police. The accident happened when some youths were engaged in bike racing.

Groups of youngsters can often be seen driving bikes at breakneck speed in this tourist destination.

Already six people have lost their lives in recent days through such two-wheeler mishaps.

Kovalam is one of the most favoured tourist destinations across the world and a large number of tourists frequent this destination from every corner of the globe. Chartered flights carrying tourists to this tourist destination are a common sight.

R. John Kurien, a tourist operator at Kovalam while speaking to IANS said, "Kovalam is the biggest tourist destination of Kerala and such careless bike driving leading to the death of unsuspecting pedestrians cannot be tolerated. This will give a negative picture to the outside world and tourists will move away from this destination and can land up in Sri Lanka which has almost similar geographical conditions like in Kovalam." "Group of youngsters drive bikes at high speeds. Whatever pressure we try to put on the police, they do not act," he added.
New Delhi, Jan 29 : Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday urged the Centre to provide 1,300 MGD water to the capital city to ensure round-the-clock supply to the people.

"I appeal to the Central Government to provide full water supply to Delhi. Today we have taken the water level to 990 MGD. If Centre gives 1300 MGD water, we will complete the target. If the Centre gives a signal, we can do it with the help of adjoining states," Kejriwal said.

CM Kejriwal was inagurating 110 lakh litres capacity underground water reservoir (UGR) in Patparganj village on Sunday.

"The population of Delhi is increasing rapidly. I will not say that the previous government did nothing, but the work was not done according to the speed with which the population increased. According to the way the population has increased in Delhi, preparations are being made to provide water. After the formation of our government, the 12th UGR is being prepared," said the CM on the occasion.

While addressing the occasion, he further said that in the last seven years, the availability of water in Delhi has been increased from 861 MGD to 990 MGD through water treatment plants, tube wells and rainy wells. Twelve reservoirs and three treatment plants were constructed by the Delhi government in the last seven years, he said.

"Delhi received 800-850 MGD water when its population was around 80 lakh. It is still getting the same water though the population has now tripled to 2.5 crore," the chief minister said.

"We will supply round-the-clock water to each household in the city, if Delhi is provided 1,300 MGD water by the Centre," he added.

On discrepancies on water bills, he said that there is a problem of water bills. There is some problem inside the waterboard which is causing the error. Those who think that the water bill has come right, pay it, those who think it is wrong, don't pay the bill now, we are fixing it.
Los Angeles, Jan 29 : 'Battle of the Sexes' star Alan Cumming has handed back his OBE over 'toxicity' in the British Empire.

The actor, 58, was presented with the honour at Buckingham Palace in the Queen's Birthday Honours in 2009 for his 'activism for equal rights for the gay and lesbian community' in the U.S. but announced recently that he has handed back the award, reports Mirror.co.uk.

Taking to Twitter on his 58th birthday he wrote: "The Queen's death and the ensuing conversations about the role of monarchy and especially the way the British Empire profited at the expense (and death) of indigenous peoples across the world really opened my eyes." He further said, quoted by Mirror.co.uk: "Also, thankfully, times and laws in the U.S. have changed, and the great good the award brought to the LGBTQ+ cause back in 2009 is now less potent than the misgivings I have being associated with the toxicity of empire (OBE stands for Officer of the British Empire)." The actor told his 479,000 followers he wanted to share with them 'something I recently did for myself.' He further quipped: "I'm now back to being plain old Alan Cumming again. Happy birthday to me!" Cumming also expressed his "great gratitude" for the honour in the first place after explaining his reasons for his decision.
Seoul, Jan 29 : Among the many startups founded and operating in South Korea, TagHive, an education technology company launched in 2017, is distinguished for its founder and CEO Pankaj Agarwal.

Agarwal was born in a small town in northern India and studied at the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur. He started TagHive through Samsung Electronics Co's venture incubator programme, Creative Lab (C-Lab).

"I've met some foreign startup business people in Korea, but I think I'm the only one from India," Agarwal said in fluent Korean in an interview with Yonhap News Agency.

He holds a masters from Seoul National University and an MBA from Harvard University. The story of his career begins with Samsung, which he joined through a campus recruit programme in 2004.

"When working at Samsung, I proposed an idea but it was turned down," the Indian businessman said. "But I developed the idea further and I was told to go to C-Lab." His idea was about an electronic signal system between a main receiver or a smartphone and remote controls that can operate even without internet connection or public electricity.

At C-Lab, he used the idea to build the interactive classroom solution and launched TagHive in 2017.

TagHive offers clicker-based classroom response systems and AI-powered self-assessment solutions used in school classrooms under the "ClassKey" brand.

Each student participates in their class with a clicker in their hands and presses buttons to respond "Yes" or "No" to the teacher's questions or click the numbers to multiple choice questions.

The teacher checks the students' answers on the lecturer's screen or smartphone paired with the clickers.

"ClassKey" also offers a program to carry out instant polls or elections to pick the classroom president and other leaders.

"The teacher receives data from all students and can evaluate their proficiency and related statistics, including the percentage of correct answers, with one click," Agarwal said. "If a majority of students were wrong, the teacher can change the teaching style to lower the difficulty." He said some 1,800 sets of "ClassKey," which has 25 clickers in one unit for one classroom, have been sold in South Korea, and its clients are very satisfied with the product.

It accounts for about 1.5 per cent of the total 120,000 classes in the country.

Agarwal said TagHive eyes the bigger education market in India where 1.5 million elementary and secondary classes across the nation.

The company sells its clicker solution under the "Class Saathi" brand in India, with Saathi meaning friend in Hindi.

He said some 2,000 sets of "Class Saathi," which has 40 clickers, were sold last year. TagHive opened an office in Kolkata and launched the product and the subscription service in 2019, but had to hold the plan for about three years due to Covid-19.

"Our product, which requires no internet or electricity, is very useful in India where many regions are still underdeveloped," he said. "But India has relatively high smartphone subscriptions and nearly all teachers have them. They can teach students with 'Class Saathi' even in a school in a small remote area."
Mumbai, Jan 29 : Customs officials at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport here have lodged eight cases of gold smuggling on January 27 and 28 and seized 9.5 kg gold worth Rs 4.75 crore.

A senior Customs official said that among this, two Azerbaijani nationals were arrested following a tip off, during the intervening night of January 27 and 28.

"The two Azerbaijani nationals arrived from Dubai carrying 6 kg of gold valued at Rs 2.99 crore concealed in their bag," the official said.

The gold was seized under Section 110 of Customs Act and the two arrested under its Section 104, and produced before a competent authority which sent them to 14 days judicial custody.
Chennai, Jan 29 : The Sri Lankan government has appealed to donors to support the Katchatheevy St Antony's Church festival held annually at the Katchatheevu island.

While Katchatheevu was ceded to Sri Lanka in 1974, people from India are allowed to attend the annual festival of the church.

However, the Jaffna district administration informed that only a total of 8,000 people would be allowed to participate in the church festivals to be held on March 3 and 4. Of these, only 3,500 people will be from Tamil Nadu.

While food and other refreshments were provided in the earlier years, due to economic instability and financial crisis, there will be no food provision this year. However, breakfast will be provided on March 4 to the devotees and pilgrims who reach St Antony's church for prayers.

The festival will commence on March 3 after a flag hoisting which will be followed by a holy mass. The Way of the Cross will be conducted around the church and a car procession will be taken out.

The conclusion of the festival will be on March 4 with a grand Eucharist celebration in which priests from both India and Sri Lanka would participate.

Jaffna District Collector Sivapathasundaram said that the government has decided to limit the number of participants to 8,000 and that pilgrims will have to make their own arrangements for food and other essentials.

He appealed to interested patrons to provide donations to the Katchatheevu festival.
London, Jan 29 : British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Sunday fired chair of the ruling Conservative Party Nadhim Zahawi from the government after an investigation into his tax affairs found "a serious breach" of the ministerial code.

Zahawi, who last year was briefly Britain's chancellor of the exchequer, or finance minister, during a period of political turmoil, had been under increasing pressure to resign in recent weeks amid allegations that he settled a multimillion-dollar unpaid tax bill with the authorities, Xinhua News Agency reported.

"Following the completion of the Independent Adviser's investigation - the findings of which he has shared with us both - it is clear that there has been a serious breach of the Ministerial Code," Sunak said in a letter to Zahawi.

"As a result, I have informed you of my decision to remove you from your position in His Majesty's Government," it read.

Zahawi initially called media reports about his tax affairs "smears" but admitted last week to paying a penalty to the authorities as part of the settlement. The Guardian reported an estimated tax bill of about 5 million pounds (6.19 million US dollars). In Britain, penalties are applied if someone fails to pay the correct tax at the right time.

"I consider that this delay in correcting an untrue public statement is inconsistent with the requirement for openness," Laurie Magnus, the independent adviser, said in a letter to Sunak.

Zahawi had shown "insufficient regard" for the general principles of the ministerial code and the requirements "to be honest, open and an exemplary leader through his own behaviour," Magnus added.
Chandigarh, Jan 29 : Over 100 delegates will attend the first G20 International Financial Architecture Working Group meeting, under the G20 Indian Presidency, in Chandigarh on January 30-31.

The International Financial Architecture Working Group is one of the important work streams under the G20 Finance Track with a focus on strengthening the international financial architecture.

It also aims to address multiple challenges faced by vulnerable countries.

Approximately, 100 delegates from across the G20 membership, invitee countries, and international organisations, will be arriving in Chandigarh to participate in the two-day meeting.

The meeting will be inaugurated by Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, and Food Processing Industries Minister Pashupati Kumar Paras.

The discussions during the two-day meeting will be jointly steered by the Ministry of Finance and the Reserve Bank of India along with France and South Korea, who are the Co-chairs of the International Financial Architecture Working Group.

The meeting will discuss ways to enhance the stability and cohesion of the international financial architecture and how to make it fit for addressing the global challenges of the 21st century.

It will also focus on exploring ways to provide maximum support to poor and vulnerable countries.

On the sidelines of this meeting, on January 30, a G20 side event titled 'Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs): Opportunities and Challenges' will also be held. The event is aimed at sharing country experiences and developing a deeper understanding of the macro prudential implications of CBDCs.

In the run-up to this meeting, a number of events have been held across the city, for increasing 'Jan-Bhagidari' and generating interest in the G20 events under the Indian Presidency.

A seminar on "Central Bank Digital Currencies: The Indian Story" was also held on January 25 in Chandigarh. These events are aimed at creating awareness of the G20 Indian Presidency in 2023 and its theme "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" or "One Earth - One Family - One Future".

This Working Group will meet again in March, June, and September to continue discussions on the priorities set under the Indian Presidency.

Discussions from the Chandigarh meet will further inform the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) on the key deliberations on related priorities under India's G20 Finance Track.

The first meeting of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors is scheduled to be held in Bengaluru on February 24-25.
Bhopal, Jan 29 : Socialist Raghu Thakur expressed concern over the increasing communal polarization in the country's politics, and held the Congress responsible for it.

He alleged that the Congress helped build the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS) to weaken the socialists in the country.

The BJS, the political arm of RSS, existed from 1951 to 1977.

In a special conversation with IANS, Raghu Thakur said, after Independence, the Congress party tried to take politics to the religious path. The Congress helped build the BJS and it is because of that the condition of the Congress is such today.

Thakur alleged said that the Congress strategised in a planned manner and tried to take the BJS forward. Congress believed that the staunch Hinduist party would not get the support of many people, because the government is of Congress and Congress also runs on Hindu mindset, Muslims will continue to vote for Congress because of their fear. In this way, the Congress started communal polarisation.

He further said that Congress adopted the policy of appeasement of Muslims to take them along in the structure it prepared, but Congress forgot that the consequences of Muslim appeasement would be harmful for itself.

BJP has been successful in uniting Hindus after 70 years and that is the reason why it is in power today. The socialist movement has to bear its biggest loss, the reason for this is because socialists are neither Hindus nor Muslims. This is the reason why many a time Samajwadi contests elections even in Muslim dominated areas and has to face defeat.

In response to a question, Raghu Thakur said that in the present era, BJP is completely moving forward on fanatical Hinduism, while the Muslim vote-bank tries to defeat BJP. But, the result of this is that BJP gets benefitted. Two elections in Bhopal are examples of this, once Agnivesh contested and second time Digvijay Singh, both had to face a big defeat.

In response to a question, Raghu Thakur said both BJP and Congress are opposed to small parties. He said that while Congress swallows small parties, BJP chews them and swallows them.

Raghu Thakur believes that the socialist ideology has deep roots. He says that even though the socialist movement has become weak, the socialist ideology is still there in the society and the political parties are running on it only.

Whether it is BJP or Congress, both move forward with socialist ideas. Examples of this are giving equal rights to women, providing bread to the poor, as well as running schemes for the welfare of the poor.
Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at Apollo Hospital where the state Health Minister Naba Das is admitted after he was shot at by some unidentified miscreant near Brajarajnagar in Jharsuguda district, in Bhubaneswar on Sunday, Jan 29, Image Source: IANS News

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at Apollo Hospital where the state Health Minister Naba Das is admitted after he was shot at by some unidentified miscreant near Brajarajnagar in Jharsuguda district, in Bhubaneswar on Sunday, Jan 29, Image Source: IANS News

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at Apollo Hospital where the state Health Minister Naba Das is admitted after he was shot at by some unidentified miscreant near Brajarajnagar in Jharsuguda district, in Bhubaneswar on Sunday, Jan 29, Image Source: IANS News

Bhubaneswar, Jan 29 : In a shocking incident, an on-duty police officer opened fire at Odisha Health Minister Naba Kishore Das in Jharsuguda district on Sunday, injuring him critically, police said.

The incident occurred near Gandhi Chhak of Brajarajnagar in Jharsuguda as Das was on the way to attend a function. ASI Gopal Das, who was in his uniform, suddenly came near the minister's vehicle and opened fire at him with his service revolver, said Brajarajnagar sub divisional police officer (SDPO) Gupteswar Bhoi.

The ASI was taken into custody, but the reason behind the brutal attack on the senior BJD leader is yet to be ascertained.

The minister fell unconscious at the spot. In such critical condition, he was first admitted to a local hospital. Then, he was airlifted to Bhubaneswar and is now under treatment at the Apollo Hospital.

A team of the best specialists in the state, drawn from Apollo Hospital, SCB Medical College, and Capital Hospital are attending to him, a Health Department official said.

Strongly condemning the murderous attack on the Health Minister, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik directed the Crime Branch to investigate the case.

He visited the Apollo Hospital, where Das is admitted.

"I am shocked at the unfortunate incident of the attack on Minister Naba Das. I strongly condemn the attack on him. I pray for his early recovery," Patnaik said in a statement.

Senior officers of the Crime Branch have been asked to rush to the spot, he said.

Soon after receiving orders, ADG, Crime Branch, Arun Bothra left for Brajarajnagar along with his team to inquire into the incident, sources said.

Meanwhile, a forensic team visited the spot and started investigations.
New Delhi, Jan 29 : The Delhi Police had told the Supreme Court that it is conducting a fair and unbiased investigation into the alleged hate speech made at a religious assembly in the national capital in 2021, and has examined Delhi BJP spokesperson, Sudarshan News editor-in-chief, Hindu Yuva Vahini members and others.

It added that the forensic science laboratory is scheduled to compare Sudarshan News editor's specimen voice sample with the video from YouTube in March.

Delhi Police investigating officer, in an affidavit, said that Delhi BJP spokesperson Vikram Bidhuri, who was one of the participants has been examined, and Sudarshan News editor-in-chief Suresh Chavhanke was examined in the case on November 1, 2022 and "he was bound down u/s 41A CrPC".

The affidavit added that the alleged hate speech video has been examined and the transcript has been prepared.

"Forensic Science Laboratory, Delhi has fixed March 17 for recording of specimen voice sample of Suresh Chavanke. Thereafter his specimen voice recording will be compared with the video/audio downloaded from YouTube.....effort is being made to obtain the details of the video of the speech made during the event and uploaded on YouTube, through the process of MLAT," it said.

"That investigation of the case is being conducted fairly and without any bias." The police filed this affidavit in compliance with January 13 order passed by the apex court directing the investigating officer to place on record the steps which have been taken to pursue the investigation since the incident took place on December 19, 2021. The police have also requested Google Inc to trace the login-logout IP addresses of the video on YouTube from where the alleged video was uploaded.

"That in response to notice u/s 91 Cr.P.C., a reply dated November 18, 2022 was received on email from Google, LLC, Legal Investigations Support, informing that no records from the Google account holders, specified in the request, have been found," added the affidavit.

The police have told the apex court that it has examined Hindu Yuva Vahini Delhi chief Rajiv Kumar, who booked the auditorium, General Secretary Sachin Vasisht, who organised the event, and Ashutosh Sharma who attended the meeting and uploaded the video on YouTube in the channel named as 'Hishant Media', besides several others.

"Some other participants who had attended the event have been identified and are yet to be examined," added the affidavit "A draft 'final report' has been prepared and was sent to the prosecution branch for scrutiny. However, some points have been raised by the public prosecutor and investigation on those points is being conducted." On January 13, the Supreme Court had pulled up the Delhi Police for registering FIR on the alleged hate speeches made at Dharam Sansad in Govindpuri in December 2021 after a lapse of five months and not making an arrest or filing a charge sheet till date. It had told the police that there was no palpable progress made in the investigation in the case.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud shot a volley of questions at Additional Solicitor General K.M. Nataraj after petitioner Tushar Gandhi said there was an explicit call for violence at the Dharam Sansad and in flagrant violation of the apex court judgment in Tehseen Poonawala directing expeditious action against hate-mongers, police have virtually not taken any action.

Gandhi's counsel submitted that his client is not interested in contempt proceedings against the Delhi Police Commissioner but wants action to protect the secular fabric in the country.

The apex court is scheduled to hear the matter on Monday.
Over 4 dozen Gynecologists cycled 102-kms to spread awareness on Cervical Cancer to mark the worldwide WHO Cervical Cancer Awareness Month (January) for the global goal to eliminate this disease by 2120. Image Source: IANS News

Over 4 dozen Gynecologists cycled 102-kms to spread awareness on Cervical Cancer to mark the worldwide WHO Cervical Cancer Awareness Month (January) for the global goal to eliminate this disease by 2120. Image Source: IANS News

Over 4 dozen Gynecologists cycled 102-kms to spread awareness on Cervical Cancer to mark the worldwide WHO Cervical Cancer Awareness Month (January) for the global goal to eliminate this disease by 2120. Image Source: IANS News

Over 4 dozen Gynecologists cycled 102-kms to spread awareness on Cervical Cancer to mark the worldwide WHO Cervical Cancer Awareness Month (January) for the global goal to eliminate this disease by 2120. Image Source: IANS News

Mumbai, Jan 29 : Over four dozen gynaecologists and others participated in a 102-km-long cyclothon across Mumbai on Sunday to generate awareness on cervical cancer among women, as part of the WHO's Cervical Cancer Awareness Month.

The event was arranged by the 89-year-old Mumbai Obstetrics & Gynaecological Society (MOGS) and covered strategic routes in the city and suburbs to reach out to the largest number of people, MOGS President Dr Niranjan Chavan said.

"It was our first such initiative and we cycled to and from Juhu-Shivaji Park, 24 km, Gateway of India-Nariman Point-Shivaji Park, 36 km, and the longest route Mulund-Dadar, 42 km," he said after the event this afternoon.

The participants cycled away to spread the message of women's health and MOGS slogan of Vision For HER - Heal her, Educate her, Respect her, said event convenors Dr Rajeev Punjabi and Dr Priya Vora.

The participants carried banners/posters on their cycles with messages on the dangers of cervical cancer, prevention of anaemia and PIH as January is marked as the Cervical Cancer Awareness Month all over the world with similar events in different countries.

Dr Chavan said that in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, the WHO had set a goal to completely eradicate cervical cancer as a global public health problem in 100 years (2120) and asked its members to take certain critical steps by 2030 for the ultimate targets.

These include: firstly, by the age of 15, 90 per cent of all girls should be fully inoculated with the HPV vaccine, secondly 70 per cent of women should be screened using a high-performance test by the age of 35 and again at the age of 45, and thirdly, ensuring that 90 per cent of women with pre-cancer are treated, while 90 per cent of women with invasive cancer are managed.
Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 29 : A youth from Kerala, working in Poland, was stabbed to death there on Sunday, as per his family.

Working in Poland for the past five months as a supervisor in a private firm, Suraj, 23, from Ollur (Thrissur), was stabbed to death by a group of Georgians following an altercation. Four youths from Kerala who were with Suraj were also injured during the attack.

The Indian embassy in Warsaw has confirmed the death of Suraj, according to his family members.

Recently, Ibrahim Sherif, a youth from Kerala's Palakkad, was found dead in an apartment in Poland. The body of the youth, working in a private bank as an IT engineer, was found after there was no information from him since January 24.

The Polish police have communicated to the Indian embassy that Emil, the house owner of Sherif, had killed him and that he was arrested. However, Sherif's relatives told IANS that there was no official confirmation on the motive behind his killing.
New Delhi, Jan 29 : The Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government has written to the Vice-Chancellor of Delhi University to accommodate the teachers and employees whom it had not very long ago called "ghost employees", the varsity teachers claimed.

Disappointed with the Delhi government for not receiving their salaries for the last several months, the teachers submitted that "the government should first arrange for their pending salaries and then talk about accommodating the new staff".

Most of the teachers believe the move is a part of the Kejriwal government's strategy to seek votes of the ad-hoc teachers for the Delhi University's Executive and Academic Council elections.

The teachers said that the ad-hoc teachers in the colleges funded by the Delhi government were yet to receive the arrears of the 7th Pay Commission while claiming that for the last three years, the ad-hoc teachers did not receive payment for medical bills, LTC, apart from the child education allowance.

Delhi Education Minister Manish Sisodia in a letter to Delhi University Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh has expressed concern over the displacement of nearly 70 per cent ad-hoc and temporary teachers during interviews for the post of Assistant Professors in colleges, calling for permanent recruitment of ad-hoc teachers.

Reacting to Sisodia's letter, Delhi University teachers' organisation 'Forum of Academics for Social Justice' said: "Delhi government earlier used to call these teachers and staff 'ghost employees' but now it has written letter to the V-C to accommodate them." The teachers, meanwhile, have urged the V-C to write to the Delhi government to clear their salaries, payment of arrears, leave travel concessions (LTC) and medical bills.

A total of 28 colleges affiliated to Delhi University are funded by the Delhi government. Of these, 12 colleges that are 100 per cent funded by the Delhi government have been facing financial crisis.

The teachers claimed that there have been instances of shortfalls and delays in receiving grants in the last three years, which eventually led to non-payment of their salaries for the last four months.

The professors of Maharaja Agrasen College -- also affiliated to Delhi University, on Friday expressed their ire against the Delhi government for not receiving salaries by polishing shoes on the footpath.

Meanwhile, Prof. Hansraj Suman of Delhi University has expressed disappointment over Sisodia's letter, saying: "The Minister should first accommodate thousands of guest teachers engaged in the Delhi government schools and then think about these 28 colleges." More than 7,000 guest and ad-hoc teachers have been working in Delhi government schools for the last decade.
Chandigarh, Jan 29 : In past eight years, there has been a rapid development in Haryana under the leadership of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, said Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday while telephonically addressing the gathering at the Jan Utthan Rally organised in Sonipat's Gohana town.

Due to inclement weather, the Union Minister could not reach Gohana.

Appreciating development works being done by the government, Shah said, "The speed at which development has taken place in Haryana in the last eight years, it did not happen during the tenure of the previous governments.

"Corruption has been reduced in every field, the law and order has been strengthened and casteism has ended. Now the youth are getting government jobs in a transparent manner. Also, educated sarpanches are now taking Haryana forward." Shah said the purpose of the rally is that in 2024, the people of Haryana again vote to make Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister. "I am confident that the lotus will bloom on all Haryana Lok Sabha seats," he added.

Addressing the gathering, the Chief Minister said under the guidance of Prime Minister Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the government was formed in Haryana in 2014 and since then the resolutions taken for public welfare are being implemented.

"Before 2014, there was an environment of fear and corruption in Haryana, which was removed by our government. Several welfare schemes have been implemented for the poor and needy by working to change the system," he added.

Taking a dig, the Chief Minister said the previous governments used to claim to provide benefits till the last person, but in reality did not deliver. "Our government started the system of delivering the benefits of welfare schemes to each person," he said, adding the double-engine government of the Centre and the state is serving the people of Haryana.

"Taking the resolution of good governance, the state government has provided benefits of all schemes and services to the public in a transparent manner while sitting at home," said the Chief Minister.

The Chief Minister said during the tenure of the present government, many industrial units have come up in the state.

About 8.50 lakh people have got private employment and about 1 lakh people have been given regular government jobs.
Mumbai, Jan 29 : Ace comedian and actor Navin Prabhakar, who is known for playing the Mumbai bar girl Julie on 'The Great Indian Laughter Challenge', is looking forward to the release of his Marathi film 'Soham'. The film's plot will "awaken people", he says.

'Soham', directed by Datta Bhandare, makes the point that "we have westernised English education beyond thee level that is necessary". It will be truly commendable "if we bring richness to our languages and learn them," Navin pointed out.

"Like in the film, the school where I was shooting, there were students who were 12 or 13 years old, walking in a line in a disciplined manner, but fighting in Sanskrit," Navin said. "Can you imagine that?" Navin continued: "We live in India, most of us speak in Hindi, follow Hindu culture and our religion is Hinduism, yet we don't know anything about Sanskrit. Nevertheless, there are schools where Sanskrit is the medium of instruction." Making a broader point, he said: "This is a matter of concern for our education system. What have we lost and what should we do or what should we follow, which footsteps to follow. With the help of this movie, we will show the way." The film is significant for Navin. "Of course, it's a different film for me. I'm playing the male protagonist and the entire story is being narrated through me. I am negative at first, then I lead and make the public aware that we spend so much money on an education system and culture that is we do not need." Talking about balancing Marathi and Hindi projects, Navin said: "I believe that is easy, for I am comfortable in both languages. There's actually a thin line that separate Marathi from Hindi."
Rotterdam, Jan 29 : Celebrated British filmmaker Steve McQueen's Oscar-winning "12 Years A Slave" was released almost a century after D.W. Griffith's "The Birth of a Nation", the first film ever to be screened at the White House, writes 'Variety'.

McQueen's film, however, was not shown at the US President's official residence. The director, who's also a Camera d'Or winner for his 2008 film "Hunger", spoke about it at an in-conversation event at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR).

"It was just after that situation with Skip Gates," said McQueen, recalling, according to 'Variety', the arrest of Harvard professor Henry Louis 'Skip' Gates by Sergeant James Crowley. It was a suspected case of racial profiling that stirred a major controversy for then-President Barack Obama, who was accused of having allegedly taken sides by going public with his view that the local police department had acted "stupidly".

"So, at that time, everything Obama was doing was being scrutinised," continued the director, "and that was the theory of why "12 Years a Slave" was not projected -- 99 years after "The Birth of a Nation" -- at the White House." The filmmaker, however, was quick to add: "But then again, '12 Years A Slave' wouldn't have been made without Obama being president, that's for sure. Absolutely not. I wouldn't have gotten the money. I think the fact that people wanted to illustrate that particular time of history when there was a black president made the movie possible." McQueen, who was an artist before he became a filmmaker, according to 'Variety', is in Rotterdam to showcase his most recent artwork, "Sunshine State", his first since "Year 3" at Tate Britain in 2019.

Originally commissioned by IFFR to celebrate its 50th anniversary, the piece was delayed by three years due to the pandemic, but has finally found its way to the Dutch city for this year's edition of the festival. The audiovisual piece is being exhibited at the Depot Boijmans van Beuningen museum.

"Just before my dad died, he told me this story," said the director, whose parents were immigrants from the West Indies, about the inspiration behind the piece.

Brought from the West Indies to work as an orange picker in Florida, McQueen's father had a harrowing brush with death after two of his co-workers confronted a white bar owner who refused to serve three black men a drink. The confrontation led to the murder of the two men, with McQueen's dad narrowly escaping the same fate.
Srinagar, Jan 29 : Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said that despite some differences, the opposition camp is united against the "politics of hate of the RSS and the BJP".

Addressing a press conference here, he said "the Opposition is not allowed to raise the issues in Parliament and the media is not giving space to those issues".

Asked about his next step, the former Congress president said: "Bharat Jodo Yatra was from south to north but it had a national effect. The Yatra has got a tremendous response and it gave an alternative vision to the BJP-RSS narrative of hate and arrogance, and it will have an impact on Indian politics.

"Bharat Jodo Yatra was the most beautiful experience of my life," he added.

Responding to questions on the BJP's claims that there is peace in Jammu and Kashmir, he said: "There are targeted killings in the state, bomb blasts happening, what security personnel are talking indicates that the situation is not good... if the BJP thinks so, why doesn't Amit Shah walk to Lal Chowk from Jammu." Gandhi said people are in pain in the state and the Congress is of the view that restoration of statehood and a democratic process is the first step.

The Congress leader along with many fellow marchers started the Bharat Jodo Yatra on September 7 last year and hoisted the National Flag on Sunday at Lal Chowk here after completing the 3,970-km walk.
Hyderabad, Jan 29 : The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) will work together with other opposition parties to expose the "anti-people" policies of the BJP-led Union government and also raise the issue of "misuse" of the office of Governor during the ensuing Budget session of the Parliament.

The decision was taken at the BRS Parliamentary Party meeting here on Sunday, which was presided over by party President and Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao.

KCR, as the Chief Minister is popularly called, made it clear that the "undemocratic" politics of the Centre should be brought to light in all the possible parliamentary democratic ways. In this direction, he made it clear that the BRS should join other parties which come together and expose the Centre in both houses of Parliament.

The BRS chief alleged that the BJPA governmentA at the Centre is undermining the federal spirit and causing trouble to the states in many ways.

"This issue should also be raised in the parliament. The Centre should be forced to tell the nation what is the reason behind creating financial and other obstacles to Telangana which is running on the path of progress. The Central government is also misusing the Governors' system," he said.

"It is undemocratic that the Centre is using the governors as their henchmen to weaken the states. The BRS MPs should strongly oppose in both Houses the evil policies of using the system of Governors, who are supposed to be negotiators between the Centre and States while performing their Constitutional duties, for their own political interests. The Governors are deliberately delaying the decisions taken by the state Cabinet, the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council as well. BRS MPs should expose the Centre's attitude and undemocratic policies of the Governors, who are trying to obstruct state governance and development, in the Parliament," he said.

The party expressed serious concern that the situation in the country is deteriorating day by day due to the unfortunate policies adopted by the Modi government.

KCR directed the party MPs to expose the Centre which is pursuing "anti-people" policies. He told the MPs that the mistakes committed by the Centre should be brought to the attention of the country by acting strategically and raising the voice on the issues relating to people of the state as well as the country during the Parliament session.

The meeting, which lasted for more than four hours and discussed several issues, expressed concern that the negligent and perilous policies followed by the Centre are causing immense damage to the future of the country.

"The policies pursued by the BJP led Union government have become obstacles to the development of the country's integrity. This is unfortunate. The Centre is giving arbitrarily the hard earned people's money to their corporate friends. The Central government is showing special affection towards its friendly corporate forces and waived off loans worth lakhs of crores of rupees. In public sector companies like LIC, shares are being transferred to big businessmen like Adani aimlessly," said KCR.

"The country is watching the hollowness of the companies which are losing lakhs of crores of rupees on a daily basis as the value of their shares plunged suddenly. It is clear that their profits are not all wealth. The Centre is making irreparable loss by privatising all the country's assets to contribute to such financial irregularities. Both the houses of Parliament should raise their voices against the dangerous economic policies followed by the Central government which is helping the private sector to gain profits and people bear the brunt of losses. BRS MPs should strongly condemn the attitude of the BJP-led Central government which is harming the interests of the people of the country," he added.

KCR told MPs that for the future of the country, BRS MPs should come together with MPs from every party to fight against the BJP government at the Centre in Parliament on public issues.

"The prices of petrol, diesel, cooking gas and other essential goods are increasing abnormally.The Center is not serious on the common man's life which is burdened day by day by rising prices," he said, directing the MPs that the sufferings and hardships of the common people across the country should be brought to the attention of the people of the country through both houses of the Parliament.

The BRS chief also asked the MPs to raise the issue of unemployment which is increasing by the day.

He also alleged that the Central government is not serious on the promises made to Telangana under the AP Reorganisation Act and the MPs should raise their voice in this regard.

Parliamentary party leaders K. Keshavrao (Rajya Sabha), Nama Nageshwar Rao (Lok Sabha), MPs Joginapalli Santosh Kumar, K.R.A Suresh Reddy, Badugula Lingaya Yadav, Vadiraju Ravichandra, Bandi Parthasarathy, Deevakonda Damodar Rao, Kotha Prabhakar Reddy, BB Patil, Manne Srinivas Reddy, Maloth Kavita Naik, Pasunuri Dayakar, Borlakunta Venkatesh and Potuganti Ramulu participated in the meeting.
Agartala, Jan 29 : Disappointed leaders of both Tripura's ruling BJP and the opposition Congress have resorted to resignations, agitation, and even vandalisation of party offices in different districts to protest denial of tickets for the February 16 Assembly elections.

At least, two BJP leaders -- Shyamal Bhakta Chowdhury from Kamalasagar constituency of Sepahijala district and Niharendu Debnath from Jubarajnagar in northern Tripura -- resigned from the party and are likely to contest the elections as Independents.

Accusing state party President Rajib Bhattacharjee, Chowdhury said that he was assured of a party ticket but the party has fielded West Tripura District Zilla Sabhadhipati Antara Deb Sarkar in Kamalasagar, triggering a serious reaction in the area among the leaders and workers.

In Northern Tripura's Kanchanpur, BJP leaders and workers strongly protested against the allotment of the Kanchanpur seat to ally Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) and chose Bimanjoy Reang as the party candidate.

Incumbent IPFT MLA and Minister Prem Kumar Reang did nothing for the area and he even did not visit many parts of the constituency during the past five years, local BJP leaders told the media after a big gathering.

Protests, vandalisation, demonstrations, damage to party flags and festoons, and locking of BJP party offices were also reported from Bagbassa, Kurti, Kadamtala, Jubarajnagar, and Chandipur in northern Tripura, and Jolaibari, and Belonia in southern Tripura.

A BJP leader said that despite knowing a huge anti-incumbency wave against many ministers and sitting MLAs, the party has renominated over 15 candidates, which might help the opposition to garner support.

"Promising tribal leaders of BJP and those who would have much winning prospects were deprived of the party nomination, and unwanted people and those who joined the party recently from other parties were given tickets though here winnability is also minimal," the BJP leader said, refusing to be named.

The opposition Congress has also faced protests, factional feuds in Boxanagar, Kamalpur, and Dharmanagar constituencies over the selection of candidates.

A section of Congress workers threatened to quit the party unless the official candidates were changed.

After the announcement of the Congress candidates on Saturday, the party has also faced protests and open dissidence in South Tripura and Sepahijala districts.

A Congress leader said that the Central leadership, on the recommendations of the state leaders, did not give ticket to any Congress leaders from any seat in South Tripura district and all its seven seats, along with the most prospective seats of Sepahijala district, have been given to CPI-M, causing uncertainty of vote transfer of Congress to the Left parties and giving the ruling BJP an extra advantage.

The five Left parties led by CPI-M announced the names of 47 candidates on January 25, leaving 13 seats to their new ally Congress.

Congress leaders, who have been demanding 23 to 27 seats from the Left parties, were upset over the paltry allotment of seats by the Left Front.
Matsapha  Lungelo Mathabela who is a casual worker, thanked Mambas generosity.

He pleaded with those who have long-term employment vacancies to visit their site next to the Eswatini Breweries and Southern Star street to hire them. Mathabela said as a young person he would love to have something permanent or long-term to plan for the future, other than relying on daily piece jobs. However, Mathabela said he was grateful for those employers who religiously hired them on the street as well as Mamba who has been of great assistance. He pleaded for companies to assist the Change A Life Foundation.

zero hunger

Meanwhile, Mamba said they aimed to reach out to all the areas where there were men who are seeking employment (facing). Mamba said these men were their primary focus. He said they were focused on realising zero hunger, which was in line with Goal 2 of the SDGs. Change A Life Foundation raises funds and provides food supplies with the main aim of eventually erecting a soup kitchen to provide at least one meal a day for all these men. Mamba said more than anything, they wanted to connect the selfless men to other institutions for assistance. He said they were to link them with relevant stakeholders that can provide basic vocational testing and grading. The foundation also links unemployed men with potential employers.
New Delhi:Tri-Services bands perform during rehearsal for the beating Retreat ceremony at Vijay Chowk in New Delhi on Friday January 27,2023.(Photo: Qamar Sibtain/IANS) Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi:Tri-Services bands perform during rehearsal for the beating Retreat ceremony at Vijay Chowk in New Delhi on Friday January 27,2023.(Photo: Qamar Sibtain/IANS) Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, Jan 29 : The Beating Retreat ceremony was held on Sunday at the Vijay Chowk to mark the formal end of this year's Republic Day celebrations.

The ceremony was graced by President Droupadi Murmu, the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at the historic Vijay Chowk in the national capital.

Tunes based on Indian classical ragas were the main highlight of 'Beating the Retreat' celebrations this year. Patriotic tunes emanating from the bands of the three services infused enthusiasm and patriotism among the people on the occasion.

A total of 29 captivating Indian tunes were played by music bands of Army, Navy, Air Force and State Police and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) during the Beating Retreat amid rains at Vijay Chowk.

'Agniveer' was the first of the 29 tunes during the event, that was followed by the enthralling tunes like 'Almora', 'Kedar Nath, 'Sangam Dur', 'Queen of Satpura', 'Bhagirathi', 'Konkan Sundari' by Pipes and Drums band.

The Pipes and Drum band presented 'Almora' composed by N.K. Jaman Singh. The CAPF presented 'Pyari Bhumi' at the ceremony.

The Indian Air Force band formed a formation representing 'Charkha' (spinning wheel) and a rendition of 'Ishwar Jan ko' followed this formation.

Indian Air Force Band played to the tunes of 'Aparejeya Arjun', 'Charkha', 'Vayu Shakti', 'Swadeshi' while the Indian Navy Band played to the tunes of 'Ekla Chalo Re', 'Hum Ready Hain' and 'Jai Bharti'.

The Naval band displayed a formation of 'Varunastra' and 'Charkha' while performing a wide array of tunes and included 'Ekla Chalo re'.

In a first, a three-dimensional anamorphic projection during the event on the facade of North and South blocks was among the highlights. Anamorphic sensors are speciality tools that affect how images get projected.

The Chief Moderator of the ceremony was Flight Lieutenant Limapokpam Roopchandra Singh. While the Army Band was led by Subedar Major Digar Singh, the Navy and Air Force bands were led by Commander M Anthony Raj and Warrant Officer Ashok Kumar.

The Defence Ministry in a statement said: "The ceremony traces its origins to the early 1950s when Major Roberts of the Indian Army indigenously developed the unique ceremony of display by the massed bands. It marks a centuries-old military tradition, when the troops ceased fighting, sheathed their arms and withdrew from the battlefield and returned to the camps at sunset at the sounding of the Retreat. Colours and Standards are cased and flags lowered. The ceremony creates nostalgia for the times gone by."
Kolkata, Jan 29 : The West Bengal government might bring about some major changes in the clauses of land lease agreement in the state in the forthcoming Budget session of the Assembly, slated to start from February 4.

The budget for Financial Year 2023-24 might be presented on February 15, said Finance Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya said.

Although she refused to comment on the probable bills that might be brought about in the session, state government sources said that the major bill that will be proposed in the session is relating to conversion of government land given on lease to private entities into owned land or freehold land.

"Under this conversion scheme, those holding the land currently on 99 year lease will be given an option of purchasing the same on an existing market rate. On one hand, sufficient funds will come in the state exchequer through the sale proceeds. On the other hand, this will bring about a check on the tendency of certain private entities to keep the land taken on lease for setting up industries unused," a member of the state cabinet, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said.

As per the cabinet member, since the leased land is given to private entities at rates cheaper than the existing market rates, some use the opportunity of keeping that leased land unused for a prolonged period.

Meanwhile, sources from the state Land & Land Reforms Department said that this new bill for conversion of leased land into owned or free hold land will be applicable for both residential and commercial plots that are under the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, the New Town Kolkata Development Authority, and the West Bengal Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation, among others.

In the districts, it will be applicable to land owned by the Sriniketan Santiniketan Development Authority in Birbhum, the Asansol- Durgapur Development Authority in West Burdwan, and the Siliguri-Jalpaiguri Development Authority in Siliguri and Jalpaiguri districts.

"The decision for the proposed conversion of leased land into owned or freehold land was cleared at a meeting of the state Cabinet on January 11. Now this will go to the Assembly for its legislative clearance," an Land & Land Reforms Department official said.
Panaji, Jan 29 : Saying that Union Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks on Mhadei diversion is like a 'bomb explosion' on the people of the state, Goa Forward Party MLA Vijai Sardesai has demanded convening a 'House Committee' meeting to get to the bottom of the issue.

The Opposition in Goa has been attacking the BJP government since the Central Water Commission has granted permission to Detailed Project Report of Karnataka for the disputed Kalasa-Bhanduri dam.

During a rally in Belagavi on Saturday, Shah said: "Sonia Gandhi during a speech in Goa in the year 2007 said that the Congress government will not allow Mhadei water diversion to Karnataka. In 2022, Congress in their manifesto stated that Karnataka will not get a single drop of water from Mhadei. Today, I am here to tell you that the BJP at the centre has resolved the long dispute between Goa and Karnataka over Mhadei and allowed the diversion of Mhadei to Karnataka to satisfy the thirst of farmers of many districts." "Amit Shah's speech is like a bomb (that exploded) on me and the people of Goa. It is a big shock for us that Mhadei water is diverted in connivance with the Goa government. However, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant is not responding to his statement. Sawant is saying that he will study (Shah's remarks) and then give a reaction. Are we (people of Goa) fools? He is making a mockery of people over Mhadei, which is the lifeline of Goa," Sardesai said.

He said that while people of the state are concerned about the ongoing issue, Sawant is sleeping. "He should be awakened," Sardesai said, adding he has written letter to Water Resources Minister Subhash Shirodkar to convene an urgent meeting of the House Committee, headed by him, on Mhadei and to summon CM Sawant in the light of Shah's public statement in Belagavi that Karnataka CM had "taken along the Goa government before the decision on DPR was approved".

"Till now, CM Sawant has neither disputed Amit Shah's words nor issued any statement clarifying his role in what Goans see as a cruel betrayal of Goa. On the contrary, he has been maintaining all along that he's fighting the Union government and his party on behalf of Goa, and the DPR approval was an unilateral decision taken without his knowledge," Sardesai said.
New Delhi, Jan 29 : Adani Group in a statement on Sunday said it is shocked and deeply disturbed to read the report published by the "Madoffs of Manhattan" - Hindenburg Research on January 24 which is nothing but a lie.

The document is a malicious combination of selective misinformation and concealed facts relating to baseless and discredited allegations to drive an ulterior motive, Adani Group said.

This is rife with conflict of interest and intended only to create a false market in securities to enable Hindenburg, an admitted short seller, to book massive financial gain through wrongful means at the cost of countless investors.

It is tremendously concerning that the statements of an entity sitting thousands of miles away, with no credibility or ethics has caused serious and unprecedented adverse impact on our investors. The mala fide intention underlying the report is apparent given its timing when Adani Enterprises Limited is undertaking what would be the largest ever further public offering of equity shares in India. This is not merely an unwarranted attack on any specific company but a calculated attack on India, the independence, integrity and quality of Indian institutions, and the growth story and ambition of India, Adani Group said.

There are three key themes from the Hindenburg Report: (i) Selective and manipulative presentation of matters already in the public domain to create a false narrative. (ii) Complete ignorance or deliberate disregard of the applicable legal and accounting standards as well as industry practice. (iii) Contempt for the Indian institutions including the regulators and the judiciary, Adani Group said.

The report has been put out with the admitted intent of Hindenburg (holding short positions in various listed companies of the Adani portfolio through US traded bonds and non-Indian-traded derivatives, along with other non-Indian-traded reference securities) to profiteer at the cost of our shareholders and public investors. Hindenburg has not published this report for any altruistic reasons but purely out of selfish motives and in flagrant breach of applicable securities and foreign exchange laws.

The truth of the matter is that Hindenburg is an unethical short seller. A short seller in the securities market books gain from the subsequent reduction in prices of shares. Hindenburg took "short positions" and then, to effect a downward spiral of share price and make a wrongful gain, Hindenburg published a document to manipulate and depress the price of stock, and create a false market. The allegations and insinuations, which were presented as fact, spread like fire, wiping off a large amount of investor wealth and netting a profit for Hindenburg. The net result is that public investors lose and Hindenburg makes a windfall gain. Thus, the report is neither "independent" nor "objective" nor "well researched". The report claims to have undertaken a "2-year investigation" and "uncover evidence", but comprises of nothing other than selective and incomplete extracts of disclosed information which has been in the public domain for years if not decades, attempts to highlight allegations which have since been judicially determined to be false, narrates as fact what is attributed to hearsay, rumours and gossip spread by unnamed sources such as "a former trader" or "touts" of a "close relationship", questions the independence of the judicial processes and regulators in the nation, and selectively extracts statements devoid of their context and with no understanding of Indian law or industry practice, Adani Group said.

It is telling that not one of the allegations is a result of any independent or journalistic fact finding. The allegations and innuendoes made in the Hindenburg report are knowingly false.

Hindenburg's conduct is nothing short of a calculated securities fraud under applicable law, Adani Group said.

Ironically for an organization that seeks transparency and openness, nothing much is known about either Hindenburg or its employees or its investors. Its website alleges that the organisation has an experience that "spans decades" and yet appears to have been set up only in 2017.

Despite all its talks of "transparency", Hindenburg has actively concealed the details of its short positions, the source of its own funding, who is behind them, the illegality underlying the synthetic structures by which they hold such positions, or the profit it has made by holding such positions in our securities, Adani Group said.

Not one of these 88 questions is based on independent or journalistic fact finding. They are simply selective regurgitations of public disclosures or rhetorical innuendos colouring rumours as fact. The report seeks answers to "88 questions" -- 65 of these relate to matters that have been duly disclosed by Adani Portfolio companies in their annual reports available on their websites, offering memorandums, financial statements and stock exchange disclosures from time to time. Of the balance 23 questions, 18 relate to public shareholders and third parties (and not the Adani portfolio companies), while the balance 5 are baseless allegations based on imaginary fact patterns.
New Delhi, Jan 29 : On Sunday, Adani Group responded to unsubstantiated allegations and misleading narrative peddled by Hindenburg Research at length in an over 400-page response backed by relevant documents.

Adani Group's response also raises the questions against the ulterior motives and modus operandi of Hindenburg that has conveniently ignored the Indian judiciary and regulatory framework.

The detailed response from Adani Group covered its governance standards, credentials, creditworthiness, best practices, transparent conduct, financial and operational performance and excellence.

The Hindenburg report has been made with a clear intent to profiteer at the cost of our shareholders and public investors. Its report is neither "independent" nor "objective". It is a manipulative document that is rife with conflict of interest and intended only for creating a false market in securities to book wrongful gain, which clearly constitutes securities fraud under Indian law.

Of the 88 questions posed by Hindenburg, it is pertinent to note that 68 refers to the matters that have already been duly disclosed by Adani Group companies in their respective annual reports, offering memorandums, financial statements and stock exchange disclosures from time to time. Sixteen out of 20 questions are pertaining to public shareholders and their sources of funds, while the balance four are simply baseless allegations.

Needless to say that Hindenburg has created these questions to divert the attention of its target audience while managing its short trades to benefit at the cost of investors. The report claims to have undertaken a "2-year investigation" and "uncover evidence", but comprises nothing other than selective and incomplete extracts of disclosed information which has been in the public domain for years.

"We take serious objection to Hindenburg that chose to mislead the investors, watchdogs and policy makers at a time when Adani Group has launched country's largest FPO. Adani Group is deeply committed to its stakeholders, and it is thankful to them for standing with us over the past 30 years. Shockingly, Hindenburg Research's attack on the trust of Adani Group's stakeholders undermines its commitment for the 'Growth with Goodness'," Adani Group said.

Hindenburg Research has come up with a document covering selective and twisted extracts of already disclosed information to raise questions in the minds of Indian and global investors to mislead them about Indian growth story. It is an attack on the trust of Adani Group's stakeholders undermines its commitment for the 'Growth with Goodness'.

Adani Portfolio companies have successfully and repeatedly executed an industry beating expansion plan over the past decade. While doing so, the companies have consistently de-levered with portfolio net debt to EBITDA ratio coming down from 7.6x to 3.2x, EBITDA has grown 22 per cent CAGR in the last 9 years and debt has only grown by 11 per cent CAGR during the same period.

Equity Injection in the Adani Portfolio Adani Portfolio has raised $16 billion equity under a systematic capital management plan for all the Portfolio companies over the last 3 years as a combination of primary, secondary and committed equity from marquee investors like TotalEnergies, IHC, QIA, Warburg Pincus etc.

The portfolio has developed deep bank relationships with institutions such as JP Morgan, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citi, CreditSuisse, UBS, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Barclays, Standard Chartered, MUFG, DBS and Emirates NBD among others. This has strengthened access to diverse funding sources and structures.

Adani Portfolio companies have demonstrated successful syndication of the banking transactions, resulting in de-risking of the banks in volatile markets. Case in point being Holcim's Indian cement business acquisition with international banks, and Navi Mumbai Airport and Kutch Copper refinery with domestic banks Adani Group companies also have a very strong audit process in order to prevent any deviations from the regulatory obligations and highest legal standards.

The Audit Committee of each of the listed verticals is composed of 100 per cent of Independent Directors and chaired by Independent Director.

The Statutory Auditors are appointed only upon recommendation by the Audit Committee to the Board of Directors. Adani Portfolio company's follow a stated policy of having global big 6 or regional leaders as Statutory Auditors.

Hindenburg has deliberately and repeatedly trivialised the change of CFOs to twist this into a narrative.

The fact is that many of the CFOs are still part of the organisation in other capacities to take on larger responsibilities as part of our growth stories.

Others have left post retirement or to pursue their own entrepreneurial endeavours and continue to work in our association.

None of the resignations have ever been made pursuant to any alleged concerns and Hindenburg's baseless narrative.
Tehran, Jan 30 : The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani has said that the recent discovery of new mass graves of "innocent" indigenous children in Canada is evidence of a "major human tragedy" that can only be described as "genocide".

Making the remark in a statement published on the Ministry's website, Kanaani on Sunday slammed the Canadian government's reluctance to provide sufficient and transparent information about the graves, saying it is indicative of the depth of the "human disaster" and reminiscent of the "crimes" committed during the "oppressive and racist" British rule in Canada.

The "horrible" crime has been committed in a country whose government has always tried to pass itself off as an advocate of human rights by putting on "deceptive and hypocritical" shows and to make meddlesome remarks about other states' developments, he added.

On Wednesday, Williams Lake First Nation announced at a press conference that an investigative team had found 66 more potential unmarked graves at a former residential school in British Columbia, Xinhua news agency reported.

With the new discovery, 159 graves have so far been found at the former St. Joseph's Mission Residential School, where 93 were uncovered in May 2021.
Beirut, Jan 30 : The Lebanese foreign ministry has condemned the recent deadly Israeli raid in the Palestinian city of Jenin in the northern West Bank.

The Ministry on Sunday said it held "Israel fully responsible for the escalation in the occupied Palestinian territories ... and the Gaza Strip, and the repeated violation of the sanctity of the holy mosque" in Jerusalem.

The deterioration of the situation results from "Israel's elimination of the two-state solution, the decline in international interest in the Palestinian cause and the aggressive and racist Israeli policies," it added.

On Thursday, the Israeli forces raided the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank, killing nine Palestinians and wounding 16 others, Xinhua news agency reported.

On Friday evening, a Palestinian gunman opened fire near a synagogue in a settlement in East Jerusalem, killing at least seven and wounding three others. On Saturday morning, a 13-year-old Palestinian from the city shot at a group of Israelis, wounding two of them.
New Delhi, Jan 30 : A meeting of the Council of Ministers was held on Monday under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi where three presentations were presented.

Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba gave a detailed presentation on the development works in the last eight years of the Modi government.

Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade Secretary, Anurag Jain gave information about the works of the various ministries related to infrastructure.

Information Broadcasting Secretary Apoorva Chandra explained the ways that the work done in the last eight years can be taken to the general public using various means of communication.

Apart from this, in the meeting, Modi urged all the Ministers to take the Central government's welfare schemes to the general public through "Pravas aur Prayas".

The Prime Minister said that the Ministers should go before the people and tell them about the welfare schemes of the Central government.

Modi added that his government did not discriminate on the matter of development.

Instructing the Ministers, the Prime Minister said, "Don't just go to the beneficiaries, but go to the lower strata and cross-check whether they are getting the benefits of the government's schemes or not." "Our government is working on an all-encompassing and all-pervading basis," he added.

During his speech, the Prime Minister gave an example and said that if the seats in medical colleges or other colleges have increased, it has not only benefited one class but everyone.
Jerusalem, Jan 30 : Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced punitive measures against the Palestinians, including strengthening the West Bank settlements, in response to the two shooting attacks since Friday evening.

The measures were approved by the Prime Minister's security cabinet, composed of ultranationalist and pro-settler ministers, on Saturday evening, Xinhua news agency reported.

Netanyahu told the cabinet meeting on Sunday that the family residence of the gunman who carried out the shooting spree at Neve Yaakov, a settlement neighbourhood of Jerusalem, has been sealed.

The Israeli police said in a separate statement that the house, located in the At-Tor neighbourhood of East Jerusalem, is expected to be demolished in the next few days.

Plans to strengthen the Israeli settlements will be decided later this week, said Netanyahu, adding citizenship and residency of families of assailants may also be revoked.

The cabinet also discussed expanding firearm licensing to Israeli citizens, including thousands of paramedics and first responders.

On Friday evening, a Palestinian resident of East Jerusalem shot dead seven Israelis and wounded three others. On Saturday morning, a 13-year-old Palestinian from the city shot at a group of Israelis, wounding two of them.

The attacks came in the wake of a deadly Israeli raid on Thursday in the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank, in which Israeli forces killed 10 Palestinians, including a 61-year-old woman.

The raid triggered rocket fire from the Gaza Strip, to which Israel responded with airstrikes at Hamas sites in the besieged Palestinian enclave.
Ankara, Jan 30 : Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that Turkey may respond "differently" to Finland's NATO bid in a way that would "shock" Sweden, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

"We may respond differently to Finland if necessary. Sweden would be shocked when we respond differently to Finland. But Finland should not make the same mistake," Erdogan said at a meeting in the northwestern province of Bilecik on Sunday.

Turkey submitted a list of 120 "terrorists" to Sweden for extradition, the Turkish President said, adding that the Nordic country must extradite these people in order to join the NATO.

It is the first time that Erdogan indicated that Ankara could evaluate ratifying Sweden and Finland's NATO membership with a different approach, according to the report.

Turkey has postponed a trilateral meeting with Sweden and Finland on their NATO bids slated to take place in February following the burning of a copy of the Quran in Sweden, Xinhua news agency reported.

Sweden and Finland submitted their formal requests to join NATO in May 2022, which were initially objected by Turkey, a NATO member, citing their support for anti-Turkish Kurdish organisations and political dissidents.

A month later, Turkey, Sweden, and Finland reached a memorandum of understanding (MoU) ahead of the NATO summit held in Madrid, Spain.

In the MoU, Ankara agreed to lift its veto on the NATO bids by Finland and Sweden, which in return pledged to support Turkey's fight against terrorism and address its "pending deportation or extradition requests of terror suspects expeditiously and thoroughly".

The Turkish parliament has not ratified the Nordic countries' NATO bids so far, citing that they have yet to meet Turkey's requests.
Sound of Spring concert held in New York to celebrate Chinese New Year

Xinhua) 14:09, January 29, 2023

NEW YORK, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- A unique Chinese New Year concert "The Sound of Spring" was held here on Saturday, charming the audience with the diversity and artistry of Chinese symphonic music.

Now in its fourth year, the concert was jointly presented by the U.S.-China Music Institute of the Bard College Conservatory of Music, and the Central Conservatory of Music in China.

Featuring well-known musical pieces such as Spring Festival Overture, Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto, along with other festive works, the two-hour-long program showcased an exciting blend of Chinese American artists, Chinese symphonic music, and traditional instruments.

Chinese music is full of enchanting stories and uplifting sounds, said Cai Jindong, conductor of the concert and director of the U.S.-China Music Institute, adding the concert was aimed at bringing authentic Chinese music to the audience.

"Music connects cultures and people. It helps us overcome obstacles and leave our differences behind," he said.

Saturday's concert attracted more than 1,000 visitors.

Founded in 2017, the U.S.-China Music Institute promotes the study, performance, and appreciation of music from contemporary China, and supports musical exchanges between the United States and China.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
MATSAPHA  Change A Life Foundation yesterday changed the lives of 50 casual workers with essential work apparel.

Bongani Under Control Mamba, the foundations Director, yesterday invited the casual workers to the S&B Restaurant and presented them with work apparel. They each received a pair of safety boots, a two-piece overall suit, a safety helmet and a T-shirt. Mambas Change A Life Foundation was simply making an indirect intervention in assisting men to positively impact the communities they live in. He said availing the work apparel to the men was part of their endeavour as a foundation to be in line with Goal 8 of the global sustainable development goals (SDGs).

He said they were dedicated to assisting men to make a difference amid the challenging times they face as unemployed people. Mamba said he also went through some of the hardships they were going through. He said as a foundation they were happy that the beneficiaries did not complain but woke up every day to hustle on empty stomachs. I know how it feels to be unemployed, I have faced the hardship you go through; I have been there, said Mamba. The foundation decided to raise funds and purchase the fundamental items/apparel to enable casual workers to be readily considered for any prospective immediate employment opportunities. Mamba further disclosed that their relationship with some of the casual workers dated back to 2013. He said these men endured all the hardships of waking up in the morning with no transport to face at Matsapha industries. He described the casual workers as people on a mission and likened them to hunters.

hunting

You go hunting for the job with the knowledge that you might not get anything on the day, but you never give up and simply say maybe on another day, said Mamba. He also said he was happy that they decided to come and face instead of turning around with the shade of the sun and staying at home. He said their hustling for survival meant they avoid being found wanting by the laws of the land. Those who stay home and complain end up abusing their children and wives ending up contravening the laws of the land and getting arrested, said Mamba. He said he was proud to be associated with these men and was working with stakeholders in ensuring that there were basins for them to wash their hands and ablutions while they waited for any client who wanted a casual worker.

Meanwhile, Wonder Dlamini, a casual worker from Mgazini, thanked Mamba and shared that all along they had known him for his kindness. He said Mamba would sometimes share bread and juice or bring food to them while they waited for the next employer. Even when we have failed to get some work on the day, we knew Mamba will come to our rescue with something to eat, said Dlamini. He further said they were surprised when he called them to a restaurant instead of the usual casual talks and him taking the little from his family to feed them. Dlamini said the apparel will go a long way in terms of presentation and also their safety while working.
Tehran, Jan 30 : The Iranian top banker has said that a direct connection has been established between the banks of Iran and Russia, reported the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

Mohammadreza Farzin, Governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), said on Sunday that within the framework of the joint action plan of banking cooperation signed last year by the two countries' central banks, the first step toward the implementation was taken on Sunday.

Farzin added that the Iranian banking network will also have a direct connection with other 106 foreign banks, stressing the banking channel between Iran and the world is being reinstated, Xinhua news agency reported The CBI announced on Sunday that Iran's electronic financial messaging system, known as SEPAM domestically, and the Financial Messaging System of the Bank of Russia, known as SPFS, were connected following the signing of a deal between the two central banks on the same day.

At the signing ceremony, Mohsen Karimi, the CBI's deputy governor for international affairs, said the step will help prepare the ground for traders and banks from the two countries to increase cooperation and transactions without facing the restrictions imposed by the sanctions, according to Iran's official news agency IRNA.

He added that based on the agreement, all Iranian banks abroad and foreign banks that are connected to Russia's SPFS, including more than 100 banks in 13 countries, will be able to exchange messages and communicate with the banks inside Iran.

Iran and Russia, both of which are under sanctions imposed by the US, have recently expanded their bilateral political and economic relations to counter the US moves.

Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War
Lucknow, Jan 30 : An FIR has been lodged against eight persons for tearing pages of Ramcharitmanas, an epic poem in Awadhi language penned by Goswami Tulsidas, and then burning it in Vrindavan Yojna area of Lucknow late on Sunday, police said.

The FIR has been lodged at the PGI police station of Lucknow.

Station House Officer (SHO) Rajesh Rana said that they received a complaint from a BJP member, Satnam Singh Lavi, on the basis of which the FIR was lodged.

"Unsavoury comments against Ramcharitmanas and burning of its pages in public may create a rift in society and lead to communal tension. The accused spoke against the holy book on social media and thus hurt the sentiments of Hindus," he added.

The SHO said that the accused named by Satnam Singh in his FIR are Yashpal Singh Lodhi, Devendra Yadav, Mahendra Pratap Yadav, Naresh Singh, SS Yadav, Sujit, Santosh Verma and Salim.

They all have been booked under sections 153-A (promoting enmity), 295 A (outrage religious feelings), 505 (to incite outrage) and 298 (hurt religious feelings) of the Indian Penal Code and section 66 of the IT Act.

The police said that the accused named in the FIR had come out in support of Samajwadi Party MLC Swami Prasad Maurya under the banner of Akhil Bhartiya OBC Mahasabha on Sunday.

Maurya had recently caused a row when he raised objections to certain verses from the book and termed them 'against women, backwards and Dalits'.
Christopher Ligori & Associates is pleased to announce that Florida personal injury attorney Christopher Ligori has been selected to Super Lawyers for the third consecutive year. Only the top 5% of attorneys are selected to Super Lawyers each year.

Ive been practicing law for 28 years and am very honored to be named by my peers as a Super Lawyer. I am grateful to be among some of the industrys top attorneys and appreciate the trust my clients have put in me and the firm over the years, which has led to receiving this prestigious award, said Ligori in response to being selected as a top personal injury lawyer in Tampa, Fla.

Super Lawyers is a nationwide attorney rating service that recognizes the states most outstanding attorneys. Super Lawyers uses a patented, multiphase selection process that includes, but is not limited to, independent research, peer nominations, and evaluations. The objective of Super Lawyers is to provide people with a credible and diverse resource for finding top-rated attorneys in their area.

Christopher N. Ligori is a top-rated personal injury attorney in Tampa. Licensed in the state since 1994, Mr. Ligori is an experienced litigator who is dedicated to protecting his clients rights and ensuring wrongdoers are held accountable. As a respected member of the legal community, Chris holds an AV Preeminent* peer review rating, which is the highest available rating from Martindale-Hubbell. Mr. Ligori is also listed in Best Attorneys of America, and he is included on the National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Lawyers list.

As the founder of Christopher Ligori & Associates, Chris handles all types of personal injury cases in Tampa Bay and the surrounding communities. He is the personal injury attorney Florida residents turn to after suffering severe injuries in motor vehicle accidents, pedestrian accidents, bicycle accidents, slip and fall accidents, incidents involving negligent security, products liability cases involving defective drugs and defective medical products, and nursing home abuse and medical malpractice cases.

For more information about Florida Super Lawyer Christopher Ligori, or to schedule a free consultation, call (813) 223-2929 or visit https://www.ligorilaw.com/.

About Christopher Ligori

Lead Trial Attorney and former Assistant State Attorney Christopher Ligori has dedicated more than two decades to providing expert legal representation to people who have suffered injury or catastrophic losses, including permanent disability and death. He is a tenacious advocate dedicated to helping accident victims and their families and protecting their rights. As a 4th generation Floridian, he spent years as an Assistant State Attorney at the Hillsborough County State Attorneys Office and later worked for an insurance defense firm.

Ligori founded Christopher Ligori & Associates in Tampa, Fla. in 2000. He is one of the few lawyers in the state that has tried over 100 cases to verdict, and he is widely recognized as an expert in his field. Chris speaks regularly around the state of Florida, teaching fellow lawyers how to handle and try personal injury cases. He has been elected and presently serves on the Board of Directors for the Florida Justice Associate (FJA) and serves on its Executive Committee. He is an active PAC Trustee and recipient of 2 Silver Eagle Awards.

Chris Ligori has a track record of success that has also landed him in the invitation-only Top 100 of National Trial Lawyers, Nations Top One Percent, AV Preeminent Rating by Martindale Hubble, Rue Ratings Best Attorneys of America, and one of the 10 Best Law Firms by the American Institute of Personal Injury Attorneys. Additionally, Chris has been elected by his peers to Super Lawyers, and has been appointed by the Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court to the Judicial Management Council, which is the premiere group that advises the Florida Supreme Court.

Chris was born and raised in Tampa, where he now proudly runs Christopher Ligori & Associates. After receiving his Associate of Arts degree at Florida State University, he graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. Chris received his J.D. from Nova Southeastern Law School. He and his wife Sherrie live in Tampa, where they are raising two daughters (whom he calls his non-paid spokeschildren) Alessandria and Juliana.
If you're considering opening a coffee shop in New Mexico or any other state, call 1-888-800-9224 to reach our startup team. Were excited to share information and resources to help entrepreneurs like you." - Greg Ubert, Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea

Want to learn how to open a coffee shop in New Mexico? Get tips on starting a profitable business in The Land of Enchantment from coffee shop startup experts at Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea.

Through its 7 Steps to Success coffee shop startup program, Roast magazines 2016 Macro Roaster of the Year has taught over 300 entrepreneurs in 30 states how to open their own independent coffee shops.

Now, the companys 7 Steps coffee shop startup consulting team has added to its series of state-level coffee shop startup guides with, How to Start a Coffee Shop in New Mexico.

New Mexico is a terrific place to start a coffee shop! said Crimson Cup Founder and President Greg Ubert.

In fact, New Mexico ranks 21st among the states in the number of coffee shops per capita, with fewer than one coffee shop for every 5,757 residents. That leaves a lot of The New Mexicans without a local coffee shop, especially in the smaller cities and towns.

The program is based on Uberts book, Seven Steps to Success: A Common-sense Guide to Succeed in Specialty Coffee, which he wrote to help coffee shop owners develop profitable businesses by mastering all aspects of successful coffee shop operations.

We help entrepreneurs with little or no coffee experience become owners of thriving coffee shops serving their local communities, he said.

From choosing a terrific location and writing a strong coffee shop business plan to buying and laying out equipment, hiring and training staff and more, our team is here to guide you.

To hear about the book in Uberts own words, download a free recorded introduction on Soundcloud.

Besides the New Mexico guide, Crimson Cup recently published guides on How to Start a Coffee Shop in Texas, Ohio, North Carolina, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Tennessee, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Virginia, Missouri, Wisconsin, Connecticut, New Jersey, Iowa, Alabama, Maine, Arkansas, Vermont, Rhode Island, Utah, Colorado, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas and Nevada.

The roaster will continue to post a state-level guide each week until all 50 states are covered.

Although the fundamentals of coffee shop operation remain the same from state to state, the economic opportunities, business formation and licensing requirements vary widely, Ubert said. Were excited to share information and resources to help entrepreneurs expedite their startup journey.

He invited anyone who is thinking of opening a coffee shop in any state to call Crimson Cup for guidance.

If you run into any roadblocks or just want to discuss your vision with a coffee expert, you can reach our startup team by calling 1-888-800-9224.

About Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea

Founded in 1991, Crimson Cup is at the forefront of the coffee industry. Its attentive roasting, startup support and global partnerships are consciously designed for the greater good of communities around the world. Among other national recognitions, the company has earned 2020 and 2017 Good Food Awards, the 2019 Golden Bean Champion for Small Franchise/Chain Roaster and Roast magazines 2016 Macro Roaster of the Year.

Crimson Cup travels the world searching for the perfect cup  driven by meaningful relationships, honesty and a shared vision for the future. Its Friend2Farmer initiatives foster respect and decency through mutually beneficial collaboration across local and global communities.

Through its 7 Steps to Success coffee shop startup program, the company teaches entrepreneurs how to open and run independent coffee houses in their local communities. By developing a coffee shop business plan, entrepreneurs gain insight into coffee shop startup costs.

Crimson Cup coffee is available through over 350 independent coffee houses, grocers, college and universities, restaurants and food service operations across 30 states, Guam and Bangladesh. The company also owns several Crimson Cup Coffee Shops and a new CRIMSON retail flagship store. To learn more, visit crimsoncup.com, or follow the company on Facebook and Instagram.
Madam,

I was informed about the tragic demise of my colleague Thulani TR Maseko on Sunday morning by my mother. This is a sad chapter in the life of the Democracy Now campaign by the mass democratic movement (MDM), however, I have no doubt that the struggle shall continue. The assassination of TR brings to mind memories of luminaries like Chris Hani and Martin Luther King Jr. TR was indeed a committed combatant for justice and upholding of the rule of law. Martin Luther King Jr once wrote; A threat to justice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

During the trumped charges of the contempt of court case against TR and Bheki Makhubu in 2014, I gave TR a book marker that had a quote by former Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Khoza during a discussion hosted by the Council of Swaziland Churches, which read; There needs to be a change of mindset, a willingness to listen to the other side to give and take for the common good. I dont believe that there is any right thinking person in Swaziland (Eswatini) who does not want democracy. I do believe that TR subscribed to this quote paraphrased above as he quoted it with approval in one of his articles in The Nation magazine.

TR genuinely believed in dialogue and constructive engagement. I recall fondly in 2004 when there was a draft constitution, there was a nationwide civic education drive under the auspices of Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) spearheaded by TR before the 2005 national Constitution was promulgated. It is the same LHR that, in 2014, took up the matter of Justice Thomas Masuku in the African Court on Human Rights in the Gambia, which in 2021 handed down a ruling that Justice Masukus dismissal violated human rights. This was the magnitude of the man such that when he and Makhubu were released from prison, they were later to be recognised by a Multichoice award for their contribution in the defence of justice as ardent human rights defenders. We shall continue the good work that you together with the late Mandla Mkhwanazi and others have carried out over the years. Rest in power African  Amandla!
Thank you for reading!

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Dean Unglert / Instagram

By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 01/29/2023



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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 Caelynn Miller-Keyes and Dean Unglert have revealed their wedding plans are nearly complete as they're inching their way closer to getting married this year.Caelynn uploaded a 16-minute YouTube video earlier this week titled, "Wedding Updates! Wedding Venues, Engagement Shoot, Engagement Party, & How the Night Ended.""We found our wedding venue!" Caelynn gushed of "Stop No. 2" on her and Dean's snowy wedding-venue tour in Aspen, CO earlier this month."It is the most beautiful place I've ever been to. It's perfect. I was just telling Dean that it's a 10/10. I didn't think we'd find a 10/10 for our wedding venue. The first spot, I was like, 'Okay, it's a seven, maybe a six, [even though] I said it was an 8. I was really trying to make myself love it. THIS one is so perfect and I can't wait."Dean, who was driving the car in the video, said that's what he wanted to hear from the bride."And the groom loves it?!" Caelynn asked Dean, who recently admitted he'd prefer to just get married in a low-key courthouse ceremony."The groom loves the bride, and that's all that matters," Dean replied, making Caelynn swoon.After the couple popped champagne, watched fireworks and then slept in what appeared to be a swanky cabin or lodge, Caelynn gushed about how their vacation to Colorado was one of her "favorite trips of all time.""I'm very sad to leave," Caelynn acknowledged. "We found our wedding venue and we've got the date locked in. I've got my dresses, Dean is going to pick out his tux eventually... We're on our way to get married!"Caelynn then shared how she and Dean have already selected their venue, wedding planner, photographers, videographers, the band, a caterer and even a photo booth. The pair also previously shared how Caelynn has picked out the flowers and her wedding dresses as well."It's all coming together and I'm so excited!" Caelynn said.Dean and Caelynn just celebrated their engagement with a big party in Studio City, CA, earlier this month."Just a few more months until I get to marry this stud," Caelynn captioned a sweet photo of Dean and herself walking poolside under an umbrella in the rain.Caelynn told her fans in the vlog that the engagement party and photo shoot for the event were "magical" and "blissful" moments.Caelynn confirmed she's had "a blast" with her nuptials, although Dean struggled through the photo shoot because he hates all eyes being on him and posing for cameras."One of the highlights of the engagement party [was] after everyone left the afterparty, there was just a small group of us, some of our really close friends... and all of our family," Caelynn shared."Dean and I both hate being the center of attention, so instead of people talking about why they love us and why we're special, we went around to every person there and told them why they're special to us... It was icing on the cake of the perfect night."Dean proposed marriage to Caelynn in October 2022 following a grueling 22-mile hike to Hawaii's Kauai Island about three years after they began dating on Season 6 of , which aired in Summer 2019.Caelynn then popped the question to Dean in December, which made their engagement even more "official.""A while ago we agreed we would both propose to each other. I had a lot of ideas on how I would do it, but after Dean had me conquer my fear of heights before his proposal, I thought it would be fitting for him to conquer his only fear, horses," Caelynn wrote on Instagram in December, sharing a photo of Dean on horseback."I can't wait for a lifetime of pushing each other out of our comfort zones."The pair said they initially planned to elope in Italy but then they realized Colorado would be a better wedding destination because all of their friends would be able to attend.On 's sixth season, Dean broke up with Caelynn on her birthday and left the show alone because he didn't think he was ready to provide the commitment that Caelynn wanted.However, Dean returned for Caelynn later on and begged her to give him a second chance, and the pair left Paradise dating each other.Following their Paradise exit, Dean convinced Caelynn to live "the van life" with him in which they traveled together and didn't have a stable home base.But Dean apparently got the van life out of his system because the couple moved into a home together in Las Vegas, NV, in Spring 2021. Caelynn and Dean, however, later moved to Denver, CO.Dean ended up popping the question with a temporary engagement ring with a "small" diamond because he claimed on his "Help! I Suck at Dating" podcast to have lost the original 4.5 carat diamond he'd purchased for his girlfriend.Dean previously said he hopes to find the original diamond somewhere in his home and then turn the small diamond from his marriage proposal into a necklace for Caelynn.Dean first revealed he was going to propose marriage to Caelynn soon during the October 23 episode of "Help! I Suck at Dating."When Caelynn confirmed her engagement, she gushed on Instagram, "The hardest and scariest hike I've ever done led to the best day of my life. I can't wait to be velcroed to you forever @deanie_babies.And Dean posted a video around the same time from the couple's hike and ultimate marriage proposal."On the most beautiful beach in the world I got to ask the most beautiful girl in the world if she'd let me be her husband (she said yes)," Dean wrote on his own Instagram account."It's been 16 years since I lost my mom. I always thought it'd get easier as time wore on but it hasn't... I miss her more now than I ever have before. I'm so happy to now have this date as a happy memory as well.""From now on I'll be able to find joy in something this time of year, be excited for the future rather than sad about the past, and celebrate love with the woman who may one day be a mother to children of our own," he concluded.Back in June 2022, Dean revealed on his podcast that he had made a deal with Caelynn about getting engaged."I made a deal with [Caelynn]. I was like, 'I'll buy you a ring if you buy me a truck,'" Dean said, which sparked criticism from some fans that Dean didn't treat Caelynn very well.Dean also admitted at the time how he had thrown a "hissy fit" upon seeing the 4.5 karat ring Caelynn was hoping to have on her finger one day and the pair got into "a scuffle."Dean said getting engaged was simply "a touchy subject" in his relationship, adding, "Caelynn makes significantly more money than I do and here I am having to spend all this money on something I don't even want. Like, I want her to get what she wants, but she's the one who wants to get married."But then Caelynn came through and bought Dean a truck in August 2022.Back in April 2022, Caelynn recalled her reaction to Dean's request that she propose marriage to him."When Dean first said that, I thought, 'Okay, [it's] another thing Dean is saying to break the mold.' Sometimes he says things just for a reaction, and he'll admit that. I thought that's kind of what he was doing," Caelynn explained in a Q&A on YouTube."But the more I thought about it, the more I loved it, because traditionally, he would propose to me. That's something I've dreamt of for so long, and that's something that he doesn't get -- a day that's catered to him and this special moment where he's really thought of. That's when I was like, 'Oh my gosh, I love this.'"Caelynn pointed out how she and Dean have "a partnership" and so they both deserve to have a proposal day."I love the idea of planning this extravagant -- well, not extravagant, because he doesn't like to be the center of attention -- but just this thing that's all about him. So after I really thought about it, I am really, really into it," Caelynn said.When Dean and Caelynn do tie the knot, they both plan to change their last names to "Bell" in honor of Dean's late mother, whose maiden name was Bell.Dean and Caelynn have been wearing wedding bands since 2020 to show they are committed to each other. Caelynn told Us last year that it "really frustrates" her when fans assume Dean isn't good to her."He is hilarious and he's very sarcastic and he's also the most romantic person I think I've ever met. He's so thoughtful," Caelynn boasted."So I think that's a big misconception -- that I'm, like, more invested in the relationship or he, like, doesn't treat me right. I'm like, 'No, he treats me exceptionally well and he's always going out of his way to just surprise me and do romantic things.'"Prior to meeting on Paradise, Caelynn competed for Colton Underwood 's heart on The Bachelor's 23rd season, and Dean had been on multiple The Bachelor spinoffs after initially appearing on Rachel Lindsay 's season of The Bachelorette.Dean previously gushed to Us his relationship with Caelynn is "monumentally different" from other women he's dated in the past. Dean was previously linked to Kristina Schulman Danielle Lombard and Lesley Murphy from The Bachelor world alone."She's very intelligent and compassionate. I am able to be myself around her and she's able to be herself and that's how we create synergy and build around each other," Dean explained of Caelynn."For the first time in my Bachelor franchise relationship history, I feel like I'm able to say what I want, do what I want, and allow my partner to build with me while I'm doing that."Dean, however, believed in late 2019 that marriage was "never going to happen" for them."She does joke around about us getting married all the time, and I always say, 'Sorry, it's not going to happen.' I don't know, I'm super unconventional and she obviously is a little more conventional," Dean told the magazine at the time."We joke around about it. Just try to keep expectations to a minimum, you know? Like I said on the show, underpromise, overdeliver."Interested in more The Bachelor news? Join our The Bachelor Facebook Group
MBABANE  Eswatini is strengthening diplomatic relations with Russia, which has been sanctioned by the kingdoms close ally, Taiwan.

It has been established that Russia has been banned from using Taiwan-made high tech items for military purposes. Taiwan imposed the sanctions on Russia in response to Moscows invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Russias war against Ukraine is still ongoing. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was in the country this week to meet senior government officials. He held talks with Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Thuli Dladla, Principal Secretary and acting Minister of National Defence and Security Prince Sicalo Dlamini and Prime Minister Cleopas Sipho Dlamini. The two countries signed an intergovernmental agreement on visa-free travel for holders of diplomatic and service passports.

diplomatic recognition

It must be said that Eswatini is the last remaining country on the African continent to maintain diplomatic recognition with Taiwan. In response to the economic sanctions, Russia included Taiwan in a list of unfriendly nations. Moscow released the list on March 7, 2022. It included Ukraine, the United States; EU countries, the United Kingdom, Canada, Montenegro, Switzerland, Albania, Andorra, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, San Marino, North Macedonia, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Micronesia, New Zealand, Singapore and Taiwan.

In a statement released on January 3, 2023, the Taiwans Ministry of Economic Affairs announced the expansion of sanctions on Russia and Belarus. Meanwhile, in the statement released by Taiwan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said the items barred from being exported to Russia and Belarus in the expanded sanctions included chemicals such as ricin, conotoxin, botulinum toxin, nitrogen trifluoride, ammonium nitrate, tributyl phosphate and nitric acid, as well as stainless steel No. 304 and No. 316.

The expanded sanctions also cover machinery products, including computer numerical control (CNC) machines, machining centres, CNC grinding machines, electric discharge machines and controllers, the ministry said as quoted by Focus on Taiwan. It must be said that a wide range of law enforcement tools such as batons, handcuffs, leg chains and strait jackets are also included in the latest round of sanctions, the ministry added. It has been learnt that the newly-imposed sanctions against Russia and Belarus were expanded from the sanctions introduced in April and May 2022, which largely covered computer and information communications products, sensors, laser goods and aerospace items. When Russia invaded Ukraine, Eswatinis ally Taiwan followed in the footsteps of the United States and European Union.

Following the Russian invasion, the ministry said Taiwans government followed the Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies since March 2022, tightening scrutiny of its exports to Moscow and Minsk, the administrative city of Belarus. The Wassenaar Arrangement was established in 1996 to contribute to regional and international security and stability by promoting transparency and greater responsibility in the transfer of conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies. It has been established that the ministry held meetings with local industrial associations and Taiwanese small and medium sized exporters (SMSE) that have major buyers in Russia and Belarus at the end of last year to discuss the need for Taiwan to impose more sanctions on the two countries. The Bureau of Foreign Trade and the government-sponsored trade group, Taiwan External Trade Development Council have contacted Taiwanese exporters that would be affected by the new sanctions. It, however, indicated willingness to help them minimise the impact of the new export restrictions.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs urged Taiwanese exporters to abide by the rules and not to sell the newly-banned items to Russia and Belarus. On a similar note, the Government of the Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), condemned Russias decision to start a war in violation of the UN Charter by invading and occupying Ukraine. Taiwan condemned Russia in a public statement issued on February 22, 2022. The East Asian country stated that the Russian action jeopardised regional and global peace and stability. ROC said the action also posed the most serious threat and challenge to the rules-based international order and system of international laws that maintained and protected the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries. As a member of the global democratic alliance, the Republic of China (Taiwan) staunchly defends the core universal values of freedom, democracy, the rule of law, and human rights, reads the statement.

The government deeply regrets that Russia, instead of resolving disputes through peaceful diplomatic negotiations, has chosen to use force and intimidation in bullying others.

In order to compel Russia to halt its military aggression against Ukraine, and to restart peaceful dialogue among all parties concerned as soon as possible, the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan), announced that it would join international economic sanctions against Russia. The government of the Republic of China (Taiwan), called for Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity to be respected. It also opposed any unilateral change to the status quo by force or coercion. ROC stated that it supported peaceful, rational dialogue and negotiation among related countries under the framework of international law to resolve differences. Taiwan will continue to coordinate closely with the United States and other like-minded countries to adopt appropriate measures in order to free Ukraine from the horrors of war, as well as restore, at the earliest time, peace and stability to the region and the world, further reads the statement. On April 6, 2022, the Taiwans Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the country had banned the exports of 57 additional categories of high-tech products to Russia as it continued to join global sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine.

Unfriendly countries

The list of unfriendly countries released by Russia meant that its companies doing business with the blacklisted countries would be required to obtain special government authorisation.

This is due to the fact that countries on the list were considered to have taken unfriendly actions against Russia, Russian companies, and citizens. Russian citizens and companies, the state itself, its regions and municipalities that have foreign exchange obligations to foreign creditors from the list of unfriendly countries will be able to pay them in rubles, the decree added. The new temporary procedure applies to payments exceeding 10 million rubles per month (or a similar amount in foreign currency). That came at a time when the countries around the world had announced tough sanctions on Russia in response to the Ukraine invasion. It must be said that sanctions caused the ruble to plunge in value, in addition to sending the share prices of Russian companies trading overseas downward.

In 2021, Taiwans exports to Russia totaled US$1.32 billion, the equivalent of E22 billion. It accounted for 0.76 per cent of outbound sales, government data showed. Russias decision to put Taiwan on a list of foreign countries deemed unfriendly to Moscow was to have little effect on bilateral relations. This was said by Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu, who assured his fellow citizens that his countrys representative office in Moscow was operating normally. Government Press Secretary Alpheous Nxumalo answered the question on Eswatinis relations with Taiwan and Russia by referring to what former British Prime Minister Henry Palmerstone once said. He said Palmerstone once told the British Parliament that Britain had no permanent allies, and had no perpetual enemies, but has permanent and perpetual interests. Nxumalo said that was the understanding which made the diplomatic relations between the Kingdom of Eswatini and Taiwan solid and enduring.

By 2019, he said the Kingdom of Eswatini was already celebrating 20 years of the warm diplomatic relations that had existed between the Kingdom and Russia.

The government press secretary said Taiwan had a long-standing and full insight into the facts that all countries had the right to establish diplomatic relations with others without being bound by any multilateral or bilateral relations. As a matter of fact, he explained that diplomacy, being the art and the technique of creating understanding within countries, could possibly lead to a reciprocal contact and understanding between Russia and Taiwan as a result of the kingdoms relations with both countries. In any and every case, he said diplomacy, in actual fact, crossed frontiers to adjust relations and harmonise the interests of countries and cultures of the people. He said all these factors led to the translation of disparate perspectives into shared expectations. Nxumalo said Eswatinis Ambassador to Switzerland Vuyile Dlamini was also accredited to represent the country in Russia.

Strategic ambiguity explained

One of the countrys political analysts said what was happening between Russia, Eswatini, USA, Taiwan and Mainland China was referred to as strategic ambiguity in political science.

For instance, he said the strategic ambiguity allowed the United States, though a signatory of the One China Policy, to be involved in huge trade with Taiwan. Despite the One China Policy, he said USAs trade with Taiwan escalated during Donald Trumps administration. What Pelosi (US Speaker) did when she visited Taipei was crossing the line. It was then politics which the USA administration avoided as she took advantage of the autonomy of the House from Cabinet, said the political analyst. He said the most interesting scenario in diplomacy was that of Britain as it had nursed relations with both Taipei and Beijing for more than 60 years. He said what was happening between Russia, Taiwan, Mainland China, Eswatini and USA could also be summarised by two words, if not one  trade and diplomacy or just trade without diplomacy. I know I sound confused as the confusing ties between these five nations, the political analyst said on condition of anonymity.

He said Eswatini was getting neck deep into diplomatic ties with Russia and Moscow is presently Mainland Chinas number one ally. On the other hand, he pointed to the fact that the kingdom has zero deep ties with China. He mentioned that the monarchy is the only country, out of 54 in Africa, which snubbed Beijing in favour of Taipei. The political analyst said Mainland China, on the other hand, is Eswatinis second trade partner after South Africa. Notably, he also said Taiwans leading partner is China. He then addressed the issue of the USA and China. He said USA has China as its leading trade partner while Washington was noticeably playing the role of being a gatekeeper to Eswatini-China ties. The political analyst said America also traded with Russia since the fall of the USSR in 1989 under Michael Gorbachev and later Boris Yeltsin. Again, Russia trades with Taiwan - a foe of China though and Russia is Chinas biggest ally, he said.

Does Chinas big ally, Russias, sudden big ties to Eswatini poke Taiwan? What does it mean to America and China? He referred to the adage: 'You are my friend and your enemy is not my enemy'. So there is diplomacy in trade. While we are allies we can also choose to work with foes without crossing certain lines, he said. He said Eswatini, at some point, brokered ties with Cuba long before former US President Barack Obama did. He said this was of strategic importance to Eswatini though as it depended on the US A in so many ways yet America had a frosty relation with Cuba, but trading with Havana through tourism.
Former University of Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett was arrested for public intoxication early Sunday morning in Dallas, according to WFAA, a local Dallas TV station.

Dallas police took Bennett into custody around 6 a.m. after receiving reports of a man banging on doors along Tribeca Way in the neighborhood of Old East Dallas, according to WFAA.
On Jan. 26, Peabody announced that its annual ceremony for the 83rd Peabody Awards will be held for the first time in Los Angeles on June 11. The awards will be held in person for the first time since 2019. The Peabody Awards were founded at the University of Georgia in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication.

The Peabody Awards honor the most intelligent, powerful and moving stories told in broadcasting and digital media, according to UGA Today.
MBABANE Popular businessman Carlos Paiva has been granted an interim order interdicting another top entrepreneur Henry du Pont from discharging firearms at his farm.

Judge Nkosinathi Maseko fixed the return date for the case to be February 17, 2023 wherein du Pont would have to show cause why the rule nisi should not be confirmed as a final order.

There was no appearance in court for the president of the Federation of Eswatini Business Community (FESBC). The judge noted his response to Paivas attorney Derrick Jele, to the fact that he would suspend the shooting practices in search for a suitable place away from his neighbours residences.

shooting ranger

Together with his wife Sonia, Carlos moved an application in the High Court, wherein he sought an order to stop and remove the shooting ranger at du Ponts farm until there were agreed precautionary measures in place as neighbours. The second and third respondents in the case are the national commissioner of police and attorney general. The basis of the application was that the shooting range has not been approved by the relevant authorities and/or was disturbing the daily peace of mind of Paivas family, tenants, and dogs in his farm. In his application, he alleged that du Pont has, despite lawful demand, refused to remedy his complaint against the shooting range and its disturbing noise and that it was just unsafe. He said he was advised that he had a right to the peaceful and undisturbed enjoyment of his residential area within the farm. As a result, he told the court that the Tums Water World Hotel proprietor had no right to disturb his peace of mind in the enjoyment of his private residential area. This, he said, extended to his family, tenants, workers and domestic animals. He alleged that the situation was made worse by the fact that no steps had been taken by the president of the FESBC to suppress the disturbing noise despite his repeated requests to him in various text messages. Paiva said du Pont kept on saying that the issue would be dealt with by his unknown trainers and club members.

deeply regrettable

Paiva said it was deeply regrettable that he had to move the present application against his neighbour, but stated that this was his last resort as the facts would show. Giving an information background, Paiva said he resided at Portion 26 of farm Peebles Farm situate at Sidvokodvo in the Manzini Region with his family. He said his family comprised of his wife, daughters, their own children, his father-in-law aged 93, mother- in- law aged 92 and workers. He mentioned that the family has four dogs and about 60 cows. We have also gueese, ducks, chickens, turkeys, and peacocks. We have two grandchildren - one is two years of age and the other one is 10 years. This is well known by the first respondent as he is our direct neighbour, stated Paiva in the court application. He said he had had a good neighbourly relationship with du Pont although at times they had their own issues. He said they had fuel accounts with du Pont and also refered their guests to his restaurant and hotel. He said they also used his conference facilities. I generally interact with the first respondent and personally, I do not have an issue with him apart from the present matter. I have tried my best to have it resolved and have failed dismally as it will appear below, reads the court application.

lot of gunshots

He narrated that on or about December 18, 2022, there was a lot of gun-shots in the applicants house, about 80 metres from his residence. As a concerned neighbour, Paiva said he immediately called du Pont to find out if he was safe bearing in mind the current unstable political situation in the kingdom. He said he confirmed that he was safe. I then asked the first respondent about the cause of the consistent very loud disturbing gunshots and he said to me that they are having a shooting practice in his shooting range and I must come over, he stated in the court papers. The businessman said he then asked him how he would have a shooting range within a residential area without having consulted the neighbours as he was not aware of same. He pointed out that the FESBC president then told him that he had the shooting range with the assistance of the police. He said he protested to him that having such a shooting range there disturbed his familys peace of mind, resulted in dogs running away to hide in bushes. He said he had to fetch the dogs from the bushes after the shots had ended, adding that almost all their domesticated animals ran for cover as they were affected by the noise. He said du Pont was not bothered. Paiva said they established a Whatsapp business forum group at Sidvokodvo to which he immediately posted a message complaining about the noise that du Pont was causing.

shooting practice

He attached the message. It read: When you have a shooting practice with guns next to neighbours, common decency is to inform them, my family and animals are traumatised and I find this totally distasteful, shooting ranges are registered with the consent of the community, I am not amused by this forum, station commander and community members. He said he also sent the same message to du Pont at the same time with follow up messages attached marked AA 2. They read: So my family and animals are traumatised because you choose to be inconsiderate, can you please put a stop to what you are doing and tell us how you plan to accommodate our animals. We are supposed to practise good neighbourliness and clearly you have no interest in this. I am clearly upset by your actions  My day is about running after and seeking refuge for my dogs and pacifying my family. Not on. Paiva said du Pont could only say: I will plan accordingly and that was it. He said nothing has been done by him to date to suppress the disturbing noise that came from the shooting range.

It unfortunately continues to disturb the peace of my family, the workers and my domesticated animals, Paiva said. He said the next episode was on January 9, 2023, when he received a message from du Pont that there would be a shooting practice on January 10, 2022 at 1000hrs to 1130 hrs. He said he replied the message as follows: I am told that you can do whatever you want in your property, thanks for the notification but what do you propose I do to protect my dogs?

protested against noise

 Im still not amused by this activity since you have put it close to my house we once jointly protested against noise from the block yard and they managed to put a buffer to suppress that, you need to do likewise and be considerate of your neighbours wellbeing, thanks again for the notification but we are still protesting . Du Pont is alleged to have responded to Paivas message in this way: Noted will plan with the team and I am sure we will find a solution. To his great prejudice, Paiva said there was nothing that had been done up to date. He said the next episode was on January 14, 2023 at 0939 hours when he received a message from du Pont that there would be a shooting practice on January 15, 2023, starting at 0800 hours until 1130 hours. Paiva said he replied as follows: As you know I continue to protest, you have not told me how you would be suppressing the noise and you have not addressed this yet, I believe good neighbourliness is not being addressed, I am truly disappointed, I will have to take this up, I am protesting. Du Pont responded: I did mention it will be addressed with the trainers and the club members sir. He expressed disappointment this has not be done up to date.

shooting continued

Despite my protest the shooting continued and my family and domesticated animals were deeply affected, he said. He said he then called the Sidvokodvo Station Commander, Khanyakwezwe Mhlanga, to help him and his family. I can state for the record that he has tried his best to engage the first respondent and he has failed. The station commander has told me that the first respondent told him that it is his property and he can do what he wants, Paiva said. He said he had been advised that he was correct but his rights were not unlimited as he had to respect their rights as well as neighbours in the exercise of his. He said he then escalated the matter to the Manzini Regional Commander, Clement Sihlongonyane. He said Sihlongonyane had also failed to quickly stop the shooting range. He narrated to the court that the next episode was on January 20, 2023 when he received a message from him again that there would be a shooting practice on January 21, 2023 in his farm at 0800 hours until 1200 hours. He said he replied immediately and said to him: And you are still not telling me about suppressing the noises, every time this activity takes place my family and my dogs are traumatised. I have spoken about good neighbourliness and you dont respond other than promising, we are having a party tomorrow for my granddaughter and I am wondering what explanation I am supposed to make. This is not going well. Du Pont allegedly responded: Issue will be discussed tomorrow as it has been requested.

live in fear

He said the shooting occurred and the guests, who were there in his (Paiva) property, had to live in fear of their lives and those of their children. As a result, he said the birthday party of his granddaughter was cut short. He said he felt embarrassed and humiliated in his own private residence. Paiva also mentioned that he was hoping that du Pont would then come up to him with a plan on how he and his team would suppress the noise that was disturbing him, his family and domestic animals. He said it was a pity he had not done so. Last night at about 2300 hrs the first respondent sent me a message to the effect that tomorrow they will have the shooting practice between 0800 hrs to 1200 hours, he said. He said he had to reply to du Ponts message: I continue to protest and clearly not amused. You are telling me that you are going to continue traumatising us and NOT ADDRESSING our concerns as you have said. Not amused. He said it was the above message that had now led him to approach the court together with his wife. We have failed on other alternative avenues to have the issue resolved. The court is now our last resort in order to protect the interest of my family and domesticated animals, he sought relief. He said it appeared, with respect, that du Pont lived on an island of his own and had no total regard to the rights of others, especially his neighbours.

issue be resolved

This is regrettable, he decried. It has been difficult for me to approach the court on such a matter as the first respondent is my neighbour and I was hopeful that he will come to the party and the issue be resolved. He added: As I have failed on the extra curial efforts to resolve the neighbour dispute, the courts should now come to our assistance and make definite findings as to who is right or wrong in the present matter. He said he had a right enshrined in Section 14 (1) (c) of the Constitution  the protection of the privacy of his residence and property rights. He said du Pont had intentionally and persistently, despite protestation, interfered with the use of his private residence and property by establishing a shooting range just close to his house. He alleged that du Pont and and/or all those acting in concert with shoot a number of guns in the open for four hours straight. He said there was a disturbing noise that came out of the guns. He said it was like they were in a war zone.
Rebels say drones are effective, safe, accurate and require little manpower to operate.

A drone drops two bombs on a Myanmar military base camp in Loikaw, Kayah state, in this undated photo.

Two years into Myanmars civil conflict, civilian drones refitted to drop explosives on junta troops are helping turn the tide against the countrys better-equipped military, rebel groups say.

Drones were once used exclusively by the army to detect and crack down on pro-democracy protests on the streets of Myanmars largest city of Yangon in the days after the Feb. 1, 2021, takeover.

When the anti-junta Peoples Defense Force first formed in the months following the coup, its members were forced to fight Southeast Asias second-largest army using only slingshots and the same crude flintlock Tumee rifles their forefathers used to fight British colonizers in the 1880s.

The rebel groups started using homemade landmines to target their enemys convoys, and about a year ago added drones to their arsenal. They have proved effective, safe, accurate and require little manpower to operate during clashes, the fighters say.

To tell you the truth, drone strikes could end up being a decisive tool in some areas, said a member of the Wings of the Irrawaddy, the PDFs drone unit. In 2023, the junta troops will be hurt [by this weapon] even more. Junta soldiers are extremely scared of our drone attacks. When they see drones coming their way, they run for cover.

Statements recently issued by three drone units operating against the military said they had carried out a total of 642 drone attacks in Sagaing and Magway regions and in Kayin and Kayah states last year.

Difficult to defend

Thein Tun Oo, executive director of the Thayninga Institute for Strategic Studies, which is made up of former military officers, acknowledged the threat PDF drones pose and said the military is deploying technologies to defend against the attacks.

We can limit the number of drones entering our areas and shoot some down as well ... [using] drone guns and [frequency] jammers, he said.

Some of our weapons can shoot them down from a distance of 700-1,000 meters (2,300-3,300 feet), he said. There are many ways to defend against them.

But Zay Thu Aung, a former Air Force captain in the military who defected to the armed resistance, told RFA that while the junta can purchase equipment to defend against drone attacks, it requires a high learning curve and is difficult to deploy effectively.

The junta has unlimited financial resources and since some developed countries are supporting them with technology, they can buy drone protection systems, he said.

But its ground troops are not educated enough to operate such high-tech equipment and its too hard to deploy these to all the frontline battlefields throughout the country.

The drone fleets have allowed the PDF to achieve a degree of air superiority, even without the helicopters and fighter jets available to the military, he added.

Members of Federal Wings, a drone team fighting along with ethnic militias and local Peoples Defense Force groups, attach two munitions to a drone in this undated photo. Credit: Federal Wings Drawbacks

Despite the success the rebel drone units had enjoyed against the military, there are still drawbacks to the equipment they have available, said the Wings of the Irrawaddy fighter.

It requires a significant number of parts to upgrade a commercial drone used to record video into an attack drone and the cost of producing one is still higher than that of one automatic rifle, he said. Other PDF members acknowledged to RFA in September that drones are also susceptible to being shot out of the sky.

PDF drone units are also limited in their operations by daylight, the Wings of the Irrawaddy fighter said, adding that the units plan to equip their aircraft with night vision cameras in 2023.

Kyaw Zaw, the spokesperson for the office of shadow National Unity Government President Duwa Lashi La, told RFA that it plans to add additional funding in 2023 for drone units through a program initiated through its ministry of defense named Project Skywalk.

With the resources that we have, we are working to make more high-tech drones, he said.

We have not yet been able to supply the full range of drones and weapons [for drones]. But you will see that we will be able to destroy the juntas tanks as we can supply a certain number of weapons.

A conventional flying drone used by Wings of the Irrawaddy, an anti-juna local militia group, takes flight in this undated photo. Credit: Wings of the Irrawaddy A Jan. 4 report released by the Falcon Wings  a PDF drone unit which operates from within territory controlled by the anti-junta ethnic Karen National Union in Kayin state  claimed that it had carried out 437 attacks in 2022, killing about 200 military soldiers.

On Jan. 9, a Falcon Wings PDF drone unit in Kayahs Loikaw township reported that it carried out 125 drone attacks in 2022, although it did not provide numbers of military casualties.

The Wings of the Irrawaddy group claims to have carried out about 80 drone attacks last year, killing about 80-100 junta troops.

RFA was unable to independently verify the casualty numbers claimed by the drone units.

Members of Federal Wings with their drone fleet. Credit: Federal Wings A PDF official in Kayin state said that not only are drones effective in attacking the military, they can be relied upon as air support for paramilitaries on the ground.

Drones have served as air support for our ground troops and are a huge threat to our enemy as well, said the official, adding that they allow the PDF to completely dominate the air of the enemy camp.

Translated by Myo Min Aung. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.
Yu Chi, creator of a series of rare photographs taken in the Tibetan region during 2004 and 2012 at the gallery space premiering his work at Office of Tibet in Washington, Friday, Jan. 13, 2023. (RFA photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)

Yu Chi, creator of a series of rare photographs taken in the Tibetan region during 2004 and 2012 presents his work during an event premiering his photographs at Office of Tibet in Washington, Friday, Jan. 13, 2023. (RFA photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)

Yu Chi, creator of a series of rare photographs taken in the Tibetan region during 2004 and 2012 poses for a photograph during an event premiering his work at Office of Tibet in Washington, Friday, Jan. 13, 2023. (RFA photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)

Rare photographs taken in the Tibetan region during 2004 and 2012 by Ye Chi. (RFA photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)

Rare photographs taken in the Tibetan region during 2004 and 2012 by Ye Chi. (RFA photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)

Rare photographs taken in the Tibetan region during 2004 and 2012 by Ye Chi. (RFA photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)

Visitors preview rare photographs taken in the Tibetan region during 2004 and 2012 by Ye Chi. (RFA photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)

Rare photographs taken in the Tibetan region during 2004 and 2012 by Ye Chi. (RFA photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)

Yu Chi, creator of a series of rare photographs taken in the Tibetan region during 2004 and 2012 gestures during an event premiering his work at Office of Tibet in Washington, Friday, Jan. 13, 2023. (RFA photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)

In March 2018, the Tibetan regional capital Lhasa was seething with protests over long standing grievances about harsh Chinese rule in the Himalayan region. By October the city had recorded several hundred such protests, which were met by a heavy Chinese crackdown that Tibetan sources say claimed as many as 400 lives. Sympathy demonstrations were held around the world, including some that interrupted the Olympic torch relay in European capitals for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Yu Chi, a Chinese engineer and enthusiastic amateur photographer, entered the city on March 15, days after protests had erupted. A friend from Lhasa had warned the group he was traveling with to turn back the day before, but they had decided to press on.

Upon entering Lhasa, Yu saw military police at every turn of every intersection, checking vehicles in every direction and photographed the Chinese government's crackdown.

He later sneaked the memory card containing protest and crackdown images past the police roadblocks on his return home. In 2022, Yu smuggled the developed photos out of China when he and his family emigrated to the United States.

The family left China because We cant bear the Chinese Communist Partys political tyranny or their unrestrained control over freedom of speech, he told Radio Free Asia.

We don't want our children to continue their education under this kind of slavery."

On Jan. 13, he publicly displayed his Lhasa images for the first time at an art exhibition he titled A Chinese Engineers View of China's Colonization of Tibet hosted by the Washington, D.C. office of the Central Tibetan Administration, the regions India-based government in exile.

"Younger Tibetans are taking fewer classes in their own language, Tibetan culture is not reflected in their textbooks, and Communist Party education is emphasized at every turn. To me, that's a school system meant to make Tibet less Tibetan. That's colonization, he said.

Yu pointed to a photo he took of an armored car packed with soldiers who were escorting arrested Tibetan protesters. There were five or six such cars, and we observed that each of these cars had ten people on it, each of whom was held down by two armed police officers with batons crushing their heads against the side of the car, he said.

Another photo shows the license plate of an armored car covered by newspapers.

"I think it was likely a military vehicle. Its understood that the military should defend a country, not conduct internal repression. They covered the vehicles license plate to try and hide its connection to the military, said Yu.

Yu took the photos just to show everybody how the Chinese government dealt with those peaceful civilian protests. I think that sending police to watch a peaceful protest is fine. But in our country, what do you see? Armored cars and troops on the streets"

Since 2009, hundreds of Tibetans have burned themselves to death in self-immolation protests, and Yu says he cant forget them and the circumstances that motivate their sacrifices.

"These cases of self-immolation arise from a great weight on the body and mind. With no way to voice what they want to say and not wanting to hurt othersthese people sacrificed themselves to wake everyone up. These were forced tragedies."
Azerbaijan will evacuate embassy staff and family members from Iran on January 29, the Foreign Ministry said, two days after a gunman shot dead a security guard and wounded two other people in an attack Baku branded an "act of terrorism." Police in Tehran have said they have arrested a suspect. Iranian authorities condemned the January 27 incident but said the gunman appeared to have had a personal, not a political, motive. To read the original story by Reuters, click here.
Belaruss armed forces could face widespread desertion from conscripts should the countrys strongman leader, Alyaksandr Lukashenka, order an invasion of Ukraine, a former senior law enforcement official said.

The prediction by Alyaksandr Azarov, who represents an association of former Belarusian security officials, comes amid conflicting signals about whether Lukashenka may finally decide to commit Belarusian troops to the Ukraine invasion, now in its 12th month.

In the run-up to last Februarys invasion, Russia held large-scale military exercises in Belarus. But as the exercises wound down, many of the 30,000 Russian troops stationed there were then used to invade Ukraine, in an unsuccessful push south to seize the Ukrainian capital and topple the government.

But while Lukashenkas government has allowed Russias military wide leeway to use Belarusian territory, Lukashenka has sidestepped pressure from Moscow to actively join the invasion.

In November, satellite imagery obtained by RFE/RLs Belarus Service showed that thousands of Russian troops may have returned to Belarus, renewing questions about another incursion into Ukraine.

Earlier this month, Russia and Belarus expanded joint military training exercises, doing drills that drew on Russian experience in Ukraine. And the two countries air forces also held joint exercises that were completed last week.

Lukashenka also was shown earlier this month visiting a military base where Russian troops were stationed, to meet troops and discuss the joint military drills.

WATCH: Ukraine is preparing for the possibility of a new, large-scale offensive by Russian forces early in the new year. Russia continues to amass troops in neighboring Belarus, a country that Moscow has used as a launching ground to attack Ukraine. Thus far, Belarusian forces have not joined Russia's war on Ukraine.

In an interview broadcast on January 29 on Current Time, the Russian-language network run by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA, Azarov, who served as a lieutenant colonel with the Interior Ministrys organized crime unit (known as GUBOPIK), said Lukashenkas intentions are very difficult to understand.

Today, he says one thing, tomorrow another. But he says what suits him, said Azarov, whose organization, BYPOL, was founded in 2020 in the wake of unprecedented mass protests that erupted when Lukashenka claimed victory in a disputed election. BYPOL stands for Union of Security Forces of Belarus.

Everyone, including Lukashenka, understands that Ukraine is not going to attack, and will not attack, the territory of Belarus. It seems to me that this is more aimed at the Belarusian audience and the Russian audience -- at Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azarov said.

In general, the Belarusian Army partially supports Russia, but the majority [of soldiers], of course, do not, he said. But no one wants to fight. They hope it doesnt come to that. The Belarusian Army has never been involved in any military actions since gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

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.

He said that if Belarussian commanders were to call a general mobilization, the vast majority of conscripts would look to avoid fighting.

We talked with officers, and they say that if hostilities begin, then 90 percent of conscripts will think about how to desert, Azarov said. They wont take part in hostilities. At least they will try not to take part.

Still, Azarov said, the groundwork for a possible invasion of Ukraine is under way. The joint exercises being conducted, he said, are of an offensive, not defensive, nature.

If you take everything that is happening in Belarus, everything is in preparation for invasion. The air force exercises are taking place now. This is also preparation for invasion, he said. Moreover, Russian aviation is doing [offensive maneuvers], and Belarusian aircraft are playing the role of escort, cover, and protection of Russian aviation.

Belarusian opposition leader Pavel Latushka also warned this month that Belarusian authorities could soon begin a military mobilization. He said employees of domestic security and law enforcement agencies have been forced to turn over their passports, effectively barring them from leaving the country.

The Institute for the Study of War, a U.S.-based think tank, said Russian forces are clearly using Belarusian military infrastructure, including bases, supply chains, and railroads, but that there is no indication that Russian forces are starting to position themselves for offensive operations in Belarus.

During a trip to the western city of Lviv on January 11, Ukraines president called on his countrys forces to "be ready" at its border with Belarus.

"We understand that, apart from powerful statements, we do not see anything powerful there, Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in remarks released by his office. "But nevertheless, we must be ready both at the border and in the regions."
For the first time in the history of independent Turkmenistan, the president is not the most powerful person in the country. Serdar Berdymukhammedov lost many of his powers as president when the Turkmen parliament passed amendments to its constitution on January 21. The head of the government in Turkmenistan now is the chairman of the Peoples Council, Serdars father, former President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov. Joining host Bruce Pannier to discuss what just happened in Turkmenistan, and why, are Luca Anceschi, professor of Central Asian Studies at Glasgow University and author of the book Turkmenistan's Foreign Policy: Positive Neutrality And The Consolidation Of The Turkmen Regime; and Farruh Yusupov, the head of RFE/RLs Turkmen Service, known locally as Azatlyk.
On January 9, a 4-year-old Airbus A320 operated by the Russian airline S7 was flying from the Siberian city of Bratsk to Moscow when it encountered a problem: Its toilet system malfunctioned. The flight was forced to divert to the city of Kazan for an unscheduled landing.

Four days earlier, a Red Wings airline passenger jet flying from Kazan to Yekaterinburg also was forced to turn around and returned to its departure airport after its landing gear failed to retract.



Two months before that, a top transport official in the Pacific coast region of Primorye sent a letter to the ministry for the development of the Far East and Arctic in Moscow: We need new passenger planes because our current planes wont be able to fly anymore after this year.



The reason, according to the letter obtained by the news outlet RBK? The planes Canadian-built Pratt & Whitney engines couldnt be repaired due to Western sanctions.

Since the beginning of 2023, Russian airlines have reported at least seven incidents in which flights were disrupted, delayed, or canceled, according to Russian media. While a couple incidents were blamed on human error, most were mechanical in nature.

Nearly one year after Russia invaded Ukraine last February, turning a simmering regional conflict into the largest land war in Europe since World War II, cracks are showing in Russian aviation industry.

Russian airlines are struggling under the weight of Western sanctions that have all but cut off the already struggling industry from badly needed imported parts.

At least nine Russian airlines stopped flying in 2022, according to the newspaper Kommersant -- four of them after the national aviation regulator, Rosaviatsiya, pulled their airworthiness certificates.

Experts say Russian airlines have for months turned to "cannibalization" to maintain and perform upkeep on their fleets, which range from small Canadian DHC-6 turboprops used by the Far Eastern regional carrier Aurora to the flagship national carrier Aeroflot, which flies Boeings and Airbuses, as well as Russian-built Tupolevs and Irkuts.



In November, the Telegram channel Baza reported that Aeroflot had cannibalized 25 planes for parts, and another 18 aircraft were under maintenance and awaiting repairs. In December, the Russian government finally legalized the practice of cannibalization.

While mechanical failures are expected in aircraft over time, a rapid increase in fleetwide mechanical failures may indicate that something fundamental has changed."

"'Cannibalism' has indeed been used for a long time, but as a forced practice and not on a large scale. And in our situation, it becomes the only way to somehow replace the missing parts," Andrei Patrakov, the founder of the flight safety company RunAvia, told RFE/RLs Siberia.Realities. "The obvious disadvantage of this practice is that cannibalization leads to a reduction in the aircraft fleet. No one can deny that it solves the problem of lack of spare parts only for a while."



Other airline manufacturers have started tweaking maintenance regulations to accommodate the lack of replacement parts.



In December, a widely read aviation channel on Telegram reported that a state-owned aircraft engine company had recommended that dirty fuel filters used on SuperJet 100 aircraft be cleaned with brake fluid instead of being replaced with new ones.

The SuperJet 100 is a short-haul regional aircraft built by state aviation giant Sukhoi that has seen repeated difficulties since being rolled out in 2008, in an effort to revitalize the domestic airline manufacturing industry.



A month earlier, in November, Yakutia Airlines reportedly had cannibalized so many parts from two SuperJet 100 planes in its four-plane fleet that the state leasing company from which the company obtained the planes took them back.



The business newspaper Vedomosti reported in November that 80 percent of the airlines overall fleet  which includes more than 20 Western- and Russian-made aircraft -- was out of commission due to maintenance and cannibalization issues.

The paper also cited a case that predated Western sanctions: In 2020, cockpit glass needed to be replaced in one aircraft, but instead of letting the manufacturer do it, workers did it themselves -- and neglected to install plugs, which resulted in the cockpit flooding.

A report published in November by the U.S. think tank RAND Corporation found at least six crashes involving Russian civilian and military aircraft in the two months prior. Four were fighter jets, two were not, the report found.



"While mechanical failures are expected in aircraft over time, a rapid increase in fleetwide mechanical failures may indicate that something fundamental has changed," the report said. "Sanctions placed on Russia by the West could well be affecting Russia's ability to manufacture and maintain parts needed to keep aircraft safe."

'High Priority'

As Western sanctions have bitten into the overall economy, and specific sectors like the aviation industry, authorities have tried to come up with ways to find badly needed parts -- like those needed to keep civilian airliners in the air.



Not long after the February 24 invasion, the national Transport Ministry released a draft, eight-year plan for developing domestic airlines. The proposal said obtaining spare parts and maintenance supplies was a "high priority."

When components begin to arrive that the aircraft developer has never heard of and didnt approve of, made in some workshop near Tehran, then technical risks may arise."

In early May, the government issued new regulations that broadened the ability of airlines to use spare parts in servicing their aircraft. Previously, carriers could only use parts with documentation provided by European, Canadian, or U.S. regulators.



In July, Russia signed a memorandum of understanding to buy aircraft spare parts from Iran, which has struggled under Western sanctions for years.



In December, according to Izvestia, the government formally legalized the practice of cannibalization, even though it was already in widespread use.

The sheer number of government decrees issued on the subject, Patrakov said, demonstrated "desperation."



"When it became clear that even if you allow the installation of original spare parts, but with documents from third countries, then this is not enough," he said. Russian regulators "then took an even more desperate step: They allowed non-original spare parts, even with documentation from third countries, including Iran."



But cannibalization is a common practice for airlines around the world, said Roman Gusarov, editor in chief of the industry newsletter Avia.ru. He said Russian regulators had updated national rules governing the practice as a result of Western sanctions.



"All airlines in the world are engaged in removing spare parts from some aircraft and rearranging them to others," Gusarov said.



"Nothing new is happening. Were only correcting our legislation by not allowing any such special dispensation," he said. "This is not carte blanche for dismantling aircraft, but a tool for managing your assets. Missing spare parts can be removed from an aircraft thats not yet flying."



Still, Trade Minister Denis Manturov said regulators were trying to avoid "total cannibalization" of aircraft for spare parts.

Over The Horizon

Given Russias vast landscape, air travel remains the only economical -- and practical -- way to travel long distances between towns, cities, and regions.



The country does has an extensive railway network. For many, however, thats not realistic -- for example, if you live in the Siberian city of Irkutsk and you have business in Moscow, which is a four-day journey by train.



In Primorye, problems with the regional carrier had already forced it to cut its flights in half, Yevgeny Timonov, the deputy regional transport minister told RBK. He said Mi-8 helicopters would be put into service to reach distant settlements that previously had relied on Aurora Airlines.

"The Russian aviation industry was lucky in a certain sense: By 2022, it came up with a large surplus in the fleet," said Andrei Kramarenko, an expert at the Institute for Transport Economics and Transport Policy at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow. Thats due to the economic lockdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which sharply reduced air traffic and, thus, wear and tear on aircrafts and parts, he said.



Still, he said one of the problems of the evolving makeshift system for maintaining Russias air fleets is the danger of counterfeit parts.



"If spare parts are used, but with resources and with a verifiable history, thats also no big deal," he said. "We take a plane somewhere in Bolivia, Uganda, or [Burma], disassemble it, remove the necessary components, carefully pack it up and deliver it.



"But when components begin to arrive that the aircraft developer has never heard of and didnt approve of, made in some workshop near Tehran, then technical risks may arise," he said.

Patrakov drew an analogy to the restaurant industry, and McDonald's, which was one of several Western fast-food chains that pulled out of Russia following the imposition of Western sanctions.



"While [McDonald's] restaurants worked on the franchise model in Russia, everything was fine," he said. "But when management passed to Russian owners, everything changed from the very get-go. You go to the toilet -- theres not enough soap, the floor is dirty. This has happened before, of course, but much less frequently. So what's the problem?"



"It seems that the people remained the same, the specialists who used to work there before," he said. "The equipment is the same, the coffee machines. Even the standards seem to be the same, although they were somehow rewritten. Whats changed?"

Written by Mike Eckel based on reporting by Marina Aronova of RFE/RLs Siberia.Realities
MBABANE  A former police officer, who served in the Royal Eswatini Police Service for 32 years, has been associated with the Swaziland International Solidarity Forces  an organisation that has claimed responsibility for a number of terrorist activities in the country.

These activities include the killing of State security officers, including police, army and Correctional Services personnel. The former police officer has been identified as Thabo Kunene, who last served as a sergeant based at the Siteki Police Station. Pictures of Kunene and five other individuals, all of whom are wearing army paraphernalia have emerged. Although the identities of the men are still being verified, one of them has been confirmed to be Mlandvo Khumalo, who was shot dead by the newly-assembled special missions unit on January 7, 2023 after he had shot and injured an umbutfo (member of the regiments).

faceless

Khumalo, according to information published by an online platform and attributed to a renowned faceless commander, was a member of the Solidarity Forces. Sources within the countrys security agencies disclosed to the Times SUNDAY that the picture of Kunene and the other members of the Solidarity Forces was retrieved from the mobile phone of Khumalo after he had been killed. The picture was then reportedly circulated among security officers and eventually made its way to the public space. That is a picture of the Solidarity Forces. As you can see in the picture, the one in the middle is Thabo Kunene, who was a sergeant and worked at Siteki. That picture is circulating in a WhatsApp group of officers, said a source who shared the picture with this publication.

Another State security agency source shared another picture of Kunene with the other members of the Solidarity Forces, but the only difference was the poses of the individuals. However, the location was the same  next to a swimming pool within a fenced settlement. In one of the pictures, Kunene appears to have been the centre of attention as all except one of his companions had their eyes fixated on him as he fastened the camouflage jacket he was wearing. In both pictures, he stood next to the deceased Khumalo. Although it is not clear when Kunene retired, based on a court case in which he was a witness, it can be assumed that he left the police service before 2015. This is because in August 2015, he gave evidence in a case where a Siteki-based woman vendor was suing the police for injury she sustained during a protest march. Paragraph 12 of that matters judgement reads: The next witness for the defence was Sgt. Thabo Kunene, who has since retired from the police service having been in service for thirty two years. A fortnight ago, this publication called Superintendent Phindile Vilakati, the Chief Police Information and Communications Officer, enquiring about Kunene as part of an investigation after information had been obtained that he was a person of interest.

confirm

Vilakati could only confirm that Kunene had left the force but not that the police were interested in him. Kunene left the police service after he retired on medical grounds, she said.

Impeccable sources disclosed that Kunene was now living in South Africas Mpumalanga Province. Whether by coincidence another slain most wanted suspect, Ishmael Mshengu Mabuza (52), who was also known as Messiah, had a history with Kunene. Mabuza was shot dead on January 8, 2023 at Hlutse near Siphofaneni together with a 40-year- old accomplice, while another companion managed to flee but was also shot dead the following day at Mahlabatsini in Matsapha. According to the sources, there were suspicions that Mabuza had dealings with the Solidarity Forces, and when he was killed the police recovered two firearms (an AK47 assault rifle loaded with 12 live rounds and a 9mm pistol with eight live rounds) from him and his accomplice. Documented history shows that former cop Kunene was once responsible for arresting Mabuza for his involvement in the Vukuzenzele Supermarket robbery in Siteki, where an amount of E2 million was stolen. Mabuza was initially charged for the crimes with seven others, but eventually only four were found to have a case to answer. According to court documents, Kunene was the one who testified that Mabuza led him and other officers to his (Mabuzas) parental homestead at Nkungwini, where they found ammunition hidden in the ground.

ammunition

These included a 9mm pistol CZ75 without a serial number; 10 live rounds of ammunition found in its magazine; a 9mm star pistol without a serial number; and four live rounds of ammunition found in its magazine. Mabuza, as determined by the High Court, did not have any licence or permit for any of these items. Besides the Vukuzenzele robbery, it was found that some of these items were used to commit robberies at Mankayane Filling Station, Orion Sun in Ngwenya, Lobamba Filling Station and Texray in Matsapha. Principal Judge Qinisile Mabuza, who presided over these robberies, sentenced him to a collective 19 years in prison but these were to run concurrently and also backdated to the date of arrest, which was six years back. This meant that he became a free man because the highest of the sentences was six years.
The Ukrainian military said its forces repelled 49 attacks by invading Russian forces over the past day in the east as intense fighting continued in and around the besieged city of Bakhmut.

"The enemy isn't giving up on his plans to occupy our territory despite significant losses," the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in its daily update on April 14. "The fiercest battles continue for Bakhmut and Maryinka," it added.

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.

"Russia has re-energized its assault" on Bakhmut, the British Defense Ministry said in its intelligence update on April 14, adding that Russian military forces and Wagner mercenaries "have improved cooperation."

"The Ukrainian defense still holds the western districts of the town but has been subjected to particularly intense Russian artillery fire over the previous 48 hours," the British Defense Ministry said.

On April 13, Moscow claimed to have cut off Ukrainian troops in Bakhmut, but the head of the Kremlin-linked Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said it remains "too early" to say the city has been surrounded.

Serhiy Chervatiy, a spokesman for Ukraine's Eastern Group of Forces, told the AFP news agency that the Ukrainian military still had communication with troops in Bakhmut and were able to resupply them with ammunition.

"This does not correspond to reality," Chervatiy said in response to the Russian claims.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, facing an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court, has ordered his military to gain complete control of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhya, and Kherson, areas he claims Russia has illegally annexed. Ukraine has indicated it will soon launch a counteroffensive to take back more territory.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on April 13 that Kyiv would not back down from its demand that Russian invading forces withdraw from those four areas as well as from Crimea, which Moscow illegally annexed in 2014.

We are united by UN charter principles and the shared conviction that Crimea is Ukraine and it will return under Ukraines control, Kuleba said, speaking by video link to a gathering in the Romanian capital, Bucharest.

Every time you hear anyone from any corner of the world saying that Crimea is somehow special and should not be returned to Ukraine, as any other part of our territory, you have to know one thing: Ukraine categorically disagrees with these statements, he said at the Black Sea Security Conference.

Kuleba also urged NATO to accept his country and Georgia, also a Black Sea littoral state, as members.

He said the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius should present a clear plan on when and how Ukraine will enter.

Speaking to the same gathering, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said NATO membership for Ukraine was needed to safeguard not only his countrys security but that of the entire Black Sea region as well.

"We need a system of guarantees that would make aggression from Russia impossible," said Reznikov, who attended the conference in the Romanian capital.

With reporting by AP
Ukrainian tank crews have arrived in Britain to begin training for their continued fight against Russia, the British Defense Ministry said on January 29, just days after Britain and other NATO countries pledged more than 130 tanks to Ukraine.

"The UK will provide Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine alongside global partner nations -- demonstrating the strength of support for Ukraine, internationally," the ministry tweeted on January 29.

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 United States and Germany agreed last week to send Abrams and Leopard 2 tanks, respectively, to Ukraine, while the United Kingdom earlier in January said it would send 14 Challenger 2 tanks. Germany also allowed other countries, such as Norway and Poland, to send their German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.



Poland said it will provide 60 more tanks to Ukraine, in addition to the 14 it has already pledged.



Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly said that they need 300 tanks as they seek to drive Russian forces from their territory. Ukraine has lost more than half of its 850 tanks during the 11-month war, according to Oryx, a website that uses open-source tools to count destroyed equipment.



Russia has many more tanks than Ukraine, but its models are inferior in some key respects to Western models.



Both Russia and Ukraine are expected to launch offensives in the coming weeks, with tanks expected to play a vital role in those battles, experts said.

Ukraine needs new weapons and faster deliveries to confront a "very tough" situation of constant attacks by Russian forces in the eastern Donetsk region, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on January 29.

"The situation is very tough. In Bakhmut, Vuhledar and other sectors in Donetsk region, there are constant Russian attacks. There are constant attempts to break through our defenses," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address.

"Russia wants the war to drag on and exhaust our forces. So we have to make time our weapon. We have to speed up events, speed up supplies, and open up new weapons options for Ukraine."

Shortly after Zelenskiy spoke reports emerged of a Russian military strike on an apartment building in the eastern city of Kharkiv, triggering a blaze.

The town's mayor Ihor Terekhov indicated there had been casualties.

Earlier, on the ground in Ukraine, Russian invading forces continued to launch attacks on January 29.

Three people were reported killed and six wounded by Russian strikes on the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson that damaged a hospital and a school, the regional administration said.

Kherson was occupied by Russian troops from the early days of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine until its recapture by Kyiv's forces in November. Since its liberation, the city has regularly been shelled from Russian positions across the Dnieper River.

Meanwhile, the fighting on the front line remains intense, especially in the eastern Donetsk region, with major battles under way for Vuhledar and Bakhmut, a town that has been virtually razed by repeated Russian artillery bombardments.



The head of the Donetsk regional military administration, Pavlo Kyrylenko, said on January 29 that four people were killed and 17 others wounded in Russian strikes on Bakhmut and Kostyantynivka the previous day.



There were no casualties among the civilian populations as the districts administrative center, Beryslav, and the villages of Mylove and Tyahynka came under the Russian attack, the district chief, Volodymyr Litvinov, said on Telegram on January 29.

Elsewhere, Ukraine's military said its forces repelled an attack in the area of Blahodatne in the eastern part of the Donetsk region, while Russia's Wagner mercenary group claimed it had taken control of the village.

With reporting by Reuters
Federal Law No. 41-FZ On Precious Metals and Precious Stones was adopted in March 1998 and it has undergone 25 amendments since that time. The last amendment to Law No. 41-FZ was made through Federal Law No. 607-FZ dated December 29, 2022. Thus, the average lifetime of each version of Law No. 41-FZ lasted a little longer than 11 months. It is all the more surprising that the latest amendment to Law No. 41-FZ introduced numerous changes to it, and they were put into force only a year and two months later - from March 1, 2014.

In the first reading of the bill in the State Duma (on September 20, 2022), all amendments were scheduled to come into force no later than March 1, 2023. However, in the version approved at its second reading (three months later), 2023 was replaced by 2024. How many unforeseen things can happen during this time!

We offer an analysis of the key changes in the regulation documents relating to the PMPS sector that are included in the new version of the law and are the most important for market participants.

New law No. 1 - Investment precious metals

At the end of last year, Rough&Polished noted the main problem in the development of the Russian investment market in precious metals - it was a limited liquidity of VAT-free refined precious metals bars due to legal restrictions on their resale that should be exclusively to banks. And now, a decision was made to expand the market of participants in the circulation of VAT-free refined precious metal bars by allowing buying-in centres to buy the bars back, which is basically good.

It should be noted that the refined precious metal bars sold without VAT will be now referred to as investment precious metals according to Law No. 41-FZ that comes into force from March 2024: investment precious metals, i.e., refined gold, silver, platinum and palladium in bars that are purchased by private persons for personal use and are not intended for use for production purposes, and also comply with the provisions of the national standards of the Russian Federation applied in accordance with Federal Law No. 162-FZ of June 29, 2015 On Standardization in the Russian Federation, and with the requirements for investment precious metals established by the Government of the Russian Federation in agreement with the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.

It is strange to see the phrase which are purchased by private persons for personal use and are not intended for use for production purposes in the law. And what might the personal use of precious metal bars be? Is it when anyone gives the investment metal to a jeweller to make a piece of jewellery for the metal owners use - does this mean a personal use? It seems so. And on the other hand, is manufacturing a jewellery item by a jeweller to a customers order be regarded as the production of a jewellery item or not? It is not clear when you read this law.

Is it possible to take an investment bar abroad or not? Or can it be used within the Russian Federation only?

The law allowed selling investment metal to another private person from March 1, 2024. Actually, the way of selling is not clear - for example, is it possible to sell on Avito or not? This permission is, certainly, very good for the development of the precious metal investment market. But will it be possible to sell an investment metal to a legal entity or an individual entrepreneur directly or not? Or is it possible through a buying-up centre or bank only?

The law gives no answer to these questions. However, if you proceed from the rule everything that is not prohibited is allowed, the above ways of using the investment metal for citizens should be possible, while observing, of course, the norms of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation and the Customs Code of the RF. However, de facto, a completely different rule works in the Russian PMPS market, that is only what is allowed in the law and/or by-laws is allowed. That is, if there is no legally established permission for doing anything, it is prohibited.

There was no direct ban on buying-up refined precious metal bars from the population in the previous version of Law No. 41-FZ, but there was no permission, either. So, in law No. 41-FZ, it was necessary to stipulate the permission for buying-up centres to deal with the citizens investment bars. It should be mentioned that this will be allowed in a year and two months only... But it is not allowed to do in 2023!

It was interesting to know how it was supposed to control the personal use of investment bars because private persons do not register their property in the SIIS PMPS (State Integrated Information System in the Sphere of Control over the Circulation of Precious Metals and Precious Stones)... Moreover, the situation when a person who is not only a ordinary private person, but also a jeweller - an individual entrepreneur - acquires a VAT-free investment metal bar. Can an individual entrepreneur, in principle, use his personal property for production purposes? Sure, he can. The property of an individual entrepreneur and a private person is not differentiated (see case law on this issue in the Consultant). At the same time, in letter No. 03-07-05/117715 dated December 1, 2022, the Russian Ministry of Finance clarified that investment bars could be sold to such persons acting in two faces (a legal entity and an individual entrepreneur) without restrictions. And this means that a private person who is a jeweller (an individual entrepreneur) has the right to use the investment metal purchased without the VAT as a refined precious metal for his production purposes. However, this use will be considered for purposes other than intended. If someone, for example, wants to batter down a nail using a microscope (which is clearly the case of using a microscope for purposes other than intended), will the person be punished for this?

So, what do we face? Ill-fated clauses 2 and 3 of Federal Law 47-FZ prohibiting the use of special tax regimes in the jewellery sector were supposedly introduced to prevent the shift of VAT-free precious metals from the investment segment to the production sector, but in fact, this shift turned out to be perfectly legal? Or will any punishment will be introduced for an inappropriate use of investment bars (i.e., for purposes other than intended)?

And yet, if investors have the right to sell VAT-free refined precious metal bars to other private persons or take them to buying-up centres from March 1, 2024 only, what rights do the owners of these bars have for their personal use today, throughout 2023 and two months of 2024? Or do the private persons who have bought refined precious metal bars without the VAT (that are not yet called investment metal) have no right to use them at all before March 1, 2024? Is it possible to store them, at least?

New law No. 2 - Jewellery artists

At the turn of 2020 and 2021, the standardization groups set up at the relevant department of the Russian Ministry of Finance began the discussion about introducing a term a jewellery artist. The attitude towards this idea in the jewellery community was ambiguous.

For example, the Jewellers Guild of Russia Association did not support the granting of a special status by the state to certain individual jewellers as they believed that this idea bore the risks of corruption; and it thought that the distinguishing of a certain part of jewellers among the entire jewellery community would automatically infringe on the interests of other members of the same community. The distinguishing of certain jewellery artists among the general group of jewellers, as it was intended, was supposed to affect not the creative but the economic side of their activities (i.e., on the tax burden) due to extending certain preferences to them.

So, at that stage of improving the regulation documents in the jewellery sphere, the idea of distinguishing the jewellery artists was abandoned. At the same time, since the mid-2020s, as part of the regulatory guillotine, the task group on precious metals and precious stones discussed a large package of amendments to Law No. 41-FZ, in which the jewellery artist term was not mentioned (subsequently, this bill heavily amended became Federal Law No. 607-FZ of December 29, 2022). There was no term a jewellery artist in the bill version presented for its first reading at the State Duma meeting on September 20, 2022.

All of a sudden for the jewellery community, the term a jewellery artist appeared in the draft amendments to law No. 41-FZ only at the second reading, on December 20, 2022, just 9 days before the signing of adopted law No. 607-FZ related to the amendments to law No. 41-FZ. This issue was not discussed by the jewellery community.

So, what a jewellery artist is in the wording of Law No. 41-FZ that will come into force on March 1, 2024? The term is defined in the law as follows: a jewellery artist is a private person who carries out independent creative activities on a professional basis, makes jewellery and other items from precious metals and (or) precious stones and has been granted the jewellery artist status according to the procedure established by paragraph 6 of this Federal Laws Article 10.

So, this is a jeweller who has been granted such a special status. And heres how a jeweller can be awarded it:

6. Recognition of a private person as a jewellery artist is carried out by a committee of the state institution subordinate to the authorized federal executive body at the request of private person according to the procedure established by the Government of the Russian Federation.

A private person applying for the jewellery artist status must meet the following requirements:

continue the traditions and develop new areas of jewellery craftsmanship;

have a history of participating in competitions, exhibitions, reviews, and other cultural events held in the jewellery industry;

have at least three pieces of jewellery that have been assayed and stamped with the state hallmark and are made by a private person using a technique that includes manual labour at the stages of manufacturing and artistic processing of items; that feature a high professional, artistic and technical level of performance and are the implementation of an original authors idea and artistic conception.

The decision of the committee may be challenged by a private person in a judicial proceeding in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation.

In plain language, the procedure is as follows: a jeweller having a history of participating in competitions and exhibitions (and, probably, won them) should submit an application to the State Commission of the Gokhran (State Precious Metals and Gems Repository of Russia) for assigning the status. And the jeweller waits for the highest decision.

It is logical that in the Internet chats on jewellery, the questions like who has to pay for a jewellery artist status and how much? immediately appeared. Okay, lets suppose that such an impeccable procedure for awarding the jewellery artist status to jewellers can be developed and approved that it will be possible to exclude corruption. Lets assume that by-laws can establish such a procedure for setting up a State Commission that it will include many experts respected in the community. But the members of the State Commission will be approved by state officials!

What is the real meaning of this new law? Is it aimed at choosing the best jewellers and giving them the right to use this status instead of the general personal income tax (PIT) of 13% only? Is it intended for assigning a state award to these jewellers? Or is it intended just to note their serving the interests of Motherland on a moral level? The adopted law doesnt give an answer.

But such a measure clearly results in strengthening the state influence on the PMPS sector. With the permission of the officials, only right jewellers will have right conditions for their activities in Russia. Our industry legislation has become a very perfect but completely a non-market one! One can forget about the market competition because an authorized official (not the market) will now determine who is worthy this status and who is not. It is not surprising that this norm was not presented for discussion at the regulatory guillotine task group meeting.

By the way, one can also ask a question: what does the case with jewellery artists have to do with the Federal Law On Precious Metals and Precious Stones? According to common sense, none. This is not an issue related to precious metals and precious stones, it is related to the taxation of economic activity. Federal Law No. 422-FZ dated November 27, 2018 On Conducting an Experiment to Establish a Special Taxation Scheme - Self-Employment Tax has now been extended to the entire Russian Federation. If there is a desire to give jewellers the right to apply a special taxation scheme (self-employment tax), it would be logical to introduce appropriate amendments to this particular law. Although, it does not provide for any state commissions that allow or do not allow the use of this taxation scheme...

Interim results

It should be assumed that the market will receive answers to all the above and other questions (or most of them) within the period established before the rules of the law of intent come into force; this can be done through resolutions, decrees, rules, etc. In other words, everything is as it always were in the field of the PMPS in the country, the law is a blank column that the Government and the Ministry of Finance of Russia have yet to fill in...

It is not clear, what prevented to adopt Law No. 607-FZ that was intended to amend Law No. 41-FZ in a reduced volume of norms that come into force immediately, and to adopt an updated version of the law (having direct force, if possible) after the completion of detailing all the norms? Or was it very important for the regulator right now to stake out a claim for anything for the future?

Vladimir Zboykov for Rough&Polished
The value of Kyrgyzstans exports of goods to Russia increased substantially in the first 11 months of 2022, according to the National Statistical Committee of Kyrgyzstan.

According to statistics, the export of goods from Kyrgyzstan to Russia amounted to US$917 million from January through November 2022, which is 2.5 times more compared to the same period in 2021 (US$358.1 million).

During the reporting period, the main Kyrgyz export commodities to Russia were textile products, cotton, copper, agricultural products, and related items.

Meanwhile, during the same period, Russian exports to Kyrgyzstan increased by 25% percent in the first 11 months of 2022 in comparison to the corresponding period of 2021 (US$1.6 billion)  up to US$2 billion.

One of the priority areas of the Kyrgyz-Russian partnership has been the expansion and development of trade and economic cooperation. According to official data, Kyrgyzstans trade turnover with Russia amounted to US$2.4 billion in 2022, a record high in the trade relations between the countries.

Kyrgyzstan and Russia are both members of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) which has seen a marked increase in multilateral trade between member states as Russia looks to push its import and export markets east in light of the disastrous trade relations and sanctions imposed upon it by the EU.

Related Reading
MBABANE Government Press Secretary Reverend Alpheous Nxumalo says no one should die in politics.

Instead, he said the only thing that should die in politics should be the inferior ideas in order to allow superior ones to prevail and thrive. He said government wished that the pains of the past week might only result in the birth of a peaceful and stable 2023 for all emaSwati. Nxumalo did not specify the pains of the past weeks, but the country lost Thulani Rudolf Maseko, the human rights defender, who was shot dead at his parental home in KaLuhleko, Bhunya. He was killed by an unknown person last Saturday night. The mouthpiece for the government said the Kingdom of Eswatini was emerging from one of the most difficult, daunting and challenging weeks of almost explosive emotions and temptations of a life resigned and sold to fate as opposed to design and purpose. He said government was committed to creating and maintaining an enabling environment for the nation to be safe, protected and peaceful, while the wheels of the electoral process began to roll.

political perspectives

He said governments expression of this commitment was in line with His Majesty the Kings command that no one should die for his political perspectives, convictions and opinions this year of elections. Nxumalo pointed to the fact that people were basically doing business in politics, trading with and by words, terminologies and statements. He warned that there was no way people should be trading with guns and bullets in politics. The government spokesperson said emaSwati should trade on the principles and values they stood for and those they projected to the society. Therefore, no one should die in politics. The only things that must die in politics are the inferior ideas in order to allow the superior ideas to prevail and to thrive. Government wishes that the pains of the past week may only result in the birth of a peaceful and stable 2023 for all emaswati, Nxumalo said.

He said in a country like Eswatini where the citizens have crafted one of the best Constitutions in comparison with others around the globe, the fight should be about the implementation of the provisions of the supreme law as opposed to the fight with guns, bullets and terrorism. He said anyone who was concerned with justice for all should demand total adherence to the Constitution as opposed to the political mobilisation of the people to overthrow the existing socio-economic and political order through engaging in violence and other revolutionary subversive instruments. He said those who were showing the spirit of Judas Iscariot by rejecting the national Constitution were actually contributing to the suppression of civil liberties and opposition of emaSwati.

democracy and freedom

Nxumalo said the fight for democracy and freedom was distinctively different from those who had chosen the line of terror as a way to pursue politics. He said terrorism was an instrument of the rule of a tyrannical minority whether in or out of power. Democracy involves respect for rules when engaged in disputes and conflicts. No doubt, terrorisms strategy is based on the transgression of rules of civilised conduct, he said. He urged emaSwati to stand firm against those who have chosen to reject the national Constitution as pathfinder and guider to the nation. He said there was no substitute for constitutionalism. The rest will not only compromise and betray the long cherished national cohesion and unity which defines our distinctiveness as a nation, Nxumalo advised. He emphasised, in his parting shot, that any vision or desire for more open political space in running the country should not and could not be achieved outside the national Constitution.
Meatball gets a cake-shaped box filled with goodies on Saturday to celebrate his sixth year at Lions Tigers & Bears sanctuary in Alpine.

In front of a few dozen visitors, Meatball the bear celebrated his sixth year living the good life at Lions Tigers & Bears on Saturday with special recognition, gifts and a cake. .

In late August 2012, Meatball arrived at the Alpine sanctuary following a rescue during which he was found eating a bag of frozen meatballs in the La Canada Flintridge neighborhood of Los Angeles.

Meatball had been filmed in at least two locations and seen swimming in a homeowners pool previously. Meatballs behavior meant he would be captured and placed permanently at a sanctuary  or be put down.

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According to Bobbi Brink, who runs Lions Tigers & Bears, euthanasia is often the fate of what U.S. Fish & Wildlife officials call a habituated bear, one that is not afraid to enter areas of human habitation.

Six years later, Meatball continues to get visitors weekly, including some from his old stomping grounds who come to wish him well, Brink said. Meatballs likeness was even the star of a Rose Bowl Parade Float in 2014.

Brink said that because all the animals at the sanctuary are rescues, their exact date of birth is not known, so birthdays are celebrated on the day of the animals arrival in Alpine.

Lions Tigers & Bears is a federally and state licensed nonprofit rescue facility that provides a safe haven to abused and abandoned exotic animals. The group also tries to educate the public about the exotic animal trade.

Lions Tigers & Bears is a no-kill, no-breed, no-sell facility that allows the animals in its care the opportunity to live out their lives with dignity in a caring and safe environment, Brink said.

karen.pearlman@sduniontribune.com
Brother Blaise Heuke, a Benedictine monk and beekeeper at Oceansides Prince of Peace Abbey, photographed in 2015 in the abbeys chapel. He passed away at the abbey on June 21, 2018, at the age of 80.

Industrious and hard-working, giving their all for the good of the community  thats how people describe bees. That description also fits the late Brother Blaise Heuke, Oceansides beekeeping Benedictine monk.

Heuke, noted for his ability and expertise in all things apiary, died June 21 at age 80 at Prince of Peace Abbey. His death was noted in the August edition of the Southern Cross, the newspaper of the Roman Catholic diocese of San DIego.

Services were held June 29 and 30 at the abbey, where he made his home for nearly 50 years. He was buried in the abbey cemetery.

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Heuke was diagnosed with a recurrence of cancer in 2015 after being successfully treated earlier, but chose not to have further treatment.

He was so serene about the whole thing, recalled Father Abbot Sharbel Ewen, who presides over the abbey. He didnt complain. He said, Im ready to go home. I think thats pretty positive.

He was just a gentle person, actually. He was easygoing, so compassionate with people  if someone was irate about something, after they talked to him, they had settled down.

Heuke was born Joseph Francis Heuke in 1938 in Louisville, Ky., the son of Charles (Carl) and Florence Hurst Heuke. He had seven siblings, all of whom survive him.

Brother Blaise Heuke, a Benedictine monk at Oceansides Prince of Peace Abbey, photographed in 2015 checking the beehives he tended for more than 40 years. He passed away June 21 at the abbey. He was 80. (Charlie Neuman / U-T File)

He knew early on that he wanted the religious life, and began his novice training in 1958 at St. Meinrad Archabbey in southern Indiana. He took his first vows in 1959, receiving the religious name Blaise. In 1962, he took his solemn vows and became a Benedictine monk.

While studying in Rome, Heuke began learning about beekeeping and was stung so severely on his first efforts that his whole body swelled up. But after that experience, he had no problem with bee stings and seemed to be immune to allergic reactions to them.

His expertise eventually led him to be called whenever people had swarms landing on their property, or especially, when they had hives that needed tending or relocating. The bees also provided honey that was used at the abbey and sold in the gift shop.

For 30 years, he also taught Bible classes for children at Camp Pendleton  bee-ology, as he called it. I used the bees as a way to explain how Christ came down to give his life and imbue the church with his spirit, Hueke said in a 2015 interview with the San Diego Union Tribune. I think its a really beautiful message.

At the abbey, he was not only a beekeeper but the main plumber and handyman, skills he had acquired at St. Meinrads. Any problem, he could fix, said Ewen. He was very knowledgeable, and he loved to work.

Will Jones has volunteered at the abbey for four years and lived there for two, helping Heuke with the hives. The first time I met him, he invited me to go get a swarm with him, recalled Jones, 73. I thought I was going to be an observer, but instead I got stung. Not only does it hurt, but it itches afterward! But we started talking right away and became friends.

Their bond was so strong that it was Jones who nursed Heuke when the brother became ill.

I elected to be his caregiver, Jones said. Thats what I did that (last) year and a half. He was just an all-around guy. He could do anything. I could barely believe that such a man was so full of love and joy and happiness.

Brother Peter Khoa has been designated as the abbeys beekeeper, said Jones, but he will still work with the hives. Im just happy that were continuing on with it, he said.

Jones admired Heuke and everything he did at the abbey. His faith was so strong. He gave everything he had for living a life as a monk. He was living his dream. He was a little guy with a big heart and was a good friend to his brothers and to the community.

And a friend to the bees, though they may not always have realized it. About 13 years ago, said Jones, a huge die-off nearly put an end to all the beekeeping.

Heuke theorized that cellular signals from two newly installed towers had disoriented and disturbed the bees, hastening the hives collapse. He scouted the property until he found a place where cellphone reception was poor, and moved the remaining hives there, where they began again to thrive. An infusion of nutritious syrup donated by another beekeeper is also helping keep them healthy.

And I can tell you that the last time we went out to visit the hives, Brother Blaise got stung, said Jones.

laura.groch@sduniontribune.com
The iconic 1982 windmill building at Palomar Airport Road and Interstate 5 in Carlsbad will soon be transformed into the Windmill Food Hall, opening in late September in Carlsbad.

The much-anticipated opening of Windmill Food Hall in Carlsbad has been pushed back to the end of September due to construction delays.

The 14,000-square-foot project inside the landmark 1982 windmill building at 890 Palomar Airport Road is being built inside the ground-floor restaurant space previously occupied by TGI Fridays and, before that, Pea Soup Andersens.

Originally, owner James Markham had planned to open the food hall in mid-summer. Then the date was moved to early September. But the ambitious project has taken longer than expected.

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When complete, the hall will have 11 food vendor stations, a 50-seat bar, vintage video and Skee-Ball games, lawn and table games, a communal seating area with fireplace, library, patio seating and a monthly calendar of events.

At a later date, Markham will open a 60-seat speakeasy bar on the windmill buildings second floor. Hes also planning a second Carlsbad location of Crackheads  his gourmet breakfast sandwich and coffee concept  in a steel container structure in the food halls east parking lot. The first container-based Crackheads opened in July in the Village Yard project in Carlsbad Village.

The Windmill project is one of four food halls opening around the county in the next year.

In January, Whisknladle Hospitality will open the 10,000-square-foot Park Commons food hall in the Sorrento Mesa area. In spring 2019, the Mexican-themed Pan y Sal food hall will occupy the Bread & Salt arts complex in Barrio Logan. And in fall 2019, 3LB Restaurant Group will open the Outpost Urban Food Hall in Poway. They join 2-year-old Liberty Public Market food hall in Point Loma and the Little Italy Food Hall, which opened in July.

Food halls are among the hottest culinary trends in the U.S. A recent study by Cushman & Wakefield said the popular destinations have grown in number from 70 in 2015 to a projected 300 by 2020.

The growth is fueled by foodies seeking a unique dining experience, an industry trend toward more fast-casual service to reduce labor costs and an increase in walkable mixed-use developments that combine housing, retail and office space.

Markham has announced two more food vendors who will occupy the hall: Belgian Delights of San Diego and Notorious Burgers of Carlsbad. Hes still looking for two more tenants, including a pizzeria.

Heres a look at the expanded lineup in alphabetical order:

Belgian Delights  The 3-year-old, family-run farmers market favorite serves Belgian-style fries served in a paper cone with garlic aioli sauce and Liege waffle desserts.

Bing Haus  Thai-style rolled ice cream and other desserts in flavors such as green tea, black sesame and banana. Its original shop is on Convoy Street in Kearny Mesa.

Bread and Cheese  Gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches made by lifelong best friends Justin Frank and Devin Gneiting, who run a popular stand frequented by the Markham family at the Hillcrest Farmers Market.

Cross Street Chicken & Beer  Korean-style fried chicken is the specialty at this booth run by married restaurateurs Tommy Nguyen and Grace Chi, whose original location opened last fall on Convoy.

Lobster West  Award-winning lobster roll sandwiches are the specialty at this family-run Encinitas-born restaurant company owned by Kim and Joel Locker.

Notorious Burgers  Brian and Julie Grubers 5-year-old Carlsbad restaurant is known for its oversize Brandt beef burgers, but their Windmill stand will serve just gourmet sliders.

Taco Lady  A spin-off of the popular El Puerto Mexican & Seafood restaurant in Carlsbad Village. It will serve gourmet street tacos.

Thai-Style Kitchen  Traditional Thai dishes are prepared by this pop-up street fair vendor run by a former chef from Lotus Thai restaurant in Carlsbad.

Rolled Up  Markhams own concept serves build-your-own sushi burritos. It will relocate from its current location in Hillcrest.

pam.kragen@sduniontribune.com
Thomas Barton won the special election for the Rancho Santa Fe School District board. The results from the San Diego County Registrar of Voters are not yet official but Barton received 48.96 percent of the vote, with Jon Yonemitsu behind him with 38.51 percent.

A total of five candidates vied for one seat following a recall petition in opposition to the boards appointment process following the resignation of board member Marti Ritto last year.

Im thrilled with the results of the election.The spirit so many members of this community exhibited during this special election is a testament to our strong collective commitment to educational excellence, said Barton. I look forward to collaborating with the other board members to represent the entire community and ensure that our district is putting its valuable time and resources to the most effective use.

A California native, Barton moved to Rancho Santa Fe with his wife in 2013 specifically so that their three daughters could attend R. Roger Rowe School. The girls are currently second, fourth and sixth grade students.

Over the past 20 years, Barton has simultaneously pursued two career tracks as a real-estate executive and as an educator. He completed his PhD at Yale University in 2006 and joined the faculty of the University of San Diego in 2007.

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I will draw on my background in higher education to help the board govern with greater transparency and inclusiveness, Barton said. If we can work together and be more responsive to community input, we will be able to realize our full potential and outperform other top schools throughout the county and state.

During his candidacy, Barton spoke about the importance of being efficient and effective with district resources, school safety, boosting student achievement and broader community engagement.

Of the 4,321 registered voters in the district there were 1,062 votes cast in the all-mail election. Candidate Elise Dufresne received 5.08 percent of the vote, Steven Hughes received 4.52 percent and Jee Manghani received 2.92 percent.

Id like to recognize my enthusiastic endorsers and supporters throughout the district and to thank our current board, school and foundation leaders who all work so diligently to make our school excellent and a source of pride for all of our residents, Barton said I appreciate the other candidates for engaging in stimulating, intellectual discussions throughout the campaign. Any one of them would have been an extraordinary addition to the board.

As Bartons seat fulfills the rest of Rittos term, it will be up for election again in November 2018 along with President Todd Franks seat.
KALUHLEKO  The death of Thulani Maseko raises more questions than answers.

The Times SUNDAY investigation team went to the scene of crime at KaLuhleko in Bhunya where the human rights lawyer and chairperson of the Swaziland Multi-Stakeholder Forum (MSF) was killed  at his parental home. Relatives, friends, workmates and colleagues in the legal profession were found at Masekos homestead on Wednesday asking questions that werent meant to be answered. In any investigation, criminal or otherwise, they say the first call is the scene of crime. The location of Masekos home could pose a risk to an assassin attacking with a loud sound rifle because of close neighbours who could respond. Our investigations unearthed that the person or persons who killed Maseko was or were, probably, prepared to take the risk in case of a foil in the plot to assassinate the human rights lawyer. This is due to the fact that the unpaved and bumpy road leading to the deceaseds home is about a kilometre from the tarred one connecting Malkerns/Luyengo to Bhunya.

analysers

It meant, therefore, according to observers and analysers, the person who killed the MSF chairman was aware that he would have to run fast to the getaway car, presumably a black BMW, parked adjacent to the main road. Information given to the team on the ground was that the killer walked out of the homestead after gunning down Maseko. What about the risk of being caught by neighbours while walking or say running to the getaway car? It was still around 9pm and some people were presumably awake by that time. As the mystery of who could have killed Maseko deepens, it has become apparent that his killer could have been a trained assassin. Traits of the killer, as described by Masekos relatives, that formed part of his standout features were the precision and knowledge displayed in the assassination of the globally recognised attorney. According to relatives found at the Maseko homestead on Wednesday, the assassin displayed great poise and discipline that could only be attributed to high intensity training.

swiftness

His character, calmness and swiftness as he carried out the murder before disappearing into the thick of the night left the relatives and community shocked. The Cambridge Dictionary defines an assassin as someone who kills a famous or important person, usually for political reasons or in exchange for money. It is suspected that the killer used an assault rifle, which usually has an intermediate cartridge, a detachable magazine, and can switch between semi-automatic and fully automatic fire. This kind of a firearm needs special training, which could be likened to the military. The assassin ruthlessly planted two bullets, almost at the same time, piercing through the left side of Masekos head and coming through the right before landing on the television screen he was watching. Only an expertly trained assassin could have skilfully carried out the shooting with such precision, considering the darkness and his position outside the house.

Our own investigation revealed that the killer could have been standing near the widow behind the couch where Maseko, his wife and children were sitting watching television. It was further established that he needed to be elevated, or be a bit taller for him to get a clear aim at Maseko. Another version is the possible use of a telescopic sight to mark his target. A telescopic sight is defined as a small telescope mounted on a firearm and it usually gathers light to brighten the image, uses mirrors and lenses to magnify the target, and remove aligning rear and front sights. The telescopic sight would not have only been for accuracy, but to assist him as such a sight is much better in dim light or near darkness. A telescope sight would work even if the rifle and shooter would be in total darkness, as long as the bare outline of the target was discernable.

trained killer

The third and last bullet grazed Masekos left arm and bore through the rib cage to come out on the right side. This was another feature of a trained killer, who knew when to lower down the rifle to hit the correct spot on the side of his chest. The meticulousness of the shooter and manner in which he targeted critical body parts of the deceased showed the skill of the person who ended the life of Maseko. One relative, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: The shooter could only be someone who has been here at home several times before. He had enough time to scout the place and scan the vicinity before carrying out the execution. The relative confirmed the position and set-up of the lounge where Maseko was shot dead. Research shows that most public figures that were successfully killed had their assassins successfully establishing the firing point prior to the act of shooting.

The assassin reportedly left no clues after the shooting and there were no cartridge shells except for the bullets that went through Masekos head and chest. In professional hits, the assassins safe evacuation after the act is usually important and contact with other people should be as limited as possible. According to information gathered from some of the relatives who arrived at the Maseko homestead earlier, there was no sign of the assassin except for a black BMW vehicle parked closer to the main road assumed to be his getaway car. The techniques employed in assassinations vary depending on the victims awareness or unawareness of the danger and whether he is guarded or unguarded. According to reports published earlier, Maseko was aware of the threat on his life and even changed places on the night he was killed. It was revealed that when he arrived at his home situated about 50metres from his parental homestead, he refused to sleep on suspicion that someone had been walking around his house.

vigilant

The assassin was vigilant enough to know that he might change houses and was able to carry out the act. A study conducted by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in the United States of America (USA) reflects that when the decision to assassinate has been reached, the tactics of the operation should be planned, based on an estimate of a situation similar to that used in military operations. An effective tactical plan is usually crafted after all necessary data has been collected and all planning should be mental; no papers should ever contain evidence of the operation, reads the study report. The study further reflects that during the assassination, where the subject is unaware, the murder would be termed as simple and where the victim was aware but unguarded it would be termed as a chase. The technique would also be affected by whether or not the assassin was to be killed with the subject hereafter. If the assassin is to die with the subject, the act would be called lost. If the assassin is to escape, the adjective would be safe. It should be noted that no compromises should exist on this and the assassin should not be apprehended after the act.

The technique is further defined by the need to conceal information that the subject was actually a victim of assassination, rather than an accident or natural causes. If such concealment is desirable the operation would be called secret. If concealment is immaterial, the act would be called open. Where the assassination requires publicity it would be termed terroristic.

Following these definitions, the assassination of Thulani Maseko could be described as simple, chase, open and terroristic. A security expert who spoke on condition of anonymity said there was a possibility that Masekos assassination was termed as lost by those who hired the assassin. He said in such cases where the killing was politically motivated, it was usual for the handlers to clean their act by personally executing the assassin immediately after the hit. Crime scene analysers say the killer is indeed a risk-taker as he was faced with four escape-routes, which could have culminated in his apprehension. The first threat to his escape was his walk or the run to the getaway car, followed by whichever direction he was to take upon reaching the main road.

escape

If he decided to escape through the Bhunya-Sandlane Border Post (SZ/RSA  Nerston) MR19 Road, there is a police station ahead. It is at Bhunya. There are police officers at Sandlane Border Post alongside an army camp. In the event he chose to take the Bhunya-Mhlambanyatsi Road, there is a police post ahead. It is located at Mhlambanyatsi. There are possibilities that there are CCTV cameras at Montigny that cover the distance to the road. Another escape route could have been the Luyengo/Malkerns route where there is frequent police movement at night. There is also a police station at Malkerns. It could not be ascertained if an alarm at the nearby police stations was raised to keep officers on high alert. Say he escaped through the Mankayane route; there is also a police station there. How did he escape? This is a fundamental question that police investigators are reportedly trying to answer with a mountain of evidence.

Other unanswered questions that are mind boggling among family members are:

* How did he know that Maseko will spend time at his parental home?

* How did he know that he will sit next to an open window?

* Why didnt he wait for him at his marital home, which is 50 metres away from his parental home?

During the week of his demise, Maseko worked from home, so they say: What was preventing him from going to his office? Does it boil down to the theory of premonition of death?

Last Saturday, Maseko did go to his office, accompanied by his wife, meaning there was a need for him to go there after all. Finally he went to the office on that Saturday, a day before he was killed. On the issue of Sakhile Maseko, who disputed evidence by a certain online publication, which implicated police officers in the Forensic Department, it has been learnt that he (Sakhile) responded to the crime scene. He is a blood relative of Thulani. In fact, a family member said Sakhile reported the shooting to the Bhunya Police Station.

investigating

Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati said the law enforcers were still investigating the circumstances surrounding the murder of Maseko. She appealed to people with information leading to the arrest of the suspect to relay such crucial leads to Manzini Regional Crime Branch Officer (RCBO) Thabo Hlophe at 7606 8572. Amnesty Internationals East and Southern Africa Deputy Director Flavia Mwangovva suggested this week that the investigation into Masekos killing should be carried out by authorities independent of the government. Masekos memorial service was held at Esibayeni Lodge yesterday. He will be buried today at his parental home at KaLuhleko, Bhunya.
Haiti: Vote on Draft Resolution Establishing a Sanctions Regime*

This morning (21 October), the Security Council is expected to vote on a draft resolution establishing a sanctions regime on Haiti, including targeted assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo measures. The draft text was authored by Mexico and the US, the co-penholders on Haiti. If the resolution is adopted, it will establish the Security Councils first sanctions regime since that on Mali, created through resolution 2374 of 5 September 2017.

The draft text in blue establishes a sanctions committee on Haiti and requests the Secretary-General to create, for an initial period of 13 months, a panel of experts to support the committees work. The committee will be responsible for designating individuals and entities to be subject to the sanctions measures, which will apply for an initial period of one year.

The designation criteria outlined in the draft resolution in blue include:

Engaging in or supporting criminal activities and violence involving armed groups and criminal networks, including recruitment of children, kidnappings, trafficking in persons, homicides and sexual and gender-based violence;

Supporting illicit trafficking and diversion of arms and related materiel, or illicit financial flows related thereto;

Obstructing the delivery of humanitarian assistance to and inside Haiti; and

Attacking personnel or premises of UN missions and operations or providing support for such attacks.

An annex to the draft text in blue designates one person under the regime: Jimmy Cherizier (also known as Barbeque), who heads an alliance of Haitian gangs known as the G9 Family and Allies. It notes that Cherizier has engaged in acts that threaten the peace, security, and stability of Haiti and has planned, directed, or committed acts that constitute serious human rights abuses.

Todays vote comes against the backdrop of a major crisis in Haiti, where endemic gang violence and widespread popular unrest have aggravated an already dire humanitarian situation. Criminal gangs blocking access to critical infrastructure such as the Varreux Terminal, the countrys main fuel terminal, have brought critical services to a standstill, including water distribution, garbage collection, and the operation of health facilities. These conditions are likely to have contributed to the resurgence of cholera in Haiti in early October. (For more information, see our 17 October Whats in Blue story.)

Negotiations

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 14 October until Monday (17 October). Brazil, China, Norway and Russia broke silence and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) submitted further comments. On Tuesday evening (18 October), the penholders placed a revised text in blue, without initiating another silence procedure, and called for a vote to take place the following afternoon (19 October). It appears that several members felt that the draft was put in blue in a rushed manner, with some noting that their concerns about its content were yet to be addressed. The vote was therefore postponed on Wednesday (19 October), and the penholders put an amended version in blue yesterday afternoon (20 October), to be voted on this morning.

It seems that there was no major disagreement among Council members over the need to establish a sanctions regime on Haiti. However, several members believed that such a significant step should not be rushed and that an in-depth discussion on the different aspects of the perspective regime is crucial, in order that it be tailored to address the situation at hand. Russia expressed this view during the Councils 17 October open briefing on Haiti. It seems that the pace of the negotiations remained a point of friction throughout.

Council members discussed various aspects of the sanction regimes architecture during the negotiations. Several membersincluding Albania, Brazil, Ireland, Norway and the A3 (Gabon, Ghana and Kenya)supported the inclusion of language in the operative section to ensure the existence of fair and clear procedures for delisting individuals. In a 7 October letter (S/2022/746), the Group of Like-Minded States on UN Targeted Sanctionswhich includes current Council members Ireland and Norway, as well as incoming member Switzerlandencouraged the Council to enable the Office of the Ombudsperson to receive and examine petitions in the framework of the Haiti sanctions regime. (The Office of the Ombudsperson is responsible for reviewing requests for removal from the 1267/1989/2253 Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant [ISIL/Daesh] and Al-Qaida sanctions list.) The letter called for the strengthening of fair and clear procedures for all UN sanctions regimes, stating that they often fail to meet minimum due process standards.

The penholders apparently did not incorporate the suggested language on the Ombudsperson in early versions of the draft text, prompting Brazil and Norway to break silence on 17 October. It appears that the penholders contended that the work of the Office of the Ombudsperson and its applicability to various sanctions regimes should be addressed in a broader manner and that the discussion on Haiti should not predetermine the outcomes of the wider discussion.

Following the silence break, the penholders included a preambular paragraph that recognises the need for fair and clear procedures for delisting individuals and expresses the Councils intent to consider authorising the Ombudsperson to receive such delisting requests. This formulation is contained in the draft text in blue, although several members would have preferred a stronger reference in the operative section.

Another point of contention focused on humanitarian exemptions. On several occasions, including during the open Council meetings on 26 September and 17 October, several memberssuch as Brazil, China and Russiaemphasised the importance of preventing the sanctions from having harmful effects on civilians. It seems that the penholders did not include language on humanitarian exemptions in earlier drafts of the text. They apparently argued for the need to have a broader discussion on the issue and its applicability to all Security Council sanctions regimes. In this regard, it appears that the US is working on a draft resolution establishing a potential blanket humanitarian exemption for all Council sanctions regimes. After the 17 October silence break, the penholders incorporated language proposed by the UAE, which was supported by several other members, underscoring that the resolutions provisions shall not apply to the payment of funds, other financial assets or economic resources necessary for the delivery of humanitarian assistance by the UN or its implementing partners.

It seems that there was significant discussion around criteria for the Council to review a potential future lifting of the sanctions. Several membersincluding China, Russia, the UAE and the A3apparently highlighted the importance of articulating specific and detailed benchmarks for this purpose. Among the benchmarks incorporated in the first draft text that was put in blue were a progressive reduction in violence by armed groups and criminal networks and a progressive decrease in incidents of illicit trafficking and diversion of arms. Benchmarking was apparently one of the outstanding issues when the penholders put a draft text in blue for the first time on 18 October. As a result, the second draft that was put in blue, which will be voted on this morning, notes that the abovementioned benchmarks will be measured on an annual basis, beginning over the initial period of twelve months from adoption of this resolution.

Members are expected to soon begin negotiating a resolution which may authorise the deployment of an international specialised force in the country, in response to a 7 October request by the Haitian government. (For more information, see our 17 October Whats in Blue story.) At the 17 October Council meeting, the US announced that it will work with Mexico on a resolution that will authorise a non-UN international security assistance mission, which will operate under Chapter VII of the UN Charter and will be led by a partner country with the deep, necessary experience required for such an effort to be effective. At the time of writing, the penholders have yet to circulate a draft text on the matter.

It seems that Mexico and the US sought to include in the sanctions regime resolution language taking note of the Haitian governments 7 October request and of an 8 October Secretary-Generals report suggesting that the Council welcome the establishment of a specialised international force. However, this was opposed by Russia, which apparently argued that the two issues should be kept separate. While the first draft that was put in blue contained this reference, it was ultimately removed in the second draft that was placed in blue.

Council Dynamics

Todays vote comes in the context of an apparent growing convergence of views among Council members regarding the urgency of Council action to address the situation in Haiti. This may be partially attributed to a shift in tone from China, which has long contended that UN involvement in Haiti has been ineffective and failed to achieve its goals. In the past, China called for the Council to curtail its engagement on Haiti and for the UN to limit its investment of resources in the country. However, during the negotiations on resolution 2645 of 15 July, which most recently renewed the mandate of the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH), China proposed more UN involvement, advocating the establishment of an arms embargo, the imposition of assets freeze and travel sanctions, and the establishment of a multinational force to support Haitis efforts to fight gang violence. (For background, see our 15 July Whats in Blue story.)

Chinas current position on Haiti also departs from its position on sanctions in several other situations on the Councils agenda. In this regard, China and Russia have often criticised western Council members for their support of sanctions imposed on African states. In some cases, like the Central African Republic (CAR), these members have called for the removal of arms embargo sanctions on the government, saying that they hinder the authorities ability to receive the equipment necessary to curb violence in their country. The fact that the draft text in blue imposes a targeted arms embargo on Haiti, unlike other Council-imposed blanket embargoes, may be an attempt to avoid such issues.

___________________________________________________________________

*Post-script: On 21 October, the Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2653, which established a sanctions regime on Haiti, including targeted assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo measures.

Several members noted in their explanations of vote that the sanctions regime sends a strong message of Council support to the Haitian people in their fight against criminal gangs. Some membersincluding Ireland, Russia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)said that sanctions alone will not solve all of Haitis problems and emphasised the need to promote a Haitian-led political solution.

A number of membersincluding Brazil, Norway and the UAEhighlighted the importance of the resolutions robust humanitarian carveout. Ireland and the UAE also welcomed the inclusion of the perpetration of sexual and gender-based violence as a standalone designation criterion. Brazil, Ireland and Norway highlighted the importance of due process and clear and fair de-listing procedures in the sanctions regimes work. In this regard, they underscored the need for concrete progress on extending the mandate of the office of the Ombudsperson to Haiti and to all other sanctions regimes.
Page Content

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has signed an executive order abolishing a college degree requirement for most state government positions.

We've rounded up articles from SHRM Online and other outlets to provide more context on the news.



Expanding Opportunity

The order requires that state agencies' job postings focus on prior work experiences and qualifications, instead of educational attainment.

The administration will also review all jobs that, by law, require four-year degrees, to see whether it's practical to relax some of those entry thresholds. At present, about 70 percent of Pennsylvania's adult population does not have a bachelor's degree.

(Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)



Maryland Leads the Way

Maryland was the first state to eliminate bachelor's degree requirements for most government jobs in March 2022. Utah followed in December. The trend is shining a spotlight on the value of alternative credentials and experience.

(SHRM Online)



Using Skills Assessments Instead

A significant portion of HR professionals value skills-based hiring assessments, and some would weight them strongly as alternatives to traditional education and experience qualifications, according to research from the Society for Human Resource Management.

(SHRM Online)



House Approves Skills-Based Hiring Bill

The Chance to Compete Actlegislation that prioritizes candidate evaluations based on knowledge, skills, abilities and competencies while limiting the use of education when determining if someone is qualified for a rolepassed the U.S. House of Representatives Jan. 24. The bill also facilitates the use of more robust assessments over the self-assessment questionnaires currently used for nearly all federal jobs.

(SHRM Online)


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Tens of thousands of Chinese students enrolled at Australian universities will need to rush into the country before semester one after the Chinese government announced it would stop honouring qualifications gained through online learning.

The Chinese Ministry for Education has released a special announcement confirming it would acknowledge degrees awarded only to students attending in-person classes, reversing rules put in place before Chinas dramatic loosening of pandemic restrictions.

Education Minister Jason Clare welcomed the policy shift. Credit: Flavio Brancaleone

The edict, published on Saturday, surprised Australian universities accustomed to online learning that were not preparing for so many Chinese students to return at once.

The abrupt policy shift could add demand to scarce flights from China and accommodation markets and put pressure on Australias strained visa processing unit, but may also help ease the worker shortage.
Round 12 of UK-EU Negotiations on Gibraltar

The twelfth round of UK-EU negotiations on Gibraltars future relationship with the European Union closed in London on Friday.

His Majestys Government of Gibraltar was represented by Attorney General Michael Llamas who was assisted by the Director of Gibraltar House in Brussels Daniel DAmato. The Chief Minister Fabian Picardo and Deputy Chief Minister Dr Joseph Garcia once again attended virtually.

The Government says it welcomes the continuation of the negotiating process and the positive and constructive approach of the teams in the room and very much looks forward to the conclusion of a treaty which would be in the best interests of all sides. The Government thanks all negotiators on all sides for their continued efforts.

The Government remains optimistic that a treaty can be concluded which is safe, secure and beneficial for Gibraltar.
Severe thunderstorms swept over the Blue Mountains and Sydneys north-west on Sunday afternoon, bringing a brief cool change to parts of the city, but a blanket of humidity will persist for days.

Heavy rainfall and damaging winds knocked down trees and caused minor flash flooding in parts of Springwood, Bilpin, Colo Heights, Upper Colo and Kurrajong.

Children cooling off at Darling Harbour on Sunday. Credit: Edwina Pickles

The State Emergency Service said it dealt with 30 storm-related jobs around the state on Sunday, including fallen trees blocking homes and roads in the Hawkesbury region in Sydneys north-west.

Sydney sweated through a dank summers day on Sunday, with temperatures in the city reaching 30 in the CBD and 32 in Penrith.
The NSW bus union has issued a warning to Sydney commuters that thousands of bus services will be cancelled from Monday, as the state government points to driver shortages prompting operators to temporarily adjust their timetables.

In a statement on Sunday morning, Peter Grech, tram and bus division president of the Rail, Tram and Bus Union NSW, said bus commuters should brace for chaos.

The Rail, Tram and Bus Union has issued a warning to Sydney bus commuters to expect slashed services. Credit: Brook Mitchell

From Monday, over 100 bus driver shifts and thousands of bus trips will be cancelled, including in regions 6, 7, 8 and 9  a move which bus drivers say will result in huge queues and crowding along major trunk routes, the RTBU said.

RTBU tram and bus division president Peter Grech said the state governments privatisation of the bus network had been an absolute disaster.
The year was 1975: Centrepoint Tower was still under construction, calculators were too expensive to be used in schools and textbooks were hand-me-down affairs within families when industrial chemist Tanya White bought a small used bookshop in Sydneys eastern suburbs.

It was called Ts, situated on the main shopping strip at Randwick. She moved it around the corner to Avoca Street, where teachers from nearby Marcellin College sought out novels to make class sets and students came to purchase textbooks.

Tanya White at Ts in the 1980s.

Then the boys used to come in and say, What can we do with our old textbooks?, White said.

The part-time bookseller had a solution.
For decades a conga line of NSW state governments have danced to the tune of the poker machine industry. But apparently not any more, and the Perrottet government is to be commended for promising to introduce a cashless gambling card for poker machine users.

With a cashless gaming card, a daily spending could apply to every poker machine in the state. Credit: Nick Moir

This is a remarkable turn of events, not least because NSW has the most poker machines and the most people with a poker machine addiction. Its also the jurisdiction with the most bullish poker machine industry and most gutless politicians entirely captive to the industry. In other words, gambling reform in NSW would be a watershed moment and change the outlook nationally.

Deep reform in NSW would also be a dramatic turnaround from the events of early 2012 when then-prime minister Julia Gillard reneged on her deal with me for the national rollout of a card-based mandatory pre-commitment system.

Delivering the agreement should have been easy politically because polling showed popular support for reform throughout the country. But no, the industry spent millions on a disinformation campaign which  while barely shifting the polls  scared the hell out of federal government MPs and senators. The prospect of them losing government, their seat or gambling industry donations was too much to bear, and they surrendered. Apparently, my effigy was burned at a poker machine industry public rally.
Valentines Day gifts featuring images of Nazi despot Adolf Hitler surrounded by love hearts were withdrawn from sale on Sunday by an apologetic online business.

The Spicy Baboon website sells a range of T-shirts, coffee mugs, mouse pads and similar products emblazoned with cheeky images.

The controversial Valentines Day image, which was removed from sale by an online company on Sunday. Credit: Spicy Baboon

One image of Hitler with a rose between his teeth, surrounded by love hearts, and with the phrase Be Mein below it infuriated leading anti-hate campaigner Dr Dvir Abramovich, chairman of the Anti-Defamation Commission.

Anyone who ... believes there is no way to express love than through Hitler, its a very warped and deranged mind, Abramovich said.
South Australian high schools to ban mobile phones

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Police deployed pepper spray during a small scuffle between rival protesters in Melbourne on Sunday after thousands of Sikh Victorians voted in a non-binding referendum on the creation of an independent Sikh state.

The brief fracas broke out at 4.30pm after a group of pro-India supporters waving national flags arrived at the voting site in Federation Square. Five people across the pro-India and pro-Sikh camps were pepper-sprayed and one man was handcuffed and led away by officers.

Police officers lead away a protester at Federation Square on Sunday. Credit: Penny Stephens

Victoria Police said in a statement there had been an earlier scuffle connected to the event at 12.45pm.

As a result of Sundays incidents, a 34-year-old man and a 39-year-old man were arrested and issued a penalty notice for riotous behaviour.
Its already a crisis, says the Royal Melbourne Hospital physician. [Those vulnerable are] the very young, the very elderly, people with chronic heart or lung disease, pregnant people. Air pollution is complex, but its effect on humans can be explained simply. In urban areas, the air we breathe is polluted with damaging chemicals caused by industry emissions, construction debris, coal-fired energy plants, bushfire smoke, wood heaters and vehicle exhaust. Diesel exhaust contains a cocktail of particulate matter, most of which is harder to measure and more harmful to human health. Credit: Scott McNaughton The most harmful pollutant is particulate matter, made up of toxic chemicals, black carbon and heavy metals such as mercury. Particulates are inhaled into the lungs and absorbed straight into the bloodstream. From there, they can become lodged in tissue and organs.

The smaller the particle, the harder it is to measure and the more harmful it is to human health. Coarse particulate matter (PM10) is 10 micrometres in diameter and comes mostly from organic matter like dust, while PM2.5 is four times smaller and most often produced by vehicle engines. PM1 and PM0.1 are ultrafine particulate matter and cannot be measured by the Victorian Environment Protection Agencys monitoring stations. Diesel exhaust contains a cocktail of particulate matter, 80-95 per cent of which is ultrafine. The World Health Organisation states that no amount of exposure to PM2.5 or smaller is safe. Trucks use main residential streets in the inner west to access the Port of Melbourne. Credit: Paul Jeffers In 2019, 1780 Australians died prematurely from PM2.5 vehicle emissions, according to the State of Global Air. That figure is 49 per cent higher than the annual national road toll. Air pollution in Melbournes inner west has a motley pedigree. Industry  accounting for 18 per cent of the areas zoning  pumps out organic compounds and chemicals. Dust from construction debris and unsealed roads generates coarse particulate matter.

But the biggest problem the area faces is the ultrafine particles from diesel trucks. Freight trucks use main residential streets such as Somerville and Williamstown roads to access the Port of Melbourne, pumping particulates into nearby houses, schools and childcare centres. The WHO standard for hourly PM2.5 concentration is 15 micrograms per cubic metre. In Glen Yates Yarraville home, his air monitors sometimes show spikes between 40 and 70 micrograms per cubic metre. The state government estimates 11,000 trucks travel through the City of Maribyrnong a day to and from the Port of Melbourne. Credit: Paul Rovere Community activist groups such as Save Willy Road and the Maribyrnong Trucking Action Group (MTAG) have been campaigning on this issue for decades. Over the years, they have watched as other countries greened their ports and decarbonised transport networks. Victoria has one of the oldest trucking fleets in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. According to an August 2022 Grattan Institute report, 14 per cent of the fleet was manufactured before 1996, and emits 60 times the particulate matter of a new truck.

In late October, then environment minister Lily DAmbrosio pledged $15 million to subsidise truck modernisation, with owners to receive up to $20,000 to upgrade their vehicle. But MTAG president Martin Wurt questioned if the modest funds would really get the biggest-polluting trucks off the streets. An electric vehicle start-up recently estimated it cost $150,000 to convert an older diesel semi-trailer into an electric truck. If you upgrade your truck, what happens to the old one? Wurt says. Does that get sold on and someone else is going to drive a crappy old truck? A spokesperson from the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) did not respond to questions about truck modernisation or scrapping details.

In 2018, the Andrews government formed a group of experts and residents to focus on community concerns. The Inner West Air Quality Community Reference Group was given two years and $60,000 to produce a report detailing the air pollution problems faced by the inner west, and provide solutions. What the group found was far worse than expected. The City of Maribyrnong has a population that skews young, with a median age of 35, compared to the state average of 38, according to 2021 census data. Yet Maribyrnong residents are being hospitalised with respiratory and cardiovascular issues in significant numbers compared with the rest of Australia, according to Deakin University research. Admissions for heart failure, stroke, asthma, heart and pulmonary diseases all well exceeded the Australian average, the research, led by child health expert Dr Kate Lycett and cited by the reference group, shows.

The government ignored most of the reference groups comprehensive list of mitigation strategies for the inner west, which included short, medium and long-term recommendations, with priority emphasis on regulatory reform across state and federal bodies, low emission vehicle zones, a clean port program and public transport improvements. Instead, the strategy highlighted five pre-existing infrastructure projects to protect and improve local air quality. Loading All five are big builds  the signature achievements of the Andrews governments three terms in office  which include the Melbourne Metro Rail Tunnel Project and West Gate Tunnel Project. Some of these were announced seven years ago. Health and infrastructure experts say the two big build rail projects will reduce pollution in the inner west. The $58 million Port Shuttle Network and $125 million set for associated rail works at the port, will enable freight to be moved to outer hubs at Somerton, Altona and Dandenong South via shuttle train rather than truck. Last week, the government welcomed news a private consortium planned to build a freight terminal at Somerton, about 30 kilometres north of Melbournes CBD, to be operational by 2025.

But experts note that the full benefits of the shuttle network to those living near the port  the network is projected to transport 30 per cent of Melbournes containers by 2050  are still a generation away and that other tunnel and road projects underway will make existing pollution problems worse. Loading The government claims the West Gate Tunnel Project, which is now expected to cost $10 billion, will provide a solution as it will funnel underground more than 9000 trucks which would otherwise use residential streets. But Dr Lyn Denison, a technical adviser and the former principal scientist at the EPA, said in 2017 the project would not remove the trucks from residential roads, just push them on to different streets. Tom McCarthy and his young family bought a Yarraville house in 2016.

[I am] frustrated that the only local childcare centres with any availability for my daughter are close to, if not right on, high-volume truck routes, he says. I dont understand how this is being allowed. It seems plain negligent. The Andrews government hopes to increase the use of electric trucks. Credit: Jason South Irving, from the Royal Melbourne Hospital, says diesel pollution is a class-one carcinogen and implicated in the development of lung cancer over many years of exposure. But with asthma, its much quicker, as traffic pollution causes new and worsening pre-existing asthma. Children exposed to air pollution are at risk of diminished adult lung capacity, Irving says, and a faster rate of effective ageing.

When asked about the governments preventative health measures, the DEECA spokesperson pointed instead to the broader strategy and a $1.8 million two-year initiative for children with asthma. Loading Despite the readily available data from four years of initiatives, the governments Clean Air Strategy contains a new commitment of $2.8 million for the area to identify and implement solutions to particulate pollution. Air purifiers installed in state schools as part of the governments pandemic response have had a fortuitous effect on air quality in classrooms on truck thoroughfares. These high-efficiency purifiers are capable of washing out particles as small as PM1 from the air, meaning they filter out diesel exhaust and COVID-19. This is important, as schools have been identified as particularly sensitive locations. A planned Deakin University citizen science initiative, Breathe Melbourne, has been designed to collect data and educate children and parents about air quality in their suburbs. The project, modelled on a flagship London initiative, was originally slated to be introduced into schools for the last term of last year but was postponed until the first term of 2023.

Two sources with detailed knowledge of the program, who requested anonymity to protect their positions, told The Age government officials gagged external communication about the project in the final months of 2022. Loading The spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services referred questions about the project to Deakin University. The university did not respond to inquiries. During the 2020 bushfires, Melburnians saw what a future with hazardous air quality looks like. On one hazy day, the city had the worst air quality in the world. This is one way the problem of truck pollution will worsen as the planet warms. A 2013 study published in peer-reviewed clinical journal Chest shows that climate change influences weather events such as bushfires, heavy rainfall and thunderstorms; weather conditions that increase levels of particulate matter and worsen respiratory problems such as asthma.

Atmospheric chemist Robyn Schofield says Australia isnt taking the easy steps to mitigate air pollution. That costs us a large amount of money in terms of health, says the University of Melbournes associate dean of environment and sustainability. At least 3000 deaths per year are attributed to air pollution in Australia, according to information published in British medical journal The Lancet, and $11-24 billion in health costs. Despite the return of the Andrews government in last years election, with an increased majority in the lower house, Labor experienced a large swing against it in the seat of Footscray, where sitting member Katie Halls primary vote dropped by 12 per cent. The swing was widely interpreted as a sign those in historically working-class suburbs, previously ultra-safe Labor seats, felt angry and overlooked. Yates says we wont be able to ignore the pollution issue for much longer.
Robert Taylor arrived in Australia with his parents as a baby in 1974. Taylor has not left WA since. But under the Migration Act, the Minister for Home Affairs must cancel a persons visa if they are satisfied the person does not pass the character test due to having either a substantial criminal record, have committed sex offences involving children, and if they have served jail time. Human rights advocate Gerry Georgatos has taken on Taylors case to try and fight for him to stay in Australia and says the strict law is an abomination. The draconian laws discriminate against impoverished people, whove often spent most of their lives here, he said.

The majority dont have the capacity to adequately challenge their deportation in the tribunals. The impacts are harrowing for children of fathers and mothers deported. Also, for the deportees sent to faraway lands that theyve lost ties to or never actually had any ties other than the fact of their birth. Georgatos has helped many others in similar situations and asks the question: when is the slate clean? When a carceral sentence is complete, penance is complete and the redemptorist in all of us should prevail. To argue otherwise is to defy the legal proposition of a penance as served, he said. At all times, a completed carceral sentence means the opportunity for the redemptive and restorative  never does it, or should it mean, furthered punishment.

Taylor has six children, the youngest of whom are 14 and 16 years old, as well as nine young grandchildren. His family have started a petition and forked out $15,000 in legal fees to try to get his visa revocation overturned. The dad of six and grandfather of nine is begging authorities to allow him to stay with his family. But after his case put before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal was lost last year, their hope for a positive outcome is diminishing. Im a daddys girl, said Taylors daughter Keesha.

If he got deported, it would be like someone has taken a part of us away. It would tear us apart. Theres no doubt about it. Keesha said if her dad were deported to the UK, it would be like hes passed away. Its horrible to say that, she said. But none of us would be able to afford to go there to see him and he would never be allowed back. Even more devastatingly, Keesha said she doesnt think her dad would survive the move.

I believe that if he was taken away he would kill himself, she said. His family is his whole life. Dad of six, Robert Taylor is awaiting his fate. Georgatos said he was currently fighting for more than 50 people who, just like Taylor, were facing deportation under the character rules. He said many in Taylors situation had taken their own lives.

I fight for as many as I can because I remember those who took their lives rather than be deported, he said. I have been inundated with requests from individuals slated for deportation, languishing in immigration detention centres, begging me to represent them. I cant manage the volume, its impossible, although I am assisting as many as I can with their representations. The Home Offices most up-to-date figures show that in 2021, 390 Australian visa holders were deported back to their country of origin under the character rules. Just 16 of them were successfully appealed. Taylor is hoping he will have the same luck after Georgatos helped him petition the Minister for Immigration, Andrew Giles.

We should be ashamed of this hideous reprehension, Georgatos said. A few years ago, a 22-year-old former Iraqi refugee was to be deported. He was a young father of two living in Sydney. For alleged minor offences, he was detained at Villawood Immigration Detention Centre. Robert Taylor, 49, says he would not cope with being deported to the UK. One night, he was flown across the continent, away from family to Yongah Hill Immigration Detention Centre. He wasnt supported and died by suicide. Detainees rioted and burnt Yongah Hill. I assisted the grief-stricken family. I organised their legal representation. They are suing the Commonwealth government. But this will never bring back the young father  a life needlessly lost because of soulless policies.
Finding a place for a baby or toddler at an early childhood education facility can be extremely difficult.

Georgie Dent, chief executive of parenting body The Parenthood, said families could wait three or six months depending on where they live and which services were in the area.

Its not uncommon for families to put a childs name down, almost even before their babys born if were trying to secure a position. And even when that happens, its still not guaranteed a spot, she said.

The governments childcare subsidy expands in July, but the sector is concerned it wont be able to meet increased demand. Credit: Ryan Stuart

Better access to early childhood education is one of the governments core policies. The so-called cheaper childcare policy will from July 1 increase the availability of subsidised care to a wider cohort of families. That policy, at a cost of $4.7 billion over four years, is designed to increase womens workforce participation by making childcare more affordable.
Ministry of Equality Delivers Making Your Business Accessible Presentation to Business Owners

As part of its Equality Means Business workstream, the Ministry of Equality hosted a seminar for the private sector on how business premises can be made more accessible in light of the legislative changes that will be coming into force as part of the Disability Act 2017.

Organised by the Ministry for Equality, with the support of the Gibraltar Federation of Small Businesses and the Gibraltar Chamber of Commerce, the seminar explained the forthcoming changes and offered assistance and support to businesses in meeting the requirements of the legislation.

The seminar was opened by the Minister for Equality, Samantha Sacramento, followed by a presentation by Head of Department Jason Belilo who explained the support offered by the Ministry, which includes guidance and tax relief. The main presentation was delivered by Ian Streets from About Access UK. Mr Streets has been contracted by Government on a number of occasions since 2015 to provide advice and training, including consultancy for the Part R Regulations. Mr Streets detailed how businesses can become more inclusive by making some big and small changes.

Sections 13 and 14 of the Disability Act had been paused in 2017 in order to give businesses time to prepare for the legislation. The enactment of these sections was unfortunately further delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The new provisions represent further progress to the introduction of the Part R Regulations in 2017, which required new buildings and works to buildings to be accessible. The enactment of Section 13 and 14 will now also require existing buildings and businesses to be made accessible.

The Minister for Equality, The Hon. Samantha Sacramento MP, said: It is very important for businesses to be inclusive. Businesses that are not accessible are not inclusive, and if they are not inclusive they are turning customers away. Our aim is to continue to provide information, guidance and support, as we have done over the years, before the enactment of the new legislation. We want to inform businesses what they can do to be on the right side of the law, as our aim is not to catch people out but wish that changes are embraced. It is therefore very important that businesses inform themselves of their responsibilities under the legislation and what they can do to make their business inclusive.

Id like to also take this opportunity to also thank the charities who took up our invitation to attend todays seminar.

More information on how to make businesses accessible can be found on the Ministry of Equality website: www.gibraltar.gov.gi/department-equality

Information booklets such as Welcoming Customers with Disabilities and Gibraltar Building Rules Approved Document R  Access to and use of Buildings are available on the website and provide guidance. Further documentation will be added shortly.
International students in Australia have been forced to skip meals and go without other necessities to afford rent, while others have had passports confiscated by unscrupulous landlords and faced threats of visa cancellations.

One in four international students were in a highly or extremely precarious financial situation even before the pandemic and current rental crisis, a recent study shows, and it is feared the situation could worsen as international students flock back to Australia this year.

International students are returning to Australia in the middle of a rental crisis. Credit: Joe Armao

Tenants across the country are affected by the rental crisis, but international students can be particularly vulnerable, says Professor Alan Morris, from the Institute for Public Policy and Governance at the University of Technology Sydney, who co-authored the study on the impacts of precarity on international students.

Students arriving from overseas are less likely to have local support networks and knowledge of their rights, and are ineligible for government support payments, Morris said.
The son of a policeman and housewife, he grew up in Karanganyar, a region of Central Java on the slopes of Mount Lawu, before studying law and political science and then becoming an MP in 2004. If his was an ordinary upbringing, though, it is an establishment figure of the highest order, who will determine whether Pranowo is ultimately in the presidential race. Prabowo Subianto run unsuccessfully against Widodo in 2014 and 2019 but was then included in his cabinet. Credit: AP Megawati Sukarnoputri, the daughter of Indonesias founding father and first president Sukarno, has made clear it is up to her, as PDI-P chair, to decide who the party will throw its weight behind. It is the only political group that has enough seats in the 575-member House of Representatives to meet, on its own, the 20 per cent threshold required to nominate a presidential and vice-presidential duo. Others must join forces to reach that bar.

Dynastic politics is still thriving in Indonesia and Megawati is known to want to put her daughter Puan Maharani, the parliamentary house speaker, on the partys ticket. But her low scores in voter surveys count against her and suggest a vice-presidential berth at best. Widodo, by contrast, is enjoying soaring popularity levels, ending last year with a 71 per cent approval rating, and while he doesnt strictly have a say on which combination PDI-P settles on, his endorsement will carry much influence. As Jakarta governor, Anies Baswedan was front and centre in the fight to contain COVID-19. Credit: Dadang Kusuma Wira Saputra Arya Fernandes, a political expert from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Jakarta, said vice-presidential choices would also sway voters but the Widodo factor was significant. Jokowi has loyal voters, they are like 10 to 15 per cent of total national voters. Most of them will go to Ganjar, only a small percentage will go to Anies and Prabowo, he said.

People know that Ganjar is Jokowis crown prince. One reason speculated for Widodos backing of Pranowo relates to the presidents determination that Indonesia sees through his signature project  the $48 billion relocation of the capital from Jakarta to a new city called Nusantara he plans to have built in East Kalimantan province on Borneo. Megawati Sukarnoputri addresses an event marking the 50th anniversary of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle this month. Credit: Bloomberg The ambitious venture has yet to draw the private investment needed for it to take shape, however, and Baswedan signalled doubts about shifting the capital while speaking at an event held by Singapores ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute this month. We did not have open, intensive and extensive conversations on why we need to establish a new capital and why we need to relocate, said the 53-year-old ex-university rector.

Subianto, 71, the former Indonesian special forces general who was beaten by Widodo in the 2014 and 2019 elections but then installed in his cabinet, has said previously he was supportive of the relocation. The president may assess Pranowo, though, to be the best bet to secure his legacy, Fernandes said. I see that Jokowi has an interest to see that the next government will continue to develop the new capital city, he said. And perhaps Jokowi thinks that Ganjar can fulfil that expectation. Djayadi Hanan, the executive director of the Indonesia Survey Institute, said Pranowo benefited from sharing Widodos common touch. Ganjar looks more similar to Jokowi in his approach to people, he said. Ganjar likes to do impromptu visits just like Jokowi. The way he speaks is also simple. He comes from an ordinary family just like Jokowi, not from a political elite family. So, PDI-P voters see Jokowis representation more in Ganjar than in Puan Maharani.

Analysts stress, however, that there are any number of permutations still in play, including the potential for PDI-P to back former special forces general Prabowo in a coalition with his party Gerindra. Loading Hanan also pointed out that while Pranowo had the highest electability among would-be candidates, his position was far from dominant. Many of Jokowis supporters are indeed Ganjars supporters but the number is only around 45 per cent. More than 50 per cent of Jokowis supporters have not decided whom they will vote for, he said. We still have many possibilities right now. Nobody knows exactly who will run.
London: The Duke of Yorks accuser has not launched her sex trafficking charity despite accepting a $US2 million ($2.8 million) donation from Prince Andrew as part of their out-of-court settlement.

Virginia Roberts Giuffre created a website for Speak Out, Act, Reclaim (Soar) in November 2021, at the height of her bitter civil case with Prince Andrew over claims that he had raped and sexually abused her when she was 17.

Virginia Giuffre (centre) leaves a New York Federal Court in 2019. Credit: Bloomberg

It replaced her former charity, Victims Refuse Silence, which was founded in 2015 but was wound down four years later. At the time, Giuffre hailed the launch of her organisation and promised there would be more information soon on how to get involved.

When the civil case with Andrew was settled out of court in February of last year, the two sides issued a joint statement in which the Duke pledged to demonstrate his regret for his association with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, by supporting the fight against the evils of sex trafficking, and by supporting its victims.
Ommeren, Netherlands: In spring 1945, a couple of weeks before the liberation of the Netherlands from its Nazi occupiers, five German soldiers buried four ammunition boxes filled with gold, jewels and watches in a woodsy part of a sleepy Dutch village.

Nazi soldiers had snatched the valuables, which could be worth millions, off the street after they were blown out of a bank vault during an explosion in the city of Arnhem in late summer 1944, documents show.

The map drawn by a Nazi soldier from the 1940s that purports to show the location of buried treasure, in The Hague, Netherlands. Credit: Ilvy Njiokiktjien/The New York Times

What the men who buried the loot probably did not know was that one of their fellow soldiers, a man named Helmut Sonder, was lying in the bushes with a war injury, observing the scene and committing it to memory. Afterward, Sonder drew a meticulous map that showed exactly where (by three poplar trees) and how deep (about 50cm to 70cm) the treasure had been buried.

Not much is known about the fate of the man who drew the map, but the document ended up in the Dutch National Archives in The Hague. This month, it was released as part of the archives annual publicity day, along with thousands of documents that are no longer classified.
New York: Tom Verlaine, guitarist and co-founder of the seminal proto-punk band Television who influenced many bands while playing at ultra-cool downtown New York music venue CBGB alongside the Ramones, Patti Smith and Talking Heads, has died. He was 73.

He died in New York City, surrounded by close friends after a brief illness, said Cara Hutchison from the Lede Company, a public relations firm.

Tom Verlaine, second from left, on the cover of Televisions influential punk album Marquee Moon.

Tom Verlaine has passed over to the beyond that his guitar playing always hinted at. He was the best rock and roll guitarist of all time, and like Hendrix could dance from the spheres of the cosmos to garage rock. That takes a special greatness, Mike Scott of The Waterboys tweeted.

Though Television never found much commercial success, Verlaines jaggedly inventive playing as part of the bands two-guitar assault influenced many musicians. Television issued its groundbreaking debut album Marquee Moon in 1977  including the nearly 11-minute title track and Elevation  and the sophomore effort Adventure a year later.
Thomas took copies of the now-infamous photo, which had been taken almost a decade earlier, showing Prince Andrew, then 41, with his arm around Giuffre at Ghislaine Maxwells house in London. Maxwell could be seen in the background.

But in 2011, Thomas, together with Mail on Sunday reporter Sharon Churcher, was shown a photograph by Roberts (now using her married name Giuffre).

Prince Andrew with Virginia Giuffre, then Virginia Roberts, at the London home of Ghislaine Maxwell (right) in 2001.

When photographer Michael Thomas took a copy of a picture handed to him by a woman named Virginia Roberts, he never believed it would turn into a scandal still going strong a decade later.

The photograph had been taken by paedophile Jeffrey Epstein in 2001 using Roberts camera  on the same night Guiffre said she had sex with Prince Andrew, at the bidding of Epstein and Ghislaine, the Daily Mail has reported.

Prince Andrew has always denied the authenticity of the photo and Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking, recently said in an interview she did not believe for a second the photo was real.

There has never been an original, and further, there is no photograph, she said.

But speaking from the UK, Thomas said the photograph was definitely not fake, and recently helped prove it with documents he kept from that original interview.

Ive never gone back and looked at all my originals. I sent my photos to the paper like anybody on the job does, he said.
New Zealands death toll from heavy rain rose to four on Sunday as flash floods and landslides on the north island continued for a third day.

Battered since Friday, Auckland, New Zealands largest city, remained under a state of emergency. The nations weather forecaster, MetService, warned of more severe weather on Sunday and Monday for the north island. Intense rainfall could also cause surface and flash flooding, it said.

A house was crushed and has collapsed after a landslide in the Tauranga suburb of Maungatapu. Credit: Christel Yardley/Stuff

We know that there is potential for more adverse weather tonight, Auckland Emergency Management controller Rachel Kelleher told reporters.

The emergency covers large swaths of the north island, with Waitomo District about 220 kilometres from Auckland, declaring a state of emergency late on Saturday.
Russia accuses Ukraine of striking hospital

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PHILIPSBURG:--- Cz Exclusive Business Services hosted a job fair at the Government Administration Building in partnership with the National Employment Services Centre (NESC). It was a good turnout with approximately 100 persons present at the fair and some candidates were hired on the spot.

The purpose of the job fair was to explore different avenues of recruitment. This was the brainchild of Ms. Chavilly Hook, CEO of Cz Exclusive Business Services. Hook contacted the NESC to inquire about the database of the persons that are receiving financial aid in order to offer them an employment opportunity. The partnership was formed to collaborate and host the job fair.

Cz Exclusive Business Services is a job placement agency. The company recruits persons to work for various organizations and offers additional services such as outsourcing, payroll, courier services, accounting, banking service and more. The National Employment Services Centre was established in 2018 with the goal to provide training and job opportunities to local qualified candidates. The NESC is an independent digital platform to facilitate employment opportunities and employability enhancement programs achieved through public-private partnerships.

According to Ms Hook, Several persons expressed interest in office/business administration for posts such as administrative assistant or customer service representatives. Overall, Im happy with the number of persons that showed up today. We also received some impressive resumes from candidates, some of whom hold associates and bachelors degrees.

The NESC was also pleased with the turnout. According to the officials, We estimated about 100 persons came to apply for the positions available, with a huge number of qualified and capable candidates ready to take up the responsibilities and tasks that come with the positions applied for. The NESC hopes that this is the beginning of a long-term partnership with C'Z Exclusive Business Services where we can work together to provide employment as well as training opportunities for these candidates.

The first interviews were done with CZ agency. For those candidates who were not immediately placed, their resumes will be sent to the potential clients. The client decides which person will move on to the second interview. Emails will be sent out to the candidates within short to inform them whether or not they were selected for the second round. The agency will keep the documents on file for future vacancies for those who were not successfully placed at this time.
PHILIPSBURG:--- With an outdoor happy hour event for invited guests, the notary office, SXM Notary Richards, last Friday launched its official website, https://sxmnotaryrichards.sx. The notary office opened its doors to the public on November 1 of last year.

The website, among others, provides an overview of the notarial services, offered by the notary office. These range from the transfer of deeds to the certification of documents and establishment of companies, foundations, association N.Vs and B.Vs.

The site lists legalizations, testaments, and transfer of deeds among its specialties. Persons visiting the website get to see the specific service or assistance they would need. Clients are advised to go online and schedule an intake meeting with the notary office, allowing a member of staff to guide the client regarding the precise service required.

The client can do so by clicking on the Schedule your intake button and following the instructions to confirm an appointment.

In presenting the website, Deputy Civil-Law Notary Keshia Richards told the gathering that the office aims to be the most innovative Notary Office and be recognized as the best customer service provider in the St. Maartens Notary domain.

Richards recognized and thanked her hardworking, dedicated team, her parents, Franklyn and Angela Richards, her fiance, her mentor Faride Tjon Ajong, the local Government, the Joint Court of Justice, fellow notaries, clients, and prospective clients.

The notary office is located at the same location as the former notary offices of Jose Speetjens and Faride Tjon Ajong.

(Deputy) Civil-law Notary is Keshia La Toya Richards LLM, a former Milton Peters College student with a Masters degree in Notary Law obtained at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands.

Keshia Richards, daughter of the soil is a devoted and passionate individual with a passion for the legal sector. Keshia has been active in the legal industry since 2008; after completing her studies in 2013 she found her passion in Family Law, Succession Law, and Property Law. In 2015, Keshia completed a personal internship at Tjon Ajong & Associates in Sint Maarten. After completing these ventures, she was confident and motivated to pursue the goal of being the first local notary on the island. Her motivation did not stop there, Keshia continues to pursue personal growth through courses that will enhance her notarial skills.

Keshia and her team pride themselves on their strong work ethic and are devoted to providing the people of Sint Maarten with exceptional professional services.

The office team consists of any other civil-law notary employed with Richards Legal ABV- SXM Notary Richards, as well as the junior civil-law notary or notaries, lawyer or lawyers, other employees, and associates employed with the aforementioned office.

For inquiries please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call +1 721 542 6817
Miao people in SW China's Guizhou celebrate Spring Festival with traditional dances

People's Daily Online) 14:16, January 29, 2023

Photo taken on Jan. 27, 2023 shows young women of the Miao ethnic group getting ready for a Spring Festival celebration in Songlong Village, Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Guizhou Province. (Photo/Huang Xiaohai)

A stockaded village inhabited by people of the Miao ethnic group in southwest China has held traditional festive activities to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

On Jan. 27, Songlong Village in southwest Chinas Guizhou Province held the celebrations, with local villagers, including Miao people living in the surrounding villages, performing characteristic traditional dances of the Miao ethnic group, such as the Gupiao dance and the Jinji dance, all in beautiful traditional costumes.

The Gupiao dance, Jinji dance and the traditional costumes of the Miao ethnic group have all been recognized as national-level intangible cultural heritage in China.

(Web editor: Xian Jiangnan, Liang Jun)
On Sunday, the PNL (National Liberal Party) leadership summoned the leaders of the party's branches nationwide to an informal meeting to discuss the political position and parliamentary priorities at the beginning of the year, party sources told AGERPRES.

According to the same sources, the meeting, which started at 4:00 pm, takes place at Vila Lac.

"It is a meeting marking the beginning of the year and the resumption of the parliamentary sessions meant for the leadership of the party and the leaders of this party's branches nationwide.

On Monday, the National Political Bureau of the PNL will meet, starting at 11.00 am, in the hall of the PNL group at the Chamber of Deputies. Also, the joint parliamentary groups of the PNL will hold a meeting at 6.00 pm in the presence of this party's president, Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca.
PNL (National Liberal Party) leader Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca on Sunday told the leaders of the Liberal organizations nationwide, who gathered in a meeting at Vila Lac, that the party has gained more percentages in the polls since he took over leadership, the Government was successful, and the government rotation will be done as written in the protocol of the coalition, according to PNL sources.

According to the same sources, Ciuca said that today the PNL has more percentages in opinion polls than when he took over as party president and ensured the stability of the country and did what he promised.

Also, the Liberal leader highlighted that the PNL did not provoke and did not respond to political challenges, the mentioned sources also show.

The government performed well, having the best absorption percentage of European funds, in a seriously problematic economic context.

"The rotation will be done as per the protocol, I assure you," the PM also said, according to Liberal sources.

The PNL leadership summoned the leaders of the party's branches nationwide to an informal meeting on Sunday to discuss the political strategy and parliamentary priorities at the beginning of the year, party sources told AGERPRES.

On Monday, the National Political Bureau of the PNL will meet, starting at 11.0 am0, in the hall of the PNL group at the Chamber of Deputies. Also, the joint parliamentary groups of the PNL will have a meeting at 6.00 pm in the presence of the party's president, Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca.
Do not be fooled by the adorable cover of Unraveling, or by its flippant subtitle (What I learned about life while shearing sheep, dyeing wool, and making the worlds ugliest sweater). This witty, irreverent memoir is, at heart, extremely serious.

When COVID-19 hits and the country is locked down, Peggy Orenstein is not content simply to knit the days away. At 58, shes at a crossroads  her mother has died, her father has dementia, her daughter is about to leave for college, her husband is retiring. Her own frequent travels for speaking and book tours have come to a halt.

It occurs to Orenstein that the antidote for all this angst is to make a sweater from scratch. Not just knitting a sweater  shes an old hand at that, learning at the knee of her mother  but making one from the very rawest of raw materials. She decides to find a sheep, shear it, card the wool, spin and dye the yarn  and then knit the days away.

Tucked among these tasks, which she tackles with verve and writes about with breezy humor, are lessons about the origins of clothing, the importance of womens work and the enormous toll the garment industry takes on the environment. (Every second, more than 5,000 pounds of textiles are either dumped or burned  the real cost of cheap and abundant fashion.)

The work of women, Orenstein notes, has always been crucial to civilization yet underrated by historians and contemporaries. Making something from nothing is the quintessential magic of women, whether turning fiber to thread or flour to bread or engaging in the ultimate creative act: conjuring new humans from nowhere at all.

Shearing a sheep is difficult, physical work. (Why the hell couldnt I have stuck to sourdough? she asks herself.) Carding the wool is the opposite  slow and sedentary. She uses the time to reconnect with her father in Minneapolis, watching reruns of Twins ballgames on TV with him via FaceTime.

It is when she begins to dye the wool that some of the most complex questions arise. Surely natural dyes are best, right? But using indigo requires such mammoth amounts of water that she, living in drought-stricken California, cant justify it. A single pair of conventional denim jeans takes as much as fifteen hundred gallons of water to produce, she notes. To dye a few skeins of yarn, I fill bucket after bucket after five-gallon bucket with water, she says. Five gallons. Ten. Twenty. Forty.

Other colors arent much friendlier. For years, the color purple required a milky mucus extracted from the butts of a particular sea snail. It took 250,000 snails to produce one ounce of dye, and archaeologists in Europe have excavated billions of discarded snail shells, in some places mounded over 150 feet high.

But synthetic dyes create a different kind of ecological disaster. Factories in the countries where most of our garments are produced freely dump their wastewater ... right back into local rivers and lakes. ... Clothing production, especially dyeing and finishing, is, all by itself, responsible for a fifth of the worlds industrial water pollution.

Orenstein never preaches  she ponders, mulling problems, admitting when there is no clear solution and always lightening the mood with her flippant, funny observations.

The sweater she eventually produces is a festival of stripes of all the colors she learned to dye. It weighs three pounds  too heavy for California, something she might wear when I visit Minnesota. In the dead of February.

But it is also a symbol of all that she learned  and all that she accomplished. As is this book; Orensteins upbeat voice and strong reporting make it an absolute delight to read.
Tony Messenger Tony Messenger is the metro columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Follow Tony Messenger 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

ST. LOUIS  Milton Green finds himself in an awkward position.

For more than a decade he had been a proud member of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. He had passed the sergeants exam and was hoping for a promotion. Like other police officers, he had worked under the protection of a legal concept called qualified immunity, which, in most cases insulates law enforcement officers and the agencies they work for from legal liability, except for in narrowly defined violations of civil rights.

Then, in 2017, he was shot by a fellow cop. It was one of those sorts of shootings that some police officers refer to as lawful but awful. On the night of June 21 that year, Green was off-duty and outside with a neighbor working on his car at his home in north St. Louis when suspects fleeing police ran by. There was shooting, and Green retrieved his police revolver, and sought to help the officers who were chasing the suspects. An officer ordered him down to the ground. He complied. Once another officer recognized him, and asked him to walk toward him slowly, after the shooting ended, Green complied again. As he was walking toward a fellow officer with his badge out and gun pointed down, Green was shot by another officer arriving late to the scene, Christopher Tanner. The bullet landed in Greens forearm and caused permanent damage to his arm. Green is no longer a police officer. When I first interviewed him, two years after the shooting, he said he felt abandoned by the department he loved.

If I was white, I feel like I would have been taken care of, he told me then. Thats how I feel.

Now, six years later, here he was sitting in federal court listening to attorneys for the city of St. Louis use qualified immunity against him. The department didnt take care of him then, and now it is fighting his attempts to seek compensation for being shot and having his career ended.

The shooting of Mr. Green in hindsight is undeniably tragic, said deputy city counselor Andrew Wheaton in a hearing before federal Magistrate David Noce. The city is seeking summary judgment in its favor in a civil rights lawsuit Green filed two years after he was shot. The shooting was also objectively reasonable, Wheaton argued. If qualified immunity doesnt apply in this case, then it never does.

Those words stung, Green said. If the judge agrees with Wheaton, the case will be tossed.

It was sickening to listen to after all the stuff Ive been through, he said. I feel abandoned. I used to work for them and now I wonder whos on my side?

Its a fair question. In todays hashtag world, who backs the blue in a case in which one cop shot another?

Like Green, Tanner is no longer with the department. Neither is Roger Engelhardt, the lieutenant that headed up the Force Investigative Unit that investigates all police shootings in the city. Whether that unit did a comprehensive job in investigating Greens case, and other police shootings, is a major issue in the case.

The city has an answer to that question, but it doesnt want the public to know what that answer is. At some point after Greens shooting, the police department ordered an audit of the units investigations of police shootings. Greens attorneys didnt know about it until Engelhardt mentioned it in a deposition. He, too, was seeking a copy of it, in his own employment dispute with the city, according to court records.

In court this month, one of Greens attorneys, Jack Waldron, said that audit, which the city has filed under seal, and other internal affairs reports that the city hasnt yet produced, are key to proving whether the city has been deliberately indifferent, in police shootings. When Waldron mentioned the audit in open court, Wheaton objected and discussion of it ended.

So the next day, I filed a Sunshine Law request with the city seeking a copy. The city, notorious lately for its slow response to open records requests, replied in about five minutes. It denied my request, calling the audit a personnel record. That answer doesnt square with the fact that the Force Investigative Unit regularly published its reports of police shootings upon turning them over to the circuit attorneys office. If those reports are public, why shouldnt an audit of those reports also be public?

It begs an important question. What is the city trying to hide?

Thats a question Green wants to get answered, and perhaps it will come to light if his case ever makes it to trial. Noce has not yet ruled on the motion for summary judgment. Meanwhile, Green finds the entire situation disrespectful and depressing. He worked as a police officer for more than a dozen years. Now he has to fight for basic records as the city seeks to avoid responsibility for the shooting that ended his career.

You might as well say I never worked for the city, Green says. Thats how theyre treating me.

Messenger: Shot by a white colleague, black St. Louis officer speaks out about department divided by race Officer Milton Green opens up about the shooting that led to his federal civil rights lawsuit. It alleges that Green was shot by a fellow officer because he was a black man with a gun.
ST. LOUIS  Three men face first-degree murder charges in the death of a woman last month in the city's Carondelet neighborhood.

The victim, Shiann Driskell, 23, of the 900 block of Salem Way in Ellisville, was found dead just after midnight Dec. 10 in an alley in the 6800 block of South Broadway. Police said then she was bleeding from the head.

Court records said Jeramey Bryan Cobert, 22, of the 100 block of Flint Drive near Fenton; William Harvey Desimone, 20, of the Imperial area and Aaron Dwight Payne, 37, of the 4000 block of Cypress Road in St. Ann, were charged Friday in the case. St. Louis police earlier Friday had announced their arrest.

The three were being held Saturday in the St. Louis city jail downtown without bond. They also were each charged with armed criminal action, assault and unlawful use of a weapon.

Police described the incident as a shooting but have yet to release other details in the case.
Actor Annie Wersching, best known for playing FBI agent Renee Walker in the series 24 and providing the voice for Tess in the video game The Last of Us, has died. She was 45.

Wersching died Sunday morning in Los Angeles following a battle with cancer, her publicist told The Associated Press. The type of cancer was not specified.

Neil Druckmann, who created The Last of Us, wrote on Twitter, We just lost a beautiful artist and human being. My heart is shattered. Thoughts are with her loved ones.

Actor Abigail Spencer, who appeared with Wersching on the sci-fi series Timeless, tweeted, We love you Annie Wersching. You will be deeply missed.

Born and raised in St. Louis, Wersching appeared on dozens of television shows over the course of her two-decade career.

Her first credit was in Star Trek: Enterprise, and she would go on to have recurring roles in the seventh and eighth seasons of 24, Bosch, The Vampire Diaries, Marvels Runaways, The Rookie and, most recently, the second season of Star Trek: Picard as the Borg Queen.

She also provided the voice and motion capture performance for Tess for the popular video game The Last of Us.

Wershing was diagnosed with cancer in 2020, according to Deadline, and continued working. Shes survived by her husband, actor Stephen Full, and three sons. A GoFundMe page was set up Sunday to support the family.
WASHINGTON  Debbie Dingells quest for a leadership position within the House Democratic Caucus came with a map.

The image, shared by Dingell in November as she was vying for the coveted vice chair position, is of the United States, with stars denoting the districts represented by Democratic House and committee leaders.

The map shows clusters in California, the Northeast and mid-Atlantic regions; a smattering of stars in the Southeast and Pacific Northwest; and a total void in the middle of the country.

Its evidence to Dingell, who lost her vice chair bid to Ted Lieu, a Californian, of a coastal bias within the party that she hopes to correct with the creation of the Heartland Caucus, one of the 118th Congress newest member groups.

Dingell announced plans for the group in December and officially launched the caucus at a news conference last week. Its composed largely of members from the Great Lakes region seeking to remind their party leaders that they are not fly-over country, as Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, and several of her colleagues, put it.

Part of our challenge is, we have no one from the leadership in any position.  So this is one of the realities that we face over and over and again, Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Ohio said, gathered around a lectern in the Longworth basement with roughly a dozen of her Heartland colleagues.

Kaptur, who has been in the chamber since 1983 and is the longest-serving woman in congressional history, has been a member long enough to remember when the Midwest held serious sway in the House. Missouri Rep. Dick Gephardt was majority leader from 1989 to 1995, then minority leader from 1995 to 2003. And David Bonior of Michigan was Democratic whip from 1991 to 2002. But in recent years, power has concentrated on the coasts.

The top Democratic leaders in the 118th Congress come from New York, Massachusetts, California and South Carolina.

Heartland Caucus members present were from Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota and Ohio, though the groups boundaries are not firmly established. Rep. Brian Higgins, who represents Buffalo, New York, has expressed interest in joining.

Leaders said they anticipate about 40 members to join and listed manufacturing, labor, rural health care, infrastructure and the environment among the groups top issues.

We must ensure that as were creating policy in Washington, we are prioritizing the views, the values and issues of these communities at home that are too often overlooked  not integrated into policy consideration and core congressional action, Dingell said.

The group coalesced in the wake of the November midterms around a shared feeling that the region is being ignored, despite its significant contributions.

Dingell noted that the Great Lakes provide more than 20% of the worlds freshwater supply. Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib said 25% of the countrys trade moves through her state on its way to Canada. And Rep. Mike Quigley, who represents parts of Chicagos North Side, touted the hot dogs, the Chicago-style pizza and the Italian beef consumed throughout the country.

Several members also noted the regions importance in presidential politics, a hot topic as President Joe Biden and the Democratic National Committee have suggested making Michigan an early primary state.

All roads to majorities, to the White House, go through the heartland of America, Dingell said.

Despite the groups grievances, in typical Midwestern fashion, its members struck a cordial tone.

Dingell said Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, Minority Whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar of California have all been receptive to the Heartland Caucus concerns. And Rep. Joyce Beatty of Ohio repeated multiple times that the goal of the group was not to start internecine conflict.

This is about unity and not about (division)," Beatty said. "Its about recognition."

15 charts that track Midwest inflation and consumer prices
What part of do not call do telemarketers not understand? It seems that no matter how many times people list their phones as off-limits for robocalls, the calls continue to flood in. They interrupt the workday. They waste time. They annoy the hell out of pretty much everyone. And they very typically are scams that victimize the vulnerable.

Max and Marilyn Margulis of Chesterfield decided to fight back, and they fought back hard. It wasnt easy, largely because telemarketers go to great lengths to hide who hired them. But the Margulises have secured more than $2 million in court judgments, sending a strong message to telemarketers that no means no when it comes to phone harassment. Were not always on the side of those who prolifically sue, but in this case, were fans.

In this era of hypercommunication, marketers have direct lines into peoples homes, workplaces and lives whether people want them there or not. The scourge of telemarketers who flood peoples cellphones and landlines with sales pitches, many of them scams, has prompted the federal government and Missouri (along with other states) to create no-call lists that marketers are supposed to comply with. The lists are clearly popular with consumers. Missouris state list alone has more than 4 million phone numbers on it.

But as most modern consumers know, telling marketers to leave them alone often isnt enough. Even people who have put their numbers on the do-not-call lists frequently continue to be inundated by calls. Since enforcement of the no-call lists is mostly by civil litigation, there generally isnt a big downside for businesses that just plain violate the law by calling numbers on the lists.

That is, unless the callers are unlucky enough to call the Margulises. As the Post-Dispatchs Erin Heffernan reported, Max Margulis, an attorney specializing in telemarketing cases, has filed more than 45 such suits in St. Louis County on his wifes behalf since 2017 (as well as a 2012 suit that was dismissed against Lee Enterprises, which owns the Post-Dispatch). The couple has won judgments of some $2.6 million. Not all have paid, but the couple has received more than $600,000, plus undisclosed out-of-court settlements.

Its about more than money. I do it to enforce my rights as a consumer, Max Margulis said. Ive told several defendants that if I never got another call I would retire and be happy.

Some skeptics fairly argue that being a professional plaintiff is, like telemarketing itself, a societal scourge. But there are simply too many telemarketers and victims for the no-call lists to be realistically enforceable with criminal charges, and even lawsuits by the Missouri attorney generals office and its counterparts around the country cant be expected to confront them all. Fear of crossing the Margulises of the world may ultimately be the best weapon against this pernicious industry.
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(Tribune News Service)  Greensburg, Pa., native and X-1 test pilot Chalmers H. Slick Goodlin was on the verge of making history as the pilot who broke the sound barrier. After a contract dispute, Goodlin, who flew military planes for three countries, lost his seat in the cockpit and faded into the ranks of aviation history.

Despite Goodlin not breaking the sound barrier, he remains remembered as an accomplished pilot at the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport. He is being honored with a display case of memorabilia in the Unity airports terminal.

The display includes photos depicting a small portion of Goodlins aviation career. In one photo, Goodlin appears at 18 having just received his Royal Canadian Air Force Wings. In another, he is 73 and standing in front of artwork depicting a successful flight of an aircraft he tested. The memorabilia was donated by Goodlins wife, Aila, and includes a letter addressed to her husband in which Lawrence D. Bell thanked Goodlin for the P-63 demonstration that he put on for then Vice President Harry Truman.

I think that the whole thing started because the airport is in his hometown, said Aila Goodlin. Its an honor. Its wonderful. He comes from their part of the world, and Im happy they remember.

The search for Goodlins memorabilia began in the summer of 2022 when Westmoreland County Airport Authority board member Paul Whittaker reached out to Goodlins widow for artifacts.

Whittaker had formed a fast friendship with Chalmers Goodlins brother, E. Alton Al Goodlin years ago while visiting the Corner Restaurant in New Alexandria. Whittaker listened to Al Goodlins stories about Chalmers and started to wonder why he wasnt well known.

Slicks a local guy, and he was so instrumental in aviation, but he was just hidden by the military, Whittaker said. I wanted to procure some of his artifacts but no one knew where to start. It started with contacting a friend of the family, then a distant family member, and I ended up in touch with Aila Goodlin. She requested that whatever she sent would be displayed through his birthday on January second.

Aila Goodlin said that representatives of the airport requested photos for the display, but she possesses more memorabilia that span Chalmers Goodlins career. She has been working to preserve these artifacts including almost 160 postcards from around the world. During his travels, Chalmers Goodlin sent his parents postcards from whichever country he was working in at the time. Aila Goodlin has dated them and scanned them into a computer.

Its hard to summarize or capture (Chalmers Goodlins) career, Aila Goodlin said. He did so much.

Chalmers Goodlins career

Chalmers Goodlin began learning to fly when he was 15 at the New Alexandria Airport in the late 1930s. Goodlins sister Myla Shestik previously told the Tribune-Review that he left home at 16 to join the Royal Canadian Air Force, where he earned the nickname Slick. In 1942, he was recruited by the United States Navy to test pilot military planes. He was released from active duty in 1943 and in December of that year, began working as a test pilot for Bell Aircraft, where he tested the aircraft that would break the sound barrier.

As the primary test pilot of the X-1, Goodlin took 26 test flights in the plane. He was close to making the first supersonic flight in the aircraft when he resigned over a contract dispute. Bell Aircraft Corp., the planes manufacturer, rejected his request for a $150,000 bonus for taking the flight.

Edwards Air Force Base historian Raymond Puffer previously assessed that Goodlin demanded the bonus at the wrong time.

When this flap over money came up, it was a perfect occasion to suggest to Bell that the Air Force take it over, Puffer previously told Los Angeles Times.

Pilots throughout the Arnold Palmer Airport agree with the sentiment.

I dont even think that Bell wasnt willing to pay it, said retired pilot and KLBE Air Museum volunteer Nick Zello, It just looked good if the government did it so they passed the flight onto (Chuck) Yeager.

According to a 1989 Air & Space Magazine story by David Noland, Goodlin denied ever demanding extra money. He claimed to have made a handshake deal with Bob Stanley of Bell to make the first supersonic flight before turning the plane over to the United States Air Force, but they wanted a man in uniform to make the flight for the sake of publicity.

(Bell) basically told Slick to get it there for Yeager and to tell Yeager how to do it, said Whittaker. Yeager tumbled (the X-1) in the process of breaking the record and Slick knew exactly what happened.

According to Whittaker, Goodlin had tried to assist Yeager with the flight just as he had with Bob Hoover, the military pilot originally assigned to take the supersonic flight. After the conflict, Goodlin left Bell, and in 1948, he served as a foreign volunteer in the newly formed Israeli Air Force and fought in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

He later became the chief test pilot for the Israeli Air Force and transported Jewish refugees to Israel from Aden, Arabia and Germany during humanitarian missions. After meeting aircraft engineer and inventor Vincent Burnelli, Goodlin went to London where he championed the designs of Burnelli aircraft. He later served as chairman and chief executive officer of Burnelli Co. Goodlin later moved from London to Florida and started his own aircraft leasing company called the Boreas Corp.

Goodlin was 82 when he died of cancer on Oct. 2, 2005, in West Palm Fla..

KLBE Air Museum

Goodlins memorabilia will eventually be moved to the KLBE Airport Museum. The museum was opened in a hangar on the airports property about 12 years ago by Westmoreland County Airport Authority member Donald Rossi said the museums coordinator Sam Schrecengost. Retired pilots Zello and Schrecengost host tours in the museum from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. every Saturday. They recount historical moments of aviations past, some of which took place in Latrobe.

The museum features a flight simulator and four

retired aircraft including a 1942 Stinson V-77 Reliant, an air-mail plane that flew for the U.S. air-mail service, a government organization that began in Latrobe in 1939. It later evolved into the major airline US Airways, also known as USAir. The museum has one of the first letters delivered by air mail on display.

Don started this museum because of the air-mail pickup system, Zello said. It started here in Latrobe.

KLBE Air Museum also houses an OX5 engine. According to Zello, the OX5 Club of America began in Latrobe in 1955 and grew to about 12,800 members by 1985. The club started when pilot and founder of Longview Flying Field in Latrobe, Charlie Carroll suggested a reunion for Pennsylvania aviators who flew behind an OX5 engine between the years 1918 and the outbreak of World War II. The club went national with the OX5 Club of Pennsylvania remaining the parent organization. The club still exists today and has about 1000 members.

There are more then 15 model planes placed around the museum and a small theater is located in the back corner of the hangar where guests can sit in refurbished airline seats to watch short informational videos. Most of the museums wallspace is dedicated to historical photos and plaques. Memorabilia sits in display cases placed throughout the museum. A small section of the museum is dedicated to the Women Air Force Service Pilots. Another section features every flier for the Westmoreland Air Show since the events creation in 1975.

We have so much stuff in here, Zello said. Im not even sure where well put Goodlins stuff. Well find a home for it in here.

The KLBE Air Museum is open every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.. Admission is free.

(c)2023 The Tribune-Review (Greensburg, Pa.)

Visit at www.triblive.com
Rumblings of a potential deal to cap defense spending has triggered furious debate on Capitol Hill. Progressives and fiscal conservatives alike worry about a ballooning Pentagon budget that grows closer to $1 trillion, while defense hawks like Liz Cheney cry out that even a single cent cut would weaken our national defense and cause the country to suffer.

However, there is a first step toward compromise that could satisfy both sides by freeing up resources for the military without increasing the top line budget: Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC). This process allows the military to redirect money from obsolete installations toward more strategic needs.

Suggesting base closure is often the fastest way to get kicked out of a congressional office. Domestic military bases are key drivers of local economic activity and any politician interested in reelection is understandably paranoid about closure threats. Approximately 348,000 civilian and military residents are employed across the 30 military bases of California, the home state of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi and current Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Buried within the recently passed National Defense Authorization Act is a now-regular prohibition that states nothing in this Act shall be construed to authorize an additional Base Realignment and Closure round.

Whats the solution to this resistance? Start with Americas enormous footprint abroad instead. According to the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, the United States has approximately 750 military base sites in 80 countries. Cutting down this number is an obvious move to realize economic savings, reduce security liabilities and even improve diplomatic relationships.

This sprawling constellation costs taxpayers $55 billion a year. Thats more than double the generous amount of security assistance that Washington has provided Ukraine since the outbreak of war in February.

Beyond saving dollars, dramatically slimming down overseas bases also means fewer liabilities. Military installations on foreign soil are often irresistible targets, as evidenced by the rocket attacks on American bases in Iraq in 2021 and in Syria in 2022.

Closing foreign bases even provides diplomatic benefits. American bases are often aggravating to local populations, causing protest movements that put partner governments like Japan or Italy in difficult positions. Removing some of these bases may help Washington improve relations and provide leverage in other negotiations.

Can America really reduce its massive footprint overseas without compromising necessary security capabilities? It can, and has done so successfully in the recent past. As noted by Mike Sweeney of Defense Priorities, the United States maintained only two installations in the entire Middle East region between 1971 and 1991. Despite the lack of major bases, America was able to support Israel during the Yom Kippur War and fight the Tanker War against Iran using a mix of assets based in the continental U.S. and novel tactics like sea bases on mobile barges.

To be fair, there are certainly bases at home that could also be categorized as unstrategic sinkholes of spending. However, Congress has stonewalled every single attempt by the Department of Defense to realign domestic bases since the last BRAC round in 2005.

Secretaries of defense often complain to Congress that an estimated 19% of DOD infrastructure is excess and that those resources could be repurposed toward more important uses. If the Pentagon is serious about the need to free up funds, working with Congress to eliminate some of the hundreds of bases on foreign soil first will go a long way to building trust and achieving tangible progress on this front.

Weighing the costs and benefits of each base abroad will also force a long overdue conversation about how to define Americas national interests. Behind every basing decision is an assumption, and maintaining a dynamic military requires constantly questioning both expenses and assumptions. A clear-eyed assessment of which American aims are realistic and which (if any) foreign bases truly serve these aims will lead to a smaller risk profile abroad and increased savings at home.

No amount of base closures will solve a mounting national debt crisis on its own, but closing foreign bases should be a meaningful first step. A successful BRAC round for overseas installations will show lawmakers that the Pentagon is sincere about using every penny as wisely as possible before asking for more and can distinguish necessities from luxuries when preparing the force structure that tomorrows challenges demand.

Andrew C. Jarocki is a masters student at Georgetown Universitys McCourt School of Public Policy. He has written for The National Interest, Realist Review and DefenseNews.
Six-year-old children should be learning to read, identify new words by matching letters to sounds, count to 100, and do basic addition and subtraction. But now we have a 6-year-old who allegedly shot his teacher in Newport News, Va.

Unfortunately, school shootings are not uncommon. There have been more than 1,300 school shootings in the U.S. since 1970, according to data from the government-sponsored Homeland Security Digital Library. Since the Columbine High School shooting in 1999 in Colorado, where two teens killed 13 people, there have been well over 500 school shootings. The shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in May, where 19 children and two adults were killed, was the most recent school massacre to shock the nation.

Sadly, we are growing too accustomed to school shootings, which speaks to the need for change in our system. However, the news of a 6-year-old allegedly shooting his teacher did shock us all. Of all the shootings at schools, none of the shooters has been this young.

We have a dilemma on our hands: How do we address this issue from a legal and educational standpoint? Common law recognizes the innocence of youth at this age under the doctrine known as infancy defense. It holds that children younger than 7 should not be prosecuted for a crime because they are too young to form criminal intent.

Unfortunately, no one envisioned a century ago, when common law was formed, that our youths would have this kind of exposure to the world. Social media didnt exist, and neither did the internet. The world was significantly different. More than half our youth younger than 11 own a cellphone, according to data from Common Sense Media, and therefore access to the world.

Parents and other stakeholders are concerned over childrens use of technology and the impact its having on them. The rates at which our youths are using phones and other technological devices continues to grow. With this exposure, its conceivable to think that they may experience behavioral changes, as was revealed in a study of about 1,600 first graders in Japan in 2018. The study found a link between the use of smartphone technology and behavioral development.

While the legal system works out the unprecedented school shooting in Virginia to determine what contributed to this horrific act, school doors across the country must continue to open daily. The problem is that its not a matter of if there will be another school shooting  but when. Historically, school districts have not had to worry about young elementary students carrying out shootings but those outside the school, who are known as external threats.

Now that conversation has to change, and so should the practices. One practice to consider is putting metal detectors in every school across the country or at least having each school district seriously consider it.

In this era of polarization, where its more difficult than ever to get consensus on policy matters, one thing we all share is a desire to keep our kids safe. No matter our race, ethnicity or religious affiliation or whether were Democrats, Republicans or independents, we all want our children to have productive lives.

Far too many of our children are being negatively affected by violence. While we focus on the 6-year-old who allegedly shot his teacher and we hope he gets counseling, what about the children who were in that classroom? What about the teacher? They have to live with this trauma for the rest of their lives.

Metal detectors may be able to prevent some of these senseless acts. There are well over 13,000 public school districts and more than 30,000 private schools in the U.S., which shows how complex the situation is. School shootings can happen in any one of these districts, whether the community is rural, suburban or urban.

How metal detectors will be funded may cause some communities pause. But that should be the least of our worries. The lives of our children and teachers must take precedence over politics. With the help of federal and state funding, resources can be found. Political difficulties should not prevent any attempts to make it happen. Some children are concerned about attending school because they are afraid for their safety, and far too many teachers are leaving the profession.

Students and teachers have a right to feel assured when they go to school. Parents have a right to expect that their children will return home unharmed. Metal detectors may help save lives and deter those who may desire to take part in such tragic events.

Jerald McNair is a school administrator at South Holland School District 151 in Illinois.

2023 Chicago Tribune.

Visit at chicagotribune.com.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
This story has been corrected

KYIV, Ukraine  The 25 Russians convicted of war crimes in Ukrainian courts include a soldier who forced two Ukrainians at gunpoint to hand over laptops and money, four who beat and tortured Ukrainian soldiers and two who admitted shelling residential buildings in the first weeks of the war.

Over 66,000 additional alleged war crimes have been reported to Ukrainian authorities since the Russian invasion last February, according to Ukraines Office of the Prosecutor General. The number is growing by hundreds every day as investigators fan out into areas retaken from the Russians and Ukrainians step up to lodge complaints, ranging from the theft of property to torture, murder, rape, the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia and the relentless missile strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure.

Its a staggering number of cases, one that would overwhelm any judicial system anywhere, legal experts say. But Ukraines prosecutor general Andriy Kostin has vowed to investigate all of them and to bring to trial all those in which enough evidence can be gathered. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has made justice for the victims of war crimes one of his conditions for eventual peace with Russia. The issue is as important for Ukraine as defeating the Russians militarily if Russia is to be deterred forever from attacking Ukraine, Kostin said.

We have to win in both battles  in the fight for our territory and in the fight for justice, he said in an interview.

The battle for justice could prove just as challenging as the fight for land.

The Ukraine war offers an unparalleled opportunity to test the still-evolving international justice system that began to take shape after World War II. The United Nations has found clear evidence that an array of war crimes and other violations of human rights and international law have been committed, according to an initial report by the Independent International Commission of Enquiry on Ukraine set up under the auspices of the United Nations earlier this year.

Not only is there an overwhelming number of cases, but abundant evidence, noted a European diplomat, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive issues. Technology has brought new means of documenting crimes, from the videos posted on social media by Russian and Ukrainian soldiers to satellite footage that reveals patterns of deliberate attacks on civilian targets.

The liberation of territory by Ukrainian troops has enabled investigators to obtain firsthand accounts and forensic evidence within days or weeks of the crimes being committed - rather than years, as has been the case with most previous attempts to put war criminals on trial. If Ukraine succeeds in retaking more territory, the number of cases could easily double, Ukrainian officials say.

There is extraordinary international interest in the effort to hold the perpetrators to account, surpassed only by the Nazi war crimes trials that followed World War II. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has deployed its biggest team yet to Ukraine. Human rights lawyers and advocacy groups have flooded into the country. The United Nations and European governments have opened investigations. The diplomat said he had counted at least 11 different investigations underway in Ukraine.

But there is a risk the entire effort will be weighed down by the sheer number of cases, the overlapping inquiries and the loopholes and contradictions of a still imperfect international judicial system, legal experts say. Whether there is a path to prosecuting the most senior figures who bear overall responsibility for the war, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, is increasingly in question, they say.

The Ukrainian authorities expect to try the overwhelming majority of the cases, Kostin said. International mechanisms have always been intended to complement and supplement national jurisdictions, stepping in where governments are unable or unwilling to carry out prosecutions of their own and bringing international accountability for the highest-level officials.

But for Ukraine to prosecute the 99 percent of cases that Kostin says he expects to take on is in itself a massive undertaking. Every day brings new reports of mass graves uncovered, torture chambers revealed and fresh missile strikes that kill civilians and destroy property. There are likely to be some duplications, but its still a huge number of cases, he said.

Take the example of just one mass grave discovered in the wake of the Russian retreat from the northeastern town of Izyum in September, said Wayne Jordash, a Ukraine-based human rights lawyer with Global Rights Compliance, one of the international organizations advising the Ukrainian government. To demonstrate that a war crime was committed will require detailed forensic examination of all the 400 bodies unearthed and the circumstances of their death, even before identifying the perpetrator, he said.

You can never investigate every single one of these cases. Some have to be prioritized, some have to be deprioritized, when you have a situation of such mass criminality as you have here, Jordash said.

His organization, and others helping the Ukrainian government, advocate grouping a number of crimes together into single cases. They might include, for example, the entirety of the killings committed in the vicinity of Bucha, outside Kyiv, where the forced Russian retreat last April drew attention to the scale of Russian atrocities taking place.

But Ukrainians insist it is important to hold to account every Russian soldier who transgressed the laws of war, no matter how small the crime or whether the perpetrators are in Ukrainian custody. The victims want justice, Kostin said.

Among the 86 indictments brought so far are one accusing a Russian soldier of stealing food and other possessions from a Ukrainian home and another against the wife of a Russian soldier for encouraging her husband to rape Ukrainian women, on the basis of personal hostility to Ukrainian society and contempt for Ukrainian women, according to records of the Office of the Prosecutor General.

There are also charges against a battalion commander who ordered subordinates to fire on fleeing civilians in Kharkiv, resulting in the death of at least one woman; two servicemen who raped a 16-year-old and the Russian minister for transport, accused of preparing the war and the illegal transportation of persons across Ukraines state borders  the highest-level civilian to be indicted.

The minister and the vast majority of the 86 suspects indicted so far are to be tried in absentia, according to figures provided by the office of the prosecutor general. There are no reports so far of investigations into possible Ukrainian war crimes.

We have to find a way to provide justice for all regardless of who they are, what social position they have and what level of crime they faced, said Oleksandra Matviichuk, whose organization, Ukraines Center for Civil Liberties, was a joint winner of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize for its work campaigning on behalf of war crimes victims.

There is, however, a risk of what Matviichuk called an accountability gap opening up, in which ordinary Russian soldiers are punished for acts committed in the pursuit of their orders to wage war while top leaders such as Putin continue to pursue the war with impunity. The 25 Russians convicted so far have been issued sentences ranging from 10 years to life imprisonment. According to figures provided by the Office of the Prosecutor General, only 18 of the 250 Russians for whom enough evidence has been gathered to lay charges are in Ukrainian custody, as prisoners of war.

Ukraine is meanwhile gathering evidence on high-level figures who could be indicted for committing violations of international law to pass on to international authorities, said Kostin. But Ukrainian law prohibits the admission of evidence that has not been gathered by Ukrainian investigators, rendering some of the international assistance that has poured into the country unhelpful, said Yuriy Bilousov, who heads the war crimes prosecution department of the prosecutors office.

Much of the evidence being gathered by foreign human rights organizations is being sent directly to the ICC, where it risks gathering dust, he said. The nongovernmental organizations are helpful but they could be more helpful if they gave us the information, he said. The ICC wasnt set up to prosecute every war crime. It would be more helpful if we could get the information immediately because we could try to find the Russian criminal.

Left unaddressed by all the inquiries is the crime of aggression, of waging war at all against a sovereign country. This counts as the mother of all war crimes, said Kostin. Without the invasion of Russian troops, the other war crimes wouldnt have been committed.

And it is the crime that would be easiest to prosecute, including at the highest levels of the Russian leadership, said Jordash. There is plenty of evidence, ranging from televised statements to the act of the invasion itself, that Putin and his ministers deliberately set about a war of aggression against Ukraine.

But for a variety of legal reasons, including that neither Ukraine nor Russia ratified the Rome Statute, which established the ICC, the ICC cant prosecute the crime of aggression.

Ukraine is campaigning for the creation of a special tribunal, along the lines of the tribunals established to prosecute war crimes in Rwanda and what was previously Yugoslavia. Kostin said his office has gathered evidence on 627 suspects, including ministers, generals and the members of the Russian Duma, or parliament, who voted for the war who could be put on trial for the crime of aggression.

But a special tribunal would have to be endorsed either by the United Nations Security Council, where Russia has veto power, or by the United Nations General Assembly, where it is unclear whether Ukraine could achieve a majority of votes. Broad international support, including from non-Western countries that have been hesitant to condemn Russias invasion, would be essential for the tribunal to have the legitimacy required to lend weight to its proceedings, said the European diplomat.

The European Union is leaning toward supporting such a proposal, but the United States has not yet decided whether to back a tribunal, said Beth van Schaack, the U.S. ambassador at large for war crimes. The Biden administration is interested in potentially supporting a new Dutch proposal to create an office for an interim prosecutor to gather evidence on the commission of crimes of aggression for use at a future date.

Ukraine is open to all suggestions that will bring about the best chance of justice, Bilousov said. There are as many opinions about how to go about this task as there are lawyers, he said.

The Washington Posts Serhiy Morgunov in Kyiv contributed to this report.
When Secretary of State Antony Blinken lands in Israel this week, he will step into a hotbed of violence and political strife, signs of the chronic challenges that have kept the Middle East among Americas most urgent global concerns despite the Biden administrations attempt to reengineer its foreign policy.

The diplomats visit to Israel and the West Bank will mark the highest-profile U.S. engagement to date with the new government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose far-right coalition, critics say, has taken steps to weaken Israels democratic system and further inflame the long-running Israeli-Palestinian conflict, generating global condemnation.

Brian Katulis, vice president of policy at the Middle East Institute, a Washington think tank, said the Biden administration initially sought to avoid deep involvement with a part of the world that dominated U.S. foreign policy for the two decades following the 9/11 attacks at great financial and human cost to Americans.

But if you dont do the region, it does you, Katulis said. So theyre now tying to find a pathway to keep it on the rails while remaining hesitant to invest relative to challenges like Russia and China.

Blinkens two-day stay coincides with a major flare-up in Israeli-Palestinian violence, following an Israeli raid that killed nine people in the West Bank and set off a cascade of bloodshed. The tense moment underscores the delicate course the Biden administration must tread as it attempts to sustain its most prized Middle Eastern alliance while also pushing back on what it sees as problematic moves by Netanyahus political partners and attempting to salvage a measure of stability with Palestinians.

A swift return to calm appears unlikely amid the renewed fighting that followed last weeks military operation in the Jenin refugee camp, the deadliest incident in the West Bank in two decades. The episode capped a near-daily series of raids, which Israeli authorities have used to seek out militants they say are stoking violence against Israelis.

The raid was followed by rocket fire from the Gaza Strip into Israel, and Israeli airstrikes on targets in Gaza, which is controlled by the Islamist movement Hamas. In response, the Palestinian Authority suspended security cooperation with the Israeli government. Then, on Friday, a Palestinian gunman killed at least seven people during evening prayers at an East Jerusalem synagogue in what Hamas called a quick response to the deaths in Jenin. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre denounced the heinous terror attack, which occurred on International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

While Blinkens arrival in Israel follows visits by CIA Director William J. Burns and national security adviser Jake Sullivan, his role as chief diplomat will allow him to convey a more public message of continued support for both parties at a moment when the Ukraine war and the White House focus on competing with China have triggered concerns that Washington could abandon the Middle East entirely.

Just last week, the U.S. and Israeli militaries concluded their largest-ever joint exercise. Despite a reduced footprint in Iraq and Syria, the Pentagon retains a network of bases across the region and, bucking criticism from some fellow Democrats, President Biden has maintained deep security ties with Saudi Arabia.

Blinkens tour also offers an opportunity to underscore Bidens position on key issues: his desire for a two-state solution between Israelis and the Palestinians, however remote that possibility now appears; his opposition to changes to the status quo on issues including the Temple Mount, a sensitive holy site; and his call for governance reforms by Palestinian authorities. Blinken is also scheduled to meet with Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, in Ramallah in the West Bank.

In articulating those positions, the Biden administration will highlight the areas where it has differed from the Trump administration, which took a less critical position toward Israels dealings with the Palestinians.

It is less clear how forcefully Blinken will press Netanyahu on political positions from certain elements of his coalition, some of whom have espoused anti-LGBT views or called for the annexation of the West Bank.

The most high-profile among them is Itamar Ben Gvir, the far-right politician whom Netanyahu appointed as national security minister. Ben Gvir - who also banned public display of the Palestinian flag, deeming it tantamount to supporting terrorism  ignited global criticism earlier this month when he made a rare visit to a Jerusalem site venerated by both Muslims and Jews. The Temple Mount visit defied warnings from within his own government and drew a U.S. rebuke.

Another test for Blinken will be his approach to proposed changes to Israels judiciary that critics say will demolish critical checks and balances. Those and other measures have prompted tens of thousands of Israelis to take to the streets in protest and elicited concerns from supporters of Israel in the United States. The measures, which would erode judicial power, occur as Netanyahu faces multiple corruption cases and deep questions about Israels political health following a series of elections that culminated in Netanyahus return to power for a third term.

Barbara Leaf, assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, declined to say in a call with reporters Thursday whether Blinken would push Netanyahu on the judicial proposals. Biden has made the promotion of democratic norms at a time of advancing autocracies a signature issue of his presidency.

David Makovsky, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said he expected Blinken and his advisers to raise their concerns to Netanyahus government in private.

The key, though, is what I call the Biden vibe: Work it out quietly; dont convene a press conference; dont thunder from a State Department podium, he said. There might be a few words out there, but I dont think they want to do anything that will be interpreted as publicly intervening in a domestic issue.

For some in Washington, Blinkens trip is likely to recall the unusual speech that Netanyahu gave before the U.S. House of Representatives in 2015 in which he issued a fiery denunciation of the Obama administrations nuclear deal with Iran. The address did lasting damage to the Israeli leaders relationship with many Democrats.

Makovsky said some public critiques from Blinken would probably be welcomed by Netanyahu, who could employ concerns articulated by Israels most important ally in his attempt to wrangle members of his unwieldy coalition.

Addressing the Biden administrations interactions with Netanyahu, Makovsky said: You should not rule out that there is some good cop, bad cop.

Shira Rubin contributed to this report from Jerusalem.
Bears, like us, know that its impossible to get a good selfie in one take. As one bear in Colorado demonstrated, you should probably take 400 to be safe.

Last week, the Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) department posted merely four of the selfies, taken in November, to give us a taste of the magic.

Recently, a bear discovered a wildlife camera that we use to monitor wildlife across #Boulder open space, they said in a tweet. Of the 580 photos captured, about 400 were bear selfies.

Shannon Aulabaugh, a spokesperson for OSMP, says most of the time, wildlife pass the camera without stopping. But for whatever reason, this bear paused for an extensive photo shoot.

The bears work is a master class in vacation photos. Chin tilts, smoldering eyes, a coy look over the shoulder.

The engagement is iconic, the confidence really comes through, said Andrew Matecki, a Los Angeles talent casting and art director, adding that the bear could work in the industry (should it like to) a long time, given its versatility.

She definitely knows her angles, said Los Angeles fashion photographer Amanda Sophia Rose. Shes really catching you, bringing you in, having direct eye contact to the camera  like shes done it before.

(While we know the bear is a natural in front of the camera, we dont know male or female as the bear did not take that kind of selfie, Aulabaugh added.)

The department has nine motion-detecting cameras set up in its 46,000-acre land system to study the local wildlife population from a safe distance. Once an animal is in their path, the cameras take a still photo and shoot 10- to 30-second videos. After dark, they use infrared light to illuminate critters, which causes less disturbance than a traditional flash. In addition to the photogenic bear, the cameras have also captured yipping coyotes, bobcats, mountain lions, eagles and prairie dogs.

John Hechtel with the International Association for Bear Research and Management - a group of nearly 500 bear biologists, managers, technicians, educators and conservation practitioners in more than 40 countries - says this kind of wild animal exposure is more than internet fodder; its an effective tool for conservation efforts. The hope is that the more the public engages with viral bears, the more theyll care about protecting bears and their habitats.

If the idea of seeing these creatures in the wild inspires you to plan a trip to Boulder, note that the likelihood of catching most of them is slim. The OMSP staff hardly ever sees them.

There are other places for bear spotting. Fans of Fat Bear Week - please tell us you already know about Fat Bear Week - travel all the way to one of the countrys most remote national parks in Katmai, Alaska, to see the colossal brown bears up close.

It should go without saying, if you do encounter a wild animal, do not attempt to take a selfie with it.

Should you prefer to admire wildlife from home, theres never been a better time to be an armchair fan.

Beyond Fat Bear Week, theres a growing supply of video cameras pointed at bear habitats around the world for your viewing pleasure. You can watch black bears in Minnesota, polar bears in Canada, rescued bears in a Romanian sanctuary. There are also the many animal-filled Instagram accounts to follow, like the National Park Service.
Broderick appealed a closure order issued over animal welfare concerns at her Doneraile dog-breeding establishment

Cork County Council are bracing themselves for a courtroom battle against puppy farmer Anne Broderick  after she appealed a closure order issued over animal welfare concerns at her Doneraile dog-breeding establishment.

The council refused to comment this week on local reports which claimed that a number of dogs had been removed from the property.

In a statement to the Sunday World, they confirmed thy are preparing for a showdown with Broderick in court.

Cork County Council is unable to comment on the specifics of this case as the matter is before the courts, a spokesperson said.

The Sunday World last week identified wealthy heiress Broderick  who inherited her fathers lands as part of his 11 million estate  as the owner of the Doneraile puppy farm ordered to close over shocking breaches of animal welfare legislation.

Inspectors who visited her dog-breeding establishment in Cork allege dogs were confined in undersized kennels in sub-zero temperatures with no access to bedding or heat-lamps; some were eating their own faeces and others had no access to clean drinking water.

They also allege they discovered 218 dogs, including 76 puppies, at the facility when they visited on December 12  even though Broderick had been licensed to keep a maximum number of 50 bitches.

Broderick, who was ordered to close her dog breeding establishment on the family farm with immediate effect, disputed the findings when approached by the Sunday World this week.

I have been wronged but youll have to speak to my solicitor All will be revealed in due course, she said.
Holly Newton, 15, of Haltwhistle, was found injured in the Priestpopple area of Hexham shortly after 5.10pm on Friday and later died in hospital.

A 16-year-old boy has been charged with the murder of a teenage girl who was stabbed to death in Northumberland.

Holly Newton, 15, of Haltwhistle, was found injured in the Priestpopple area of Hexham shortly after 5.10pm on Friday and later died in hospital.

A 16-year-old boy, who was also taken to hospital, suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

Another 16-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has been charged with murder, attempted murder and possession of an offensive weapon and will appear before magistrates in Newcastle on Monday.

The suspect and the victim were known to each other, police have said.

Northumbria Police said: "Holly still had so much left to look forward to in life, and this tragic incident has left her family devastated beyond words.

"Our thoughts are with both families involved and their loved ones as we continue to support them in every way we can.

"The investigation is ongoing, and we would like to thank the people of Hexham - and beyond - who have greatly assisted with our inquiries and shown their support.

"While our inquiries continue, we do believe all those involved are known to each other and there is no wider risk to the public.

"Officers will remain in the area over the coming days, and we would encourage anyone with concerns to speak directly with them."

A candle-lighting service has been held at Hexham Abbey so people could pay tribute to Holly, who lived in Haltwhistle, a market town about 15 miles west of Hexham.

Hexham mayor Derek Kennedy said everyone in the town, which was named the happiest place to live in Great Britain last year in a study by Rightmove, had been "knocked everyone for six", following the incident.

On Sunday, he told the PA news agency: "The whole town is still coming to terms with this, it's been a massive shock.

"I was at Hexham Abbey where they've held a service for Holly, I lit a candle as did other people to pay tribute.

"A young girl who's just starting life and attending the local high school, starting her education and getting out there, it's just terrible, as a town we pay tribute to her.

"It's going to have a big impact on all the schoolchildren when they go back on Monday because one of their own won't be coming back ever again."
The alarm was raised at around 3pm when a couple out walking found the body at White Strand beach between Doonaha and Carrigaholt

Gardai in Clare are investigating the discovery of a mans body on a beach in the southwest of the county this afternoon.

The alarm was raised at around 3pm when a couple out walking found the body at White Strand beach between Doonaha and Carrigaholt on the north shore of the Shannon Estuary.

Gardai were initially dispatched to the scene while volunteers from the Kilkee unit of the Irish Coast Guard were also tasked. On arrival at the scene, Gardai located the body of a male on the shoreline around the high water mark.

Members of the Clare Divisional Crime Scene Investigation unit were also sent to the scene where they photographed the body in situ and also examined the area around the body.

The mans remains were later recovered by Gardai and Coast Guard volunteers from the beach to an access road to wait for a doctor to arrive and formally pronounce the man dead.

The body was later removed by hearse to the mortuary at University Hospital Limerick where a post-mortem examination will be carried out.

Gardai are understood to be investigating the possibility that the man may have suffered a fall.

A Garda spokesperson confirmed: Gardai are investigating all the circumstances following the discovery of a body of a male at White Strand beach, Doonaha, Co. Clare, at approximately 3pm this afternoon.

"His body has since been removed to the morgue at University Hospital Limerick where a post-mortem will take place at a later date, the results of which will determine the course of the investigation.
The students who had died were aged between seven and 12 years, according to a list shared with Reuters by the district's commissioner.

At least 10 children were killed on Sunday when a boat carrying religious school students capsized in the Tanda dam in northwest Pakistan, officials said, as rescue efforts continued.

Another six were injured and had been taken to hospital, according to Furqan Khan, the deputy commissioner of Kohat district in northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province where the accident took place.

The victims were young students at a nearby religious school, Khan said. More students were missing, said the officials who did not provide details on how many.

The students who had died were aged between seven and 12 years, according to a list shared with Reuters by the district's commissioner.

Khan said there had been incidents in the past and police had closed the dam for recreational trips.

Video footage by local broadcasters and on social media showed rescuers in the water.

The accident came the same day as a bus accident in southern Pakistan that killed more than 40 people.
His appearance in early-voting states marks the first campaign appearances since he announced his latest run more than two months ago.

Former President Donald Trump speaks during the New Hampshire Republican State Committee 2023 (AP)   Reba Saldanha

Former US president Donald Trump has kicked off his 2024 White House bid with a stop in New Hampshire before heading to South Carolina.

His appearance in early-voting states marks the first campaign appearances since he announced his latest run more than two months ago.

Mr Trump told party leaders at the New Hampshire Republicans annual meeting in Salem: Were starting right here as a candidate for president.

Im more angry now and Im more committed now than I ever was.

Mr Trump and his allies hope the events in states with enormous power in selecting the nominee will offer a show of force behind the former president after a sluggish start to his campaign that left many questioning his commitment to running again.

Mr Trump with Republican chiefs in New Hampshire (AP)   Reba Saldanha

In recent weeks, his backers have reached out to political operatives and elected officials to secure support for Mr Trump at a critical point when other Republicans are preparing their own expected challenges.

In New Hampshire, Mr Trump promoted his campaign agenda, including immigration and crime, and said his policies would be the opposite of President Joe Bidens.

He cited the Democrats move to change the election calendar, costing New Hampshire its lead-off primary spot, and accused Mr Biden, a fifth-place finisher in New Hampshire in 2020, of disgracefully trashing this beloved political tradition.

I hope youre going to remember that during the general election, Mr Trump told party members.

Mr Trump himself twice won the primary, but lost the state each time to Democrats.

While Mr Trump remains the only declared 2024 presidential candidate, potential challengers, including Florida governor Ron DeSantis, former vice president Mike Pence and former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, who was Mr Trumps ambassador to the United Nations, are expected to get their campaign underway in the coming months.

In South Carolina, governor Henry McMaster, US senator Lindsey Graham and several members of the states congressional delegation planned to attend Mr Trumps event at the Statehouse in Columbia to introduce his leadership team for the state.

The crowd listens as former president Donald Trump speaks in New Hampshire (AP)   Reba Saldanha

Mr Trumps team has struggled to line up support from South Carolina legislators, even some who eagerly backed him before.

Some have said that more than a year out from primary balloting is too early to make endorsements or that they are waiting to see who else enters the race. Others have said it is time for the party to move past Mr Trump to a new generation of leadership.

The South Carolina event, set for a government building, was in some ways off-brand for a onetime reality television star who typically favours big rallies and has tried to cultivate an outsider image.

Rallies are expensive, and Mr Trump added new financial challenges when he decided to begin his campaign in November  far earlier than many had urged.

That leaves him subject to strict fundraising regulations and bars him from using his well-funded leadership political action committee to pay for such events, which can cost several million dollars.

Mr Trumps campaign, in its early stages, has already drawn controversy, most particularly when he had dinner with Holocaust-denying white nationalist Nick Fuentes and the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, who had made a series of antisemitic comments.

The former president also was widely mocked for selling a series of digital trading cards that pictured him as a superhero, a cowboy and an astronaut, among others.

He is the subject of a series of criminal investigations, including one into the discovery of hundreds of documents with classified markings at his Florida club, and whether he obstructed justice by refusing to return them, as well as state and federal examinations of his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, which he lost to Mr Biden.

However, Mr Trump remains the only announced 2024 candidate, and early polling shows he is one of the favourites to win his partys nomination.
I dont think it matters what I do on Dancing With The Stars, whether I win the trophy or set the dance world alight I dont think theyre going to be changing their minds about queer people in the world.

Hes the first celebrity to dance in a same-sex couple on Dancing With The Stars, but Rory ONeill doesnt think he will change negative opinions  especially Enoch Burkes.

I think Enoch and his family would consider me a lost cause, said Rory, aka Panti Bliss.

I dont think it matters what I do on Dancing With The Stars, whether I win the trophy or set the dance world alight I dont think theyre going to be changing their minds about queer people in the world.

Evangelical Christian Burke has this week been standing outside the school he was fired from, having already spent 108 days in Mountjoy for refusing to purge a contempt of court.

Panti with pro dancer Denys Samson

Mr Burke told a court that by agreeing to comply with the order would amount to an acceptance by him of trans people.

On whether a shot on the next series could be on the cards for the teacher, Rory laughed: Well, he would have to dance very close with another human being in sexual poses; I do not believe that Mammy would be thrilled about it.

A rumour that the drag queen will some day enter politics or make a run for president has long followed Panti, but Rory firmly ruled out a bid for the Aras.

Its hard for me to behave. And I think, to get into politics, you have to behave.

Panti with pro dancer Denys Samson

On Dancing With The Stars they practically have to separately employ somebody to run over and tell me to stop talking when Im not supposed to be talking and stop making funny faces behind whoever is being interviewed.

If they wanted me to behave, I wouldnt have been invited on the show. Nobody invites me anywhere expecting me to behave.

PantiBar has been the destination for a number of post-show parties for the Dancing With The Stars celebs  and former State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy is always the first out and last to leave along with Eurovision star Brooke Scullion.

Rory says the support on the show has surprised him, confessing that he hadnt really watched it properly before, but now viewers stop him on the street.

However, the gay rights activist is no stranger to nasty comments online. But he admits that despite being prepared for the droves of trolls that would come during the show, they never arrived.

Panti with pro dancer Denys Samson

Homophobes and all that arent watching Dancing With The Stars! I dont think the viewership encompasses that, he said.

If you have a problem with people being gay, its not really the show for you, is it? All of the glitter and sequins and all of that.

Rory co-founded PantiBar in 2007 and has been public about the homophobic attacks that have targeted the Dublin gay bar.

One of the only silver linings is that people are finally beginning to take the threat [of right wing individuals] seriously because members of certain groups in the world at the moment  weve been taking it seriously for quite a while, the Mayo native said.

[PantiBar] has been attacked. The bar has had windows broken, Weve had graffiti. We get weird letters and nonsense all the time. And, of course, on Twitter  stuff there sometimes is absolutely horrifying.

Enoch Burke

More and more, people are fully prepared to have their name and face out there. So the people involved in anti-immigrant protests are well-known to me. Theyre not new names or new faces.

Obviously, I have the gay vote locked up, he laughs. But quite a lot of ladies of a certain age tell me that me and Dr Marie are their favourites.

Now they might be just saying that to me and really their favourite is Dr Marie but I suspect that the fact were the two oldest contestants probably has something to do with it.
The twin pop duo (31) went out for dinner in London on Saturday night with their pal, The Only Way Is Essex star Gemma Collins, to celebrate her birthday.

Jedward were left starstruck this weekend after dining in the same restaurant as a Hollywood star.

The twin pop duo (31), whose real names are John and Edward Grimes, went out for dinner in London on Saturday night with their pal, The Only Way Is Essex star Gemma Collins, to celebrate her birthday.

But when they arrived at the swanky venue, they realised they were sitting a few tables away from Top Gun actor Tom Cruise.

Jedward were delighted with their celeb spotting and took to Twitter on their joint account to share a photo of the 60-year-old, who appeared to be enjoying some food and drinks with four friends.

Tom cruise next to our table tonight lol, they wrote alongside the photo of Cruise mid-conversation with his pals.

Tom cruise next to our table tonight lol pic.twitter.com/xPuyJnRtsG  JEDWARD (@planetjedward) January 29, 2023

The chance encounter was the cherry on top of Jedwards weekend, as the pair flew over to England to join Gemma in celebrating her 42nd birthday.

While the reality star doesnt actually turn another year older until January 31, she decided to kick off the festivities early with an extravagant party.

She even dyed her signature blonde locks pink for the occasion as she amped up the camp in a black sequined jumpsuit and matching headpiece with neon pink feathers.

Jedward paid tribute to their queen by sharing a birthday selfie of the unlikely trio and writing: Happy Birthday to the iconic Jepic Queen Gemma Collins she's now rocking Pink hair it's so her and completely represents her energy and vibes! Super Happy to be celebrating her birthday."

It comes after Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon accused Jedward of nicking his hairstyle.

Let me clear this up once and for all, he told the Irish Sun.

No, Im not Jedwards dad, but I am a Jedhead, and if I ever meet the lads all I want to ask is why did you nick my hair?

Regardless, the artist formerly known as Johnny Rotten said he loves them very much and doesn't understand why so many people are not fans.

I know what its like for Jedward because I have had professional knockers all my life.

Id just like to know what have Jedward ever done that was so wrong? Their only crime is they robbed my hair. Id like to ask them about that.
Residents of two flooded houses in Tauranga are unable to return to their homes today following a dramatic boat rescue by Police on Saturday morning.

The water level is higher today, says Kathleen Wright, who only started renting her property on Redwood Lane about two months ago.

Kathleen, who owns the Good Grub and Grill food caravan on Belk Road, her daughter and her daughters boyfriend, have been taken in by friends in Ohauiti while they wait out a return to their Tauriko home which sits near the Wairoa River.

We are lucky we had people stepping in to help us, says Kathleen.

The paddocks between the Wairoa River and creek were flooded. Photo: Kathleen Wright.

The ordeal started about 5.30am on Saturday.

I tried to make coffee but there was no power. I could hear a sound like a squashing noise.

She opened her back door to look out.

Because of the noise I turned my phone light on and saw water everywhere. The noise was coming from rabbits and wildlife trying to get to safety.

She saw about six rabbits.

Its like Watership Down there at the best of times, with the number of rabbits around. I didnt see where the bunnies went, as they took off around the house when they saw me.

Water quickly rose throughout the house. Photo: Kathleen Wright.

Kathleen says that within about five minutes the water started coming in through the door.

I got the kids up and within a few minutes the water was ankle deep.

The cars were parked outside, and we managed to move them up another driveway to another house up a hill. The water was about a foot deep by that stage. It happened so fast.

On the way back to the house she spotted a hedgehog trying to swim.

I rescued that, lost my shirt then because I used it to pick the hedgehog up.

Back at the house, they quickly packed a bag each and got as much electronics up as high as they could, then took their two kittens with them back up the hill.

When we went to leave there was a rabbit out the front of the house trying to get in. The water was coming up rapidly by then, it was only ten minutes later.

She realised that her neighbour who owns horses and was away, had her house high enough above the flood, but still had a shed in a lower paddock that was going under water.

I went next door to wake up her teenagers and then went with them to help rescue their mums saddles out of the sheds. The water in their paddock was waist high by then.

Police arrived by boat. Photo: Kathleen Wright.

On returning to her own house, she found the water was about a foot and a half deep.

The carpet was floating, everything was floating. There were two rabbits on top of the floating carpet so I picked them up and put them on the couch which was also floating.

They took what they could up to where their cars were parked on higher ground.

I ended up going back to try and get some more dry clothes and grabbed the kitty litter box.

There was only one bunny left on the couch, I carried it out in a crate with a blanket and let it go under the deck up the hill.

One of the rabbits taken to a higher dry spot away from the flood. Photo: Kathleen Wright.

After getting everyone out safely, Kathleen realised that all her photos and family heirlooms stored under her bed as well as her daughters artwork would end up being destroyed by the water.

It was all about the priority of getting out. We were thinking about what clothes do we need.

They were warned not to try crossing the creek so sat tight on the hilltop with the kittens and cars.

We couldnt get out, it was like being on an island.

The house, shed and paddocks sitting in the flood. Photo: Kathleen Wright.

Emergency Services arrived about 11.30am.

We got boated out by police. The current had come up quickly and receded but the current from the creek and Wairoa River was full on, with lots of water and was very dangerous.

The family has lost all their household items  furniture and major appliances, but Kathleen has already made an insurance claim.

On Sunday she found the two houses are still flooded.

We tried to get down there today but our cars are on the other side of the water so we dont have any vehicles. And the water level is higher today, says Kathleen.

The flooding was up another six inches about 7am this morning and high tide was between 2-3pm.

She is hoping that at low tide they may be able to get back in.

Theres massive trees on top of fences, so even getting the cars out isnt going to be simple.

Good Grub and Grill is a popular food caravan in Belk Road. Photo: Facebook.

Not one for being held back by any calamity, Kathleen posted to her Good Grub and Grill Facebook page with the message: " Hey community.. I hope you all are safe and OK. We've had one hell of a morning.. Our home has been flooded and police got us out by boat. Due to this, I've decided to take a night off. So will be closed this evening. Hopefully see you next week."
Bay of Plenty

We are looking for hard working labourers who would like to learn how to fumigate logs on the port - all training provided....



View or Apply on GoodWork.co.nz
UPDATE 9.43AM: State Highway 26 north of Te Aroha is open, however there is still some water on the road, says police.

Motorists are asked to drive with extreme care in the weather conditions and avoid travel if possible.

EARLIER 6.17AM:

SH26 has been closed 5km north of Te Aroha as the Waihou river has burst its banks.

Police urge motorists to avoid travel in that area, says a police spokesperson.

"Motorists are encouraged to visit the Waka Kotahi Journey Planner website  www.journeys.nzta.govt.nz  before they travel for real-time travel information, and updates on delays, roadworks and road closures."

According to the NZTA, there are no highway closures in the Tauranga/Western Bay of Plenty areas.

Many roads may still be affected by flooding and slips, so motorists are advised to drive with care.

In the Coromnadel, SH25 is closed between Pohue Creek Rd, Waiomu, and Tapu Coroglen Rd, Tapu. Delay your journey.

SH25A is closed after the road washed away due to heavy rain.

Due to multiple slips, SH25 is closed between Coromandel and Whitianga.
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BattleHardened Newbie

Join Date: Dec 2022 Location: Delhi Cantt Posts: 5 Thanked: 69 Times

Solo Spiti Circuit in my Tata Hexa XTA . I set off for Jibhi from Rajdhani on my 2019 HEXA XTA.



To avoid the bad bad Delhi traffic, I set off early morning and was crossed Narkanda at around 1600h as I prefer to drive at mediocre speeds on the winding mountain roads firstly to tackle frontal traffic and secondly to enjoy the majestic views. I halted at some place just short of Kumarsain. Had a good night sleep just opposite to Delhi where the heat was just killing.



Next morning when I was about to cross Kumarsain; the T-Junction, onto the left of which was the road Jhalori Pass & the straight one went the gateway to Kinnaur Valley, I halted for a mandated hot cup of tea. There was still a lurk in my hear to go straight as I still had not been to Spiti Valley and my mind said take left as you had planned. As always, my heart defeated my mind and I decided to head to Spiti.



The only doubt that had was "Is my SILVERSTONE (as I call my Hexa) capable of taking the abuse?" But I moved on. I drove through Chitkul, Kalpa, topped up at Reckong Peo, went till the last motorable village of Pin Valley i.e. Mud, did my top up again at Kaza after visiting all the nearby attractions and finally moved towards Chandratal. The roads were all good till Kaza barring the one in Pin Valley which was a gravel, but easily manageable by even sedans barring a patch or two. But I knew the real challenge would be once I left Kaza for Chandratal and the track beyond Batal as I did keep an ambitious goal of going to Chandratal and then hitting Manali on the same day.



I cranked early morning at 0430 and I was on the base of Kumzum La by 0700. I started the climb and this was going to be the real test of character of my SILVERSTONE. I reached on top with comfort and nowhere I could sense that she found any difficulty to negotiate a bad patch. As I moved towards Chandratal there was a water crossing with around 2-2.5 feet water level and there was none on any of its banks, but shifting to Manual mode, I took the dare and she responded aptly. I reached the camping site before Chandratal well in time and the Police guy praised my car of its road presence. I was running against time as I wanted to negotiate all major water crossings before late afternoon to mitigate the rising water levels as my SILVERSTONE is two wheel powered. Pumped up by the Police man's remarks, I pulled the throttle a bit, as took the next hairpin bend, a sharp ground embedded stone pierced the FR tyre and there was a huge sound of leaking air from the tyre.



Luckily or Unluckily, there was space to park it keeping the other lane open. Those who've travelled on such isolated roads would know why I used the word UNLUCKY. I had the puncture kit with me along with tyre inflator, but the hole was large. I decided to put on the Stepney. I tried to remove the punctured tyre, but it was jammed and was not ready to come out. Vehicles and bikes crossed by me but none stopped. What if I have to stay here, I thought. I didn't have any sleeping bag or anything to eat. Finally after almost two hours of struggle an Innova Taxi stopped and the driver helped me, he even injured his thumb in the process, but we succeeded. My only cause of worry was that I had completely overshot the timelines that I had set to cross the water bodies enroute. It was already 1200. One option was to stay at Chandratal camps but I decided otherwise and moved on, as I was alone and this much risk was meant to be taken to term the trip as ADVENTUROUS.



I reached Batal at approximately 2 pm. Had a hot cup of tea and asked the local vendor as to whether it would be feasible to move ahead now. He blatantly told a big NO for 4x2 vehicles. Now was the last decesion dilemma as to "Do I move ahead or stay here" as no more vehicles were moving ahead. Having faith on my

SILVERSTONE, I decided to move again. This time my heart was beating at double the pace. The condition of the track was really bad, now was the real test of its character. I was inching forward as I didn't have any spare shoe for her now. She crossed each water body like the previous one and finally once I reached Gramphu in the evening, the sun was already set. It also started to pour down a bit, although a drizzle only, but loose rocks started tumbling down from the mountain side on to the track. This was the most difficult situation. The adventures were not ready to end only. They must be saying "First you chose us now we've chosen you". But God was kind that I hit Gramphu (the blacktop road head) without any mishap.

I finally hit Manali after dusk and stayed in Kullu for that night.



Posting some pictures from the trip to compensate for the poor writing skills.



P.S.

1. Such ventures to be tried on self only.

2. Wheels to be removed and tightened before such trips, if they're planned



Somewhere between Gramphu & Koksar





This view just took my heart





Bidding my Final Adieu to such lovely picturesque views





Early Morning Views at Kumzum La





A must picture at Kaza





The depth of Mountains





Langza Statue, a must





Such Views





Simple & Colourful





Inside the Pin Valley National Park





Basking in the Sun





Taming the terrain





A Night's view at Kalpa





The Gateway to Spiti





Mandatory Picture of Buddhist Flags





Between Reckong Peo & Rakcham





The beautiful Sangla Valley

Summers of 2022 were a big unleash after a 2 Year COVID blockade. We (My family) had already made a trip to Uttarakhand and my wife alongwith the kiddo wanted to spend some time with her parents in Jun first week and I never had a second thought to encash the opportunity. I set off for Jibhi from Rajdhani on my 2019 HEXA XTA.To avoid the bad bad Delhi traffic, I set off early morning and was crossed Narkanda at around 1600h as I prefer to drive at mediocre speeds on the winding mountain roads firstly to tackle frontal traffic and secondly to enjoy the majestic views. I halted at some place just short of Kumarsain. Had a good night sleep just opposite to Delhi where the heat was just killing.Next morning when I was about to cross Kumarsain; the T-Junction, onto the left of which was the road Jhalori Pass & the straight one went the gateway to Kinnaur Valley, I halted for a mandated hot cup of tea. There was still a lurk in my hear to go straight as I still had not been to Spiti Valley and my mind said take left as you had planned. As always, my heart defeated my mind and I decided to head to Spiti.The only doubt that had was "Is my SILVERSTONE (as I call my Hexa) capable of taking the abuse?" But I moved on. I drove through Chitkul, Kalpa, topped up at Reckong Peo, went till the last motorable village of Pin Valley i.e. Mud, did my top up again at Kaza after visiting all the nearby attractions and finally moved towards Chandratal. The roads were all good till Kaza barring the one in Pin Valley which was a gravel, but easily manageable by even sedans barring a patch or two. But I knew the real challenge would be once I left Kaza for Chandratal and the track beyond Batal as I did keep an ambitious goal of going to Chandratal and then hitting Manali on the same day.I cranked early morning at 0430 and I was on the base of Kumzum La by 0700. I started the climb and this was going to be the real test of character of my SILVERSTONE. I reached on top with comfort and nowhere I could sense that she found any difficulty to negotiate a bad patch. As I moved towards Chandratal there was a water crossing with around 2-2.5 feet water level and there was none on any of its banks, but shifting to Manual mode, I took the dare and she responded aptly. I reached the camping site before Chandratal well in time and the Police guy praised my car of its road presence. I was running against time as I wanted to negotiate all major water crossings before late afternoon to mitigate the rising water levels as my SILVERSTONE is two wheel powered. Pumped up by the Police man's remarks, I pulled the throttle a bit, as took the next hairpin bend, a sharp ground embedded stone pierced the FR tyre and there was a huge sound of leaking air from the tyre.Luckily or Unluckily, there was space to park it keeping the other lane open. Those who've travelled on such isolated roads would know why I used the word UNLUCKY. I had the puncture kit with me along with tyre inflator, but the hole was large. I decided to put on the Stepney. I tried to remove the punctured tyre, but it was jammed and was not ready to come out. Vehicles and bikes crossed by me but none stopped. What if I have to stay here, I thought. I didn't have any sleeping bag or anything to eat. Finally after almost two hours of struggle an Innova Taxi stopped and the driver helped me, he even injured his thumb in the process, but we succeeded. My only cause of worry was that I had completely overshot the timelines that I had set to cross the water bodies enroute. It was already 1200. One option was to stay at Chandratal camps but I decided otherwise and moved on, as I was alone and this much risk was meant to be taken to term the trip as ADVENTUROUS.I reached Batal at approximately 2 pm. Had a hot cup of tea and asked the local vendor as to whether it would be feasible to move ahead now. He blatantly told a big NO for 4x2 vehicles. Now was the last decesion dilemma as to "Do I move ahead or stay here" as no more vehicles were moving ahead. Having faith on mySILVERSTONE, I decided to move again. This time my heart was beating at double the pace. The condition of the track was really bad, now was the real test of its character. I was inching forward as I didn't have any spare shoe for her now. She crossed each water body like the previous one and finally once I reached Gramphu in the evening, the sun was already set. It also started to pour down a bit, although a drizzle only, but loose rocks started tumbling down from the mountain side on to the track. This was the most difficult situation. The adventures were not ready to end only. They must be saying "First you chose us now we've chosen you". But God was kind that I hit Gramphu (the blacktop road head) without any mishap.I finally hit Manali after dusk and stayed in Kullu for that night.Posting some pictures from the trip to compensate for the poor writing skills.P.S.1. Such ventures to be tried on self only.2. Wheels to be removed and tightened before such trips, if they're plannedSomewhere between Gramphu & KoksarThis view just took my heartBidding my Final Adieu to such lovely picturesque viewsEarly Morning Views at Kumzum LaA must picture at KazaThe depth of MountainsLangza Statue, a mustSuch ViewsSimple & ColourfulInside the Pin Valley National ParkBasking in the SunTaming the terrainA Night's view at KalpaThe Gateway to SpitiMandatory Picture of Buddhist FlagsBetween Reckong Peo & RakchamThe beautiful Sangla Valley Last edited by Aditya : 28th January 2023 at 05:54 .
Sony's camera productions have been shifted to Thailand.

(Photo : Photo by BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP via Getty Images)

The logo of Sony is pictured at the entrance of the company's headquarters in Tokyo on March 4, 2022, after it was announced Sony and Honda would team up to start a new company that will develop and sell electric vehicles. (Photo by Behrouz MEHRI / AFP)

The Japanese consumer electronics manufacturer confirmed that its cameras for non-China markets would no longer be made-in-China.

Sony Group started to shift its camera productions after tensions between Beijing and Washington worsened.

Because of this, the giant tech manufacturer decided to move its camera productions to Thailand.

Cameras manufactured in this country will be sold in the United States, Europe, and Japan.

Sony Shifts Camera Productions to Thailand

According to Nikkei Asia's latest report, Sony Group wants to protect its supply chains by reducing its dependency on China.

(Photo : Photo credit should read KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP via Getty Images)

Sony employee displays a new single lens reflex (SLR) digital camera 'Alpha 55', equipped with a 16.20 mega-pixel "Exmor" APS HD CMOS image sensor to make low-noize images with high sensitivity, up to ISO 25,600 during a press preview in Tokyo on August 24, 2010. Sony will put it on the market in September 10. AFP PHOTO

Also Read: Sony Could Skip 'Slim' Version and Go Straight to PS6 and PS6 Pro, Per Rumors

In 2022, the company has already completed its production facility transitions in Thailand for the cameras bound for European and Japanese markets.

But, the camera maker clarified that it has no plans of completely leaving China. Sony explained that it will still focus on the Chinese market.

While Sony cameras for U.S., European, and Japanese markets will be produced in Thailand, other products, such as consoles, camera lenses, and TVs, will still be manufactured in China.

Other Camera Makers Moving to Thailand

Aside from Sony Group, Nikon also made a huge production transition after it decided to shift its camera manufacturing operations to Thailand back in 2020.

Inverse reported that Nikon has been producing its camera bodies in Japan for over 70 years.

However, this ended in 2020 after the company confirmed its Thailand transition.

Unlike Sony Group, which sells its sensor technology to Apple and other smartphone manufacturers, Nikon has no reselling business.

This made it harder for the camera maker to recover from the effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

You can click this link to learn more about Nikon's camera production in Thailand.

Other stories we recently wrote about Sony's business activities:

Recently, the new Sony-WSA Audiology partnership has been confirmed.

We also reported that Sony's Xperia 5 IV was unveiled back in 2022.

For more news updates about Sony and its other camera production activities, keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.

Related Article: Sony's Latest Cinema Camera to Bring Swappable Lenses to PTZ Cameras with the New FR7

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Japan and the Netherlands have joined the United States in an effort to restrict exports of advanced chip-manufacturing equipment to China, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The agreement, reached in a meeting between top national security officials from the three countries, is a response to the Biden administration's efforts to curb China's military development by reducing its access to advanced technologies.

The move comes after the US decided in October to put a lot of restrictions on exporting high-tech chips and equipment made by US companies.

Dutch and Japanese Governments Support China Chip Ban

The Netherlands will prevent ASML Holding from selling specific immersion lithography machines to China, while Japan will set similar limits on Nikon.

The agreement has the support of both the Japanese and Dutch governments, which is crucial for the success of the US's export-control policy. President Biden held a meeting with the leaders of both countries to discuss the measures.

PCMAG reports that the negotiations were led by US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and included representatives from both Japan and the Netherlands, such as Takeo Akiba, Alan Estevez, and Tarun Chhabra.

Despite the agreement, it could take some time for the restrictions to be implemented. The Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met with President Biden recently to discuss the export limits.

ASML and Nikon

ASML and Nikon are major semiconductor equipment manufacturers based in the Netherlands and Japan, respectively.

Japan's Economy, Trade, and Industry Minister, Yasutoshi Nishimura, stated that the country is discussing additional export controls with the United States. However, the countries' reliance on Chinese business makes them wary of enacting policies that may stifle their markets.

The agreement to restrict exports of advanced chip-manufacturing equipment is a significant development in China's and the West's technology race.

WSJ tells us that it also demonstrates the growing cooperation between the United States and its allies in countering China's technological advances. The restrictions are expected to slow China's military development and limit its access to advanced technologies, which is of great concern to the United States and its allies.

EU on the US-China Chip War

The European Union, Japan, and South Korea are working more closely with the US to counter China's contentious technological progress. China does a lot of business with these countries, so the partnership is essential for the US's export-control policy to work.

Read Also: iPhone Theft Incidents 2023: Pickpocketing Group Member Targets Disneyland! Here's What Happened

On January 27, the European Union issued a statement in response to the US effort to halt the export of semiconductor-making supplies to China, stating that they, along with the US, could not allow China access to the most advanced technologies.

Thierry Breton, EU Internal Market Commissioner, stated at the Center for Strategic and International Studies that the US fully supports the EU's plan to choke off China's semiconductor industry.

"We fully agree with the objective of depriving China of the most advanced chips. You will always find Europe by your side when it comes to ensuring our common security in technology, " Breton stated.

Stay posted here at Tech Times.

Related Article: EU Supports US on Blocking Exports of Chip-Making Supplies to China

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
INTERVIEW - Four years ago, on April 15, 2019, the spire of the famous cathedral collapsed under the onslaught of flames. Since then, the renovation of Notre-Dame has been underway, and in 2023, a team of researchers present on the site was able to find and date iron staples, which make it possible to consolidate the stone structure of the building. The opportunity to return to the history of the reconstruction of Notre-Dame, with Mathieu Lours, architectural historian and specialist in religious buildings, guest of Virginie Girod in Au Coeur de l'Histoire. The construction of Notre Dame began in 1160 and was almost completed nearly a century later. In the nineteenth century, when the architect Viollet-le-Duc discovered Notre-Dame, the building was in very poor condition. He then decided to renovate it and add the famous spire of Notre-Dame. For Mathieu Lours, despite the age of this monument, "Notre-Dame remains one of the least well-known cathedrals. They hadn't been put in there since 1864 for structural restorations. Beyond belief, beyond the imaginary, beyond our relationship to history, every man sees in Our Lady a cathedral of the imagination." "Au Cur de l'Histoire" is a Europe 1 Studio production.
The spokesperson said that China is highly concerned about the recent escalation of tension between Palestine and Israel, and is very saddened by the civilian casualties caused by the Palestine-Israel conflict. It condemns all terrorist attacks against civilians and opposes excessive use of force. The top priority at the moment is to make every effort to cool down the situation. We call on all parties concerned, especially the Israeli side, to remain calm and exercise restraint to prevent the situation from spiraling and escalating or even getting out of control.

China News Agency, Beijing, January 29th. In response to the recent escalation of the situation between Palestine and Israel, the spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on January 29th that the top priority is to fully promote the cooling of the situation. Exercise restraint to prevent the situation from spiraling and escalating or even getting out of control.

A reporter asked, recently, the tension between Palestine and Israel has escalated and violent conflicts have continued.

On January 26, Israeli troops clashed violently with Palestinians in the West Bank city of Jenin, killing more than a dozen Palestinians.

On the 27th, a terrorist attack occurred at a religious site in East Jerusalem, causing civilian casualties.

what opinions do the Chinese have on this issue?

The spokesperson said that China is highly concerned about the recent escalation of tension between Palestine and Israel, and is very saddened by the civilian casualties caused by the Palestine-Israel conflict. It condemns all terrorist attacks against civilians and opposes excessive use of force.

The top priority at the moment is to make every effort to cool down the situation. We call on all parties concerned, especially the Israeli side, to remain calm and exercise restraint to prevent the situation from spiraling and escalating or even getting out of control.

The spokesperson pointed out that the recurring Palestine-Israel conflict is rooted in the fact that the "two-state solution" has not yet been implemented, and the reasonable aspirations of the Palestinian people for an independent state cannot be realized for a long time.

The international community should increase its sense of urgency and create conditions for the resumption of dialogue and negotiations between Palestine and Israel.

China will continue to make unremitting efforts to promote a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement of the Palestine issue.

(Finish)
#Lima Lamentamos el fallecimiento de Victor Santisteban Yacsavilca en las manifestaciones violentas de hoy, la jefatura de guardia del Hospital de Emergencias Grau coordina con @FiscaliaPeru para las diligencia de acuerdo a ley. (1/3) pic.twitter.com/VCvbLnod6D
UN chief calls for actions to stop online hate speech, extremism

Xinhua) 15:37, January 29, 2023

UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday urged the establishment of "guardrails" to prevent hate speech, extremism and misinformation.

"The online world is one of the main reasons that hate speech, extreme ideologies and misinformation are disseminating so fast around the world," said the UN chief, calling on all those involved to do more to stop the spread, and set up enforceable "guardrails."

At a UN ceremony to mark the Holocaust at the UN headquarters in New York, the top UN official warned that antisemitism, hate speech, and misinformation are ever-present, 90 years after the rise of the Nazi Party in Germany.

The UN chief noted that people are living in a world in which an economic crisis is breeding discontent, populist demagogues are using the crisis to win votes, and "misinformation, paranoid conspiracy theories, and unchecked hate speech" are rampant.

He warned that social media platforms and their advertisers are complicit in moving extremism to the mainstream, turning many parts of the Internet into "toxic waste dumps for hate and vicious lies."

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
11:39 | Lima, Jan. 29.

Likewise, it stated that, according to the Social Health Insurance System (EsSalud) , the victim was treated at Grau Emergency Hospital for a blunt force injury behind the ear caused by a blow.
If proof was needed that spending public money on the arts can be a good investment, the once controversial purchase of Jackson Pollocks Blue poles provides a great example. When the National Gallery of Australia purchased the abstract expressionist painting for $1.3 million in 1973, the philistine tabloid papers splashed headlines claiming the artist painted it while drunk.

Gough Whitlam visiting Blue poles, which was purchased by the National Gallery of Australia in 1973. Credit: David Bartho.

Yet as Linda Morris reports today, the painting is now an unquestioned masterpiece and has increased in value to $500 million.

This bumper return should be on Arts Minister Tony Burkes mind on Monday when he releases a long-awaited national cultural policy. After a decade in which the Coalition ran the arts down and sometimes traduced them as the playground of left-wing cultural elites, Burke has a chance to spur a renaissance of sorts.

The new policy will be welcome but he should also back it up with cash because, like Blue poles, the investment will be repaid in spades. Some of the benefits such as those to the tourism industry and from the cultural exports of film and music are fairly clear. Others such as their contribution to our national identity, our global soft power and domestic social cohesion are harder to reduce to dollars and cents.
Amid all this, there has been increasing debate within Australias Indigenous communities over the Voice. In the lead up to Thursdays rallies in capital cities across the country, critics lined up to accuse protest organisers of hijacking rallies to push a No vote  particularly in Melbourne. In a column in The Australian, University of Melbourne professor and prominent Aboriginal leader Marcia Langton accused Victorian Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe  Onus sister  of rallying her gaggle of supporters to con Australians into thinking this years Survival Day rallies are protests against the voice. Noel Pearson delivers his Its time for true Constitutional recognition speech at the National Museum of Australia in Canberra in 2021. Credit: Dominic Lorrimer Fellow elder Noel Pearson criticised both Thorpe and Country Liberal Party Senator Jacinta Yangapi Nampijinpa Price last week. Without repeating those criticisms, Pearson wrote in this masthead that he could not see how reconciliation could survive a No vote on the referendum: It will be shattered by such a failure, and it would be naive to think otherwise. Reconciliation will die with a failed referendum.

Marcus Stewart, co-chair of the First Peoples Assembly of Victoria, said he boycotted Thursdays rally over concerns about the protest being hijacked by No campaigners. Its unfortunate whats happened this year, how a small group have tried to hijack it, he told The Sunday Age. Marcus Stewart from the First Peoples Assembly of Victoria. Credit: Justin McManus Its heartbreaking that I cant be there ... but Im not going to be silenced. Im not going to be bullied. Im going to speak my opinion, which Im entitled to. And Im basically just saying what majority of our mob are thinking but too scared to say. Onus, Thorpe and fellow prominent speakers at Melbournes Invasion Day rally  long-term activist and elder Gary Foley, and author Ronnie Gorrie  represent a more radical wing of Aboriginal activism.

In an electrifying speech, Foley, who co-founded Canberras Aboriginal Tent Embassy in 1972, told Melbourne protesters they were in the process of being sold a pup. Beware of Blak bourgeoisie trying to sell you a referendum, trying to sell you a shonky proposition called the Voice, he said. Long-term activist Gary Foley addresses the crowd in Melbourne. Credit: Joe Armao I want you to think; think before you vote. Make sure that youre not being manoeuvred into a position of being complicit in the latest of a long line of cosmetic bullshit measures that will achieve nothing in the way of justice [for Aboriginal people]. Raising the stakes, Thorpe told the crowd Australia had been at war with Aboriginal people since 1788.

This is a war, she declared. A war that was declared on our people over 200 years ago. That war has never ever ended in this country against my people. They are still killing us. They are still stealing our babies. They are killing our men, and they are still raping our women. What do we have to celebrate in this country? Do we want to become advisors now? Do we want to become an advisory body to the colonial system? We deserve better than that! Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe speaks at the Invasion Day rally. Credit: Alexi J. Rosenfeld Thorpe cleared the way last Wednesday for a split with her colleagues on the Indigenous Voice to parliament, in a formal deal that gives her free rein to vote against the proposal while her Greens colleagues give it their support. Thorpes detractors believe she is openly running interference on the Voice, with a grassroots campaign now being waged from Victoria  led by elements within the Greens.

While The Sunday Age was unable to reach Thorpe for comment, Onus scoffs at this proposal. She says a network of Black activists across the country set the annual Invasion Day theme, and Treaty before Voice was led by Brisbane and Sydney activists. I think its actually really insulting to our autonomy and self-determination to frame it that way. Aboriginal community and organisers transcend political parties. Its about sovereignty. Melbournes Invasion Day rally brought tens of thousands of people together under the banner of Treaty before Voice. Credit: Justin McManus Across the country on Australia Day, Invasion Day rallies heard from First Nations speakers urging the government to introduce a Treaty before Voice. In Sydney, Gomeroi man Ian Brown said he had no trust in a Voice to parliament because it would be another formal process of government not listening to mob.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has declined to directly criticise Thorpe or her supporters, but has framed them as being outliers of mainstream thought. Its not a radical proposition, Albanese said on Friday. So Im not surprised that some radicals are opposed to it. Because this is a mainstream proposition. Aboriginal activist Ronnie Gorrie. Credit: Leah Jing McIntosh Gorrie is a matriarch and activist who emceed Melbournes Invasion Day rally. She maintains the rally wasnt an endorsement of a Yes or No vote, and says she still hasnt made up her mind how shell vote in the referendum. Even though the [rally] theme was Treaty before Voice, it didnt mean that it was a Yes or a No to the Voice, she says.

While proponents of the Voice have called on Australians to read the full report on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, Gorrie argues the onus is on them to make a clear case to Aboriginal people. Meanwhile, she and other activists will keep pushing the case for Treaty. Our sovereignty has never been ceded, Gorrie says. We want our land back, and we want Dan Andrews and the Victorian government especially to stop selling off Crown land and give it back to traditional owners, the rightful owners.

We want them to follow the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. We want them to follow through with all the recommendation from the Bringing Them Home report. And we want reparations. If people dont trust Voice, its because they dont trust governments, Onus says. While progressive politics can look really good on paper, were not seeing it translate to change in our streets. Theres no real reason to trust while were having our people getting slaughtered and put in custody by the same governments that want to include us into their constitution. Theres no trust.
The biggest mistake campaigners for enshrining an Indigenous Voice in the constitution have made is to allow their trauma from the failed republic referendum to inform their strategy for achieving a Yes vote.

The Voice and the republic propositions could not be more different, and yet the failure of the republic vote in 1999 is being allowed to infect the way support for the Voice is sought. The result is confusion in the community and escalating politicisation.

I instinctively support the idea of Australia becoming a republic. In 1999, I was just the right age to briefly sell t-shirts for the republican movement.

But the myth that republicans have created that the referendum failed because Australians were confused by detail is coloured by bias, and is ultimately self-serving.

The truth is, while many Australians favour the idea of a republic, the choice that the public confronted was one between a stable system that has presided over a flourishing and functionally independent nation, and a model which, by contrast, seemed fraught with risk. Australians ultimately chose the if it aint broke, dont fix it status quo.
Lollipop lady Rachel King first pulled on a school crossing coat and hat 15 years ago when her children were at primary school in Pakenham in Melbournes outer south-east.

Her children are now in their 20s, but King is still helping ferry children in the Cardinia Shire Council area across busy school crossings every school day.

Rachel King at Parker Street in Officer, where more school crossing supervisors are needed. Credit: Joe Armao

Ive formed an attachment with the kids, you see them go from kinder right through to year 12 and see their personalities change, the 51-one-year old says. I just love it.

But as schools return for 2023 next week, Melbourne councils are desperate to hire more people like King.
Los viceministros del #Minsa se reunieron con directores de las Diris y hospitales de Lima Metropolitana con la finalidad de evaluar la situacion de los heridos y pacientes producto de las protestas. Ademas, se coordina las acciones en el marco de la alerta roja. pic.twitter.com/ns2GpHbUjS
New stations in Melbournes Metro Tunnel project will match those in London, Hong Kong, Paris and Sydney with electronic screen doors along the length of platforms.

But the new doors cannot be retrofitted to older underground stations on the City Loop.

About 300 doors will be fitted in the five new stations, with the sliding glass expected to prevent people or objects falling onto the tracks, graffiti or trespassers, and other hazards that can delay trains, which are planned to arrive every few minutes once services begin in 2025.

Acting Premier Jacinta Allan, who is also transport minister, held a press conference at the under-construction Parkville station in Melbournes inner north on Sunday morning to show off the glass doors.
Anyone who works in the public health system knows that managing patient welfare and achieving the best outcomes are delicate and difficult matters. Who, for example, gets priority on a waiting list?

Is it those who are dying, or those in the most pain? Is it the elderly or the young? Those with complex conditions, or patients who could be in and out in a single day?

Surgery - overloaded and understaffed Credit: Glenn Hunt

While these critical decisions are made every day by medical specialists, their task is made much harder when the waiting list for elective surgery in the states public health system is beset by bottlenecks and breakdowns.

As Melissa Cunningham reports today, the latest problem has emerged at Victorias renowned Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, which has been forced to reduce its surgical commitments during February due to shortages of operating theatre nurses and other staff.
Autorizan viaje de canciller Ana Cecilia Gervasi a Estados Unidos para fortalecer relacion bilateral en reuniones de trabajo con autoridades y representantes del sector privado ?? https://t.co/vvfWKn4HYg pic.twitter.com/pbqb90o3Lo
2 Falun Gong Adherents Die From Persecution During Lunar New Year

Falun Gong practitioners attend a parade in Brooklyn, New York City, on Oct. 2, 2021, to call an end to the Chinese regime's persecution. (Zhang Jingchu/The Epoch Times)

The Chinese communist regime never ceased its persecution of Falun Gong adherents during its three years of COVID-19 lockdowns.

At the beginning of 2023, two elderly Falun Gong adherents lost their lives after years of suffering from the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) brutal persecution campaign of Falun Gong.

The deceased are Cui Xiuzhen from Chinas northern Hebei Province and Liu Erli from Hunan Province in south-central China.

They were kidnapped, illegally sentenced and imprisoned in forced labor camps, and tortured numerous times for being Falun Gong adherents.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is an ancient practice based on the universal principles of truth, compassion, and tolerance. In 1999, former CCP leader Jiang Zemin launched the persecution of Falun Gong, following in a long history of persecution by the regime of orthodox religions and beliefs in China.

Falun Gong practitioner Chunying Wang, who was held at the Masanjia Labor Camp in northeastern China for a total time of five years and seven months, used this photo to demonstrate the torture she endured. She spoke at the Washington Press Club on April 24, 2013. (Gary Feuerberg/ The Epoch Times)

Gaoyang Forced Labor Camp

Cui died on Jan. 10. She had been in good health until she was detained and persecuted on July 20, 1999.

She was abducted again in December 2000 when she visited Beijing to call for a halt to the persecution of Falun Gong.

She was first imprisoned in the fifth brigade of the Shijiazhuang forced labor camp, and then transferred to the fifth brigade of Gaoyang Forced Labor Camp on April 8, 2001.

Many Falun Gong adherents were sent to Gaoyang camp when the regime was unable to force them to renounce their faith.

Gaoyang camp is notorious for its high efficiency in its forcing adherents to renounce Falun Gong. The camp owned more than 100 high-voltage electron batons and used more than 50 cruel and inhumane methods on its imprisoned victims to meet its goal of destroying the adherents belief, according to an investigative report by the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG).

Inside Gaoyang camp, the squatting position is a torture method routinely used on Falun Gong adherents.

According to survivors descriptions, the victims shoes and socks are removed and they are forced to squat while the guards pull both arms forcefully out to the sides and firmly fasten them to the ground. Over time, the victims waist and legs become sore, numb, bruised, and swollen.

Electric shock batons are another common tool in the CCPs torture arsenal. Several policemen attack the victim with electric batons, shocking them repeatedly from head to toe until the victim is severely burned.

On March 22, 2003, when Xiuzhen was released from the Gaoyang camp, she was emaciated and too weak to walk; her speech was slurred, her limbs uncoordinated, and her memory decayed. In 2014, she became paralyzed and had aphasia. After 8 years of torment, she passed away on Jan. 10.

Abducted 18 Times

Liu, an 81-year-old Falun Gong adherent, was subject to more than 22 years of imprisonment, torture, and harassment by the regime.

At the end of 2022, the police again tried to abduct him from his home, only giving up because he was too sick to move.

Since the beginning of the persecution in 1999, communist police had illegally arrested him 18 times. He was illegally detained in forced labor camps four times for a total of five years. He was also sentenced to 3 years and 6 months in prison at the age of 75.

During detention and imprisonment, he was subjected to beating and electric baton shock.

By July 21, 2018, when he was released from prison, his health was already deteriorating. The regime suspended his pension and the surveillance and harassment never ceased. Liu passed away on Jan. 2.

Persecution of the Elderly

In 2022, the CCP abducted and harassed at least 7,331 Falun Gong adherents, according to a report from Minghui.org, a U.S.-based online platform that records and reports the CCPs persecution of Falun Gong in China.

Among the confirmed 7,331 victims were 971, or around 13 percent, who were aged 60 years or older at the time of arrest or harassment, including 327 in their 60s, 438 in their 70s, 197 in their 80s, and 9 in their 90s.

Eighty-eight-year-old Cui Jinshi in Harbin city, north China, was kidnapped on April 13, 2022, and tortured to death the same day. When her son saw her body in the hospital her throat was cut open.

Zhang Siqin, a 69-year-old Falun Gong adherent from Dalian City, in northeast China, was abducted from his home on Jan. 19, 2022. His family learned he had died in the Dalian Detention Center on Jan. 27, just 8 days after being detained.

After 23 long years of persecution, some Falun Gong adherents have never had a day of peace. Some were expelled from school, some were fired from their jobs, and some still face constant harassment even after they became incapacitated due to the persecution, according to Minghui.org.

Li Jiesi contributed to this report.
3 Killed in Russian Strike on East Ukraine City

Local residents stand at a site of a missile strike in Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region, Ukraine, on Jan. 28, 2023. (Oleksandr Ratushniak/Reuters)

KOSTIANTYNIVKA, UkraineA Russian strike killed three people in a residential district of the eastern Ukrainian city of Kostiantynivka on Saturday, the regional governor said.

Fourteen other people were wounded in the attack, which also damaged four apartment buildings and a hotel, Donetsk governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said.

Rescuers and law enforcement officials are working at the scene of the tragedy to help people and carefully document yet another crime by the Russian occupiers on our land, he wrote on Telegram.

Twisted metal and the charred remains of household items and at least one car lay scattered across the courtyard as rescuers worked to clear the rubble. Fresh bloodstains were also visible.

Earlier on Saturday, Kyrylenko said at least four people had been killed and seven wounded throughout the region from Russian strikes over the past 24 hours.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday the situation at the front remained extremely acute, particularly in the Donetsk region where Russia is stepping up an offensive.

Moscow invaded Ukraine last February but in recent weeks fighting has slowed to an attritional battle with neither side making significant gains.

Kyiv has repeatedly warned that Russian forces would attempt to mount another offensive sometime in the coming weeks or months.
Anthony Furey: One Year After the Freedom Convoy, Did Government Learn Anything?

Crowds gather on the first day of the Freedom Convoy protest against COVID-19 vaccine mandates and other restrictions on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Jan. 29, 2022. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)

Commentary

Its quite something to think that a year ago today Ontario was still under a hard lockdown. Premier Doug Ford, who had presided over some of the harshest COVID-19 policies in the free world, only ended the provinces fourth lockdown on Jan. 31, 2022.

These outrageous policies happened despite the fact that in most comparable jurisdictionsincluding the Democrat-governed American states immediately adjacent to Ontariohad abandoned these restrictions months before.

Yet Ontario and other parts of Canada operated in a sort of information silo, where a population that usually prides itself on being worldly became willfully ignorant to the more evolved way other parts of the world were responding to the virus.

As Canadians look back on what happened then, one can only hope that people who were at first OK with these measures are now willing to admit that government went too far.

Because thats what the Freedom Convoy, which began a year ago, was ultimately saying: Enough is enough. Things have gone too far. Just leave people alone and give them a little breathing room.

Did we really need to lose our marbles if one person, for whatever reason, didnt want to wear a mask in Walmart? Did you need to ban your cousin from family gatherings because she didnt get a vaccine?

Its all very shameful, the maelstrom of animosity that people allowed themselves to get wrapped up in and that politicians and doctors on TV goaded on.

The initial focus of the convoy was that its participants were grieving a newly introduced national vaccine mandate for truckers crossing the border. It soon became clear though, based on the diverse array of people who made the pilgrimage to Ottawa, that peoples concerns went far beyond that new mandate.

Bringing in yet another mandate right at the bitter end, when most sane jurisdictions were dismantling all of their mandates, was the straw that broke the camels back.

The undeniable truth is that the Freedom Convoy was, as they say in King Lear, more sinned against than sinning. Yes, bylaws were broken and all-night honking mustve been maddening andheres the worst of all!convoy participants werent of the same social class as the well-paid senior civil servants in Ottawa who never leave their own little bubble.

But they werent wrong in telling government that it was time to back off. It was the federal Liberal government that was wrong to vilify them and refuse to meet with them.

The weeks and months after the Freedom Convoy also exposed that a lot of their supposed crimes were simply falsehoods. Like how it was claimed participants tried to burn down a residential complex. Or how they had united at the foot of Parliament Hill to overthrow the government.

The fall inquiry into the use of the Emergencies Act, which will deliver its report in February, saw senior police officers testifying that they never urged the implementation of the Act. The over-reaction to the peaceful convoy was all zealousness on the part of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, who had grown accustomed the past two years to thinking it was their job to micromanage the every movement of Canadians.

Everyone should now see clearly how outrageous it was to put convoy organizer Tamara Lich in jail without bail for so long (and then revoke her bail once again over a technicality). Canada is currently engaged in a national conversation about how and why it is so many violent repeat offenders are out on bail and committing crimes. Its troubling that Lich, who was charged with non-violent offences, was treated as public enemy number one while real, hard criminals were running amok.

The Freedom Convoy should have never happened because the conditions that gave rise to itthe over-the-top restrictions on our livesshould have been repealed long before the first trucks began their cross-country journey.

The question though, one year later, is did government learn anything? Have they engaged in any serious self-reflection?

The sad answer is that they still seem to believe every choice they made was the right one. Such is the culture of politics now, where you almost never admit an error.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Authorities Capture 2 Virginia Inmates in Tennessee

ABINGDON, Va.Two inmates who fled a southwest Virginia jail were being held without bond on Saturday after they were captured in northeast Tennessee, authorities said.

Officers located Johnny Shane Brown and Albert Lee Ricketson in a barn on Friday in Rogersville, Tennessee, and arrested them without incident, the sheriffs office in Washington County, Virginia, said in a news release.

The barn was about 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) from a stolen SUV that the sheriffs office said it believed was used by the inmates. They were captured roughly 60 miles (97 kilometers) from the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail Authority in Abingdon, where the sheriffs office said they left a recreational yard on Thursday afternoon.

Ricketson, 31, of Abingdon, had been convicted on two counts of first-degree murder, according to the Virginia sheriffs release. He was in the Hawkins County, Tennessee jail on Saturday, according to a sheriffs officer there.

Brown, 51, of Rogersville and identified as a federal inmate, was held Saturday in the Washington County, Tennessee, detention center, an officer said.

Authorities had considered the two inmates, who had been wearing red jail jumpsuits, armed and dangerous.
CDC Issues New COVID-19 Guidance After FDA Makes Change

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) headquarters in Atlanta on April 23, 2020. (Tami Chappell/AFP via Getty Images)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued new guidance to people with weak immune systems, saying they should take extra precautions after a key COVID-19 antibody treatments emergency use authorization was pulled by another federal agency.

The guidance again calls for immunocompromised individuals to wear masks and engage in social distancing, the CDCs revised guidance says, despite CDC-cited studies and data suggesting that masks provide little effectiveness in blocking the transmission of COVID-19. Some former federal officials have said that the six-foot social distancing rule adopted around the United States in early 2020 was arbitrary.

Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) pulled its authorization of Evusheld, a combination antibody treatment that is given to people with weak immune systems. The agency said that it is not effective against most of the COVID-19 Omicron subvariants that are currently circulating around the United States, including the XBB subvariants and the BQ strain.

Among persons with immunocompromise and their household members and close contacts, prevention measures including wearing a high-quality and well-fitting mask, maintaining physical distance from others (at least six feet), improving indoor ventilation, practicing frequent handwashing, and developing a care plan, should be considered in addition to receipt of a bivalent booster dose, said the CDC on Jan. 27.

The agency added that it is important to wear a mask and maintain physical distance from others if it is not possible to avoid crowded indoor spaces  simple interventions should be used to improve ventilation in buildings and decrease SARS-CoV-2 transmission by improving air flow. The agency also again recommended that immunocompromised people should get up-to-date COVID-19 vaccines.

The CDC advises that people who have a weak immune system and develop COVID-19-like symptoms to get tested for the virus. They should then receive an antiviral drug within five to seven days.

Early outpatient treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 with a recommended first-line therapy, ritonavir-boosted nirmatrelvir (Paxlovid), or remdesivir (Veklury), or the second-line therapy, molnupiravir (Lagevrio), have been shown to reduce the risk for severe COVID-19, including hospitalization and death, it says. Some doctors have expressed concerns about remdesivir, claiming the drug has potentially fatal side-effects like kidney failure.

About 7 million people in the United States have a condition that greatly compromises their immune system, such as cancer, according to CDC figures.

FDA Pulls Authorization

Evusheld, which the FDA pulled on Jan. 26, is manufactured by AstraZeneca, and it was first authorized in December 2021 as a pre-exposure prophylaxis against COVID-19 for people with weak immune systems and arent likely to generate COVID-19 antibodies via vaccination.

The agency said that as of now, the drug cannot neutralize a number of Omicron subvariants like BQ.1, BQ.1.1, BF.7, BF.11, BA.5.2.6, BA.4.6, BA.2.75.2, XBB, and XBB.1.5.

A worker packages the AstraZenecas Evusheld medication in an undated video. (AstraZeneca via AP)

This means that Evusheld is not expected to provide protection against developing COVID-19 if exposed to those variants, the FDA said in a press release explaining why the drug is being pulled.

Todays action to limit the use of Evusheld prevents exposing patients to possible side effects of Evusheld such as allergic reactions, which can be potentially serious, at a time when fewer than 10 percent of circulating variants in the U.S. causing infection are susceptible to the product, the press release stated.

AstraZeneca, the British-Swedish drug giant that also makes a commonly used COVID-19 vaccine, said it was informed that the agency will decide about reinstating authorization of Evusheld if the prevalence of resistant variants in the United States decreases to 90 percent or less on a sustained basis. The drugmaker plans to continue to share relevant data with the FDA and other health authorities regarding Evusheld and SARS-CoV-2 variants.

Monoclonal antibodies act by binding to the spike protein on the surface of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, but the virus has been evolving, causing changes in this protein and affecting how the antibodies work against them.

AstraZeneca will continue to work with the FDA and other health authorities to collect, assess and share relevant data regarding Evusheld and SARS-CoV-2 variants, the first said in a statement. Evusheld currently remains authorized in other countries where it is approved for COVID-19 pre-exposure prophylaxis and treatment, including the EU and Japan.

In November, the U.S. health regulator also pulled emergency use authorization for Eli Lilly and Cos COVID-19 drug bebtelovimab, citing similar concerns.

Reuters contributed to this report.
DOJ is Boxed In in Handling of Biden, Trump Document Probes: Experts

Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice in Washington on Jan. 27, 2023. (Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo)

The Department of Justice and the FBI may have little room to move in their handling of the Biden classified documents case, according to experts and GOP figures, who were skeptical of the agencies ability to recapture the confidence of a sizeable segment of the population who had lost trust in them.

With the appointment of special counsel Robert Hur to investigate the revelations that Biden kept classified documents in various locations including his Delaware home, the spotlight has also turned brighter on the treatment of former president Donald Trump by the U.S. governments justice apparatus over Trumps possession of classified documents, the experts said.

The American people have lost trust in Joe Bidens corrupt DOJ and FBI after witnessing these agencies fully weaponized against Joe Bidens number one political enemy by raiding Donald Trumps house, but continue to cover up for the Biden Crime family, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) a member of the House Select Committee on Intelligence, told The Epoch Times.

The alleged cover-up Stefanik was referring to is the yearslong investigations into Hunter Biden by the DOJ that have reportedly yielded voluminous evidence, but produced neither indictments nor dismissals by the federal agency.

As such, it will be difficult for the DOJ to credibly prosecute Trump while exonerating Biden for similar actions, yet prosecuting both Biden and Trump would be terrible and painful for the country, the expert said.

On the other hand, finding both men innocent of an actual crime would deal a big blow to the DOJ and the FBI, tending to suggest that the treatment of Trump was just a political stunt by overly-partisan federal law enforcement agencies, they said.

And each of the experts couldnt conceive of investigations that would find Biden guilty of a crime, yet Trump innocent.

Justice Boxed In

I think the framing of the [justice] establishment being boxed in is right, Ilya Shapiro, a senior fellow and director of constitutional studies at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank, told The Epoch Times.

The reason that [U.S. Attorney General Merrick] Garland appointed a special prosecutor so quickly, was because it was readily apparent that given that he called for one with Trump, he had to with Biden, added Shapiro.

In November, Garland appointed former career Justice Department prosecutor and former chief prosecutor for the special court in The Hague, Jack Smith, as special counsel in the investigation surrounding Trumps handling of classified documents.

Shapiro said that while the outcomes of the two cases wont be exactly similar, he doubts it will result in a conviction for either Trump or Biden.

Whatever that outcome is, its not going to be both of them sitting in the federal penitentiary, said Shapiro.

I dont know if Biden is going to pardon Trump and then self-pardon? We had that debate over the self-pardoning power two years ago. Is that going to be a thing again? Or is there going to be some sort of slap on the wrist for both of them and fine of several tens of thousands of dollars? I dont know. But I do think that the cases are going to run in parallel, he added.

A Lose-Lose Situation

But even the appointment of a special prosecutor meant to quell distrust in the case of Biden raises more questions now than it does settle doubt about the fairmindedness of the DOJ, according to Paul Kamenar, chief counsel of the National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC), a conservative watchdog group.

While it appears that Special Counsel Robert Hur has the necessary credentials to be appointed by Merrick Garland, NLPC is seeking documents through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) on the vetting process that was used to ensure his impartiality, Kamenar told The Epoch Times.

The FOIA request from NLPC asked the DOJ to provide a release of all documents relating to the vetting of Robert Hur prior to the announcement of his appointment including any information regarding any conflicts of interest that Hur may have had in the case.

Under the federal Code of Regulation, NLPC requested the documents be produced in 10 days as a matter of widespread and exceptional media interest in which there exist possible questions about the governments integrity that affect public confidence.

Former congressman Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) told The Epoch Times that as a former prosecutor, he thinks that the only way for people to really evaluate potential bias by either a Trump or Biden prosecutor is to look at their work product once the investigations are complete, which means waiting both lengthy investigations to finish.

Equal justice for all means that no matter your wealth, social status, or political power, the Department of Justice should treat every suspect and defendant the same, said Brooks.

I pray the Department of Justice will do that in this matter. Evaluate the evidence and turn a blind eye to the politics, he added.

The waiting game for the work to be completed is likely to exact a toll on the DOJ and FBI.

Theres a cost, to waiting, said Shapiro.

Whoever tries to measure this, social scientists or pollsters, the level of institutional trust is very low right now. The Justice Department and the FBI arent trusted by either side for various reasons, added Shapiro.

No matter what the result, in the final analysis, its a lose, lose, lose, for the DOJ and FBI, said Shapiro, likely not satisfying anyone with the outcome, which is now stuck in an investigative process that is already under investigation by groups like NLPC and Congress itself.

House Republicans will hold Bidens corrupt agencies accountable for this double standard of justice and uncover the truth to deliver accountability, said Stefanik.

The Epoch Times has reached out to the DOJ and FBI for comment.
For First Time, Researchers Confirm Exoplanet Using Webb Telescope

Researchers say they have confirmed an exoplaneta planet orbiting another starusing NASAs new James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) for the very first time.

The planet, known as LHS 475 b, is almost exactly the same size as Earth. Researchers say the planet is a few hundred degrees warmer than Earth.

Presenting their findings at an American Astronomical Society (AAS) event in Seattle on Jan. 11, researchers from Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHUAPL) described how they used the next-generation Webb telescope to confirm an exoplanet.

LHS 475 b is relatively close, only about 41 light-years away, in the Octans constellation.

Webbs Near-Infrared Spectrograph instrument captured two transit observationsas the planet passed in front of its star, slightly dimming its lightin August and September last year.

What was revealed is a rocky Earth-sized planet that completes an orbit of its sun in just two days.

Its also warma few hundred degrees warmer than Earth.

By fitting our transit model to these observations and ruling out various false positive scenarios that could lead to a planet, these pristine data helped to validate and confirm the discovery of this Earth-size exoplanet. And moreover, the depth of the transit, the amount of light blocked gives us a measure of the planets radius, which turns out to be almost exactly the same as that of the earth. Its 99 percent earths diameter plus or minus, about half a percent, explains researcher Jacob Lustig-Yaeger from JHUAPL.

Its really exciting to get this glean of data on earth-sized planets. And though this planet shares the same radius as Earth, thats likely the only similarity it has with Earth, because it is about a couple hundred degrees warmer than the Earth.

Although data shows this is an Earth-sized planet, researchers dont yet know if it has an atmosphere.

While its possible the planet has no atmosphere, researchers say there are some atmospheric compositions they are yet to rule out, such as a purely carbon dioxide atmosphere.

This planet very well could be an airless body that has lost any atmosphere that it once had, explains Lustig-Yaeger.

But it also might possess a compact atmosphere that we are not sensitive to that could be composed of carbon dioxide, could be a thin atmosphere that would produce very small spectroscopic features, or it could be a thick atmosphere composed of carbon dioxide like Venus, that has a high-altitude cloud that would also produce a very flat transmission spectrum.

NASA and the European Space Agencys $10 billion successor to the Hubble Space Telescope rocketed away at the end of 2021 and has been observing the cosmos in the infrared since summer 2022.

Scientists hope to behold the dawn of the universe with Webb, peering all the way back to when the first stars and galaxies were forming 13.7 billion years ago.

The observatory is positioned 1 million miles (1.6 million kilometers) from Earth.
Iran Says It Thwarted Drone Attack on Military Site

Attack targeted defense facility in Isfahan

This is a locator map for Iran with its capital, Tehran. (AP Photo)

Bomb-carrying drones targeted an Iranian defense factory in the central city of Isfahan overnight, causing some damage at the plant, Irans leadership said early Sunday.

The Iranian Defense Ministry offered no information on who it suspected carried out the attack.

Details on the Isfahan attack, which happened around 11:30 p.m. Saturday, remained scarce. A Defense Ministry statement described three drones being launched at the facility, with two of them successfully shot down. A third apparently made it through to strike the building, causing minor damage to its roof and wounding no one, the ministry said.

Iranian state televisions English-language arm, Press TV, aired mobile phone video apparently showing the moment that drone struck along the busy Imam Khomeini Expressway that heads northeast out of Isfahan, one of several ways for drivers to go to Qom and Tehran, Irans capital. A small crowd stood gathered, likely drawn by anti-aircraft fire, watching as an explosion and sparks struck a dark building. Those who were there fled after the strike.

The Defense Ministry only called the site a workshop, without elaborating on what it made. Isfahan, some 350 kilometers (215 miles) south of Tehran, is home to both a large air base built for its fleet of American-made F-14 fighter jets and its Nuclear Fuel Research and Production Center.

Separately, a refinery fire broke out in Irans northwest, and a 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck nearby, killing two people.

Irans state TV said the fire broke out at an oil refinery in an industrial zone near the northwestern city of Tabriz. It said the cause was not yet known, as it showed footage of firefighters trying to extinguish the blaze.

State TV also said the magnitude-5.9 earthquake killed two people and injured some 580 more in rural areas in West Azerbaijan province, damaging buildings in many villages.

Iran and Israel have long been engaged in a shadow war that has included covert attacks on Iranian military and nuclear facilities.

Last year, Iran said an engineer was killed and another employee was wounded in an unexplained incident at the Parchin military and weapons development base east of the capital, Tehran. The ministry called it an accident, without providing further details.

Parchin is home to a military base where the International Atomic Energy Agency has said it suspected Iran conducted tests of explosive triggers that could be used in nuclear weapons.

In April 2021, Iran blamed Israel for an attack on its underground Natanz nuclear facility that damaged its centrifuges.

Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attack, but Israeli media widely reported that the country had orchestrated a devastating cyberattack that caused a blackout at the nuclear facility. Israeli officials rarely acknowledge operations carried out by the countrys secret military units or its Mossad intelligence agency.

In 2020, Iran blamed Israel for a sophisticated attack that killed its top nuclear scientist.

Iran has always insisted its nuclear program is for purely peaceful purposes. U.S. intelligence agencies, Western nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency have said Iran ran an organized nuclear weapons program until 2003.

The United Nations top nuclear official, Rafael Mariano Grossi, recently warned that Iran has enough highly enriched uranium to build several nuclear weapons if it chooses.

Efforts to revive a 2015 agreement with world powers that placed limits on Irans nuclear activities ground to a halt last year. Both the U.S. and Israel have vowed to prevent Iran from ever acquiring nuclear weapons, and neither has ruled out military action.
Jailed Hong Kong Pro-Democracy Barrister Suggests Judicial Process Is Hypocritical

Chow explains the procedure and effect of mitigation letters

Tonyee Chow Hang Tung, Vice Chairperson of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of the Democratic Patriotic Movements of China (the Alliance) poses after an interview in Hong Kong, on May 24, 2021. (Vincent Yu/AP Photo)

Tonyee Chow Hang-tung, a Hong Kong barrister in jail for more than a year for the crime of inciting subversion of state power, posted a letter titled One Page Biography on Jan. 24, her 38th birthday, sharing her views on mitigation letters, and the justice system.

Chow, explained that after entering into practice, she discovered how luxurious it is to fully understand the client. In the normal course of events, duty lawyers only have five minutes, ten minutes, to ask an accused for instructions, it is only time to ask stereotype questions, gain stereotype statements, and write stereotype sentences.

She believes that if the personal life of an accused person is summarised in just a few minutes, it will contain nothing more than background information, the size of the family, job, income, health, the clients thinking on what happened, and to ask the court for leniency.

She said that for most defendants, no matter their level of regret and how miserable their lives are, all are useless. The only reliable reason for obtaining a reduction in their sentence is to confess their guilt.

In the past three years, thousands of Hong Kong people have been brought to court by the police for participating in the anti-extradition movement. Some of them have been imprisoned for months or even years without trial, and some even have to bear several charges.

To alleviate the suffering of their clients, many lawyers will persuade them to plead guilty and show remorse when they do so.

Chow explained how she feels about lawyers and the judicial system: lawyers speak of the defendants life and package the defendant in a way the system is willing to acceptcall it professional judgment. How you understand your own life is not important, you are not even allowed to speak because you already have a lawyer.

One-Page Mitigation Letter Is So Efficient Yet So Hypocritical

She questioned the validity of a persons life contained within just one page of the mitigation letter, where the narrative of repentance could be included. So efficient yet so hypocritical. A barrister is just an accomplice in this assembly line operation model. She says she has summed up many times and even created other peoples lives in a few words.Is the court really willing to listen to true life descriptions, real thoughts, or is it just obedience and cooperation it is after?

Chow recalled the advice from her lecturer in the law department. She was told the intercession should be taken seriously. Conviction or not is a narrow-scope legal offense and defense game between the prosecution and defense. Only through intercession do you allow the judge to know the client, which is the sacred responsibility for us lawyers . but never be long-winded, the judge is very busy, so the mitigation letter should not exceed one page.

Some inmates asked Chow to help write pleading letters for them, but she always had to adjust their expectations, telling them that there is a good chance that nothing will be changed. Yet the inmates still responded that they always hoped to change something. Chow asked, Is it right or wrong to give them hope?

Chow asked, do courts have no interest in the defendants, does it only want the defendants to show remorse, or does it just ask for obedience and cooperation?

She quoted judges as saying that the court is not a place to make political declarations. She responded, if that is true, then the court has no right to convict us.

Comments from Local Citizens

Nearly a hundred netizens left comments below the post to send good wishes to Chow, including former Legislative Council member Albert Chan Wai-yip, who believed that History will acquit you! Take care and stay safe. Senior media personnel Ching Cheong wrote, Happy birthday to you, and thank you for your dedication to Hong Kong. Thank you for speaking out for the truth and bravely taking on undue hardships to defend it. Hong Kong people are proud of you because you have become a symbol of conscience for Hong Kong and mainland people.

Chows Personal Journey in Life



Tonyee Chow Hang-tung graduated from the prestigious Ying Wa Girls School and obtained 5As (5 subjects all in A grades) in the Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination in 2003. She entered the Department of Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge.

In 2008, a major earthquake occurred in Wenchuan, China. Chow, then a doctoral student in geophysics at the University of Cambridge, hoped to conduct field research in mainland China but was not allowed because Cambridge University was an overseas scientific research organization. She began to feel that indulging in scientific research would not benefit people.

She gave up her doctoral studies and returned to Hong Kong to study law at the University of Hong Kong and qualified as a barrister in 2016.

Chow had attended the annual June 4th rally in Victoria Park, Hong Kong, with her family since she was a child. She had been organizing local June 4th commemorative activities in the UK while studying at Cambridge, a prelude to her participation in the social movement in Hong Kong.

Chow was elected as a member of the Committee of the HK Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China (the Alliance) in 2014 and later served as its Vice Chairperson in 2015.

On the morning of June 4 (the anniversary of the Tiananmen Massacre) in 2021, Chow was accused of promoting and calling for participation in the June 4th rally and was arrested.

She was later charged with inciting others to knowingly and illegally of participating in an unapproved assembly and was sentenced to 15 months in prison in January 2022. She appealed against the conviction and sentence. Judge Mrs. Barnes of the High Court ruled in December 2022 that the appeal was allowed, and the conviction and sentence were revoked. The Department of Justice (DOJ) did not accept the verdict and applied to appeal to the Court of Final Appeal, which was approved on Jan 19 this year.

In September 2021, Chow was charged with inciting subversion of state power and has been remanded in custody to this day.
Man Killed in Laguna Beach Crash on South Coast Highway

LAGUNA BEACH, Calif.A man was struck and killed Jan. 28 morning by a hit-and-run vehicle in Laguna Beach, authorities said.

Officers were dispatched at about 2:50 a.m. Saturday to the 700 block of South Coast Highway located the man in the roadway, outside the crosswalk, the Laguna Beach Police Department reported.

Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.

Preliminary investigation revealed a witness called 911 after seeing a male laying in the roadway, outside of the crosswalk, police said.

The department added that the man has not been identified, and drugs and alcohol did not appear to be a factor in the accident.

South Coast Highway was closed between Thalia and Legion streets until further notice due to the investigation, according to the Laguna Beach Fire Department.

Laguna Beach police urged anyone with information regarding the fatality to call them at 949-497-0701.
YEREVAN, JANUARY 29, ARMENPRESS. Drones attacked a military plant in Iran's central city of Isfahan, local media reported.

The Iranian militarys air defense units repelled the drone attack, Press TV reported citing a statement from the Iranian Ministry of Defense.

The ministry said one of its workshop complexes had come under attack from a number of Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs), but the complexs air defenses successfully repelled the attack.

One of the MAVs was downed by the complexs air defense fire, while the other two were caught in its defensive traps and exploded, Press TV quoted the Ministry of Defense as saying in the statement.

The ministry noted that the unsuccessful attack did not cause any loss of life and only led to minor damage to the roof of a workshop. The complex, it added, continues its operations following the attack.

The attack happened 23:30, January 28.

After the incident, the Iranian Fars news agency reported that a massive fire broke out at an oil refinery in the northwestern Iranian city of Tabriz. It wasnt immediately clear whether or not the two incidents were related.
Man Who Allegedly Stole Motorcycle in San Diego Seriously Injured in Crash

SAN DIEGOA man was seriously injured when he crashed a stolen motorcycle into a parked SUV in the Otay Mesa neighborhood, police said Jan. 28.

The crash happened at 11:18 p.m. Friday, officials said.

The 28-year-old man was sitting on his motorcycle while attending an illegal street racing event in the 8500 block of Avenida Cosa Norte, said Officer David OBrien of the San Diego Police Department.

Two men approached the motorcyclist and one suspect pointed an AR-15-style rifle at the victim and fired one round into the air, the officer said. The victim ran away, leaving his motorcycle, which one of the suspects got on and drove away.

The suspect on the motorcycle then crashed into a parked Chevrolet Suburban in the 2200 block of Avenida Costa Del Sol, OBrien said. He was taken into custody and rushed to a hospital with serious injuries.

The suspect with the AR-15-style rifle, who was still on the run Saturday morning, was described as a 22-year-old man, about 5 feet 5 inches tall, weighing 140 pounds, and wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and black pants. He was driving a blue four-door sedan and was considered armed and dangerous.

The San Diego Police Departments traffic division was handling the investigation.
Mountain Lion, P-81, Found Dead on Pacific Coast Highway

LOS ANGELESA radio-collared mountain lion known as P-81 was found dead on Pacific Coast Highway near Las Posas Road in the western Santa Monica Mountains following a likely vehicle strike, the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area announced.

We are saddened to share mountain lion P-81 was likely killed by vehicle strike Sunday, Jan. 22, the recreation area announced Friday on its official Twitter page.

Officials said California Fish and Wildlife officers collected P-81s body on the highway, and that a necropsy will be performed to confirm the approximately 4-year-old male died after being struck.

The lion is one of many Southland-area cats being tracked by National Park Service researchers, and his death comes just over a month after the more-famous P-22known as the Hollywood Catwas euthanized on Dec. 17.

P-22, who famously crossed the Ventura (101) and San Diego (405) freeways before taking up a long-term residence in Griffith Park, had been captured in a Los Feliz backyard in a severely underweight and injured condition. Its believed P-22 was also the victim of a vehicle strike, accounting for his injuries. He was believed to be about 11 or 12 years old.

Park Service officials said vehicle strikes are the leading cause of death for mountain lions in their study area.

Since March 2022, officials said, nine mountain lions have died by vehicle strikes, six of them radio-collared.

P-81 is the 34th mountain lion, and the 13th radio-collared cat, to die from road mortality since 2002, according to recreation area officials.

We initially captured him in western Santa Monica Mountains in March 2020, officials said. He was significant in our mountain lion study due to his physical abnormalitiesa kinked tail where the end is shaped like the letter L and only one descended testicle.

The wildlife experts said the abnormalities were the first physical evidence of potential inbreeding depression due to lack of genetic diversity since we began studying mountain lions in 2002, increasing the urgency of understanding, maintaining and increasing connectivity for wildlife in the region.
Newly Released Surveillance Footage Shows David DePape Breaking Into Nancy Pelosis Home

U.S. Capitol Police surveillance video taken from outside Rep. Nancy Pelosis (D-Calif.) home in San Francisco shows the suspect who allegedly attacked her husband in October 2022 breaking into the residence.

The footage, released on Jan. 27, appears to show the suspect, David DePape, looking into the home, walking away, and then returning with several bags. The suspect is then seen looking through the bags for several minutes.

After about 2 a.m. local time on Oct. 28, 2022, DePape starts attempting to break a window with what appears to be a hammer. After about 30 seconds, hes seen climbing through the window.

The video appears to dispel speculation that DePape may have been invited into the Pelosi home rather than breaking in, although significant questions still remain. It isnt clear why there wasnt an alarm or other security features outside the home of Pelosi, a former House speaker and one of the most powerful people in Washington.

Authorities say that DePape then accosted her husband, Paul Pelosi, while he was sleeping before demanding to know where the then-House speaker was. Body camera footage that was released on Jan. 27 appears to show DePape, 43, striking Pelosi, 82, with a hammer after police arrived at the residence and asked DePape to drop the hammer.

Drop the hammer, one of the officers tells the suspect.

Nope, DePape replies before taking it from Pelosi and attacking him with it.

Because of the angle of the body camera, the actual attack isnt shown on camera.

The officers are then seen tackling DePape while Pelosi is seen lying on the ground, motionless. As the officers restrain DePape, they place handcuffs on him.

A Superior Court judge ordered that the footage be released to the public after a coalition of media outlets, including The Associated Press, requested that it be unsealed.

Over the weekend, DePape gave a phone interview to a local media outlet and allegedly said he wanted to commit more attacks. The suspect said individual liberties are under attack by Washington politicians.

[The] people killing it [individual liberty] have names and addresses, so I got their names and addresses so I could pay them a little visit  have a heart-to-heart chat about their bad behavior, he told KTVU, a local affiliate station based in the Bay Area.

I want to apologize to everyone. I messed up. What I did was really bad. Im so sorry I didnt get more of them. Its my own fault. No one else is to blame. I should have come better prepared.

Previously, family members of DePape have said that he suffers from mental illness. A former partner, Oxane Gypsy Taub, told media outlets last year that he disappeared for months before coming back and claimed that he was Jesus, while his son questioned whether he was motivated by a right-wing political animus.

DePape has pleaded not guilty in state and federal cases and is being held without bail. He faces charges including attempted murder, elder abuse, and assaulting an immediate family member of a federal official.

San Francisco Deputy Public Defender Adam Lipson, who represents DePape, called the videos release a terrible mistake.

The footage is inflammatory and could feed unfounded theories about this case, and we are extremely concerned about Mr. DePapes ability to get a fair trial, Lipson said in a statement.

Other Details

After DePape confronted Paul Pelosi in his bedroom, Pelosi tried to make it to an elevator in the home to reach a phone, but DePape blocked his way, authorities previously said. Pelosi then told DePape that he had to use the restroom, where his cellphone was charging, allowing him to call 911.

Police praised a dispatcher, who could hear DePape in the background, for recognizing the threat despite Pelosis calm voice and coding the call as a priority, resulting in a faster police response.

In an interview with San Francisco Police Lt. Carla Hurley after he was taken into custody, DePape said he didnt regret the attack, even though it wasnt against Nancy Pelosi, his intended target.

DePape said the attack happened very quickly, and he recalled how it took the officers by surprise.

I yank the hammer away from him, I jump into action, he said. They jump into action. Theyre like on top of me instantly.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Ottawa City Committee Votes to Reopen Wellington Street in Front of Parliament, One Year After Convoy Protest

Trucks are parked on Wellington Street near the Parliament Buildings as truckers and supporters protest against COVID-19 mandates and restrictions in Ottawa on Jan. 29, 2022. (Patrick Doyle/Reuters)

After Wellington Street in front of Parliament Hill was closed to traffic beginning in late January 2022 due to the Freedom Convoy protests, the citys Transportation Committee on Jan. 26 voted to reopen the road on March 1 or thereafter.

Large concrete barriers were installed soon after the largest protest in Canadian history descended upon the nations capital. Ottawas city council subsequently approved a motion on Feb. 23, 2022, to extend the temporary closure, specifically the three blocks between Bank and Elgin streets, until the end of the year. The street has however remained accessible to pedestrians and cyclists.

On Jan. 26, committee vice-chair Catherine Kitts moved to reopen the road, noting that the city had received requests from residents, businesses, and visitors to do so.

Wellington Street between Elgin and Bank streets will reopen to all traffic as soon as it is operationally feasible  but no sooner than March 1, 2023, to allow for the replacement and installation of traffic infrastructure in the area, the motion stated.

The motion also said the city will explore options for temporary road closures between those two streets during the summer of 2023 for special events and community programming or for the safety and well-being of the residents of Ottawa.

The committee also proposed a temporary bike lane.

The motion said the city can currently, in consultation with Ottawa Police Services, Ottawa Fire Services, and Ottawa Paramedic Services, choose to temporarily close Wellington Street and other city streets for special events, security reasons or to allow for lawful protests.

In early February, the motion will go before the full city council for a vote.

City councillor Ariel Troster told the committee that the plan had to ensure emergency services are never overwhelmed again and that the street needed to be better than it was originally.

Committee chair Tim Tierney responded that emergency services and the Ottawa Police Services Board are working together to address safety concerns. He said the street is currently not secure and that councillors want secure measures in place if it is to reopen.

Some councillors suggested that the street could be turned into a pedestrian-only zone, as did a senator who addressed the committee.

Senator Andrew Cardozo, a resident of Ottawa, said his office is located on Wellington Street.

The status quo, the bare ugly barricaded street is not an option, he said. He urged the committee to make Wellington Street a pedestrian-only thoroughfare.

This is the single most important street in our country, he suggested.

Business Woes

The committee also heard that businesses have been inconvenienced by the road closure.

Speaking on behalf of business owners around Sparks Street, which is one block south of Wellington Street, Kevin McHale said that the closure had made deliveries difficult for big trucks and that parking was a problem for customers.

The limited amount of surface parking in our area cannot be accessed by our members, clients, and service providers. Loading zones are inaccessible and restrict deliveries, said McHale.

Ben Cool-Fergus, an urban planner with the City of Ottawa, said the Wellington Street discussions present a historic opportunity to not just return to what was, but to think of what could be.

City councillor Matthew Luloff said that traffic planning is a key part of the reopening of Wellington Street, and that traffic and congestion could increase as more federal government employees return to in-office work.

Infrastructure in the downtown core is ailing under current conditions, he said.

The federal House of Commons committee on procedure and House affairs recently proposed that Wellington Street be moved under federal jurisdiction.

The Transportation Committees motion noted that the general managers of planning, real estate, economic development, and public works continue ongoing discussions with federal officials regarding the potential of a redefined Parliamentary Precinct, with appropriate consultation with local businesses and residents.

With files from the Canadian Press.
Reporter for Epoch Times Sister Media Outlet Robbed at Gunpoint in Washington

Iris Tao, a reporter for The Epoch Times' sister media NTD, reports from the White House on Jan. 27, 2023. (NTD/Screenshot via The Epoch Times)

A reporter with The Epoch Times sister media outlet was robbed at gunpoint on Jan. 28 right outside her apartment complex in Washington, D.C., raising concerns about the areas rising crime rate as well as questions about whether the robbery was more than a random act.

Give me your phone, was the first thing that Iris Tao, a White House reporter for NTD, heard right as she stepped outside the apartment complex.

Tao was confronted by a slim black man about 6 feet tall, wearing black from head to toe, including a black ski mask, black hat, black coat, and black pants with white stripes, the reporter recalled. He pointed a handgun at her, from about two feet away.

It was about 8:30 a.m., with no one else around. Before she could react, the man reached directly into the pocket of her puffer jacket where the phone was and snatched it from her, she said.

Give me your wallet, the man then demanded. Otherwise, Im going to hit you and smack you, Tao recalled to The Epoch Times. The man also asked for Taos laptop, but pressed for her wallet when she maintained that she had only books with her.

With no other choice, she removed a pencil case that contained only a metro card from her backpack. The man, apparently uninterested, demanded her phone password. When Tao refused, he hit her in the face with the gun, leaving a red mark on her cheek before he dashed off into a nearby apartment building.

Once he started running away from me, I started yelling: Help, help, help, Tao said. Two neighbors came out and helped Tao call the police.

While the man was seen on camera entering a building a block away, police were unable to enter the structure. When Tao last checked her phone location signal a few hours later before losing access, the man was in a different building about a 15-minute drive away.

The neighborhood in southwest D.C. where Tao lives, about two miles from the Capitol, has a historically high crime rate, Tao learned from Officer Michael Kim from the city polices Asian Liaison Office, who has worked in the area for about a decade. Kim suspects the man lives nearby, since he has security access to that building, according to Tao.

D.C. police didnt respond by press time to an inquiry from The Epoch Times about the case.

From Jan. 1 through Jan. 27, the Metropolitan Police Department recorded 2,190 crimes, including 156 robberies, up 16 percent from the same period in 2022.

U.S. neighborhood analytics database NeighborhoodScout gives Washington a ranking of 2 out of 100 on safety scores, and describes it as safer than 2 percent of U.S. cities.

While Tao was calm throughout the incident, different scenarios later started to play out in her head.

If I tried to fight him, would he try to actually shoot me or hit me even worse? she wondered.

Still unsure about how she became a target, Tao nonetheless observed multiple unusual points about the encounter that she cant quite answer.

Why would he be right outside of our apartment? she said.

Unlike most scenarios, in which a thief might demand money, the man seemed to show more interest in her phone and laptop than cash. In addition, he somehow knew she was carrying a phone even though it wasnt visible from the outside, and he reached right away for the correct pocket.

The fact that he asked for the phone pin code was even more suspicious, Tao said, as normally such phones would be wiped and resold, and therefore access to the phone is unnecessary.

Tao counted herself lucky for coming off only slightly injured, but that wasnt the case for Sarah Liang, a reporter with the Hong Kong edition of The Epoch Times.

Sarah Liang, a reporter for the Hong Kong edition of The Epoch Times, speaks to local media outside of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Hong Kong on May 11, 2021. (Song Pi-lung/The Epoch Times)

In May 2021, Liang was assaulted by a man wielding an aluminum bat outside her apartment building that left her with bruises on both legs, the latest in a series of attacks believed to have been orchestrated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in a campaign to silence independent reporting. From its inception, The Epoch Times has drawn the ire of the regime in Beijing for its unfiltered reporting of the CCPs vast rights abuses and corruption.

A month prior to the attack, Liang had noticed a man stalking her outside a local transit station, and two days earlier, a different man claiming to be delivering a large package knocked on her door and addressed her by name. The man claimed the package was sent from someone overseas, but Liang didnt recognize the sender and wasnt expecting any delivery. The facial features of both men were partly obscured by masks.

Three days before the armed robbery, Tao was at a White House press briefing with John Kirby, the spokesman for the White House National Security Council.

Does the U.S. believe that new number by the Chinese government saying that theres been 70,000 deaths? she asked.

We have continued to encourage the Chinese to be cooperative with international reviews and studies about COVID, and they have not been fully transparent, Kirby said in response. And we cannot speak to the veracity of those numbers. We urge China to be fully transparent about whats going on.
Retired Gen. Petr Pavel Beats Billionaire Andrej Babis to Become New Czech President

Czech Republic's President-elect Petr Pavel with his wife Eva greets his supporters after announcement of the preliminary results of the presidential runoff in Prague, Czech Republic, on Jan. 28, 2023. (Petr David Josek/AP Photo)

PRAGUEPetr Pavel, a retired army general, decisively defeated populist billionaire Andrej Babis in a runoff vote Saturday to become the Czech Republics new president.

Pavel, 61, will succeed Milos Zeman in the largely ceremonial but prestigious post. His election is expected to cement the countrys Western orientation following Zemans decade in office.

With all the ballots counted by the Czech Statistics Office, Pavel had 58.3 percent of the vote compared with 42.7 percent for Babis. Turnout was just over 70 percent, a record high for a presidential vote.

We can have different views of a number of issues, but that doesnt mean were enemies, Pavel said in a message to voters who cast ballots for Babis after what was considered a nasty presidential campaign period. We have to learn how to communicate with each other.

Babis conceded defeat and congratulated Pavel on his victory. He called on his supporters to accept that Ive lost and accept we have a new president.

Pavel, who ran as an independent, is a former chairman of NATOs military committee, the alliances highest military body. He fully endorsed the Czech Republics military and humanitarian support for Ukraine in its fight against Russias invasion and stresses the importance of the countrys membership in the European Union and NATO.

The president picks the prime minister after a general election, one of the offices key responsibilities, and appoints members of the central bank. The office-holder also selects Constitutional Court judges with the approval of Parliaments upper house.

Otherwise, the president has little executive power since Czechia is run by a government chosen and led by the prime minister.

President Zuzana Caputova of Slovakia, who beat established politicians to win her countrys 2019 presidential election, joined Pavel on a Prague stage Saturday to congratulate him in front of his supporters.

Pavel said he planned to travel to Slovakia and Ukraine for his first foreign trips as president, and also to Poland to assure President Andrzej Duda that his country fully respects its NATO commitments and the alliances principle of collective defense.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy congratulated Pavel in a tweet written in Czech, adding he looked forward to their close cooperation.
Scottish Government Orders Urgent Review of Movement of Transgender Prisoners

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon during a press conference on winter pressures in the NHS, at St. Andrews House in Edinburgh on Jan. 16, 2023. (Lesley Martin/PA Media)

The Scottish government has ordered an urgent review of the management of transgender prisoners after lawmakers voiced anger at reports that a transgender prisoners request to move to a female jail had been rubber-stamped.

Andrew Burns, who now uses the name Tiffany Scott, reportedly requested a transfer to a womens prison. The Daily Record newspaper reported this request has been approved despite Burns having a history of violence and is serving an order for lifelong restriction, meaning the prisoner will only be released when no longer considered an unmanageable risk to public safety.

The opposition Scottish Conservatives said Burns had attacked female staff while in a mens prison and it is absolutely appalling that such a violent and dangerous criminal is set to be transferred to a womens prison.

Isla Bryson, 31, formerly known as Adam Graham, from Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire, arrives at the High Court in Glasgow on Jan 23, 2023. (PA Media)

It came after Adam Graham, a transgender rapist who now uses the name Isla Bryson, was initially sent to the womens prison at Cornton Vale last week before being moved to a mens prison.

On Sunday, Scotlands Justice Secretary Keith Brown announced an urgent review into the management of transgender inmates.

He said that no transgender prisoner with a history of violence against women will be placed in the womens prison estate until the review is completed.

Public Concern Understandable

In a statement, Brown said: I understand that the issue of any trans woman being convicted of violent and sexual offences is a highly emotive subject and that the public concern is understandable.

As the first minister pointed out last week, we must not allow any suggestion to take root that trans women pose an inherent threat to women.

Predatory men are the risk to women. However, as with any group in society, a small number of trans women will offend and be sent to prison.

Therefore, I hope that the measures I am about to highlight will offer reassurance in the ongoing ability of the prison service to manage trans individuals and ensure the safety of all prisoners.

We must also never forget that there are victims in these cases. My thoughts remain with them.

He introduced two rules, the first being that no transgender person already in custody with any history of violence against women will be moved from the male to the female estate.

The second is that no newly convicted or remanded transgender prisoner with a history of violence toward women will be placed in the female estate.

He said the urgent lessons learned review into the Bryson/Graham case will be completed by Feb. 3.

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) confirmed the urgent review has begun and the movement of all transgender prisoners is being paused.

A spokesman said: Our first concern is always, and remains, the health, safety, and wellbeing of all the people in our care, and that of our staff.

We have very robust risk assessment processes, and a track record of keeping people safe, in often challenging circumstances.

We have therefore paused the movement of all transgender individuals, until the review has been completed.

Conservative Opposition

The Scottish Parliament backed a self-ID process for legally changing gender and passed the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill in December, though for the first time ever the UK government is making an order to block the bill in its current form over concerns that the bill has safety issues for women and children.

The transgender policy of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who leads the Scottish National Party (SNP), has been challenged by the Scottish Conservatives.

Commenting on the Burns/Scott case, Scottish Conservative equalities spokeswoman Rachael Hamilton said: The fact that such a violent and dangerous criminal is set to be transferred to a womens prison is absolutely appalling.

It is clear that Tiffany Scott continues to present a grave risk to the safety of any women that come in contact with them, even trained prison staff.

She continued: Nicola Sturgeon has repeatedly tried to reassure the Scottish public that the Scottish Prison Services risk assessment would protect women from predatory men, yet the process is clearly not fit for purpose if this dangerous offender has been approved for transfer to a womens jail. Womens safety must not take a backseat to the wishes of violent criminals.

After the Scottish government paused the movement of transgender inmates, Russell Findlay, a Conservative member of the Scottish Parliament, said: After much dithering and flip-flopping, the SNP government has finally been shamed into doing the right thing.

Just days ago, the justice secretary tried to pass the buck, saying decisions on trans prisoners were for the Scottish Prison Service. But as public anger escalated, Nicola Sturgeon was forced to intervene by ordering the removal of a double rapist from a womens prison.

It should not have taken a second shocking case for them to ban all transfers.

Owen Evans and PA Media contributed to this report.
Radio host Dennis McCourt at the William Saroyan Theatre, in Fresno, on Jan. 28, 2023. (NTD)

FRESNO, Calif.Dennis McCourt, radio host of Kingdom Talk Radio, was uplifted and inspired by Shen Yun Performing Arts at the William Saroyan Theatre on Jan. 28.

I thought everything from the choreography to the music to the dance to the orchestra was over the topamazing, said Mr. McCourt after the Saturday matinee.

The performers are really demonstrating discipline and amazing abilities and skills, he said.

Along with art, Mr. McCourt said Shen Yun expresses the principles that we hold dear.

New York-based Shen Yun is the worlds premier classical Chinese dance company. Along with folk dances and solo performances, the production presents story-based pieces that depict the history and traditional culture of China from ancient times to the modern day.

Chinas 5,000-year-old traditional culture has been on the brink of extinction since the Chinese communist regime seized power in 1949. Shen Yun says its performances demonstrate China before communism.

Theres these common aspirations that we have as human beings for freedom, for truth, for compassion, said Mr. McCourt.

I think people throughout the United States and around the world need to be standing for these principles against tyrannyagainst communismto stand for truth, compassion, and forbearance.

This is what really spoke to me with Shen Yun, he said.

We need to be standing together for freedom, freedom of speech, freedom of faith, freedom of movement, and not allow the tyranny of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) or communism to encroach upon those freedoms, he added.

Thats Why I Came Here, to See That

John Holt, retired CEO, and his wife Jennifer Holt, a registered nurse, also attended Shen Yun at the William Saroyan Theatre, in Fresno, on the afternoon of Jan. 28.

This is a wonderful performance  Its interesting to see all the different styles of dance and all the different costumes, said Mrs. Holt.

John Holt and Jennifer Holt at the William Saroyan Theatre, in Fresno, on Jan. 28, 2023. (Lily Yu/The Epoch Times)

I appreciate the tie back to tradition, she added, the focus on the traditional culture, the traditional dance, the traditional music  it shows that the culture is still alive and well, regardless of whats happening in China today.

One of Shen Yuns unique features is its orchestra. Its the first in the world to permanently combine classical Western and Chinese instruments within a Western symphony orchestra. Shen Yun also boasts virtuoso vocalists who sing Chinese lyrics using the bel canto style.

After reading the poetic lyrics from the vocalist, Mr. Holt said, the words on the screen  about atheism and evolution [as] the culprits of things going wrong today  I thought, thats why I came here, to see that!

I love it  its amazing, he added, every time an act closes, Im thinking, its going to get better and better.

Reporting by NTD, Lily Yu, and Jennifer Schneider.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006.
Shen Yun Performing Arts World Companys curtain call at the Aichi Prefectural Art Theater in Nagoya, Japan, on Jan. 28, 2023. (Annie Gong/The Epoch Times)

NAGOYA, JapanA Chinese student who studied classical Chinese dance had the opportunity to attend Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Aichi Prefectural Art Theater in Nagoya on Jan. 28.

Their skills and techniques are magnificent. They are awesome! said Ms. Meng after the performance. I started to learn classical Chinese dance at 3 years old. Many of my friends are professional dancers. To be honest, nobody can reach Shen Yuns level without 20 years of hard training.

Ms. Meng said Shen Yun dancers have high-level techniques and powerful expressive capabilities.

They are telling stories by using their whole bodies. Its very impressive, she said.

New York-based Shen Yun is the worlds top classical Chinese dance company, and has brought the art form to new heights since its inception in 2006. The performing arts company has a mission to show the beauty and goodness of China before communism, and currently cannot perform inside China.

A Must-See Performance

Shen Yun is a cultural treasure. Its shining like a diamond and lighting the world, said Ms. Li Li (pseudonym), a Chinese in Japan. She attended Shen Yun with her brother Mr. Li Cheng (pseudonym).

Ms. Li said she felt very proud of Shen Yun, which presents a real China in front of the world.

The stories are from Chinas history. The colors are very Chinese. And the costumes are Chinese, from different dynasties, she said. Every scene on stage is very beautiful, no matter from which angle.

Ms. Li said every moment in Shen Yun is a surprise that she doesnt want to miss.

The dancers split in the air. Its beauty is far beyond peoples imagination. These movements are beyond the human bodys limits, she said. Even the male dancers flexibility has reached the pinnacle, which I couldnt imagine.

Mr. Li Cheng appreciated the traditional values that Shen Yun presented.

Shen Yun told the historical stories in an interesting sometimes even very humorous way. I felt like I witnessed the history in person. It made me deeply feel the charm of the traditional Chinese culture, he said. Shen Yun explains the Chinese culture very accurately through the costumes and dancers movements. These stories strongly resonate with our hearts.

Mr. Li said he recommends everybody attend Shen Yun.

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 Gives Us Hope

A Chinese couple said Shen Yun brought hope and happiness to them.

I felt hope from Shen Yun. This artistic spectacular gave me hope, the wife said. The husband took over the conversation: I felt a big joy. I believe now that we human beings can overcome the COVID-19 pandemic.

The couple has family in China, where people are suffering greatly under COVID and pandemic measures now. They felt sad because of the pandemic over the past three years as well as the new outbreak in China.

The wife said she played the erhu, a traditional two-stringed Chinese instrument, when she was very young. Shen Yun has an erhu solo, which surprised her.

The virtuosos skill is very good. I was very touched, she said. Everything of Shen Yun is great. The dancers are excellent. They are very professional. The animated backdrop is magical, dancers can jump into the backdrop. I have never seen this kind of technique.

The couple enjoyed the traditional culture that Shen Yun presented.

Chinese culture is nice. But people in China have lost more and more of it. In the contrary, the overseas Chinese inherited this culture, the wife said.

The couple said they would tell their relatives in China about Shen Yun and the real Chinese culture.

I hope I can attend Shen Yun every year in the future, the husband said.

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.

Reporting by Epoch Times Staff in Nagoya, Japan.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006.
Lilly Doggendorf and her friend enjoyed Shen Yun Performing Arts at The Kennedy Center Opera House, on Jan. 29, 2023. (Weiyong Zhu/The Epoch Times)

WASHINGTON, D.C.For Lilly Doggendorf, Shen Yun Performing Arts was a symphony of sights and soundscolors, folklore, virtuosity, classical Chinese dance, bel canto, orchestra, and high-difficulty tumbling techniques came together to form a work of art.

What very much impressed me was this combination, said Ms. Doggendorf as she listed the various aspects of the performance she found beautiful.

Ms. Doggendorf is the chair of a charity for Romania, in Germany, and she attended Shen Yun with her friend at The Kennedy Center Opera House on Jan. 29.

New York-based Shen Yun is the worlds top classical Chinese dance company, and it combines these various artistic aspects to bring to audiences 5,000 years of Chinese civilization.

It was a civilization that the ancient Chinese believed was divinely inspired, gifted by the heavens, and for this reason this traditional culture has been systematically rooted out by the communist regime of China in its past 70 years of rule.

Ms. Doggendorf said it was good to see this spirituality alive and well here in the free world, because its an aspect that I know is prohibited in still in todays China.

The good message for me was that actually the meditation, this old Chinese meditation, was equal with religion. I didnt realize that, said Ms. Doggendorf.

The idea of spiritual cultivation, which often included meditation, is a millennia-old part of traditional Chinese culture.

And then, of course, it was wonderful for me to see Tibet, and then to see the oppression of a communist regime, which is of course, shall I say, the critical part of it, and I enjoyed that.

And thats possible in America, Ms. Doggendorf said, referring to Shen Yuns mission. After all, the American company is currently banned from performing in China.

That it is beautiful and free and traditional, and everything is possible. And everything is allowed, she said.

I think, as the Americans would say, they rock, she said of Shen Yuns artists. They are talented. They are absolutely amazing, very well-trained. And I admired them a lot. And I thank them for their performance.

She said Shen Yun was the best for being able to put together a show that is unique and that is really fantastic for the world because it speaks to all of us to every country to every nation, not just to Americans or Germans, everybody, everybody.

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.
A top US general has reportedly warned his colleagues about the likelihood of a major military showdown with China in the coming two years.

Mike Minihan, a four-star Air Force general and head of the US Air Mobility Command (AMC), has issued the most dramatic forecast yet by a senior US military officer, predicting the two superpowers could come to blows in 2025.

He made the unsettling call in a memo addressed to all air wing commanders and other Air Force personnel under his command, warning that a series of circumstances could embolden Chinese President Xi Jinping to make a move against Taiwan, triggering a heated conflict.

"I hope I am wrong. My gut tells me we will fight in 2025," he wrote.

Chinese aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, seen in 2017. Source: Getty

The memo, which was sent on Friday (local time), was seen by NBC and The Financial Times.

According to NBC, the general ordered his personnel to ready themselves and said his soldiers could be called upon to provide "a fortified, ready, integrated, and agile Joint Force Manoeuvre Team ready to fight and win inside the first island chain", referring to the first chain of major Pacific archipelagos east of the Chinese coast.

General Minihan argued the US presidential election in 2024 will provide a window for Xi Jinping to move against Taiwan while the US is "distracted" and there is uncertainty around the potential transition of power. The communication also noted the Chinese leader's recent reshuffling of his "war council" in October when Xi Jinping secured a third term and the Chinese Communist Party's politburo was reshaped.

"Xis team, reason, and opportunity are all aligned for 2025," he argued.

Former US President Barack Obama with Mike Minihan in 2012. Source: Getty

The memo did not hold back with General Minihan directing all AMC troops to undertake firing practice "with the full understanding that unrepentant lethality matters most. Aim for the head," he wrote.

Story continues

According to NBC, it also ordered service personnel to update their records and emergency contacts ensuring they are "legally ready and prepared".

When contacted by the Financial Times, the Pentagon and White House did not comment on reports of the memo but a US Defence official told the publication that General Minihan's words were "not representative of the departments view on China".

It's certainly not the first time a senior US military official has made such a prediction. In October, Admiral Mike Gilday, chief of naval operations, said the US must be prepared to potentially defend Taiwan as early as this year.

"When we talk about the 2027 window, in my mind that has to be a 2022 window or potentially a 2023 window," he told the Atlantic Council.

Speaking to the Financial Times, former Indo-Pacific command adviser Eric Sayers admitted the memo's contents were stark and confronting but said such communication was not intended for the public and did not amount to a sophisticated intelligence assessment of the likelihood of conflict.

However he also noted General Minihan, who previously served as deputy head of the Indo-Pacific Command, has been at the "tip of the spear" in the region for more than a decade and understood the China threat "better than almost anyone in uniform".

Australian Opposition leader Peter Dutton has previously said it was "inconceivable" that Australia wouldn't join the US if fighting broke out with China over the Taiwan issue.

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.

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John and Kathryn Locke with their son John Edgar at the Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Kennedy Center Opera House, on Jan. 28, 2023. (Jenny Jing/The Epoch Times)

WASHINGTON, D.C.Years ago, John Locke, a percussionist with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, saw some of the rehearsals of Shen Yun Performing Arts in Baltimore, but couldnt attend the performance at that time. I just thought it was so beautiful, Mr. Locke said.

Finally on Jan. 28, Mr. Locke and his family found the chance to see Shen Yun.

Mr. Locke said Shen Yun brings beauty and joy, and is so uplifting.

Its very spiritual, its transcendental I think, he said after seeing Shen Yun at The Kennedy Center Opera House.

The whole spirituality beyond the discipline, and the fantastically high level of the performance was very impressive.  Theres some mystic spirituality that is shared by the performers and I really appreciate that. Were coming back next year.

Based in New York, Shen Yun presents classical Chinese dance. Shen Yuns website explains that every culture throughout history has looked toward the divine for inspiration, and that Shen Yun artists follow this same noble tradition. For them, the website says, this spiritual connection is motivation for striving to excel, is the heart behind each movement of the dancer and each note of the musician.

Mr. Locke, who also teaches at the Baltimore School for the Arts and the Peabody Institute, said Shen Yuns music is gorgeous, and that the performers are phenomenal.

It really takes you elsewhere, he said.  Its gorgeous and transforming. It transports you somewhere else back to China.

Shen Yuns orchestra, which combines traditional Chinese instruments with classical Western instruments, accompanies the dance performances on the stage.

Kathryn Locke, an accomplished pianist, artistic director of the Harford Choral Society, and faculty member at the Loyola University Maryland and Harford Community College, was also full of praise for Shen Yun.

It was so impressive, the level of the performances with the dancers and the musicians, I mean for us as musicians, she said.

The Lockes son, John Edgar, who is pursuing an MD-PhD in neuroscience, likewise found Shen Yun very inspiring.

Its an incredible celebration of thousands of years of cultural heritage and its so impressive and such a noble pursuit [for Shen Yun] to perfect such a wonderful art form, he said.

That was a very incredibly moving performance.

Reporting by Jenny Jing.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006.
MEMPHIS, Tenn.It was the best of China, it was the worst of China; Shen Yun Performing Arts did not shy away from presenting to its audiences what China was like in ancient times, and what has been happening in China in the modern day. Shen Yun performed at the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts, on Jan. 28, and left the audience more aware of the events happening halfway across the world in China.

It was very enlightening, said Ian McCloud, a biomedical engineer. I dont think a lot of people realize whats going on in China and it was really interesting to see how they implemented that into the storyline.

Based in New York, Shen Yun was founded in 2006 by leading Chinese artists who were forced to flee Chinas oppressive government. Shen Yuns mission is to revive traditional Chinese culture through classical Chinese dance and music, and to show it audiences the beauty of China before communism.

Mr. McCloud expressed his hopes for China to be free of communism.

I think it would be awesome if China could return to before communism, he said. Communisms no good for anyone in the world and if China could get back to their original culture that would be just awesome for them and everyone. I personally see America taking that direction [toward communism] itself and its not something that anybody wants to experience. So I feel for the people because I see a lot of things that are making us head that way.

Shen Yuns program comprises of a series of dance vignettes, including story-based dances, some of which depict modern-day China where the communist regimes persecution of followers of Falun Dafaa spiritual practice that teaches the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and toleranceis taking place. One of the stories depicted the communist regimes brutal crime of organ harvesting.

I dont think a lot of people know that thats going on, said Mr. McCloud. I wish more people knew.

Daryl Murton attended Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts, on Jan. 28. (Yawen Hung/The Epoch Times)

Also in the audience was Daryl Murton, who works in law enforcement. Mr. Murton said that he had done some research on Falun Dafas persecution prior to watching Shen Yun, and was glad the performance was spreading awareness of what happening in China.

I dont think a lot of Americans know thats actually happening in China today, so Im really glad that theyre telling people about it because the world needs to know.

Mr. Murton also appreciated Shen Yuns mission to revive traditional Chinese culture. During the performance, the emcees inform the audience that Shen Yun cannot be seen in China, and Mr. Murton expressed his wish for Shen Yun to be able to perform in China one day. He also said that he tries to play his part in bringing awareness to the events happening in China by telling the people around him to see Shen Yun.

I just try to get more people to come and see this (Shen Yun), and I tell people about the things I know that go on in China, said Mr. Murton. I dont know how that helps the Chinese people exactly  but its better than being quiet about it.

According to the Shen Yun website, traditional Chinese culture was deeply rooted in spirituality, and China was once known as the Land of the Divine. This was all abolished by the atheist communist government. A return to tradition would therefore mean a reconnection with those spiritual elements, which Mr. Muton felt was important to more than just the Chinese people.

Everything they (Shen Yun) do is very beautiful, he said.

Everything they saidthe whole message of the need for a world to have a reintroduction to the divine and to walk away from all these things that basically mean that we as people dont mean anything, [that] were just some big accident, are floating around the universe, its not true. And so, the message that this show brings is extremely counter-cultural, in the United States more and more so, all over the world I think more and more so, and its exactly what the world needs.

Reporting by Yawen Hung and Wandi Zhu.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006.
Speaker McCarthy: Cuts to Social Security, Medicare Are Off the Table

House speaker to soon meet with Biden over debt ceiling

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, Republican of California, holds a press conference in Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 12, 2023. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Sunday confirmed that the GOP will not attempt to pass legislation cutting spending to Medicare and Social Security following warnings from other prominent Republican leaders.

In an interview with CBS Newss Face the Nation, McCarthy was asked about whether Republicans will float cuts to the two programs amid negotiations over the debt ceiling. No. Lets take those off the table, he said in response.

I mean, if you read our commitment to America, all we talk about is strengthening Medicare and Social Security. So, and I know the president says he doesnt want to look at it, but weve got to make sure we strengthen those, McCarthy added.

However, McCarthy indicated that other federal agencies and programs could be under the microscope in the coming days and weeks.

What I want to look at is theyve increased spending by 30 percent, $400 billion in four years. When you look at what they have done, adding $10 trillion of debt for the next ten years in the short time period, if you just look a month ago, they went through and they never even passed a bill through appropriations in the Senate, the speaker said, referring to congressional Democrats.

Defense spending, including military aid to Ukraine, could be targeted, McCarthy suggested.

I want to make sure were protected in our defense spending, but I want to make sure its effective and efficient, he told CBS News. I want to look at every single dollar we are spending, no matter where it is being spent.

Youre gonna tell me inside Defense theres no waste? McCarthy also asked on Sunday. We shouldnt just print more money. We should balance our budget.

The White House has maintained it will not negotiate with the GOP on spending cuts amid the debt ceiling fight. McCarthy said that he will meet with President Joe Biden on Wednesday to discuss the matter.

I know his staff tries to say something different, but I think the president is gonna be willing to make an agreement together, McCarthy said. So I want to sit down together, work out an agreement that we can move forward to put us on a path of balance, at the same time not put any of our debt in jeopardy at the same time, he added.

Debt Limit

Earlier in January, the United States reached its statutory debt limit of about $31.4 trillion, triggering warnings from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who said she would have to take extraordinary measures to offset a possible default. Yellen has said that she could continue to take such measures until sometime in June 2023.

Over this weekend, Yellen again issued warnings about a potential default. It would be devastating. Its a catastrophe, she told Axios.

If there is a default, the United States would enter a financial crisis, Yellen added. And I believe we would have recession in the United States.

But McCarthy insisted Sunday that the federal government wouldnt default on its debt, which would be unprecedented in U.S. history and would have deleterious effects on the nations credit and worldwide economy.

But lets take a pause, he said. We have hundreds of billions of dollars. This [default] wont come to fruition until some time in June. So the responsible thing to do is sit down like two adults.

It comes as former President Donald Trump issued a warning to fellow Republicans about cutting Social Security and Medicare, federal programs that are often used by retired Americans.

Under no circumstances should Republicans vote to cut a single penny from Medicare or Social Security, Trump said in a video released earlier in January. Cut waste, fraud and abuse everywhere that we can find it and there is plenty, theres plenty of it, Trump added. But do not cut the benefits our seniors worked for and paid for their entire lives. Save Social Security, dont destroy it.

Several weeks ago, Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), the No. 2 Senate Republican, said that the GOP should make changes to Social Security and other entitlement programs amid the debt ceiling fight.

Theres a set of solutions there that we really need to take on if were going to get serious about making these programs sustainable and getting this debt bomb at a manageable level before its too late, Thune told reporters in November.
The Deep State Is Real and the Best Thing in COVID, UKs Dominic Cummings Says

Former Number 10 special advisor Dominic Cummings walks out of his house to speak to the press in London on Jan. 24, 2022. (Tolga Akmen /AFP via Getty Images)

The deep state is real, according to Dominic Cummings, former Prime Minister Boris Johnsons ex-chief advisor.

In an interview with the Manifold podcast last week, Cummings said the so-called deep state, a moniker for the unelected bureaucracy, wields far more power than the elected politicians.

But in his view, its often very good, sensible, intelligent, and experienced officials trying to stop the idiots who are being elected doing terrible things.

A lot of the things that were best in COVID was the deep state thwarting [then-Health Secretary] Matt Hancock, the elected politician for the benefit of the country, Cummings declared.

COVID-19 Lockdown

Cummings spoke of how Johnson and Hancock were pressured by officials into locking down the country in March 2020, after COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic.

There was an official plan which was herd immunity, Cummings said, adding that the plan came from the Cabinet Office and the Department of Health and Social Care, which kept thinking that  this was the only way of handling it.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Matt Hancock walk from Downing Street to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on Sept. 30, 2020. (Leon Neal/Getty Images)

By March 12, 2020, data scientists in the governments advisory team and various outsiders began shouting for lockdowns, Cummings said.

He described how he and a small team got Boris in a room to talk to him through the reality with the help of some whiteboards, referring to a projected model by a team led by Neil Ferguson, a professor of mathematical biology at Imperial College London, that suggested up to half a million people could die from COVID-19 without restrictions.

Cummings also said that they explained to Johnson that Hancock was pushing the idea that there is only this one way is single-wave herd immunity plan because he didnt understand the situation, and that resistance to lockdowns would soon become politically unsustainable.

He said advice at the time that said people wouldnt tolerate restrictions for more than a few weeks turned out to be complete nonsense.

Johnson announced the first national lockdown on March 23.

Cummings comments echo an earlier revelation by Ferguson, who was dubbed professor lockdown for his modelling that influenced ministers decisions.

Ferguson told The Times of London that the government initially didnt think Europe could impose lockdowns like the Chinese communist regime did.

Its a communist one party state, we said. We couldnt get away with it in Europe, we thought, he said, adding, And then Italy did it. And we realised we could.

Broken Lockdown Rules

Johnson, Hancock, Ferguson, and Cummings all got in trouble for breaking lockdown rules during the pandemic.

On May 6, 2020, Ferguson quit the governments Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies after he was caught meeting his mistress at home.

British Epidemiologist Neil Ferguson is seen during a press conference on May 5, 2020. (Screenshot/Reuters)

Less than three weeks later, Cummings sparked outrage after he drove 250 miles to drop his 4-year-old son at his parents home before he and his wife, both with COVID-19 symptoms, went into isolation. Johnson stood by Cummings, refusing to fire him at the time.

Hancock resigned as the health secretary in June 2021 after CCTV footage emerged showing the married minister kissing an aide whom he hired with taxpayers money despite the social distancing guidance.

Since December 2021, Johnson was mired in the so-called Partygate scandal for months as media reported on gatherings in Downing Street and Whitehall.

Johnson received a fine over one of the gatherings. The scandal ultimately contributed to the collapse of his government. An inquiry is ongoing regarding whether or not he intentionally mislead Parliament.

The Deep State

Asked who really runs the UK, Cummings said he was surprised that donors have remarkably little influence and it was the officials that made decisions.

COVIDs a classic example of this.

Britains Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer for England and Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government, Sir Patrick Vallance, arrive for a news conference on COVID-19, in London, UK, on March 3, 2020. (Frank Augstein/Pool via Reuters/File Photo)

Cummings said while the media reported disagreements among ministers over COVID-19 policies, in fact, almost always  these ministers had absolutely nothing to do with anything important, and the decisions were taken almost entirely by officials with almost no ministerial input at all.

He said officials, particularly private secretaries, make 99 percent of the decisions, while the prime minister and chancellor of the exchequer made few but big decisions.

Asked whether its fair to call the officials a deep state, Cummings said he believed it is fair in the sense that they are a kind of deeply entrenched institutions, which actually practically controls huge amounts of what happens with zero to very little democratic insight or even knowledge and understanding.

That is unarguably the case, he said, adding that it doesnt mean there are conspiracies going on.

Cummings believes on the one hand its for the good that brilliant 30-year-old women who no ones heard of and no one elected [are] actually running things because the quality of the elected people is so desperately bad now across Western governments.

On the other hand, it means the institutions become incredibly stale and self reinforcing to the point almost nothing can change in any way, including by the deep state itself, he said.
The Ideas That Formed the Constitution, Part 15: James Harrington, With Comments on Algernon Sidney

Commentary

In the 17th century, England, which always had been a monarchy, flirted with republicanism. From 1649 to 1660, England actually was a republic, at least in theory: King Charles I had been executed, and the country became a protectorate under Oliver Cromwell. Not long after Cromwells death, however, a Convention Parliament invited the deceased kings son, Charles II, to take the throne, and Englands experiment in republicanism was over.

The period produced some opinion-makers who wanted England to be a republic (or commonwealth) permanently. Historian Caroline Robbins famously called them the Commonwealth Men. Among those she placed in that category, the best-known to the founding generation were James Harrington, Algernon Sidney, John Locke, and Isaac Newton.

Harrington and Sidney were the two more outspoken of the four, and they suffered for their beliefs. If Locke and Newton really were republicans, they didnt say much about itbut they influenced political thought in other ways. This essay discusses Harrington and Sidney; the following two essays will address Locke and Newton.

James Harrington

James Harrington was born on Jan. 7, 1611, in Northamptonshire, England. He displayed intellectual brilliance early. He attended Oxford University for two years but didnt earn a degree. Thereafter, like many of the other figures profiled in this series, he traveled widely, visiting the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, France, Switzerland, and Italy.

At some point, he met King Charles I. The king had intellectual ability, and despite Harringtons republicanism, the king enjoyed his company. The two became friends. This friendship led to Harrington being imprisoned briefly before Charles was executed in 1649.

The succeeding regime of Oliver Cromwell disfavored Harrington, and it almost prevented his principal work, Oceana, from being published. Harrington was again imprisoned during the early 1660s, his health deteriorated, and he died in Westminster (now part of London) in 1677.

Oceana

Although Harrington wrote tracts other than Oceana, that book is what hes famous for. It relates the story of how the utopian land of Oceana (a thinly disguised allegory for England) adopted what Harrington considered to be an ideal form of government.

I dont recommend Oceana for general readers: Its extremely tedious, hard to follow, and at times ridiculous. Heres the gist of what was important to the Founders:

Oceana adopted an empire of laws, not of men. It ensured that the laws reflected the public interest rather than the interest of a monarch or aristocracy. A government of laws in the public interest was necessary, in Harringtons view, for a nation to be a commonwealth.

Oceana adopted a mixed government, with a bicameral legislature, magistrates, and judges. Because Harrington believed that power followed land ownership, Oceanas laws ensured that land was widely heldthat no person or group owned too much of it.

Harrington wrote that the third of the population with above-average intelligence composed a natural aristocracy. In Oceana, such people populated the Senate, although they were chosen by the general electorate. The lower legislative chamber, the assembly, was elected to reflect the views of the people at large.

Some of my readers may be aware of the rule that when people share cake, the one who cuts the cake shouldnt be the same person who chooses the pieces. (When our daughters were young, my wife imposed this rule on them.) One of the most famous passages in Oceana applies the same standard to the legislature: If the legislature were unicameral, Harrington believed, it would become tyrannical. So Oceana adopted bicameralism. The Senate debated and recommended proposed laws (i.e., it divided), but the assembly chose whether to adopt or reject the senates proposals.

The magistrates were charged with enforcing the law. There were judges, but the highest court was the legislative assembly. This varied English practice, by which the upper (rather than the lower) chamber of Parliament served as the highest court.

Harrington in the Constitutional Debates

Harrington was widely known among the founding generation, but there was no discussion of his views at the Constitutional Convention and relatively little during the ensuing debates over whether to ratify the proposed Constitution. Most mentions of Harrington were respectful: Just before the Constitutional Convention met, a Pennsylvania writer calling himself the Foreign Spectator exhorted the delegates to consult Harrington, among others. And after the convention adjourned, another Pennsylvania writer (Margery) commended the delegates for producing a document worthy of Harrington and Sidney.

On the other hand, Virginias senior lawyer, Edmund Pendleton (who chaired his states ratifying convention), wrote two letters acknowledging that Harringtons work had its faults. And Americanus, a New York essayist, lumped him with Plato and Sir Thomas More as authors who had amused themselves with forming visionary schemes of perfect Governments, but, for want of experimental knowledge, their plans are no better than romances, the extravagant sallies of an exuberant imagination.

John Adamss Treatment of Harrington

The foregoing suggests that Harrington had little impact on the constitutional debates. Indeed, he wouldnt be in this series of essays if not for John Adams. Adams featured Harrington in the first volume of his encyclopedia of republican governments, which, as I noted in earlier installments, circulated at the convention and was mentioned copiously during the debates.

Adams devoted about 10 pages of his book to direct quotations from Harrington, and he added other citations too. Among the topics were (1) the need for the rule of law, (2) the view that political power follows land ownership, and (3) the view that a nation composed of many landowners is more difficult to conquer than a nation where ownership is more restricted. But Adamss most important use of Harrington was in contending for a bicameral legislature.

When Adams wrote, it was still an open question whether the federal legislature would have one chamber or two. Congress under the Articles of Confederation was unicameral. Three states had unicameral legislatures: Pennsylvania, Georgia, and the still-independent Vermont. Benjamin Franklin, who then served as president of Pennsylvania, was believed to favor unicameralism, and, of course, his prestige was immense. When Virginia Gov. Edmund Randolph offered a plan for a two-house national legislature, William Paterson of New Jersey countered with a one-house proposal.

Adams thought it important to emphasize the advantages of bicameralism, and he employed Oceana heavily for that purpose. He quoted Harringtons cut and choose the pieces of cake analogy and Harringtons warnings about the danger of unicameral tyranny.

Algernon Sidney

Algernon Sidney was born in 1622 and, while interested in politics, had trouble getting along with people. He spent a lot of time in Europe, effectively in exile. In 1683, he was implicated, fairly or not, in the Rye House Plot to kill King Charles II, tried for treason, and beheaded.

As evidence in the treason trial, the prosecution quoted from his unpublished Discourses on Government. The work wasnt published until 1698, but it became one of his two claims to fame. (The other was his Latin inscription subsequently shortened to become the motto of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts: Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietemWith his sword he seeks peaceful repose under liberty.)

Discourses on Government is an overly long response to the divine right of kings theory propounded by Robert Filmer (c. 15881653).

Sidneys advocacy of revolution against tyrants won him the admiration of many in the founding generation. John Adams quoted Sidneys discussion of absolute or pure democracy (a concept borrowed from Aristotle) and his support for mixed government (borrowed from Aristotle, Polybius, and Cicero, among others). Also noteworthy was Sidneys definition of liberty: Liberty consists solely in an independency on [i.e., from] the will of another.

I have included Sidney in this essay because he often is identified with Harrington. In truth, however, Sidneys views had little effect on the Constitution. He was mentioned during the ratification debates, but mostly in passing. His ideas were used almost exclusively by the Constitutions opponents, who assailed the document for not following Sidneys recommendations for annual elections and a unicameral legislature. In addition, several essayistsagain, almost exclusively opponents of the Constitutionadopted the pen names Sidney, Sydney, or Algernon Sidney.

Read prior installments here: first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, and 14th.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Randy Shelley and Amy Wells at the Shen Yun Performing Arts performance at Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts - Muriel Kauffman Theatre on Jan. 28, 2023. (Sherry Dong)

KANSAS CITY, Mo.Bringing joy to someone is not an easy thing to do, but for Shen Yun Performing Arts, it is achieved every time they get on stage.

I felt that this performance was of freeing of the spirit, of joy, of peace, of love. I thought it was beautiful. I love the facial expressions of the performers. They were smiling, they were happy, they were joyous, said Randy Shelley, a business consultant, after seeing the evening performance of Shen Yun at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City, Missouri, on Jan. 28.

This joy is something that each artist in Shen Yun feels when they able to share their passion and their truth with the audienceand this was something that Mr. Shelley felt.

Yes, you can feel it flowing from them into the audience that they truly enjoy what theyre doing, said Mr. Shelley.

Shen Yun Performing Arts is based in New York and its mission is to revive 5,000 years of Chinese civilization. To be precise, Shen Yun strives to present a China before communism to audiences around the world.

A return to a former time, an ancient time, more so of the ancient belief in God or a Creator, instead of the atheism and the evolution, described Mr. Shelley.

Shen Yun is welcomed across five continents, yet they cannot perform in China. Shen Yun uses dance and music to share the truth of present-day China.

They had a message that was very strong to the Chinese government that thats not the way of the people, and that theyre not going to succeed long-term if they continue down the path of money, greed, power, control, oppression, said Mr. Shelley.

Shen Yuns orchestra combines a classical Western orchestra and traditional Chinese instruments like the pipa and erhu. The erhu is highlighted further when it gets its moment under the spotlight.

Absolutely beautiful. Its amazing she can get so much music out of a two-stringed instrument. It was absolutely spectacular, said Mr. Shelley.

The erhu has a history of 4,000 years and its considered one of the most important Chinese instruments.

I love the erhu. Its a very elegant and expansive instrument. It has quite the range for only having two strings. So you can have so much expression in just a very simple instrument, said Amy Wells, an instructor.

Shen Yun currently has eight companies touring around the world simultaneously.

I love the production. It was extremely elegant. The costuming was very vibrantprofessionally done. The music was outstanding, said Mr. Shelley.

Reporting by Sherry Dong and Maria Han.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006.
Top Lawmaker Responds to Generals Memo on 2025 War With China: I Think Hes Right

The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson participates in a group sail during the Rim of the Pacific exercise off the coast of Hawaii, July 26, 2018. (Petty Officer 1st Class Arthurgwain L. Marquez/U.S. Navy via AP)

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said that he believes a prediction made by four-star Air Force Gen. Mike Minihan that the United States will go to war with China in 2025 is correct.

A memo issued by the general, according to NBC News, said that I hope I am wrong .. my gut tells me we will fight in 2025 about the potential conflict. He added that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will be looking closely at Taiwans 2024 presidential election that might prompt leader Xi Jinping to escalate military aggression against the region.

Xi secured his third term [as CCP general secretary] and set his war council in October 2022. Taiwans presidential elections are in 2024 and will offer Xi a reason, Minihan wrote. The 2024 U.S. presidential elections would also create a distracted America that could benefit the Chinese regime, he said.

Xis team, reason, and opportunity are all aligned for 2025, the general reportedly said. Copies of his memo circulated online over the weekend, and The Epoch Times has contacted the Air Force for comment.

On Sunday, McCaul, the head of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told Fox News that he believes the generals prediction is accurate. I hope hes wrong, McCaul told Fox News Sunday. I think hes right though, unfortunately.

McCaul said that the CCP wants to take control over Taiwan, which he suggested could take place via influencing the island nations elections early next year. Adding further, he claimed that the current administration is projecting weakness that will create an avenue for the CCP to take military action.

But if they dont win in that one they are going to look at a military invasion, in my judgment, he said. We have to be prepared for this.

House Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Rep. Mike McCaul (R-Texas) questions U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a hearing in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington on April 28, 2022. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

However, a top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee disagreed with both McCaul and Minihans assessment about a potential war with China in the near term.

I want to be completely clear. Its not only not inevitable, its highly unlikely, Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) told Fox News on Sunday, noting that anything is possible and that generals should be cautious.

Response

Writing in response to the memo, retired U.S. Navy Adm. James Stavridis, former Supreme Allied Commander for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, wrote on Twitter that he doesnt believe a war with China will happen soon.

The job of the military is always to be ready to fight, but in my view, odds of a war with China are decreasing not increasing at the moment. The reason? President Xi is watching the Russian debacle in Ukraine and will likely be more cautious as a result, he wrote.

A spokesperson for the Air Mobility Command, which Minihan commands, told news outlets on Jan. 27 that the memo about a war with China is real.

This is an authentic internal memo from General Minihan addressed to his subordinate command teams. His order builds on last years foundational efforts by Air Mobility Command to ready the Mobility Air Forces for future conflict, should deterrence fail, the spokesperson said.

A Department of Defense spokesperson, however, said that the generals remarks are not representative of the departments view on China. Meanwhile, top spokesman Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder stated: The National Defense Strategy makes clear that China is the pacing challenge for the Department of Defense and our focus remains on working alongside allies and partners to preserve a peaceful, free and open Indo-Pacific.

The flurry of comments on China comes as Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to visit China, becoming the first cabinet-level secretary in the Biden administration to visit the country.
Trump Condemns Fatal Police Attack of Tyre Nichols: Never Should Have Happened

Former President Donald Trump speaks at the New Hampshire Republican State Committee's annual meeting in Salem, New Hampshire, on Jan. 28, 2023. (Scott Eisen/Getty Images)

Former President Donald Trump on Saturday condemned the death of Tyre Nichols at the hands of five police officers in Memphis, Tennessee, saying that the tragedy never should have happened.

I thought it was terrible, Trump told The Associated Press on Saturday, referring to the street surveillance and body-cam footage showing the violence arrest and beating of Nichols. He was in such trouble. He was just being pummeled. Now that should never have happened.

Nichols, a 29-year-old father and FedEx worker, was pulled over on the evening of Jan. 7 on his way home. According to the initial police report, Nichols tried to flee on foot following a confrontation, only to get into another confrontation as police officers pursued and arrested him. He died in a hospital of his injuries three days later.

The officers initially alleged that Nichols was being pulled over for reckless driving. On Friday, however, the Memphis police chief admitted that there is no video evidence to support that claim. Moreover, footage released by the City of Memphis revealed that the confrontation was apparently a five-on-one assault.

This combo of images provided by the Memphis Police Department shows (top LR) officers Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, (bottom LR) Desmond Mills Jr., and Justin Smith. (Memphis Police Department via AP)

At one point of the brutal encounter, Nichols can be seen being pulled up from the ground with his hands restrained behind his back by two officers, while another officer repeatedly punches him in the face. When Nichols collapses again, the officers land two more kicks on his face.

In another video, Nichols can be heard screaming out Mom while his attackers pin him to the ground. Trump said this is a very sad moment thats particularly difficult to watch.

That was really the point that got me the most, to be honest with you, Trump said.

When asked if the incident should lead to any criminal justice reform, Trump responded that this is more of a matter of hiring police officers who do their job right than reforming the police system.

At the same time you have to stop crime, so its sort of like individual people, he said. You have to get the right people that know when you have to be tough and when not to be tough. This was a case of being very, very toughoverly, overly crazy.

He was begging for his mother, Trump added. Thats not a question of reform, thats a question of having people that understand what you have to do and understand life.

The image from video released on Jan. 27, 2023, by the City of Memphis, shows Tyre Nichols during a brutal attack by five Memphis police officers in Memphis, Tenn., on Jan. 7, 2023. (City of Memphis via AP)

Trump kicked off his 2024 presidential campaign with a speech on Saturday in New Hampshire before heading to South Carolina. He didnt mention the death of Nichols during neither event.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden reacted to the release of the graphic footage by calling a swift, full, and transparent investigation into Nichols death. He also asked protesters to stay calm while the investigation proceeds.

Outrage is understandable, but violence is never acceptable, Biden said in a statement on Thursday. Violence is destructive and against the law. It has no place in peaceful protests seeking justice.

Each of the five officers involved in the attack has been charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault, two counts of aggravated kidnapping, two counts of official misconduct and one count of official oppression. Nichols family has called for charges for the paramedics who appeared to stand by for 20 minutes as Nichols lay on the ground dying.
UK Tory Chairman Nadhim Zahawi Sacked Over Serious Breach of Ministerial Code

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has fired Conservative Party chairman Nadhim Zahawi after an ethics inquiry into the handling of Zahawis tax affairs found a serious breach of the Ministerial Code.

In a letter to Zahawi, Sunak said that, following the investigation, it is clear that there has been a serious breach of the Ministerial Code.

As a result, I have informed you of my decision to remove you from your position in His Majestys Government.

When I became prime minister last year, I pledged that the government I lead would have integrity, professionalism, and accountability at every level, he added.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak leaves 10 Downing Street to attend Prime Ministers Questions in the House of Commons, in London, on Jan. 25, 2023. (Leon Neal/Getty Images)

He paid tribute to Zahawis contribution to the government, including his role as vaccines minister during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As you leave, you should be extremely proud of your wide-ranging achievements in government over the last five years.

In particular, your successful oversight of the COVID-19 vaccine procurement and deployment programme which ensured the United Kingdom was at the forefront of the global response to the coronavirus pandemic.

In a letter to the prime minister following his sacking, Zahawi did not explicitly mention the findings of the ethics inquiry into his tax affairs, saying instead that he is concerned about the conduct from some of the fourth estate in recent weeks, in a reference to the media.

He said: It has been, after being blessed with my loving family, the privilege of my life to serve in successive governments and make what I believe to have been a tangible difference to the country I love.

He added that Sunak can be assured of his support from the backbenches in the coming years.

Serious Failure

The row surrounding Zahawi had centred on a tax bill over the sale of shares in YouGovthe polling firm he foundedworth an estimated 27 million ($33 million) and which were held by Balshore Investments, a company registered offshore in Gibraltar and linked to Zahawis family.

Following calls from opposition parties for Zahawi to quit after he paid a penalty to HM Revenue and Customs to resolve the dispute, Sunak ordered an investigation on Jan. 23 and asked ethics adviser Sir Laurie Magnus to assess whether Zahawi had breached the ministerial code.

Magnuss four-page report, dated Jan. 29, said certain omissions by Zahawi fell short of the standards set out in the ministerial code.

In his report, Magnus wrote: Given the nature of the investigation by HMRC, which started prior to his appointment as Secretary of State for Education on Sept. 15, 2021, I consider that by failing to declare HMRCs ongoing investigation before July 2022despite the ministerial declaration of interests form including specific prompts on tax affairs and HMRC investigations and disputesMr. Zahawi failed to meet the requirement to declare any interests which might be thought to give rise to a conflict.

Magnus also told Sunak: I also conclude that, in the appointments process for the governments formed in September 2022 and October 2022, Mr. Zahawi failed to disclose relevant informationin this case the nature of the investigation and its outcome in a penaltyat the time of his appointment, including to Cabinet Office officials who support that process. Without knowledge of that information, the Cabinet Office was not in a position to inform the appointing prime minister.

Taken together, I consider that these omissions constitute a serious failure to meet the standards set out in the ministerial code.

I consider that Mr. Zahawi, in holding the high privilege of being a Minister of the Crown, has shown insufficient regard for the General Principles of the Ministerial Code and the requirements in particular, under the seven Principles of Public Life, to be honest, open and an exemplary leader through his own behaviour, he concluded.

Party First, Country Second

The main opposition Labour Party said the prime minister should have sacked Zahawi a long time ago.

Labours shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson said: The reason this keeps happening is we have a government whose only principle is party first, country second. The Tories are governing in their own interests, with a prime minister who is trying to manage his MPs, rather than govern in the national interest.

Its vital that we now get answers to what Rishi Sunak knew and when did he know it. We need to see all the papers, not just have the prime ministers role in this brushed under the carpet.

But Michael Gove, the governments levelling up secretary, said it was important for all the facts to have been investigated before Sunak made a judgment on Zahawis position.

As a general rule I think it is important when allegations are raised that they are investigated promptly, but also we shouldnt rush to judgment before theres been that investigation, he said.

And again the specific issues of an individuals tax affairs are ones that require, in circumstances like this, a cool forensic analysis, and that is what Sir Laurie provided.

PA Media contributed to this report.
Update on 5 Ex-Memphis Police Officers Charged in Tyre Nicholss Death

Five former Memphis police officers charged in the death of Tyre Nichols will be arraigned on Feb. 17, according to court records.

Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr., and Justin Smith were charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, and a number of other charges stemming from a traffic stop on earlier this month that resulted in Nicholss death. Video footage released on the night of Jan. 27 appeared to show the officers kicking and punching Nichols, who died at a hospital several days later.

Court records show that the officerswho are all blackwill all be arraigned together at 10 a.m. at a court in Shelby County, Tennessee, according to multiple news reports. Judge James Jones will hear the case, the records show.

They face up to 60 years in prison if convicted of second-degree murder.

On Jan. 20, the five officers were fired from their jobs amid reports that the body camera footage would be released to the public. The videos released on Jan. 27 show the officers savagely beating the 29-year-old FedEx worker for three minutes while screaming profanities at him in an assault that the Nichols familys legal team has likened to the infamous 1991 police beating of Los Angeles motorist Rodney King.

At one point in the video, Nichols calls out for his mother before his limp body is propped against a squad car and the officers exchange fist-bumps. The video also left many unanswered questions about the traffic stop and about other law enforcement officers who stood by as Nichols lay motionless on the pavement.

In the video footage, the officers make claims about Nicholss behavior before the incident took place. In one, an officer said that during the initial traffic stop, Nichols reached for the officers gun and almost had his hand on the handle. It isnt clear whether that was shown in the video.

After Nichols is in handcuffs and leaning against a police car, several officers stated he must have been high on drugs. Later, one says no drugs were found in Nicholss car, and another immediately counters that he must have ditched something while running away.

On Jan. 28, the Memphis Police Department announced it would permanently disband the citys SCORPION unit, an acronym for Street Crimes Operations to Restore Peace in our Neighborhoods.

A demonstrator stomps on the window of an NYPD car as people protest the death of Tyre Nichols in New York City, on Jan. 27, 2023. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

The unit is composed of three teams of about 30 officers whose stated aim is to target violent offenders in areas beset by high crime in Memphis, considered among the most violent cities in the United States. It has been inactive since Nicholss Jan. 7 arrest.

Describing the officers actions as heinous, reckless, and inhumane, Police Director Cerelyn CJ Davis said at a press conference on Jan. 27 that her department couldnt determine whether Nichols was driving recklessly before he was stopped. We dont know what happened, she told The Associated Press. All we know is the amount of force that was applied in this situation was over the top.

But Blake Ballin, an attorney for Millsone of the officerssaid that his client didnt [cross] the lines that others crossed.

The videos released on January 27 have produced as many questions as they have answers, Ballin said in a statement to news outlets on Jan. 28. Some of the questions that remain will require a focus on Desmond Millss individual actions; on what Desmond knew and what he was able to see when he arrived late to the scene; on what Desmond knew and what he was able to see after he was pepper sprayed; and on whether Desmonds actions crossed the lines that were crossed by other officers during this incident.

We continue to urge caution and patience in judging Desmond Millss actions. We are confident that the questions of whether Desmond crossed the lines that others crossed and whether he committed the crimes charged will be answered with a resounding no.

Cities nationwide had braced for demonstrations and riots after the video emerged, but protests were scattered over the weekend. Several dozen demonstrators in Memphis blocked the Interstate 55 bridge that carries traffic over the Mississippi River toward Arkansas. Protesters also blocked traffic in New York City, Los Angeles, and Portland, Oregon.

While AP and other news outlets claimed much of this weekends protests were peaceful, there were reports and footage showing rioters damaging police vehicles. A video recorded in New York City on Jan. 27 shows an individual smashing the window of an NYPD police vehicle as a crowd surrounds it.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
National Catholic Schools Week, now entering its 49th anniversary year, begins on the last Sunday in January and runs for an entire week. This year it is observed from Jan. 29 to Feb. 4. It is annually celebrated in the United States to promote the exceptional education that comes with an authentically functioning Catholic school. Education has always been a vital part of decision-making for every family and parent. With this week-long celebration, people can have a glimpse of the excellent standards, formation, programs and teachings that Catholic schools have to offer.

National Catholic Schools Week is held for seven days. Aside from its promotion of education, its also a great opportunity to recognize the value, principles and contributions that the Catholic schools have relayed to the church and every citizen for decades. Showcasing what makes Catholic schools the best for every parent, family and child is the priority for conducting Catholic Schools Week.

What usually happens during National Catholic Schools Week is the celebration of Catholic Masses, assemblies, open houses and many other activities for every family, parishioner and community member. The quality and distinction of Catholic schools can be seen through these events, especially for young students who will attend and enter school. The theme and logo for National Catholic Schools Week for the year 2023 is: Catholic Schools: Faith, Excellence, Service.

The first Catholic school that opened in the United State was called St. Marys School in Philadelphia in 1783. After some time, the enthusiasm and curiosity for Catholic education grew and the nation noticed a massive inflow of Catholics from all over the world. By the 1920s, more than 6,000 Catholic elementary schools accepted and enrolled almost two million students and employed 42,000 teachers. By the latter half of that century, enrollment grew even more, reaching double the number of students. Ever since, Catholic schools have been widely perceived and established as a viable and valuable means of education.

Auburn and Cayuga County are blessed with two schools that promote Catholic education: St. Albert the Great Academy for prekindergarten to sixth grades (stalbertthegreatacademy.com) and Tyburn Academy of Mary Immaculate for grades seven to 12 (tyburnacademy.com).

The motto of St. Albert the Great Academy is "Fides et Scientia"  "Faith and Knowledge"  reflecting St. Alberts teaching that faith and reason are complementary. St. Albert Academy develops the whole person in the Catholic tradition, teaches Gospel truths, inspires a love of learning and upholds academic excellence in a nurturing community.

The academy inspires students of all faiths to grow in their knowledge of and love for God, which will enable them to love and serve those around them. St. Albert Academy is a Christ-centered school that focuses on the whole child: mind, body and spirit.

Tyburn Academy of Mary Immaculate is an independent Catholic junior-senior high school serving grades seven through 12. Tyburn Academy is named in honor of over 100 English and Irish martyrs who gave their lives at Tyburn Crossroads, just outside Hyde Park, London, in the 16th century. The motto of Tyburn Academy is "Veritas librabit vos"  "Truth will make you free." Young men and women have a natural capacity and desire for seeking truth through intellectual and spiritual growth. Students learn to read well, write well and communicate well.

Students at various academic levels are offered rigorous college preparatory classes and moral formation built on virtues that prepare them for higher education and career choices.

Staff and faculty share a unity of purpose with parents to foster the intellectual and moral development of students. Christian values are the foundation for all school endeavors, and they form the principles to which Tyburn Academy adheres.

The learning community at St. Albert the Great Academy and at Tyburn Academy of Mary Immaculate is built on a Christian way of life illuminated by faith and honoring the dignity of all persons. During this National Catholic Schools Week, parents should are invited to visit either school to see for themselves what an authentic Catholic education, prekindergarten to 12th grade, has to offer their children.
Jie-Siou Wu and Abigail Brent at the Shen Yun Performing Arts performance at The Kennedy Center Opera House, on Jan. 28 (Jenny Jing/The Epoch Times)

WASHINGTON, D.C.Ballerinas are the very image of poise and sophistication but classical Chinese dancers are no less elegant. In fact, classical Chinese dance has a history even longer than that of ballet. Shen Yun Performing Arts, the worlds top classical Chinese dance company, just finished this seasons penultimate performance at The Kennedy Center Opera House.

Jie-Siou Wu and Abigail Brent are dancers with the Washington Ballet. After seeing New York-based Shen Yun, they were blown away by the dancers technique and precision.

Stunning. Their technique is so good. Theyre so precise. Theyre also together. Its just really amazing, said Ms. Brent.

Having seen Shen Yun before, Mr. Wu shared his views on Shen Yun as a dancer.

I know that classical Chinese dance, the tumbling techniques, Tibetan dance, and Mongolian dance are very difficult. As a ballet dancers, I know this is very difficult. A normal audience member might just think that they simply lifted a leg or the did a spin, but that spin is very difficult. It has to be smooth, without bumps, he said.

They have to be really precise, so people who arent dancers might not realize how challenging it is, but the technique behind it is really impressive. They have to be so precise in their movements, added Ms. Brent.

Classical Chinese dance has three components: bearing, form, and technique. When all three components can be combined with ease, the result is spectacular.

Today, I got goosebumps. My love for classical Chinese dance returned. Classical Chinese dance is very beautiful, not just ballet. Mr. Wu shared.

The dancers of Shen Yun not only work hard on their dance technique, they also strive to have humility and a strong sense of morality, as they explain on their website. This kind of self-discipline flows forth in their dance as well.

I already knew what they can do. All the flips, all the jumps. But for this performance I personally think they are more focused on [being] humble. I know even the last dance, its very hard. But it looks easy, said Mr. Wu.

Shen Yun uses dance and music to tell stories that originate from Chinese history or Chinese mythology.

For someone who doesnt already know the story, they convey the message so beautifully because the combination of dance and acting is very effective. They get their message across, commented Ms. Brent.

To portray the stories that occurred in different settings effectively, Shen Yun uses a digital backdrop that extends the stage endlessly.

Mr. Wu expressed that this was his first time seeing a backdrop used like this and he could understand the challenges that come with using such technology.

The screen [and dancers] connect right away and it needs to be on time. The timing should be perfect. [They can] not even lose one count, he said.

Reporting by Jenny Jing and Maria Han.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006.
White House Targets Cryptocurrencies, Calls for Stronger Enforcement by Regulators

The Bitcoin logo appears on the display screen of a cryptocurrency ATM in Salem, N.H., on Feb. 9, 2021. (Charles Krupa/AP Photo)

North Korea, fraud, and financial losses are some of the dangers emanating from the cryptocurrency industry, according to a White House blog post published on Jan. 27. It argued for enhanced oversight of cryptocurrencies more broadly, requesting help from financial regulatory bodies and congressional lawmakers.

The blogco-written by national security adviser Jake Sullivan, National Economic Council Director Brian Deese, Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Arati Prabhakar, and Council of Economic Advisors Chair Cecilia Rouseoutlined the administrations strategy for mitigating the risks associated with cryptocurrencies.

The White House officials described digital assets as a nascent industry with promise but one that must be reined in for the sake of consumers. Sullivan has long been sounding the alarm with respect to cryptocurrencies, which he placed on the administrations radar in June 2021 following the highly publicized ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline.

The White House pointed to North Korea to justify the need for further legislation, highlighting that a lack of security protocols allowed North Korea to steal over a billion dollars to fund its aggressive missile program. This refers to allegations by South Koreas main spy agency that their northern neighbor employed state-sponsored hackers to extract $1.2 billion from various digital asset projects.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan speaks at a press briefing at the White House on Dec. 12, 2022. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

Privacy coinscryptocurrencies that algorithmically wash transactions to obfuscate their ownership historyappear to be in the sights of the Biden administration as well. The briefing linked to a 2022 report (pdf) that listed privacy coins under the Malicious Acts section of the report, mentioning that such tokens are the preferred medium of exchange for criminals and bad actors.

Proponents of the popular privacy coin Monero view the ability to transact with anonymity as one of the core tenets underpinning the crypto movement.

The White House urged Congress to pass new laws to help curb criminal activity in the digital asset space. Suggestions included steeper penalties for illicit financial affiliations and additional transparency requirements for crypto-related companies.

A push to partner with international lawmakers was a key focus of the blog as well. Many have blamed foreign nations with lax legal frameworks for facilitating much of the fraud in the space.

These foreign exchanges have virtually no regulation, macroeconomic strategist Jim Bianco said in an interview with Wealthion.

However, Bianco recognized the risk that regulators may become co-opted by the companies theyre intended to regulate, using FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried as an example.

A lot of people in the industry were very uncomfortable with him because they didnt think he represented the best interests of the industry, he said. He was going to use his vision of regulation to build a moat around FTX.

Urging caution in regulation was a theme in the blog as well. White House officials warned that laws incentivizing further investment into crypto should be avoided.

Legislation should not greenlight mainstream institutions, like pension funds, to dive headlong into cryptocurrency markets, the blog reads. It would be a grave mistake to enact legislation that reverses course and deepens the ties between cryptocurrencies and the broader financial system.

At least 15 state and municipal pension funds suffered losses in the FTX implosion in the fall of 2022, according to the retirement planning website Equable. The Ontario Teachers Pension Plan lost a $95 million investment in the failed crypto exchange.

Another Canadian pension fund lost $150 million by investing in the now-defunct crypto network Celsius, which filed for bankruptcy in July 2022.

But some economists think regulation would do little to protect investors and would place an unnecessary burden on taxpayers.

We dont need more government regulation, Peter Schiff, chief economist at Euro Pacific Asset Management, told The Epoch Times. We need more free market regulation and personal responsibility.


remaining of

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Editor's note: CNY in the House is a new weekly politics feature that will summarize how U.S. Reps. Claudia Tenney and Brandon Williams, both of whom represent parts of central New York, voted on bills considered by the House of Representatives.

Energy, specifically the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, was the main focus for the Republican-led House of Representatives this week.

The House passed H.R. 21, named the Strategic Production Response Act. According to the bill's summary, it would limit the ability of the Department of Energy to release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve unless it has a plan for increasing the use of federal lands available for oil and gas production.

U.S. Reps. Claudia Tenney, who represents all of Cayuga County in the 24th Congressional District, and Brandon Williams, who represents a portion of Oswego County and all of Onondaga, Madison and Oneida counties in the 22nd district, voted for the bill.

The legislation is a response to President Joe Biden's actions last year to release oil from the reserve to help lower gas prices. The Biden administration released more than 211 million barrels of oil from the reserve. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the reserve was at its lowest level since the mid-1980s after the oil was released.

The Biden administration announced in December that it would begin refilling the reserve this year.

Before the House passed H.R. 21, there were votes on more than 50 amendments, most of which were introduced by Democratic members. One of the amendments authored by U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider, an Illinois Democrat, would prevent oil drilling in the Great Lakes. This was rejected by the GOP majority. Tenney, whose districts includes counties along Lake Ontario, and Williams opposed the amendment.

The bill is unlikely to advance in Congress with Democrats controlling the U.S. Senate. Even if it did, Biden would veto the measure.

Other votes this week:

 With wide bipartisan support, the House passed the Chance to Compete Act. Tenney and Williams voted for this bill.

The Chance to Compete Act would reform the process for hiring federal employees. Among the changes this bill would make is using subject matter experts to review resumes as part of a candidate's qualifying exam.

 The House approved the Settlement Agreement Information Database Act, a bill that would require federal agencies to post information about settlement agreements in a public database. Tenney and Williams voted for the legislation.

 The House passed a bill, the NOTAM Improvement Act, that would create a task force to improve the Federal Aviation Administration's notices to air missions system. This is in response to the NOTAM system outage that occurred this month and disrupted air travel. Tenney and Williams voted for the bill.

 The Investing in Main Street Act cleared the House with strong bipartisan support. Tenney and Williams supported the legislation.

The legislation would allow banks and other financial institutions to increase investments in start-up companies by amending the Small Business Investment Act. Under existing law, banks can only invest up to 5% of capital and surplus into Small Business Investment Companies, or SBICs. The bill would raise that cap to 15%.

 A resolution introduced by Tenney to condemn Iran's human rights abuses against protesters passed the House. Tenney and Williams supported the measure.
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.

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BChasdei Hashem, another serious terror attack was averted on Motzei Shabbos when the terrorists gun jammed after he shot one bullet into a crowded restaurant.

The incident occurred at the Almog Junction in the Jordan Valley. The terrorist fled the scene after his gun malfunctioned.

An IDF spokesperson stated that a shooting attack took place near a restaurant at the Almog junction. A terrorist arrived at the restaurant, fired one shot and fled. IDF forces and police are scanning the area. There are no casualties.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)




Three people were killed and four others were wounded in a shooting at a short-term rental home in California area early Saturday morning, police said.

The shooting occurred about 2:30 a.m. in Beverly Crest, an upscale Los Angeles neighborhood.

Sgt. Frank Preciado of the Los Angeles Police Department said earlier Saturday that the three people who were killed were inside a vehicle.

Two of the four other victims were taken in private vehicles to area hospitals and two others were transported by ambulance, police spokesperson Sgt. Bruce Borihanh said.

Two were in critical condition and two were in stable condition, Borihanh said.

The ages and genders of the victims were not immediately released.

Investigators were trying to determine if there was a party at the rental home or what type of gathering was occurring, Borihanh said.

Borihanh said police have no information on suspects.

This is the fourth mass shooting in California this month.

For the third straight year, the U.S. in 2022 recorded over 600 mass shootings in which at least four people were killed or injured, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

(AP)




Former President Donald Trump kicked off his 2024 White House bid with a stop Saturday in New Hampshire before heading to South Carolina, appearances in early-voting states marking the first campaign events since announcing his latest run more than two months ago.

Were starting. Were starting right here as a candidate for president, he told party leaders at the New Hampshire GOPs annual meeting in Salem before a late afternoon stop in Columbia to introduce his South Carolina leadership team. Im more angry now and Im more committed now than I ever was.

Those states hold two of the partys first three nominating contests, giving them enormous power in selecting the nominee.

Trump and his allies hope the events will offer a show of force behind the former president after a sluggish start to his campaign that left many questioning his commitment to running again. In recent weeks, his backers have reached out to political operatives and elected officials to secure support for Trump at a critical point when other Republicans are preparing their own expected challenges.

The gun is fired, and the campaign season has started, said Stephen Stepanek, outgoing chair of the New Hampshire Republican Party. Trump announced that Stepanek will serve as senior adviser for his campaign in the state.

While Trump remains the only declared 2024 presidential candidate, potential challengers, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who was Trumps ambassador to the United Nations, are expected to get their campaign underway in the coming months.

In South Carolina, Gov. Henry McMaster, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham and several members of the states congressional delegation plan to attend Saturdays event at the Statehouse. But Trumps team has struggled to line up support from state lawmakers, even some who eagerly backed him during previous runs.

Some have said that more than a year out from primary balloting is too early to make endorsements or that they are waiting to see who else enters the race. Others have said it is time for the party to move past Trump to a new generation of leadership.

Republican state Rep. RJ May, vice chair of South Carolinas state House Freedom Caucus, said he wasnt going to attend Trumps event because he was focused on that groups legislative fight with the GOP caucus. He indicated that he was open to other candidates in the 2024 race.

I think were going to have a very strong slate of candidates here in South Carolina, said May, who voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020. He added, I would 100% take a Donald Trump over Joe Biden.

Dave Wilson, president of conservative Christian nonprofit Palmetto Family, said some conservative voters may have concerns about Trumps recent comments that Republicans who opposed abortion without exceptions had cost the party in the November elections.

It gives pause to some folks within the conservative ranks of the Republican Party as to whether or not we need the process to work itself out, said Wilson, whose group hosted Pence for a speech in 2021. He added: You continue to have to earn your vote. Nothing is taken for granted.

Acknowledging that Trump did some phenomenal things when he was president, like securing a conservative U.S. Supreme Court majority, Wilson said South Carolinas GOP voters may be seeking a candidate who can be the standard-bearer not only for now but to build ongoing momentum across America for conservatism for the next few decades.

But Gerri McDaniel, who worked on Trumps 2016 campaign and will be attending Saturdays event, rejected the idea that voters were ready to move on from the former president.

Some of the media keep saying hes losing his support. No, hes not, she said. Its only going to be greater than it was before because there are so many people who are angry about whats happening in Washington.

The South Carolina event, at a government building, surrounded by elected officials, is in some ways off-brand for a former reality television star who typically favors big rallies and has tried to cultivate an outsider image. But the reality is that Trump is a former president who is seeking to reclaim the White House by contrasting his time in office with the current administration.

Rallies are also expensive, and Trump, who is notoriously frugal, added new financial challenges when he deciding to begin his campaign in November  far earlier than many allies had urged. That leaves him subject to strict fundraising regulations and bars him from using his well-funded leadership PAC to pay for such events, which can cost several million dollars.

Officials expect Trump to speak in the second-floor lobby of the Statehouse, an opulent ceremonial area between the House and Senate chambers.

The venue has played host to some of South Carolinas most notable political news moments, including Haleys 2015 signing of a bill to remove the Confederate battle flag from the Statehouse grounds and McMasters 2021 signing of legislation banning abortions in the state after around six weeks of pregnancy. The state Supreme Court recently ruled the abortion law unconstitutional, and McMaster has pledged to seek a rehearing.

Trumps nascent campaign has already sparked controversy, most particularly when he had dinner with Holocaust-denying white nationalist Nick Fuentes and the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, who had made a series of antisemitic comments. Trump also was widely mocked for selling a series of digital trading cards that pictured him as a superhero, a cowboy and an astronaut, among others.

At the same time, he is the subject of a series of criminal investigations, including one into the discovery of hundreds of documents with classified markings at his Florida club and whether he obstructed justice by refusing to return them, as well as state and federal examinations of his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

Still, Trump remains the only announced 2024 candidate, and early polling shows hes a favorite to win his partys nomination.

Stepanek, who was required to remain neutral until his term as New Hampshire party chair ends at Saturdays party meeting, dismissed the significance of Trumps slow start, which campaign officials say accounts for time spent putting infrastructure in place for a national campaign.

In New Hampshire, he said, theres been a lot of anticipation, a lot of excitement for Trumps reelection. He said Trumps most loyal supporters continue to stand behind him.

You have a lot of people who werent with him in 15, 16, then became Trumpers, then became never-Trumpers, Stepanek said. But the people who supported him in New Hampshire, who propelled him to his win in 2016 in the New Hampshire primary, theyre all still there, waiting for the president.

(AP)




Dozens of people were injured in a massive traffic pileup amid snowy conditions in southern Wisconsin on Friday, which blocked Interstate 39/90 for hours, authorities said.

Beloit Memorial Hospital said at least 27 people were treated for injuries sustained in the 85-vehicle pileup, WIFR-TV reported. The extent of their injuries was not immediately clear, the station said.

State Patrol officials said snow, ice and whiteout conditions were factors in the crash.

Most of southern Wisconsin remained under a winter weather advisory Friday afternoon with more snow expected Saturday.

The crash occurred at around 12:30 p.m. in Rock County between Janesville and Beloit, the State Patrol said in a statement posted on its Facebook page. Troopers arrived to find the interstate blocked in both directions.

Troopers diverted traffic onto side roads. The southbound lanes reopened just after 8 p.m., the State Patrol said on Twitter late Friday.

WIFR-TV posted live video of the scene just before 4 p.m. showing semitrailers backed up as emergency workers assisted motorists.

As of 6 a.m. Friday, the Beloit area had seen 2.2 inches of snow over the last 24 hours, according to the National Weather Service.

The State Patrol said in a separate statement that another multi-vehicle crash around 1:30 p.m. Friday blocked northbound Interstate 41 in Kenosha County near the Wisconsin-Illinois border. Those lanes reopened by 7:35 p.m. Snow, ice and whiteout conditions factored into that crash as well, according to the State Patrol.

(AP)




Ukraine and its Western allies are engaged in fast-track talks on the possibility of equipping the invaded country with long-range missiles and military aircraft, a top Ukrainian presidential aide said Saturday.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Ukraines supporters in the West understand how the war is developing and the need to supply planes capable of providing cover for the armored fighting vehicles that the United States and Germany pledged at the beginning of the month.

However, in remarks to online video channel Freedom, Podolyak said that some of Ukraines Western partners maintain a conservative attitude to arms deliveries, due to fear of changes in the international architecture. Russia and North Korea have accused the West of prolonging and taking a direct role in the war by sending Kyiv increasingly sophisticated weapons.

We need to work with this. We must show (our partners) the real picture of this war, Podolyak said, without naming specific countries. We must speak reasonably and tell them, for example, This and this will reduce fatalities, this will reduce the burden on infrastructure. This will reduce security threats to the European continent, this will keep the war localized. And we are doing it.

The U.S. and Germany agreed Wednesday to share advanced tanks with Ukraine along with the Bradley and Marder vehicles promised earlier, a decision that led to criticism not only from the Kremlin but from the prime minister of NATO and European Union member Hungary.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban asserted Friday that Western countries providing weapons and money to assist Ukraine in its war with Russia have drifted into becoming active participants in the conflict. Orban has refused to send weapons to neighboring Ukraine and sought to block EU funds earmarked for military aid.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said it would summon Hungarys ambassador to complain about Orbans remarks. A ministry spokesperson, Oleg Nikolenko, said Orban told reporters that Ukraine was a no-mans land and compared it to Afghanistan.

Such statements are completely unacceptable. Budapest continues on its course to deliberately destroy Ukrainian-Hungarian relations, Nikolenko said in a Facebook post.

President Joe Bidens announcement that the U.S. would send 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine reversed months of arguments by Washington that they were too difficult for Ukrainian troops to operate and maintain.

The U.S. decision persuaded German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who had expressed concern about a unilateral action drawing Russias wrath, to agree to send 14 Leopard 2 tanks from Germanys stocks and to allow European countries with tanks to send some of theirs.

Western weapons have proven essential to Ukraines defense while stoking ever-higher tensions with Moscow. Russias Defense Ministry said Saturday that Ukrainian forces used U.S.-made HIMARS rockets to strike a hospital in the eastern Ukrainian town of Novoaidar, killing 14 people.

Novoaidar is located in Luhansk province, which is almost entirely under the control of Russian forces or Russian-backed separatists. The Russian Defense Ministry alleged the hospital was deliberately targeted. Its claim of a strike in Novoaidar could not be immediately verified.

Amid the news of the Western pledges of heavy tanks, Russia bombarded Ukraine with missiles, exploding drones and artillery shells this week. The attacks continued Saturday, when Russian missiles struck the city of Kostyantynivka in eastern Ukraines Donetsk province.

The missiles fell in a residential area, killing three civilians, wounding 14 and damaging four high-rise apartment buildings, a hotel and garages, Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said.

Kostyantynivka is a city relatively far from the front line, but still, it constantly suffers from enemy attacks. Everyone who remains in the city exposes themselves to mortal danger, Kyrylenko said. The Russians target civilians because they are not able to fight the Ukrainian army.

In a separate Telegram post earlier Saturday, Kyrylenko reported that Russian attacks in the province killed four civilians in all and wounded seven others in 24 hours.

Russian rockets hit a residential area the Donestsk town of Chasiv Yar on Friday night, killing of two people and wounding five more, the governor said. Photos attached to Kyrylenkos post showed a three-story school building on fire.

Donetsk province, where the territory is roughly split between Russian and Ukrainian control, has become the battle epicenter of the war as Moscow tries to jump-start a monthslong, grinding offensive to capture the city of Bakhmut.

Chasiv Yar lies on a hill strategically located for the defense of Bakhmut, and has come under intensified Russian shelling. Capturing Bakhmut would allow Russian troops to disrupt Ukrainian supply lines and potentially pave the way for them to threaten Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, the largest remaining Ukrainian-held cities in the countrys east.

Russian forces continued ground attacks around Bakhmut and Avdiivka, another Donetsk city to the south, while Ukrainian troops were on the offensive in southern and northeast Ukraine, the Ukrainian military said in a Saturday morning update.

The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said that Russian troops are defending themselves near Lyman in Luhansk and Kharkiv provinces north of Donetsk, as well in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia provinces in the south.

The fighting has largely been deadlocked over the past months, with winter conditions slowing down ground operations and neither side reporting significant progress.

In the same update, the military reported that Russian forces launched 10 missile strikes, 26 air strikes and 81 shelling attacks on Ukrainian territory between Friday and Saturday mornings. The shelling killed two civilians in Kherson, another province that is partly Russian-occupied.

Podolyak, the presidential adviser, said Ukraine needs supplies of Western long-range missiles to drastically curtail the key tool of the Russian army by destroying the warehouses where it stores cannon artillery used on the front line.

(AP)
Six passengers on a bus were killed and others seriously injured in a collision with a truck Saturday morning in St. Lawrence County.

New York State Police reported that the crash occurred at about 6 a.m. on Route 37 in the town of Louisville.

Police said the crash involved a 2021 Freightliner box truck and a 2013 express bus. They said six people on the bus were killed, one was in critical condition and two were seriously injured.

They said victims were transported to Massena Memorial, Canton-Potsdam Hospital, and Claxton Hepburn Medical Center. St. Lawrence County Medical Examiners Officer responded to the scene as well.

State police said they were assisted by St. Lawrence County Sheriffs department, and fire and rescue teams from Louisville, Waddington, Norfolk, Madrid, Massena and Seaway Valley.

This investigation was ongoing Saturday night.




North Korea condemned on Friday the decision by the United States to supply Ukraine with advanced battle tanks to help fight off Russias invasion, saying Washington is escalating a sinister proxy war aimed at destroying Moscow.

The comments by the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un underscored the countrys deepening alignment with Russia over the war in Ukraine as it confronts the United States and its Asian allies over its own growing nuclear weapons and missiles program.

North Korea has blamed the United States for the crisis in Ukraine, insisting that the Wests hegemonic policy forced Russia to take military action to protect its security interests.

It has also used the distraction created by the war to accelerate its own weapons development, test-firing more than 70 missiles in 2022 alone, including potentially nuclear-capable weapons believed able to target South Korea and the U.S. mainland.

The United States has accused North Korea of sending large supplies of artillery shells and other ammunition to Russia to support its offensive in Ukraine, although the North has repeatedly denied the claim.

Kim Yo Jongs comments, carried by the official Korean Central News Agency, came after U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday said the United States will send 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, reversing months of arguments by Washington that they were too difficult for Ukrainian troops to operate and maintain. The U.S. decision followed Germanys agreement to send 14 Leopard 2 A6 tanks from its own stocks.

Kim said the Biden administration was further crossing the red line by sending its main tanks to Ukraine and that the decision reflects a sinister intention to realize its hegemonic aim by further expanding the proxy war for destroying Russia.

The U.S. is the arch criminal which poses serious threat and challenge to the strategic security of Russia and pushes the regional situation to the present grave phase, she said.

I do not doubt that any military hardware the U.S. and the West boast of will be burnt into pieces in the face of the indomitable fighting spirit and might of the heroic Russian army and people, she said, adding that North Korea will always stand in the same trench with Russia.

North Korea is the only nation other than Russia and Syria to recognize the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk, two Russian-backed separatist regions in eastern Ukraine, and has also hinted at plans to send workers there to help with rebuilding efforts.

(AP)




The Taliban on Saturday doubled down on their ban on womens education, reinforcing in a message to private universities that Afghan women are barred from taking university entry exams, according to a spokesman.

The note comes despite weeks of condemnation and lobbying by the international community for a reversal on measures restricting womens freedoms, including two back-to-back visits this month by several senior U.N. officials. It also bodes ill for hopes that the Taliban could take steps to reverse their edicts anytime soon.

The Taliban barred women from private and public universities last month. The higher education minister in the Taliban-run government, Nida Mohammed Nadim, has maintained that the ban is necessary to prevent the mixing of genders in universities  and because he believes some subjects being taught violate Islamic principles.

Work was underway to fix these issues and universities would reopen for women once they were resolved, he had said in a TV interview.

The Taliban have made similar promises about middle school and high school access for girls, saying classes would resume for them once technical issues around uniforms and transport were sorted out. But girls remain shut out of classrooms beyond sixth grade.

Higher Education Ministry spokesman Ziaullah Hashmi said Saturday that a letter reminding private universities not to allow women to take entrance exams was sent out. He gave no further details.

A copy of the letter, shared with The Associated Press, warned that women could not take the entry test for bachelor, master and doctorate levels and that if any university disobeys the edict, legal action will be taken against the violator.

The letter was signed by Mohammad Salim Afghan, the government official overseeing student affairs at private universities.

Entrance exams start on Sunday in some provinces while elsewhere in Afghanistan, they begin Feb. 27. Universities across Afghanistan follow a different term timetable, due to seasonal differences.

Mohammed Karim Nasari, spokesman for the private universities union, said the institutions were worried and sad about this latest development.

The one hope we had was that there might be some progress. But unfortunately, after the letter, there is no sign of progress, he told the AP. The entire sector is suffering.

He expressed fears that if education did not restart for girls, then nobody would take entrance exams because student numbers would be so low.

Also, Nasari said private universities want the authorities to waive land taxes for universities built on government property, and waive taxes on universities in general, because they are suffering huge financial losses.

Afghanistan has 140 private universities across 24 provinces, with around 200,000 students. Out of those, some 60,000 to 70,000 are women. The universities employ about 25,000 people.

Earlier this week, U.N. humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths and leaders of two major international aid organizations visited Afghanistan, following last weeks visit by a delegation led by the U.N.s highest-ranking woman, U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed. The visits had the same aim  to try and reverse the Talibans crackdown on women and girls, including their ban on Afghan women working for national and global humanitarian organizations.

(AP)




Mass shootings have commanded public attention on a disturbingly frequent basis across the U.S. But rather than provoking a unified response from elected officials, each additional shooting seems to be widening the political divide on gun policy among states.

Its wash, rinse and repeat with these mass shootings, said Michael Anderson, a bartender who survived a mass shooting at a Colorado nightclub. They happen, and then they happen, and then they happen  and then nothing gets done.

At least nothing that has put a halt to the violence.

In Democratic-led states with already restrictive gun laws, officials have responded to home-state tragedies with even more limits on guns  doubling down on a belief that future shootings can be thwarted by controlling access to lethal weapons.

In many states with Republican-led legislatures, high-profile shootings appear unlikely to prompt any new firearm restrictions this year  reflecting a belief that violent people, not their weapons, are the problem.

Obviously, no one wants to see these tragedies occur  this loss of life  but how the problem is viewed, and therefore what the response is to that problem, is night and day difference, said Daniel Webster, an American health professor at the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions.

For the third straight year, the U.S. in 2022 recorded over 600 mass shootings in which at least four people were killed or injured, according to the Gun Violence Archive. This year got off to another deadly start, including three California mass shootings in barely a week that killed two dozen people. A Saturday morning shooting in an upscale Los Angeles neighborhood that killed at least three and wounded four added to the grim toll. That despite the fact California has some of the nations strictest gun laws.

As more communities grieve, legislative sessions are getting underway in many states. Numerous gun-related bills have been filed, but common ground appears lacking.

In Texas, Democratic state Sen. Roland Gutierrez convened a Capitol news conference this past week with relatives of some of the 19 children and two teachers killed last May at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. They pleaded with lawmakers to raise the age from 18 to 21 to buy semi-automatic rifles and lift restraints against lawsuits alleging negligence by law enforcement officers and public agencies.

An 18-year-old should not be allowed to purchase an ugly weapon, said Felicia Martinez, whose 10-year-old son Xavier Lopez was killed in the attack. She added: These laws need to be changed, and they need to be changed today  not tomorrow.

Yet that seems unlikely. Texas House Speaker Dade Phela told reporters earlier this month he didnt foresee enough support in the Republican-led House to pass bills limiting access to guns. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has said raising the purchasing age for semi-automatic rifles would be unconstitutional, though several states already have similar restrictions.

Instead, Texas officials responded last summer with $105.5 million for school safety and mental health initiatives.

Missouri seems similarly unlikely to enact stricter gun laws after a 19-year-old killed a teacher, a student and wounded seven others last October at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School in St. Louis. Police said they had previously responded to a call from the 19-year-olds mother to remove a gun from his possession, but they could not do so because Missouri lacks a red-flag law.

If such a law had been in place, this would not have happened  at least that person, that situation, that gun, that death, all of that could have been prevented, said Janay Douglas, whose 15-year-old daughter fled from the shooter.

Democrats have sponsored legislation allowing authorities to remove guns from people at risk of causing harm. But its prospects are not good.

I dont think a red flag law  the way I know it to be and the way its been defined  has any chance of getting through the Missouri Senate, thats for certain, said Senate President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden, a Republican.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican, has instead proposed $50 million for school safety grants in response to the shooting.

In Oklahoma, which experienced several mass shootings, Republican lawmakers are expected to push for looser gun laws. GOP state Rep. Jim Olsen has filed a bill to lower the age for carrying a firearm from 21 to 18.

Its a constitutional right, Olsen said. The immaturity that exists at 18 sometimes also still exists at 22. So, what do we want to do? Raise the age to 25 or 30? I would think not.

By contrast, lawmakers in Democratic-led New York and Illinois moved fairly quickly to enact additional gun restrictions after mass shootings.

An 18-year-old shooter outfitted with body armor and a semi-automatic rifle killed 10 people and injured three others last May at a Buffalo grocery story in a predominantly black neighborhood. Within a month, the legislature and governor enacted laws barring people under age 21 from buying semi-automatic rifles, limiting the sale of bullet-resistant armor and tightening red-flag laws.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat, signed legislation earlier this month spurred largely by an Independence Day parade shooting that killed seven and injured dozens in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park. The law bans the sale or possession of dozens of specific types of semi-automatic guns and high-capacity ammunition magazines. A judge has temporarily blocked it after gun-rights advocates sued.

In Colorado, lawmakers are proposing a variety of new gun restrictions, two months after five people were killed at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs. Democratic leaders have been most supportive of proposals to strengthen red flag laws and raise the minimum age to purchase firearms from 18 to 21.

Anderson, who was bartending at Club Q during the shooting, wants politicians to embrace greater gun control and better mental health services.

After what Ive been through and my friends and our community here, you know, doing nothing is not an option, Anderson said.

(AP)




Leora and Moran Azilov, the daughters of Rosa Azilov, 60, who was injured in the terror attack in Neve Yaakov on Friday night, told Kan News about their encounter with the terrorist.

Ima and our sister Tali went on a walk on Erev Shabbos. Suddenly she stopped and saw that she was injured from a bullet in her leg and another bullet in her arm. She told the terrorist, Please dont hurt me, and in response, he said in fluent Hebrew that he doesnt harm women and left. He passed them several times and then shot another woman in the head. We understood that they got into a confrontation or something. But he could have shot Ima and our sister and he didnt. Were very thankful to Hashem.

We want to say that it took a lot of time until they received first aid from MDA and the police despite the fact that theres a station right nearby. It took over ten minutes and they were helpless. Our mother was injured from a piece of shrapnel from a bullet that wasnt shot at her.

Our feelings are very mixed and we only hope that the family will receive all the help they need  our mother who was injured and our sister who was traumatized.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)




Bomb-carrying drones targeted an Iranian defense factory in the central city of Isfahan overnight, authorities said early Sunday, causing some damage at the plant amid heightened regional and international tensions engulfing the Islamic Republic.

The Iranian Defense Ministry offered no information on who it suspected carried out the attack, which came as a refinery fire separately broke out in the countrys northwest and a 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck nearby, killing two people.

However, Tehran has been targeted in suspected Israeli drone strikes amid a shadow war with its Mideast rival as its nuclear deal with world powers collapsed. Meanwhile, tensions also remain high with neighboring Azerbaijan after a gunman attacked that countrys embassy in Tehran, killing its security chief and wounding two others.

Details on the Isfahan attack, which happened around 11:30 p.m. Saturday, remained scarce. A Defense Ministry statement described three drones being launched at the facility, with two of them successfully shot down. A third apparently made it through to strike the building, causing minor damage to its roof and wounding no one, the ministry said.

Iranian state televisions English-language arm, Press TV, aired mobile phone video apparently showing the moment that drone struck along the busy Imam Khomeini Expressway that heads northeast out of Isfahan, one of several ways for drivers to go to the holy city of Qom and Tehran, Irans capital. A small crowd stood gathered, likely drawn by anti-aircraft fire, watching as an explosion and sparks struck a dark building. Those there fled after the strike.

The Defense Ministry only called the site a workshop, without elaborating on what it made. Isfahan, some 350 kilometers (215 miles) south of Tehran, is home to both a large air base built for its fleet of American-made F-14 fighter jets and its Nuclear Fuel Research and Production Center.

Separately, Irans state TV said a fire broke out at an oil refinery in an industrial zone near the northwestern city of Tabriz. It said the cause was not yet known, as it showed footage of firefighters trying to extinguish the blaze.

State TV also said the magnitude-5.9 earthquake killed two people and injured some 580 more in rural areas in West Azerbaijan province, damaging buildings in many villages.

Iran and Israel have long been engaged in a shadow war that has included covert attacks on Iranian military and nuclear facilities.

Last year, Iran said an engineer was killed and another employee was wounded in an unexplained incident at the Parchin military and weapons development base east of the capital, Tehran. The ministry called it an accident, without providing further details.

Parchin is home to a military base where the International Atomic Energy Agency has said it suspected Iran conducted tests of explosive triggers that could be used in nuclear weapons.

In April 2021, Iran blamed Israel for an attack on its underground Natanz nuclear facility that damaged its centrifuges.

Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attack, but Israeli media widely reported that the country had orchestrated a devastating cyberattack that caused a blackout at the nuclear facility. Israeli officials rarely acknowledge operations carried out by the countrys secret military units or its Mossad intelligence agency.

In 2020, Iran blamed Israel for a sophisticated attack that killed its top nuclear scientist.

Iran has always insisted its nuclear program is for purely peaceful purposes. U.S. intelligence agencies, Western nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency have said Iran ran an organized nuclear weapons program until 2003.

The United Nations top nuclear official, Rafael Mariano Grossi, recently warned that Iran has enough highly enriched uranium to build several nuclear weapons if it chooses.

Efforts to revive a 2015 agreement with world powers that placed limits on Irans nuclear activities ground to a halt last year. Both the U.S. and Israel have vowed to prevent Iran from ever acquiring nuclear weapons, and neither has ruled out military action.

(AP)




Ronna McDaniel has become the longest serving leader of the Republican National Committee since the Civil War. But now, she must confront a modern-day civil war within the GOP.

Frustrated Republicans from state capitals to Capitol Hill to the luxury Southern California hotel where RNC members gathered this week are at odds over how to reverse six years of election disappointments. And while there are many strong feelings, there is no consensus even among the fighting factions about the people, policies or political tactics they should embrace.

On one side: a growing number of elected officials eager to move beyond the divisive politics and personality of former President Donald Trump despite having no clear alternative. And on the other: the GOPs vocal Make America Great Again wing, which has no cohesive agenda yet is quick to attack the status quo in both parties.

It will be extraordinarily difficult, if not near impossible, for Ronna McDaniel to put the pieces back together, said Republican fundraiser Caroline Wren, a leading voice in the coalition of far-right activists, conservative media leaders and local elected officials across the country who fought and failed to defeat McDaniel. These people are not just going to forget.

Indeed, as RNC members packed up from the Waldorf Astoria ballroom Friday, there was broad agreement that McDaniels reelection alone would do little to heal the gaping divide that plagues their party, even as she celebrated a notably decisive reelection victory.

Trump quickly congratulated McDaniel on his social media platform after privately helping her campaign. But conservative activist Charlie Kirk, a Trump loyalist, likened McDaniels successful reelection to a middle finger for the GOPs grassroots who demanded change at the institution that leads the partys political activities.

The country club won today, Kirk said from the back of the Waldorf Astoria ballroom where RNC members from across the country voted to give McDaniel another two-year term. So, the grassroots of people that cant afford to buy a steak and are struggling to make ends meet, they just got told by their representatives at an opulent $900-a-night hotel that, We hate you.

A similar sentiment roiled the Republican Party earlier in the month on Capitol Hill as Kevin McCarthy struggled through days of embarrassing defeats in his quest to become House speaker before acquiescing to the demands of the anti-establishment MAGA fringe.

McCarthys inability to control the hardline Trump loyalists in his conference now threatens to undermine a high-stakes vote on the nations debt limit that could send shockwaves through the U.S. economy if not resolved soon. So far, House Republicans havent articulated a specific set of demands.

Some see the Republican divide as a byproduct of the GOPs years-long embrace of Trumpism, a political ideology defined by its relentless focus on a common enemy and a willingness to fight that perceived foe no matter the cost.

McDaniel has repeatedly highlighted the perils of GOP infighting as she campaigned for an unprecedented fourth term as RNC chair. On Friday, she pleaded for Republican unity while citing a Bible verse once used by former President Abraham Lincoln before the Civil War.

Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand, McDaniel said from the ballroom podium. Nothing we do is more important than making sure that Joe Biden is a one-term president. But in order to do that, we have to be unified.

It may get worse before it gets better.

The conclusion of the RNCs winter meeting marks the unofficial beginning of the 2024 presidential primary season. Trump has already launched his candidacy and promises to wage a fierce campaign against any would-be Republican competitors.

The RNC is in the process of scheduling the first Republican presidential primary debates, which will likely take place in Milwaukee, the site of the partys next national convention, in late July or early August.

While he has been slow to hit the campaign trail since announcing a 2024 bid last November, Trump has events in New Hampshire and South Carolina this weekend. Sensing political weakness in the former president, as many as a dozen high-profile Republicans are expected to line up against him in the coming months.

Should he fail to clinch the GOPs next presidential nomination, Trump has already dangled the possibility of a third-party presidential bid, which would all but ensure Democrats win the White House again in 2024.

New Hampshire-based RNC member Juliana Bergeron reflected upon the state of her party as she prepared to take a red-eye flight back home to attend Trumps Saturday appearance. The New Hampshire GOP is working through its own bitter leadership feud.

The party in New Hampshire is divided. The party nationally is divided. I just think theres a lot of space between the far right and some of the rest of us, Bergeron said.

I think its over, she said when asked about Trump. I want to see a new generation out there.

And there are some signs that Trumps MAGA movement may be ready to move on as well. Some privately acknowledged that Trump had lost control of his own movement, which worked to defeat McDaniel even as the former president and his lieutenants tried to help her.

While Trump declined to publicly endorse McDaniel, Wren said it wouldnt have changed the grassroots demand for new GOP leadership even if he had.

Were not just sheep that follow a single endorsement anywhere, Wren said. We want to win elections and were not winning elections.

Indeed, Republicans may need a successful national election to come together again. The next national election? Nov. 5, 2024.

The hard work now begins for bringing our party together, said former Trump chief of staff Reince Priebus, a former RNC chair who backed McDaniels reelection. This isnt going to be easy.

(AP)




Israeli security forces sealed off the home of the Neve Yaakov terrorist in the At-Tur neighborhood in eastern Jerusalem overnight on Motzei Shabbos.

Following the murderous attack on Friday night, Israel Police, Border Guard officers, and IDF soldiers raided the home of Alqam Khayri, the 21-year-old terrorist who was killed by police officers after he fled the scene of the attack, and evacuated its occupants.

Some family members were arrested and transferred for questioning.

After the required approvals were received on Motzei Shabbos, the entrances to the home were sealed. A statement from the police on Sunday morning said that the operation was successfully completed and no casualties were reported.

The decision for the immediate sealing of the home was made in a meeting of the Israeli security cabinet on Motzei Shabbos, promoted by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

Its good that my suggestion to seal [the terrorists home immediately] was accepted, and soon we will seal the entire home, Ben-Gvir said. The speed of the response, which was not demonstrated by the previous government, is important. At the same time, we need to implement a series of responses in order to make clear to terrorists that theres a new government in Jerusalem, and Israel is going on the offense and not just defending itself.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)




The Israeli cabinet on Sunday unanimously approved a decision to seal the home of the 13-year-old terrorist who carried out the attack in Ir Dovid on Shabbos.

The decision, which was deliberated on the demand of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir at the security cabinet meeting on Motzei Shabbos, required a cabinet vote since the official policy is to only demolish the homes of terrorists whose acts led to the murder of victims. The sealing of the Ir Dovid terrorists home is a one-time directive since a general change in policy will require legislative work.

The government is planning on holding an extensive discussion on the current policy and establishing new criteria in the cases of terrorists who have not committed murder.

Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar has been asked to prepare an opinion on the matter.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)




Israel carried out a successful suicide drone attack on a military facility in the Iranian city of Isfahan overnight Motzei Shabbos, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.

According to the report, the strike against Iran, which would be the first to be carried out by the new government of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, caused significant damage at the plant. It added that former Mossad chief Dovid Barnea mentioned Isfahan as a potential target at a speech last September.

The attack comes as US and Israeli officials are deliberating on ways to counter Irans nuclear program.

Iranian officials reported that three small quadcopters targeted a munitions factory in Isfahan, nearby to a site belonging to the Iran Space Research Center, which is under US sanctions for its involvement in the manufacture of ballistic missiles.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian called the attack cowardly and claimed that only minor damage was incurred and there were no casualties.

This cowardly act was carried out today as part of the efforts made by enemies of the Iranian nation in recent months to make the Islamic Republic insecure, Amir-Abdollahian said at a press conference on Sunday. Such measures cannot affect the will and intention of our specialists for peaceful nuclear developments.

NEW: The strike on Iran's MoD facility in Isfahan was specific, surgical & successful, sources with direct knowledge told me. They added the facility was connected to Irans missile program: 4 different areas in the building were accurately targeted & the goal was achieved"  Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) January 29, 2023

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)
Thousands of bereaved young families struggling with finances when a partner dies can now claim support worth up to 9,800, thanks to a campaign backed by Wealth & Personal Finance.

Last week, the House of Commons voted through a bill to help almost 23,000 grieving families where the parents had been cohabiting but not married.

The surviving mother or father will now be able to claim the same bereavement support that was previously only offered to married couples or those in a civil partnership. The new rules, expected to come into force early this year, could benefit an estimated 1,800 widows or widowers a year.

Campaign: The charity WAY Widowed and Young has been leading the fighting for equal rights for bereaved families

The change is also backdated to cover a further 21,000 claims from August 30, 2018, which may affect those whose partners died more than a decade ago. Unfortunately, families only have a 12-month window to claim backdated support before the offer is axed.

Families entitled to child benefit, still in full-time education up to the age of 20, will be able to receive a 3,500 lump sum followed by monthly payments of 350 for 18 months.

The charity WAY Widowed and Young has been leading the fighting for equal rights for bereaved families, as highlighted in our paper in recent years.

Georgia Elms, campaign ambassador for the charity, says: 'It is thanks to the campaigning by brave parents of bereaved families  along with support from others  that justice is finally being done. Many have been forced to suffer many years of financial hardship.'

The extra money helps families at their most vulnerable  facing a drop in household income when there can be additional childcare costs along with funeral arrangement fees. To be eligible for help, you must be under state pension age  currently 66.

The payments are largely made from the National Insurance contributions of the deceased partner, so they must have paid contributions for at least 25 weeks in a single tax year since 1975 or died from an accident or illness caused by work.

More than half of all births are now to unmarried couples, according to latest figures from the Office for National Statistics.

For further details contact the Bereavement Service Helpline on 0800 151 2012.
The state Open Meetings Law is pretty clear in its plain text that the overwhelming majority of government board discussions have to be conducted in view of the public, with advance notice of when boards meet and what will be discussed.

Even when boards go into closed-door executive sessions to have private talks related to a narrowly defined set of exceptions  such as the employment history of a specific person or pending litigation  a public vote must be taken with an explanation of why the executive session is necessary. And any official action/votes arising from that session must be reported publicly.

But there's a massive loophole in state law that allows for far too many local elected board decisions to be hashed out secretly, with no notice to the public. It's the caucus loophole, and it's time to make changes to stop its abuse.

The nonprofit New York Coalition for Open Government, which monitors transparency issues at the state and local government level, issued an eye-opening report last week on how far too many boards work out the public's key business in caucus meetings, which allow elected board members of the same political party to gather in private and talk about anything.

Such meetings have been used by both parties in Cayuga County for many years, and as the coalition has shown in its report, the practice is common throughout the state.

"Elected members of the same political party are allowed to hold a private political caucus meeting, where they can discuss political party business and public business," the report states. "The political party in control of a public body can hold a private meeting, bring in staff and department heads, run through the nights public meeting agenda and work everything out before the public meeting occurs.

"These secret meetings, make the public meeting a sham as the real discussion has already occurred in private," the report continued.

The coalition concluded its report with a recommendation to change state law to eliminate caucus meetings at the local level. One way to do this is to update Open Meetings Law to state that public transparency requirements apply any time at least two-thirds of a public body is meeting regardless of political party affiliation, unless discussion is specifically related to party business.

As with many things in Albany, waiting for this happen may not be productive, so the coalition also suggests that local governments can show true commitment to transparency by passing their own local laws limiting how caucus meetings can be used.

We urge our local governments to give this a serious look, but that won't happen unless local residents encourage their elected officials to pursue this recommendation.

The Citizen Editorial board includes president and director of local sales and marketing Michelle Bowers, executive editor Jeremy Boyer and managing editor Mike Dowd.
Tony Hetherington is Financial Mail on Sunday's ace investigator, fighting readers corners, revealing the truth that lies behind closed doors and winning victories for those who have been left out-of-pocket. Find out how to contact him below.

N.F. writes: My daughter went to Germany on a university field trip, and on the way back Lufthansa lost her luggage.

The airline admitted the bag was lost and offered 25 in compensation, claiming this was to make up for delivering the luggage a day late, but in fact my daughter has never received it.

Lufthansa keeps trying to pass us off to its own baggage handling agents and a courier firm. They refuse to admit the luggage is lost, which means we cannot claim on the travel insurance.

Chaos: The airline had no record of the traveller or her missing luggage

Tony Hetherington replies: Lufthansa behaved appallingly during your contacts with the German airline, and its attitude did not improve when I contacted it.

In response to my request for a comment, Lufthansa seemed to think it was sufficient to tell me that 'we do not have the capacity to research baggage claims'. It asked for my 'understanding'.

Well, sorry, but I don't understand how a major airline can not only lose baggage but then follow this up with a shrug of the shoulders as if this should be accepted as a minor inconvenience that every one of its passengers faces as a normal risk of flying on one of its aircraft.

Lufthansa expected you and your daughter to trace the missing luggage, despite being unable or unwilling to do so itself. So, you contacted Lufthansa's baggage agent. It referred you to the firm that runs a depot at Heathrow, where the luggage might have been held.

And finally you questioned the courier company used by Lufthansa, which told you it never even collected the baggage, let alone delivered it.

All this shows that you went above and beyond what was needed. Your daughter's contract was with Lufthansa, and not with any of the separate firms that Lufthansa chose to use. But this did not stop the airline from creating a shambles and then adding to it.

A few days after Lufthansa falsely told your daughter that her luggage had been found and was being couriered to her, it admitted that it had no idea where her belongings had gone, and it confessed that they could simply have been left behind in Frankfurt.

Weeks later though, Lufthansa reverted to its earlier claim that the baggage had been found at Heathrow and delivered. It refused to produce any evidence to back this up, such as a delivery signature.

I pressed Lufthansa and gave the airline's Frankfurt headquarters your daughter's name and the references shown on Lufthansa's emails to her. It replied that it could find none of its own references in its system, adding, 'No results either by searching after surname all the way back to last February 2022.'

In short, not only was her luggage missing, but as far as Lufthansa was concerned, your daughter had vanished too.

I repeated your daughter's details to Lufthansa, including her flight number and the date she flew. Lufthansa fell silent, and stayed silent. It has not only lost the luggage  it refuses to admit that it has lost the luggage.

Typically, insurance companies expect travellers to get confirmation that their belongings really have been lost. And typically, airlines provide this. Your daughter could prove that she had reported the missing luggage at Heathrow, but not that Lufthansa admitted to losing it, so I offered to intervene with the insurer.

Happily, when you told the insurance company you were in touch with me, it offered your daughter 595 to settle the claim. She has accepted this, while making the point that her lost luggage, clothes, make-up and jewellery were actually valued at 1,100.

I explained this to Lufthansa and gave the airline one last chance to put things right. It has not done so, and still refuses to admit that the luggage was even lost. Lufthansa passengers beware.

Reassure won't let me get my money

H.S. writes: I am approaching 87 and for many years I have had a small drawdown policy which was taken over by Reassure.

Due to my age, and having been diagnosed with cancer, I applied to make a withdrawal of the total due, which is about 4,700, but despite letters and phone calls, I still cannot get the money.

Frustration: The Reassure department dealing with the drawdown policy will not accept calls

Tony Hetherington replies: You told me that the Reassure department dealing with your drawdown policy will not accept your calls.

Worse still, you received a letter saying you had been paid 1,223 in error, and Reassure wanted its money back  yet you had received no such payment. I contacted Reassure, and within a couple of days you received 2,200, followed swiftly by a further 2,504.

Reassure says the figure of 4,700 was quoted incorrectly because it repeatedly failed to adjust its valuation records to account for your earlier withdrawals.

Officials have apologised, but they accept this is little comfort and for this reason they decided to pay the actual value of your policy, which was 2,504, plus 2,200 as compensation. And you can forget about the demand for 1,223. This was just another mistake.

If you believe you are the victim of financial wrongdoing, write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TS or email tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co.uk. Because of the high volume of enquiries, personal replies cannot be given. Please send only copies of original documents, which we regret cannot be returned.
Smoking and obesity cost the NHS almost 10 billion a year and the burden is expected to rise still further, as growing numbers of people eat too much fast food and exercise too little.

Bolton-based ABL was set up to help address this problem across the North West, offering advice and support around weight loss, wellbeing and smoking. In 2018, FORESIGHT GROUP HOLDINGS acquired ABL, investing 3 million in the business so it could grow and develop.

The company now works with more than 32,000 people, helping them to become healthier and freeing up capacity in the NHS along the way.

Motivated: Foresight has invested in around 250 businesses across the UK, backing firms in cities such as Newcastle, Liverpool and Glasgow

Foresight is an unusual company. It has invested in around 250 businesses across the UK, backing firms in cities such as Newcastle, Liverpool and Glasgow.

But it is also a big backer of renewable energy infrastructure, funding more than 300 projects worldwide, including forest land in Wales, offshore wind in Italy and hydroelectric systems in Scotland.

Only last week, the group threw its weight behind a huge green hydrogen plant in Germany, designed to power thousands of homes and businesses.

Foresight is run by Bernard Fairman, a dynamic 72-year-old, who founded the business nearly 40 years ago and floated it on the stock exchange in February 2021 at 4.20.

Midas recommended the shares two months later at 4.25 and today they are 4.70. But they deserve to move higher, as the firm is well run, it is invested in fast-growing companies and industries and offers shareholders attractive and rising dividends.

Fairman divides his business into three subsidiaries  infrastructure, private equity and Foresight Capital Management, which invests in listed renewable energy firms.

Each of the three divisions operates a range of funds, open to individual and institutional investors.

When the business floated, there were 7.2 billion of assets under management and Fairman was targeting 10 billion by 2023. A trading update this month showed the company is growing considerably faster.

Assets under management are approaching 12.5 billion and Fairman is determined to keep up the pace, expanding the infrastructure business into America and investing in more small businesses here and in Europe.

Australia is a focus too, after Foresight acquired Australian specialist Infrastructure Capital last summer.

Foresight can seem complicated but in essence the group invests in firms with strong, long-term growth prospects.

Fairman has done everything he promised and more since floating two years ago, including a commitment to pay out 60 per cent of its profits in dividends. Brokers forecast a 19.8p payout for the year to March, rising to 22.4p in 2024 and over 27p the following year.

Midas verdict: Foresight has made tangible progress since flotation but the shares have not kept pace. This should change over time. Like Bill Ackman, Bernard Fairman not only founded Foresight, he has also put millions of pounds of his own money into the business, owning nearly 30 per cent of the shares. That makes him highly motivated to deliver. At 4.70, existing investors should hold, while new investors could find value at current levels.

Traded on: Main market Ticker: FSG Contact: foresightgroup.eu or 020 3667 8100
Booming: Shell is expected to say that annual profit more than doubled

Oil giant Shell is set to unveil record profits of more than 30 billion as households and businesses grapple with sky-high energy bills.

The corporate giant is expected to say this week that annual profit more than doubled as the war in Ukraine restricted supplies from Russia, sending the price of gas and electricity rocketing.

The FTSE100 behemoth and its arch rival BP have faced mounting criticism for cashing in. BP chief executive Bernard Looney famously described his company as resembling a 'cash machine' because of the amount of money it has made from elevated prices.

But, since he made those comments in 2021  three months before the invasion of Ukraine  the profits made by BP and Shell have continued to escalate rapidly.

In May, Rishi Sunak imposed a windfall tax on oil and gas producers operating in the UK and the North Sea. The levy was increased in the Autumn Statement from 25 per cent to 35 per cent, and extended until 2028  three years longer than originally planned.

It is set to raise 40 billion over six years. Critics argue the windfall tax deters investment in the North Sea.

But the scale of the profits at both Shell and BP, which reports next month, is likely to lead to calls for firms to pay more. Shell says it expects to pay windfall taxes in the UK and European Union of around 1.6billion  compared with an annual profit of around 31 billion, which is expected to be revealed by new chief executive Wael Sawan on Thursday.

Its windfall tax contributions will also be dwarfed by the 20 billion returned to investors in dividends and share buybacks last year alone.

BP has also had a blowout year and is expected to reveal it has more than doubled its profits to 23 billion. It expects to pay around 645 million in windfall taxes across the UK and Europe in 2022.

Wholesale gas prices have fallen in recent weeks, but remain at elevated levels. An energy support package for households ends in March.

Small firms also face a cliff-edge in April, when the Government energy support scheme is scaled back.

Tina McKenzie, policy chair of the Federation of Small Businesses, said it was important that any saving from falling wholesale prices is passed on by energy providers as soon as possible. 'With the Government energy rebate reducing in April, small firms need more support to power through this cost-of-doing-business crisis,' she added.

Groups representing more than 100,000 UK firms recently accused Ministers of taking a 'scattergun' approach to supporting businesses with their energy costs, amid fears the high bills will force many to close this year.

They want firms to be able to renegotiate contracts agreed when wholesale gas prices peaked last summer.
Battle: Simon Breakwell led the AA

The former chief executive of car breakdown giant AA has come in for extraordinary criticism by a judge for giving unreliable evidence in the High Court.

In a damning summary last week, Simon Breakwell was accused of being inconsistent. The judge complained of being unable 'to place any real weight on his assertions'.

The remarks were made at the close of a bitter legal feud between AA and the firm's former advisers, Fenchurch Advisory Partners.

In his ruling, Deputy High Court judge Sean O'Sullivan said: 'With perhaps one exception, I formed the view that all of these factual witnesses were doing their best to assist the court and were reasonably honest and straightforward about their recollection of events.

'The one exception to the general rule was Mr Breakwell, who did claim to remember what had been said and intended at meetings which took place almost three years ago.' But the judge said Breakwell's testimony did 'not always fit with the contemporaneous documents', adding he 'convinced himself of a particular narrative and was determined to insist on that narrative'.

Breakwell said he 'remembered perfectly' particulars of what was said in meetings from three years ago, but was then unable to explain more simple details.

He took the reins of AA in 2017, when he replaced Bob Mackenzie, who was sacked for brawling with a fellow executive.

Breakwell, who co-founded travel website Expedia and led Uber's taxi expansion into Europe, has since joined City fund manager Fairview Equity Partners.

AA declined to comment, other than to say Breakwell was no longer on its board.

Breakwell was also contacted for comment through his new firm.

The case concerned a lawsuit from Fenchurch, which worked with the AA during the unsuccessful sale of its insurance division, otherwise known as 'Project Zodiac'. AA later fell out with the adviser in a row over 350,000 in unpaid fees related to the failed transaction. Breakwell was chief executive throughout the negotiations. The AA, which was bought by private equity in 2020, was ordered to pay Fenchurch the full amount owed.
Energy watchdog Ofgem is dragging its feet over a 2.5 billion rip-off by power giants which are slapping extra charges on customers if they do not pay by direct debit.

The regulator, run by Jonathan Brearley, has been under pressure to stop firms charging customers extra if they choose to pay their bill in cash, by cheque, or over the phone using a bank card.

But it says it will not clamp down on the practice for at least two years, meaning customers  many elderly or less well-off  will continue to pay through the nose.

Some prefer not to pay by direct debit as they fear energy firms will set the monthly figure too high. Companies have been accused of hoarding billions of pounds of customers' cash and of putting up their direct debits even when they have large credit balances.

Those who choose another payment route pay a heavy penalty. The scale of the additional charges, which can be as much as 254 a year, was first revealed by The Mail on Sunday earlier this month.

With an estimated five million households affected, the levy is expected to raise about 1.25 billion in 2023. That is the same amount in one year as it hauled in over the previous three.

The charges have been widely condemned by campaigners. Many customers are unaware they are being hit by hefty penalties because of their method of payment.

The surcharge was previously capped at 79 a year. Since 2021, however, the maximum that suppliers can charge customers has quietly been hiked to more than three times that figure. The increase is calculated using an algorithm based on energy prices, which have risen rapidly due to the war in Ukraine.

Companies try to defend their cash grab by arguing it costs them more to process cash, cheque or phone payments compared with automated direct debits. Ofgem agrees. However, this has nothing to do with the price of energy and therefore there is no justification for an increase in the surcharge.

Tory MP Craig Mackinlay, a former member of the influential Work and Pensions Committee, said he was 'appalled' at the size of the charge. He said: 'Ofgem is best placed to bear down on this. But the energy giants themselves need to not charge these excessive amounts, and I would call upon them to keep administrative premiums at a very bare minimum.'

'Appalled': Tory MP Craig Mackinlay

Consumer champion and former Pensions Minister Baroness Altmann, who has campaigned on energy stealth charges, called for a review. She said: 'There is definitely a failure of regulation here.'

Most customers affected remain unaware they pay the fee at all, according to a survey by energy firm Octopus. It is one of a raft of sneaky energy levies highlighted by The Mail on Sunday.

A separate standing charge, which is meant to cover the cost of running the network, has also ballooned. Octopus, Britain's third largest supplier, said it had refused to pass on the full increase to its customers  keeping it at 80.

Octopus chief executive Greg Jackson said Ofgem should do 'all in its power to drive down the sinister, hidden costs creeping up on pensioners'. He added: 'This surcharge has got out of hand. We're asking Ofgem to review it as a matter of urgency.'

Ofgem said that the levy for those not paying by direct debit was under review as part of a 'draft programme of work' into charging policies. However, the regulator added that no changes would be made until 'the winter of 2024-25'.
Ambition: Richard Walker says Iceland's annual sales will be 4 billion

Climbing frozen waterfalls in Norway might sound like a busman's holiday for a man who runs a frozen food chain. Richard Walker has just been on a short break in Rjukan, Norway, which boasts of being Europe's Mecca of ice climbing. His companion  and you couldn't make it up  was a mountaineer called Kenton Cool.

The increasingly vocal boss of frozen food chain Iceland is in high spirits. It is his first interview since officially taking the reins from his father Malcolm, the firm's founder, as chairman earlier this month.

Christmas was a record breaker for the 4 billion family firm. And, if all that were not enough, the 42-year-old is launching a bid to join Westminster's elite.

It has been a busy time for Walker.

His theory is that shoppers are more likely to flock to Iceland in hard times because its products store for longer in the freezer and are, therefore, less likely to be wasted.

'People are switching to frozen,' says Walker. 'It's the fastest growing category in the market.'

That has helped Iceland increase its share of the nation's frozen food spending, so it now rivals that of supermarket giant Tesco. The growth in demand could also be down to its reputation for keen prices. Around 20 per cent of its products are priced at 1 or less, he says.

Shoppers clearly haven't been put off by his father's recent admission on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs that 'a third of the population of Great Britain love us, a third don't care and a third of households wouldn't be seen dead in an Iceland'.

The chain began selling frozen produce more than 50 years ago. This has since been expanded to offer a variety of fresh produce from bananas to baked beans.

Walker says his shops are attracting more customers 'seeking value' and its price promotions  including a three-for-10 offer on a variety of products  are striking a chord. Attractions for those watching the pennies also include a 10 per cent discount for over-60s every Tuesday.

'On the Tuesday before Christmas, we had 300,000 customers taking advantage of that offer on a single day,' says Walker. 'It's helping pensioners who are feeling the pinch.'

This optimism is a far cry from his gloomy outlook only a few months ago. Back then, Walker told The Mail on Sunday he was shelving plans to open new stores after the chain's latest energy bill rose by 20 million.

But the recent drop in global wholesale gas prices means his shops, which rely so heavily on electricity to keep fridges and freezers running, are no longer fighting to keep the power on.

'We expect our fuel bill to be less this year. The price of energy is still uncomfortably high, and much higher than it was before Ukraine, but at least now we can plan.

'We're looking at being as energy efficient as possible. We're reducing the number of chilled products in our shops and including more on-shelf food such as tins and packets. We're also installing solar panels on the roofs of our shops and depots,' he says.

Iceland's confident start to the year may dampen concerns over the firm's 550 million debt pile, which have sparked rumours of a takeover.

But he is adamant the family will have a stake in the Iceland brand 'indefinitely'. He stresses that the firm will not face issues refinancing its debt when the time comes to do so, in 2025.

'There are no hedge funds circling and there's no debt battle looming,' he insists.

He has not been allocated a seat to contest at the next Election, but he is on the Conservative Party's candidate list.

His foray into politics has been another cause of speculation in the City, with some observers claiming it could cause an unnecessary distraction.

'That's laughable,' he says, insisting he has no plans to step away from the family firm. He argues that 'plenty of MPs have second jobs'  which is true, but not usually ones as demanding as being boss of a major supermarket.

'I think it is important that people know what the outside world is like  what it is like to pay the wages on a Friday,' he adds.

'I'll give it my all  but with regards to Iceland, nothing changes. It is important politics has people that aren't just inside the Westminster bubble.'

On top of the world: Iceland boss Richard Walker's pal, mountaineer Kenton Cool

Despite his privileged upbringing  with his family's fortune worth around 250 million  Walker says Iceland has provided him with an 'interesting barometer of Britain' through its five million customers.

'I have used the business to stand up and speak out on issues that are important to them,' says Walker  a Leave voter who urged former PM Boris Johnson to embrace business.

He describes his politics as One Nation Conservatism and has ambitions that include 'investing in our high streets' and 'making life as easy as possible for local businesses'.

But all of this begs a simple question, particularly given widespread disillusion with Westminster.

Would he not have a better chance of helping ordinary Britons by focusing purely on running one of the country's best-known supermarkets?

'I've already got a great platform without the public scrutiny,' he admits.

'And this is something I have thought to myself quite a lot. But I want to be a player  not a commentator.'
Beijing (Gasgoo)- Dongfeng Motor's premium new energy vehicle maker VOYAH saw its registered capital raised to 3.085 billion yuan from the original 2.61 billion yuan, according to Chinese corporate database Tianyancha.

Photo credit: VOYAH

With the 18.21% increase in registered capital, VOYAH also added several new entities to its shareholder list, including BOC Asset Investment Fund Management Co. Ltd., ICBC Financial Asset Investment Co. Ltd., and Jiangxi Ganfeng Lithium Group.

On November 17, 2022, VOYAH announced the completion of the paper signing and settlement of its Series-A financing, which raised for the company 4.55 billion yuan. VOYAH's market valuation after the round shot up to nearly 30 billion yuan.

According to VOYAH, the fresh round was jointly led by China's State-owned enterprises mixed-ownership reform fund and Bank of China Financial Asset Investment. Other investors of the round include six state-owned capitals, as well as Ganfeng Lithium, Sunwoda, and Dongfeng Motor.

In the entire year of 2022, VOYAH's cumulative deliveries summed up to 19,409 vehicles, soaring 185.8% from the previous year. However, deliveries of VOYAH-branded vehicles only went on for five months in 2021, which amounted to 6,791 vehicles in total.
[January 28, 2023] Federal prosecutors want Sam Bankman-Fried barred from using Signal

By TMCnet Staff The FTX the crypto exchange that went from being worth $32 billion to filing for bankruptcy in what many are calling the "Lehman Brothers (News - Alert) Moment" for crypto. Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX and Alameda Research, became a prominent figure in the crypto space while becoming one of the wealthiest people by the age of 30. The collapse of FTX has shaken up the entire crypto space. This has led to Congress and the SEC (News - Alert) investigating what happened. Here is a step-by-step breakdown of what happened.



The FTX meltdown shook the entire cryptocurrency space, which still had not recovered from the Luna disaster in May, and a long decline in value. Adding insult to injury, in the blink of an eye, FTX went from being worth some $32 billion to filing for bankruptcy, leaving many investors confused to say the least. With mainstream celebrity endorsements and sponsorships in major sports, there's a strong possibility that you heard about FTX or Sam Bankman-Fried at some point in the last few years. Sam Bankman-Fried, often referred to as SBF, is the 30-year-old founder of FTX, the crypto exchange. He amassed a net worth of $26.5 billion at the peak of his wealth.

With cryptocurrency investing becoming more widely accepted in the last few years, many folks turned to crypto exchanges to purchase different types of cryptocurrency, like bitcoin, ether, luna, solana and matic, to name a few. As crypto became more popular, SBF and FTX did too. SBF co-founded Alameda Research, a crypto hedge fund named after his hometown, in late 2017. SBF then created his own crypto exchange, FTX, in 2019 based on the success of Alameda. The exchange grew fast with high-profile acquisitions, a hefty marketing budget, and promises of high returns. Users were told that they could earn much higher yields with FTX than with other traditional banks. SBF became a celebrity in the crypto space as he became a kind of poster boy for crypto. He hired celebrities to endorse FTX, with prominent figures like Tom Brady, Stephen Curry, Shaquille O'Neal and Larry David becoming ambassadors for the exchange. Kevin O'Leary recently admitted that he was paid $15 million to be a spokesperson for the exchange. In a round of funding in January of this year, FTX raised a whopping $400 million to bring the total funding up all the way to $2 billion and the valuation to $32 billion. It's worth mentioning that FTX became so prominent that they purchased the rights to name the Miami Heat Arena the "FTX Arena." FTX reportedly signed a 19-year deal to rename the Miami arena in June of 2021 for $135 million. At the time, some skeptics weren't sure how a two-year-old company could sign such long-term deals. As one can imagine, the city and the team no longer wish to be associated with a disgraced crypto exchange. On December 13, 2022, a federal grand jury in Manhattan indicted Samuel Bankman-Fried, aka SBF, on multiple charges, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit commodities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and conspiracy to defraud the Federal Election Commission and commit campaign finance violations. The charges stem from an alleged scheme by Bankman-Fried to misappropriate billions of dollars of customer funds deposited with FTX, the international cryptocurrency exchange he founded, and to deceive investors and lenders to FTX and Alameda Research. Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas on these charges and is set to appear before a Bahamian magistrate judge. The Justice Department, the FBI, and other agencies are investigating the case, with the assistance of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which have also initiated civil proceedings against Bankman-Fried. Today, US prosecutors have asked a federal court to impose stricter bail conditions on Sam Bankman-Fried to prevent him from communicating with his former colleagues at FTX. Court documents reveal that the Department of Justice (DOJ) alleges that Bankman-Fried attempted to contact the general counsel of FTX's US arm via Signal and email earlier this month. The DOJ claims that this communication was 'suggestive of an effort to influence Witness-1's potential testimony.' The prosecutors have requested that the judge overseeing Bankman-Fried's criminal case prohibit him from communicating with current and former FTX employees, as well as from using Signal or any other encrypted or ephemeral messaging app. Bankman-Fried's legal team has accused the federal prosecutors of trying to depict their client in the worst possible light and claims that Bankman-Fried was trying to offer assistance, not interfere with the case. They also argue that a Signal ban is unnecessary as Bankman-Fried is not using the app's auto-delete feature.





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[January 28, 2023] East and West Unite to Hamper China's Chip Ambitions

Following years of lobbying from Washington, Japan and the Netherlands have agreed to tighten restrictions on the export of chip manufacturing technology to Chinese companies. The news of the agreement was reported by Bloomberg, the Financial Times (News - Alert), and The New York Times. The controls are designed to limit China's ability to increase its own domestic chip production and come after the Biden administration announced similar restrictions in October 2022. The fear is that easier access to advanced semiconductors will allow China to shore up its military and artificial intelligence capabilities.



The move comes amid growing concerns about China's rising technological prowess and its potential to challenge the US' dominance in the tech sector. The Trump administration had already begun to take steps to limit China's access to advanced technology, including semiconductors, with the Commerce Department adding several Chinese companies to its entity list, which bans them from purchasing US technology without government approval. The Biden administration has continued this policy, with the recent restrictions on chip exports being the latest example. There aren't any plans for a public announcement about the agreement, and it may take "months" for Japan and the Netherlands to "finalize legal arrangements," according to Bloomberg (News - Alert). Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte has said that 'This is such a sensitive topic that the Dutch government chooses to communicate diligently, and that means that we only communicate in a very limited way" during a press conference on Friday when asked about the deal.

The Netherlands' restrictions will particularly affect ASML, the only company in the world that produces ultraviolet lithography machines crucial for advanced semiconductor production. CNBC previously reported that the company was already unable to ship its advanced extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) machine to China but that it could still ship older deep ultraviolet lithography (DUV) machines. The new restrictions are expected to prevent the sale of "at least some" of these DUV machines, Bloomberg previously noted, which will further limit the ability of Chinese companies to produce advanced chips and set up production lines. ASML CEO Peter Wennink previously told CNBC that China accounted for around 15 percent of the company's sales in 2022. Wennink has said that any restrictions are unlikely to prevent China from building its own versions of the machines eventually. "If they cannot get those machines, they will develop them themselves," Wennink told Bloomberg. "That will take time, but ultimately they will get there." On the Japanese side, the restrictions are expected to impact companies such as Nikon and Tokyo Electron. Japan has a strong semiconductor industry and has been a major supplier of chip-making equipment to China. The restrictions on exports to China will likely hit these companies' bottom lines and could even lead to job losses. The move by Japan and the Netherlands to restrict chip exports to China is not only a blow to China's tech industry, but it also has the potential to damage the global semiconductor industry. Semiconductors are a critical component in a wide range of technology products, including smartphones, computers, and other electronic devices. The global semiconductor industry is worth trillions of dollars, and China is a major market for these products. If China is unable to access advanced semiconductors, it could lead to a slowdown in the global tech industry, with ripple effects felt throughout the global economy. As well as cutting off exports to China, the White House has used its influence to stimulate domestic chip production. President Joe Biden signed the $280 billion CHIPS and Science Act last August, which includes $52 billion in subsidies for semiconductor manufacturing. Intel (News - Alert), TSMC, and Samsung have all either announced or are actively building new semiconductor manufacturing facilities in the US.





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Amid a great deal of social media posturing and self-congratulatory chatter . . . Our KICK-ASS TKC BLOG COMMUNITY serves merely to offer a counterpoint regarding a local aspect of activist demands that always seem to accompany the threat of rioting.

The cowtown connection . . .

The tragic death of Tyre Nichols should remind us that "local control" will not solve claims of brutality against law enforcement. In fact, state administration of Kansas City police offers more checks & balances for residents & voters.



Actually . . .

This police death disproves a great deal about the mainstream "social justice" narrative . . .

Mainly, that diversity & equity are the answer to complaints targeting police.

As many others have pointed out or failed to point out . . .

The officers accused of brutality are Black, the police Chief is Black and there's NOT lack of African-American representation in Memphis.

Still, the outcry over "systemic" issues persist . . . We won't pretend to have the answers.

But here's what we know for sure . . .



Handing over police control to Mayor & Council will be the final nail in Kansas City's coffin.

The not-so-fun fact . . . Insiders know that police leaders aren't completely adverse to this deal if it gets them higher salaries and more benefits. So we're headed in that direction faster than most residents understand.



And this brings us back to a tragic death and the punditry following the demise that doesn't really help anybody but advertisers . . .



Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . .

Kansas City area leaders speak out on killing of Tyre Nichols KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Leaders and organizations in the Kansas City area are speaking out on the killing of Tyre Nichols after authorities released footage of five Memphis Police Department officers beating Nichols following a traffic stop. Missouri Rep.

Missouri NAACP responds to killing of Tyre Nichols The Missouri State Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People responded to the killing of Tyre Nichols Saturday.Nichols was be

Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis fired from a previous job in Atlanta after botched sex crimes investigation The chief of police in Memphis in charge of the five officers who fatally beat and tasered motorist Tyre Nichols was fired from a previous law enforcement job after a botched probe. Cerelyn "CJ" Davis became the first female police chief in Memphis' history in 2021 and is currently in the international spotlight after five cops brutally beat Tyre Nichols.

Democrat freshman rep deletes tweet calling Tyre Nichols' killing the 'result of white supremacy' A Democratic congressman deleted a tweet posted late Friday that described the killing of Tyre Nichols as a result of "white supremacy" - even though all of the police officers charged in relation to his death are Black. "Doesn't matter what color those police officers are," Rep.

Tyre Nichols: Police unit is disbanded after death "While the heinous actions of a few casts a cloud of dishonour on the title Scorpion, it is imperative that we, the Memphis Police Department, take proactive steps in the healing process for all impacted," it added.

'Mostly Peaceful Protests,' Again | National Review Toleration of riots and the social mores that enforce that tolerance extend in only one direction.

Tyre Nichols' GoFundMe raises over $600K in less than a day A memorial fund launched Friday by Tyre Nichols' mother has nearly cleared its $700,000 goal in less than 24 hours.

Developing . . .


Initial reports claim this poor lady in the Kia MIGHT have been drinking.

Here's a tidbit of one witness reported:

Video captured on a fellow salt truck driver's phone shows a semi going on a green light through the intersection and a Kia Forte smashing into the semi's trailer in front of the passenger side's rear wheels.



"She was probably going 30-40 miles per hour and the next thing you know that car is just wedged underneath there," a witness said.

Meanwhile we share this story and a few other notable crime reports over the past 48 hours . . .



Witness describes crash, semi dragging car for 8 miles on Kansas City interstate LEAWOOD, Kan. - A semi driver told police he felt his vehicle felt "sluggish." That's because he'd been dragging a car that crashed into him for eight miles. It started early morning Wednesday at State Line Road and the stoplight for the on ramp to Interstate 435 westbound.

In other news . . .



John Keith Calvin, allegedly framed by KCKPD detective, 'died an innocent man' in prison Like he had done at many other rallies and vigils, Eric Calvin told a crowd gathered in front of the Wyandotte County Courthouse last October just how a former police detective victimized his family. "The Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department has destroyed my family, but they only make us stronger," he said.

Kansas City man charged after Raytown officer is assaulted KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - A KCMO man has been charged, accused of causing the Raytown officer who was arresting him to fall down the stairs and break an ankle. According to the Jackson County Prosecutor's Office, 41-year-old Twann J. McGill Jr. has been charged with second-degree assault and resisting arrest.

Prairie Village man receives 13-year prison sentence for DWI crash that killed student representative SOURCE: KMBC A 31-year-old Prairie Village, Kan., man will spend the next 13 years in prison in connection to a fatal DWI crash in Kansas City. Zachary Zorich was sentenced in Jackson County Friday for his involvement in a June 2022 crash at 75th and Ward Parkway.

Questions around Missouri murder feature in Netflix true crime series 'I Am a Killer' Betty Frizzell is convinced: Her older sister, Vicky Isaac, did not kill Chris Smith in a hail of gunfire on May 14, 2013. Her claims were recently given prominent placement in a 2022 episode of the Netflix documentary series "I Am a Killer" - and while the episode opens with an interview in prison with Isaac herself, her statement to the camera isn't one declaring innocence.

KC community members develop apps aimed to improve access to resources, ability to locate missing persons KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Kansas Citians are banding together to protect their community against crime. On behalf of the Justice and Dignity Center, Tony Caldwell shared the group's plan to stop violence, murders and sex trafficking, with an emphasis on improving the process of reporting missing persons, at a public press conference Saturday.

Second Hispanic Deputy Chief In KCPD History Leads Investigations Bureau Ortiz researched departments, learning that KCPD was one of the most respected departments in the country. He wanted to be a part of the professionalism it offered. Ortiz joined KCPD in 2000, working an array of assignments that included almost a decade in the Street Narcotics Unit and Gang squad.

Developing . . .
Former Police Commissioner Gary Griffith tells Tv6 News that the businessman who was killed during a car-jacking on Wednesday was among many who had received provisional approvals for a Firearm User's Licence but after 18 months had not received a permit to carry a licensed firearm. This, as the National Security Minister told the Express newspaper that the new Police Commissioner informed him that, a "robust and thorough assessment" of FUL applications was necessary.
Iran's parliament prepares plan for retaliating against Europe for "meddlesome" behaviors

Xinhua) 16:16, January 29, 2023

TEHRAN, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- A senior Iranian lawmaker said on Saturday the country's parliament has drafted a plan for retaliating in the "harshest possible way" against Europe's "meddlesome" behaviors.

Vahid Jalalzadeh, chairman of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, made the remarks in an interview with the official news agency IRNA.

He said the plan is aimed at imposing sanctions on the armed forces of some European Union (EU) states as a tit-for-tat measure for their "interventionist" behaviors.

Jalalzadeh added that the plan's preparation gained greater momentum following some European states' "contradictory and meddlesome" behaviors during the recent "riots" in Iran and the European Parliament's adoption of a resolution calling for naming Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) as a "terrorist" organization.

He stressed that the plan is ready to be reviewed during an open session of the Iranian parliament.

Jalalzadeh warned Europe against continuing its "irrational behavior," saying the Iranian parliament is closely monitoring the EU Council's behaviors.

If the council gives in to hardliners' demand, the Iranian parliament will immediately adopt the retaliation plan, he added.

On Jan. 19, the European Parliament approved a resolution calling on the EU to designate the IRGC as a "terrorist group."

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Shanghai (Gasgoo)- The municipal government of Shanghai, one of major metropolises in China, will continue to subsidize the consumers who replace their old cars with new energy vehicles, as part of efforts to spur automobile sales.

According to a document issued by the government on Jan. 29, individual consumers, who scrap or transfer the passenger cars registered in Shanghai accordance with relevant standards and buy new energy vehicles as replacement before Jun. 30, 2023, will be granted a subsidy of 10,000 yuan ($1,470) per car.

To give a solid boost to market confidence, Shanghai municipal government confirmed that the all-electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (including range-extended electric vehicles), and fuel cell vehicles, which are purchased between Jan. 1, 2023 and Dec. 31, 2023 and included in the catalogue co-issued by China's MIIT and State Taxation Administration, will be exempted from the vehicle purchase tax.

Moreover, the megacity's government said it would support the recovery of the convention and exhibition industry, of which the Auto China, namely, the Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition, is a vital exhibition to be held this year.
Four civilians have been killed and seven injured in Russias shelling of the Donetsk region over the past day.

The relevant statement was made by Donetsk Regional Military Administration Head Pavlo Kyrylenko on Telegram, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

On January 27, 2023, Russians killed four civilians in the Donetsk region: three in Paraskoviivka and one in Velyka Novosilka. Seven more people were injured, Kyrylenko wrote.

Additionally, it is now impossible to count the exact number of casualties in Mariupol and Volnovakha, Kyrylenko noted.

A reminder that, on January 27, 2023, Russian troops twice struck the Donetsk regions Chasiv Yar.

mk
The Ukrainian defense forces eliminated about 126,160 Russian invaders from February 24, 2022, to January 29, 2023, including 650 soldiers in the last day alone.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said this in a post on Facebook, Ukrinform reports.

Moreover, Ukrainian defenders destroyed 3,197 enemy tanks (+8), 6,366 armored fighting vehicles (+22), 2,195 artillery systems (+7), 453 MLRS, 221 air defense systems, 293 aircraft, 284 helicopters, 1,947 tactical unmanned aerial vehicles, 796 cruise missiles, 18 ships/boats, 5,037 vehicles and fuel trucks (+10), and 199 pieces of special equipment.
Seven apartment blocks have been damaged in Russias missile attack on the Donetsk regions Kostiantynivka, which took place on January 28, 2023. Casualties among civilians were reported.

The relevant statement was made by Donetsk Regional Military Administration on Telegram, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

In yesterdays [missile] attack on Kostiantynivka, four civilians were killed and 14 injured. Seven apartment blocks, seven garages and a hotel were damaged, the report states.

In the Volnovakha direction, Russian troops opened fire on such settlements as Vuhledar, Novoukrainka, Prechystivka and Bohoiavlenka. No casualties among civilians were reported.

In the Donetsk direction, Russian invaders attacked Kurakhove with artillery four times. Seven apartment blocks and 10 detached houses were damaged, as well as two health facilities. The enemy also launched a missile strike on Kostiantynopolske.

In Avdiivka, chaotic shelling took place last night. No casualties were reported.

In the Horlivka direction, one person was killed and one injured in Bakhmut. An apartment block was damaged. One more civilian was reported killed in the Soledar communitys Paraskoviivka.

In addition, detached houses were damaged in Toretsk and a 9-storey apartment block in New York. The outskirts of the Chasiv Yar community are remaining under periodic enemy fire.

In the Lysychansk direction, Russian troops were shelling the Zvanivka communitys Zvanivka and Pereizne, and the Siversk communitys Siversk and Serebrianka.

mk
The ban on civil servants traveling abroad, except business trips, also applies to those who are unfit for military service.

Thats according to Andriy Demchenko, the spokesman for the State Border Guard Service, who spoke on national television, Ukrinform reports.

He emphasized that the ban is already in effect. It also applies to persons who are unfit for military service or have other travel purposes.

"It must be understood that this refers to a clear list of officials, in particular, the leadership, people's deputies, judges, prosecutors, etc., as well as employees booked by state authorities for the period of mobilization. Persons unfit for military service cannot leave Ukraine if they are on the lists provided to border guards by the said bodies, except for the cases specified for civil servants," the spokesman said.

He emphasized that the ban applies to both male and female civil servants.

As reported, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has published the resolution adopted on Friday, which prohibits officials from leaving the country in wartime without valid grounds.
The overnight explosions at Irans military facilities are consequences of Tehrans policies.

Thats according to Yuriy Ihnat, spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, who spoke on the national telethon, commenting on the situation in Iran, Ukrinform reports.

"What is happening in Iran can be called the consequences of their policy. Perhaps they will channel their support to terrorist states in a different direction rather than help Russia commit their crimes. We know that Russia seeks to get from them the weapons they are short of, including ballistic missiles and strike drones. The Iranians also know what they want from Russia. Plus, Russia has already promised them warplanes. Iran also has enemies in the region. Let's hope that this country will change its political vector to a more civilized one," the spokesperson said.

As reported, overnight Sunday, a number of military facilities of Iran were attacked by small drones. No actor has officially claimed responsibility for the strikes.
Neither the authors nor the accomplices of the Russian war on Ukraine will dodge repercussions.

Thats according to Mykhailo Podolyak, the advisor to the chief of the Ukrainian Presidents Office, who took to Twitter to comment on a series of explosions that rocked military facilities across Iran overnight Sunday, Ukrinform reports.

War logic is inexorable & murderous. It bills the authors & accomplices strictly. Panic in RF - endless mobilization, missile defense in Moscow, trenches 1000 km away, bomb shelters preparation. Explosive night in Iran - drone & missile production, oil refineries. Ukraine did warn you, Podolyak tweeted.

As reported, Iranian military facilities were attacked by unidentified drones overnight Sunday. According to the spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force Yuriy Ihnat, the explosions in Iran are consequences of Tehrans policy of supporting Russia, the terrorist state.
The fight to retake Crimea will be decisive in the Russia-Ukraine war.

The relevant statement was made by retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, a former commander of US Army Europe, in an interview with Insider, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

The decisive terrain for this war is Crimea. The Ukrainian government knows that they cannot settle for Russia retaining control of Crimea, Hodges said.

In his words, Ukraine will never be safe or secure or able to rebuild their economy so long as Russia retains Crimea.

According to Hodges, the next few months will see Ukraine setting the conditions for the eventual liberation of Crimea.

Hodges stressed that Ukraine would need long-range precision strike weapons like the longer-range ATACMS missiles that can be fired from a truck-mounted HIMARS launcher in order to successfully boot Russia out of Crimea.

Liberating Crimea could be achieved by isolating the peninsula via air and land attacks to sever and disrupt Russias main links to Crimea, including the Kerch Bridge, Hodges noted.

In his words, once Crimea is isolated, Ukraine would need to employ a wide array of long-range systems against the exposed Russian facilities and groupings in Crimea, making it untenable for them, and compelling them to leave.

In this regard, Hodges criticized the Biden administration for unwillingness to provide longer-range weapons, noting that Russian systems in Crimea and elsewhere are killing innocent Ukrainians.

Photo: U.S. Embassy Kyiv

mk
German arms maker Rheinmetall is ready to boost the production of tank and artillery munitions to satisfy strong demand in Ukraine and the West.

The company's CEO, Armin Papperger, said this in an interview with Reuters, Ukrinform reports.

Rheinmetall makes a range of defense products but is probably most famous for manufacturing the 120mm gun of the Leopard 2 tank.

"We can produce 240,000 rounds of tank ammunition (120mm) per year, which is more than the entire world needs," Papperger said.

He added that the capacity for the production of 155mm artillery rounds can be ramped up to 450,000 to 500,000 per year, which would make Rheinmetall the biggest producer for both kinds of ammunition.

According to Papperger, in 2022, Rheinmetall made some 60,000 to 70,000 rounds each of tank and artillery shells, but production could be boosted immediately.

Demand for these munitions has soared since Russia's invasion of Ukraine last February.

Papperger said a new production line for medium caliber ammunition, used by German-built Gepard anti-aircraft tanks in Ukraine for example, would go live by mid-year.

Germany has been trying for months to find new munitions for the Gepard that its own military had decommissioned in 2010.

Rheinmetall also eyes the operation of a new powder plant, possibly in the eastern German state of Saxony, but the investment of 700 to 800 million euros would have to be footed by the government in Berlin, Papperger said.

"The state has to invest, and we contribute our technological know-how. In return, the state gets a share of the plant and the profits it makes," Papperger said.

He said the plant is needed as shortages in the production of special powders could turn out to be a bottleneck, hampering efforts to boost the output of tank and artillery shells.

He spoke days before Germany's defense industry bosses are due to meet new defense minister Boris Pistorius for the first time, though the exact date has yet to be announced.

With the meeting, Pistorius aims to kick off talks on how to speed up weapons procurement and boost ammunitions supplies in the long term after almost a year of arms donations to Ukraine has depleted the German military's stocks.
In the wake of Russias unprovoked aggression toward Ukraine, NATO member states should move to the war economy in peacetime.

Thats according to Dutch Admiral Rob Bauer, Chairman of NATO's Military Committee, who spoke with RTP, Ukrinform reports citing MSN.

"We have to increase defense industry production and there are already more and more talks on the subject at the national level. This could mean prioritizing certain raw materials, certain production capacities needed for the defense industry rather than the civilian one. Those priorities should be discussed about, partially, a war economy in peacetime," Bauer said.

In the last 25 years or so, the global economy has been operating on the principle of "now and then", but the significant war-related material and technical losses have exposed how weak this approach is, according to the official.

Read also: Rheinmetall ready to provide Ukraine with shells for Leopard tanks

"Both sides spend a lot of ammunition and destructive material: battle tanks and aircraft. Both sides need to buy a lot of raw materials and ammunition to keep fighting. The problem for both is that the Western and Russian defense industry must increase their production," Bauer argued.

Stockpiles of arsenals "are usually not needed, but as soon as they are needed, it's crazy," he noted.

A change in public mentality will be required to achieve this transition, an extreme that he has described as "difficult".

"We have to make sure that the Russians don't win the war in Ukraine. If they do we will have a much bigger problem in terms of money and defense: the Russians will be on our borders," the senior official has warned.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, the Ukrainian defense forces eliminated about 126,160 Russian invaders from February 24, 2022, to January 29, 2023, including 650 soldiers in the last day alone.

Moreover, Ukrainian defenders destroyed 3,197 enemy tanks (+8), 6,366 armored combat vehicles (+22), 2,195 artillery systems (+7), 453 MLR systems, 221 air defense systems, 293 warplanes, 284 helicopters, 1,947 tactical unmanned aerial vehicles, 796 cruise missiles, 18 warships/cutters, 5,037 trucks and fuel tankers (+10), and 199 units of specialized equipment.
The newly elected president of the Czech Republic, Petr Pavel, and Slovakia's President Zuzana Caputova are planning to visit Ukraine.

That's according to the pravda.sk news site, Ukrinform reports.

The report states that Pavel will call Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on January 29 and propose that he visit Ukraine together with Caputova.

The Slovak leader welcomed this idea.

The exact date for the visit has not yet been announced.

Retired NATO general Petr Pavel was elected as the new president of the Czech Republic on January 28.

He previously stated that the Czech Republic would remain pro-Western, maintain its strategic relations with the EU and NATO, and be on the side of Ukraine. Pavel also said the war in Ukraine is a war that affects the Czech Republic as well, because it is a war for the future of international relations, for the future of a safe Europe.
China's monthly registrations of locally-made passenger vehicles (PVs) reached 2,464,552 units in Dec. 2022, rising 11.9% from the previous year, while also jumping 57.24% from the previous month, according to the data compiled by Gasgoo Auto Research Institute ("GARI").

For the whole year of 2022, there were 19,862,248 domestically built PVs registered across the Chinese mainland, representing a 2.01% decrease from a year earlier despite the two-digit year-on-year growth in the Dec. volume.

In the last month of 2022, Volkswagen regained the champion honor among all brands in terms of monthly registrations of China-made PVs. BYD dropped one spot from the previous month to the runner-up place, outselling Toyota by 1,010 units.

The other two major Sino-Japanese brandsHonda and Nissanranked 4th and 7th, respectively, with 152,793 and 94,010 China-made PVs registered in Dec. Both Changan and Geely had over 100,000 PVs registered last month to show the blooming rise of Chinese indigenous brands. Compared to the previous-month rankings, Tesla slid 11 spots to the 17th.

Among all China-made PV models, the Sylphy and the Lavida took the top 2 places by Dec. 2022 registrations. The Song PLUS DM-i was the highest-ranking one under a China's wholly-owned brand and also the best-performing SUV model. The Wuling Hongguang MINIEV ranked sixth, which was immediately followed by Tesla's Model Y.

On the list of the top 20 homemade PV models by Dec. registrations, there were six new energy vehicle (NEV) models, namely, the Song PLUS DM-i, the Wuling Hongguang MINIEV, the Model Y, the Dolphin, the Yuan PLUS, and the Song Pro DM, four of which were from the BYD brand.

In terms of the full-year registrations, the Wuling Hongguang MINIEV topped other China-made PV models with over 400,000 units registered in total. The Model Y ranked fourth among all PV models, and was also the best-selling SUV model. Both the BMW 5 Series and 3 Series cracked the top 20 models list, and were the only two models from the three German luxury brands.

Regarding regional distribution in Dec. 2022, Shanghai still registered the most locally-built PVs, outselling the runner-up, Guangzhou, by 37,695 units. Both Hangzhou and Chengdu dropped one spot from the previous month to the third and fourth place in Dec. The two metropolisesBeijing and Shenzhenranked 5th and 8th, respectively.

The top-ranking city by annual PV registrations was still Shanghai. The top 4 cities all recorded a yearly registration volume above 500,000 units.

In Dec. 2022, China's monthly locally-made new energy passenger vehicle (NEPV) registrations came in at 704,474 units, surging 46.27% from the previous year, while also jumping 32.32% over a month ago.

For the entire year of 2022, a total of 5,229,487 locally-made NEPVs were registered across the Chinese mainland, indicating an 80.69% soar from a year ago.

By specific powertrain solutions, battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) logged a registration volume of 516,548 units in Dec., accounting for 73.32% of the country's total NEPV registrations. The plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) registrations reached 187,914 units, which included 37,809 range-extended electric vehicles (REEVs).

There were 12 fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) registered across the Chinese mainland last month. However, its market share was hereby omitted due to its tiny quantity.

Of the NEPVs registered last year, 75.96% and 24.04% were contributed by BEVs and PHEVs (including REEVs), respectively. The annual FCEV registrations amounted to 226 units in China.

Regarding the NEPV registrations in Dec., BYD took a remarkable lead over other brands. It had 216,505 NEPVs registered last month, which were even more than the sum of the No.2-No.7 occupants. The U.S. EV brand Tesla was honored the runner-up with over 40,000 China-made vehicles registered.

It is evident that Chinese local brands were in the majority among the top 20 brands by local-made NEPV registrations in Dec. It is noteworthy that the three Chinese NEV startupsHOZON Auto (NETA), Li Auto, and NIOwere all on the top 10 rankings.

With respect to Dec. registrations, the Song PLUS DM-i ranked highest among all homemade NEPV models. On the top 20 NEPV models list, there were ten from BYD brand, six of which entered the top 10 rankings. Both the Model Y and Model 3 entered the top 20 NEPV models list, but the former's registrations were more than double that of the latter. The NETA V still featured the most Dec. registrations among those owned by Chinese NEV startups.

In terms of annual registrations in 2022, the Wuling Hongguang MINIEV was no doubt the best-performing locally-built NEPV model. The Model Y recorded a full-year registration volume of 316,468 units, which made the SUV the second-best-selling NEPV model in the country. BYD gained ten seats on the top 20 NEPV models list, seven of which were in the top 10 rankings.

In Dec. 2022, Shanghai outshone other cities on the Chinese mainland by registering more than 50,000 China-made NEPVs, which accounted for 55.8% of the city's overall PV registrations. Hangzhou was the other city with over 30,000 NEPVs registered last month.

In 2022, there were ten cities with over 100,000 NEPVs registered each, and nine cities seeing their respective NEPV registrations stand between 70,000 units and 100,000 units.
North Korea has denied the accusation of supplying weapons to the Russian Federation, warning the United States of "undesirable results" that may come if Washington pursues such claims.

This was reported by South Koreas Yonhap with reference to the statement of the head of the Department for U.S. Affairs at the DPRK Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kwon Jong-gun, Ukrinform reports.

"Trying to tarnish the image of the DPRK by fabricating false facts is a serious provocation that should never be tolerated and will inevitably provoke a reaction (from Pyongyang - ed.)," Kwon said.

He added that the United States "must remember that it will face really undesirable results if they continue to spread rumors against North Korea."

However, Kwon stopped short of specifying these "undesirable results" or how North Korea might respond to the U.S. allegations.

As Ukrinform reported, earlier this month, the United States handed over to the UN Security Council Committee on Sanctions against the DPRK evidence of the North Korean regime supplying weapons to the Russian PMC Wagner for the war on Ukraine.
On the Day of Remembrance of the Kruty Heroes, President Volodymyr Zelensky honored the memory of those who died in the fight for independent Ukraine during the Ukrainian Revolution of 1917-1921.

That's according to the press service of the head of state, Ukrinform reports.

At the Askold grave in Kyiv, Volodymyr Zelensky laid flowers at the Heroes of Kruty memorial cross

The head of state noted that by commemorating the Heroes of Kruty, we remember our history, we feel pride, we thank and support the Ukrainian Army, and together we bring victory closer.

The ceremony was also attended by the Head of the Presidents Office, Andriy Yermak, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov, Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, and Deputy Head of Zelenskys Office Roman Mashovets.

Flowers were also laid by the cadets of military educational faciliies, in particular the Petro Sahaidachny National Academy of Land Forces, Ivan Kozhedub Kharkiv National University of the Air Force, Institute of Military and Naval Forces at the Odesa Maritime Academy, Military Institute of the Taras Shevchenko Kyiv National University, Heroes of Kruty Military Institute of Telecommunications and Informatization, and Ivan Bohun Kyiv Military Lyceum.

The National Anthem of Ukraine was played, after which the soldiers of the Honors Guard performed a solemn march before the Memorial Cross.

As reported, the Battle of Kruty took place on January 29, 1918, between Nizhyn and Bakhmach in Chernihiv region, just 130 kilometers northeast of Kyiv, during the attack on Kyiv by Bolshevik Russian troops led by Colonel Mikhail Muravyov. On the Ukrainian side were nearly 300 soldiers with the Students' unit, 250 with the First Ukrainian Military School, and almost 40 Haydamak fighters.

The battle lasted throughout the day. Thanks to the advantageous position and heroism of Ukrainian fighters, they inflicted significant losses on the Russians and restrained the offensive until dark. Then, under the enemy pressure, most of the units retreated in an organized manner to the trains at the station nearby and left towards Kyiv, destroying the railway tracks behind them. But a group of 27 students got lost in the dark and returned to the Kruty station, which at that time was already occupied by the Bolsheviks. Those 27 captured young men (students and high-schoolers) were executed. The youngest of them were just 16.
100 years ago

1923: The heavenly bodies and spuds divided attention at Tuesdays meeting of the Rotary Club. E.C. Slipher of Lowell Observatory spoke about the former, and L. W. Cureton, secretary and manager of the Coconino Farm Bureau Marketing Association, about the latter. Very listenable music was furnished by Mrs. G.A. Pearson and Mrs. C.C. Schwartz, the latter at the piano.

Mr. Slipher said the application of the science of astronomy is somewhat obscure to many people who do not themselves apply it and do not realize how it is applied to our everyday life. Our government sets time by the stars; our meridian lines, from which all our property lines are laid, were established from observations of the stars and astronomical science in various other ways affects our everyday lives.

Flu, which has been prevalent in the East for several weeks, has hit Flagstaff but very lightly. Most of the patients are children, and as far as known, none of them are dangerously ill.

Few Flagstaff people know the names of the springs from which we get this wonderful water. There are five of them: Snowslide, elevation 10,620 feet; Flagstaff, elevation 10,280 feet; Little Bear Paw, elevation 9,810 feet; Jack Smith, elevation 9,280 feet, and Raspberry, elevation 9,310 feet.

75 years ago

1948: Hundreds of visitors are expected in Flagstaff for the weekend as the Thunderbirds of the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce present their second annual ski meet at the Arizona Sno-Bowl. The Flagstaff Chamber has been cooperating with the group in making the arrangements  which has drawn the top of the states skiers plus a number of out-of-state contestants. Topped off by Mondays 10-inch snowfall, runs at the Bowl are in excellent shape.

Swift action by the Coconino County Sheriffs Office resulted in an arrest three hours after the reported burglary of the Black Cat Cafe. The burglary was reported when employees opening the cafe found that about $75 in change had been taken from a hiding place in the front of the cafe. Also missing was a contribution box for the March of Dimes, estimated to contain between $25 and $30.

Im afraid my party wont be a success if I cant serve cocktails, a teen-ager recently wrote the editors of the New York World Telegrams Teen Talk column. Adults would be in a better position to act shocked if so many of them didnt feel the same way about their own parties. How can they properly squelch a teen-ager for being afraid to have a party without cocktails, when so many grownups are scared to death to entertain without being able to depend on a couple of drinks.

50 years ago

1973: University Heights open  first home occupied today. In the fall of 1968, about 180 Northern Arizona University faculty members and administrators organized the University Heights Corporation. The group purchased 387 acres of land south of Interstate 40 and west of Highway 89A from the late Joseph Dolan. The objective was to build a subdivision that would provide home sites for faculty members of the rapidly expanding university. Today, David Seaman, of the anthropology department, is moving into the subdivision.

This move-in climaxes a program that has been subject to controversy, public concern and financial problems. But its coming up roses, and few knew that better than Charles Little, NAU professor and president of the corporation since 1969. Housing for newly recruited faculty members has been a problem for a number of years in Flagstaff. The development of a subdivision to assist in providing housing was decided as one way of resolving this problem. Key to this development was a $2.6 million improvement district through which water, sanitary sewer, streets, curbs and gutters were installed. The 215-acre, 400-home site development has some land reserved for park purposes, but there is no school site, as Flagstaff School District turned down a proposed site.

Flagstaffs water crisis, thanks to a heavy winter, is momentarily a thing of the past, but what city officials describe as the money crunch is very much a thing of the present. For that reason, the Flagstaff City Council, at a special meeting next Tuesday, could make what is known as the emergency water rate a permanent thing. The emergency water rate was first put into effect Aug. 1, 1971, and has been twice extended in the face of critical shortage of water in the citys various reservoirs.

The city clerk noted that with the heavy winter water pouring into Upper Lake Mary and other reservoirs, there is no more water crisis. What exists now, he said, is a money crunch. Recently, the city received a series of reports from its water consultants, and one of the main recommendations was that the city undertake a capital improvements program, in water development, that would cost between $7 and $8 million before 1980. A major point was that the water department would have to increase its revenue producing capacity by as much as 34 per cent in order to begin financing such a program.

Coconino County assessor Richard Hillman was notified Monday to switch his operation to computer programming. My office is mailing postcards out within the next few days advising people of their new valuation, Hillman said. The values are near, or somewhat near, the true market value of the property, he said.

What the taxes will now be, Hillman could not say. That determination must wait on a number of things, including what the state Legislature does, if anything, on property relief for the homeowner.

But as a whole, per Hillman, the new computer programming system will present a fair and equitable market value on property.

Showing at The Orpheum Theatre: Funny Girl, starring Barbara Streisand. Showing at Flag-East Theatre: The New Centurions, with George C. Scott.
SEOUL, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 29th Jan, 2023) South Korea reported today 18,871 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number to 30,149,601 cases, according to the latest figures released by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

Yonhap news Agency quoted KDCA as saying that the death toll reached 33,390, with 29 new fatalities recorded.
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Tehran, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 29th Jan, 2023 ) :Iran said Sunday a night-time drone attack had targeted a defence ministry site, at a time of high tensions over its nuclear programme and Russia's war in Ukraine.

An anti-aircraft system destroyed one drone and two others exploded, the ministry said, adding there were no casualties and only minor damage to the site in the central province of Isfahan.

A fireball lit up the night sky in video footage widely shared on social media and published by Iranian state media, with people outside seen running and emergency service vehicles speeding toward the site.

"An unsuccessful attack was carried out ... on one of the workshop complexes of the ministry of defence," the ministry said, according to state news agency IRNA.

"The attack, which occurred around 11:30 pm (2000 GMT) on Saturday, did not cause any disruption to the operation of the complex," it said.

Authorities did not elaborate on the activities at the site, but IRNA said the strike had targeted "an ammunition manufacturing plant".

Parliament member Mohammad-Hassan Assafari told the Mehr news agency that "opponents and enemies" of Iran were aiming to "disrupt the defencive power" of the country with the attack.

The drone strike comes at a tense time in Iran, which has been rocked by protests over the death in custody of Kurdish-Iranian woman Mahsa Amini in September, and as the standoff with major powers over its nuclear programme remains unresolved.
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Buenos Aires, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 29th Jan, 2023 ) :German Chancellor Olaf Scholz travels to Chile on Sunday, part of a Latin America tour that also includes Argentina and Brazil, where Berlin and the EU are seeking a reset following the election of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Accompanied by a delegation of business leaders, Scholz arrived at his first stop, Buenos Aires, on Saturday and met with President Alberto Fernandez.

The two leaders affirmed the importance of concluding a trade agreement between the EU and trade bloc Mercosur, comprised of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.

"We agree to deepen bilateral trade relations and for this the EU-Mercosur agreement is of special importance," Scholz told reporters after the meeting. "Our goal is to reach a quick conclusion." With Lula's inauguration to the presidency earlier this month in Brazil, "we are in a better position" to reach an agreement, Fernandez said.

Germany wants to boost cooperation with Latin America and the Caribbean on "renewable energies, green hydrogen and responsible trade in raw materials," Scholz said in an interview Saturday with the Grupo de Diarios America (GDA) consortium of South American newspapers.

The visit comes as German business seeks new opportunities overseas following the economic shock caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and as concerns grow about a heavy reliance on China.

All three countries -- Argentina, Chile and Brazil -- are rich in natural resources and "very interesting partners" for Europe's top economy, a government source in Berlin said. But the Brazilian leg of the trip will be the most closely watched.

Germany, and more broadly the European Union, are seeking to reset relations now that Lula is back in power, following the divisive administration of far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro.

On Monday, Scholz will become the first Western leader to meet with Lula since his inauguration.

He will first meet on Sunday, however, with Chilean President Gabriel Boric and visit the Museum of Memory and Human Rights commemorating the atrocities committed during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet from 1973 to 1990.

- EU-Mercosur deal - Although a deal was reached with Mercosur in 2019 following 20 years of talks, it has not yet been ratified, and has faced a wave of criticism in Europe, particularly among the agriculture and ecological sectors.

This week however, Lula signaled a renewed focus on finalizing the accord, saying it was "urgent and extremely important" to reach agreement.

"We heartily support the efforts of the European Commission regarding the swift reaching of an accord with the Mercosur partners," said Scholz in his GDA interview.

Ahead of the trip, Germany's powerful machine tool makers' federation called for the deal "to finally be implemented after years of going nowhere." "Time is pressing," the federation said.

Germany will also be trying to ensure it does not lose ground to China, which is increasingly becoming a trade rival for European powers and the United States in Latin America.

- Protecting forests - The environment will be high on the agenda when Scholz visits Brazil.

After Lula's election victory in October, Berlin said it was ready to resume payments to a fund that aims to protect the Amazon rainforest.

Germany, along with the fund's biggest donor Norway, had halted payments after deforestation surged under climate-sceptic Bolsonaro.

Bolsonaro's administration caused "a rupture in Brazilian environmental policy and closed the doors of environmental diplomacy," said Roberto Goulart Menezes, of the Institute of International Relations at the University of Brasilia.

"Lula's government, on the contrary, is resuming this agenda and placing it among its priorities." As Russia's war against Ukraine grinds on, Germany will seek to use the Latin American tour to drum up further international support against Moscow, the Berlin government source said.

Argentina, Chile and Brazil have criticized the invasion of Ukraine at the United Nations but have not adopted sanctions against Moscow.

Lula caused shock last year when he said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was "as responsible as" Russian President Vladimir Putin for the conflict.

"We will underline that the contours of peace are relatively simple -- that Russia leaves a territory where it has no business," the German source said.
Race, ethnicity, and gender descriptors have been expanded, and new goals have been set.

Before sending volunteers out for this years PIT count, HUD identified a few priorities. First, measuring the number of unaccompanied youth or young people, younger than 24, without shelter. The survey always gathers demographic data, but in 2023 the survey was aimed in part at establishing a greater understanding of how many veterans, victims of domestic violence and chronically homeless individuals are sleeping outside on a single night across the country.

The survey given by volunteers is standardized. Every surveyor asks the same questions to identify where a person slept, their age, gender identity and ethnicity, and whether they might be able to determine the reason for losing or not having access to permanent housing. The survey questions also identify how long a given person might have been experiencing homelessness.

The answers people give to PIT survey questions are confidential. Birth dates and first names or initials are used to prevent duplicates. However, other identifiers are not captured and all volunteers sign a confidentiality agreement before setting out.

It was below freezing on Wednesday morning, the first day of the 2023 survey. As a result, the first few people volunteers approached were mostly still bundled up and sleeping, attempting to fend off the bitter January cold.

In a similar survey effort, designed to assess the needs of unsheltered relatives from an Indigenous perspective, Native Americans for Community Action (NACA) observed that conducting surveys in the winter is challenging in northern Arizona. People simply arent mulling around in the streets. Theyre less likely to be in popular gathering places or panhandling hot spots, and are more likely to be hunkered down out of sight in an effort to survive the cold.

Locally, the PIT count is spearheaded by Flagstaff Shelter Services and Catholic Charities. Those organizations and their volunteers have no say about when the study is conducted. It takes place at the same time (Jan. 25-27) measuring data from the same night (Tuesday, Jan. 24) nationwide.

Thats one of the biggest criticism of it. Its the same time across the country, explained Kennedy, who said the process could be delayed in the event of a natural disaster. Generally, its the same date everywhere. Like, in Phoenix, warmer areas are going to have higher counts than Flagstaff. Even if, say, youre doing it in the Bay Area and it rains a lot, its just harder to find people.

Beyond the weather, the process of approaching a total stranger  who might be afraid or vulnerable  to ask somewhat personal, demographic questions can be challenging.

You meet a lot of people and you kind of explain it. It is still kind of this strange idea, Kennedy said. People will say, Youre trying to count us every year, like, what? Then you get to talking to them and theyll be like, Yeah, I stayed at the shelter last night. Its like, OK, well we dont need to finish the survey. We just kind of abruptly end it. But then you meet people who are like, Yeah, I slept outside last night.

Shelters gather data from points of service, so those numbers are available elsewhere.

We determine whether or not people were sheltered first. If individuals slept outside, in their vehicle, things like that they are considered unsheltered and we continue on with the survey. If they were sheltered the night of the 24th, we thank them for their time and move on, explained Sarah Rendon, the program manager in the housing department at Catholic Charities.

A number of the volunteers who made the PIT count happen this year work or donate time at shelters or humanitarian outreach organizations year-round. Theyre familiar with the experience of people without shelter and have some background heading in.

Regardless of a volunteers experience, every surveyor took an online training, hosted by Rendon and Holly Creager, the programs director at Flagstaff Shelter Services.

Before going out, all volunteers received a safety briefing from Lt. Charles Hernandez with the Flagstaff Police Department. Hernandez shared de-escalation techniques used by officers. He also talked volunteers through best practices  when to call Terros for a person in crisis and when to call the police for help. He explained people might feel threatened when approached by strangers.

Approaching them as strangers will put them in either a defensive mode or a conversational mode, Hernandez said during the training.

What Hernandez described played out during Kennedys first hour working the PIT count. He and his survey partner, an employee at Flagstaff Shelter Services, met mixed reactions from survey participants. Some reacted with a willingness to share their story. Others, with distrust, fear and even anger.

I think the biggest thing is its super reasonable for people to be annoyed or angry or confused, Kennedy said. Then theres sometimes, youll get a consistent response if maybe somebody is like angry about it or they have some kind of mental illness that makes them present as if they are angry. So, just understanding that. We back up and say, OK, cool.

Volunteers were encouraged during training to approach each person by offering empathy and education, in large part because the goal of the count isnt just to generate demographic data. People are more than numbers, and the whole idea of measuring the scope of the problem is to solve it with and for the people being surveyed.

Kennedy said the purpose of PIT is not necessarily to fix each individuals situation while theyre being surveyed. Its to gather data to identify broken systems and gaps in services.

Still, it can result in productive conversations about the services available for people in need in Flagstaff. Volunteers who usually participate in activities such as shelter intake wouldnt be doing that here, but they might talk to someone about the availability of shelter or the collaborative Front Door Program designed to help people find permanent housing.

In addition to heading into the field armed with information, volunteers brought snacks, hygiene kits and Better Bucks.

The hygiene kits were provided by NACA and included knitted hats and scarves alongside handwritten notes and items like hand sanitizer and sanitary napkins. The snack bags were stuffed by the Flagstaff Family Food Center, and the Better Bucks were donated by the City of Flagstaff, Coconino County Health and Human Services, and Catholic Charities. Better Bucks, intended to be an alternative to cash for people to hand out to panhandlers, can be used to buy items such as food and water.

The same items handed out by mobile surveyors were also distributed at stationary volunteer sites. Over the course of the three-day count, volunteers set up tables at both public library locations, Flagstaff Family Food Center and the Montoya Community Center.

We set up a table, maybe a little sign and people come to us and do surveys. The mobile units, people actually go out and about and around the community looking for any place people might gather, said Rendon.

But what ultimately inspired people to brave the cold, or sacrifice hours of their time to talk to strangers?

I think every individual counts. Its important to make sure that were accurately counting, that were getting as close to an accurate count as we possibly can in order to bring attention to our unsheltered neighbors as well as our communities, Rendon said.
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Memphis, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 29th Jan, 2023 ) :The US city of Memphis on Saturday disbanded the special police unit whose officers fatally beat a young Black man, after graphic video of the assault sparked widespread shock and outrage.

The video, which shows five officers repeatedly kicking and punching 29-year-old Tyre Nichols as he moans and calls out for his mother, triggered calls for police reform amid the anger.

The southern US city on Saturday announced it had deactivated the officers' special unit, known as Scorpion, which was launched in 2021 to reduce illegal activity by assigning more police to high-crime areas.

The Memphis Police Department said in a statement it was "in the best interest of all to permanently deactivate the SCORPION Unit," which stands for Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods.

"The officers currently assigned to the unit agree unreservedly with this next step," the department added.

Several dozen demonstrators called for police reform Saturday afternoon as they gathered in the chilly rain in front of city hall shouting "No justice, no peace!" and carrying signs with slogans such as "Justice for Tyre Nichols." At one point, a police car ended up surrounded by a group of protesters, who directed their angry chants at the vehicle.

Memphis City Council member JB Smiley Jr addressed the crowd's demands, speaking to protesters in the rain.

"Memphis has an opportunity to set the standard on how to respond to actions like this," he told them.

The five Memphis officers, who are all Black, were charged with second-degree murder in the beating of Nichols, who died in hospital on January 10 three days after being stopped on suspicion of reckless driving.
Seoul, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 29th Jan, 2023 ) :North Korea on Sunday denied providing arms to Moscow after the United States said the nuclear-armed state supplied rockets and missiles to Russia's private military group Wagner.

Washington earlier this month designated the Wagner group as a "transnational criminal organisation", citing its weapons dealings with Pyongyang in violation of UN Security Council resolutions.

The White House showed US intelligence photographs of Russian rail cars entering North Korea, picking up a load of infantry rockets and missiles, and returning to Russia, according to national security spokesman John Kirby.

In a statement carried by the official Korean Central news Agency, a senior North Korean official rejected the accusations, warning that the US would face a "really undesirable result" if it persisted in spreading the "self-made rumour".

"Trying to tarnish the image of (North Korea) by fabricating a non-existent thing is a grave provocation that can never be allowed and that cannot but trigger its reaction," said Kwon Jong Gun, director general of the Department of US Affairs.

He also called it "a foolish attempt to justify its offer of weapons to Ukraine".

Earlier this week, US President Joe Biden promised 31 Abrams tanks, one of the most powerful and sophisticated weapons in the US army, to help Kyiv fight off Moscow's invasion.

The move drew a rebuke Friday from Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who accused Washington of "further crossing the red line" by sending the tanks into Ukraine.

During a meeting with South Korean foreign minister Park Jin in Seoul on Sunday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg acknowledged concerns about Pyongyang's "reckless missile tests and nuclear programmes" and the ramifications of the Ukraine war in South Korea.

"We also know that North Korea is providing military support to the Russian war efforts with the rockets and missiles," he added.
London, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 29th Jan, 2023 ) :British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Sunday dismissed a senior ally whose murky tax dealings have focussed anger at the government as a cost-of-living crisis brings misery to millions.

An inquiry into the wealthy Conservative party chairman Nadhim Zahawi's tax affairs -- dating from his founding of the YouGov polling company in 2000 -- had found a "serious breach" of ministerial rules, the government said.

"As a result, I have informed you of my decision to remove you from your position in His Majesty's Government," Sunak wrote in a publicly released letter to his Iraqi-born ally.

Sunak appointed Zahawi as the party chairman, and cabinet minister without portfolio, when he entered 10 Downing Street nearly 100 days ago, following the implosion of Liz Truss's premiership and the demise of the scandal-plagued Boris Johnson.

Then, as his letter noted, Sunak vowed to deliver "integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level".

Instead, the Zahawi case, and allegations of bullying levelled by civil servants at Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab, have undermined Sunak's attempts to restore public faith in the beleaguered Conservatives.

The inquiry report by Sunak's newly appointed independent ethics advisor, Laurie Magnus, found that Zahawi effectively lied to successive Conservative leaders when he came under investigation by the UK's tax authority.

Zahawi settled the matter last September -- with a fine for late payment reportedly worth 5 million ($6.2 million) -- months after he started serving under Johnson as chancellor of the exchequer, in ultimate charge of the UK tax agency.

But he did not reveal the fine in his declaration of ministerial interests, until it emerged in newspaper reports this month. Initially last year, he tried to silence journalists and a tax consultant with threats of libel lawsuits.

Zahawi had failed "to be honest, open and an exemplary leader through his own behaviour", the damning report by Magnus found.

Sunak's decision to fire Zahawi, rather than invite him to resign with some saving of face, underlined the serious political stakes at play at a time when millions of Britons are struggling to pay the bills.

Zahawi oversaw Britain's Covid vaccine rollout and was well regarded in his party as an aspirational success story, having moved to Britain aged 11 with his Kurdish family not speaking any English.

- 'Stench of sleaze' - The opposition Labour party said Sunak should have fired Zahawi immediately, rather than seeking to buy time by asking Magnus to investigate.

The scandal underlined that Sunak was a "weak" prime minister, senior Labour MP Bridget Phillipson told Sky news.

"The stench of sleaze just hangs around the Conservative party," she said.

Sunak has faced questions himself about his family's tax affairs after it emerged that his Indian wife Akshata Murty had for years enjoyed "non-domicile" status, which shielded her from paying UK taxes on her overseas income from her family's Infosys business group.

And last week he apologised for receiving his second police fine, after he was filmed not wearing a seatbelt in the back seat of a moving car.

As chancellor himself under Johnson, Sunak was fined along with the then prime minister for attending an illegal workplace party during a Covid lockdown.

The "partygate" scandal was one of several that brought down Johnson.

Sunak's vows of integrity were in sharp contrast to that record, but he remains stalked by his predecessor's dealings in government.

A separate probe is underway into reports that just before he was made chairman of the BBC by Johnson, former banker Richard Sharp was involved in securing a private credit line for up to 800,000 ($990,000) for the then-PM from a Canadian businessman.

Zahawi, who had insisted on his innocence, vowed to continue supporting Sunak as a backbench Conservative MP.

But in a letter to the prime minister, he added that he was concerned "about the conduct from some of the fourth estate (the media) in recent weeks".

Senior minister Michael Gove defended Sunak's handling of the case.

"I think what reflects on him is the determination that he has to ensure that people are dealt with fairly, that the government focuses on delivery," he told BBC television.
MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 29th January, 2023) Israel has been assisting Ukraine "behind the scenes" and to a "much greater" extent than it becomes known by, among other things, ceasing arms exports from Iran to Syria and Lebanon, Israeli Ambassador to Germany Ron Prosor told the Berliner Morgenpost newspaper on Sunday.

"As you know, the Israeli army has been regularly ceasing the weapons supply from Iran to Syria and Lebanon. This includes Iranian drones and missiles that Russia has been using in Ukraine. We help, but behind the scenes and to a much greater extent than it becomes known," Prosor said, as quoted by the newspaper.

The ambassador added that one of the reasons why Israel was "keeping a low profile" has been the presence of a large Jewish community in Russia, according to the report.

Western countries have repeatedly accused Iran of supplying combat drones to Russia which then are allegedly used in hostilities in Ukraine. US officials have also said that Iran is looking at selling "hundreds of ballistic missiles" to Russia. No concrete evidence has been presented yet, with both Moscow and Tehran rejecting the allegation.
SIMFEROPOL (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 29th January, 2023) Five people died and four others were wounded as a result of a missile strike on a railway bridge in Melitopol, Vladimir Rogov, a member of the Zaporizhzhia regional administration's main council, said on Sunday.

"Five people were killed, four people were wounded, two of them are in serious condition," Rogov said on Telegram.

According to preliminary data, the strike involved three HIMARS missiles, one of which was shot down.

The head of the Zaporizhzhia regional administration, Yevgeny Balitsky, noted that repair work was being carried out on the bridge at the time of the shelling.

Balitsky also expressed his deep condolences to the families of the victims, noting that the authorities would provide assistance to the relatives of those dead and injured.

The Ukrainian authorities deliberately targeted the bridge, a civilian facility, committing yet another crime against civilians, Balitsky added.

Earlier in the day, immediately after the incident, Rogov said that two people had been killed and seven injured.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th January, 2023) Washington is considering all options to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons to curb Tehran's "harmful" activities, the Al Arabiya broadcaster reported on Sunday, citing US State Secretary Anthony Blinken.

Earlier in the day, Blinken arrived in Cairo, where he is scheduled to hold a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi.

Blinken said that different options of preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons were under discussion, as cited by the broadcaster.

The state secretary also said that Washington was continuing to look for ways to curb Iran's "harmful" activities, according to the report.

Earlier in January, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said that Tehran was ready to renew talks on the revival of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iranian nuclear deal, but the negotiations must be based on realistic approach without any preliminary conditions.

The JCPOA was negotiated between Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council as well as Germany and the European Union in July 2015. In 2018, the US unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA, saying that Iran had violated the deal by developing nuclear weapons in secret. In response, Iran suspended parts of its own obligations under the deal, demanding the US lift sanctions.

In December 2021, the sides achieved an agreement on two segments of the deal during talks in Vienna, however the US said that there was no significant progress and urged Tehran to treat the issue more seriously. In late August 2022, Iran sent the EU its response to the draft agreement on the restoration of the nuclear deal, expressing its concerns over remaining issues. The EU, in turn, called Iran's response constructive and said it would be consulting with the United States on further steps. Iran received the US proposal a couple of days later.
Pope Francis invites Christians to pray for his upcoming Apostolic Journey to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, saying the African nations have suffered greatly from lengthy conflicts.

By Devin Watkins

Pope Francis sets off on Tuesday as a pilgrim of peace to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan on 31 January  5 February.

Ahead of his 40th Apostolic Journey abroad, the Pope read out a message to the people of the two African nations during his Sunday Angelus address.

He thanked the civil authorities and Bishops of both countries for their invitations and the preparations they have made for his visit.

Close to my heart

The Pope also offered a heartfelt greeting to those beloved peoples who await me.

These lands have suffered greatly from lengthy conflicts.

Pope Francis noted that the DRC suffers from armed clashes and exploitation, especially in the east of the country.

South Sudan, he said, has been wracked by years of war and longs for an end to the constant violence that forces many people to be displaced and to live in conditions of great hardship.

Ecumenical pilgrimage of peace

In his message, the Pope recalled that he will arrive in South Sudan accompanied by Anglican Archbishop Justin Welby and Rev Dr Iain Greenshields.

In South Sudan, I will arrive together with the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. Together, as brothers, we will make an ecumenical pilgrimage of peace.

Pope Francis wrapped up his message with an appeal for everyone to accompany his Apostolic Journey with their prayers.

Brief overview of visit

The first leg of this papal visit will take the Pope to the Democratic Republic of Congo from 31 January to 3 February.

He will remain in the Congolese capital, Kinshasa, where he will meet with civil authorities, victims of conflict in the east, and the Churchs local ministers.

Then, on Friday, he travels to South Sudan until 5 February for a visit which seeks to bind up the wounds of the worlds youngest nation.

Pope Francis will stay in the capital, Juba, holding meetings with various Church and civil groups, including several internally displaced people (IDPs).

He will return to Rome on Sunday following a public Mass for the faithful of South Sudan.
Young people gather in St. Peter's Square as part of the "Caravan for Peace" (Vatican Media)

Pope Francis joins thousands of young people in St. Peters Square in an appeal for peace in our world, especially in war-torn Ukraine.

By Devin Watkins

St. Peters Square was filled on Sunday with young pilgrims who participated in the Caravan for Peace initiative, organized by the Catholic Action group in Rome.

Greeting the young people following the Angelus prayer, Pope Francis joined in their prayers for peace.

He said the groups prayers and commitment to peace are even more important this year as Europe witnesses the war in Ukraine.

Let us think of Ukraine and pray for the Ukrainian people, who are so mistreated, he said.

Lachin Corridor crisis

The Pope also renewed his appeal for the grave humanitarian situation in the Lachin Corridor in the South Caucusus.

I am close to all those who, in the dead of winter, are forced to cope with these inhumane conditions. Every effort must be made at the international level to find peaceful solutions for the good of people.

The Lachin Corridor is Nagorno-Karabakhs land link with Armenia, and has been blocked by Azerbaijan since mid-December as protesters keep supplies from reaching the 120,000 Armenians living in the mountainous enclave.

World Leprosy Day

Separately, Pope Francis recalled the commemoration on Sunday of the 70th World Leprosy Day.

He lamented the stigma attached to Hansens Disease, which he added continues to cause serious human rights violations in various parts of the world.
Olympus Technical Services, Inc., an employee-owned environmental remediation, emergency spill response, and environmental consulting company, has announced that Spenser Kuhn has been promoted from project geologist to senior geologist.

As a senior geologist, Kuhn will manage larger projects and have expanded responsibilities. Kuhn joined Olympus as a staff geologist in June 2019 and took over operational management of the Billings office three months later. He was promoted to project geologist in January 2020. Kuhn has a B.S. in geology from Florida State University and is currently working towards an M.S. in land resources and environmental sciences at Montana State University.
In the months he was held in detention in Texas during his legal fight to remain in the United States, Afghan soldier Abdul Wasi Safi thought he would eventually be returned to his home country and likely meet death at the hands of the Taliban because of his work with the U.S. military.

But Friday, he stood a free man, filled with hope that the help he provided the U.S. military will ultimately help him secure asylum in the U.S.

Amid hugs from his brother and lawyers, Wasi Safi proudly smiled as he received an award from one of his supporters  Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, a Democrat from Houston, Texas  that honored his military service to the U.S. He said he hoped that would be a harbinger of things to come for him in his new life in the U.S.

"I am hopeful about the next step in this process and one day being able to live the American dream," Wasi Safi said at a news conference in Houston.

A long trek

For the past few months, Wasi Safi, 27, had been jailed by federal authorities after being arrested while crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in September near Eagle Pass, Texas.

An intelligence officer for the Afghan National Security Forces, he had fled Afghanistan following the withdrawal of U.S. forces in August 2021, fearing reprisals from the Taliban. After making his way last year to Brazil, he started a monthslong journey to the U.S. in summer 2022, crossing 10 countries on his treacherous trek.

Wasi Safi had been facing a federal immigrant charge. But a judge on Monday dropped the count at the request of prosecutors. He was freed from a detention center in Eden, Texas, Wednesday and reunited with his brother, Sami-ullah Safi, 29, who goes by Sami and lives in Houston.

"Today a wrong has been made right, and I would like to thank those who have worked tirelessly to secure justice for my brother," said Sami Safi, who had been employed in Afghanistan by the U.S. military as a translator before he moved to the U.S.

A promise kept

The lawyers, bipartisan lawmakers and military organizations that have been working to free Wasi Safi say his case highlights how America's chaotic military withdrawal from Afghanistan continues to harm Afghan citizens who helped the U.S. but were left behind.

Jackson Lee said being able to free Wasi Safi from detention and provide him help and resources as he applies for asylum is part of the promise the U.S. has long made to those such as Afghan soldiers who have helped the country's military in its efforts to preserve democracy.

"America made a promise. Today we emphasize America kept her promise," Jackson Lee said.

Wasi Safi, whose case was first reported by The Texas Tribune, had suffered serious injuries from beatings during his journey to the U.S., including damaged front teeth and hearing loss in his right ear. Sami Safi said as his brother's asylum claim is reviewed, he will help him heal and get acclimated to living in the U.S.

Wasi Safi said part of what he hopes his American dream includes is being able to work and support those members of his family who remain in Afghanistan, including his parents, six sisters and two other brothers. He hopes that one day, they can all be reunited.

'This is not the last person'

Nearly 76,000 Afghans who worked with American soldiers since 2001 as translators, interpreters and partners arrived in the U.S. on military planes after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. But their immigration status remains unclear after Congress failed to pass a proposed law, the Afghan Adjustment Act, that would have solidified their legal residency status.

"Please do not forget that there are people who are still left behind. This is not the last person," said Nisar Momand, a former interpreter for the U.S. government who left Afghanistan and now lives in Houston. "This is the first page of the book. Please raise your voice. There are hundreds of people. There are thousands of people that are every day being targeted."
In Somalia, al-Qaida-affiliated militant group al-Shabab has been on a gradual retreat for months, and this could be the beginning of their end, experts told VOA.

In a televised speech in August 2022, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud announced a "total war" against the group, days after it staged a deadly hotel siege in Mogadishu, killing at least 21 people and wounding more than 100 others.

The presidents announcement came as local clans in central Somalia were revolting against the presence and the oppression of al-Shabab in their territories.

Since July, Somali government military operations in parts of the country have gained significant ground from the militants.

Al-Shabab ceded territories and major towns in the central Somali regions of Hiran, Middle Shabelle, Galmudug and South-West State. Government officials say they have killed more than 2,000 al-Shabab fighters, a number VOA could not independently verify.

As the government campaign enters its eighth month in February, the Somali government is preparing to open new battlefronts in southern parts of the country Somalias defense minister said Friday.

A week ago, government forces in Jubaland State took a step forward by capturing Janay Abdalle, a strategic village, from al-Shabab. Jubaland borders Kenya and is one of five Federal-member states in Somalia.

Speaking to VOAs Somali service, Ismail Dahir Osman, former deputy commander of Somalias National Intelligence and Security Agency, said al-Shabab has been on the retreat since the government started supporting local clan militias fighting with them.

Since the government offensive began with the support of local citizens, who are fed up with the groups oppressions, al-Shabab has been losing territories and former strongholds in central regions. Thanks to Somali government military operations backed by local clan militias and foreign partners, including the United States, he said.

Colonel Abdullahi Ali Maow, a former Somali intelligence official told VOA that he agrees the militants are on a downward spiral.

It is obvious that al-Shabab has been losing ground and were squeezed out of major towns and villages they have been controlling for more than 10 years, including Harardhere, a coastal town and former pirate hub captured by Somali government forces on January 16, he said. I think it is the beginning of their end.

Even if the groups retreat continues, it is not the first time the status of a jihadi group in Somalia was damaged by multiple defeats.

It happened in 2006 when troops from what was then Somalia's Transitional Federal Government backed by Ethiopian troops defeated the Islamic Courts Union that had ruled Mogadishu and large swaths of south and central Somalia for months.

Disorder within the ranks helped the more radical terrorist elements within the ICU emerge. That became al-Shabab. The militant group grew and took control of large territories.

So, if theyre defeated again, whats to keep them from returning?

Hassan Sheikh Ali Nur, a professor at the Somali National University in Mogadishu, said this time is different.

The ICU time, there was not a strong and internationally recognized government in Somalia, there was not the international military support, including the United States airstrikes, and more importantly the Somali citizens and nationalists were not fully supporting the government as they considered Ethiopian troops involvement as a foreign invasion, Nur said.

Omar Yusuf Abdulle, a Horn of Africa affairs analyst, believes that the dream of al-Shabab  taking control of Somalia, overthrowing the western-backed government and imposing a strict version of Sharia law  is over. He cautions that the militant group will remain a security threat for many years to come because the groups ideology alone is enough to inspire attacks.

Despite the recent military defeat, the group can still do damage because their leaders are still out there, and they still control large territory in southern Somalia. Also, the die-hard followers of the group are still listening to them and there are probably thousands of them; therefore, the complete defeat of al-Shabab depends on the eradication of the ideology that inspires the terrorist, Abdulle said.

The Somalia government also acknowledges that the dangerous ideology is very much alive and expects to see more terrorist attacks planned and commissioned by the group.

In its war against the groups ideology, as a part of the governments triple offensive against al-Shabab  which includes military and financial operations in addition to countering extremist propaganda  the government convened a four-day conference this week of Muslim scholars in Mogadishu that ended Thursday with the formation of a Supreme Council.

More than 300 Muslim clerics who attended the meeting declared their support for the government's war against the Islamist militant group, which has been fighting the government since 2007. The clerics vehemently denounced al-Shababs misinterpretation of Islam.

It was the first time in years that Somali clerics from all sects of Islam came together to denounce terrorism. Even the conservative Wahhabi sect, which has been accused of sympathizing with al-Shabab, participated.

Somali Prime Minister Hamza Barre said in his closing speech at the conference that the coming together of Somali clerics from different ideological persuasions could be the end of al-Shababs religious influence in Somalia.

This will be instrumental in winning the war against al-Shabab and other extremist elements because it is the first time we have seen different sects of clerics sitting together and issuing a statement together against a common enemy. I am happy that you have joined the fight, he said.

Last year, Barre named the former deputy leader of al-Shabab, Mukhtar Robow, as religious affairs minister. His selection was seen as an attempt to deflate al-Shabab's ideology.
For New York teacher Michael Flanagan, the pandemic was a crash course in new technology  rushing out laptops to stay-at-home students and shifting hectic school life online.

Students are long back at school, but the technology has lived on, and with it has come a new generation of apps that monitor the pupils online, sometimes round the clock and even on down days shared with family and friends at home.

The programs scan students' online activity, social media posts and more  aiming to keep them focused, detect mental health problems and flag up any potential for violence.

"You can't unring the bell," said Flanagan, who teaches social studies and economics. "Everybody has a device."

The new trend for tracking, however, has raised fears that some of the apps may target minority pupils, while others have outed LGBT+ students without their consent, and many are used to instill discipline as much as deliver care.

So Flanagan has parted ways with many of his colleagues and won't use such apps to monitor his students online.

He recalled seeing a demo of one such program, GoGuardian, in which a teacher showed  in real time  what one student was doing on his computer. The child was at home, on a day off.

Such scrutiny raised a big red flag for Flanagan.

"I have a school-issued device, and I know that there's no expectation of privacy. But I'm a grown man  these kids don't know that," he said.

A New York City Department of Education spokesperson said that the use of GoGuardian Teacher "is only for teachers to see what's on the student's screen in the moment, provide refocusing prompts, and limit access to inappropriate content."

Valued at more than $1 billion, GoGuardian  one of a handful of high-profile apps in the market  is now monitoring more than 22 million students, including in the New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles public systems.

Globally, the education technology sector is expected to grow by $133 billion from 2021 to 2026, market researcher Technavio said last year.

Parents expect schools to keep children safe in classrooms or on field trips, and schools also "have a responsibility to keep students safe in digital spaces and on school-issued devices," GoGuardian said in a statement.

The company says it "provides educators with the ability to protect students from harmful or explicit content".

Nowadays, online monitoring "is just part of the school environment," said Jamie Gorosh, policy counsel with the Future of Privacy Forum, a watchdog group.

And even as schools move beyond the pandemic, "it doesn't look like we're going back," she said.

Guns and depression

A key priority for monitoring is to keep students engaged in their academic work, but it also taps into fast-rising concerns over school violence and children's mental health, which medical groups in 2021 termed a national emergency.

According to federal data released this month, 82% of schools now train staff on how to spot mental health problems, up from 60% in 2018; 65% have confidential threat-reporting systems, up 15% in the same period.

In a survey last year by the nonprofit Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT), 89% of teachers reported their schools were monitoring student online activity.

Yet it is not clear that the software creates safer schools.

Gorosh cited May's shooting in Uvalde, Texas, that left 21 dead in a school that had invested heavily in monitoring tech.

Some worry the tracking apps could actively cause harm.

The CDT report, for instance, found that while administrators overwhelmingly say the purpose of monitoring software is student safety, "it's being used far more commonly for disciplinary purposes ... and we're seeing a discrepancy falling along racial lines," said Elizabeth Laird, director of CDT's Equity in Civic Technology program.

The programs' use of artificial intelligence to scan for keywords has also outed LGBT+ students without their consent, she said, noting that 29% of students who identify as LGBT+ said they or someone they knew had experienced this.

And more than a third of teachers said their schools send alerts automatically to law enforcement outside school hours.

"The stated purpose is to keep students safe, and here we have set up a system that is routinizing law enforcement access to this information and finding reasons for them to go into students' homes," Laird said.

'Preyed upon'

A report by federal lawmakers last year into four companies making student monitoring software found that none had made efforts to see if the programs disproportionately targeted marginalized students.

"Students should not be surveilled on the same platforms they use for their schooling," Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts, one of the report's co-authors, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a statement.

"As school districts work to incorporate technology in the classroom, we must ensure children and teenagers are not preyed upon by a web of targeted advertising or intrusive monitoring of any kind."

The Department of Education has committed to releasing guidelines around the use of AI early this year.

A spokesperson said the agency was "committed to protecting the civil rights of all students."

Aside from the ethical questions around spying on children, many parents are frustrated by the lack of transparency.

"We need more clarity on whether data is being collected, especially sensitive data. You should have at least notification, and probably consent," said Cassie Creswell, head of Illinois Families for Public Schools, an advocacy group.

Creswell, who has a daughter in a Chicago public school, said several parents have been sent alerts about their children's online searches, despite not having been asked or told about the monitoring in the first place.

Another child had faced repeated warnings not to play a particular game  even though the student was playing it at home on the family computer, she said.

Creswell and others acknowledge that the issues monitoring aims to address  bullying, depression, violence  are real and need tackling, but question whether technology is the answer.

"If we're talking about self-harm monitoring, is this the best way to approach the issue?" said Gorosh.

Pointing to evidence suggesting AI is imperfect in capturing the warning signs, she said increased funding for school counselors could be more narrowly tailored to the problem.

"There are huge concerns," she said. "But maybe technology isn't the first step to answer some of those issues."
Azerbaijan will evacuate embassy staff and family members from Iran on Sunday, the foreign ministry said, two days after a gunman shot dead a security guard and wounded two other people in an attack Baku branded as an "act of terrorism."

Police in Tehran have said they arrested a suspect and Iranian authorities condemned Friday's incident, but said the gunman appeared to have had a personal, not a political, motive.

The incident came amid increased tensions between the neighboring countries over Iran's treatment of its large ethnic Azeri minority and over Azerbaijan's decision this month to appoint its first ever ambassador to Israel.

After the attack, the Azeri foreign ministry said it summoned Iran's ambassador in Baku to demand justice and would evacuate embassy staff from Tehran. It gave no further details, including whether the embassy would continue to function.

Earlier, the ministry said the shooting was the result of Tehran failing to heed its calls for better security.

CCTV footage obtained by Reuters showed the attacker forcing his way into the embassy building and shooting at two men before a third embassy employee grapples him away.

A grey-haired man identified as the attacker was later shown on Iranian state TV saying he had acted to secure the release of his Azeri wife who he believed was being held at the embassy.

A young woman identified as the man's daughter said her mother was in Azerbaijan.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi called for "a comprehensive investigation" of the incident and sent his condolences to Azerbaijan and the dead man's family, state media said.
CAIRO, Jan 29 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in the Middle East on Sunday, beginning a three-day visit as violence flares between Israelis and Palestinians, and with Iran and the war in Ukraine high on the agenda.

After a stop in Cairo Blinken will head on Monday to Jerusalem, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new right-wing government has stirred concern at home and abroad over the future of Israel's secular values, frayed ethnic relations and stalled peace talks with the Palestinians.

There has also been a spate of deadly violence in recent days, heightening fears that already spiralling violence will further escalate.

A Palestinian gunman killed seven people in an attack outside a Jerusalem synagogue on Friday. It was worst such attack on Israelis in the Jerusalem area since 2008 and followed a fatal Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin on Thursday, the deadliest there in years.

In talks with the new Israeli administration, which includes ultra-nationalist parties that want to expand West Bank settlements, Blinken will repeat U.S. calls for calm and emphasize Washington's support for a two-state solution, although U.S. officials admit longer-term peace talks are not likely in the near future.

Blinken will also travel to Ramallah to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, other Palestinian officials, and members of civil society.

Netanyahu's government has proposed a sweeping overhaul of the judiciary that would strengthen political control over the appointment of judges while weakening the Supreme Court's ability to overturn legislation or rule against government action. The proposals have triggered big street demonstrations against what protesters see as the potential undermining of judicial independence.

"It's clearly a measure of the vibrancy of the democracy that this has been contested so clearly up and down across segments of Israeli society," said Barbara Leaf, the top State Department official for the Middle East, who briefed reporters ahead of the trip. Blinken will hear from people inside and outside of government on the reforms, she added.

Leaf said the visit would also build on earlier efforts to restore relations between Israel and Arab nations. The process known as the Negev Forum does not include Palestinians and involves officials from regional nations, including Egypt, discussing areas like economic cooperation and tourism.

Ukraine, Iran on agenda

Russia's 11-month-old war in Ukraine will also be on the agenda. Ukraine, which has received great quantities of military equipment from the United States and Europe, has asked Israel to provide systems to shoot down drones, including those supplied by Israel's regional adversary Iran.

Israel has rebuffed those requests. While it has condemned the Russian invasion, Israel has limited its assistance to humanitarian aid and protective gear, citing a desire for continued cooperation with Moscow over war-ravaged neighbor Syria and to ensure the wellbeing of Russia's Jews.

The diplomats will also discuss Iran's nuclear program, with the Biden administration's efforts to revive the 2015 nuclear deal stalled and no Plan B to prevent Iran developing a weapon.

In Cairo, Blinken will meet President Abdel Fattah El-Sissi and Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry to strengthen Washington's "strategic partnership" with Egypt and boost cooperation on regional issues like Sudans transition and elections in Libya, Leaf said.

Blinken will also be under pressure to raise human rights concerns.

The Biden administration has withheld millions of dollars in military aid to Egypt over its failure to meet human rights conditions, although advocacy groups have pushed for more to be withheld, alleging widespread abuses including torture and enforced disappearances.

Most of the $1.3 billion in foreign military aid that Washington sends to Egypt each year remains intact and the United States has credited Sisi's government with progress on political detentions.

Sissi, who became president in 2014, has said Egypt holds no political prisoners, and argues that security is paramount and that the government is promoting human rights by working to provide basic needs like jobs and housing.
Thousands of demonstrators rallied in Burkina Faso's capital, Ouagadougou, on Saturday in support of the ruling junta, days after France confirmed its special forces there would withdraw, according to an AFP journalist at the rally.

Packing Nation Square in central Ouagadougou, protesters held signs bearing slogans including "Down with imperialism," "Down with French policy in Africa" and "Forward for Burkina's sovereignty."

"We do not want any more foreign military bases on our soil," Lazare Yameogo, spokesperson for the Inter-African Revolutionary Movement told the crowd. "We want respect and a win-win cooperation.

"We will remain on the lookout until Burkina Faso is liberated from Western imperialism," he added.

Former colonial power France has special forces based in Ouagadougou, but its presence has come under intense scrutiny as anti-French sentiment in the region grows.

Paris confirmed this week that the troops, deployed to help fight a years-long jihadi insurgency, would leave within a month.

Anger within the military at the government's failure to stem the insurgency, which has raged since 2015, fueled two coups in Burkina Faso last year.

Violence by insurgents linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group has killed thousands of people and forced around 2 million more to flee their homes.

Junta leader Captain Ibrahim Traore was acting for the West African state's sovereignty and "an army powerful enough to fight jihadists," said Alassane Kouanda, head of an association backing the planned transition to civilian rule.

Some observers say the Burkinabe government's request for France to withdraw its troops is reminiscent of the ideals of former president, left-wing anti-colonial hero Thomas Sankara.

A coalition of organizations supporting Sankara's ideas welcomed "the complete liberation of our country from the yokes of Francafrique, imperialism and deadly capitalism," using a term to describe French influence in its former African colonies.

Mahamadou Sawadogo, leader of the Burkina-Russia association, said during Saturday's protest that there were "other opportunities for cooperation" in the fight against jihadis, notably from Moscow.

Some protesters on Saturday held Russian flags and giant posters of the leaders of Mali and Guinea, West African neighbors that, like Burkina Faso, are ruled by military juntas following coups.

Monique Yeli Kam, a former presidential candidate and a major figure in the anti-France movement, told AFP Burkina Fasos turn toward Moscow and the Russian paramilitary group Wagner was "also a form of sovereignty."

"The old powers tend to treat us like children by saying we don't know how to choose," but Burkina is now independent and able to act freely "according to our interests," she said.

Turning away from France in favor of Russia in the anti-jihadi fight has not convinced all Burkinabe citizens.

"We demanded the French soldiers' departure. Now that it's done, we must not let in other imperialists," said Ibrahim Sanou, a 28-year-old shop worker. "It's up to us to take full responsibility because the fight for true independence in Burkina Faso begins now."

Civil servant Desire Sanou added: "We must be ready to hold out to free the country from these hordes of terrorists. We don't even need Wagner or other forces."
Three people were killed and four others were wounded in a shooting at a multimillion-dollar short-term rental home in an upscale Los Angeles neighborhood early Saturday, police said.

The shooting occurred about 2:30 a.m. in the Beverly Crest neighborhood. This is at least the sixth mass shooting in California this month.

Sgt. Frank Preciado of the Los Angeles Police Department said earlier Saturday that the three people killed were inside a vehicle.

Two of the four victims were taken in private vehicles to area hospitals and two others were transported by ambulance, police spokesperson Sgt. Bruce Borihanh said. Two were in critical condition and two were in stable condition, Borihanh said. The ages and genders of the victims were not immediately released.

Investigators were trying to determine if there was a party at the rental or what type of gathering was occurring, Borihanh said.

Borihanh said police have no information on suspects. With the shooting over, the block was sectioned off as investigators scoured it for evidence.

The mid-century home is in Beverly Crest, a quiet neighborhood nestled in the Santa Monica Mountains where houses are large and expensive. The property, estimated at $3 million, is on a cul-de-sac and described in online real estate platforms as modern and private with a pool and outdoor shower.

Los Angeles Police Officer Jader Chaves said the department did not know if the house had a history of noise or other party-related complaints.

The early Saturday morning shooting comes after a massacre at a dance hall in a Los Angeles suburb last week left 11 dead and nine wounded, and shootings at two Half Moon Bay farms left seven dead and one wounded.

Last Saturday, 72-year-old Huu Can Tran gunned down patrons at a ballroom dance hall in predominantly Asian Monterey Park, where tens of thousands attended Lunar New Year festivities earlier that evening. He drove to another dance hall but was thwarted by an employee. Many of the dead were in their 60s and 70s.

Tran later killed himself as police closed in on the van in which he sat.

On Monday, a man shot and killed four people at the mushroom farm where he worked, then drove to another farm where he had previously worked and killed three people there, authorities said. Chunli Zhao, 66, is in jail and faces murder charges in what police called a case of workplace violence.

The killings have dealt a blow to the state, which has some of the nations toughest firearm laws and lowest rates of gun deaths.

Last year  for the third straight year  the U.S. recorded more than 600 mass shootings in which at least four people were killed or injured, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
Tunisia looked set for an ultra-low election turnout again Sunday as a parliamentary election ended with critics of President Kais Saied saying the near empty polling stations reflected public dismay at his seizure of broad powers.

The newly configured, and much less important, parliament is a central element of a political system Saied introduced last year after a July 2021 power grab that grants the presidency nearly untrammeled sway.

In the first round of voting for the parliament in December only 11% of the electorate took part, according to official data. Early turnout figures released by the electoral commission Sunday showed little improvement.

Polls closed at 6 p.m. (1700 GMT). Electoral commission figures had indicated 7.7% turnout by 3 p.m., only slightly higher than the 7.2% registered by the same time in December's vote.

A full-day turnout figure is due later Sunday, but final results may take longer to compile. With most parties boycotting the vote, most seats are expected to go to independents.

"I'm not interested in elections that do not concern me," said Nejib Sahli, 40, passing a polling station in the Hay Ettahrir district of Tunis early Sunday.

Independent electoral observers, including the local Mourakiboun group, have questioned official turnout figures, accusing authorities in many districts of withholding data they rely on to monitor the election's integrity.

The commission - over which Saied took ultimate authority last year - denied withholding numbers and said polling station officials had been too busy to cooperate with monitors.

Opposition groups have accused Saied of a coup for shutting down the previous parliament in 2021 and say he has trashed the democracy built after Tunisia's 2011 revolution that triggered the "Arab Spring."

Saied has said his actions were both legal and necessary to save Tunisia from years of corruption and economic decline at the hands of a self-interested political elite. Though his new constitution passed in a referendum last year, only 30% of voters took part.

Opposition activist Chaima Issa, who has led protests against Saied and faces a military court on charges of insulting the president, described the poll as a "ghost election."

Economic crisis



A Reuters journalist at one polling station in the Ettadamon district of Tunis said no voters attended during the 20 minutes he spent there.

At another Ettadamon polling station, one voter, who gave his name as Ridha, said he was supporting Saied. "He is a clean man fighting a corrupt system," he said.

At a cafe in Ettahrir, another Tunis district, only Mongi Layouni, one of seven men sitting drinking coffee, said he might vote.

"I don't know. Maybe I will go later," he said. Another man sitting in the cafe, who gave his name only as Imad, said he did not believe his vote mattered after Saied's political changes.



"The president alone is deciding everything," he said. "He does not care about anybody, and we do not care about him and his elections."

A deepening economic crisis, that has caused shortages of some foods and medicines and led the government to seek an international bailout, has added to widespread disillusionment with politics.

"We don't want elections. We want milk and sugar and cooking oil," said Hasna, a woman shopping in Ettadamon Sunday.

On Friday Moody's credit ratings agency downgraded Tunisian debt saying the country would likely default on sovereign loans.

Since December's vote, state television coverage has focused on the runoff. The opposition said this is part of an effort by the state to boost turnout.

"This is a fall from a great height. They are hiding their turnout rates," said Issam Chebbi, a political party leader.
A secret supply of Bulgarian-made ammunition made its way to Ukraine as early as last April and continues to arrive today.

It is not widely known that in the first months after Russias invasion of Ukraine last February, the urgently needed military supplies from Bulgaria were arriving in a clandestine operation through a network of intermediaries, and in large quantities.

The Bulgarian arms shipments made up about 30% of all ammunition deliveries, according to the Die Welt newspaper, and there were doubts they would continue when the Bulgarian parliament dismissed the government of then-Prime Minister Kiril Petkov after a vote of no confidence on June 22.

According to the information provided by the former prime minister to VOA and confirmed in Ukraine's Embassy in Sofia, the government collapse didn't stop the Bulgarian-made weapons from arriving in Ukraine.

Petkov says that taking on corrupt interests and Russian influence inside the country, rather than the support for Ukraine, cost him his job. He and his party, "We Continue the Change," plan to run for office in the next parliamentary elections on April 2.

Last November, the Bulgarian National Assembly voted to send military and technical aid to Ukraine, and in a written response to VOA from the Embassy of Bulgaria in the United States, the continuous Bulgarian support to Ukraine was confirmed.

"Bulgaria is united with its allies and partners, including the U.S., in providing security assistance, as well as humanitarian and energy support to Ukraine," it said.

The position of the government coalition partner, the Bulgarian Socialist Party, was the primary reason why Bulgaria hasn't exported weapons to Ukraine directly.

VOA asked Korneliya Ninova, the BSP leader, for comment but hasn't received any.

"I insist that Bulgaria has not supplied a single cartridge to Ukraine and whoever claims the opposite must show documents to prove it, she told Die Welt. For tens of years, we have been exporting arms to over 60 countries, and Bulgaria cannot control what they do with their assets."

Neither Ukrainian nor Bulgarian officials, nor the U.S. Defense Department would disclose to VOA what kind of Bulgarian-made weapons went to Ukraine.

Additionally, as Die Welt uncovered, diesel fuel  refined from the oil supplied to Bulgaria from Russia and processed at the refinery owned by the Russian company Lukoil  went to Ukraine in massive quantities: up to 40% of all of the armys diesel needs.

According to a Russian media report, Lukoil said it hadn't supplied fuel from its plant in Burgas, Bulgaria, to Ukraine. However, it also reported that the company sold its products to about 500 wholesale buyers.

In early June, Bulgaria received an exemption from a European Union embargo on imports of Russian crude oil until the end of 2024 to allow the country's processing facilities to adapt to alternative supplies. Currently, Bulgaria is the world's third-largest purchaser of Russian oil, after China and India.

At the same time, Petkov's government ended his countrys dependency on Russian gas, which had reached 95% of all gas supplies by early 2022.

While Bulgaria was the source of a critical number of weapons and diesel supplies to Ukraine, it was considered to be one of the most pro-Russian countries in the region. In April 2022, 44% of Bulgarians believed that NATO was responsible for the war in Ukraine, the highest among 16 European countries and Britain surveyed by YouGov, an international data research and analytics group.

This interview with Petkov has been edited for clarity and brevity.

VOA: You attended the EU Council meeting in Brussels on February 25, and your minister attended an EU finance ministers meeting in Paris the next day. Can you provide details of what happened at these meetings?

Petkov: What was happening  rockets flying to Kyiv  nobody expected this to happen. Everybody was thinking maybe there was going to be a regional invasion in the East. We realized quickly that this would not be a minor conflict, not a regional one. It was a war that started in full force. We understood the more we in Europe act in a coordinated and swift manner, the more significant impact it would have.

Moreover, we realized  and President Zelenskyy spoke extremely well  how scary the situation was. The idea of de-Nazification that Russia used is extremely scary, and Bulgaria knows what it means. In 1944, they de-Nazified Bulgaria. It meant going and killing all the healthy forces in society.

Then, we had an initial idea of the sanctions: travel bans on [Vladimir] Putin, [and Sergey] Lavrov  more surface-type bans. At that point, we realized that one of the first things we could do together as Europeans was to freeze Putin's war chest. We realized that some of his Central Bank reserves were in euro and U.S. bonds, and if we make them frozen and untradeable, they can't use them to wage war in the full-fledged style as they saw it.

I went around the table and spoke to many of my colleagues, prime ministers and presidents, and said, Listen, the first thing we can do is freeze the Central Bank reserves to the level we can. Some people were too scared because we are talking about hundreds of billions in reserves. I had a very positive reaction from the European Commission that evening, and from a few of the leaders I would not mention. But a few others said that's a scary big thing; we need to assess how much it counts. One prime minister said, "Kiril, this evening, you spoke with more European leaders than your predecessor had spoken in 12 years."

The next day the finance ministers meeting took place. Assen [Vasilev, Bulgarian finance minister at the time] made a passionate speech and said we have no time to waste. If President Zelenskyy is the first on the de-Nazification list, I'm sure the second on the list will certainly be his family. The third would be prominent members of society. He also compared these developments with similar ones in the history of Bulgaria. A few days later, the implementation of what was called colloquially in Brussels, the Bulgarian proposal, was announced.

VOA: How did the weapons deliveries begin?

Petkov: We were in a very delicate situation because, for the first time in Bulgaria, we had a four-party coalition that needed unprecedented coordination among parties with different ideologies. On one side, we had the right-wing Democratic Party. They would send everything to Ukraine immediately if it were up to them. They have very anti-Russian views because many of those people, their parents, were victims of the 1944 events. On the other side, we had the former Communist Party that had strong ties to Russia and wanted to ensure that we were not leading in this because we were too close to the war, which was too scary for Bulgaria. They said not a single bullet could go to Ukraine; otherwise, we would come out of the coalition, and the government would collapse.

I'm very fortunate and thankful that other NATO and EU countries decided we had these ammunitions. Of course, it fits with our understanding that they would buy directly from Bulgaria and give it free of charge to the Ukrainian army. It was the best of all worlds because, on one side, we could significantly contribute to helping the Ukrainian army. On the other side, the Ukrainian nation was not paying as much or at all. Thirdly, there were no direct exports from Bulgaria to Ukraine, which satisfied our coalition partner. I am sure she would have taken her support, and the government would fall that very second. That was the power of partnership, the power of NATO.

VOA: You are talking about Korneliya Ninova, a leader of the Bulgarian Socialist Party. Did she know about that and support how the weapons were delivered?

Petkov: She had formal documents that indicated where the goods went. I don't know what she knew and what she did not. However, she followed the formal procedure, saying that she would not sign a document that says "Ukraine." Suddenly, the documents came to her that named the U.S. government, the U.K. government, Polish firms, and Romanian firms. We entirely fulfilled these criteria. I'm sure that she was not lying to her supporters; that if even a single document said "Ukraine," she would have pulled her support.

We are proud that we met her criteria, were swift enough, and the Bulgarian industry worked hard to produce the volumes our NATO partners needed. Ukraine's foreign minister came to Bulgaria; he was in dire need because there were not so many producers of Russian ammunition. As you know, much of the equipment of the Ukrainian army was based on this technology.

VOA: How long did it last? Your government collapsed in late June and stayed until early August.

Petkov: I think the Bulgarian government, even the interim government, continued with sales to Poland, the U.S., and so on. Now, in November, we made a parliamentary decision that we can officially send weapons directly to Ukraine. By then, everybody saw that the risk was low and other countries were doing this.

VOA: The weapons were delivered to Poland by cargo planes, which, I assume, was fine. Also, the trucks full of armaments were going through Romania and Hungary. Was the Hungarian government fine with that, and how much did they know?

Petkov: We should leave this to the history books because some of these politicians are still in power. Some people were helpful, and some people were not. We were working with the people who were helpful. The last thing I want to do is point fingers, especially now, because we need as much support and unity in Europe. After all, unfortunately, the war is continuing in a big way. One day when the war is over, we can write about it in our memoirs.

VOA: For this program to become operational quickly, Bulgaria would have already had a network of intermediaries?

Petkov: Yes. The U.S. government and the U.K. government were a major part of it. Some people in Bulgaria say we were using middlemen; people were making money out of it. I said if you call the Pentagon the middleman, we had a middleman. What made me happy was that later I learned from my Ukrainian colleagues that they received many of these items for free. It wasn't like Bulgaria was making money out of Ukraine's troubles. But we did make money. Two thousand Bulgarians worked at 100 percent capacity, these funds went for the local cities and made a big contribution to the economy.

VOA: Up to 40% of all the diesel Ukraine received in the early months of the invasion came from Bulgaria. Did Russians know and were OK with that?

Petkov: Yes, that's pretty amazing to buy Russian oil, to refine it in Bulgaria, and send it north [to Ukraine]. That was a private business. I guess oil traders were buying from Lukoil and delivering to Ukraine. I don't know how much Lukoil knew, but I know that the U.S. government knew what was happening and was in full support. Interestingly, we also asked for the sanctions exemption to continue buying Russian oil. Many of our critics said that this was pro-Russian policy to continue to buy oil from them. In reality, the refinery was working at full capacity during these months, and the local market was only 40 percent. So, 60 percent of it went for export. Is it a pro-Russian policy to use Russian oil to support Ukraine? I don't think so.

Information from Politico, RIA Novosti, Bulgarian News Agency, See News, OilPrice.com, and You.Gov was used in this report.
U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy promised Sunday the United States would not default on its national debts as the country approaches its $31.4 trillion spending limit in June but said the government cannot continue to annually spend more than it collects in taxes.

McCarthy, leader of the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, told CBSs Face the Nation show that he will meet with Democratic President Joe Biden on Wednesday, the first discussions in what could be protracted debt ceiling talks over several months.

The U.S. must raise its debt ceiling before it runs out of money to pay bills it has already incurred. Biden and Democrats want a clean approval to raise the debt ceiling not tied to future spending, while Republicans have called for limits on new spending to curb yearly deficits, chronic overspending that often totals more than $1 trillion annually.

We're not going to default, McCarthy said.

The U.S. has never defaulted on its debts, such as on Treasury notes sold to China, Japan and individual Americans, but its credit rating was downgraded in 2011 when Democratic President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans sparred at length over the countrys spending before eventually reaching a 10-year agreement.

Now, McCarthy said, the countrys debt totals 120% of its national economic output, with the debt significantly added to in recent years for two main reasons, the national tax cuts Republicans approved under former President Donald Trump and unfunded coronavirus aid relief approved under both Trump and Biden.

We haven't been in this place to debt since World War II, McCarthy said. So, we can't continue down this path. And I don't think there's anyone in America who doesn't agree that there's some wasteful Washington spending that we can eliminate.

So, I want to sit down together, work out an agreement that we can move forward, to put us on a path to balance  at the same time, not put any  any of our debt in jeopardy at the same time, he said. We shouldn't just print more money; we should balance our budget. So, I want to look at every single department. Where can we become more efficient, more effective, and more accountable?

McCarthy, like Biden, ruled out cuts to two of the most popular government programs, pensions and health care for older Americans, respectively known as Social Security and Medicare.

But he added, I want to look at every single dollar we're spending, no matter where it's being spent. I want to eliminate waste wherever it is.

He compared government spending to an American familys budget, saying, Every family does this. What is - what has happened with the debt limit is you reached your credit card limit. Should we just continue to raise the limit? Or should we look at what we're spending?
Lawmakers and the Wyoming Department of Education support the creation of a new charter school board, but a bill that could open up the state to additional charter schools also faced pushback from some education groups.

The Senate Education Committee voted Friday to advance Senate File 174, which would create an independent board to oversee the approval of new charter schools in Wyoming.

In a significant move, it would also increase the state funding that charter schools can access.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder testified before the committee on behalf of the Department of Education and backed the bill as a way to expand school choice in Wyoming while also improving the states K-12 public education system.

Our entire public school system, both the traditional model as well as the additional schools, will benefit, Degenfelder said. Because competition and increased choices, they raise performance for everyone to the benefit of students, communities and our state.

Change in oversight

The State Loan and Investment Board and local school boards currently hold the responsibility for approving charter schools, but under the bill the authority of the State Loan and Investment Board would be supplanted by the new body.

The boards mission would be to to authorize high quality public charter schools throughout the state that provide more options for students to attain a thorough and efficient education.

Charter schools are public schools that are independent of school districts and operated by nonprofit or for-profit organizations.

Five members would sit on the board, approving new school charters and overseeing the renewal of existing agreements based on their merits.

The superintendent of public instruction would sit alongside members appointed by the president of the Senate and speaker of the House, as well as two members appointed by the governor, including one who must have served on the governing board of a charter school.

Board members would also be required to have some expertise in finance and management, public or nonprofit governance, public school leadership or public education law.

Sen. Ogden Driskill, R-Devils Tower, sponsored the bill with backing from more than half the House and nearly a dozen senators.

Funding change

While the creation of an independent approval board would represent a significant development for charter school supporters, Degenfelder and others who testified pointed to another provision in the bill that is arguably just as significant  an increase in state funding.

The Wyoming Department of Education uses a metric known as average daily membership in calculating the money schools receive from the state, which essentially measures the number of students in a school.

Charter schools currently receive 80% of the funding determined by a schools average daily membership, while public schools receive 100%.

An amendment brought by lawmakers would boost state money for charter schools to match the 100% public schools receive.

With the Wyoming Constitution requiring a right to an equitable education for public school students, Dicky Shanor, Degenfelders chief of staff, said increasing state funding was a matter of fairness.

It does come down to that issue of just fairness and equity, Shanor said. These are public school kids and they should be entitled to that funding that other public school kids get.

However, the proposed funding boost was among the points highlighted by the Wyoming Education Association in their opposition to the bill.

Tate Mullen, the Wyoming Education Associations government relations director, testified that expanding charter schools and increasing funding would only worsen the states public education finances.

Mullen pointed to new charter schools in Casper, Cheyenne and Chugwater as some of the largest contributors to increasing education costs last year.

The three schools are expected to cost the state an additional $14 million during the next school year, according to an estimate from the Legislative Service Office.

That figure can be in part attributed to Wyoming law that requires the state to double funding for charter schools in their first year, a requirement that the proposed charter school bill would remove.

Opposition

Mullen argued that creating an independent approval board would open up the state to more charter schools.

Until we take care of the students and our educators who are already here and in our classrooms and learning, we should not be expanding this program, Mullen said.

Expanding this program, expanding charter schools, is irresponsible, he said.

The bill also drew the opposition of organizations such as the Wyoming Professional Teaching Standards Board, the states teacher licensing body, and the Wyoming School Board Associations because it would exempt charter schools from all state and local public school laws and rules and allow charter schools to hire unlicensed teachers.

The Senate Education Committee did not flinch, voting to send the bill to the Senate floor.

Sen. Bo Biteman, R-Ranchester, said it is the innovation and competition charter schools provide that make them so appealing.

Thats why I support charter schools and this whole idea of driving innovation because it does make everybody better, Biteman said.
A key U.S. congressional leader called Sunday for a national conversation on policing in America in the aftermath of the brutal beating of a Memphis, Tennessee, man at the hands of five police officers who stand accused of murdering him after a traffic stop.

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin told ABCs This Week show, Weve got to do better.

Durbin called for better screening and training, so that police officers who are hired really are stable.

Durbin said he did not know how a situation could exist, as shown on videos of the pummeling of Tyre Nichols, where police are literally congratulating each other in beating a man to death.

Watch related video by Veronica Balderas Iglesias:

Nichols, a Black, 29-year-old FedEx worker, died earlier this month, three days after crying to see his mother as police beat and kicked him while he was on the ground after the officers captured him when he attempted to flee on foot after the traffic stop.

While many contentious street confrontations with U.S. police have involved white officers shown abusing Black suspects, in this instance the officers are also Black. They were fired as details of the Nichols case first became known and then last week they were charged with second-degree murder and other offenses.

Civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, representing the Nichols family, told CNNs State of the Union show, that a culture exists in U.S. policing, no matter the ethnicity of the police officers involved, in which somehow its allowed to trample on the rights of suspects.

How many of these cases do we have to see on video to say, We have a problem America, Crump said. This video is a watershed moment. What are our leaders going to do?

He called again, as other civil rights activists have, for congressional passage of a police reform measure named after George Floyd, a Black man who died in police custody. In that incident, in 2020, officer Derek Chauvin pinned Floyd down with a knee to Floyd's neck on a street in Minneapolis, Minnesota for several minutes. Floyd was pronounced dead at a hospital. Chauvin was later convicted on two counts of murder and one count of manslaughter and sentenced to more than 20 years in prison.

Three other officers involved in the incident also were fired and later convicted and are now imprisoned for three years or more.

The legislation addresses a wide range of policing practices and law enforcement accountability and would restrict some police activity, such as no-knock raids, chokeholds and carotid holds. The then-Democratic-controlled House of Representatives approved it in 2021, but it later collapsed in the Senate over Republican opposition.

Its current chances for approval would appear slim, with Republicans now controlling the House and the makeup of the Senate little changed.

In the aftermath of the death of Nichols, Memphis Police Director Cerelyn (CJ) Davis on Saturday disbanded the police unit the accused officers were part of that targeted illegal activities in high-crime neighborhoods. It was called a SCORPION unit, an acronym for Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods.
The Memphis police chief on Saturday disbanded the unit whose officers are charged with beating to death Tyre Nichols as the nation and the city struggled to come to grips with video showing police pummeling the Black motorist.

Police Director Cerelyn "CJ" Davis said she listened to Nichols' relatives, community leaders and uninvolved officers in making the decision.

"It is in the best interest of all to permanently deactivate the Scorpion unit," she said in a statement. She said the officers currently assigned to the unit "agree unreservedly" with the step.

The footage released Friday left many unanswered questions about the traffic stop involving the Black motorist and about other law enforcement officers who stood by as he lay motionless on the pavement.

The five disgraced former Memphis Police Department officers, who are also Black, were been fired and charged with murder and other crimes in Nichols' death three days after the arrest.

The recording shows police savagely beating Nichols, a 29-year-old FedEx worker, for three minutes while screaming profanities at him in an assault that the Nichols family legal team has likened to the infamous 1991 police beating of Los Angeles motorist Rodney King. Nichols calls out for his mother before his limp body is propped against a squad car and the officers exchange fist-bumps.

The five officers  Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith  face up to 60 years in prison if convicted of second-degree murder.

Davis has said other officers are under investigation, and Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner said two deputies have been relieved of duty without pay while their conduct is investigated.

Rodney Wells, Nichols' stepfather, said the family would "continue to seek justice" and noted that several other officers failed to render aid, making them "just as culpable as the officers who threw the blows."

A Memphis police spokesperson declined to comment on the role played by other officers who showed up at the scene.

Cities nationwide had braced for demonstrations, but the protests were scattered and nonviolent. Several dozen demonstrators in Memphis blocked the Interstate 55 bridge that carries traffic over the Mississippi River toward Arkansas. Protesters also blocked traffic in New York City, Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon.

The Scorpion unit had three teams of about 30 street officers who target violent offenders in areas beset by high crime, Davis said.

Davis acknowledged that the police department has a supervisor shortage and said the lack of a supervisor in the arrest was a "major problem." City officials have pledged to provide more of them.
Heavy rainfall hit New Zealand's north island again on Sunday, causing landslides, flash floods and knocking out roads, with the death toll rising to four after a person who had been missing was confirmed dead.

Battered by rain since Friday, Auckland  New Zealand's largest city of 1.6 million people  remained under a state of emergency. The nation's weather forecaster, MetService, warned of severe weather on Sunday and Monday for the north island. Intense rainfall could also cause surface and flash flooding, it said.

The focus of the emergency has since moved south, with Waitomo District, about 220 km from Auckland, declaring a state of emergency late on Saturday.

Police confirmed that a man missing after being swept away on Friday in Onewhero, a rural village about 70 km south of Auckland, had died.

"The most horrific part of it is that we've lost lives," Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni told reporters in Auckland.

The culprit: Climate change

Climate change is causing episodes of heavy rainfall to become more common and more intense in New Zealand, though the impact varies by region. Climate Change Minister James Shaw noted the link to climate change on Saturday when he tweeted his support for those affected by flooding.

On Sunday, police said they were assisting with traffic management and road closures after heavy rainfall "caused numerous slips, flooding and damage to roads."

In nearby Bay of Plenty there was also "widespread flooding," police said, as well as a landslide that had knocked down a house and was threatening neighboring properties.

Thousands of properties remained without power, while hundreds were without water, authorities said on Sunday.

Airline back in service Sunday

But Air New Zealand said the airline's international flights in and out of Auckland would resume starting Sunday noon, local time (2300 GMT on Saturday).

On Saturday, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, in office less than a week, flew by helicopter over Auckland before touring flood-hit homes. He described the flood impact in the city as "unprecedented" in recent memory.

People made more than 2,000 calls for assistance and 70 evacuations around Auckland because of the flooding, the New Zealand Herald reported Saturday.
Families and friends of a growing number of Europeans imprisoned in Iran gathered in Paris Saturday to call for their release.

The French government this week denounced the plight of seven French citizens held in Iranian prisons, calling the detentions "unjustifiable and unacceptable."

Iran has detained a number of foreigners and dual nationals over the years, accusing them of espionage or other state security offenses. Many were convicted and sentenced after secretive trials in which rights groups said they were denied due process.

Supporters and family members of four of the current French prisoners  Louis Arnaud, Fariba Adelkhah, Benjamin Briere and Cecile Kohler  held a solemn, silent rally for their release Saturday on a plaza overlooking the Seine River.

The supporters said all were wrongly accused and some were in fragile physical or psychological health, or placed in isolation. "They are deprived of the most basic rights," unable to contact loved ones, the supporters said in a statement.

Arnaud was arrested September 28 as he was traveling in Iran as a tourist, according to France's Foreign Ministry. Another prisoner, Bernard Phelan, was detained last year and is in need of medical care that is not being provided, according to the ministry.

Earlier Saturday, dozens of people gathered in a park beneath the Eiffel Tower to show support for detained Belgian aid worker Olivier Vandecasteele. Vandecasteele, who worked for many years for aid group Doctors of the World, was arrested in Tehran in February 2022. Doctors of the World said the conditions of his detention were putting Vandecasteele's life at risk.

Most of the European prisoners were detained before the protests that have shaken Iran since September over the death of a young woman, Mahsa Amini, in police custody. Concerns about the detentions have grown as Iranian authorities have cracked down on the protesters.
A Russian missile strike on a city in the eastern region of Donetsk killed at least three people Saturday as Ukrainian forces engaged Russian troops in ferocious battles in several hot spots in the east, where Moscow has been pressing its offensive with increased urgency amid Western pledges of modern tank deliveries for Kyiv.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy used the occasion to press Western partners to supply his nation with long-range precision missiles, known as ATACMS, to reduce Russias ability to target cities.

It would be possible to stop this Russian terror if we could source the appropriate missiles for our military forces, Zelenskyy said in his nightly address Saturday.

Earlier, Zelenskyy had said major battles were under way for Vuhledar and Bakhmut, a town that has been virtually razed by repeated Russian artillery bombardments.

In the Donetsk city of Kostyantynivka, a Russian strike on a residential neighborhood killed three people and wounded at least 14 others, regional Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said on Telegram.

Factory worker Iryna Maltseva, 42, said she was watching television when the explosion violently rattled her living room.

"I opened my eyes, and everything was blown out," she said. "I was covered in blood. Mom was sitting in the bedroom, also covered in blood."

Kyrylenko said four apartment buildings and a hotel had been damaged and that rescuers and police officials were at the site to "carefully document yet another crime by the Russian occupiers."

Kostyantynivka is a city relatively far from the front line, but still, it constantly suffers from enemy attacks. Everyone who remains in the city exposes themselves to mortal danger," Kyrylenko said, according to The Associated Press. "The Russians target civilians because they are not able to fight the Ukrainian army.

Earlier Saturday, Kyrylenko said four people had been killed and at least seven wounded by Russian strikes in the last 24 hours.

The Saturday strikes were the latest in a series by Russian forces to hit Ukrainian civilian targets as Moscow seemingly tries to weaken the nations resolve.

Mykhaylo Podolyak, a senior Zelenskyy aide, said in an interview Saturday that Ukraine is in fast-track talks on the possibility of acquiring ATACMs and jet fighters.

The United States has so far refrained from sending Ukraine either weapon for fear it would be perceived by Moscow as escalatory.

The ATACMs could strike Russian arms depots and other equipment up to 300 kilometers away, weakening Moscows ability to supply its troops at the front lines.

U.S. national security spokesperson John Kirby said Friday that the Biden administration has no plans at the moment to send fighter jets to Ukraine.

Air support is a crucial element of a fighting strategy known as "combined arms," which also includes the use of artillery, tanks, armored fighting vehicles, and infantry.

The United States and its NATO allies earlier this month announced plans to send tanks, fighting vehicles, and more artillery to Ukraine as it prepares to launch a counteroffensive.

Meanwhile, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said in its daily report early Saturday that Russian troops continued to press on with a multipronged offensive in the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

"The enemy continues to conduct offensive actions in the Bakhmut, Avdiivka, and Novopavlivka directions," the General Staff said. "In the Kupyansk, Lyman, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson directions, the enemy is on the defensive."

Ukrainian military spokesperson Serhiy Cherevatiy told local media that "there is fierce combat" in Vuhledar.

"For many months, the military of the Russian Federation ... has been trying to achieve significant success there," he said.

Vuhledar, a town with a pre-invasion population of around 15,000 people, has strategic significance as a communications node in southern Donetsk.

Ukraine's National Security Council chief, Oleksiy Danilov, told RFE/RL that Moscow was preparing for a new offensive Feb. 24, the anniversary of the Russian invasion.

"Now they are preparing for maximum activation ... and they believe that by the anniversary they should have some achievements," Danilov said. "There is no secret that they are preparing for a new wave by February 24, as they themselves say."

Ukraine's Western allies continue to pledge military equipment and aid to shore up Kyiv's defenses.

U.S. National Security Council coordinator John Kirby said Washington anticipates an intense period of fighting in the coming months," adding that there is "no sign" of the war stopping.

Zelenskyy said Friday that Ukraine needs up to 500 tanks.

"We need 300 or 500 tanks now. We need tanks to protect our territory, our land. We need armored vehicles to protect our people, that's all," he said in an interview with Sky News.

So far, a total of 321 heavy tanks have been promised to Ukraine by several countries, Ukraine's ambassador to France, Vadym Omelchenko, said on BFM television Friday.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also reassured Ukraine of the bloc's unconditional support.

Speaking Saturday in Duesseldorf, Germany, von der Leyen said, "We stand by Ukraine's side without any ifs and buts."

Von der Leyen and her fellow EU commissioners plan an EU-Ukraine summit Feb. 3.

The Kremlin has reacted with fury to the latest gestures of Western solidarity with Ukraine and said it saw the promised delivery of advanced tanks as evidence of escalating "direct involvement" of the United States and NATO in Russia's war of aggression, something both deny.

Some information for this report was provided by Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
Russia and Ukraine made conflicting claims Sunday on who controls the territory near Blahodatne in the eastern part of the Donetsk region.

Russias Wagner mercenary military group claimed it took control of the village, while Ukraines military said its troops had repelled the attack.

Units of Ukraines Defense Forces repelled the attacks of the occupiers in the areas of ... Blahodatne ... in the Donetsk region, the General Staff of Ukraines Armed Forces said in its daily morning report, referring to fighting on Saturday.

Ukraine said its forces also repelled Russian attacks in areas near 13 other settlements in the Donetsk region.

But the Wagner Group, designated by the United States as a transnational criminal organization, said on the Telegram messaging app on Saturday that its units had taken control of Blahodatne.

The French news agency reports there was no immediate confirmation from Russias defense ministry.

With warfare intensifying in the Donetsk region, the exact battleline has been unclear, especially around the town of Bakhmut, where heavy fighting has been occurring in recent weeks. The Wagner Group has made premature success claims before.

Ukraine has said that Russia has not taken over Bakhmut, but that the situation along the front line there has been growing diffiult. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday that it was acute.

Four civilians were killed, one in Bakhmut, and 17 wounded in Russian attacks on the region on Saturday, Pavlo Kyrylenko, governor of the Donetsk region said on the Telegram messaging app.

Back to the USSR?

Away from the battlefield, the British defense ministry said Sunday in its daily intelligence update on Russias invasion of Ukraine that the return of basic military training in Russias secondary schools highlights an increasingly militarized atmosphere in Russia.

The training for secondary schools becomes mandatory in September. Russia announced similar mandatory training for university students in December.

The return of the military curriculum into Russian schools, the British ministry said, is likely a deliberate evocation of the Soviet Union, which had a similar military curriculum for schools.

Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council chief, Oleksiy Danilov, told RFE/RL that Moscow was preparing for a new offensive on February 24, the anniversary of the Russian invasion.

"Now they are preparing for maximum activation ... and they believe that by the anniversary they should have some achievements," Danilov said. "There is no secret that they are preparing for a new wave by February 24, as they themselves say."

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk Saturday called on Venezuela to reform its political and judicial system and to release arbitrarily detained prisoners. He made his remarks at the end of a two-day official visit to Venezuela.

During his visit, Turk met with senior officials, civil society representatives, victims groups, and human rights defenders.

He said that from what he had seen and heard, it was clear Venezuelan society was riven by a profound loss of trust between the government and the people. He said much work is needed to overcome these divisions and rebuild the social contract among Venezuelans.

Speaking from the capital, Caracas at the end of his visit, Turk said Venezuela faced many political, economic, and social challenges. However, based on his discussions, he said there appears to be a general recognition that the countrys justice and security systems must be reformed.

I heard accounts of people being arbitrarily detained and tortured, and of family members being killed in security operations and demonstrations. One woman was overcome with emotion as she recounted how two years ago her sister had been detained, raped, and tortured, he said.

Turk said that in his meetings with President Nicolas Maduro and government ministers, he called for the release of everyone arbitrarily detained.

He said he also raised concerns about the use of extensive and lengthy pre-trial detention. He told them a system that deprived people of their liberty was open to abuse and must be reformed.

I was given commitments that torture complaints would be addressed decisively, fully investigated and those responsible brought to justice.  My team here conducts regular visits to detention centers but, as I flagged to the authorities, this needs to include all detention centers, including the ones run by the military, he said.

After meeting with Maduro Friday, Turk said Maduro publicly expressed his readiness to work toward improving the justice system. He said he, in turn, offered his offices expertise and support to further reforms.
Ahead of World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day Monday, the World Health Organization is calling for action to tackle these debilitating illnesses, which affect an estimated 1.65 billion people globally.

A diverse group of 20 parasitic and bacterial tropical diseases is categorized as neglected. This is because they disproportionally affect people who live in poor, remote communities and are not on the list of global health priorities.

Ibrahima Soce Fall is director of WHOs Department of Neglected Tropical Diseases. He says these vector-borne diseases are transmitted by insects in areas that lack safe water, sanitation, and access to health care. He says they also are spread via contaminated food and water.

Fall says they cause immense suffering because of their disfiguring and disabling impact.

If you take diseases like onchocerciasis, you know, so-called river blindness because it can lead to blindness. The same for trachoma. So, these are so many diseases that are fatal and very debilitating, he said.

Trachoma is an eye disease that can cause permanent blindness.

Fall says these diseases do not attract the amount of investment needed to access health services or develop new tools for diagnostics, treatments, and vaccines.

He notes some of these ailments have been around for a very long time. For instance, the biblical disease, leprosy, still exists in 139 countries and dengue, which has been around for 800 years, remains prevalent in 129 nations.

Despite the many challenges, progress is being made in the elimination of the NTDs. WHO reports the number of people requiring NTD interventions fell by 80 million between 2020 and 2021. It finds 47 countries have eliminated at least one NTD and more countries are in the process of achieving this target.

According to the Carter Center, there were only 13 human cases of Guinea worm disease last year, pushing the illness closer to eradication. The Atlanta-based center was co-founded by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn Carter. When it began leading the international campaign to eradicate Guinea worm in 1986, there were an estimated 3.5 million cases in at least 21 countries in Africa and Asia.

WHO officials say the goal it has set to eliminate at least one neglected tropical disease in 100 countries by 2030 can be achieved. It says the scientific community has the tools and the know-how to save lives and prevent suffering. But WHO says nations need to act together and invest in helping get rid of this dreaded group of diseases.
The return of basic military training in Russias secondary schools highlights an increasingly militarized atmosphere in Russia, the British Defense Ministry said Sunday in its daily intelligence update on Russias invasion of Ukraine.

The training for secondary schools becomes mandatory in September. Russia announced similar mandatory training for university students in December.

The return of the military curriculum into Russian schools, the British ministry said, is likely a deliberate evocation of the Soviet Union which had a similar military curriculum for schools.

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On Saturday, a Russian missile strike on a city in the eastern region of Donetsk killed at least three people as Ukrainian forces engaged Russian troops in ferocious battles in several hot spots in the east, where Moscow has been pressing its offensive with increased urgency amid Western pledges of modern tank deliveries for Kyiv.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy used the occasion to press Western partners to supply his nation with long-range precision missiles, known as ATACMS, to reduce Russias ability to target cities.

It would be possible to stop this Russian terror if we could source the appropriate missiles for our military forces, Zelenskyy said in his nightly address Saturday.

Earlier, Zelenskyy had said major battles were underway for Vuhledar and Bakhmut, a town that has been virtually razed by repeated Russian artillery bombardments.

In the Donetsk city of Kostyantynivka, the Russian strike on a residential neighborhood killed three people and wounded at least 14 others, regional Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said on Telegram.

Factory worker Iryna Maltseva, 42, said she was watching television when the explosion violently rattled her living room.

"I opened my eyes, and everything was blown out," she said. "I was covered in blood. Mom was sitting in the bedroom, also covered in blood."

Kyrylenko said four apartment buildings and a hotel had been damaged and that rescuers and police officials were at the site to "carefully document yet another crime by the Russian occupiers."

"Kostyantynivka is a city relatively far from the front line, but still, it constantly suffers from enemy attacks. Everyone who remains in the city exposes themselves to mortal danger," Kyrylenko said, according to The Associated Press. "The Russians target civilians because they are not able to fight the Ukrainian army.

The Saturday strikes were the latest in a series by Russian forces to hit Ukrainian civilian targets as Moscow seemingly tries to weaken the nations resolve.

Ukraine's National Security Council chief, Oleksiy Danilov, told RFE/RL that Moscow was preparing for a new offensive Feb. 24, the anniversary of the Russian invasion.

"Now they are preparing for maximum activation ... and they believe that by the anniversary they should have some achievements," Danilov said. "There is no secret that they are preparing for a new wave by February 24, as they themselves say."

Kirby said Washington anticipates an intense period of fighting in the coming months," adding that there is "no sign" of the war stopping.

Zelenskyy said Friday that Ukraine needs up to 500 tanks.

"We need 300 or 500 tanks now. We need tanks to protect our territory, our land. We need armored vehicles to protect our people, that's all," he said in an interview with Sky News.

So far, a total of 321 heavy tanks have been promised to Ukraine by several countries, Ukraine's ambassador to France, Vadym Omelchenko, said on BFM television Friday.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also reassured Ukraine of the bloc's unconditional support.

Speaking Saturday in Duesseldorf, Germany, von der Leyen said, "We stand by Ukraine's side without any ifs and buts."

Von der Leyen and her fellow EU commissioners plan an EU-Ukraine summit on Feb. 3.

The Kremlin has reacted with fury to the latest gestures of Western solidarity with Ukraine and said it saw the promised delivery of advanced tanks as evidence of escalating "direct involvement" of the United States and NATO in Russia's war of aggression, something both deny.

Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
KYIV, UKRAINE  Ukraine and its Western allies are engaged in fast-track talks on the possibility of equipping the invaded country with long-range missiles and military aircraft, a top Ukrainian presidential aide said Saturday.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Ukraines supporters in the West understand how the war is developing and the need to supply planes capable of providing cover for the armored fighting vehicles that the United States and Germany pledged at the beginning of the month.

However, in remarks to online video channel Freedom, Podolyak said that some of Ukraine's Western partners maintain a conservative attitude to arms deliveries, due to fear of changes in the international architecture. Russia and North Korea have accused the West of prolonging and taking a direct role in the war by sending Kyiv increasingly sophisticated weapons.

We need to work with this. We must show (our partners) the real picture of this war," Podolyak said, without naming specific countries. We must speak reasonably and tell them, for example, This and this will reduce fatalities, this will reduce the burden on infrastructure. This will reduce security threats to the European continent, this will keep the war localized. And we are doing it,

The U.S. and Germany agreed Wednesday to share advanced tanks with Ukraine along with the Bradley and Marder vehicles promised earlier, a decision that led to criticism not only from the Kremlin but from the prime minister of NATO and European Union member Hungary.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban asserted Friday that Western countries providing weapons and money to assist Ukraine in its war with Russia have drifted into becoming active participants in the conflict. Orban has refused to send weapons to neighboring Ukraine and sought to block EU funds earmarked for military aid.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said it would summon Hungary's ambassador to complain about Orban's remarks. A ministry spokesperson, Oleg Nikolenko, said Orban told reporters that Ukraine was a no-mans land and compared it to Afghanistan.

Such statements are completely unacceptable. Budapest continues on its course to deliberately destroy Ukrainian-Hungarian relations, Nikolenko said in a Facebook post.

President Joe Biden's announcement that the U.S. would send 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine reversed months of arguments by Washington that they were too difficult for Ukrainian troops to operate and maintain.

The U.S. decision persuaded German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who had expressed concern about a unilateral action drawing Russia's wrath, to agree to send 14 Leopard 2 tanks from Germany's stocks and to allow European countries with tanks to send some of theirs.

Amid news of the coordinated effort, Russia bombarded Ukraine with missiles, exploding drones and artillery shells. The attacks continued Saturday, when Russian missiles struck the city of Kostyantynivka in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk province.

The missiles fell in a residential area, killing three civilians, wounding 14 and damaging four high-rise apartment buildings, a hotel and garages, Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said.

Kostyantynivka is a city relatively far from the front line, but still, it constantly suffers from enemy attacks. Everyone who remains in the city exposes themselves to mortal danger," Kyrylenko said. "The Russians target civilians because they are not able to fight the Ukrainian army.

In a separate Telegram post earlier Saturday, Kyrylenko reported that Russian attacks in the province killed four civilians in all and wounded seven others in 24 hours.

Russian rockets hit a residential area the Donestsk town of Chasiv Yar on Friday night, killing of two people and wounding five more, the governor said. Photos attached to Kyrylenkos post showed a three-story school building on fire.

Donetsk province, where the territory is roughly split between Russian and Ukrainian control, has become the battle epicenter of the war as Moscow tries to jump-start a monthslong, grinding offensive to capture the city of Bakhmut.

Chasiv Yar lies on a hill strategically located for the defense of Bakhmut and has come under intensified Russian shelling. Capturing Bakhmut would allow Russian troops to disrupt Ukrainian supply lines and potentially pave the way for them to threaten Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, the largest remaining Ukrainian-held cities in the countrys east.

Russian forces continued ground attacks around Bakhmut and Avdiivka, another Donetsk city to the south, while Ukrainian troops were on the offensive in southern and northeast Ukraine, the Ukrainian military said in a Saturday morning update.

The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said that Russian troops are defending themselves near Lyman in Luhansk and Kharkiv provinces north of Donetsk, as well in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia provinces in the south.

The fighting has largely been deadlocked over the past months, with winter conditions slowing down ground operations and neither side reporting significant progress.

In the same update, the military reported that Russian forces launched 10 missile strikes, 26 air strikes and 81 shelling attacks on Ukrainian territory between Friday and Saturday mornings. The shelling killed two civilians in Kherson, another province that is partly Russian occupied.

Podolyak, the presidential adviser, said Ukraine needs supplies of Western long-range missiles to drastically curtail the key tool of the Russian army by destroying the warehouses where it stores cannon artillery used on the front line.
Across the nation, the problems of illicit drugs and violent crime are growing and Montana is not immune to what we would like to think is just a big city problem.

As the leaders of the Montana Department of Justices Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) and Montana Highway Patrol (MHP), were encouraged by the level of support weve received from elected officials like Attorney General Knudsen, Gov. Greg Gianforte, and some of our state legislators as the legislative session begins. The increased investment in public safety proposed by Gianforte in his executive budget will help us fight back against the increase of illegal drugs and the crime that accompanies them.

Montana is being flooded with fentanyl and its killing our citizens. The data for 2022 is still being finalized, but we know that anti-drug task forces in Montana seized twice as much fentanyl  155,000 dosage units  in the first three quarters of 2022 than they did in the last four years combined. Deaths, overdoses or poisonings and emergency calls related to opioids have all increased dramatically. In that same time frame, 172 pounds of meth were also seized.

Knudsen has dedicated additional resources to fighting the drug epidemic, but we need more. The three additional DCI narcotics investigators the governor proposed in his budget will help us support local law enforcement and their communities as they face this ongoing challenge.

Human trafficking is a heinous crime and its happening right here in Montana. Last year, our agents tracked 106 cases of reported human trafficking  a 55 percent increase from the 68 in 2021 and up significantly from the seven cases tracked in 2015. There are only two state human trafficking agents to cover all of Montana, they need help to take on the growing case load. The four human trafficking agent positions that would be funded under governors budget will help provide comprehensive coverage across Montana.

The increase in population and visitors to our state bring more calls for service and fatal crashes. Additionally, more and more traffic stops are leading to drug seizures and related crime. To respond, we need more Highway Patrol troopers. The governors budget proposal would provide five additional troopers to patrol thinly covered areas and help reduce the number of fatal crashes.

The plan would also provide three agents to DCIs Major Case Section which assists other agencies, particularly in rural areas, to investigate their most serious crimes. These new agents will help the Division meet the increasing number of requests for assistance with murders, sexual assaults, and use-of-force incidents.

And finally, the budget proposal would help fund additional positions to combat a wide array of other crimes. For example, an investigator and prosecutor focused on the exploitation of vulnerable adult cases, an investigator who will work online child sexual exploitation cases, a manager for the Sex Assault Nurse Examiner Program to provide survivors with better care and improve prosecutions, and a coordinator to support the statewide Missing Murdered Indigenous Persons Program.

We are grateful to our state leaders who have listened and recognize the need for additional law enforcement resources. Theres no simple answer or solution to the complexity of fighting crime, but we must send the message to criminals that we wont tolerate their illegal behavior in Montana.

As law enforcement leaders, we fully support the governors increased investment in public safety and hope that our Montana legislators will do the right thing and make sure its funded this session.
MANZINI, ESWATINI (AFP)  Hundreds of people, including foreign diplomats and activists, paid homage Saturday to a human rights lawyer who was shot dead in Eswatini, sparking alarm over political violence in Africa's last absolute monarchy.

Thulani Maseko, a political activist and fierce critic of authorities in the tiny landlocked nation, was gunned down through the window of his home last Saturday by unknown attackers.

Hours before his murder, King Mswati III had warned activists who defy him not to "shed tears" about "mercenaries killing them."

Mourners from all over the world

Diplomatic envoys from the United States, European Union, the United Kingdom and the United Nations attended a somber memorial service on the outskirts of the commercial capital, Manzini.

Lawyers and rights activists from several other African countries, as far afield as Kenya, also traveled to the country  sandwiched between South Africa and Mozambique  to pay their tributes.

A portrait of Maseko was displayed in front of a cream-colored wooden podium with a spray of white, yellow and red flowers laid out at the bottom.

U.N. representative George Wachira said Maseko's killing was a "loss not only to Eswatini but to the world and humanity. We cannot avoid bitterness because Thulani didn't deserve to die in this manner."

"His death shall not be in vain," he told mourners. "Thulani was at the core of that theory that through dialogue this country can be fixed."

Maseko, who died at age 52, had spent most of his life fighting state repression and representing opposition activists in court.

In 2014, he was jailed for contempt of court over articles critical of the government and judiciary, but he was acquitted on appeal and released a year later.

At the time of his death, Maseko led a broad coalition of political and civic rights and religious groups created in November 2021 to foster dialogue with the king and seek a way out of the political crisis in the country of 1.2 million people.

'Blood on Mswati's hands'

Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, has long cracked down on dissents, with political parties banned since 1973.

At least 37 people were killed during weeks of anti-monarchy protests in June 2021.

Maseko's murder drew widespread international outrage and calls for an impartial probe and the prosecution of the culprits.

U.K. Ambassador Simon Boyden said, "human rights defenders, like Thulani, must be able to able to depend on institutions of the state to protect them from violence, from intimidation and from death."

The vice president of the Law Society in Eswatini, Sdumo Dladla, bemoaned that Maseko "had to die such a violent death while he was preaching against violence."

EU Ambassador Dessislava Choumelova called for the "safety of all citizens including political activists."

Paying tribute to the "fallen, giant baobab," Mlungisi Makhanya, president of PUDEMO, a political movement that was banned in 2008, said the killing was "one of the most brutal acts in the history of Eswatini.

"There is a lot of innocent blood on Mswati's hands," said Makhanya speaking via video link from exile. "For his atrocities, Mswati and his henchmen must be indicted...It is time like this that we must intensify our struggle and exert pressure."

Maseko also was a senior member of PUDEMO, which pushed for the creation of a constitutional multi-party democracy. He will be buried Sunday.
Controversy mounts in Italy over Zelensky broadcast during nation's main song festival.

A planned appearance by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky as a guest at Italy's top music festival Sanremo is attracting criticism from across the political spectrum.

Zelensky is scheduled to appear at Sanremo - Italy's answer to Eurovision - via a video message on the final night of the annual song contest, 11 February.

However opposition to Zelensky's appearance at Sanremo has been mounting since the news was announced in mid-January by veteran Italian journalist Bruno Vespa who travelled to Kyiv to interview the Ukrainian president.

The song contest will be hosted at the Teatro Ariston in Sanremo, a seaside town on Italy's northwest Ligurian coast, where 28 artists will battle it out over five nights from 7-11 February.

"Let's hope that Sanremo will remain the Italian song festival and nothing else", Matteo Salvini, Italy's deputy premier and leader of the right-wing Lega party said on Thursday, adding: "I hope that the war will end as soon as possible and that the stage of the city of flowers [Sanremo] remains reserved for music."

Salvini returned to the contentious theme on Saturday, saying that "an appearance at Sanremo will not put an end to this war".

Giuseppe Conte, former premier and leader of the populist Movimento 5 Stelle, said that he had been "very happy" when Zelensky was invited to address the Italian parliament last March but stressed: "I frankly don't believe that it is so necessary for President Zelensky to (appear) in a light context such as Sanremo."

Carlo Calenda, leader of the centrist Azione, wrote on Twitter: "There is little doubt about our line of support for Ukraine. However, I consider it a mistake to combine a musical event with the message of the President of a country at war.

Gianni Cuperlo, a leadership candidate of the centre-left Partito Democratico, wrote on Facebook that if state broadcaster RAI wished to show a message from Zelensky then it should be screened separately to Sanremo.

A group of left-wing politicians and intellectuals is also planning to stage a protest on the streets of Sanremo on 11 February, and has launched an online petition against "the spectacularisation and militarisation" of the song contest.

Vespa, a senior figure at RAI, told news agency ANSA on Saturday that he "frankly doesn't understand all the uproar" over Zelensky's appearance at Sanremo.

"High-profile personalities from international politics have taken part in the festival and all social issues have been dealt with" - Vespa told ANSA - "Zelensky was a guest at the Cannes and Venice Film Festivals, as well as at the Golden Globes, and I regret this ill will towards a man who is fighting with extraordinary courage to save the freedom of his people".

Zelensky's pre-recorded video message, expected to last a couple of minutes, is scheduled to be broadcast late on the final night on Sanremo, before the performance of the contest's five short-listed acts.

Photo credit: Shag 7799 / Shutterstock.com.
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Russia spent almost 50 years building its energy market in Europe. President Vladimir Putin destroyed it in under 50 weeks. Finding a replacement will be almost impossible. While Russia has found alternative markets for its crude oil, mostly in India, switching sales of refined products and  perhaps even more so  natural gas will take years and come at huge cost. Thats if its even possible to create markets as the world turns away from fossil fuels.

When Moscows troops invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, its European energy customers took fright. A market that soaked up nearly 2.5 million barrels a day of crude, another 1 million barrels of refined products and 155 billion cubic meters a year of natural gas has all but disappeared.

Crude flows from Russia to parts of Europe began to dwindle soon after Putins troops crossed the border. By Dec. 5, when a European Union ban on seaborne imports of Russian crude came into effect, they were already down to a trickle, with Bulgaria, which secured a temporary exemption, the only remaining market. The flow of refined products is following the same trajectory ahead of similar sanctions that come into effect on Feb. 5.

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Russias European market for its natural gas has also been lost. A huge network of gas fields and pipelines, developed at a cost of hundreds of billions of dollars since the first gas crossed the border into Austria in 1968, has been thrown away.

It was estimated in 2017 that $100 billion had already been invested in the development of gas reserves on Russias Yamal Peninsula, most of which were tied to Europe through pipelines, including those running beneath the Baltic Sea linking Russia to Germany. That figure was expected to double by 2025. Much of that investment now looks redundant.

While Russia may be able to salvage some sort of an energy relationship with Europe after the war ends, which it inevitably will, its unlikely that EU countries will ever allow themselves, or need, to be as dependent on Russian gas as they were just a year ago.

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Governments and consumers in Europe are at last getting serious about demand restraint and energy efficiency, while the record prices paid for gas and electricity have spurred investment in renewables and the first serious attempts to change the way retail electricity prices are formulated, taking account of the dwindling share of fossil fuels in power generation.

Russias oil companies have succeeded in diverting deliveries of crude shunned by traditional European buyers, thanks in very large part to the thirst of Indian refiners for cheap feedstock. But the diversion has come at a huge cost to Russia and its oil industry. Big discounts, which appear to have been as high as $35 a barrel, equivalent to a 40% price cut, have been required to penetrate the Indian market.

By the end of last year, Russian barrels accounted for about one-quarter of Indias crude imports, displacing cargoes from the subcontinents traditional Middle Eastern suppliers  Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.

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Diverting crude flows to a thirsty market with a big refining sector capable of processing the relatively high-sulfur crude exported by Russia is one thing; diverting refined products into that market is quite another. Im sure there will be some countries willing to snap up cheap Russian diesel while exporting their own locally produced fuel back to Europe, but they will require discounts big enough to make the trade profitable  another cost to be borne by the Kremlin and its oil companies.

But oil, whether crude or refined products, has a big advantage over natural gas: It can be easily and cheaply transported by sea.

For most of the past 55 years, Russia has looked westward for its gas buyers. Huge pipelines, thousands of kilometers long, linked gas fields, first in Siberia and more recently on the Yamal Peninsula, to buyers in Europe.

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In the past decade, Russia has begun to look east for new markets for its gas and the Power of Siberia gas pipeline now carries the fuel to China. But this gas comes from new deposits, more than 1,300 miles east and 600 miles south of the Yamal fields that used to supply Europe, but now sit underused. Russias state-owned gas giant Gazprom PJSC put the official cost of Power of Siberia and its associated gas fields at $55 billion. An independent assessment came up with a figure almost twice as large  an investment, it argues, that will never yield a return.

There will be limits to how much more Russian gas Beijing will buy. While its energy needs are vast, it will be wary of repeating the mistakes that some European countries made by becoming too dependent on Moscow. So Russia will need to look elsewhere to replace its lost European markets.

It would like to supply India, another rapidly growing nation with vast and rising energy needs. But piping natural gas to India will be even more difficult than getting it to China. The route would either have to cross some of the highest mountains in the world, or pass through Afghanistan and Pakistan. Either route would cross several other countries, making construction and operation more costly than the a link between two nations with shared borders.

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Putins war in Ukraine has cost Russia its European energy market. It wont be easy to replace. Whatever rapprochement Moscow and Europe may eventually reach, Russians will be counting the cost of the war for generations to come.

More From Bloomberg Opinion:

 Putins Few Oil Buyers Demand Deep Discounts: Julian Lee

 Can Europes Energy Bridge to Russia Be Rebuilt?: Javier Blas

 Mind the Gap Between the West and the Rest: Clara F. Marques

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Julian Lee is an oil strategist for Bloomberg First Word. Previously, he was a senior analyst at the Centre for Global Energy Studies.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion

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Allegations of stock manipulation and accounting fraud from New York-based investor Hindenburg Research against Adani Group are piling pressure on the Indian conglomerate and its 60-year-old founder. Gautam Adani became Asias richest man last year and was second only to Elon Musk in the world at one point. Unlike Musk, Adani is relatively unknown outside his home country. Heres some background.

1. Who is Gautam Adani? Whats his net worth?

Adani was born to a small textile merchant family in 1962 in the western industrial state of Gujarat. He dropped out of university and began his career sorting diamonds for a firm in the financial hub of Mumbai. He later imported materials used in manufactured goods and by the mid-1990s was managing the Mundra Port, which he now owns. While his net worth took a beating in the days after Hindenburgs report was published on Jan. 24, he was still in the top 10 on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index as of late January.

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2. How does Adani make money?

Adani Group today comprises half a dozen major companies with interests ranging from energy to transportation and infrastructure development. Its Indias largest port operator and manages some of the countrys biggest airports. Adani Enterprises, the groups listed trading house, reported $9.3 billion in sales in the year through March 31, 2022.

3. What are Adanis companies?

Adani Green Energy Ltd. (Renewable power generation)

Adani Enterprises Ltd. - (Coal mining and trading)

Adani Transmission Ltd. (Power transmission)

Adani Total Gas Ltd. (Gas distribution)

Adani Power Ltd. (Coal-fired power generation)

The Adani Group also runs a real estate business, a shadow banking firm named Adani Capital and an edible oil and food business via a venture with Singapore-based Wilmar International Ltd.

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4. What are Adanis political connections?

The tycoon is seen as closer to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who also hails from Gujarat state, than any other Indian billionaire. Adanis corporate strategy has run in parallel with Modis efforts to develop Indias $3.2 trillion economy. When Modi promised to bring reliable electricity to more Indians, Adani doubled down on coal-fired power production. The alignment extends to foreign affairs. In 2021, Adani began construction of a major port facility in Sri Lanka. Officials from both countries said the plan was encouraged by the Modi government, which wants to curb Chinese influence in the island nation. Whether building expressways or upgrading data centers, Adani can be counted on to provide money, infrastructure, or expertise, whatever the policy priority.

5. Why did shares in Adani Group companies fall?

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They quickly lost roughly $50 billion in market value after Hindenburg Research, founded by short-seller Nathan Anderson, issued a 100-page report containing wide-ranging allegations of stock manipulation and accounting fraud that it said dated back decades. The Adani Group dismissed the report as maliciously mischievous and said its exploring legal action as well as preparing a detailed rebuttal.

6. What is Hindenburg Research?

Andersons firm  technically a research and trading outfit, not a hedge fund with outside investors  is less than five years old and wagers its own money in the markets. Even in Manhattans financial circles, Anderson is hardly a big name. The closely held firm specializes in forensic financial research, according to its website. It first attracted Wall Streets attention in 2020 for raising serious questions about electric-vehicle makers Nikola Corp. and Lordstown Motors Corp.

(An earlier version corrected the spelling of Shuli Ren in Reference Shelf)

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You will not believe the video that was released Friday night showing Memphis police officers beating  ultimately to death -- a young Black man. I dont really mean that, of course. If you live in the US, and participate in society, you likely have no difficulty believing that a gang of violent police officers fatally pummeled Tyre Nichols in what the citys police chief accurately described as a heinous attack. Indeed, if you have an Internet connection or a television, you have probably seen similar videos of police officers killing Black men, and women too, in other American cities. By choking, for example. Or shooting in the back. You may have seen videos of police not killing Black men -- merely assaulting them while they are prone or otherwise defenseless.

Occasionally, videos surface of police killing or beating a White man. Statistically, those attacks are less common. But theyre just as real. Since 2015, police officers have fatally shot more than 1,000 people per year in the US, according to a database maintained by The Washington Post. Thats nearly three deaths per day.

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America has a police problem. And its police problem is rooted in (though not exclusive to) its race problem, which is a problem, in turn, rooted so deep in our national character that it was written into the Constitution. Martin Luther King Jr. wasnt arrested and thrown in jail by the Ku Klux Klan. Police did that. John Lewis was not beaten bloody in Selma by the Proud Boys of 20th century Alabama. The attackers were men wearing badges, wielding clubs, earning paychecks from the public treasury.

Things have changed. Except in all the ways that they havent. Philando Castile wasnt shot to death by drug dealers. It was the police, again.

Black Lives Matter is a statement of aspiration, not of fact. That remains the crux of the problem. Many troubles of American policing, including the militarization of forces, flow from that reality, which is a continuing source of national unease.

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That all five of the violent police officers in Memphis are Black had no bearing on the deadly outcome. Yet its nonetheless politically significant. It provides an opportunity for a more vigorous national discussion, one slightly less hobbled by the inevitable brandishing of claims of White racial innocence. It wasnt White cops this time. But it was the same familiar system, yielding a familiar result.

Washington has proved a poor source of remedies. Meanwhile, the cities and towns where highly publicized police killings have taken place seem unable to grapple with the sprawling causes and consequences. We dont see many regional congressional hearings anymore. But perhaps its time for Congress  or at least those elements of Congress that are willing and capable  to hold hearings in Memphis and other cities mired in police violence. In the role of a judge riding circuit, political leaders need to listen to cries for justice, and report what they hear to the nation.In his remarkable book, Freedoms Dominion, Jefferson Cowie notes, Historians have long recognized the oppressive tensions that gave birth to American freedom but have rarely addressed the grinding persistence of the problem. Yet that grinding persistence is getting harder to ignore, which is why the forces of reaction are frantically banning the teaching of history and literature and anything else that threatens to make the friction louder, more visible and more difficult to pretend away.

Memphis is in many ways an apt place to begin the latest round of questions about why America cant, wont, get out of its own glorious way. The city is poor and broken. It is also a place of unparalleled verve that has heaped riches, real and cultural, upon America and the world. The city, a former cotton exchange, stands at the intersection of Elvis and B.B. King, Sun and Stax; it changed the world in ways that still reverberate. Its siren song was so vibrant and acute that Vaclav Havel credited it with piercing the dull brutality of communist Eastern Europe.

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Memphis is also the city where Dr. King, arguably the most majestic American of the 20th century, was shot dead. Its a city of bold beginnings and dread endings. Maybe we can start there, and work our way, north and south, east and west, toward freedom.

More From Bloomberg Opinion:

 Police Training Is Expensive and Its Still Not Enough: Stephen Carter

 In Philadelphia, Teenagers Want Guns Off the Streets: Francis Wilkinson

 Police Reformers Need to Pick Their Battles: Robert George

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Francis Wilkinson is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering U.S. politics and policy. Previously, he was an editor for the Week, a writer for Rolling Stone, a communications consultant and a political media strategist.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion

2023 Bloomberg L.P.

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Former Zero Unit members struck terror in the Taliban while fighting in Afghanistan. Now many struggle as U.S. refugees whose immigration status is in limbo.
Editor's note: This story is part of 'Broken Defense,' an investigative series from Lee Enterprises. More details about this project can be found at the bottom of this article.

An attorney shortage, a pandemic-driven case backlog and an influx of low-level drug charges are pushing Pima Countys public defense system in southern Arizona to the limit. The county soon wont have enough public defenders to handle the cases being filed, experts say.

States across the West face dire shortages of public defenders. Lacking data masks the statewide problems extent, but the plague has hit Arizona. Pima County and poor, rural counties are stretched thin.

Pima Countys public defense system has more jobs open than it can fill, said public defender Megan Page. Attorneys and social workers are much harder to come by than easier-filled support staff, like paralegals.

Pima County Public Defense Services director Dean Brault said the public defender, legal defender and legal advocates offices he oversees all have job openings, but not enough qualified people apply. To improve retention, the county now compensates mileage for contract attorneys who commute.

County offices are losing full-time public defenders who can get paid more as contract attorneys, Brault said.

Weve been struggling to pay our people in-house what theyre worth, Brault said. Weve seen some increases recently which have been helpful, but someone resigned the other day to go work for a firm that takes felony (contract) cases in superior court.

County systems must prevent public defenders from becoming overwhelmed, Page said. She tries to limit caseloads in the public defenders office to between 35 and 40 active cases per attorney at any given time.

Once it gets into the 50s, we become concerned that theyre so overwhelmed, they cant represent their clients they way theyd want to, Page said.

Pima County almost ran out of public defenders in 2019, but then the pandemic hit. The county attorneys office stopped charging low-level drug crimes and the police department tried to keep the jail population low as COVID-19 spread.

Cases stopped pouring in and court slowed, but now courts face mounting backlogs and ramped up low-level drug crime prosecution. The public defender shortage again is a problem.

Were hitting a crisis point, Page said. My concern is that if we continue to pursue low-level felony cases, we wont be able to have an attorney for everyone.

Workloads increasing

Drug charges fill most caseloads, which frustrates Page, who says substance use disorder is a public health issue.

Brault said many drug cases shouldnt be prosecuted, and plenty of felonies should be misdemeanors.

A fine line often separates a felony and misdemeanor, Page said. If a person shoplifts in an area where customers are allowed, the charge is a misdemeanor. If that person reaches over the counter or steps into an employee-only area, the charge becomes a felony, she said.

A $7 pack of cigarettes or a lottery ticket becomes a felony case that has to be handled in superior court, she said.

Brault said his offices are almost maxed out on cases.

At some point, we will have to go attorney to attorney and ask if they can take another case and provide effective representation, he said. When the answer to that from everyone is no, were going to be at a crisis where we have to go to the court and say we cant ethically take any more cases.

Brault said he notified the county attorneys office leadership that his offices are reaching that point, but they said theyre charging crimes appropriately and wont change.

Pima County Attorney Laura Conover did not respond to a request for comment.

The countys Office of Court Appointed Counsel and federal courts Criminal Justice Act panel are also running out of lawyers. The county office cant take more superior court cases if federal public defenders dont have lawyers to spare either, Brault said.

Were doing everything that we can, Brault said. At some point, its going to come down to if we dont have enough lawyers, the courts going to have to decide what its going to do.

Rural struggle

Arizonas 15 counties fund and maintain their own public defense systems without help from the state, a structure that leads to resource disparities, said Arizona ACLU legal director Jared Keenan.

Counties with robust budgets can support multiple public defense offices. All Arizona counties, except Yavapai, have at least a secondary office.

The downside is that some of the rural counties have a much harder time with funding, Keenan said. They also have some issues with retaining attorneys. Some counties, like Mohave and Paige, just dont pay very well. But Maricopa County is probably one of the most competitive salaries in the country for public defenders.

La Paz County, which had a population of 16,400 in 2021, almost lost its public defense office. The board of supervisors considered shutting it down but spared the office after discovering contract attorneys cost more, Keenan said.

Not very many attorneys live in La Paz, and the county would have to pay travel expenses, Keenan said.

Keenan said a statewide public defense system could increase rural county funding. State funds earmarked for public defense could also help, but the Legislature often reallocates that money to other agencies, including to the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

Its not enough money to fix all the problems with rural defense systems, but there is some money there and every year, its swept out of the indigent defense fund and given to police, Keenan said.

Data gaps

Arizona was among the worst of 17 western states from which Lee Enterprises requested public defender data. Arizona was one of three states that either dont track or could not compile reports on public defender caseloads nor the number of unrepresented people.

The Arizona Supreme Courts data team was unable to provide data on cases that went without representation and was not sure who in the state would have that information, said the courts communications director Alberto Rodriguez. The Supreme Court oversees administrative operations of all courts throughout the state.

Theres no statewide agency that oversees public defenders caseloads. The Supreme Court collects case data, but its not broken down by attorney so it doesn't show whether attorneys are overwhelmed. One county, Pima, shared its data collection with Lee Enterprises.

Jon Mosher, Sixth Amendment Center deputy director, said that missing data suggests Arizona is failing its constitutional obligations. The Fourteenth Amendment obliges states to ensure the Sixth Amendment right to effective counsel.

When a state chooses to delegate its federal constitutional responsibilities to its local governments and courts, the state must guarantee not only that these local bodies are capable of providing effective representation but also that they are in fact doing so, Mosher said.

Keenan said some misdemeanor defendants dont get attorneys. A person arrested for a misdemeanor in most counties wont receive a public defender unless the county attorneys office says it intends to pursue jail time. Constitutionally, that person still has a right to an attorney because every misdemeanor has the potential of jail time in Arizona, Keenan said. The right to counsel exists whenever theres a possibility of jail.

Brault provided Pima County data showing at least 23 attorneys in 2021 had caseloads above national standards, which suggests attorneys might have had too many cases to provide effective representation. Experts say the outdated standards overestimate the number of cases attorneys can handle. Brault did not have data for other counties.

Theres just no central data warehouse where we can compare jurisdictions, Brault said.

The state-run Arizona Criminal Justice Commission is required to share criminal justice information and data among agencies and with the public, but does not yet maintain a public defense system database.

Members include county supervisors and prosecutors, as well as representatives from law enforcement, courts, probation and state agencies. Pima County has four members on the commission: The county attorney, sheriff, chief probation officer and a town police chief.

(Pima County Public Defense Services) is not a member of that, but theyre trying to get us to provide information, Brault said. Its an interesting push and pull.

While Brault and others would like to see better tracking, there are no known efforts to create a statewide database.

Mosher said public defense data collection is crucial, otherwise theres no purposeful, intelligent analysis on whether people get representation or whether states have enough lawyers, Mosher said. The only other way to know that is to visit each courtroom. State legislatures lacking analysis dont know what needs repair.

We cant examine those questions intelligently before state Legislatures in each state without just having basic data to go off of, Mosher said. Its a basic governance question. Good government requires good data.

About Broken Defense: Across the West, public defense systems face crushing caseloads, historic underfunding, structural problems and severe staffing shortages, imperiling criminal defendants lives and in many cases denying them their constitutional right to counsel. Defendants have lost jobs and homes, been pressured to plead guilty and been denied the benefit of exonerating evidence. People accused in more than 100,000 misdemeanors each year go to jail without ever talking to a lawyer. Lee Enterprises West region Public Service Journalism team and local reporters attended more than a dozen court hearings and interviewed more than 25 defendants, 40 attorneys and 25 experts to reveal public defense in many western states is broken.
Indian billionaire Gautam Adanis group published a 413-page rebuttal to allegations of fraud by short seller Hindenburg Research that has erased billions from the value of his flagship firm.

Some 65 of the 88 questions have been addressed in Adanis public disclosures and the conduct of the American short seller is nothing short of a calculated securities fraud under applicable law, Adani Group said in a statement. It reiterated it would exercise our rights to pursue remedies to safeguard our stakeholders before all appropriate authorities. Adani is seeking to calm investors before the conglomerate completes a crucial $US2.5 billion ($3.5 billion) share sale.

Adani lost more than $US20 billion of wealth on Friday as shares in his groups various entities tumbled. Credit: Bloomberg

Adani had initially appeared to weather the biggest broadside yet to his sprawling empire after the accusations from Hindenburg last Wednesday, heading into a holiday in India as the worlds fourth-richest person and dismissing a short-seller report as stale and baseless.

But then Indian markets reopened on Friday and it quickly became apparent that Hindenburg Research, a tiny New York firm, had pierced the defences of the mighty Adani Group, a corporate giant half a world away.
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size This story is part of the January 29 edition of Sunday Life. See all 14 stories . Steph Claire Smith and Laura Henshaw wouldnt have been friends in high school. For long-time followers of the Keep It Cleaner (now known as KIC) co-founders, arguably as well known for their friendship as for their business success, this revelation might come as a shock. I was a bit cheeky at school, says Smith. Laura was a little bit less rebellious, in the library, doing the right thing  a teachers pet. I was

the opposite of that. Now, its hard to imagine a time when the two werent joined at the hip. The intimacy of friendship is often underestimated, but as anyone lucky enough to have first-hand experience with it will agree, the comfort that exists between best friends is impossible to replicate. This closeness is obvious between Smith and Henshaw. Sitting on a patch of grass outside Maroubras surf life saving club, legs crossed and surrounded by overnight bags (Smith and Henshaw are due to fly back to Melbourne, where they both live, in just a few hours), from a distance, the three of us could look like gossiping schoolgirls. Today also happens to be Henshaws 30th birthday  an occasion she insists shes thrilled to be celebrating in Sydney, at the beach with her best friend, despite the fact that, technically at least, shes working. At its heart, KIC is a health and wellness brand. Its intention, according to Henshaw, is to help people lead a healthier and happier life in a way that works for them. Its a message that clearly resonates. Since its conception in 2015, theres been an app, two podcasts, merch and, soon, their latest book You Take Care, filled with lessons in looking after yourself. With Henshaw as the companys CEO and Smith as COO, the KIC brand has gone from strength to strength. And it all started with a chance encounter. Steph, left, wears Bondi Born Billie bikini top and Mina bottom. Laura wears Bondi Born Margot one-piece. Credit:Jesse-Leigh Elford Smith, who recently turned 29, explains that they met while modelling at Melbourne Spring Fashion Week, not long after finishing high school. Cast in many of the same shows, they spent a lot of time backstage during the week and eventually got chatting.

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It was my first time modelling, says Henshaw. I had to have walking lessons because I was so bad. I didnt know anyone, but then I met Steph. And we just got along so well. I was very drawn to her confidence. They stayed in touch, eventually introducing each other to their friends outside the modelling industry. When my closest girlfriends, who Ive known since year 7, met Laura, they were like, Shes too nice, there must be something wrong with her,  says Smith. But it turns out shes just an angel. It was one of those friendships where you meet and feel like youve known each other a really long time. Loading Just as Henshaw was initially drawn to Smiths confidence, Smith admired Henshaws kindness and empathy. After a decade of friendship, the two still deeply value these same traits in one another, though Smith now lists Henshaws sense of humour as one of her top qualities, and Henshaw cant help but mention how caring Smith is. Theyre both happy to admit theyve become more similar over the years. I feel like weve met each other halfway, says Smith. Even when I think back on our fashion sense when we first became friends, we couldnt have been more different. Now, we could easily share each others wardrobes. When you spend so much time with someone, you almost start merging into one another, says Henshaw, before acknowledging that their energy levels have always been very different. And despite all theyve done and achieved together  from getting engaged to their now-husbands within weeks of one another to being each others maid of honour  Smith never quite managed to get Henshaw to a multi-day music festival.

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Early in their friendship, the two went their separate ways with Henshaw heading to Europe and Smith relocating to the US to pursue modelling. They kept in touch and eventually shared that they were both struggling with issues around body image. I opened up to Laura about my struggles before I opened up to my mum, my best friends from high school or even my partner. STEPH CLAIRE SMITH, KIC CO-FOUNDER I opened up to Laura about my struggles before I opened up to my mum, my best friends from high school or even my partner, says Smith, who has since spoken publicly about her experience with disordered eating. When you know someones gone through something  or you have a feeling they can relate  you feel like you can tell them anything. Says Henshaw, When you have a poor relationship with food or exercise, its often really controlling and can mean you disconnect from the world a bit  like we both did. Steph wears Bassike jeans and shirt. Laura wears Bassike shirt, Maje jeans. Credit:Jesse-Leigh Elford Despite being on different continents, the pairs shared vulnerability helped them on the path to recovery. It also jump-started KIC. What began as an e-book of healthy recipes, released in 2015, evolved into the operation many of us know today, with the app launching in October 2018. We wanted to take things back to basics, says Smith, talking about the development of the brand. Looking at food as fuel, but also as something to enjoy. And movement as something you should celebrate.

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But launching KIC wasnt just the beginning of a business that would grow to have 2.1 million followers, and active subscribers from over 120 countries, it was also a moment that revealed the true potential of the pairs friendship and the power of shared goals. We never set off for KIC to be this huge business venture, but once things started getting more serious we needed to be able to have super-open conversations with one another, says Smith, who ranked 100th on the Financial Review Young Rich List in 2021, with an estimated net worth of $36 million. This value of honest communication is something Smith and Henshaw find themselves returning to again and again  not just within their own friendship, but also within the relationships they have with their colleagues and the wider KIC community. The idea that openness and vulnerability is key to success touches everything they do. Loading Within their 18-person team, the pair prioritise having hard discussions in person rather than via Slack or Zoom, comparing the scenario to catching up with a friend for coffee to talk out a disagreement instead of trying to figure things out over text. The Facebook KIC Community group has more than 47,000 members. On any given day, its filled with posts ranging from mid-run selfies to laundry detergent recommendations to plans to meet other members for coffee and a walk. The conversations read as if theyre happening between close friends, not strangers  and none of it has happened by accident. Along with mind and body, connection is one of the core themes explored in You Take Care, which makes sense if youve spent any time inside the KIC community or have listened to the KICPOD podcast, which hit a milestone of six million downloads in February 2022. Smith and Henshaw have built their brand on connection, which makes it surprising to hear that at one point they neglected their own.

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There was a time where we werent maintaining our friendship properly, says Henshaw, looking at Smith, who nods in agreement. Wed find ourselves out for dinner and all we would do was talk about work, says Smith. The solution has been to actively schedule time together outside work to focus on their friendship. It takes dedication, especially since Smith gave birth to her son, Harvey, in early 2021. A lot of my friendships have changed since becoming a mum, says Smith. But you can still have that quality time if you work on it. Steph and Laura wear P.E. Nation. Credit: Jesse-Leigh Elford As business owners, influencers and best friends, its unsurprising that Smith and Henshaw have struggled with the different labels and personas they both navigate on a daily basis. Loading For Henshaw, being the CEO of a tech firm has, at times, felt misaligned to the version of herself that shines through on the podcast and Instagram, wheres she known for being light-hearted and empathetic, though its something shes working to overcome.

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The detail question For weeks Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has been calling on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to release more detail on what the Voice to parliament would look like in the form of a draft bill. While the government is sticking to the strategy of legislating the Voice after the referendum, Albanese changed his language last week in responding to criticisms about a lack of detail. Previously he repeatedly referred to a 250-page report by Indigenous academics Marcia Langton and Tom Calma, which the government has not adopted as its policy, but there has now been a shift to focus on what the Voice is and how it will improve the lives of Indigenous Australians. Davis said a lot of criticism about a lack of detail was premature, considering the working groups advising the government have not yet come back with their advice.

It was a very clear process set up by Albanese and theres been three working groups working on the amendment to the Constitution and the amount of detail thats required for Australians to have an informed vote, she said. Were at the tail end of that process because they need that information for the referendum vote to be set up  so its not far off from being released. But Davis said the level of detail being requested by ordinary Australians was very different from that being demanded by politicians and a lot of the media, according to focus group research. Theyre not so much interested in the minutiae of a clause in the Constitution or a fully stood-up bill, she said. The detail that theyre seeking is: how will this make a difference if we vote yes? Along with answering questions on detail, the government and the Yes side are also dealing with the aftermath of the Invasion Day rallies in which Indigenous speakers, including Greens senator Lidia Thorpe, publicly opposed the Voice on the basis that it could cede First Nations sovereignty.

Campaigners on the Yes side are confident that they can convince wider Australia that the Indigenous voices critical of the Voice are in a minority. Polling conducted by Ipsos, conducted in the week leading up to January 26, showed 80 per cent of First Nations people support the proposed Voice to parliament. Davis said media coverage of the rallies amplified the voices of a very small minority in the community. If you were at all the marches, most people werent clapping for the anti-Voice sentiment, she said. The campaign strategy

The groups supporting the Yes side have already spent around $1 million on advertising and that figure is expected to significantly increase over the coming months. They are, however, planning to save most of the advertising spend for the final weeks of the campaign. The campaign will look to run localised messages across the country, with a focus in rural and regional areas on reminding both Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians that the Voice started as an anti-elitist idea out of the Uluru dialogues. Australians will be told that the Voice will take on the government bureaucracies and the Indigenous industry which has held First Nations people back for decades. It was anti-elitist in the sense of our own sector, our own people. There was a strong sentiment in the [Uluru] dialogues and ever since that our own people need to be accountable to our own people, Davis said. Our mob are sick of this big industry that thrives and flourishes on our disadvantage. Theyre not active players in their own lives. Labor MP Marion Scrymgour, who represents the electorate of Lingiari which takes in Alice Springs, said if the Voice had existed since 2014, then perhaps many of the issues that have erupted now would not have occurred.

A Voice will make a difference to communities like Alice Springs. It will mean government and bureaucrats need to listen to us. A Voice might even give people in Alice some hope, she writes in an opinion piece for this masthead. The No side Former ALP president and Bundjalung man, Warren Mundine, is still in the process of setting up his outfit which will coordinate the No side, which will launch its campaign in either late February or early March. Mundine said announcements will be made in the coming weeks on directors. Former deputy prime minister and Nationals leader John Anderson already declaring he is interested in some kind of role in the campaign. Warren Mundine is starting a committee that will coordinate the No campaign. Credit: Brook Mitchell

Mundine confirmed that the No side would adopt an official position of supporting constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians while opposing the Voice, with the potential slogan: Recognise A Better Way. Were not against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the Constitution, but there are better ways to do it, he said. Mundine said the funding was getting positive but conceded his side would be massively outspent by the Yes campaign. Theyve got a lot more money than us and theyve got a really good team together running their campaign - probably some of the best campaigners in the country. He said he was growing increasingly concerned about the vitriol appearing online from people opposed to the Voice, naming the idiots and stupid people who were criticising Voice co-designer Tom Calmas appointment as senior Australian of the year.

Ive known Tom Calma for 40 years I have a tremendous amount of respect for him and he deserves all the accolades he has got, he said. So thats why I try to catch up [with Yes campaign] for a chat so we dont go into this incredible crazy space that just divides everyone. Its only early days - when it starts to get to the last couple of months this thing could become quite divisive. Loading Mundine said if Australians do vote for a Voice, he will help make it successful.
There is no blue or red pill like there is no spoon. It's all purple haze.

Classical liberal enlightenment thought as distilled through political pundits, free-market professors of all disciplines, and other pillars of privatized public and partisan pontifications  across the proverbial aisle talk about capitalism as an economic system  only. A more useful and helpful perspective is that Capitalism is a political and cultural system; it is domestic and foreign policy; it is a historical narrative, an origin story, an addiction that separates people from each other, and a social system that makes a profit from war, labor exploitation, and extraction, employing economic hitmen, mercenaries and missionaries, while claiming to fight for peace, equality, and sustainability.

Capitalism is a way of thinking, feeling, dreaming, categorizing, and organizing life.

I capitalize Capitalism to emphasize capitalism's cultural constitutions and how capitalist mass media represents, characterizes, and embodies capitalism. We fight wars for Capitalism as a way of being and a set of values. However, we call the wars by other names  anti-communist, freedom fighting for democracy, supporting liberty elsewhere, and humanitarian missions while maintaining more than 750 military bases in 80 countries. But they are also capitalist wars. Capitalism is the water that drowns us while convincing many that we actually have gills  if only we would work harder to use them. Meanwhile, scuba gear, submarines, and soon apparently, spaceships abound for those that accumulate through the dispossession of people of their dignity and the emerald green abundance of the earth.

Consider the query: what does it mean to think like a capitalist? What type of species commodifies life, monetizes social relationships reducing them to transactional acts, uses differences to control labor, claims dominion over the earth's resource as a so-called natural right, and accumulates through dispossession? Capitalism is a way of waging war for profit and power through a weaponized cultural production and circulation of ideas that normalizes transactional values of domination and extraction.

What does all this have to do with Disney, Chile, and Donald Duck?

In 1971, Ariel Dorfman and Armand Mattelart published in Chile Para leer a Pato Donald: Comunicacion de masas y colonialismo, translated with a tweaked title as How to Read Donald Duck: Imperialist Ideology in the Disney Comic. However, a literal title translation would have been "mass communication and colonialism." This was during the presidency of the democratically elected leader of Chile, Salvador Allende. I emphasize the elected element of his presidency as that did not deter the CIA from secretly supporting the eventual military coup against Allende. As Richard Nixon told the CIA, "make the economy scream."

How to Read Donald Duck examined the arrogance of deciding the fate of other people somewhere else through subterfuge  pushing colonialism as democracy and using means of mass communication to teach capitalist values.

"Having survived bonfires, impounding, and being dumped into the ocean by the Chilean army, this controversial book is once again back on our shelves. Written and published during the blossoming of Salvador Allende's revolutionary socialism, the book examines how Disney comics not only reflect capitalist ideology, but are active agents working in this ideology's favour. Focusing on the hapless mice and ducks of Disney, curiously parentless, marginalised and always short of cash, Ariel Dorfman and Armand Mattelart expose how these characters established hegemonic ideas about capital, race, gender and the relationship between developed countries and the Third World."

Ariel Dorfman was the cultural advisor to Salvador Allende from 1970-1973. After the coup, he fled for his life and now lives in the US. Approximately 40,000 Chilean citizens were kidnapped, tortured, imprisoned, and murdered during the Pinochet dictatorship supported by Western democracies across the globe. You can check out Dorfman's memoir here. Armand Mattelart is a Belgian sociologist and well-known as a Leftist French scholar. His work deals with media, culture, and communication, particularly in their historical and international dimensions.

While How to Read Donald Duck was burned, banned, and buried at sea, it was also a best-seller translated into numerous languages.

So, fifty years later?

In late 2021 Gabriel Boric of the Convergencia Social party and the Apruebo Dignidad coalition won the presidential runoff, defeating the ultra-right-wing candidate Jose Antonio Kast who has personal ties to the dictatorship of Agosto Pinochet and family ties to the German Nazi Party.

As reported by Romina Green Rioja in an extensive and clarifying article for NACLAdefinitely worth the read,"in this election feminists, sexual dissidents (queers), and Indigenous organizations mobilized to campaign for Boric. As Javiera Manzi, a spokesperson for the 8 March Feminist Coordinator (8M), pointed out in an interview with Democracy Now!, unlike Brazilian feminists' "Ele Nao" ("Not him") campaign against the 2018 far-right presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro, 8M decided to endorse Boric, underscoring the political stakes for maintaining and advancing feminist victories. Similarly, looming over the vote was the ongoing Constitutional Convention, and many Chileans understood that Boric's win would secure the path to finalize the vote for a new constitution in September 2022."

Culture is material as ideas, imagination, and creation, art, what is made and done, represented and circulated, constructed and abolished, and how we imagine and change material conditions of life. Culture is a contested space of meaning-making; meanings contest for space in your head and attention span in your imagination.

The algorithm is a forgery of choice, planned and sequenced as technologies of control and oppression, another faux democratic transaction. There is no blue or red pill like there is no spoon. It's all purple haze.

For an extensive examination of the impact of the Pinochet dictatorship on the workers that provided labor for the US and other transnational companies with contracts in Chile, check out Victims of the Chilean Miracle: Workers and Neoliberalism in the Pinochet Era, 19732002 by Peter Winn.

Check out the documentary film, The Battle of Chile, released in 1975, "Patricio Guzman and five colleagues had been filming the political developments in Chile throughout the nine months leading up to that day. The bombing of the Presidential Palace, in which Allende died, would now become the ending for Guzman's seminal documentary The Battle of Chile (1975-76), an epic chronicle of that country's open and peaceful socialist revolution, and of the violent counter-revolution against it."

For an insightful documentary about the relationship between the University of Chicago's Economics department and specifically Milton Freidman, dictators and other democratically elected leaders, and neoliberal economic development, check out The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism by Naomi Kleinas a book and a film.
Dubai/Washington: Israel appears to have been behind a drone attack on a military factory in Iran, a US official says.

Iran claimed to have intercepted drones that struck a military industry target near the central city of Isfahan, and said there were no casualties or serious damage.

A screenshot of video of the drone attack on a military industry factory in the central Iranian city of Isfahan. Credit: Twitter

The extent of damage could not be independently ascertained. Iranian state media released footage showing a flash in the sky and emergency vehicles at the scene.

A spokesperson for the Israeli military declined to comment. Arch-foe Israel has long said it is willing to strike Iranian targets if diplomacy fails to curb Tehrans nuclear or missile programs, but it has a policy of withholding comment on specific incidents.
It remains unclear whether the Israeli steps will be effective. The attackers in the weekend shootings, including a 13-year-old boy, both appear to have acted alone and were not part of organised militant groups. In addition, Netanyahu could come under pressure from members of his government, a collection of religious and ultranationalist politicians, to take even tougher action. Such steps could risk triggering more violence and potentially drag in the Hamas militant group in Gaza. If its even possible to put this violent genie back into the bottle, even for a little while, this would require the reinforcement and proper deployment of forces  and carefully managing the crisis without being guided by the widespread calls for revenge, wrote Amos Harel, the defence affairs commentator for the Haaretz newspaper. Fridays shooting, outside a synagogue in east Jerusalem on the Jewish sabbath, left seven Israelis dead and three wounded before the gunman was killed by police. It was the deadliest attack on Israelis in 15 years. Authorities published the names of four of the victims. They included 14-year-old Asher Natan; Eli Mizrahi, 48, and his wife Natali, 45; and Rafael Ben Eliyahu, 56. Funerals for some victims were scheduled Saturday night.

Mourners lit memorial candles near the synagogue on Saturday evening, and in a sign of the charged atmosphere, a crowd assaulted an Israeli TV crew that came to the area, chanting leftists go home. Loading Ella Sakovich, an aunt of Natali Mizrahi, said that her niece had been celebrating the Jewish sabbath with her husband and his father when they heard gunfire outside on Friday night. While eating, she and her husband wanted to help and went out of the house to treat the wounded; they shot both of them, Sakovich said in a statement released by Hadassah Hospital, where Natali Mizrahi worked serving food to patients. In response to the shooting, Israeli police beefed up activities throughout east Jerusalem and said they had arrested 42 people, including family members, who were connected to the shooter.

But later Saturday, a 13-year-old Palestinian boy opened fire elsewhere in east Jerusalem, wounding an Israeli man and his son, ages 47 and 23, paramedics said. Both were fully conscious and in moderate to serious condition in the hospital, the medics added. As police rushed to the scene, two passers-by with licensed weapons shot and overpowered the 13-year-old attacker, police said. Police confiscated his handgun and took the wounded teen to a hospital. Blinken is expected to arrive in Israel on Monday. The Biden administration condemned Friday nights shooting and has called for calm on all sides, but given few details on how it expects to promote these goals. The attacks pose a pivotal test for Israels new far-right government. Both Palestinian attackers behind the shootings on Friday and Saturday came from east Jerusalem.

Palestinian residents of east Jerusalem hold permanent residency status, allowing them to work and move freely throughout Israel, but they suffer from subpar public services and are not allowed to vote in national elections. Residency rights can be stripped if a Palestinian is found to live outside the city for an extended period or in certain security cases. Israel captured east Jerusalem, along with the West Bank and Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians seek all three areas for a future independent state. Israel has annexed east Jerusalem in a step that is not internationally recognised and considers the entire city to be its undivided capital. Israels new firebrand minister of national security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has presented himself as an enforcer of law and order and grabbed headlines for his promises to take even stronger action against the Palestinians.

Speaking to reporters at a hospital where victims were being treated, Ben-Gvir said he wanted the home of the gunman in Fridays attack to be sealed off immediately as a punitive measure and lashed out at Israels attorney general for delaying his order. Loading Overhauling Israels justice system, including the attorney generals office, has been at the top of the agenda of the new government, which says unelected judges and jurists have overwhelming powers. The divisive issue helped fuel weekly protests by Israelis who say the sweeping proposed changes would weaken the Supreme Court and undermine democracy. Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in the central city of Tel Aviv Saturday evening for a new protest. Some raised banners describing Netanyahu and Ben-Gvir as a threat to world peace.

The marchers also held a moment of silence in memory of Jerusalem shooting victims. The Palestinian leadership in the West Bank, meanwhile, upheld its decision to halt security coordination with Israel to protest the deadly raid in Jenin. After a meeting headed by President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, the Palestinian Authority called on international community and the US administration to force Israel to halt its raids in the West Bank. Last year, as the Israeli military intensified its arrest raids following a string of deadly Palestinian attacks within Israel, at least 150 Palestinians were killed in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem. It was the highest annual death toll for more than a decade and a half. Over 30 people were killed in Palestinian attacks against Israelis last year, according to Israeli figures. Israel says most of the dead were militants. But youths protesting the incursions and others not involved in the confrontations also have been killed.
Later in South Carolina, Trump said he planned to keep the states presidential primary as the first in the South and called it a very important state. In his speech, he hurtled from criticism of Biden and Democrats to disparaging comments about transgender people, mockery of people promoting the use of electric stoves and electric cars, and reminiscing about efforts while serving as president to increase oil production, strike trade deals and crack down on migration at the US-Mexico border. While Trump remains the only declared 2024 presidential candidate, potential challengers, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former vice president Mike Pence and former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, who was Trumps ambassador to the United Nations, are expected to get their campaign under way in the coming months. After his South Carolina speech, Trump said in an interview that it would be a great act of disloyalty if DeSantis opposed him in the primary and took credit for the governors initial election. Loading

If he runs, thats fine. Im way up in the polls, Trump said. Hes going to have to do what he wants to do, but he may run. I do think it would be a great act of disloyalty because, you know, I got him in. He had no chance. His political life was over. He said he hadnt spoken to DeSantis in a long time. Governor Henry McMaster, US Senator Lindsey Graham and several members of the states congressional delegation attended Trumps event at the Statehouse. Trumps team has struggled to line up support from South Carolina lawmakers, even some who eagerly backed him before. Some have said that more than a year out from primary balloting is too early to make endorsements or that they are waiting to see who else enters the race. Others have said it is time for the party to move past Trump to a new generation of leadership. South Carolina House Speaker Murrell Smith was among the legislative leaders awaiting Trumps arrival, although he said he was there not to make a formal endorsement but to welcome the former president to the state in his role as speaker.

Otherwise, dozens of supporters crammed into the ceremonial lobby between the state House and Senate, competing with reporters and camera crews for space among marble-topped tables and a life-sized bronze statue of former vice president John C. Calhoun. Dave Wilson, president of conservative Christian nonprofit Palmetto Family, said some conservative voters may have concerns about Trumps recent comments that Republicans who opposed abortion without exceptions had cost the party in the November elections. It gives pause to some folks within the conservative ranks of the Republican Party as to whether or not we need the process to work itself out, said Wilson, whose group hosted Pence for a speech in 2021. But Gerri McDaniel, who worked on Trumps 2016 campaign, rejected the idea that voters were ready to move on from the former president. Some of the media keep saying hes losing his support. No, hes not, she said. Its only going to be greater than it was before because there are so many people who are angry about whats happening in Washington. Loading

The South Carolina event was in some ways off-brand for a onetime reality television star who typically favours big rallies and has tried to cultivate an outsider image. Rallies are expensive, and Trump added new financial challenges when he decided to begin his campaign in November  far earlier than many had urged. That leaves him subject to strict fundraising regulations and bars him from using his well-funded leadership political action committee to pay for such events, which can cost several million dollars. Trumps campaign, in its early stages, has already drawn controversy, most particularly when he had dinner with Holocaust-denying white nationalist Nick Fuentes and the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, who had made a series of antisemitic comments. Trump also was widely mocked for selling a series of digital trading cards that pictured him as a superhero, a cowboy and an astronaut, among others. He is the subject of a series of criminal investigations, including one into the discovery of hundreds of documents with classified markings at his Florida club and whether he obstructed justice by refusing to return them, as well as state and federal examinations of his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, which he lost to Biden. Still, early polling shows hes a favourite to win his partys nomination. The gun is fired, and the campaign season has started, said Stephen Stepanek, outgoing chair of the New Hampshire Republican Party. Trump announced that Stepanek will serve as senior adviser for his campaign in the state.
The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense. What images do these words invoke? Are they different after the movies about the Black Panther comic book, particularly the one with the CIA agent? What is your reference for the Black Panther Party? For many people, it might be the images of armed Black men protesting the California legislature's attempt to limit the Second Amendment rights of non-white people to armed self-defense.

This post is about Lumpen, the funk band comprised of members of the Black Panther Party.

Party Music: The Inside Story of the Black Panthers' Band and How Black Power Transformed Soul Music by Rickey Vincent examines and shares how Lumpen brought music and revolution into a seductive rhythm of transformation and joy, reflecting the needs of the community and the artistic creativity of political movements.

"Connecting the black music tradition with the black activist tradition, Party Music brings both into greater focus than ever before and reveals just how strongly the black power movement was felt on the streets of black America. Interviews reveal the never-before-heard story of the Black Panthers' R&B band the Lumpen and how five rank-and-file members performed popular music for revolutionaries. Beyond the mainstream civil rights movement that is typically discussed are the stories of the Black Panthers, the Black Arts Movement, the antiwar activism, and other radical movements that were central to the impulse that transformed black popular musicand created soul music."

The book's title is taken from the fourth album by the revolutionary funk-infused HipHop crew The Coup, "Party Music," released in late 2001, with an album cover with an image of the destruction of the World Trade Center that was soon scrapped.

In the Forward, Boots Riley of the Coup and producer of the revolutionary sci-fi fantasy film Sorry to Bother You,locates the emergence of the Lumpen band in the same false dichotomy between conscious jazz-influenced HipHop and funk/blues-inspired Gangsta Rap. Riley emphasizes that the point is not to change culture, a stand-in for the civilizing narrative of changing behavior, but to understand and be part of political movements to change material conditions.

"The Black Panther Party was also of the mind that material change was what was needed. The Black Panther Party put forward a serious class analysis that didn't waste time with the idea that changing culture was the key. So, it follows logically, that when they decided to have a band, it would be a funk band. The Lumpen took music that black folks in the United States were listening to at the time and changed the lyrics to make revolutionary agitprop grooves. The Lumpen's music, like the Panthers themselves, pointed to the idea that there is no need to call on us we could be, the use that we are just need the right map and the right tools. Ricky Vincent just put a very important part of the map in your hands."

In the preface, Vincent explains his motivations, "This book explores the soul of the black power movement. It puts a face to the revolution and seeks to humanize black revolutionaries of the day. This book is for anyone who recognizes the transformative power of James Brown but still can't find his name in their civil rights history book; it is for anyone who was fascinated by the fearless vision of change put forth by the leaders of the black power era and has wondered how those ideas came about."

Consider these quotes from Amilcar Cabral, a revolutionary philosopher from Cape Verde and leader of the liberation wars in Cape Verde and Guine Bissau.
KEMPTON, Pa. - A benefit concert will be held in honor of the New Tripoli, Lehigh County firefighters who were killed while battling a house fire in neighboring Schuylkill County last month.

The concert will celebrate the lives of firefighters Zachary Paris and Marvin Gruber.

It will be held 7 p.m. Saturday, February 25th at the Kempton Community Center.

All proceeds will go to the New Tripoli Bank's Fallen Firefighters Memorial Fund.

Ticket information can be found online.
Indonesian official wishes on-schedule completion for construction of railway

Xinhua) 16:34, January 29, 2023

Journalists from Chinese and Indonesian media outlets witness and observe the construction of the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway at the Tegalluar Station in Bandung, Indonesia, Jan. 28, 2023.(Xinhua/Zulkarnain)

JAKARTA, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- Indonesian Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi invited guests from over 20 Chinese and Indonesian media outlets to witness and observe the construction of the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway (HSR) at the Tegalluar Station on Saturday.

During the tour, Budi conveyed Chinese New Year greetings to Chinese workers and praised the construction progress.

He said that the construction of the Jakarta-Bandung HSR is seeing a crucial year, hoping that the Chinese and Indonesian construction units would continue to work hard, collaborate closely and ensure the on-time completion and launch of the Jakarta-Bandung HSR.

The high-speed line, a landmark project under the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, connects Indonesia's capital Jakarta and another major city Bandung.

With a design speed of 350 km per hour, the railway will cut the journey between Jakarta and Bandung from over three hours to around 40 minutes.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
WASHINGTON  When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and the constitutional right to abortion in June, it declared that it was sending the issue back to the "people and their elected representatives." But the fight has largely moved to a different set of supreme courts and constitutions: those in the states.

This month, South Carolina's highest court handed down its ruling that the right to privacy in the state constitution includes a right to abortion, a decision that overturned the state's six-week abortion ban. Within hours, Idaho's highest court ruled in the opposite direction, saying that state's constitution did not protect abortion rights; the ban there would stand.

Those divergent decisions displayed how volatile and patchwork the fight over abortion rights will be over the next months as abortion rights advocates and opponents push and pull over state constitutions.

For abortion rights groups, state constitutions are a critical part of a strategy to overturn bans that have cut off access to abortion in a wide swath of the country.

Those documents provide much longer and more generous enumerations of rights than the U.S. Constitution, and history is full of examples of state courts using them to lead the way to establish broad rights  as well as to strike down restrictions on abortion.

They offer a way around gerrymandered state legislatures that are pushing stricter laws.

The Supreme Court's decision has left abortion rights groups with few other options. In their most hopeful scenario, state courts and ballot initiatives to establish constitutional protections would establish a firmer guarantee for abortion rights than the one in Roe, which rested on a protection of privacy that was not explicit in the U.S. Constitution.

But just as abortion rights groups are trying to identify protections in state constitutions, anti-abortion groups are trying to amend those same documents to say they provide no guarantee of abortion rights.

And while the courts may appear to be the last word because their decisions are not subject to appeal, judges in 38 states have to face the voters.

A change on the bench has sometimes meant that the same document found to include a right to abortion suddenly is declared not to include that right, in the space of a few years.

"You're going to see a lot of give and take in the years to come, in ways that may be unpredictable," said Alicia Bannon, the director of the judiciary program at the Brennan Center for Justice, which maintains a tracker of the cases filed to challenge abortion bans that have been enacted since the Supreme Court overturned Roe.

"I don't think it's a dynamic where a court will issue a ruling, and that's the end of the conversation."

Lawyers working to restore abortion rights promise more litigation as legislatures in conservative states reconvene for the first time since the Supreme Court's decision, vowing to pass stricter bans.

Both sides of the abortion debate will also devote new energy to seat and unseat judges and into efforts to explicitly protect or restrict abortion protections in state constitutions, which are far easier to amend than their federal counterpart.

"The terrain has shifted, and it's not just a matter of we're turning our attention from federal to state courts; it's that we're turning our attention to a whole other range of institutions and opportunities which present their own possibilities but also pitfalls," said JohnDinan, a politics professor at Wake Forest and the author of a forthcoming Montana Law Review article on the role of state courts and constitutions in the future of abortion laws.

During the half-century that Roe protected a federal right to abortion, opponents of abortion rights argued that regulation of the issue should be returned to the states, which could set their own laws according to public opinion.

They have objected to state court decisions finding a constitutional right to abortion, saying that laws should be made by the legislatures, not justices.

Murrell Smith, the Republican speaker of the House in South Carolina, wrote on Twitter that the state court's decision "fails to respect the concept of separation of powers and strips the people of this state from having a say in a decision that was meant to reflect their voices."

But opponents of abortion have tried to turn state constitutions to their advantage as well. Even before Roewas overturned, ballot amendments in Tennessee, Louisiana, West Virginia and Alabama changed those states' constitutions to say that nothing in them protected a right to abortion.

Lawmakers in Montana and Alaska are trying similar amendments.

Some opponents of abortion have argued that the rights to liberty in state constitutions should extend not only to women but also to fetuses. Thomas Fisher, the solicitor general of Indiana, said during oral arguments on the case there earlier this month, "There's a failure to recognize that there is something else on the other side of the equation, and that is the unborn life."

The framers of the Constitution earlier wrote constitutions for the 13 colonies that became the first states. They borrowed heavily from those documents and left states free to add rights to their constitutions that don't exist in the federal one.

Wyoming's constitution, for example, protects the opportunity to hunt, fish and trap;New Jersey's includes a minimum wage that increases annually.

State constitutions are easier to change, through ballot measures proposed by citizens or legislatures (allowed in every state but Delaware). And they have been revised far more often than the federal constitution.

"If you went back to the origins of our nation, federal courts were not irrelevant, but there weren't many cases there," said Margaret Marshall, the former chief justice of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts. "Everything happened in the states."

The lawsuits now rely on a range of rights  and sometimes multiple rights  in state constitutions, reflecting the differences in these documents, as well as the bets that abortion rights supporters are making about which arguments are likely to succeed.

While 11 state constitutions explicitly mention privacy  the basis of the argument for Roe  only two of those are in states that ban abortion. One is South Carolina, where, earlier this month, a divided court found that the right to privacy extended to a right to abortion.

That decision was a happy surprise to abortion rights groups, not least because the justices, while nonpartisan, were appointed by the Republican-controlled state Legislature.

In the other state with an explicit right to privacy, Arizona, abortion rights groups chose to argue their case instead on a state constitutional right to due process, strategizing that the members of the state's Supreme Court would be unsympathetic to the privacy argument.

Other lawsuits argue that a right to abortion falls under state constitutional protections for liberty, for free exercise of religion or for inherent, natural or fundamental rights  provisions that are included in every state constitution and typically go well beyond what the Bill of Rights established.

Roughly half the state constitutions also have equal rights amendments protecting the rights of women, and several cases that have been filed since Roe was overturned rely on those provisions.

And lawsuits in two states, Wyoming and Ohio, argue for a right to abortion based on constitutional amendments the states' voters passed in protest to President Barack Obama's broad overhaul of health care, protecting citizens' rights to make their own health care decisions.

Most of the cases are awaiting trial. Only the state supreme courts in North Dakota, Kentucky and Indiana have already heard arguments.

Preliminary rulings have given some indication of what arguments might establish a right to abortion, even in conservative states.

In North Dakota, Utah, Wyoming and Indiana, the courts blocked abortion restrictions temporarily, saying that the abortion rights cases had a likelihood of success at trial.

The North Dakota court said the state's nearly total ban most likely violated a constitutional provision establishing "certain inalienable rights," including "those of enjoying and defending life and liberty" because of its burdens on doctors and pregnant women. The Utah court said the lawsuit from the abortion rights groups raised "serious issues" about whether the abortion ban violated a constitutional provision granting rights equally to "both male and female citizens."

The court also noted that it had previously recognized a constitutional right to privacy protecting matters "of no proper concern to others," including "things which might result in shame or humiliation, or merely violate one's pride in keeping private affairs to [one]self." That includes a right to determine "family composition."
Devaunte Hill, 23, testified in his own defense Saturday, the fourth day of his trial.

Hill and his cousin, James Cowan, 30, are charged with first-degree murder in the shooting of Lebanon nurse Caitlyn Kaufman, 26, in December 2020 on Interstate 440.

I acted very quick and irrational, he told the jury.

He and Cowan had gone to Hermitage that day to visit his brother. They were then headed to pick up Cowans girlfriend, but Hill didnt know exactly where they were going.

Hill said Kaufman cut them off right after they got in the interstate. Cowan swerved around her, and Hill fired with the gun that was on his lap.

Hill had smoked marijuana, done a little cocaine and taken a Xanax that day.

Although Hill couldnt recall what Cowan had said when Kaufman cut them off, he remembered Cowan asking him what he was thinking.

I should have known it was dangerous, he said.

On cross-examination, Assistant District Attorney Jan Norman agreed. He should have known it was dangerous because he had shot three people before, she said.

The jury did not hear that the three people were Hills grandmother, a 12-year-old and a 6-year-old.

Norman also asked Hill several times if he was covering for Cowan. Hill said he had lied to police to protect Cowan, but he was telling the truth that Cowan had nothing to do with it.

I did all the crime myself. He didnt tell me to do it, Hill said. He didnt help me do it.

Hill didnt realize he had killed someone until a few hours later when someone mentioned a news story. He looked up the story himself. He started doing drugs and avoiding people.

At Cowans birthday party a few days after the shooting, Hill said he was high on drugs. He said he didnt want to get taken away from his two kids.

Hill also disagreed with the story that his childhood friend, Jacques Merrell-Odom, told the jury earlier in the week.

Merrell-Odom said Hill asked him to get rid of the gun a few days after the shooting and that Hill told several people.

Hill said he told only Merrell-Odom, and it was Merrell-Odom who said he could get rid of the gun the day after the shooting. Hills search history records presented Friday seemed to bear that out.

I would rather be judged for my story than for what yall are saying, Hill told Norman, who argued that Hill made several decisions, including picking up the gun and shooting six times.

Shes trying to show the jury that Hill acted with enough reflection and judgment to constitute first-degree murder.

The jury heard from one other defense witness: a firearms expert who testified that shots could be fired from the murder weapon very quickly and that the shot pattern on the car wasnt consistent with a driver pacing her car.

Court will resume Monday at 9 a.m. with possible rebuttal proof from the state and closing arguments.
State Rep. Gene Pelowski of Winona was honored Friday for the work he has done to help newspapers across Minnesota  including the Winona Daily News.

Pelowski, along with State Sen. John Jasinski, were honored with the Friends of Minnesota Newspapers Awards during a luncheon Friday as part of the Minnesota Newspaper Associations annual convention.

MNA president Chad Koenen explained that the award is given to individuals who have worked to help advance and protect freedoms of press and speech.

Koenen explained that Pelowski and Jasinski were honored for their continuous support of the states newspapers, along with their authorship of bill HF 3682, which requires that public notices be published in the electronic as well as the physical editions of Minnesota newspapers.

According to a press release on March 21, 2022, the day the bill was approved by the Minnesota House of Representatives, Additionally, the bill requires that the newspapers post the notice on the Minnesota Newspaper Associations public notice website and make the public notice section of their website free to the public. The bill also standardizes the space requirement for public notices by eliminating a population threshold and replacing it with a qualification that the newspaper be of general circulation in the area or where it is likely that the intended recipients will become aware of the notice.

Gov. Tim Walz signed the bill into law May 19, 2022.

Jasinski was unable to attend the luncheon Friday, as the Minnesota Senate was locked in a debate for 15 hours Friday into Saturday morning about a bill strengthening the states abortion rights protections.

When Pelowski accepted the award Friday, his focus wasnt necessarily on himself and his own actions  instead taking the time to talk about those who have helped him with his work to support the states media, including retired River Valley Media Group editor Rusty Cunningham.

Pelowski recalled the work Cunningham did to help push major pieces of legislation related to newspapers, including one piece that was focused on access to public information.

On Friday, Cunningham shared his praises for Pelowski and the work that he has done to help newspapers over the years.

Gene Pelowski has long been a champion of government transparency and openness  a true friend to newspapers and all citizens, Cunningham said. Gene played a key role in working to strengthen government openness when Darrell Ehrlick and I were honored with the Friend of Newspaper Award in 2011.

As a career educator, he models public accountability and ethical behavior. Were so fortunate to have his leadership, Cunningham continued.

Pelowski also shared Friday about his connections with Winonas local media, including how Pelowskis have a history of 100 years working at the Winona Daily News.

During part of that time, Pelowski was campaigning for his current position, which led to his family having a very inside look at every campaign move he made and would tell him when he was doing a good job.

Pelowski, after sharing that story on Friday, said to MNA in response to the award, Thank you for telling me Im still doing a good job.

IN PHOTOS & VIDEOS: Winona's Little Warriors in 2022 Upside down Winona's Little Warriors Winona's Little Warriors Winona's Little Warriors Winona's Little Warriors Winona's Little Warriors Winona's Little Warriors Winona's Little Warriors Winona's Little Warriors Winona's Little Warriors Winona's Little Warriors Winona's Little Warriors Winona's Little Warriors Winona's Little Warriors Winona's Little Warriors Winona's Little Warriors Winona's Little Warriors Winona's Little Warriors Winona's Little Warriors Winona's Little Warriors Winona's Little Warriors Winona's Little Warriors Winona's Little Warriors Winona's Little Warriors Winona's Little Warriors Winona's Little Warriors Winona's Little Warriors Winonas Little Warriors celebrate Christmas Andre Bailey leads Winona's Little Warriors during their practice Winona's Little Warriors perform during their practice Winona's Little Warriors Drumline performs at riverboat docking
The Mississippi River-Winona and La Crescent Watershed last week hosted a public hearing for a review of their watershed plan.

After two years of work creating the plan and a 60-day formal review from Oct. 5 to Dec. 5, the 10-person WinLaC Policy Committee listened to public comments after a presentation of their plan.

Hosted Thursday on the Minnesota State College Southeast Winona campus, county water planner Sheila Harmes started the presentation by outlining WinLaCs planning process.

The policy committee, early on, felt it was important to establish mission and vision statements. They decided they wanted to provide the citizens of this watershed with clean water, balanced ecosystem, sustainable farmland and diverse healthy communities through this watershed plan once its implemented, said Harmes. In the vision statement, they further wanted to emphasize that this is a collaborative effort. The main thing is that they didnt want to have a plan that was sitting on the shelf collecting dust.

WinLaCs purpose in creating One Watershed, One Plan is to align water planning along watershed boundaries instead of jurisdictional boundaries as counties have done in the past. The plan consists of two U.S. Geological Survey watersheds: portions of the Mississippi River-Winona watershed and the Mississippi River-La Crescent watersheds.

The plan looks at how water flows across the landscape, regardless of political boundaries. The benefit this does is that we are looking at the watershed systemically, also it helps to promote collaborative efforts among the local partners, said Harmes. It is not, by default, establishing a new layer of government. They want to stay at the collaborative level. What that does is focus on existing local partnerships and collaboration efforts through the planning process and the implementation.

The WinLaC watershed plan broke down their 34 issues identified in the plan into three priority categories. Priority A issues ranked highest among the WinLaC partnership and are to be addressed first, followed by Priority B issues, then Priority C throughout the plans 10-year timeframe. Each issue, additionally, was divided into four resource categories being groundwater, surface water, land use, and habitat and recreation.

Among a crowd of 30 community members, nine people gave comments to the policy committee. With repeated themes around nitrates in well water, the feasibility of the plans goals being completed in 10 years, and measurable fish kills in the area, the policy committee was only allowed to listen to comments and take notes.

Following the open public comment, the policy committee held a meeting to vote on whether to send the plan forward for approval from the 10 parties involved: the counties of Houston, Olmsted, Wabasha and Winona; the Olmsted, Root River, Wabasha County and Winona County Soil and Water Conservation District Board of Supervisors; the Stockton-Rollingstone-Minnesota City Watershed District; and the city of Winona.

The policy committee approved the plan to move forward for further approval.

Chris Meyer, who is on the WinLaC policy committee and a Winona County commissioner, said, For us, at Winona County, the next steps are to approve the plan and that will get us in the queue for the next round of funding.

You can see we have a lot of folks who are really concerned about water quality and Im grateful for that. Im grateful for all the attention that they pay, said Meyer. At a local level, we are maximizing what we can with this plan and the funding that we get through the plan. But what we really need is action and more funding. I am grateful that the plan is done and that we get to move forward on implementation. Thats important.

For more information, and to see the WinLaC watershed plan in its entirety, you can visit their website at https://bit.ly/WinLaC1W1P.

In Photos: The Great River Road in Wisconsin and Minnesota
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP)  The Memphis police chief on Saturday disbanded the unit whose officers beat to death Tyre Nichols as the nation and the city struggled to come to grips with video showing police pummeling the Black motorist.

Police Director Cerelyn CJ Davis said she listened to Nichols' relatives, community leaders and uninvolved officers in making the decision.

Keep scrolling for a complete timeline of Tyre Nichols' arrest, death

It is in the best interest of all to permanently deactivate the Scorpion unit, she said in a statement. She said the officers currently assigned to the unit agree unreservedly" with the step.

The footage released Friday left many unanswered questions about the traffic stop involving the Black motorist and about other law enforcement officers who stood by as he lay motionless on the pavement.

The five disgraced former Memphis Police Department officers, who are also Black, have been fired and charged with murder and other crimes in Nichols death three days after the arrest.

The recording shows police savagely beating Nichols, a 29-year-old FedEx worker, for three minutes while screaming profanities at him in an assault that the Nichols family legal team has likened to the infamous 1991 police beating of Los Angeles motorist Rodney King. Nichols calls out for his mother before his limp body is propped against a squad car and the officers exchange fist-bumps.

The five officers  Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith  face up to 60 years in prison if convicted of second-degree murder.

Davis has said other officers are under investigation, and Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner said two deputies have been relieved of duty without pay while their conduct is investigated. Read the full story here:

Here is the timeline of events in the arrest and death of Tyre Nichols  and what's followed Jan. 7, 2023 Jan. 8 Jan. 15 Jan. 16 Jan. 18 Jan. 20 Jan. 23 Jan. 24 Jan. 25 Jan. 26 Jan. 27 Jan. 28
Before CNN on Friday night aired body camera footage of the five Memphis police officers charged with beating Tyre Nichols to death, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown gathered between 30 and 40 people  government officials, police and clergy, among others  in the lobby outside his City Hall office to watch.

Casimiro D. Rodriguez, president emeritus and founder of the Hispanic Heritage Council, was invited by Brown to watch the video and then speak at a vigil for Nichols outside City Hall. He said watching the body-cam footage, which shows Nichols being pepper sprayed, beaten with a baton and punched repeatedly, was "very emotional."

"You could hear a pin drop," Rodriguez said of the group of Buffalo leaders. "There was a lot of emotion. I heard some weeping.

"It was very moving for us as leaders to see such a devastating video of police brutality while being shoulder-to-shoulder with the police of our city," he continued.

After that, Rodriguez, Brown, Buffalo police officers, and other community leaders gathered on the steps of City Hall to pray and call for healing and action. Some clergy members sang religious songs and those in attendance lit candles in remembrance of Nichols.

Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, was pulled over on suspicion of reckless driving the night of Jan. 7 before he was brutally beaten by five Memphis police officers, who are also Black.

He died three days later.

Nichols' family described him as a gentle, kind and joyful man who was quirky and true to himself. He loved skateboarding, photography and sunsets. Nichols was a father to a 4-year-old son.

The five officers have been fired and charged with second-degree murder, assault and kidnapping, among other charges. More officers are under investigation, Memphis Police Chief C.J. Davis said, and the U.S. Attorney's Office has launched a civil rights investigation.

Buffalo Common Council President Darius Pridgen said he believes the protests of the past  such as those that happened after George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police  are one reason this incident was not "swept under the rug" and that legal action was taken against the officers.

"The first parts of justice have begun to roll," Pridgen said at the vigil.

But, that's not enough, Pridgen's Common Council colleague Rasheed N.C. Wyatt said in an interview with The Buffalo News. Changes need to be made.

"When will we be cared about enough to put something in place? I'm not saying all police are bad," Wyatt said. "We know that's not true. But we've got to address the bad police officers. Putting them in jail and those things, yeah, that might be the justice that we want, but we don't want to be in that position."

Wyatt said he believes federal and state governments need to overturn qualified immunity, a legal doctrine that protects state and local government officials, including police officers, from being sued for their actions in civil court.

Some states, such as Colorado, Connecticut and New Mexico, have either ended qualified immunity altogether or limited its application in court cases. State Democrats have introduced a bill to end qualified immunity in New York.

At a public safety event in Albany on Tuesday, Gov. Kathy Hochul said she doesn't support repealing qualified immunity because that could exacerbate an ongoing shortage of law enforcement officers, Spectrum News reported.

"What do we have to do?" Wyatt questioned. "How many Black people have to die? How many individuals have to die at the arms of police before we do something? Those other arguments don't hold water to me because we are dying at an alarming rate. We're incarcerated at an alarming rate. There's something wrong with the system, but they don't seem to want to fix it."

Buffalo NAACP President Rev. Mark Blue during the vigil called on the city government to address how Buffalo can prevent police brutality.

"We know the injustice that has been done cannot be undone in our eyes," Blue said. "But something that we can do is make sure it does not happen again. In this city, in this state, in our country. We do need police reform, but we need good police reform."

Brown, in an interview with The Buffalo News, pointed to a number of actions the city has taken in recent years to improve its police force  including creating a police reform plan, increasing training for officers, mandating officers wear body cameras, implementing a city surveillance system and passing a duty-to-intervene law for police  but didn't mention any additional reforms the city is looking at in the wake of Nichols' death.

Brown called the Memphis officers' actions against Nichols "brutal" and "inhumane." He said the video was difficult to watch, which is why he wanted to bring community leaders together to view the footage so they could support one another.

To the city of Buffalo community that has already endured many tragedies in the past year, Brown's message was: "It is OK not to feel OK.

"It's OK to be angry, to be fearful, to feel confusion by what happened and it's OK to speak to someone," he continued. "Speak to family, friends. Speak to a mental health professional."
Song Yanqun (L), minister-counselor for culture at the Chinese embassy in Australia, visits an exhibition with Frances Adamson, governor of South Australia, during the "China Today" arts week in Adelaide, Australia, on Jan. 28, 2023. [Photo by Lyu Wei/Xinhua]

ADELAIDE, Australia, Jan. 28 (Xinhua)  The "China Today" arts week was launched in Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia, on Saturday in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Australia.

Co-hosted by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, the Chinese embassy in Australia, the Consulate-General of China in Adelaide and the Adelaide Festival Center, the arts week runs till March 19.

It features an exhibition of ceramic artwork from China's Jiangxi province and paintings and prints from the northeastern Heilongjiang Province.

The 50 items from Jingdezhen, a world-famous porcelain town in Jiangxi, were created by three generations of inheritors of an intangible cultural heritage, while the 39 works chosen from traditional Chinese paintings, oil paintings, prints, watercolor and other forms of art showed the scenery of northeastern China as well as people's life there.

Frances Adamson, governor of South Australia, said in her speech that having worked in China for years, she had developed an appreciation for Chinese art forms.

"Previously as a diplomat and now a governor, I have seen the important role the arts can play in diplomacy, and strengthening people-to-people relations," she said.

Douglas Gautier, CEO of the Adelaide Festival Center, noted that cultural collaboration between China and Australia helped enhance understanding between peoples.

"Our audiences here get to see those wonderful items. And equally, the whole cultural sector of Australia over years has been taking Australian artists to China," he added. "That collaboration is a positive thing."

"Culture works as a bridge," said Song Yanqun, minister-counselor for culture at the Chinese embassy in Australia.

He believed that the exhibition, launched for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties and during the Chinese Lunar New Year, had special significance, hoping that many Australian people could visit.

Frances Adamson, governor of South Australia, delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of "China Today" arts week in Adelaide, Australia, on Jan. 28, 2023. The "China Today" arts week was launched in Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia, on Saturday in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Australia. [Photo by Lyu Wei/Xinhua]

Douglas Gautier, CEO of the Adelaide Festival Center, delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of "China Today" arts week in Adelaide, Australia, on Jan. 28, 2023. The "China Today" arts week was launched in Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia, on Saturday in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Australia. [Photo by Lyu Wei/Xinhua]

This photo taken on Jan. 28, 2023 shows ceramic artwork displayed during the "China Today" arts week in Adelaide, Australia. The "China Today" arts week was launched in Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia, on Saturday in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Australia. [Photo by Lyu Wei/Xinhua]

(Source: Xinhua)
Alibaba Group, China's e-commerce giant, in May 2021 dispatched Liu Lin, a senior employee with the group, to Qinglong Manchu Autonomous County (in Qinhuangdao, a city in North China's Hebei Province), to work as a rural ombudswoman. During the past year, Liu has yielded fruitful results in helping rural residents promote agricultural products, via livestreaming.

In August 2021, Liu asked workers with Alibaba's Hema supermarket to conduct a blindfold test, so they could decide whether the chestnuts produced in Qinglong or Qianxi (a county in Tangshan, another city in Hebei Province) tasted better. Eventually, Hema authorized Qinglong as its supplier of chestnuts. Since then, many residents of Qinglong have called Liu the "Chestnut Princess." During the summer of 2022, Liu led workers of Alibaba in developing popsicles made from sugar-fried chestnuts. The products have sold well in many regions of the country.

During the past year, Liu has helped many rural women promote agricultural products, via livestreaming. Encouraged by Liu, Han Wenliang, a university graduate from Qinglong, quit her well-paying job, as an employee with an enterprise in Qinghuangdao, and returned home to start her business online last year. Given Liu's help, Han's business boomed.

During the past year, Liu has provided, free of charge, training to 4,800 rural residents (including 3,300 women) of Qinglong, so they could learn how to operate e-businesses. Given Liu's help, more than 600 women have found work or started their own businesses. Before Liu arrived in Qinglong, the county established nine Taobao (China's largest online shopping platform owned by Alibaba Group) stores. Now, Wuzhishan (a village in Qinglong), alone, has more than 50 Taobao stores.

Liu is pleased to see her efforts  to help farmers (in Qinglong) live better lives  have yielded fruitful results. She is also pleased she has helped many rural women realize their potential as entrepreneurs. That, in turn, has promoted rural vitalization.

Li Cuifen, 57, a resident of Muma, a village in Qinglong, is grateful to Liu, who asked her to participate in an online activity (held by Taobao in early 2022) to promote the sales of farmers' agricultural products. During the past several months, Li has received more than 1,000 orders for chestnuts from customers (from across the country). More than 99 percent of customers have revisited her Taobao store.

During the past three years, Alibaba Group has sent 27 workers to more than 20 less-developed counties (in various regions of the country). "Rural ombudswomen have advantages in helping rural residents escape poverty through hard work. For example, the women tend to be thoughtful and have a strong affinity, and they have good communication and coordination skills," Liu has been quoted as saying.

She hopes the ombudswomen's experiences in promoting rural vitalization will help guide other counties (in various regions of the country) as they strive to promote rural vitalization.

Qinglong has more than 2,000 certified chestnut trees aged 100 or older. To protect the valuable trees, Liu earlier this year initiated a project, under which residents of Qinglong can provide financial assistance to farmers, so the farmers can use the money to take care of the trees. Liu also asked professors with Hebei Agricultural University and agricultural technicians (dispatched by Alibaba, to provide, free of charge, training to farmers, so they could learn farming and breeding skills) to join her in implementing the project. "Isn't it great the professors and technicians can use scientific and technological knowledge to both protect the old trees, and to help farmers increase chestnut trees' production, so they can increase their families' incomes?" asks Wang Qingcai, head of Liangshuihe, a township in Qinglong.

Liu is pleased an increasing number of residents (of Qinglong) have joined her in helping farmers increase the production of chestnut trees during the past year. "We hope, through our efforts, all residents will live better lives. We also hope more residents will join us in promoting rural vitalization," says Han.

Earlier this year, Qinglong's chestnuts were designated as one of the traditional Chinese foods supplied in Beijing Olympic Village (Winter Paralympic Village). At roughly the same time, Liu was chosen to be a torchbearer during the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games (held in February). "I take pride in becoming a torchbearer for the Olympics. I would not have had the opportunity to relay the torch, had I not worked as a rural ombudswoman in Qinglong," Liu said, during an interview with CCTV (China Central Television), in February.

(Women of China English Monthly November 2022 issue)
Authorities are looking for Johnny Shane Brown, 51, of Robertsville, Tennessee, left, and Albert Lee Ricketson, 31, of Abingdon, Virginia, right, who escaped from a recreational yard at the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail Authority in Abingdon, Virginia.
West to deliver 321 tanks to Ukraine, says diplomat, as North Korea accuses US of 'crossing the red line'
David Carrick, a police officer for more than 20 years, pled guilty to 49 sex offences last week, making him one of Britains most prolific sex offenders.

His admission, which includes 24 counts of rape while a serving officer, involves 12 women between 2003 and 2020. His last attack occurred only months after the abduction, rape and murder of Sarah Everard by another Metropolitan Police officer, Wayne Couzens, on March 3, 2021. Both men were part of the elite Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command, the largest armed police unit in the UK. Thought to number 700 officers, it is responsible for guarding diplomats, government ministers and buildings.

David Carrick [Photo: Leeds Live/Facebook]

Couzenss crime caused a woman to come forward and report that she had been raped in 2021 by Carrick, who she met through the Tinder dating app. He used his police role to gain her trust, showing off his warrant card and boasting that he protected famous people, including then Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Carrick was arrested by Hertfordshire Constabulary, but after the victim decided not to proceed he was reissued with a firearms licence. Other women came forward. The court heard Carrick told one of his victims, I can kill you without leaving any evidence. All his victims said they did not think they would be believed against a police officer.

Carrick was a sadist who humiliated his victims, including by urinating on them and forcing them naked into a tiny understairs cupboard in his home where they were imprisoned for hours. He pleaded guilty to a total of 85 offences and will be sentenced next week.

Nicknamed Bastard Dave by his colleagues, Carricks propensity for cruelty was well known. He had been reported for abusive and violent behaviour on at least nine occasions during his career, without action being taken. He was the subject of five complaints from members of the public during his Met service, none of which were actioned. Three further public complaints, including the use of force, were dismissed, or subsequently withdrawn.

In 2009, he was transferred to the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command. More complaints followed, including harassment and a drunken incident at a nightclub, but Carrick kept his position and his gun, leaving him free to torture more victims.

The exposure of Carricks crimes has seen much wringing of hands by the powers-that-be. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said his abuse of power was absolutely despicable, while Sir Mark Rowley, who became head of the Met in September, said, We failed as investigators and as leaders, our mindset should have been more determined to root out such a misogynist.

The Met claimed that new vetting procedures, introduced after the murder of Sarah Everard, meant Carrick would have been uncovered. The Met was placed under special measures last year after further exposures of bullying, racial discrimination, and misogyny.

At least 16 Metropolitan Police officers have been convicted of crimes since Sarah Everards killing, including 12 for sexual offences or violence against women. Rowley was forced to admit that the Met is reviewing a total of 1,633 cases of alleged sexual or domestic violence by 1,071 officers and staff over the past decade to root out potential predators. This includes four Met officers under investigation for strip-searching a 15-year-old girl in police cells.

Speaking at the London Assemblys Police and Crime Committee, Rowley said that two or three criminal cases against his officers are expected to go to court each week over the next months and that the public should prepare for more painful stories as we confront cases that corrupt our integrity.

The shocking admissions have led to demands for an inquiry and police reform, as opinion polls show widespread mistrust in the police. Labours home affairs spokesperson, Yvette Cooper, pledged the next Labour government will introduce new national compulsory standards on vetting, checks and misconduct. We urgently need action to raise standards and restore confidence in the vital work the police do.

The Economist opined, Predators thrive in institutions that smooth access to victims. The Metropolitan Police Service is no exception.

In the Guardian, Jonathan Freedland argued, The Metropolitan police is a diseased institution.

All the prescriptions for remedy, however, have been heard before and will change nothing.

Freedland cites the Macpherson Inquiry in 1998 into the murder of 18-year-old Stephen Lawrence in Plumstead, southeast London on April 22, 1993, by six white youths. Macpherson ruled that police failures in investigating his murder were the result of institutional racism and recommended diversity training and increasing the recruitment of black and Asian officers.

Now, Freedland argues, as a first step, there needs to be a Macpherson-style investigation of misogyny in the Met.

London Metropolitan Police New Scotland Yard headquarters [Photo by Matt Brown/Flickr / CC BY 2.0

Just as the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was found to be mistrusted by half the population of Northern Ireland and replaced with a new service the Met has similarly lost the confidence of half the population its meant to serve: namely, women. The remedy should be the same for London as it was for Northern Ireland: scrap the Met and start again.

The Macpherson inquiry changed nothing in terms of police brutality, especially against ethnic minorities. Black and Asian police numbers rose from 3.5 percent in 2005 to 8.1 percent in 2022. That did not save the life of Chris Kaba, a 24-year-old who was unarmed when he was shot through the car windscreen in south London by a Met officer on September 5, 2022.

There are now more female police officers (50,364) than ever, making up almost 35 percent of overall numbers. Some 42.5 percent of police recruited since April 2020 are women, but that didnt save Sarah Everard or Carricks victims. Up until September 2022, the Met was headed by Cressida Dick, promoted to the position after she oversaw the anti-terror operation that led to the police killing of innocent Brazilian immigrant worker Jean Charles de Menezesshot to death and hit at point blank range 11 times on July 22, 2005.

Nothing better exposes the fallacy that greater diversity will lessen police brutality than the savage January 7 murder of Tyre Nichols, by five African-American police officers in Memphis, Tennessee.

As for the RUC, the overwhelmingly Protestant force was dissolved to create the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) to facilitate the incorporation of Sinn Fein into the new power-sharing structures set out in the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. The RUC was unable to operate effectively in Catholic areas and the PSNI was considered a more credible means for the police to stamp their authority across the whole of Northern Ireland.

The PSNI is currently mired in scandal after allegations of concerning officer sexual predation, misogyny, domestic abuse and the use of social media groups. A review by the Northern Ireland Policing Board identified an increase in cases of misconduct that has seen 11 officers dismissed last year among 130 gross misconduct cases.

As Friedrich Engels explained, the police are special bodies of armed men, established and maintained to defend the capitalist system based on class exploitation and are the enforcers of inequality and oppression.

Behind all the talk of reform, the police are being given extraordinary powers as the ruling elite in the UK, as the world over, responds to the economic, social and health catastrophe it has created by adopting ever more authoritarian methods of rule.

In addition to the passage last year of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, which criminalised peaceful protests, the government is bringing forward a new Public Order Bill that will allow police to outlaw protests even before they have taken place, and expand stop and search powers.

On Monday, parliament will hear the second reading of the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill making its way rapidly to the statue books, which will prevent workers from taking effective strike action by forcing those in important public servicesover five millionto keep working under work notices during industrial action or face the sack.

Police impunity is being strengthened, not weakened, as the police are given carte blanche to act ever more openly as an instrument of state violence against working people.

Changing this requires that workers understand the political and social function of the police in capitalist society. The task is not police reform but the overthrow of the entire state apparatus and reorganising society to meet social need not, private profit.
Scott Propeack, a three-time interim executive director of the Burchfield Penney Art Center, is finally having "interim" lifted from his title.

Propeack, named to the position Wednesday by the museum's board of directors, did not lack for qualifications. The 52-year-old director previously served as Burchfield Penney's deputy director, registrar, associate curator, chief curator and collections and exhibitions manager.

"I can now speak as the director, and that stability is important because there are a lot of things I want to do with the Burchfield, and investing in a direction when you have an interim status is next to impossible," Propeack said.

"Few people have the breadth and depth of knowledge as Scott does for this position," said Janet Wetter, who chairs Burchfield Penney's board of trustees. "He brings a wealth of experience, a passion for the arts and an understanding of our mission, as well as being so actively engaged with the art world, both locally and nationally."

Propeack, who grew up in Middletown in the Hudson Valley, came to Buffalo to attend the University at Buffalo, where he received a bachelor's degree in business administration. He started working at the museum, located on the campus of SUNY Buffalo State, as a temporary registrar replacement in August 1997 and moved into the permanent position four months later, beginning his long climb through the organization.

Scott Propeack: Burchfield Penney Art Center's unsung hero He has been associate director, chief curator, collections and exhibitions manager, museum registrar and three-time interim director.

Donald Metz, Burchfield Penney's associate director when Propeack began, was an important influence.

Metz believed exhibitions should be about the stories the Burchfield Penney wanted to tell, including how the art interacted with popular culture and what was going on in the world, rather than being limited to a narrow, scholarly approach, Propeack said.

Metz encouraged Propeack to start organizing exhibitions at the museum.

One of Propeack's first projects was "Signals from the Electronic Cloud," a survey show of electronic media artists he worked on with Metz and John Opera. Other exhibitions Propeack curated include "Jack Drummer: The Effects of Time," "Women's Work: Suffrage Movements 1848-1965  Caitlin Cass" and "Art and Craft Media 2021."

Propeack became co-interim director with Metz and Caroline Morris-Hunt in 2010 after director Ted Pietrzak departed, two years after the museum relocated to a new 84,000-square-foot building. He became associate director and chief curator when Tony Bannon was hired as director in 2012, and co-interim director in 2017 upon Bannon's departure. That lasted until Dennis Kois was hired from Milwaukee to be the new director in 2019.

When Kois left after 22 months, Propeack, whose job description now included fundraising, was asked to adopt the "interim" tag a third time, this time worn by him alone.

Propeack sees a bright future ahead for the museum.

"The Burchfield Penney still has exciting ways to grow and to be active in the arts in our community," Propeack said.

The museum's budget is $3.6 million, with 26 full-time and six part-time employees. Last year saw 70,000 visitors, with 15,000 to 20,000 of them Buffalo school students.

Propeack said he is excited about launching new programs for Buffalo students, doing more to help build the careers of the next generation of museum professionals and establishing regional satellite locations.

"Museums have always been like, oh, here's that building in this place, and that's where you go instead of saying that we exist to serve a community, and we should also be going to them," he said.

"Our mission is to serve our community, and all the quirkiness about our region is reflected in our own cultural DNA," he said. "There are very few regional museums in the U.S., and there are also very few that have the deep dedication to a single artist like we do," Propeack said, referring to Charles E. Burchfield, a painter best known for watercolor landscapes that the museum was established to collect and exhibit when it opened in 1966.

Charles Burchfield's work is displayed in 25% of the museum's exhibitions, with the other 75% representing the history and the emerging artists of Western New York, Propeack said. There are files on over 2,500 artists in Burchfield's archives, and artworks by over 600 artists.

The Burchfield Penney also is the repository for over 1,100 photographs by the heralded Buffalo social documentary photographer Milton Rogovin.

Prepeack is looking forward to the May 25 reopening of the Buffalo AKG Art Museum, formerly the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, which has been closed since Nov. 4, 2019. The $195 million expansion is expected to attract visitors from around the world to see the museum's renowned collection of modern and contemporary art.

"I think it's fantastic for us and it's fantastic for Western New York artists," Propeack said. "When people go to any other city and go to a museum, they are usually in clusters and everybody benefits."

While the Buffalo AKG will seek to drive visitors from around the country and internationally, the Burchfield Penney plans to use its marketing dollars to double down on its support for local organizations that Propeack said also strengthens the museum's work.

That was done in 2022 with the Beau Fleuve Music & Arts Celebration and with Play/Ground. Buffalo Center for Arts & Technology, Buffalo Literary Center and Squeaky Wheel are other organizations that Burchfield Penney looks forward to supporting, Propeack said.
The endorsement meeting for Cheektowaga town Democrats was unusual for several reasons.

The incumbent town supervisor was not seeking re-election, but looking for an endorsement for a Town Board seat. A councilman sent an email to committee members accusing Supervisor Diane Benczkowski of gaining tax exemptions to which she was not entitled.

And the race for highway superintendent required extra ballots to produce a winner.

Benczkowski, through her attorney, Gary D. Borek, denied any wrongdoing. Borek said Councilman Brian Pilarski, who sent the accusatory email before the meeting, was wrong on the facts and the law.

"It's completely false, completely wrong," Borek said.

Benczkowski's father, Norbert J. Liss, set up a life estate for his Strasmer Road home. He had veteran and enhanced STAR property exemptions. He spent winters with a daughter in Connecticut, and at one point was in a skilled nursing facility, Borek said. He died June 4, 2022, and the property went to his daughters.

But his death came after March 1, the taxable status date that reflects ownership and exemptions of property.

The changes in ownership and exemptions cannot be updated until March 1 this year. Borek said any taxes owed because the exemptions ended with a property owner's death are tacked onto the following year's tax bill.

Borek said Liss was entitled to the exemptions, and the Strasmer Road home was his primary residence, or domicile, and that did not change if he stayed in Connecticut.

Pilarski said in the email to committee members the property must be "homeowner occupied" and that was not the case since 2019/2020.

"To me this is tax fraud, and that is why I have asked for an investigation to be conducted into this matter," Pilarski wrote in the email.

He said in the message that he would be late to the endorsement meeting and would not have the opportunity to address the committee in person. He also wrote that he asked the state attorney general, Erie County Real Property Tax Services Office and Depew Central Schools to investigate.

Pilarski wrote that he would not support Benczkowski because of the tax issue, "the many lies I have been told from the supervisor, the poor handling of the blizzard and other issues."

Borek said someone also contacted the Erie County District Attorney's Office. He said Benczkowski would not bring a defamation action "even though on the facts it looks as though it was done for purposes of keeping her from getting the vote."

Benczkowski did not win the endorsement for a council seat at the Jan. 9 meeting. The endorsements for three seats went to Kenneth Young and incumbents Gerald Kaminski and Linda Hammer.

Current Councilman Brian Nowak won the endorsement for supervisor, incumbent Town Clerk Kimberly A. Burst and Justice David Stevens also were endorsed for re-election.

There were three candidates for highway superintendent, and two ballots. Former Councilman Richard Rusiniak won over deputy Highway Superintendent Charlie Markel and Darryl Stachura.
A 20-year-old Buffalo man is in stable condition in Erie County Medical Center following a shooting incident shortly after midnight Saturday, Buffalo police spokesman Michael J. DeGeorge reported.

According to the report, the man arrived at ECMC in a private vehicle just after 12:30 a.m. after being shot in the leg area.

Detectives are trying to determine whether the shooting took place in the vicinity of East Delavan and Bailey avenues, DeGeorge said.

Anyone with information is asked to call or text the Buffalo Police confidential Tipcall line at 716-847-2255.
Harrison and his wife hiking in El Cajas National Park on the continental divide in the Andes, just outside of Cuenca, Ecuador.

Lee Harrison never thought he'd retire at the age of 49  13 years earlier than when he had planned. He definitely didn't expect that he'd be retired in Ecuador of all places. But at 70, he's happier than ever with his decision, he said.

"My father worked until he was 62, which I thought was great and my idea of early retirement at the time," he told USA TODAY.

In his late 40s, Harrison was working in New York as a writer, and his wife, Julie, was a project manager at an energy company. While he didn't have a lot of savings, he worked at a company that offered an early retirement package with a pension when you hit 50, he said.

On a visit to his in-laws in Arizona, Harrison was browsing in a bookstore and came across a book about moving to Costa Rica, where the cost of living is lower than in the U.S. and the weather is ideal.

A lightbulb went off. What if the couple retired overseas and was able to live out an adventure?

After evaluating multiple countries, including Spain, Costa Rica and Mexico, they settled on Ecuador.

"It could be that I retire at 49 and stay happily retired for the rest of my life, which would be the case so far," he said. "Or if it's a total failure and I hate Ecuador, then I'll just end up back at my desk in New York again."

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How do you begin the process of retiring abroad?

Thirty years ago, retiring in another country was a fringe idea, according to Kathleen Peddicord, an expert in retiring abroad and the founder of Live and Invest Overseas. "It was way beyond anyone's imagining at the time," she said.

Most people retired in the town they lived in or somewhere sunnier, like Florida or Arizona.

Now, it's a much more accessible and potentially advantageous idea for middle-class Americans.

Story continues

In 2022, there were 443,546 retired Americans receiving Social Security benefits while living abroad, according to the Social Security Administration. That's nearly double the amount from 1999 when 219,504 retired workers received Social Security benefits while living in a foreign country.

The internet has made it "easier to research and find connections and resources to make yourself feel more comfortable," said Peddicord, a Baltimore native who now lives with her family in Paris. Before everything went online, for example, you had to pay your bills by mailing in a check, even from overseas.

At the same time, today's retirees are more traveled than past generations, are living longer and want to make sure they have enough money to carry them through. In 2021, the median income for Americans 65 and up totaled $47,620, yet for the year, all Americans spent about $66,928 on average on costs like food and transportation  a 9.1% increase from 2020.

Others are simply seeking adventure. "Every day is filled with the unexpected," compared to retiring where you've already lived, Peddicord said.

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"Some people will think it's crazy, some people will be terrified. For those who aren't scared of the idea, pursue it and break it down step by step," she said.

That's what Harrison did. Over the next three years, he and his wife looked at cost of living, weather, and access to health care in different countries. The main factor for them was finances.

"Could I stretch what we would get for selling our house and pensions? Could I stretch out that basically forever?" he said.

Finally, they picked Ecuador's third-largest city, Cuenca  after driving around the majority of the country in a rental car.

"It was like being in a different world," he said, referring to the cobblestone streets and old European architecture  its city center is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city is charming and safe, with springtime weather year-round. There are bakeries, outdoor cafes and views of the mountains.

How to consider your finances to move abroad?

It was an affordable place for the Harrisons to live, plus the country uses the U.S. dollar as its currency, so they didn't have to go through complicated money conversions or pay attention to the currency rate. "The places we had lived weren't particularly cheap  like Vermont or New York," he said. At the time, about 20 years ago, they were able to live on a few hundred a month in Cuenca. Currently, a single person can live in Cuenca for approximately $507 a month.

"You can go to Mississippi or Arkansas with a low cost of living, but it's not the same as living somewhere like Ecuador," he added.

To get started, Harrison found a real estate agent and also reached out to the U.S. Embassy to find an English-speaking attorney to figure out how to apply for residency. The couple sold their belongings and house in Vermont and made the move in 2001. They didn't know anyone who lived in Ecuador but were quick to teach themselves Spanish and meet others.

Pricing locals out

To move to most countries, you often have to show proof of sufficient funds to live there or regular monthly income (like from your pension or social security, for example), which vary by country. For example, Peddicord said you need $1,000 a month to qualify for residency in Panama, and it's even less in Colombia. "You either qualify or you don't," she said.

For many Americans, these qualifications are much more affordable than most retire-friendly, warm-weather places in the United States, like Florida. One popular expat destination, Mexico, has about 1.6 million U.S. citizens living within its borders, according to the State Department.

The high number of expats going to these countries hasn't gone without some criticism from locals. With the American dollar going farther in Mexico and other places, expats are automatically given more purchasing power, driving up living costs and gentrification.

Americans are flocking to Mexico: A trend ignored during Biden's immigration-focused visit

Educator and host for the podcast Spanish and Go, May Larios Garcia  who is from Manzanillo, Colima  said that "gentrification is certainly a growing concern" in the country.

"It is important for retired expats to be aware of the potential impact of their presence on local communities," she said. "To mitigate this impact, retired expats can try to integrate into local communities in a respectful and mindful manner." Larios Garcia recommends learning the host language and renting from locals instead of buying property.

Joel Cerna was born and raised in Guadalajara and moved to Puerto Vallarta for about 20 years for work. Puerto Vallarta has recently exploded as a popular tourist and expat destination for Canadians and Americans. He said that the influx of expats brings both good and bad, like new job opportunities and investing more money into the local economy but also "the gentrification of certain areas and the displacement of lower-income residents." Overall, he thinks the benefits outweigh the cons.

How to embrace the new lifestyle

Loving the adventure, the couple has explored more of Latin America, also living in Uruguay, Colombia and Mexico.

Harrison admitted that adjusting to his new life meant a change in "priorities and lifestyle." In the U.S., Harrison had a boat, snowmobiles and a car he only drove on Sundays. When living in Medellin, Colombia, it was easier to forgo a car completely. He said he enjoys having fewer possessions. He's also smitten with the slower pace of life, such as restaurants encouraging diners to take their time and how dinner can end up lasting for hours.

"My biggest motivator was not having to work," Harrison said, adding that he probably lives more comfortably than his parents, who worked their whole lives, did. "There's a lot to be gained."

Below are some tips to get started on retiring abroad by Peddicord and Harrison:

Figure out what matters to you, whether that's being by the ocean or being able to afford property. Harrison also warns people not to get caught up in decision paralysis. "One of the trickier parts is not over-evaluating." Peddicord recommended asking yourself, "What do you want your life to include?"

Create a nest egg so you can cover the security deposit, government fees, plane tickets and other costs that help you get started.

Think about the exchange rate. A place may be affordable now, but over time if the exchange rate changes, that could make you "very vulnerable," Peddicord said. Belize, Panama and Ecuador are countries that use the U.S. dollar, so you don't need to worry about those fluctuations.

If you're nervous to give up everything for a life abroad, "it can be as much or as little as you want," Peddicord said. You can spend a few months in a new country on a tourist visa and rent out your house back home to see how you fare.

Hire an attorney to help with the government process. "Don't be cheap on something that if there's a serious mistake if done wrong could cost you a lot of money," Harrison said, adding that getting a good lawyer "is part of the deal" of safely moving abroad.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Retirement planning abroad: How to save money and retire early
Jan. 2The massive $1.7 trillion congressional omnibus spending bill signed into law Thursday by President Joe Biden contains billions of dollars in support of military infrastructure and diplomatic initiatives in Hawaii and the Pacific as the U.S. seeks to compete with China for influence in the region.

The massive $1.7 trillion congressional omnibus spending bill signed into law Thursday by President Joe Biden contains billions of dollars in support of military infrastructure and diplomatic initiatives in Hawaii and the Pacific as the U.S. seeks to compete with China for influence in the region.

"This measure strengthens our national defense and bolsters our commitments to diplomacy, development and democracy throughout the Indo-Pacific, where the future of our country and world is being determined, " said U.S. Rep. Ed Case, who pushed for the inclusion of many of the provisions. "It also recognizes Hawaii's continued critical role through investments in facilities, personnel and institutions that are integral parts of our overall efforts, in addition to major contributors to our local economy."

Projects that will be funded include $87.9 million for a new barracks on Marine Corps Base Hawaii ; $103 million for upgrading the missile storage facilities at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam ; $111 million for a new company operations facility on Schofield Barracks ; and $29 million for the planned Army National Guard Readiness Center in Kapolei.

Over the past year, tensions have boiled in the Pacific as China clashes with neighbors over maritime territorial and navigation rights, while military activity has increased around Taiwan, a self-ruled island that Beijing considers a rogue territory and has vowed to bring under its control by any means. The U.S. military, for its part, has continuously conducted "freedom of navigation " operations in disputed territories and stepped up support of Taiwan, further stoking tensions with China.

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The bill includes funding for two SSN-774 Virginia class attack submarines that are expected to conduct operations in the Pacific and receive maintenance at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard. The Navy is in the process of building a new $3.5 billion dry dock at the shipyard to service new submarines, which also received $621 million in funding from the bill. The shipyard, which employs about 6, 000 people, is the state's largest industrial employer.

Last year was also a historic year for North Korean missile tests. The country launched more than 90 cruise and ballistic missiles throughout 2022including three final ballistic missiles launched on New Year's Eve. North Korea's missile program and Hawaii's potential vulnerability to attack has been a source of discussion in the islands ever since a 2018 false missile alert amid heightened tensions between Washington and Pyongyang.

The bill includes $164 million for the continued operation of the X-Band Radar, a sea-based missile defense radar known to some Hawaii residents as the "golf ball " because of its large, white-domed appearance. The radar moves between Alaska and Hawaii.

The Hawaii congressional delegation has pushed for beefed-up missile defense for the islands. For years Hawaii lawmakers pinned their hopes on the $1.9 billion Homeland Defense RadarHawaii, a costly and controversial program that the congressional delegation fought to fund despite efforts by the Pentagon under the Trump and Biden administrations to zero out funding.

The project was touted as an opportunity to boost Hawaii's economy with defense dollars and keep the islands safe, but received backlash from residents who argued the costly program would take up space and threaten irreplaceable wildlife habitats and Hawaiian cultural sites. Some critics also argued that the proposed system was unable to detect the latest hypersonic weapons used by China and Russia, and would be rendered redundant by the time it was finished by more efficient space-based systems.

This year the congressional delegation finally stopped pushing the funding for the defense homeland radar, but the bill also calls for an assessment of what should be done to protect Hawaiiwhich some analysts say could be hit within 20 minutes of a North Korean long-range missile launch. The omnibus also includes $393.2 million to fund missile defense in Guam, which falls within range of a wider variety of Chinese and North Korean weapon systems than Hawaii.

The bill adds an additional $1 billion toward the defueling and eventual shutdown of the Navy's underground Red Hill fuel facility that in 2021 caused the contamination of the Navy's water system that serves 93, 000 people on Oahu and sits just 100 feet above a critical aquifer that most of Honolulu relies on for clean water. It also includes a provision directing that the secretary of defense work with the state government to address the growing chasm between military leaders and surrounding communities.

"The military must foster a better relationship with our local community to repair the damaged trust of Red Hill and rebuild support for various critical defense initiatives in our state, " Case said.

The bill also calls for $317 million for environmental restoration of "formerly used defense sites " across the country, including funds intended to accelerate efforts to remove unexploded ordnance and discarded military munitions in Hawaii. Progress has been slow, and an investigation by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser and ProPublica published in November found that the effort in Hawaii, overseen by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, has been plagued by shoddy work and multiple regulatory disputes.

Beyond military spending, the omnibus also seeks to beef up funding for dialogue, diplomacy and development in the region with an eye toward promoting U.S. interests.

The bill includes $22 million in funding for the East-West Center at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. The Hawaii congressional delegation has sought to play up the importance of the Oahu think tankwhich was formally established by Congress in 1960as their fellow lawmakers express renewed interest in Pacific island nations.

China has been investing heavily in the Pacific islands with business and infrastructure projects, and poured money into cultural and education programs to court influence with political and business leaders as well as students and educators in those countries.

The omnibus includes language encouraging the U.S. State Department to increase the number of scholarships available for students from Pacific island countries to study in the United Statesmany of whom chose to study at the University of Hawaiiand increases funding for the State Department's Young Pacific Leaders Program, an initiative for emerging leaders between the ages of 25 and 35 hailing from Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Tonga, Fiji, Solomon Islands and other Pacific nations and territories.

The measure also includes a $20 million increase over the past fiscal year for the Peace Corps, bringing it up to $430.5 million, along with language encouraging the Peace Corps to prioritize the Pacific islands in the return of volunteers. Under former President Donald Trump, the Peace Corps announced it would leave Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia, which have both since signed agreements to host new U.S. military facilities.

As Chinese investment and influence has grown in Oceania, U.S. officials have been trying to play catch-up. In a virtual address to the Pacific Islands Forum in July, Vice President Kamala Harris announced new investments in the Pacific, including new embassies in Kiribati and the Solomon Islandstwo countries where China has made particular gains.

The omnibus calls for continuing the expansion of the U.S. diplomatic presence in the Pacific islands and requires the State Department to create a strategy on trade capacity building in the Pacific islands.

It also recommends expanding the State Department's International Law Enforcement Academy program to the Pacific islands. The program, which was launched in 1995 by former President Bill Clinton to bring law enforcement professionals together to share knowledge and tactics, currently has academies in New Mexico, El Salvador, Hungary, Thailand, Botswana and Ghana.

But as the U.S. and China jockey for influence, many Pacific island nation leaders have said that climate change is their biggest concern.

The omnibus includes $2 billion in its state and foreign operations section for addressing climate change and other environmental programs, and has language recommending $20 million or more to support the Pacific islands. Despite efforts by Pacific Islanders to weather the storm, entire communities already have been finding themselves forced to move by rising tides, and many islands and atolls in the Pacific risk being swallowed by the sea by the end of the century.
A Mayville man arrested on sex charges involving minors has been ordered held following a detention hearing, U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced.

William A. Quinones, 48, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah J. McCarthy on charges of transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity and sex trafficking of a minor.

Prosecutors said Quinones was arrested following an investigation by the Chautauqua County Sheriff's Office into a complaint in July 2021 involving the sexual abuse of children during the previous eight years. In all, investigators discovered that four minors had been victims.

According to a criminal complaint, the victims told investigators they had been raped or threatened with rape and had been threatened with violence against themselves and their families if they revealed what had happened.

The criminal complaint added that one victim said she had subject to sexual contact beginning when she was eight years old, sometimes three or four times a week, and had been paid for sexual contact beginning when she was 13. On one occasion, the victim said, she was taken to Erie, Pa., to pick up drugs, then was subjected to a sexual act in a motel on the way home.
Echoes of "no justice no peace" could be heard in downtown Phoenix on Saturday evening as a crowd gathered to protest the death of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man who died on Jan. 10 from injuries following a severe police beating in Memphis, Tenn.

Speakers from various activist groups across the city stood on the front steps of Phoenix City Hall to speak out about Nichols' death and police brutality in the United States. A crowd full of concerned community members and activists gathered to listen, some holding signs that read, "The people demand: end police terror."

The protest was organized by the Phoenix branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, PSL, and the Phoenix chapter of the Communist Party USA. The organizations both advocate for social justice issues and systemic reform through socialism, according to their websites.

We the people say killer cops are guilty. We demand killer cops be sent to prison. We demand an end to police terror and we demand justice for all victims of police brutality," said Aldo Soberon, a member of PSL Phoenix, his amplified voice drawing the attention of the crowd.

Body camera footage from the five Memphis Police Officers involved in Nichols' beating was released on Jan. 27 by Memphis officials, sparking protests across the nation and re-opening wounds left by past police brutality cases, including those of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.

People gather for a rally at Phoenix City Hall on Jan. 28, 2023, calling for an end to police brutality after Tyre Nichols' death in Memphis, Tennessee.

Soberon descended the city hall steps and passed the megaphone to Percy Christian, a Phoenix-based activist who advocates for social justice issues facing the Black community.

"Theres no words to express how I feel knowing that he lied there for 22 minutes. What does it take?" Christian asked the crowd. "Just two years ago we were kneeling on the ground, we were doing everything we could to gain recognition. But what fundamental changes did we make to protect people like Tyre Nichols? Were still losing. Its hard because were still losing."

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Christian said that for him, the issue of police brutality is a personal one. "I was assaulted by the police, I had charges put on me and I was thrown in jail for nine days so it really impacts me in a very personal way."

A common theme from speakers at the protest was encouraging spectators to not shy away from difficult racial conversations in their communities, emphasizing the importance of grass-roots activism at a local level.

Ramses Ja and Q. Ward, hosts of Civic Cipher, a Phoenix-based radio show dedicated to empowering Black and Brown voices, took the steps to urge community members to utilize their infrastructure to elicit change and make their voices heard.

The Civic Cipher hosts began the radio show in early 2020 as a response to the deaths of Floyd, Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, calling the show a desperate call to action and a recognition of an urgent need for change. They now use it to facilitate difficult societal and cultural discussions with an emphasis on racial justice issues.

'I cant just sit back and do nothing'

The message of community-based change was reflected by the crowd in attendance.

My friend shared something on her Instagram story and then I looked into the case of Tyre Nichols and it was really disturbing, it made me sick to my stomach and I cant just sit back and do nothing so I wanted to come out and see what I could do," said Michelle Taplar, a protestor in the crowd.

Christian recommended Phoenix community members interested in activism follow a lot of organizations who are doing the work," specifically citing Black Lives Matter Phoenix Metro and AZ Poder.

AZ Poder is a group focused on bringing political agency to working-class communities with the hope of dismantling state violence.

Hector Jaramillo, a representative for AZ Poder and a member of the Glendale Elementary School Board who spoke at the protest, said sustainable change is built at the local level and that is the mission of AZ Poder.

"This protest is a way for the Phoenix community to shed light on the injustices in Memphis and really across the nation and to stand in solidarity with all the oppressed folks across the country, to show them that they are not alone in the fight," said Kaimen Slay, a PSL member.

As the sun sank behind the city hall building Soberon ended the protest with one final message to the crowd; "Never let up. We have a world to win and nothing to lose."

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Protestors gather at Phoenix City Hall in wake of Tyre Nichols' death
Iranian officials said that unmanned aerial vehicles struck a munitions facility in the central Iranian city of Isfahan overnight, a result of what US officials on Sunday said was an Israeli operation, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Tehran had not initially placed blame for the attack, and claimed that only minor damage was done to the rooftop of the facility. The Iranian defence ministry further claimed that several drones had been shot down by Iranian ground-to-air defences. It was unclear, based on multiple reports, if any drones survived the operation.

Israeli officials also did not immediately claim credit for the operation, though the Biden administration likely revealed their involvement with tacit support.

It wasnt clear exactly what the attacks intended goal was, but The Wall Street Journal reported that the site of the battle was directly next to a site designated for the Iran Space Research Center, which plays a role in Tehrans ballistic missiles program.

The attack comes at a time of great uncertainty in the field of US-Iran relations. The Biden administration spent much of the presidents first two years in office attempting to revive the Obama-era nuclear accord signed by Iran, the US, and several European countries which was abandoned under the Trump administration. But White House and State Department officials, including the president himself, have recently indicated that the possibility of those talks resulting in success has all but evaporated.

Such operations therefore could become more commonplace in the months and years ahead as the US and Israel seek to hinder Irans various weapons and atomic development programs through nonpolitical and often violent means.

Meanwhile, cities across Iran have been rocked for months by widespread demonstrations in response to the killing of a young woman in police custody. The 22-year-old Mahsa Amini was detained for allegedly wearing a headscarf incorrectly in September; she died after reports say she was severely beaten.

Her death sparked a wave of protests against the countrys so-called morality police and the countrys conservative Muslim government in general; those demonstrations continue even as the Iranian government has responded with a brutal crackdown that has included arrests and sentences as severe as death for some of those caught.

The US Congress has voted in bipartisan fashion to support those protests, with conservatives finding rare common cause with the left on the issue. European legislative bodies have done the same, sparking a wave of retaliatory sanctions by Tehran; the Biden administration meanwhile, has responded with sanctions for a number of senior officials including members of the Revolutionary Guard over the crackdown.
Kevin Owens: WWE Elimination Chamber Being In Montreal Is Great Timing

Image Credit: WWE

Kevin Owens comments on WWE Elimination Chamber being in Montreal.

Following WWE Royal Rumble, the companys next premium live event, Elimination Chamber, will emanate from the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on February 18. Owens and Sami Zayn are both from Canada, so its a safe bet that theyre looking forward to the show. The event will come at an interesting time, as the Royal Rumble ended with a thrilling twist when Zayn turned on Roman Reigns, and The Bloodline proceeded to beat him down.

Speaking with Nick Talbot of MySanAntonio before the Royal Rumble event, Owens briefly commented on WWE Elimination Chamber and noted that its great timing. Owens expressed that both he and Zayn are excited about the show.

Its great timing for sure, and its very exciting to have that show in our hometown, and we are very much both looking forward to it, Owens said.

Owens and Zayn have plenty of history in the ring, both as partners and rivals. In WWE, the two stars have battled on the biggest stage of all, as they faced off at WrestleMania 37 in 2021. In hindsight, Owens stated that he felt like that match marked their peak, but as they remain involved with each other on WWE TV, Owens noted that its gratifying to see that people still want to see them work together.

Honestly, I kind of felt like we hit our peak when we had the massive WrestleMania match against each other, Owens said. Doesnt really get any bigger than that. But now were coming back around to it one more time, and we are involved with each other again. People still want to see it; people still care about it. So thats really gratifying.

At WWE Royal Rumble, Zayn betrayed The Bloodline when Reigns told him to hit Owens with a chair. Owens had already been brutally attacked by the group, and rather than hurting his friend, Zayn hit Reigns with a chair, prompting a vicious beatdown by the stable.

RELATED: Kevin Owens: Stephanie McMahon Has Been Nothing But Amazing To Me

The post Kevin Owens: WWE Elimination Chamber Being In Montreal Is Great Timing appeared first on Wrestlezone.
At least 25 people died Saturday when a bus carrying 60 passengers plunged over a cliff in northwestern Peru, police said.

The bus, belonging to the Qorianka Tours company, had departed from Lima and was en route to Tumbes, on the border with Ecuador, when for unknown reasons it left the road near the town of Organos, according to police.

View of the remains after a bus plunged off a cliff in outside of Lima, Peru. / Credit: Ernesta Benavides via Getty Images

Police said an unknown number of injured passengers were transported to hospitals in El Alto and Mancora, popular resorts some 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) north of Lima.

Several passengers were thrown from the bus while others were trapped inside.

Traffic accidents are common along Peru's roadways. CBS News reported more than 2,600 people were killed in such incidents in 2016. In 2018, at least 30 people were killed when a bus tumbled down a cliff onto a rocky beach Tuesday along a narrow stretch of highway known as the "Devil's Curve," Peruvian police and fire officials said. The highway was subsequently closed to bus traffic by the government.

Peru has been roiled by protests calling for the ousting of President Dina Boluarte and the return to power of her predecessor, whose removal in December launched deadly unrest and cast the nation into political chaos.

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Attendees react to public comments during a special meeting regarding the Marshall mega site in Marshall Township on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023.

Potential development of a nearly 2,000-acre parcel situated near Interstates 94 and 69 in Marshall Township took a considerable step forward Thursday despite opposition from a standing-room only crowd of residents opposed to the measure.

The Marshall Township Board of Trustees voted 4-1 Thursday to approve four separate land transfers with the city of Marshall to allow for utilities at the "Marshall mega site," a property that's being marketed as a premier destination for a large scale manufacturing operation such as an electric vehicle battery or semiconductor facility.

"Site readiness is critically important in this state and its an important aspect of the overall ecosystem of economic opportunity that were looking to bring here in the state," said Josh Hundt, executive vice president and chief projects officer with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. "Having this site ready, its an opportunity to bring jobs, investment and continue to grow the Marshall area, Southwest Michigan, and see our state overall continue to grow, see new businesses and see population growth."

The proposed mega site runs 3.3 miles west to east and 1.5 miles north to south, extending from 12 Mile Road to the east to slightly past 15 Mile Road, and from Michigan Avenue to the north down to the Kalamazoo River.

Potential development of the site is expected to bring 2,000 to 3,000 manufacturing jobs to the area and would "support the vitality of the Marshall community for decades to come," according to Hundt.

The development would also "help pump millions of dollars into the local community, supporting small businesses like restaurants, grocery stores, retail shops and others with a growing customer base," Hundt said. "Additionally, with the planned road projects and infrastructure improvements necessary at the site, the community will be even better equipped to attract new housing developments to continue growing the quality of life for all throughout the Southwest Michigan region."

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Josh Hundt, executive vice president and chief projects officer with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, gives remarks in support of site development during a special meeting regarding the Marshall mega site in Marshall Township on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023.

Thursday's meeting included more than two hours of public comment, with the majority of the 45 speakers voicing their opposition to any future development at the site. Some expressed concerns over the possibility for pollution. Others voiced their desire for the area to remain agricultural land, natural space that offers peace and tranquility for neighboring residents.

Many expressed that township residents, not the board, should be the ones to decide the future of the mega site.

Julie Bryant said she and her husband purchased a home in Marshall Township about three years ago because "we wanted to be in the country, we wanted to see the stars."

Bryant currently works remotely and said she enjoys watching wildlife outside her window each day. She's worried development of the mega site will take that away.

"Were going to be exactly a half mile from where this is going to be," Bryant said. "Whats going to happen to our air? What's going to happen to our land? Whats going to happen to the river? These battery factories are horrible. Theyre going to pollute all of the stuff that we love and kill everything thats there and what about us? What about our water?"

Marshall Township resident Izzy Todd gives remarks against site development during a special meeting regarding the Marshall mega site in Marshall Township on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023.

"I think it should be put to a vote," township resident Izzy Todd said. "At least then people will get their say and if people voted for the (land transfer) to go forward, then wed work with that, (we'd) respect the wishes of our community."

Township Trustee Bob Lyng reminded those in attendance that Thursday's vote was only to approve the land transfers, not a site plan for future development. Any proposed project would have to go before the city and township's joint planning commission for review, with additional opportunities for public comment.

"What were looking at tonight is one item and one item only," Lyng said. "We have had four property owners in the township request us to approve a (land transfer) so the parcels that they own can be transferred into the city of Marshall under the (Public Act) 425 agreement, But thats all we are doing tonight. Theres no site plans  None of this is out there. If it is, I havent heard about it."

Marshall Township officials take a roll call vote during a special meeting regarding the Marshall mega site in Marshall Township on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023.

James Durian, CEO of the Marshall Area Economic Development Alliance, said Marshall has lost roughly 2,000 jobs over the past two decades. The city is also losing population, he said, falling from 7,459 residents in 2000 to just 6,822 residents in 2020.

"We believe the Marshall mega site will help grow our small businesses and offer new career opportunities for Marshall youth, thats why we support the 425 land transfers and the development of the mega site," Durian said, adding, "the mega site will help us turn this trend around."

Township Supervisor Dave Bosserd was the lone board member to vote against the land transfers Thursday.

"This is a real struggle for me, what I see happening," Bosserd said. "My brother put it to me good: We all have a compass, and we let people cloud our compass with money and their ideas but you have to focus and keep your compass where its supposed to be. I know what my views are and it might be different than the rest of the board. ... We might not agree and thats all right."

Marshall Township Supervisor Dave Bosserd responds to comments during a special meeting regarding the Marshall mega site in Marshall Township on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023.

Contact reporter Greyson Steele at gsteele@battlecreekenquirer.com

This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: Marshall Twp. board approves land transfers for proposed mega site
A mountain lion was struck by a vehicle Jan. 23, 2023, at Highway T and Old Highway 100 just north of Villa Ridge in Franklin County, according to Missouri Department of Conservation.

Correction: A typo incorrectly listed the number of confirmed mountain lions documented in the state of Missouri. The actual number is 107 since MDC first began documenting them in 1994.

A rare Missouri mountain lion sighting was reported recently after one of the big cats was hit by a vehicle in Franklin County.

The cougar appeared injured and stunned, but eventually ran away from the scene north of Villa Ridge, which is a little less than a three-hour drive from Springfield.

Missouri Department of Conservation was notified about the incident at 8:30 p.m. Jan. 23, but could not find the animal that night or the next day. It was only the third confirmed mountain lion sighting in MDCs St. Louis Region since 2011, according to a department's social media post.

An average year will see between five and 10 sightings across the state, said Nate Bowersock, furbearer biologist with MDC.

Mountain lions prefer vegetative cover or rocky, rugged terrain, generally in areas of low human habitation.

Mountain lions were extirpated from Missouri in early 1900s

Mountain lions are very large cats with small heads and rounded ears that aren't tufted, big shoulders and hindquarters and a large tail.

Officially labeled as "extirpated," mountain lions were rooted out of Missouri around the same time black bears and gray wolves were in the early 1900s, Bowersock said. During the nation's early colonization, predator species were "vilified" and bounties were placed on carnivores.

"If you saw them and killed them, you got a reward and the goal was to remove them from the landscape," Bowersock said.

Game species, like deer and elk, were also over-hunted, he added.

"With changes in management of predators and also prey species in the west, mountain lion populations stabilized and then actually started to grow and expand," Bowersock said. "I believe in the '90s, we started to see mountain lion populations expanding out of the mountain west and starting to move a little more east."

DNA samples collected from some of the passing mountain lions link them to states like South Dakota, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana. While there is no evidence of a breeding population in Missouri, there have been confirmed sightings scattered statewide, as far east as Lewis, Madison, Warren, Wayne and St. Louis counties.

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Currently, there are no plans to restore mountain lion populations here.

Deer is a favorite food, but mountain lions also take smaller mammals including rabbits, beavers, opossums, raccoons, skunks, coyotes, other cougars, domestic cattle and sheep.

Latest incident with mountain lion serves as a reminder to report sightings

Sightings of mountain lions should be reported to either law enforcement or MDC.

"It's very important not only to give those animals distance, whether they're injured or not, but to also report, in this case, to MDC or local law enforcement," Bowersock said.

In the recent case in Villa Ridge, people gave the mountain lion time and space to get up on its own, "which is the best-case scenario," Bowersock said.

MDC established a Mountain Lion Response Team in 1996 to investigate reports and evidence of mountain lions. The team has investigated hundreds of reports, but most turned out to be bobcats or large dogs. The team has documented 107. To report mountain lion sightings, email mountain.lion@mdc.mo.gov.

Here's what to remember about being mountain lion aware:

Be aware of your surroundings;

If you come across a mountain lion, make yourself as big as possible and wave your arms in the air;

Make lots of noise  "hooting and hollering"  to dissuade them from hanging around.

Sara Karnes is an Outdoors Reporter with the Springfield News-Leader. Follow along with her adventures on Twitter and Instagram @Sara_Karnes. Got a story to tell? Email her at skarnes@springfi.gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Mountain lion struck by vehicle serves as reminder to report sightings
Tom Verlaine, the influential guitarist and frontman of the pioneering punk-rock band Television, died in Manhattan on Jan. 28, Patti Smith's daughter Jesse Paris Smith confirmed to The New York Times. He was 73.

While Smith did not disclose a cause, she told the outlet that Verlaine, born Thomas Miller, died "after a brief illness."

Born in Denville, N.J., in 1949, Verlaine expressed an interest in both writing and music from a young age, picking up the piano and saxophone before moving on to the guitar as a teenager. During his time as a student at Sanford School in Delaware, he struck up a fast friendship with fellow future punk icon Richard Hell before he ultimately decided to escape to New York City in the late '60s and take on the name Tom Verlaine  a nod to the French poet Paul Verlaine.

Tom Verlaine of Television performs on stage at Hammersmith Odeon, London, 16 April 1978. (Photo by Gus Stewart/Redferns)

Gus Stewart/Redferns Tom Verlaine, frontman of the pioneering 1970s punk-rock band Television, has died.

Verlaine and Hell later reunited in New York City and formed a group called the Neon Boys alongside drummer Billy Ficca. The rock outfit disbanded only to return in 1973 with a new name  Television  and a new guitarist, Richard Lloyd.

Together, the band went on to shape the sound of New York City's burgeoning punk-rock scene and new-wave scenes, alongside other artists like the Ramones and Blondie. They held a residency at the historic CBGB and performed at multiple punk venues across the city, including Max's Kansas City. After Hell left the group in 1975, Television added bassist Fred Smith to its lineup.

Television released two critically acclaimed albums  their punchy 1977 masterpiece, Marquee Moon, and 1978's softer Adventure  before eventually going their separate ways in 1978. Verlaine reunited with Television to release a third, self-titled album in 1992, and the band continued to perform in recent years.

In addition to Television, Verlaine kick-started his solo career in 1979, releasing 10 albums over the years. He was also a frequent collaborator with fellow artists, including Patti Smith, and recorded guitar for two songs on Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha's second solo record, Look to the Sky, in 2012.

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This story contains spoilers from 1923.

It's been over a month since 1923 premiered on Paramount+, and fans already want more from the 20th-century version of the Dutton family. But sadly, it looks like it will be a little while until we can catch up with them.

As viewers are aware, the second Yellowstone prequel series features the iconic rancher clan still fighting for their land in Montana. But unlike the original series, this one focuses on Jacob Dutton (Harrison Ford), who alongside his wife Cara (Helen Mirren) are desperately trying to keep things afloat. Between the Prohibition, the beginnings of the Great Depression and every day family drama, folks continue to tune in to see whether the Duttons can withstand the latest crisis to hit the Yellowstone Ranch.

But this month, viewers quickly realized that the hit drama stopped airing new episodes as of late. This has led everyone to wonder when the Yellowstone spinoff will come back. Unfortunately, there will not be a new episode of 1923 this Sunday night. But it doesn't mean that the show is done altogether  there's still a lot more to come from the Dutton family.

When does 1923 episode 5 come out?

1923 will return to Paramount+ with episode 5 on February 5, 2023. While there isn't an official reason for the hiatus, the Taylor Sheridan-created series did drop a hint about what's next for the show.

In a midseason trailer posted on the show's official Instagram, there were clues regarding a number of storylines, such as the Dutton patriarch waging war with Banner Creighton (Jerome Flynn)'s sheep herders while also recovering from an existing gunshot wound. Viewers will also seemingly catch up with Jacob's nephew Spencer Dutton (Brandon Sklenar) as he treks from Africa to Montana alongside his current love interest Alexandra (Julia Schlaepfer).

"The story is far from over," the show captioned the post on January 9. "#1923TV returns with all new episodes February 5, only on #ParamountPlus."

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What's more, the final episodes of the first season will all debut by the end of February. Here's a look at the 1923 season 1 schedule for reference:

Episode 5: February 5

Episode 6: February 12

Episode 7: January 19

Episode 8: February 26

Where can I watch and stream 1923?

While you're busy waiting for new episodes to stream, you can go back and watch 1923 from the beginning on Paramount+. If you don't have an account yet, you have the opportunity to test out a 7-day free trial before opting into plans which start at $4.99 per month.

Once you have your account all set up, just head on to the 1923 title page on the Paramount+ official website. What's more, you can also stream the show from anywhere right on the Paramount+ app.

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Three House Democrats that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has targeted for removal from committee assignments responded Sunday to the Central California natives actions, calling them Bakersfield BS, on CNNs State of the Union.

McCarthy has already removed his fellow California Reps. Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell from the House Intelligence Committee. The speaker claimed that Schiff lied to Americans leading up to former President Donald Trumps first impeachment and cited Swalwells previous ties to a Chinese spy as the reason for his removal.

"How can you on the one hand, suggest that these are some kind of legitimate basis for unseating Democrats on committees and put someone like George Santos on any committee?" Schiff said, referring to McCarthy's decision to //stand by Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., despite Santos' embellished resume and other questions surrounding him.

Countdown to 2024: These candidates have already announced Senate plans for next election

Schiff and Swalwell dismissed McCarthys allegations as political abuse and retribution after Democrats voted to remove Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Green and Reps. Paul Gosar from House committees in 2021.

U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., (C), joined by Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., and Rep. Ilhan Omar D-Minn., speaks at a press conference on committee assignments for the 118th U.S. Congress, at the U.S. Capitol Building on January 25, 2023 in Washington, DC.

This is some Bakersfield BS. Its Kevin McCarthy weaponizing his ability commit this political abuse because he perceives me just like Mr. Schiff and Ms. Omar as an effective political opponent, said Swalwell Sunday, noting that the FBI investigated his ties with a Chinese spy and found no wrongdoing.

McCarthy was able to remove Schiff and Swalwell from their assignments unilaterally as speaker because the House Intelligence Committee is a select committee. The House is slated to take up a vote to remove Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar from her seat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Stay in the conversation on politics: Sign up for the OnPolitics newsletter

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of Calif., pauses during a break in the taping of an interview for the Hannity show with Fox News Channel's Sean Hannity, on Capitol Hill, Jan. 10, 2023, in Washington.

Omars Republican opponents and McCarthy are pushing for her removal due to her past antisemitic remarks regarding American support for Israel. In a now deleted tweet from 2012, she accused Israel of having hypnotized the world. Omar has since apologized for the remarks.

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When that was brought to my attention. I apologized. I owned up to it., said Omar Sunday. That's the kind of person that I am and I continue to work with my colleagues and my community to fight against antisemitism.

Some House Republicans have questioned the legitimacy of McCarthys claims and worry that Omars removal could be seen as political revenge and with the GOPs narrow majority in the House, it is unclear if there are enough votes to remove Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Difficult House votes in the future: McCarthy House speaker drama signals more interparty fights for GOP, lawmakers say

So far, three House Republicans have said they will not support Omars removal: Colorado Rep. Ken Buck, Indiana Rep. Victoria Spartz and South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Reps. Swalwell, Schiff, Omar respond to McCarthy over House committees
MONTEREY PARK, Calif.  Vice President Kamala Harris arrived outside of the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park Wednesday night, stopping to take a look at each of the victims' names and pictures from Saturday's deadly mass shooting before placing a bouquet in front of the memorial.

Harris told reporters the nation is mourning the loss of the 11 people killed and nine others injured, while also advocating for stricter gun control laws.

"Tragically we keep saying the same things," Harris said. "Congress must act. Should they? Yes. Can they? Yes."

Melissa Michelson of Alhambra, California, was at the vigil following Harris visit holding a sign that read What about gun control?, saying she has been disappointed with local officials not taking a strong stance on gun violence.

Vice President Kamala Harris visits the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park, California on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023. Harris visited the site of a shooting that claimed 11 lives to pay her respects and later met with the victims' families.

My community is more upset and angry at what happened here, Michelson said. Everybody else has just been talking about thoughts and prayers, and that's good for a short minute, and then it's time to actually do something.

Michelson said she did not hear any of Harris words Wednesday, but added it was something shed be willing to get behind.

The question is, what exactly is she willing to do and where this goes, Michelson added. It's always the same after a mass shooting  a little bit of talk, and no action.

'OUR BIGGEST CHEERLEADER,' THE 'LIFE OF ANY PARTY': Families remember those slain in Monterey Park mass shooting

Community unites after tragedy: 'We're strong here in Monterey Park'

Gloria Gonzales, a 71-year-old Monterey Park resident came with her 25-year-old granddaughter, Regina Gonzales, to show support for a city she has called home for over 60 years. Regina currently lives Diamond Bar, California, but still feels the shock of the shooting in the city she grew up in.

Throughout the week, Ive just been like, 'holy crap, like, this actually happened,' she said. It's almost not real.

Regina Gonzales added Harris visit illustrates the severity of what the community is going through. Gloria Gonzales said she greatly appreciated and was honored by Harris visiting Monterey Park.

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I think that is going to be a big morale lifting for the people here in Monterey Park, that they took the time for our community to come out and visit and say encouraging words, Gloria Gonzales said.

Vigils have been held each night since the shooting in the close-knit community that has united people from different backgrounds to begin healing.

We're strong here in Monterey Park. We're strong here and we're going to go forward, Gloria Gonzalez said. I think it's going to make the community and all the different nationalities that are here mend together.

'THE CALM IN PEOPLE'S CHAOS': Golden retrievers comfort Monterey Park after mass shooting

New gun legislation faces uphill battle

On Tuesday, seven people were killed in two shootings near the Northern California community of Half Moon Bay, just days after the Monterey Park rampage. President Joe Biden said he spoke to California Gov. Gavin Newsom and local leaders and pledged the federal governments support.

The president pointed to new legislation introduced by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif, to ban assault weapons, urging them to send that to my desk as quickly as you can. The bill faces a tough climb in the Senate and is not expected to pass in the Republican-led House.

The gunman, identified as Huu Can Tran, 72, used a modified semi-automatic weapon in the Monterey Park shootings. Authorities continue to search for a motive behind the shooting.

COMMUNITY REELS: Monterey Park's safe haven for Asian communities is shattered by mass shooting

Contributing: Joey Garrison and Tami Abdollah, USA TODAY

Follow Jordan Mendoza on Twitter: @jordan_mendoza5.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Vice President Harris urges for tougher gun laws at Monterey Park site
Stories of acts of kindness to strangers abounded in Erie and Niagara counties after the deadly Christmas weekend blizzard.

But some local employees of the U.S. Postal Service say they experienced the flip side of that story.

They allege that Postal Service managers on Dec. 23 ignored warnings about the ferocious nature of the storm, and after debating among themselves for hours, finally allowed workers to stop mail deliveries.

But management then ordered workers to vacate the Williamsville Postal Station that afternoon and drive home in extremely dangerous conditions, they allege.

According to union officials, dozens of workers  including a mail carrier more than seven months pregnant  were ordered by their bosses to leave the postal station on Sheridan Drive by 4 p.m. or face arrest.

Five workers familiar with the situation told The News that managers told employees the police would be called if they did not leave.

The pregnant mail carrier tried to drive home in extreme blizzard conditions, got stuck in a Cheektowaga snowbank and had to be rescued by volunteer firefighters, said David J. Grosskopf Jr., president of the Buffalo branch of the National Association of Letter Carriers.

He said several other employees of the Williamsville station also got stuck and stranded as they tried to drive home that day.

That group included a female letter carrier whose car went into a ditch off Sheridan Drive in Clarence Center, Grosskopf said. He said a man who lives nearby spotted the carriers car, helped her to safety and allowed her to stay overnight with him and his family.

Watch: Blizzard rescues captured on body cam released by Buffalo police Buffalo police released body cam videos from the December blizzard. The videos give a firsthand view of what the officers faced via the Axon cameras mounted on their chests.

Postal managers finally did allow about a dozen workers to stay in the Williamsville station for two days and nights, but only after one workers wife called police and was told the supervisors could not order them to leave the station in such extreme weather, union officials said.

The fact is, management decisions that were made that day put many of our workers at risk of their lives, Grosskopf said.

Contacted by The Buffalo News, Postal Service managers declined to provide any details about decisions made during that first day of the blizzard, but they insisted that worker safety is a top priority.

A spokesman for the Postal Service said that as the storm developed the agency provided accommodations to employees who were unable to travel home.

Grosskopf said very questionable decisions that ignored worker safety were made that day by Postal Service managers who had to consult with superiors in Pittsburgh and Albany  hundreds of miles from the storm conditions that pounded Buffalo and killed 47 people.

I started warning management around 8 a.m. that they needed to bring the carriers in and send everyone home, ASAP. They finally told workers to come back in around 9 a.m., and didnt send people home until 1 p.m. That was five hours after I started to warn them.

Postal Service managers had to know about the storm for days, and never should have sent carriers out to deliver mail that morning, Grosskopf said.

He told The News the union plans to file at least 200 storm-related grievances against the Postal Service.

Postal Service managers from New York District 3, which covers all of New York state except for New York City and Long Island, declined to talk with The News about the storm.

Over the course of a week, The News called or emailed Postal Service managers six times seeking responses to the criticism voiced by employees and union officials.

In response to a detailed list of questions from The News, Postal Service spokesman Mark Lawrence declined to speak with a reporter but emailed two statements.

Winter Storm Elliott was a historic event, and we are thankful that all members of our postal family in Western New York remained safe. As the storm quickly unfolded, the Postal Service provided accommodations to employees who were concerned with their safety or were unable to travel home, Lawrence emailed The News.

For the safety of our employees and customers, 72 post offices in Western New York closed on Dec. 24 due to nearly impossible travel conditions. Dec. 26 was an observed holiday and post offices were closed. On Dec. 27, service was restored at most postal locations as clean-up efforts continued throughout the day. All full-day postal operations completely resumed as normal throughout Western New York on Dec. 28.

The safety of our customers and employees are our top priority, Lawrence added in an email. While our goal is to deliver the mail, we stand by the decisions of carriers and local managers to suspend delivery due to an immediate, serious safety concern. We are grateful to our dedicated employees who attempted every reasonable, safe delivery of mail where possible during this snowstorm.

Lawrence and Postal Service officials in Buffalo declined to answer questions about the timetable for sending workers home on Dec. 23.

Union officials said they were aware of four Postal Service facilities where workers were stranded during the storm. Those were the Williamsville station on Sheridan Drive, the Cheektowaga station on Galleria Drive, the William Street facility in Buffalo and the Niagara Square station in downtown Buffalo.

Union officials estimated that more than 100 workers at those locations were stranded in their workplaces for at least one night.

Some people tried to drive home, as ordered, but they were only able to get a short distance away, and they turned back, said one postal worker who spoke to The News on the condition his name would not be published. Ive lived in this area all my life. I have never seen such bad driving conditions as we saw that day. I could barely see past my own windshield.

Why werent workers stranded at other stations? According to union officials, some supervisors at those stations allowed workers to leave earlier in the day. In other cases, they said, workers took it upon themselves to leave before the storm got out of control.

Grosskopf and the five workers who spoke anonymously to The News said they were especially upset that worker safety decisions on Dec. 23 were made after consulting with supervisors hundreds of miles away in Albany and Pittsburgh.

That is a major bone of contention, Grosskopf said. Those decisions should have been left to the people here in Buffalo who were seeing the storm conditions with their own eyes. Next time, listen to the people whose feet are on the street.

You could have sunny weather in Albany, and people could be dying in their cars in Buffalo, added Frank Resetarits, president of the Buffalo local of the American Postal Workers Union, which represents more than 500 mail clerks, custodians and mechanics. These decisions should be made by the local people, not someone out of town.

Grosskopf added: The manager of the station in Williamsville left for home before the blizzard hit. The acting Buffalo postmaster left Buffalo and went to Pittsburgh the night before the blizzard hit us. To me, thats blasphemy.

The National Weather Service first warned at 2:22 p.m. on Dec. 20 that unusually bad weather was headed for Buffalo. At that time, the Weather Service warned that Christmas holiday travel, beginning on Dec. 23, would be difficult to impossible at times.

On Dec. 21, the Weather Service issued a stronger warning, saying the storm would be a once in a generation weather event when it hit Buffalo.

According to the Weather Service, the blizzard hit locally at 8:39 a.m. on Dec. 23, and Erie County issued a driving ban for the entire county at 9:30 a.m. that day.

But union officials said Postal Service managers did not issue orders until 1 p.m.  when blizzard conditions were making driving extremely dangerous  for workers to head home.

Grosskopf acknowledged that postal workers are considered essential workers and are allowed to drive during driving bans.

But this was a very dangerous storm that killed more than 40 people. At a time when even snowplows and emergency vehicles were unable to go, our workers were being told, Go ahead, drive home and dont come back to the station,  Grosskopf said.

Our federal government runs the Weather Service and the Postal Service. Next time, I hope the Postal Service pays attention to what the Weather Service is saying. I truly hope our managers learn something from this storm and do a better job next time.

Asked about the pregnant mail carrier, the union president said she and her unborn baby were unharmed after volunteer firefighters took her to a senior citizens center to wait out the worst of the storm.

But for awhile that day, we were all very worried about her and the baby, Grosskopf said.
Alexis Rocha took another step toward a truly big fight.

The welterweight contender put late replacement George Ashie down twice and stopped him with one punch in the seventh round Saturday at YouTube Theater in Inglewood, California. The official time of the stoppage was 2:08.

Rocha (22-1, 14 KOs) had been scheduled to face Anthony Young but Young was pulled off the card early this week. And Ashie, a 38-year-old veteran from Ghana, agreed to step in.

Ashie proved to be willing but he didnt have the skill set to avoid the shots Rocha was throwing at him.

Rocha, a southpaw, put Ashie down and hurt him with a vicious right hook with about 20 seconds remaining in Round 3. Ashie survived the round but the early adversity was a bad sign for him.

Rocha stayed on top of Ashie with a high volume of punches from then on, even after he suffered a bad cut from a clash of heads in Round 6. Ashie fired back at the hittable Rocha, never for a minute giving up, but Rochas punches began to wear him down.

Finally, in Round 7, Rocha landed another perfect right hook that put Ashie flat on his face. However, this time, with Ashie obviously unable to continue, referee Thomas Taylor immediately ended the fight.

Rocha now has won six consecutive fights since he was outpointed by slick Rashidi Ellis in October 2020, a successful run that has lifted into the rankings.

Hes the WBOs No. 3 contender, behind only champion Terence Crawford, No. 1 Vergil Ortiz and No. 2 Keith Thurman, who is expected to challenge WBC titleholder Errol Spence Jr.

The 25-year-old from Orange County, California, believes hes ready for the level of opposition listed above.

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Im ready for the big names, Rocha said. Errol Spence doesnt want to fight Crawford for some reason; hes fighting Thurman. Im next in the WBO. I want Crawford next. 

I know what Im capable of. I know when I fight, whoever it is in front of me, Ill take it to the next level.

Story originally appeared on Boxing Junkie
Hundreds of Global Methodist Church clergy and laypeople from across West Texas gather for the first-ever West Plains Provisional Annual Conference meeting Friday at LakeRidge Methodist Church in Lubbock.

For the first time, hundreds of clergy and laypeople from dozens of churches in West Texas gathered Friday and Saturday as Global Methodists, ushering in a new era for Methodism in the region after leaving the United Methodist Church last year.

The West Plains Provisional Annual Conference of the Global Methodist Church officially launched at its convening gathering over the weekend, just the second regional conference in the fledgling denomination to do so. The Waco-based Mid-Texas Conference convened the prior week.

"Now, if you thought you were here for the launch of a new denomination, I'm sorry to disappoint you," Lyndol Loyd, lead pastor of LakeRidge Methodist Church said as he welcomed those gathered at his church. "You are here for the birth of a movement  a movement of the Holy Spirit."

Hundreds of Global Methodist Church clergy and laypeople from across West Texas gathered for the first-ever West Plains Provisional Annual Conference meeting Friday, Jan. 27, 2023 at LakeRidge Methodist Church in Lubbock.

Unlike the previous two gatherings of many of these same people, this weekend's meetings were brimming with an attitude of hope and opportunity. When these folks last gathered as the Northwest Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church in December 2022, they were finalizing their departure from that conference and denomination.

More: Area Methodist churches adopt process for leaving UMC at annual conference in Lubbock

Under a process adopted last June, an individual church can opt to disaffiliate by a 2/3 vote of its professing members in a churchwide meeting. The UMC conference must allow the church to disaffiliate by a simple majority vote at an annual conference session.

Of the about 200 churches in the UMC's Northwest Texas Conference, 145  close to 75%  voted to disaffiliate from the UMC last year amid a schism arising mostly out of disagreements over gay marriage and sexuality, according to previous reporting.

More: Hundreds of Texas Methodist churches vote to split from denomination after years of infighting

Hundreds of Global Methodist Church clergy and laypeople from across West Texas gather for the first-ever West Plains Provisional Annual Conference meeting Friday at LakeRidge Methodist Church in Lubbock.

Most of those 145 Northwest Texas Conference churches that left the UMC opted to join the GMC West Plains Conference, which geographically stretches from the top of the Panhandle down into the Big Country.

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It was the leaders of these churches who gathered at LakeRidge this weekend to launch the new conference, which will be led by Bishop Mark Webb. During the gathering, the Global Methodist mission statement was repeated time and again: "To make disciples of Jesus Christ who worship passionately, love extravagantly and witness boldly."

More: The new, more conservative Global Methodist Church just launched: Key takeaways from its start

Jessica LaGrone, a pastor, author and professor who serves as dean of the chapel at Asbury Theological Seminary in Kentucky and is part of the GMC's Transitional Leadership Council, spoke Friday afternoon to welcome those gathered to the new denomination. LaGrone said she hopes this opportunity for a fresh start will revive what it means to be Methodist, hearkening back to the movement's 18th-century founders, John and Charles Wesley, who sought revival in their Church of England.

Rev. Dr. Jessica LeGrone, dean of chapel at Asbury Theological Seminary, speaks at the first-ever West Plains Provisional Annual Conference meeting Friday at LakeRidge Methodist Church in Lubbock.

"We love Jesus, we love his church, and we believe that God isn't done with the people called Methodists, and that the best years of the Christian movement began by the Wesleys are still, in fact, ahead of us," LaGrone said.

"The challenges of the Wesleys in their day included watching the church that they love become sicker and sicker, all the while having within reach the very thing that would offer help and hope," she said. "Their longing was not to offer some new invention of doctrine, but to bring out that the old treatment that Christ had offered on the cross, the one that the church had seemingly forgotten they had available to give.

"And I believe that when our history is written and told, the same will be said of the church in our day."

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: West Plains Conference of Global Methodist Church launches in Lubbock
Russian President Vladimir Putin reviews naval ships in the Crimean port of Sevastopol on May 9, 2014. YURI KADOBNOV/AFP via Getty Images

Crimea is poised to be the next big battlefield, and one that could decide the Ukraine war.

"The decisive terrain for this war is Crimea," Ben Hodges, a former commander of US Army Europe, told Insider.

Ukraine will "never be safe or secure" if Russia retains control of Crimea, Hodges said.

The war in Ukraine is poised to become even more violent this year with a major Russian offensive expected and more advanced Western-made weapons pouring in to bolster Ukrainian forces. Along these lines, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg recently warned that the war has entered a "decisive phase."

This new stage of the war could bring the fight to a territory vital to Russia's military capabilities in Ukraine and cherished by Russian President Vladimir Putin: Crimea.

The Black Sea peninsula, which was invaded by Russian forces and illegally annexed by Putin in 2014, served as a launchpad for Russia's invasion last February and helped pave the way for Russian forces to occupy a significant chunk of southern Ukraine. Crimea continues to be a base of attack for Russian aircraft and warships striking Ukraine.

"The decisive terrain for this war is Crimea. The Ukrainian government knows that they cannot settle for Russia retaining control of Crimea," retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, a former commander of US Army Europe, told Insider.

"The next few months will see Ukraine setting the conditions for the eventual liberation of Crimea," he added, emphasizing that the country will "never be safe or secure or able to rebuild their economy so long as Russia retains Crimea."

Russia occupies Crimea and a significant swath of southern Ukraine  including the cities of Melitopol and Mariupol  that provides it with a land bridge from its own border to the Crimean peninsula. This area serves as a pivotal supply route for the Russian military. The peninsula, roughly the size of Massachusetts, is home to a number of military bases and Russia's Black Sea fleet.

Crimea  annexed by the Russian Empire under Catherine the Great in 1783  also has major symbolic importance to Putin, who has tied Russia's war in Ukraine to its imperial past. Putin has referred to Crimea as a "holy land" for Russia. In many ways, Putin's illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014 set the stage for the wider war of conquest that he launched last year.

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The fight to retake Crimea could be extremely bloody, in a war that's already led to massive casualties for both sides. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, who has maintained that negotiations will be necessary to end the war, in November said the likelihood of Ukraine kicking Russia out of Crimea "anytime soon is not high, militarily."

But there also appears to be a growing cohort of military experts who believe that reclaiming Crimea is imperative to Ukraine's long-term survival, and contend that Ukrainian forces have already shown they have the ability to get the job done. A threatening campaign against Crimea could also provide a boost to Kyiv's negotiation power in any future peace talks.

"As long as the peninsula remains in the Kremlin's hands, Ukraine  and Ukrainians  cannot be free of Russian aggression," Andriy Zagorodnyuk, Ukraine's former defense minister, recently wrote in Foreign Affairs.

"After consecutive months of battlefield success, it is clear that Ukraine has the capacity to liberate Crimea," Zagorodnyuk went on to say, adding, "Ukraine should therefore plan to liberate Crimeaand the West should plan to help."

'Crimea is our land'

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with two Ukrainian officials in Kyiv, November 3, 2022. President of Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has pledged to expel Russian forces out of all occupied territory, including Crimea. With a new Russian offensive expected to begin in the near future and a fierce desire to retake control of occupied territories, Kyiv has pushed hard for more advanced weapons from the West.

"Crimea is our land, it is our territory, it is our sea and our mountains. Give us your weapons and we will bring our land back," Zelenskyy said via video link at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos this month.

This week, the US and Germany announced they will send advanced Leopard and M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, fulfilling a major request. Ukraine has emphasized that tanks will be necessary to regain control of occupied territories that Russians have mined and are likely to defend with trench networks.

President Joe Biden on Wednesday said the US would provide Ukraine with 31 M1 Abrams tanks. Ahead of the announcement, a senior administration official told reporters that the tanks were being provided not only to bolster Ukraine's defensive capabilities but also to give it the ability to reclaim "sovereign territory." The official said this includes Crimea.

"Crimea is Ukraine. We've never recognized the illegal annexation," the official said.

Similarly, Biden on Wednesday said, "With spring approaching, the Ukrainian forces are working to defend the territory they hold and preparing for additional counter-offensives. To liberate their land, they need to be able to counter Russia's evolving tactics and strategy on the battlefield in the very near term."

US soldiers and an M1 Abrams tank in a wooded area during a multinational exercise at the Hohenfels training area in Germany. Nicolas Armer/Getty Images

A number of top military experts contend that the West's apprehensiveness surrounding various weapons is prolonging the war and hindering Ukraine's ability to take the fight to the Russian invaders at a pivotal moment.

"The allies must simply stop the 'give them part of what they need, slower than they need it' approach to supplying Ukraine. This approach has gone on too long already. Ukraine needs more air defense systems, tanks, and long-range artillery  and rockets to do what is necessary," retired US Army Lt. Gen. James Dubik, now a senior fellow at the Institute for the Study of War, wrote in a recent op-ed for The Hill.

Providing Ukraine with tanks is "very important," Hodges said, before adding that "they are only part of the overall effort required for Ukraine to win, to defeat Russian forces, and to compel them to leave Crimea." To successfully boot Russia out of Crimea, Hodges underscored that Ukraine will need long-range precision strike weapons like the longer-range ATACMS missiles that can be fired from a truck-mounted HIMARS launcher.

Liberating Crimea could be achieved by isolating the peninsula via air and land attacks to sever and disrupt Russia's main links to Crimea  the Kerch Bridge, which has already been sabotaged by Ukraine, and the so-called land bridge (occupied territory linking Russia to Crimea).

Once Crimea is isolated, Ukraine would need to employ a "wide array of long-range systems against the exposed Russian facilities and groupings in Crimea, making it untenable for them, and compelling them to leave," Hodges added.

That said, the Biden administration has so far pushed back on providing Ukraine with long-range missile systems that could be used to strike inside Russia or reach certain installations in Crimea. Hodges said the US government's unwillingness to provide longer-range weapons has effectively provided "sanctuary" for Russian systems in Crimea and elsewhere that are "killing innocent Ukrainians."

"Delivering capabilities which will deny Russia any sanctuary for its air, drone, and missile strikes will enable Ukraine to make Crimea untenable for the Russians," Hodges added.

'We have crossed a threshold'

A Ukrainian soldier fires towards Russian positions outside Bakhmut, Ukraine, on November 8, 2022. Bulent Kilic/AFP via Getty Images

If Ukraine moved to retake Crimea, it could renew concerns that Putin might turn to a nuclear weapon. Putin has made a number of nuclear threats since the war began, vowing to protect Russia's territorial integrity.

But many top military analysts have repeatedly said that Putin's nuclear threats are largely designed to deter further Western support for Ukraine, and are skeptical he would actually use such a weapon. Ukraine has pushed Russian forces out of areas Putin now claims as part of Russia, such as Kherson, without facing a nuclear response. And Russian assets in Crimea, including air bases, have already been targeted with Ukrainian attacks.

"There is more clarity on their tolerance for damage and attacks," said Dara Massicot, a senior policy researcher at the RAND Corporation, recently told the New York Times. "Crimea has already been hit many times without a massive escalation from the Kremlin."

Smoke billows from a fire on the bridge linking Crimea to Russia after a truck exploded, near Kerch on October 8, 2022. AFP via Getty Images

As things stand, there's a slim chance Russia and Ukraine will hold talks or negotiations to end the war. Putin's decision to illegally annex four Ukrainian territories in September, despite the fact Russian forces do not fully occupy these regions, effectively threw the possibility of talks out the window. Ukraine has been clear it will not agree to any deals requiring it to cede territory to Russia, and it's highly unlikely Moscow would ever walk back on its new territorial claims in Ukraine.

In short, the fighting will continue, and the West's involvement in the war is so deep that it's reached a point of no return.

"Foreign policy rests on the credibility of countries and especially the credibility of the big powers. If the US and its main allies were seen as unable to defend a victim of aggression on the European continent  try to imagine, what does it mean for foreign policy elsewhere?" Araud said, pointing to the potentially reverberating consequences of a Russian victory  particularly for other places that face threats from much larger powers, such as Taiwan.

"Without saying it, and maybe without knowing it, we have crossed a threshold. Now, for the West, a defeat of Ukraine is unacceptable," Araud said. "We have done so much now that the victory of Russia will be a real defeat of the West, and I think the West will not accept it."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast / Getty

The stories out of New Mexico are harrowing.

Semi-automatic rounds ripping through officials homes. Public servants fearing for their lives. Children waking to the sound of gunfire.

Its nightmarish and would be even more shocking if it wasnt so terribly predictable.

Allegations that failed Republican candidate Solomon Pena hired men to fire on several homes of Democratic politicians made for sizzling headlines, but for anyone paying attention it was hardly a surprise. Our political environment has been primed and readied for this kind of terrorism, and Penas apparent motivationthat his 40-point electoral loss was riggedhas become an increasingly familiar chorus.

Undoubtedly this has been inspired in part by former president Donald Trump. It is undeniably true that Trumps strain of election denial has played a role and helped create an anti-democratic movement in the United States. His insistence that the 2020 election was stolen from him revealed a desire among his base to believe that any contest that didnt explicitly follow their whims could be dismissed as invalid.

That notion has been extremely dangerous, and helped inspire the attempted coup of Jan. 6, 2021, but equally treacherous has been his fear-mongering. Since he appeared on the modern political scene, hawking dangerous Birtherism to the delight of Fox Newss audience, he has profited off repeating and creating paranoid narratives that also radicalize his followers. When I used to report from his rallies and he would tell his supporters to rough up protesters, it was always with the understanding that it was about more than letting loose their rage: it was about striking out against a larger conspiracy. And they were more than willing to openly talk about rounding up the conspirators, imprisoning them, and even murdering them in cold blood.

But it is a convenient fiction that this environment was solely the work of Trump. Political violence is older than this country, and its origins and inspirations are traceable. Whether it is the colonization of the continent, the enslavement of millions, or even the Civil War itself, oppression and violence have been hallmarks of this culture. Even election-denying is part of our history. The Confederacy, after all, was an expression of the Souths refusal to accept a loss of power at the ballot, and the Ku Klux Klan was largely formed to undermine democracy during Reconstruction. Decades later, in 1898, an avowedly white supremacist mob in Wilmington, North Carolina, overthrew local government and massacred African Americans in an orgy of racial violence.

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Jan. 6 Riot Was No Fluke and This 1898 Massacre Proves It

For context, we must also understand that years and years of Jim Crow and the apartheid South were rooted in these same fears and ideas. The brutalizing of Civil Rights protesters in the streets, as well as political murders, assassinations, and bombings, were all symptoms of the problem and as intertwined with American history as the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Simply put, this problem did not begin with Donald Trump, and it will not end with him. Expecting prosecution for any number of his crimes and corruption is one thing, but believing it will somehow lower the temperature or prevent these tragic events or their escalations is not only foolhardy but exacerbates the problem.

Democracy itself, and the pursuit of better and fairer representative government, is inextricably linked with attacks on democracy because to carry out the will of the majority is to put the interests of the minority at risk. This is complicated, and much of political theory wrestles with the problem. It is the focus, after all, of much of The Federalist Papers. But what we must also understand is that in a society where concentrated wealth, white supremacy, and patriarchal dominance go hand-in-hand, the chances for political violence increase in tumultuous times.

In both Penas and Trumps case, nothing could have convinced them the election was lost. No verified result, no empirical evidence could have stemmed the outrage. The entitlement that corresponds with patriarchal dominance and white supremacy is immune to logic or facts. And it is this relationship between power, control, and violence that we must recognize.

The Republican Party, the MAGA movement, and a whole host of politicians, personalities, grifters, and authoritarians are animated by a desire to maintain or expand power. When people turn on Fox News or log into their favorite Right-Wing website or social media platform, what theyre being told is that someone out there is trying to get them. Theyre coming for their possessions, their wealth, and especially their power.

It is an incredibly lucrative business with potent political appeal. This new era, both embodied and emboldened by Trump and his cadre of cronies, has made it abundantly clear that paranoid narratives, conspiracy theories, and fearmongering are surefire ways to pad peoples pockets and rachet up victories. But when the ballots are counted and the results run counter to the radicalized bases expectations, it is a veritable powder keg waiting for a spark.

Unfortunately, this problem will only get worse if we continue to expect a fever to break or for one mans declining political fortunes to serve as the cure-all. We must reinforce our democratic institutions and protect the same populations who have suffered the brunt of authoritarian movements in the past, including the same communities that were enslaved, exploited, and subject to terrible violence. And these abuses, throughout time, only grow worse when it becomes clear institutional opposition is unwilling to intercede.

It is not enough to shake our heads when a radicalized person breaks into a home and beats the spouse of a political figure with a hammer. To wonder who would do such a thing? when a man carries a semi-automatic into a public place and carries out a massacre because he is worried about white replacement. To expect any of these atrocities to be the last as long as we do not re-invest in democracy. Because, like it or not, we are in this fight, and we simply cannot afford to lose.

Jared Yates Sexton is the author of The Midnight Kingdom: A History of Power, Paranoia, and the Coming Crisis and co-host of The Muckrake Podcast. You can follow him on Twitter @JYSexton.

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(Reuters) - Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Thursday urged his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, to have France attend the summit of the Amazon countries that he aims to host in coming months.

Lula, who was elected for a third term last October vowing to tackle deforestation in the rainforest, discussed in a phone call with Macron efforts to combat the threat posed by climate change, according to a statement from his office.

He talked about the importance of France attending a summit of the countries of the Amazon forest that Brazil plans to host in the next few month, as it is the only European country to share the biome, through its overseas territory of French Guiana.

Besides Brazil and French Guiana, seven other countries have territory in the world's largest rainforest.

Macron has meanwhile asked Brazil to attend its own "One Forest Summit" that France and Gabon will host in early March, according to the Brazilian statement.

Lula won a narrow election last year promising an overhaul in Brazil's climate policy, after deforestation in the Amazon reached its highest levels in 15 years under then far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, who undermined environmental law enforcement and pushed for more mining and farming in the region.

Bolsonaro had a strained relationship with Macron, after the French president denounced in 2019 surging fires in the Amazon. Bolsonaro responded by insulting Macron's wife and accusing him of disrespecting Brazilian sovereignty.

Later on Thursday, Macron said after speaking with Lula that he had reaffirmed his determination to take action "for the climate, biodiversity, our forests and against hunger."

"We will meet these challenges," he said.

(Reporting by Peter Frontini; Editing by Sandra Maler)
Jan. 5SALEM, Mass.  DNA taken from Marvin "Skip" McClendon matched samples taken from underneath the fingernails of an 11-year-old girl killed in Lawrence on Sept. 11, 1988, a prosecutor said in court Tuesday.

Assistant District Attorney Jessica Strasnick said McClendon's "actual DNA" was compared to samples taken from Melissa Ann "Missy" Tremblay's fingernails after her death.

McClendon's defense attorney, Henry Fasoldt, filed a motion to dismiss in the case, saying the DNA evidence collected in the case is "not sufficient" to support a first-degree murder indictment against his client.

He said prosecutors failed to show the DNA belonged to McClendon, instead of other male relatives, and that his client is a "factually innocent person."

However, Strasnick argued just the opposite in court Tuesday in a hearing about Fasoldt's motion to dismiss.

In court papers, she noted McClendon "voluntarily provided" a DNA sample to investigators when he was initially interviewed by Massachusetts State Police Lt. Peter Sherber in Alabama in 2021.

Using a walker, McClendon came from a lock-up area into the courtroom in Salem Superior Court on Tuesday. He sat at a table in the courtroom next to Fasoldt.

McClendon, 75, of Bremen, Alabama, was not arrested until late April of 2022. He was later in indicted by the Essex County grand jury for Tremblay's first-degree murder.

When Sherber interviewed McClendon for a second time in April of 2022, he "denied involvement in Melissa's death and suggested that he might have been 'set up' by inmates from the (Department of Correction). He also shifted blame to his brother, Timothy, and minimized his connections to Lawrence," Strasnick wrote in a memo opposing Fasoldt's motion to dismiss.

McClendon is a retired Massachusetts correctional officer.

Judge Salim Tabit took the matter under advisement Tuesday, making no immediate decision on the motion to dismiss.

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Fasoldt has been McClendon's court-appointed attorney since his arrest. However, in court Tuesday a probation employee said McClendon "does not qualify for appointed counsel."

A hearing to discuss whether McClendon qualifies for court-appointed counsel was scheduled for early next month. The charge of first-degree murder carries the penalty of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

In 1988, McClendon, who was 41 at the time, was known as an "angry, violent drunk" who frequented strip clubs and had "relations" with women in the back of his van, Strasnick said at a previous court hearing.

McClendon is accused of stabbing Tremblay to death and leaving her body on the tracks near a rail freight terminal near South Broadway and Andover Street in Lawrence. When her body was found, her left leg had been severed by a train car.

Fasoldt has unsuccessfully tried to get McClendon released on $50,000 bail. He remains held without bail at Middleton Jail.

At the time of Tremblay's murder, McClendon lived in Lawrence and worked as a handyman. He was also employed by the state's Department of Correction on intermittent dates from 1970 to 2002. He receives a $35,000 annual pension from the state, Fasoldt said.

In 2002, McClendon moved to Bremen, Alabama, where he had a home at the end of dirt road on property surrounded by family members. In April, when he was arrested in the cold case murder, McClendon remarked to Massachusetts state troopers that "at least I got 20 years of my pension," Strasnick said.

In the motion to dismiss, Fasoldt wrote that McClendon, his father, and McClendon's brother, Timothy, were pinpointed in the investigation. Other McClendon relatives lived outside Massachusetts and denied visiting at the time of the murder, he wrote.

"The investigation ultimately focused on Mr. McClendon over these family members because of certain additional information; the fact that he is left-handed, his possible connections to Lawrence, his access to a van in 1988, his lifestyle in 1988, and his conduct and remarks to police during their investigation," Fasoldt wrote.

Fasoldt wrote his client was interviewed by police for three hours about Tremblay's murder. For the duration of the interview, "he repeatedly denied any involvement in Ms. Tremblay's death," Fasoldt said.

Also, Fasoldt wrote there are no known eye witnesses to the murder, is no indication McClendon knew Tremblay, and there "would be no apparent motive for him to kill her."

At Middleton Jail, McClendon is kept in protective custody in a cell and is not permitted to leave unless a guard escorts him.
Strike! This week, a unionized group of post production workers at Saturday Night Live authorized a strike in an effort to expedite negotiations on their first contract, which they say has stalled in talks. This group, which unionized with the IATSE-affiliated Motion Picture Editors Guild last year, is responsible for post-production on pretaped sketches, like music videos and commercial parodies. The authorization has not yet become an actual strike, so it will be curious to see if the show relies on pretapes they have been keeping in their back pocket, or how episodes will be structured with this strike looming. But the show, as they say, must go on.

This week's episode is hosted by Michael B. Jordan, who cut his teeth on TV before breaking out in Hollywood. Today he is the heir to the legendary Rocky franchise; Creed III, which he also directed, comes out in March.

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE -- Michael B. Jordan, Lil Baby Episode 1837  Pictured: (l-r) Musical guest Lil Baby, host Michael B. Jordan, and Heidi Gardner in Studio 8H during Promos on Thursday, January 26, 2023 -- (Photo by: Rosalind OConnor/NBC)

Rosalind OConnor/NBC Lil Baby, Michael B. Jordan, and Heidi Gardner on 'SNL'

I am joined tonight by former SNL cast member, Denny Dillon, who  similar to Jordan  has weaved between movies, traditional TV and HBO over the years. She is currently co-starring in M. Night Shyamalan's Servant, which airs on Apple TV and costars Lauren Ambrose (Six Feet Under).

Dillon says, "Jordan is a superhero kind of performer. Not only has he created superheroes like Kilmonger in Black Panther and Wakanda Forever, but also in animation. The same gravitas he brings to the screen he has in his voice."

She adds: "As a quarterback on Friday Night Lights, I felt his heart as well as his strength. Having early HBO in my TV background  six years on Dream On  I was a fan of The Wire. Jordan brought vulnerability to his drug-dealer role. Not an easy feat. He's compelling and versatile. He moves effortlessly between movies, network, and streaming. I look forward to seeing him do comedy."

SNL in Review hive - arise!

Cold Open

A new sheriff is in town: Merrick Garland (Mikey Day). He's chased Jan. 6 insurrectionists and now he's investigating Joe Biden and Donald Trump's classified document scandals. "Merrick Garland don't play!" says Day in a nasally whine. He's playing up the Attorney General's dorky librarian affectations, punctuating his assertions with a whiplash sound. Kenan Thompson, Bowen Yang, and Ego Nwodim play special agents assisting the case. Yang's character humblebrags about meeting Barack Obama  and does a solid Lin-Manuel Miranda impression. This is the highlight of the cold open! "F around and find out!"

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The sketch ends with a moving moment referencing the release of new videos out of Memphis which revealed police brutally assailing Tyre Nichols.

Honestly, this may be one of the strongest cold opens I have seen this season.

Monologue

"Tonight Michael B. Hosting, Michael B. Joking Michael B. Vulnerable!"

The host references a pretape he shot this week, which was the same location as one of his first acting jobs on All My Children! He discusses a recent break-up, and a photo of him that went viral. Not ideal, but luckily the iconic Michael Jordan crying meme supersedes any searches for "sad" pictures alongside the actor's name on Google.

Chloe Fineman comes out to flirt with Jordan, and Heidi Gardner and Ego Nwodim also join. The latter just threw on a wedding dress! Punkie Johnson says she "be curious" when the actor points out that he thought she was gay. "Even vegans have cheat days, right?" she jokes.

Jordan says he can take himself too seriously, so he's looking forward to trying live comedy. Compared to traditional TV or even movie and streaming productions, Dillon notes: "Saturday Night Live is another kind of epic beast. Being funny with the electricity of performing live calls for extraordinary powers. Jordan has shown us he has them. I began my television career with SNL and am forever grateful for the plunge into the volcano. It demands danger in a performer, wild risky acting like Aubrey Plaza displayed sensationally last week."

Good Morning Today

Chloe Fineman and Kenan Thompson introduce the segment, "Cuisine With Francine." Sarah Sherman plays Francine, who missed yesterday's show after getting caught on a rollercoaster for 19 hours. Now, she looks insane with her face paralyzed after hours of wind burn.

The placement of this segment at top of the show is a signal of the show's faith in Sherman's brand of comedy. She's able to make grotesque body humor seems charming and appealing. Indeed, her Francine is an impressive display of physical comedy. She is joined by Jason (Jordan) who was also on the rollercoaster. Funny ending.

Southwest Airlines

Southwest canceled more than 16,700 flights over several days in late December. While a massive winter storm caused the initial cancellations, the company's outdated software systems turned what should have been a normal problem into a disaster. Now, the airline is trying to make amends.

Towel guys

This is a fun showcase for Marcello Hernandez, who is joined by Kenan Thompson as two towel guys at a Punta Cana resort. Almost like a passing of the torch. They are visited by various guests. Check this out if you want to see Marcello at the center of a scene; it's really built around his comic energy. Michael Longfellow is also funny as the awkward guest from New Jersey. This could be a fun recurring sketch!

State Farm

Jordan plays Jake from State Farm, who slowly usurps a man's family. Mikey Day plays the cuckold husband who slowly becomes aware of his wife's betrayal and goes insane. I like that this becomes a horror movie trailer. Really fun twist with Andrew Dismukes. "He is not a good neighbor!"

Street Fighter voiceover

Jordan and Bowen Yang are recording the grunts and sound effects needed for fighter video games. While Jordan is solid, Yang's silly takes lead him astray. We have seen this before.

Lil Baby - "California Breeze"

This was included on Baby's third studio album It's Only Me, peaking at number four on the Billboard Hot 100, the highest-charting song on the album. Solid melody, and heartfelt I guess but this isn't for me.

Weekend Update

Colin Jost compared Donald Trump being reinstated on Facebook "with guardrails" to reopening Jurassic Park, while Michael Che compared Taylor Swift fans to Jan. 6th insurrectionists.

New York is expected to be the most expensive rental market in the country  Che's new doorman Carl (Kenan Thompson) is here to comment. "Hey Che," he stops him, before relaying a story about an embarrassing encounter. Six cats are looking for Che!

Vanilla Frostys are back at Wendy's! Angel, the Girlfriend in Every Boxing Movie (Heidi Gardner) is back to discuss. It's been a minute! I think this is her first appearance at Update since 2018. She begins, as always, frantically talking about her boyfriend's desperate addiction to boxing and the health threats that poses. His latest fight? Against Creed. Adonis Creed (Jordan) joins her  he wants to take her kids to her sister's! Cute.

Male Confidence Seminar

Andrew Dismukes is playing a variation on Tom Cruise's Frank T.J. Mackey character in Magnolia, an 'alpha' giving sad men tips on speaking to women. He's got a scarf and rings, the whole package. Well until a worker from Nu Water (Jordan) sits in and mocks his forehead. The facade quickly melts, as the attendees (played by the male cast members) follow Jordan.

Palm Springs bachelorette party

it's about to get hot in here! pic.twitter.com/4UeFs1pWsk  Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl) January 29, 2023

Vince (Jordan), a fireman (male stripper), joins a group for a fun night of debauchery. However, his wife (Gardner) shows up, blowing the buzz. Hijinks ensue. This is a funny companion to the male confidence sketch - this time, Jordan is joining the female cast members. A reversal! "Push, push, push!"

Lil Baby - "Forever"

This was produced by Fridayy, Bizness Boi & Fortune. It's a fine love song; that's about it!

Toyota commercial

Andrew Dismukes and James Austin Johnson are the King brothers  this is a good moment to recognize the versatility of both these cast members. Off highway 8 exit 260! But there's a problem with the left lane. It's the Overstock Sell-o-thon! They hate trendy chains encroaching on their lot, and have a lot of animosity against Raising Canes. Johnson's daughter says their plight is a "funhouse mirror" reflecting the American dream.

One note: This episode keeps reminding us how jacked and hot Michael B. Jordan is.

Falling down

  pic.twitter.com/Z36BnvJ7iw  Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl) January 29, 2023

Michael B. Jordan keeps falling while the music plays  with Andrew Dismukes as a witness. He falls again and again walking around 8H. It consumes him. Very silly and weird. The Kyle Mooney 10-to-1 slot is being filled.

Final thoughts

Well, how did we feel about this one? Vote here or weigh in below.

What did *you* think of the Michael B Jordan SNL?  THE SNL in Review Experience (@SNLinReview) January 29, 2023

Thank you to Denny Dillon! Go watch her in Servant! She shares: "This was a different experience for me completely. I was featured in the Stephen King's The Outsider on HBO so I had dipped my toes in the ominous world but M. Night has his own signature of dark. Once while shooting in Philadelphia a crew member remarked 'Denny, you're really funny.' And Lauren [Ambrose] said "Denny's been funny for a long, long time.' Made my day."

Happy 45th anniversary to this classic episode!

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This tiger, named Thomas, on Wednesday became a resident of the Topeka Zoo.

The new Sumatran tiger that arrived Wednesday at the Topeka Zoo has a pretty common name with some pretty famous roots.

Thomas is named after billionaire movie mogul Thomas Tull, perhaps best known as the executive producer of films that included "Jurassic World," "The Dark Knight," "The Hangover," "Inception" and "Man of Steel."

Tull and his wife, Alba Tull, donated $9 million to help pay to create the $19.5 million Tull Family Tiger Trail in the San Diego Zoo's Safari Park, where Thomas and his brother, Conrad, were born March 5, 2012.

The past six at the Topeka Zoo were named Sanjiv, Zayana, Badar, Bintang, Jingga and Kansa Raja.

More:Zayana, a Sumatran tiger born at the Topeka Zoo, flies to her new home in New Zealand

'Could harm one another if not separated'

Thomas and Conrad were relocated in 2016 to the Kansas City Zoo, which announced last summer on Facebook that Conrad was being moved to a Florida facility for breeding purposes.

"As siblings, 10-year-old Conrad and his brother Thomas have been able to live together peacefully but have reached an age where tigers become more aggressive and could harm one another if not separated," that post said. "Tigers are solitary animals for most of their lives and typically interact only for mating purposes.

The Topeka Zoo then announced Thursday that Thomas had been moved here as part of a Species Survival Plan partnership between zoos targeted at increasing animal populations while ensuring healthy genetic diversity.

A female Sumatran tiger is set to join Thomas at the Topeka Zoo next month, in hopes of establishing another successful breeding pair, said Alexandria "Lexi" Granados, the zoo's digital content creator.

Sumatran tigers are the smallest of the tiger subspecies, and are considered to be critically endangered. Less than 500 are thought to remain in the wild, according to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

Main threats to them include poaching, prey depletion, conflict with humans and disease, Granados said.

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Sumatran tigers can live up to 25 years in captivity.

More:Female Sumatran tiger Jingga has given birth to 7 cubs at Topeka Zoo. She's going to a different zoo.

'A very successful tiger program'

Of the 72 Sumatran tigers living in zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums in North America, seven were born at the Topeka Zoo, Granados said.

The Topeka Zoo was acting in line with SSP recommendations when three Sumatran tigers were born there in 2014, and four more in 2018.

"Our zoo has a very successful tiger program, and because of this, we are being trusted with a valuable breeding pair," Shanna Simpson, the zoo's animal curator, told The Capital-Journal last year. "We're looking forward to the challenge, and if all goes well, we can look forward to another set of cubs in the future."

The Topeka Zoo's four remaining Sumatran tigers were sent to other zoos last year, leaving its tiger habitat empty since early December.

Thomas adjusting 'perfectly'

Because Thomas is now the only tiger here, he will complete his quarantine period in the zoo's tiger habitat, Granados said.

That means that, weather permitting, guests might have a chance to see him there soon, she said.

Thomas is adjusting to his new home here "perfectly," Simpson said.

"Our focus for the next week is to begin the relationship building process between our animal care staff and Thomas," she said. "We will be spending time with him, feeding him, beginning training and helping him get used to his new home. We are not sure when he will be viewable for the public, but we will make sure to update everyone on how he is doing.

Contact Tim Hrenchir at threnchir@gannett.com or 785-213-5934.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Topeka Zoo receives first half of breeding pair of Sumatran tigers
By Simon Lewis

CAIRO (Reuters) -U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed in Egypt on Sunday at the start of a three-day visit to the Middle East as violence flares between Israelis and Palestinians, and with Iran and Ukraine high on the agenda.

Blinken heads on Monday to Jerusalem, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new right-wing government has stirred concern at home and abroad over the future of Israel's secular values, fraying relations with the Arab population and deadlock in peace talks with the Palestinians.

A Palestinian gunman killed seven people in an attack outside a Jerusalem synagogue on Friday, the worst attack on Israelis in the Jerusalem area since 2008. On Thursday, Israeli forces killed seven gunmen and two civilians in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin, the deadliest raid there in years.

In talks with the new Israeli administration, which includes ultra-nationalist parties that want to expand West Bank settlements, Blinken will repeat U.S. calls for calm and emphasize Washington's support for a two-state solution, although U.S. officials admit peace talks are not likely soon.

Blinken will also travel to Ramallah to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Netanyahu's government has proposed a sweeping overhaul of the judiciary that would strengthen political control over the appointment of judges while weakening the Supreme Court's ability to overturn laws or strike down government action.

DEMONSTRATIONS

The proposals have triggered big demonstrations against what protesters see as the undermining of judicial independence.

"It's clearly a measure of the vibrancy of the democracy that this has been contested so clearly up and down across segments of Israeli society," said Barbara Leaf, the top State Department official for the Middle East, briefing reporters ahead of the trip. Blinken will hear from people inside and outside of government on the reforms, she added.

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Leaf said the visit would also build on earlier efforts to restore relations between Israel and Arab nations through the Negev Forum, which takes in areas such as economic cooperation and tourism, but does not include the Palestinians.

Russia's 11-month-old war in Ukraine will also be on the agenda. Ukraine, which has received great quantities of military equipment from the United States and Europe, has pressed Israel in vain to provide systems to shoot down drones, including those supplied by Israel's regional adversary Iran.

While it has condemned the Russian invasion, Israel has limited its assistance to humanitarian aid and protective gear, citing a desire for continued cooperation with Moscow over Syria and to ensure the wellbeing of Russia's Jews.

The diplomats will also discuss U.S. efforts to revive the stalled 2015 deal between big powers and Iran, opposed by Israel, that lifted international sanctions in return for curbs on Iran's nuclear program.

RIGHTS CONCERNS

On Sunday, Blinken met with Egyptian youth leaders at the American University in Cairo, and told reporters he wanted to strengthen Washington's "strategic partnership" with Egypt.

Blinken will meet President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry on Monday, and discuss issues such as Sudans stuttering transition to democracy and elections in Libya, the State Department said.

Blinken will also be under pressure to raise human rights concerns.

The Biden administration has withheld some military aid to Egypt over its failure to meet human rights conditions, although advocacy groups have pushed for more to be withheld, alleging widespread abuses including torture and enforced disappearances.

Most of the $1.3 billion in military aid that Washington sends to Egypt each year remains intact and the United States says Sisi's government has made progress on reducing political detentions.

Sisi, who became president in 2014, has said Egypt holds no political prisoners, and argues that security is paramount and that the government is promoting human rights by working to provide basic needs such as jobs and housing.

(Reporting by Simon Lewis;Editing by Don Durfee, Frances Kerry and Kevin Liffey)
The Department of Justice (DOJ) requested that the court revise FTX founder Sam Bankman-Frieds bail conditions on Friday, amid concerns about possible witness tampering.

Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, asked that the judge bar Bankman-Fried from contacting current or former employees from his now defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX and hedge fund Alameda Research, as well as block him from using encrypted or ephemeral messaging platforms like Signal.

The new request comes after Bankman-Fried reportedly contacted an individual who has firsthand knowledge of his actions during the collapse of the crypto exchange in November and may serve as a government witness at trial.

I would love to reconnect and see if theres a way for us to have a constructive relationship, use each other as resources when possible, or at least vet things with each other, Bankman-Fried said in a message to the individual on Jan. 15, both via email and Signal.

Williams argued that the message is suggestive of an effort to influence the witnesss potential testimony and could constitute witness tampering.

Were the defendant to vet his version of relevant events with potential witnesses, that might have the effect of discouraging witnesses from testifying in a manner contrary to the defendants narrative, Williams noted.

Bankman-Fried has reportedly also contacted other current and former FTX employees, according to Williams.

The attorney also asked the court to bar Bankman-Fried from using encrypted or ephemeral call and messaging platforms to prevent obstruction of justice, pointing to the FTX founders previous use of automatic deletion functions on Slack and Signal.

Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas in December on a variety of charges, including wire fraud, securities fraud, money laundering and campaign finance violations. Prosecutors have accused the 30-year-old of allegedly developing a scheme to defraud FTX customers and investors.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
WASHINGTON  In the four years since Congress enacted the current farm bill, more than 40 percent of the seats in the House have turned over.

Nearly 200 of the 435 members may know little about the multiyear, far-ranging and sometimes contentious legislation, posing a challenge to House Agriculture Chairman Glenn Thompson as he writes a 2023 farm bill. Thompson, R-Pa., faces a tight timetable because his panel is slated, under an arrangement with the Senate Agriculture Committee, to take the lead on moving legislation before the current farm bill expires Sept. 30.

Interest groups with a stake in the bill talk openly about the many newcomers as they seek to get their messages to lawmakers, even on the House Agriculture Committee. Only nine of the panels 27 Republican members, including Thompson, were in the 115th Congress, which produced the 2018 farm bill. House Democrats havent yet named their committee roster.

Thompson told the Mayors Alliance to End Childhood Hunger that many House members have never deliberated or voted on a farm bill. I would argue that we are going to have a significant number of the Agriculture Committee that have never been involved.

Republicans may have been eyeing that inexperience when the Steering Committee backed Rep. Frank D. Lucas of Oklahoma to return to the panel that he led from 2011 to 2015, and where he helped write the farm bill enacted in early 2014. He was still a committee member for the 2018 bill.

But interest groups note a second challenge this year: Lawmakers will be trying to reauthorize agriculture programs in the first year of the new Congress, in contrast to 2018, when even freshmen had a year of legislative work under their belts before serious work began on the farm bill.

Thompson told the mayors Wednesday that member education is important and that the mayors could provide that by being at the table to provide information to help in what I see as an evaluation and assessment period. You know the people in your community.

Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., a senior member on the House Agriculture Committee, agreed with Thompson.

It is important that you provide members of both sides of the aisle the facts, what works and what doesnt, McGovern told the mayors.

Interest groups are readying meetings in Washington and staff briefings on the Hill to help bridge knowledge gaps.

We have been trying to think about the full House from Day One and trying to do some work to message to those noncommittee members early about why getting this bill over the finish line is so critical to our membership, said Anne Thompson, director of the National Corn Growers Association political strategy and political action committee.

The loss of some of the institutional knowledge that were seeing in this new session of Congress really puts the onus back on us to up our game in terms of communications and advocacy, to really create a level of understanding that will be needed to make this a success, Thompson said, noting that she has tracked the turnover.

She said the corn growers will do outreach to new lawmakers and staffers on the farm bill and other issues important to farmers. The group plans a Jan. 31 staff briefing on concerns about an impending ban by Mexico on imported genetically modified corn that cut U.S. corn sales. Among its many purposes, the farm bill seeks to boost exports and humanitarian food assistance.

Mike Lavender, interim policy director for the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, said Republican members who havent gone through a farm bill will be helped by some members who have agriculture backgrounds or represent districts where agriculture is important to the economy and constituents expect them to be knowledgeable about farm bill issues.

Second-term Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., for example, is an Agriculture Committee member who grew up on a cattle ranch and was previously a deputy chief of staff for a member of the committee.

But the full Congress is far less likely to know much about the farm bill, Lavender said.

Lavender also cited a strength that at least some interest groups have: members living in congressional districts around the country.

Where we start the education process in building relationships is not necessarily with a D.C. focus but with a focus of making sure the connections in districts are made, he said, adding that the coalition has more than 130 member organizations with people in nearly every state.

He said the compressed schedule for the farm bill in the current Congress raises the bar for his group to be ready.

Were writing the farm bill in the year when new members are entering Congress. In some ways, it adds to the urgency of it, he said, but building relationships with lawmakers cant be rushed.

Lavender said memories of the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic will strengthen his organizations message to new members regardless of their agriculture background. The coalitions priorities are policies to develop and support local and regional food systems.

He said the empty grocery shelves in the early days of the pandemic and ensuing supply chain problems have raised the profile of food and agriculture issues with a broader range of new lawmakers.

Members can come from this from their own experiences. Sometimes they surprise you, in a good way, Lavender said.

Biggest farming county in every state Biggest farming county in every state Alabama: De Kalb Alaska: Anchorage Arizona: Maricopa Arkansas: Benton California: Fresno Colorado: Weld Connecticut: New London Delaware: Sussex Florida: Palm Beach Georgia: Tattnall Hawaii: Hawaii Idaho: Cassia Illinois: Mclean Indiana: Jay Iowa: Sioux Kansas: Haskell Kentucky: Graves Louisiana: Rapides Maine: Aroostook Maryland: Wicomico Massachusetts: Plymouth Michigan: Huron Minnesota: Stearns Mississippi: Leake Missouri: Barry Montana: Chouteau Nebraska: Cuming Nevada: Humboldt New Hampshire: Merrimack New Jersey: Cumberland New Mexico: Curry New York: Wyoming North Carolina: Duplin North Dakota: Cass Ohio: Mercer Oklahoma: Texas Oregon: Marion Pennsylvania: Lancaster Rhode Island: Washington South Carolina: Lexington South Dakota: Spink Tennessee: Bedford Texas: Deaf Smith Utah: Beaver Vermont: Franklin Virginia: Rockingham Washington: Yakima West Virginia: Hardy Wisconsin: Dane Wyoming: Goshen
Tennessee has rejected millions of dollars from the federal government for HIV/AIDS prevention - a move that public health experts worry will politicize the response to the disease and has the potential to destabilize decades of progress in getting the epidemic under control.

The controversy, which critics say was triggered by questions about the inclusion of transgender and abortion rights groups, is the latest example of Republican pushback against federal leadership and oversight that has resulted in clashes in areas that once had bipartisan support.

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"This is something that is dangerous," said Greg Millett, director of public policy for Amfar, a leading AIDS nonprofit, and a former senior policy adviser in the White House Office of National AIDS Policy until 2014. "This is part of a larger backlash against public health we've been seeing in our country the past few years."

The tensions in Tennessee began in the fall, when Republican Gov. Bill Lee voiced disapproval of two HIV grant recipients spotlighted in conservative media - a task force on transgender health issues and Planned Parenthood. The conflict escalated late last week when the state announced that after May 31, it would no longer accept any money from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for testing, prevention and surveillance of HIV.

State officials said they would continue to support HIV testing and prevention but would focus on first responders, victims of human trafficking and mothers and children. In contrast, the federal program prioritizes men who have sex with men and transgender people, particularly in communities of color, who are at greatest risk of HIV, according to federal surveillance data.

"It's pretty hard not to think that part of the motivation is to restrict funding to groups we don't like and don't want to support," said Wayne Smith, who runs a faith-based HIV prevention program in Knoxville that will lose about $10,000 for testing each year.

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Joseph Cherabie, an infectious-disease physician at Washington University in St. Louis who oversees an HIV prevention program, called the decision "a coordinated effort in order to try to dehumanize and stigmatize the LGBT community."

Those who have long battled HIV say they are fearful about the human cost. Indiana drew national scrutiny in 2015 when one rural county saw 200 new HIV cases in a short period driven by intravenous drug use, at a time when then-Gov. Mike Pence delayed allowing a clean needle exchange program. And in 2017, after then-Florida Gov. Rick Scott returned $54 million in unspent federal funds for HIV, the state saw the highest number of new HIV diagnoses in the United States.

For advocates of the gay and transgender communities in Tennessee, concerns about new disease outbreaks are magnified by the fact that Shelby County, home to Memphis, already has one of the highest rates of new HIV infections in the United States. Nationwide, about 35,000 new cases are reported each year.

Lee told reporters Friday that he still believes HIV prevention is "very important," but that "we think we can do that better than the strings attached with the federal dollars that came our way."

But neither he nor state health officials would explain why they decided to target new groups, how they planned to distribute state funding, or what shape their programs would take.

Health-care groups said the decision to forgo federal funding would allow state officials to elevate conservative organizations whose goals may be more about imposing their values on others because the state would no longer have to follow CDC guidelines on scientific, evidence-based medicine. They drew parallels to how "crisis pregnancy centers" backed by social conservatives advertise themselves as health-care entities but are primarily concerned with preventing women from getting abortions.

Tennessee has received about $8.3 million annually from the CDC for HIV prevention efforts. The governor's office said it is committed to maintaining the same funding levels.

CDC spokesman Scott Pauley said the agency had not received official notification from the Tennessee Department of Health withdrawing from the CDC's funding.

"We would certainly be concerned if the services people in Tennessee need to stay healthy were interrupted, or if public health capacity to respond to HIV outbreaks and bring an end to this epidemic were hindered," he said.

- - -

For several decades, HIV/AIDS had seemed to be insulated from the partisan politics that has created conflict and confusion for other health-care goals - over the coronavirus response, abortion rights, surgery that helps people transition to their self-identified genders, and even the expansion of Medicaid.

It was President George W. Bush who signed legislation in 2003 authorizing Pepfar, or the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, which some have described as the most effective government effort ever to address a global disease outbreak.

President Barack Obama helped reorient domestic strategy to focus on PrEP drugs to stop the spread of new infections and provided the means to make those medications available through federal funding and mandating insurance coverage. President Donald Trump continued that tradition in his 2019 State of the Union address, announcing an initiative to stop new HIV infections in the United States by 2030.

Some of the funds coming to Tennessee had in fact been authorized under Trump's plan, which concentrated resources on 50 "hot spots," including Shelby County, that are leading the country in new infections.

Even before Tennessee's decision, there had been other signs of a splintering of the bipartisan coalition supporting federal HIV surveillance and prevention policies.

In Texas, religious employers brought a suit arguing they shouldn't have to pay for HIV-prevention drugs that are mandated by the Affordable Care Act, and in September, a federal judge sided with them, citing the right to religious freedom. And in West Virginia, state and local officials imposed new barriers on sterile-syringe programs targeted at reducing the spread of HIV even as the Biden administration has pushed to expand them.

Jeremiah Johnson, acting executive director of PrEP4All, an HIV advocacy group, pointed out that the lifetime cost of a single new HIV infection is estimated at $500,000.

"It's always disconcerting when we end up being considered less important to invest in, and less important to invest our health-care concerns. It's a slippery slope. . . . Whom does public health serve?" he asked.

But community groups say the battle isn't over.

Molly Rose Quinn, executive director of OutMemphis, Tennessee's largest LGBTQ health organization, said groups across the state are trying to figure out alternative funding and exploring whether the grants could bypass the state and be administered by a county or other municipality that would partner with community groups.

"A state choosing to back away from federal money for health care - if they do get away with it - could introduce a very dangerous pattern," she said. Her group has received $180,000 from the CDC program for HIV testing.

"We're just really freaked out honestly," Quinn added. "We are concerned not only for the people we serve directly, but statewide, the HIV transmission rates are alarming in this part of the country."

- - -

The issue that blew up the Tennessee program was unrelated to HIV prevention.

Groups that relied on the grants said they had operated mostly without controversy until October, when they were pulled into a conservative firestorm over surgeries at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital's transgender care clinic in Nashville that help people transition to the gender that matches how they identify. An article on a conservative news site falsely accused Planned Parenthood's Memphis clinic of conducting such surgeries on youths, as well, and a transgender task force getting CDC funding was accused, again falsely, of starting as an HIV prevention group but then expanding "to promote transgender surgeries and abortion."

Lee, who was running for reelection as governor, promised a "thorough investigation."

He disavowed and defunded the task force, citing its "extreme ideologies." The group had been created in 2018, before he took office, to develop HIV prevention programs for transgender people and sought to provide a guidebook of trans-affirming health-care providers and webinars. It had received $10,000 annually from the CDC grant. Around the same time, Planned Parenthood officials said that they were told they would no longer receive HIV tests from the state to distribute to their patients and that a free-condom program they had managed for decades would lose its $225,000 annual funding.

"The attacks are getting worse and worse, day by day in our community," said Ray Holloman, who chairs the nine-member Task Force for Transgender Health.

Ashley Coffield, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi, said that ending the AIDS epidemic requires a coordinated federal strategy, rather than one-off efforts by a single state - especially one that borders so many other states. She worries about new disease outbreaks "not just in the highest risk, but in the general population."

"Walking away from these programs could take HIV back a generation," Coffield said.

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An equal percentage of Americans said they were concerned about classified documents found at the homes of both President Biden and former President Trump.

In a new NBC News poll published on Sunday, 67 percent of respondents said they were concerned about classified documents being found at Bidens Delaware home, with the same percentage saying the same of materials found at Trumps Florida property.

The percentage differed slightly when respondents were asked the opposite, with 18 percent saying theyre not worried about the controversy when it came to Biden and 20 percent when it came to Trump.

The NBC News poll comes as both Biden and Trump face criticism over classified materials being discovered at their homes. Attorney General Merrick Garland has appointed special counsels to oversee the investigations in both cases.

Materials were also discovered last week at the Indiana home of former Vice President Mike Pence, with his attorney writing in a letter that Pences team notified the National Archives about the discovery of a small number of documents at the former vice presidents residence.

Pences attorney said Pence was unaware of the existence of sensitive or classified documents at his personal residence.

The NBC News poll was conducted from Jan. 20 to Jan. 24 with a total of 1,000 respondents participating in the survey. The polls margin of error was 3.1 percentage points.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The world has enough rare earth minerals and other critical raw materials to switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy to produce electricity and limit global warming, according to a new study that counters concerns about the supply of such minerals.

With a push to get more electricity from solar panels, wind turbines, hydroelectric and nuclear power plants, some people have worried that there wont be enough key minerals to make the decarbonization switch.

Rare earth minerals, also called rare earth elements, actually aren't that rare. The U.S. Geological Survey describes them as a relatively abundant. They're essential for the strong magnets necessary for wind turbines; they also show up in smartphones, computer displays and LED light bulbs. This new study looks at not only those elements but 17 different raw materials required to make electricity that include some downright common resources such as steel, cement and glass.

A team of scientists looked at the materials  many not often mined heavily in the past  and 20 different power sources. They calculated supplies and pollution from mining if green power surged to meet global goals to cut heat-trapping carbon emissions from fossil fuel.

Much more mining is needed, but there are enough minerals to go around and drilling for them will not significantly worsen warming, the study in Fridays scientific journal Joule concluded.

Decarbonization is going to be big and messy, but at the same time we can do it, said study co-author Zeke Hausfather, a climate scientist at the tech company Stripe and Berkeley Earth. Im not worried were going to run out of these materials."

Much of the global concern about raw materials for decarbonization has to do with batteries and transportation, especially electric cars that rely on lithium for batteries. This study doesnt look at that.

Looking at mineral demands for batteries is much more complicated than for electric power and thats what the team will do next, Hausfather said. The power sector is still about one-third to half of the resource issue, he said.

Story continues

A lot depends on how fast the world switches to green energy.

There will be short supplies. For example, dysprosium is a mineral used for magnets in wind turbines and a big push for cleaner electricity would require three times as much dysprosium as currently produced, the paper said. But theres more than 12 times as much dysprosium in reserves than would be needed in that clean energy push.

Another close call is tellurium, which is used in industrial solar farms and where there may be only slightly more estimated resources than what would be required in a big green push. But Hausfather said there are substitutions available in all these materials' cases.

There are enough materials in reserves. The analysis is robust and this study debunks those (running out of minerals) concerns, said Daniel Ibarra, an environment professor at Brown University, who wasnt part of the study but looks at lithium shortages. But he said production capacity has to grow for some key metals" and one issue is how fast can it grow.

Another concern is whether the mining will add more heat-trapping carbon emissions to the atmosphere. It will, maybe as much as 10 billion metric tons, which is one-quarter of the annual global carbon emissions, Hausfather said. Renewables require more materials per energy output than fossil fuels because they are more decentralized, he said.

But the increase in carbon pollution from more mining will be more than offset by a huge reduction in pollution from heavy carbon emitting fossil fuels, Hausfeather said.

Stanford Universitys Rob Jackson, who wasnt part of the study, said while multiple lines of evidence show there are enough rare earth minerals, balance is needed: Along with mining more, we should be using less."

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Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about APs climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event at the South Carolina State House in Columbia, S.C., on January 28, 2023. AP Photo/Alex Brandon

Trump on Saturday stepped up his criticism of DeSantis as the GOP presidential campaign heats up.

As he spoke to reporters, the former president took credit for DeSantis' rise: "I got him elected."

Trump traveled to New Hampshire and South Carolina on Saturday to rally support among Republicans.

Former President Donald Trump on Saturday stepped up his political campaign against Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida  a potential competitor for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination  stating that the Sunshine State leader "won't be leading" in polling and continuing to take credit for the former congressman's political ascent.

After Trump announced his third presidential bid last November, he pretty much went cold on the campaign trail  a rarity for him.

But on Saturday, he made major appearances in New Hampshire and South Carolina, two key early-voting states that will play an outsized role in the nomination process.

During his speeches, he sought to rally his base  taking swings at President Joe Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York while also railing against immigration issues at the US-Mexico border and the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

While speaking to reporters, though, Trump let loose on DeSantis, who had long been his political ally  but who now could threaten his goal of securing the GOP presidential nomination next year.

Per Politico, Trump accused DeSantis of seeking to "rewrite history" when it came to his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, arguing that the Florida governor "promoted the vaccine as much as anyone."

Among GOP governors, DeSantis has long been one of the strongest opponents of vaccine mandates and fought vigorously against vaccine passports, even as he also touted the high vaccination rates of Floridians aged 65 and older.

But by late last year, DeSantis had become much more critical of COVID-19 vaccines, as Insider's Kimberly Leonard reported, putting him far to the right of Trump on the issue.

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Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida at a news conference in Miami, Fla., on January 26, 2023. AP Photo/Marta Lavandier

On Saturday, the former president continued his broadsides against DeSantis.

"When I hear that he might [run] I think it's very disloyal," Trump said of the Florida governor, according to Politico.

While Trump continues to lead in many national polls among prospective 2024 GOP voters, his once impenetrable standing has declined in some statewide polling.

Last week, a University of New Hampshire Survey Center poll showed DeSantis ahead of Trump by 12 points, with 46%  or slightly less than half  of all GOP respondents stating that they wanted to see the former president on the ballot again next year.

Polling in South Carolina has been murkier, with both Trump and DeSantis coming out on top in two separate polls released in the past few months.

But Trump has cast aside the possibility that he's behind in the GOP race  or that he would be pushed to the side should the Florida governor enter the primary.

"He won't be leading, I got him elected," the former president said, alluding to his 2018 endorsement of DeSantis which catapulted the then-congressman to the top of the GOP gubernatorial field that year. "I'm the one that chose him."

Read the original article on Business Insider
By Anthony Boadle

BRASILIA (Reuters) - The number of people making a perilous crossing on foot of the Darien Gap jungle between Colombia and Panama as they head north to try to get to the United States has dropped significantly since the U.S. government tightened its rules on migrants, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.

Earlier this month Washington expanded COVID-19 pandemic-era restrictions to include migrants from Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua and not just Venezuelans as people who can be expelled back to Mexico if caught crossing the border into the United States. The restrictions are known as Title 42.

IOM Director General Antonio Vitorino said the measure was discouraging people from heading north.

"There was a drop in the numbers of people that cross the Darien in the first three weeks of January with the new rules for Title 42 adopted by the U.S. administration," he told Reuters on Friday.

Vitorino said 133,000 people made the Darien crossing in 2021, the same number as in the whole previous 10 years, and the crossings almost doubled to 250,000 last year, mostly Venezuelan migrants but also Haitians.

The migrants have suffered murders and rape, and been subjected to extortion and prostitution by armed gangs crossing through dense jungle between Colombia and Panama, he said.

They arrive in Panama extremely dehydrated and in terrible medical conditions, especially the women and children, he added.

Vitorino also noted what he called a "serious humanitarian crisis" at the U.S.-Mexico border with the high number of migrants barred from entering the United States or expelled back to Mexico.

"Most of the 75 shelters IOM supports at the border are overcrowded. People need everything: shelter, food, water, warm clothes," he said.

According to the IOM, 6 million Venezuelans have left their country, mostly migrating to Latin American neighbors Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Brazil. Others set off on the uncertain journey north to try to get into the United States.

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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said on Wednesday that the number of migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela caught crossing the U.S.-Mexico border dropped off dramatically from December to January following the new rules.

The Biden administration expanded the Title 42 program as it sought to cope with record numbers of migrants attempting to cross the border, at the same time expanding legal pathways to enter the United States.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in December that the policy should stay in place as it considers a legal challenge to the policy. Vitorino said the IOM is waiting for the Supreme Court to clarify its position on the new rules.

Under the new rules, up to 30,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela may enter the United States per month with a two-year temporary humanitarian "parole."

(Reporting by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Frances Kerry)
Alex Plavevski / Shutterstock

Chinas COVID disaster is entering a critical phase. The BA.5.2 subvariant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is spreading essentially unchecked through a population of 1.4 billion people with weak COVID immunity. And as the virus is spreading, its mutatingfast.

If the rest of the worlds experience with the same form of COVID is any indication, one of two things will happen in China in the coming weeks and months. The virus could settle down on a genetic level and produce a succession of subvariants closely related to BA.5.2ones that the Chinese populations slowly increasing immunity should be able to handle. Or, the unrestrained transmission and runaway mutations will lead to a genetic breakthrough for SARS-CoV-2.

In that case, we might see the first new major variant since Omicron appeared more than a year ago.

Thats the worst-case scenario. The worry is that new variants, or Omicron subvariants, will be created that are more immune-evasive and will be able to infect those outside of China who currently have some degree of protection from vaccines or previous infection, John Swartzberg, a professor emeritus of infectious diseases and vaccinology at the University of California-Berkeley's School of Public Health, told The Daily Beast.

For all the debate over shutdowns, masks and vaccines, most countries blundered into a fairly effective approach to COVID. Through 2020 and into 2021, many governments restrictedif not shut downretail businesses, schools, crowds and travel. That helped slow the virus spread until vaccines were available from late 2020.

Chinas COVID Plan Is Threatening Disaster Once Again

Over the next two years, most of the worlds eight billion people got at least one shot of some reasonably effective COVID vaccineand billions got fully vaccinated and boosted, too. That made it safe for countries to gradually lift restrictions. Most of the world reopened.

Yes, that meant more viral spread at first. And in late 2021, that produced the Omicron variant and its many subvariants, which are still dominant today. In most countries, vaccines blunted the worst impacts of back-to-back-to-back Omicron waves. Case rates went up and down but, overall, hospitalizations and deaths trended down.

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Most of the world had entered a beneficial cycle that began with mass-vaccination. The protection from vaccines gradually faded, but natural antibodies from past infection more than made up for it. People were getting infected and reinfected, but each infection refreshed the natural antibodies that usually made the next infection milder than the last.

Epidemiologists expect this cycle to continue unlessand untilthe SARS-CoV-2 virus makes some huge evolutionary leap that renders all existing antibodies ineffective. The more infections that occur, as in China, the more times the Omicron evolutionary dice are rolled and the more chances [there are] for new subvariants to arise, Eric Bortz, a University of Alaska-Anchorage virologist and public-health expert, told The Daily Beast. It's like adding new spices into the soup.

If that evolutionary leap happens, itll probably happen in China, the one country that locked down in early 2020 and stayed locked down for nearly three years. Only on Dec. 8, following widespread public protests in many major cities, did the ruling Chinese Communist Party finally lift major restrictions.

The situation completely changed on Dec. 8, Ben Cowling, a professor of epidemiology at The University of Hong Kong, told The Daily Beast. The restrictions had contained COVID, resulting in what was one of the lowest overall case-rates of any country. But the lack of infections also meant a lack of natural antibodies.

Yes, around 90 percent of the Chinese population was at least partially vaccinated. But most Chinese got jabbed more than a year ago. By December, the protection from those early vaccinations had pretty much worn off.

So when restrictions were lifted and 1.4 billion Chinese finally started going out and traveling, they did so without the natural immunity that the rest of the world had earned the hard way, through past infection. It should come as no surprise that SARS-CoV-2 spread fast in China starting six weeks ago. Its inevitable that the end of lockdown would lead to a large number of cases, Cindy Prins, a University of Florida epidemiologist, told The Daily Beast.

No one outside of the Chinese Communist Party knows for sure exactly how many Chinese have caught COVID in recent weeks. The paranoid, authoritarian CCP stopped sharing good data shortly after lifting restrictions. But testing of air travelers from China is fragmentary evidence of a major crisis.

The same testing, along with hundreds of viral samples that Chinese epidemiologists have uploaded to a global COVID database, tells us which forms of the virus are dominant in China. While most of the world is on the down-slope of a medium-sized winter wave caused by XBB, a recombinant blend of several Omicron subvariants, Chinas just now catching BA.5.2, a subvariant that was dominant everywhere else around six months ago.

And those millionsor even tens of millionsof Chinese BA.5.2 infections have spawned a trio of BA.5.2 spinoffs. Viral samples from several Chinese cities, uploaded last week, were the first evidence of BA.5.2.48, BA.5.2.49 and BA.5.2.50. Thats right: China is now evolving its own forms of COVID.

Its a problem for China, of course, which has weeks or months of suffering ahead of it as authorities scramble to organize fresh rounds of vaccinations. The jabs are triagea desperate effort to prevent overfull hospitals from collapsing as the Chinese population slowly, painfully builds up its natural immunity.

Given Chinas sky-high COVID infection rate, accelerating mutation is unavoidable. The most optimistic scenario would be the virus evolution hewing close to BA.5.2albeit at great cost to millions of everyday Chinese. Chinas domestically produced vaccines seem to work fine against Omicron and its subvariants. The natural antibodies from BA.5.2 infections should offer strong protection against BA.5.2.48, 49, 50and even 51, 52, 53 and so on.

Subvariants might mix, like they did in much of the rest of the world. China might even get its own version of the recombinant XBB, Edwin Michael, an epidemiologist at the Center for Global Health Infectious Disease Research at the University of South Florida, told The Daily Beast. That subvariant is more transmissible than previous subvariants and it somewhat evades our antibodies. But its still a form of Omicron. Its manageable.

This Game of Chance Could Curb COVIDor Send It Spiraling

But a major outbreak in a population of 1.4 billion increases the chance that the virus will make a big evolutionary leap. Similar to the leaps that produced the Delta variant back in late 2020 and Omicron a year later. A new variant could be even more transmissible than the Omicron subvariantsand it might totally evade our antibodies.

A new variant could spread from China to the rest of the world, surging across populations that have grown complacent against COVID because theyve only been dealing with Omicron and its subvariants for more than a year now.

Remember early 2020, when we had neither effective vaccines nor natural antibodies and no way to slow viral transmission except to mask up and stay home? Thats the worst-case scenario, for the whole world, if Chinas accelerating BA.5.2 outbreak reaches genetic escape-velocity, so to speak, and evolves a brand-new variant.

A dangerous new variant isnt likely, Prins stressed. The U.S. got through its worst Omicron wave without producing a new variant. So did Europe and Asia outside of China. Its possible that after this first post-Zero-COVID wave subsides and immunity from it wanes that we could see new variants arise, Prins said, but I dont think that is any more likely to happen in China than [it was] in other countries.

But its possible. And its a little more possible with each passing day until Chinas wave of infections crests. Stay alert. Get boosted. The pandemic isnt over.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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MEMPHIS, Tenn.  The Memphis police chief on Saturday disbanded the city's so-called Scorpion unit after some of its officers beat to death Tyre Nichols, reversing an earlier statement that she would keep the unit intact.

Police Director Cerelyn "CJ" Davis said she listened to Nichols' relatives, community leaders and uninvolved officers in making the decision.

Referring to "the heinous actions of a few" that cast "a cloud of dishonor" on the unit, Davis said it was imperative that the department "take proactive steps in the healing process."

"It is in the best interest of all to permanently deactivate the Scorpion unit," she said in a statement. She said the officers currently assigned to the unit agreed "unreservedly" with the step.

Scorpion stands for Street Crimes Operations to Restore Peace in our Neighborhoods. The unit is composed of three teams of about 30 officers who target violent offenders in areas beset by high crime. It had been inactive since Nichols' Jan. 7 arrest.

Protesters marching though downtown Memphis cheered when they heard the unit had been dissolved. One demonstrator said over a bullhorn: "the unit that killed Tyre has been permanently disbanded."

Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, lawyers for the Nichols family, said the move was "a decent and just decision for all citizens of Memphis.

We must keep in mind that this is just the next step on this journey for justice and accountability, as clearly this misconduct is not restricted to these specialty units. It extends so much further, they said.

The disbanding was announced as the nation and the city struggled to come to grips with video showing police pummeling the Black motorist.

The footage released Friday left many unanswered questions about the traffic stop involving Nichols and about other law enforcement officers who stood by as he lay motionless on the pavement. It also renewed doubts about why fatal encounters with law enforcement continue to happen after repeated calls for change.

The five disgraced former Memphis Police Department officers, who are also Black, have been fired and charged with murder and other crimes in Nichols' death three days after the arrest.

The recording shows police savagely beating Nichols, a 29-year-old FedEx worker, for three minutes while screaming profanities at him in an assault that the Nichols family legal team has likened to the infamous 1991 police beating of Los Angeles motorist Rodney King. Nichols calls out for his mother before his limp body is propped against a squad car and the officers exchange fist-bumps.

The five officers  Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith  face up to 60 years in prison if convicted of second-degree murder.

Davis has said other officers are under investigation, and Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner said two deputies were relieved of duty without pay while their conduct is investigated.

Rodney Wells, Nichols' stepfather, said the family would "continue to seek justice" and noted that several other officers failed to render aid, making them "just as culpable as the officers who threw the blows."

A Memphis police spokeswoman declined to comment on the role played by other officers who showed up at the scene.

Cities nationwide braced for demonstrations, but the protests were scattered and nonviolent. Several dozen demonstrators in Memphis blocked the Interstate 55 bridge that carries traffic over the Mississippi River toward Arkansas. Protesters also blocked traffic in New York City, Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon.

Blake Ballin, the lawyer for Mills, told The Associated Press in a statement Saturday that the videos "produced as many questions as they have answers."

Some of the questions will focus on what Mills "knew and what he was able to see" and whether his actions "crossed the lines that were crossed by other officers during this incident," Ballin said.

Davis acknowledged that the police department has a supervisor shortage and said the lack of a supervisor in the arrest was a "major problem." City officials have pledged to provide more of them.

Questions swirled around what led to the traffic stop in the first place. One officer can be heard saying that Nichols wouldn't stop and then swerved as though he intended to hit the officer's car. The officer said that when Nichols pulled up to a red light, the officers jumped out of the car.

But Davis said the department cannot substantiate the reason for the stop. "We don't know what happened," she said, adding, "All we know is the amount of force that was applied in this situation was over the top."

The officers beat Nichols with a baton, and kick and punch him. It takes more than 20 minutes after Nichols is beaten and on the pavement before any sort of medical attention is provided.

Throughout the videos, officers make claims about Nichols' behavior that are not supported by the footage or that the district attorney and other officials have said did not happen.

During a speech Saturday in Harlem, the Rev. Al Sharpton said the beating was particularly egregious because the officers were Black, too.

"Your Blackness will not stop us from fighting you," he said. "These five cops not only disgraced their names, they disgraced our race."
Johannesburg  A German foreign ministry quip about leopards and an African tour by Russia's top diplomat has sparked a cool response on the continent, ranging from bewilderment to accusations of insensitivity. On Wednesday, Germany said it would deliver 14 of its top-of-the-line Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, bolstering support for the country in its fight against the Russian invasion along with the U.S., which promised 31 M1 Abrams tanks.



The move was announced as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was in southern Africa on a trip aimed at drumming support for Moscow.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov meets South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor (not seen) during his official visit in Pretoria, South Africa, January 23, 2023. / Credit: Ihsaan Haffejee/Anadolu Agency/Getty

U.S. "concerned" over South Africa's looming war games with Russia

"Lavrov is in Africa, not to see (leopard emoji) but to bluntly claim that #Ukraine's partners 'want to destroy everything Russian'," the German foreign office tweeted.

The Russian Foreign Minister #Lavrov is in Africa, not to see , but to bluntly claim that #Ukraines partners want to destroy everything Russian. Here is a  with all of his evidence: 1/3  GermanForeignOffice (@GermanyDiplo) January 24, 2023

Some were unimpressed by the pun and hit at the emoji as a stereotype of Africa as a land for little more than safaris.



Ebba Kalondo, spokeswoman for the African Union's chair, replied asking whether German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock had also "come to see animals" when she visited the Ethiopia-based AU headquarters this month.



"Or is the Continent of Africa, its people & wildlife just a joke to you?" she wrote.

Can the U.S. catch up with China and Russia's African outreach

Zainab Usman, head of the Africa Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said the tweet was "not a good look."

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This is not a good look, @GermanyDiplo. Using terrible stereotypes of Africa (Africa is a vast landscape of wild animals in the bush) to score a geopolitical upper cut to an adversary in a European war will not win you any African friends. Tone deaf! Do better! https://t.co/YwOZopBg1M  Zainab Usman (@MssZeeUsman) January 25, 2023

"Using terrible stereotypes... to score a geopolitical upper cut to an adversary in a European war will not win you any African friends. Tone deaf! Do better!" she wrote on Twitter.



Later the German foreign office replied it was "sorry" and the tweet was "in no way intended to mean offense" but to call out "the lies that Russia uses to justify its war of aggression."



"Point taken. Thinking of a different, German breed of leopards may have made us miss the connotation you are pointing out," it said in a reply to Usman.

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Rendering of the expected diverging diamond interchange set to debut at Glades Road and I-95 in Boca Raton, in late January 2023.

Boca Raton-area commuters, take note: The new highway interchange linking Glades Road to Interstate 95 opens in its initial phase at 6 a.m. Monday. The diverging-diamond-style interchange will debut with three open lanes in each (east/west) direction.

For the first two weeks, law enforcement officers will be on location to monitor the traffic flow daily from 11 p.m. to 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., says the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT).

More:Palm Beach County's first 'diverging diamond' interchange is almost here. How will it work?

More:Glades Road interchange ready to open; what about the rest of I-95 in south Palm Beach County?

Bicyclists can expect two 7-foot bike lanes open in each direction Monday as well. But pedestrian traffic will be temporarily reworked. With the northern sidewalk closed, pedestrians will have to use the southern sidewalk (Airport Road at Renaissance Way), the FDOT says.

Crossing over I-95, the diverging-diamond interchange will allow motorists to enter the highway or continue straight ahead without crossing in front of oncoming traffic. Transportation officials say the innovative system is safer and reduces the possibility of accidents.

Once additional construction is completed, authorities will open a fourth lane in each direction.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: New I-95 interchange in at Glades Road in Boca debuts Monday morning
EVANSVILLE  Three days after a fire engulfed yet another Evansville warehouse, officials were still on scene, even as torrential rain fell on the site.

According to a news release from Evansville Fire Department spokesman Mike Larson, several agencies met at the warehouse to discuss how to move forward with the investigation, which is expected to start in earnest on Wednesday.

There have been no reported injuries, and no information has been released as to what could have possibly started the blaze in the 1400 and 1500 blocks of North Garvin Street.

Here's what we know about the fire so far.

Evansville Fire Department personnel continue to put water on the hot spots Monday afternoon at a four-alarm fire that broke out in a warehouse in the 1400 block of North Garvin Street Saturday morning, Dec. 31, 2022.

Who is investigating?

A bevy of local, state and federal offices have responded to the scene, Larson said: the EFD; the Evansville Police Department; the Evansville-Vanderburgh Emergency Management Agency; the Indiana State Fire Marshal; and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which also responded to another giant Evansville warehouse fire in October.

The state fire marshal's office will lead the investigation, with EFD and EPD assisting, Larson said.

At EFD's request, central dispatch declined to release 911 calls and run cards connected to the fire until the investigation begins.

Who owns the building? And what was inside it?

According to the Indiana Secretary of State's office, the building is owned through Garvin Street Warehouse LLC: a limited liability company. Its registered agent was listed as Stewart Klipsch. The Courier & Press left a message with Klipsch on Tuesday morning.

Property taxes on the building were last paid in May, according to assessor records.

The warehouse was previously owned by Faultless Caster (or "castor"), which moved into the city in 1913 to be "close to what was, at the time, one of the worlds leading centers for furniture production," the company website states.

Like its name says, the company made casters  the small, pivoting wheels on office chairs  and was a major employer in the city before leaving town in the early 2000s. Faultless sold the warehouse to Garvin Street Warehouse LLC in 2006 for a little more than $2 million, assessor records state.

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The warehouse has since been used as rental space for industrial storage. According to a real estate ad in a 2006 edition of the Courier & Press, it offered more than 95,000 square feet for rent.

The building itself was much larger, however. In a news release, Larson said more than 260,000 square feet burned overall.

Not much is known about what was inside the building when it caught fire  or what Evansville residents were breathing in. During a news conference Wednesday, Larson said the only thing he knew the warehouse stored for sure were trailers of "plastic pellets." He didn't elaborate beyond that.

On Saturday, EFD encouraged people living in the immediate area to keep their windows and doors sealed.

"This smoke is not healthy to breathe," Larson said.

Several neighbors and onlookers stood near the site and watched the building burn.

Residents watch the massive fire at a North Garvin Street warehouse on Dec. 31, 2022 in Evansville.

What's the estimated damage?

On Tuesday morning, the ATF tweeted that the damage at the site is estimated to be around $20 million.

Has anyone been arrested?

No. On Saturday, Evansville Watch posted on its Facebook page that "two homeless subjects are being detained as possible arson suspects."

But according to EPD spokeswoman Sgt. Anna Gray, that was a miscommunication. She said EFD saw people standing around watching the fire and simply asked police to question them about what they saw.

No one has been arrested or named as a suspect, and no one involved in the investigation to this point has said the fire was an arson.

How did the fire start? And what about the other warehouse fire?

That hasn't been determined, at least not publicly.

If another nearby warehouse fire is any indication, a cause may not be released for a while. The old Morton Avenue warehouse  former site of the historic Hercules Buggy Company  ignited on Oct. 17, and investigators still haven't released a cause for that.

Is the fire still going?

Over the weekend, Larson said several firefighters would remain on scene for days to put out hotspots.

The initial blaze eventually raged into a four-alarm fire, causing EFD to call in units from other counties to help extinguish the flames.

Soon after it was reported on Saturday, the fire kicked up a giant funnel of black smoke that covered large swaths of the city and darkened the light well before dusk. Nate Boyett, who lives nearby, said the air smelled like "road tar."

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Here's hat we know about the latest warehouse fire in Evansville
Washington High School Spanish teacher Polly Fuller shared her philosophy of life with her students: Live life to the "Fullerest."

WASHINGTON  Polly Fullers family has received hundreds of condolences on Facebook since her death Jan. 23, a testament to the fact that Polly was much more than just teacher.

Though she loved teaching Spanish, Polly knew that so many of these kids needed more than just a Spanish teacher, said Thomas Fuller, Pollys husband of 22 years. They needed somebody that cared about them and understood them. She was accepting of everyone, and became not just a teacher to many of these kids, but a counselor, a mom, a therapist, and more importantly, just a sounding board.

Polly taught at Washington High School for 14 years, until she was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an incurable brain cancer, in August of 2018. It was a difficult time for Washington High School because basketball coach Kevin Brown had received the very same diagnosis about three weeks prior, said Thomas.

Remembrance:Short and sweet tribute to an iconic Peoria philanthropist whose life was long on love

Considering you get only about 12,000 diagnosed (nationally) with glioblastoma in a year, and you get two of them here in this building in three weeks, it was pretty unusual, he said. Unfortunately, the lifespan for these folks is about a year. Kevin didnt make it quite a year, which makes Pollys four and a half years pretty miraculous.

A love for personal connections

Polly grew up in Washington and graduated from Washington High School in 1991. Though she got a degree in business from the University of Wisconsin, after graduation she changed course.

She just decided she was not suited for a career in business because of her love of personal connections and working with people," said Thomas. I dont know where she got the wild hair to go back and get a Spanish degree, but she went back to study Spanish, then she moved on her own to Costa Rica for four months to a language school. She moved in with a family down there, never having met them. She didnt speak the language and they didnt really speak English.

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Pollys first teaching position was in Bloomington, where she met Thomas in 1999.

I worked for State Farm and she had just started teaching. She moved in right across the hall from me, and we started dating probably five days later, he said.

The pair married in 2000 and eventually moved back to Washington where they raised their two children, Grady, 19, and Annie, 17.

Thomas and Polly Fuller, and their children, Annie and Grady, have a little fun while posing for a family portrait.

Live life to the 'Fullerest'

For Polly, teaching was more a passion than a job. When that passion started to wane about two thirds of the way through her career, she assessed the situation and made some adjustments.

She decided to reinvent what she did and how she did it," said Thomas. She spent the next six months studying and learning online a whole new method. She went back at semester and threw out everything she had done and started teaching this new method... It made a monster difference in what the kids are learning, their excitement in class, and more kids signed up for Spanish. It was just because she cared so much, and hated that she wasnt doing what she thought was a good job for the kids.

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Polly's work didn't end with teaching; she also made herself available to kids outside the classroom.

She was always contacted by kids who needed to discuss things or wanted to meet for a cup of coffee to talk over problems or issues. She would drop anything to be there to help kids," said Thomas. She sponsored the Spanish club and she was one of the sponsors when they first had the club for LGBTQ kids. Her brother is gay and shes so accepting and understanding of kids as they struggled with that."

Polly advised her students to live life well. Every year before summer break she distributed a laminated page with the rules of life according to Senora Fuller. One of the rules was to live life to the fullest, a term which evolved into "Fullerest" because Polly lived what she preached.

Sidewalk art celebrates popular Washington High School Spanish teacher Polly Fuller during her long battle with a malignant brain tumor.

A lasting legacy

Between growing up in Washington and teaching a generation of students, Polly's reach into the community was broad and deep.

A lot of kids at the high school now dont know Polly, because shes been out four years, but their older siblings did, their parents did," said Thomas. Last night they did a moment of silence for her at the boys' basketball game. Tonight, the girls' basketball team is wearing grey ribbons and stuff in her honor - grey is the color for brain cancer.

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As an administrator at Washington High School, Thomas sees daily reminders of his wifes lasting legacy.

Even though shes been gone four years, she is still well-known around here. That is humbling, and it makes me proud.

A celebration of Pollys life will be held from 5-8 p.m. Feb. 3 at Connect Church in Washington. A short service and program will begin at 5:30 followed by refreshments and the visitation.

Leslie Renken can be reached at (309) 370-5087 or lrenken@pjstar.com. Follow her on Facebook.com/leslie.renken.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Polly Fuller encouraged her students to live life to the "Fullerest"
NYPD Detective Ryan Glas was a 10-year-old kid when a sickly Harlem mom and her special needs daughter were strangled inside their home in 1994.

The cold case investigator, now 39, helped close the long-dormant homicide probe last week with the arrest of murder suspect Larry Atkinson, indicted for the unsolved double homicide. Glas chose the case, his first with the unit, on Feb. 9.

This particular [case] stood out to me given that it was a mother and a daughter, he told the Daily News, adding family members were shocked by last weeks unexpected arrest of a suspect with a long rap sheet.

Accused killer Atkinson, 64, was indicted after his arrest on murder charges for the Feb. 20, 1994, killings of Sarah Roberts, 57, and her 25-year-old daughter Sharon inside their Grant Houses apartment on W. 125th St. Both victims were found strangled inside their bedrooms.

The suspect, with three aliases, 28 prior arrests and five stints in state prison, denied any wrongdoing when taken into custody. Police did not provide a motive for the gruesome killings or how he slipped inside the partially ransacked home with no sign of forced entry.

Glas recalled initially going through the case file in the 26th Precinct stationhouse, where it originated, and found a very well-organized recounting of the investigation.

We just went from there, he said. Started digging through it. Started reading the interviews that were conducted in 94.

The obstacles were instantly noted: No witnesses, no video. Cold case investigators turned to the evidence gathered from the crime scene and eventually resubmitted DNA samples last year for a new look.

The new testing linked Atkinson to the crimes through a fingernail scraping and biological evidence found on the daughters hand, police said.

The victims family was unaware of the renewed investigation, said Glas, and they were pleased by word of an arrest.

They were very taken aback and very grateful, he said. They said they prayed something would come of it.
(Photo: Levi Rickert for Native News Online))

Opinion. It is common to pull into a parking lot of a restaurant or a hotel located on an Indian reservation and have a stray dog hanging around for some attention and maybe some food. These dogs are commonly referred to as reservation dogs.

Reservation dogs are real, dangerous, and sometimes deadly. The problem goes beyond begging dogs in parking lots being nuisances.

Earlier this week, Native News Online reported on a brutal attack on Saturday, January 21, 2023, on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in Idaho, home to the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes. During the attack, a mother and her seven-year-old son were mauled by four dogs near a home on the reservation. The mother and her two children, who are non-tribal, lived in an RV behind the home of friends, who are tribal citizens. It should be noted that these dogs were not stray dogs, but were owned by the homeowners.

According to a tribal police report, the boy wandered onto the property from the RV. When he did not return after a few minutes, his mother went looking for him. She found him lying face down with the dogs mauling him in the front porch area of the home. To protect her son from additional injuries, the mother lay on top of her son. She was then mauled and sustained numerous dog bites.

The young boy died. His mother spent most of the week in an intensive care unit of an Idaho hospital. She was moved to another unit on Friday.

All four dogs were shot and killed by Fort Hall Police and Fort Hall Game Warden. The dogs  two Rottweilers and two mixed breeds  were still on the property when law enforcement arrived.

Fort Hall Business Council members would like to offer their sincere condolences to the family of the young man who lost his life in the tragic incident, Fort Hall Business Council Vice Chair Donna Thompson said in a statement.

Inquiries by Native News Online to officials to gain additional information on the tragedy were not responded to by the Tribes.

On the Tribes website, I found the Law and Order Code of Shoshone-Bannock Tribes. Chapter two is devoted to its animal control ordinance on the Fort Hall Reservation. The ordinance is in place to protect the health, safety and welfare of the Shoshone Bannock Tribes and the residents of the Fort Hall Reservation.

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The dogs' owners, Benjamin Dominick Wolfchild and Juliana Wolfchild, were not home at the time of the incident. They were later issued citations for 15 violations of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes Animal Ordinance. The citations included vicious animal attack, rabies vaccination, and over the limit of canine or feline pets.

According to the Animal Control ordinance, violations of the ordinance result in a $50 fine for the first violation; $75 for the second, $100 for subsequent violations.

The deadly incident is not unique to the Fort Hall Reservation. Across Indian Country on numerous Indian reservations, there have been several dog attacks that have resulted in vicious maulings and death. Last year, a woman was mauled to death by dogs on the Hopi Reservation in Arizona.

Some of the deaths on reservations are by dogs that are owned; others are by packs of wild dogs that roam reservations. There are reports of people who abandon their pets on reservations. Stray dogs roaming reservations reproduce offspring and are often left without food to eat. As a result, the stray dogs have to learn to fight and be vicious so they can eat.

Animals 24/7 reported April 2022 that tribal lands experience a death rate of 35 times the dog attack death rate for the rest of the United States.

DogsBite.org summarized fatal dog maulings in Indian Country last May 2022: Tribal officials from the Navajo Nation to reservations in South Dakota have observed an increase in vicious dogs since 2015, indicating there is a rising prevalence of dangerous breeds among the base population of free-ranging dogs on the reservations, some weird genetic cocktail that's part pit bull, part rottweiler and part whatever.

Indian Country suffers from a slew of problems from high levels of poverty, high unemployment, lack of healthcare, among other social injustices. Adding the problem of reservation dogs only adds to the problems that exist on Indian reservations.

Native Americans living on reservations should not have to worry about being bitten or mauled by mans so-called best friend.

Vicious reservation dog attacks that result in maulings and even death need to be eliminated through increased funding for animal control, tougher penalties for irresponsible pet owners and awareness programs.

Thayek gde nwendemen - We are all related.

About the Author: "Levi Rickert (Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation) is the founder, publisher and editor of Native News Online. Rickert was awarded Best Column 2021 Native Media Award for the print\/online category by the Native American Journalists Association. He serves on the advisory board of the Multicultural Media Correspondents Association. He can be reached at levi@nativenewsonline.net."

Contact: levi@nativenewsonline.net
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.
Business Reporter

Joel Donofrio is the business reporter for the Yakima Herald. He was born and raised in the Chicago area, but he and his wife, Cathy, fell in love with the beauty (and low humidity) of the West and moved here in 2009, eventually relocating to Yakima in September 2021. They have two young adult children, Anthony and Joanna, and a dog, Molly. When he is not taking photos of construction sites, tracking down new and relocating businesses or catching up on agricultural trends, Joel enjoys playing guitar, singing, listening to music and playing and watching sports.
News, notes and observations about politics around here:

 Gov. Kathy Hochul has glided through all the pleasant formalities of recent months  election night victory speech, inauguration as New Yorks first woman elected governor, and the pageantry of her State of the State address. Now she must submit to the Legislature her 2023-24 budget. The politically hard work of governing begins.

Some say rejection by the Senate Judiciary Committee of her nomination of Hector LaSalle as chief judge of the Court of Appeals points to a rocky budget session. Albany observers say Hochul lost face when rejected by her own Democrats; that her close connection with labor is damaged by its opposition to LaSalle. And that Senate Democrats will only sharpen their long, institutional memories and haunt her for the next four years.

Her setback also occurs just as crucial budget talks begin. Timing: not good.

 Sen. Sean Ryan of Buffalo was among Senate Dems breaking with Hochul on the LaSalle vote. Sources say the governor  of course  is not pleased. The vote of a key Buffalo ally is viewed as significant. Life goes on, but the relationship between the two bears watching.

 Then again, what the heck does Kathy Hochul care? The newest Siena College poll say 56% of voters like her job performance, compared to 36% who dont  up from 49%-44% in December. Thats her best score ever. Her favorable rating stands at 48%-42%, slightly improved from 45%-43% last month, and the 48% tops her previous high favorable rating by a point. Six of Hochuls State of the State proposals have strong to overwhelming support  four of them bipartisan.

Hochul sees her job approval rating hit its highest level, jumping from a positive five points last month to a 20-point positive approval rating today, said Siena spokesman Steve Greenberg. The jump  despite continued strong partisan divide  is largely thanks to independent and downstate voters.

 Speaking of polls, we dug deep into Buffalo News archives last week to examine poll results from the last Erie County executive contest featuring an incumbent seeking a fourth term  the same scenario facing Democrat Mark Poloncarz as he nears declaring for that unprecedented four-year assignment.

Back in 1999, incumbent Democrat Dennis Gorski sought a fourth term against Republican challenger Joel Giambra. A News survey found 75% of voters expressing confidence in his ability, while 65% thought Giambra could handle the job.

Giambra won.

 The coming week could prove crucial in Erie County Republicans search for a November challenger to Poloncarz. They continue to consider former State Sen. Ed Rath as well as County Clerk Mickey Kearns, a Democrat who has a habit of winning races on the Republican line.

Some local Repubs bristle at the very thought of running a Democrat, even though thats exactly how they challenged GOP incumbent Ed Rutkowski with Democrat Jim Griffin in 1991 (unsuccessfully we might add).

We like Mickey Kearns; hes a great conservative, notes Amherst GOP Chairman Brian Rusk, but we want a registered, bona fide Republican to run for county executive.

Big question: Will the GOP recruit a fresh face? Possibly a self-financing business leader? (A guy named Chris Collins comes to mind.)

 Congressman Nick Langworthys appointment by Speaker Kevin McCarthy to the key House Rules Committee, which sets rules for bills up for debate, ranks as significant. Another rookie Republican from Western New York  Tom Reynolds  also gained the Rules Committee nod following his election in 1998. He did all right for himself.

 Quote of the Week comes from former AP Albany correspondent Marc Humbert when a potential Rudy Giuliani-Hillary Clinton matchup was discussed back in 2000. It might apply today about new speculation that former Rep. Lee Zeldin will challenge incumbent Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand next year.

It will never happen, Humbert correctly observed back then. It would be too good.
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The last structural beam for Arizona Western College's new student experience center has been placed. To celebrate the milestone for the project, McCarthy Building Companies Inc. and AWC held a topping out party Thursday morning to commemorate the moment.

"It gives kind of like a final blessing before the structure's done and trades come in and take over," McCarthy Superintendent Robby Tarwater said.

It's common for a topping out ceremony to include a tree on top of the beam as it's raised up by a crane but because of Thursday's wind conditions, it was unsafe to do so. Instead, McCarthy, AWC and EMC2 Architects partners signed the beam and enjoyed fresh tacos.

"The project has been a great partnership with Arizona Western College," Project Director Andrea Ramos said. "I couldn't think of a better client to do a project for. The Matador Activity Center and what it's going to provide for the students and faculty is inspirational and we are super excited to be here working with the college."

"Because of all the user input we got, this is truly a building being designed for the students and for administration and faculty that support the students," said Steve Eckert, director of facilities management for AWC. "I'm gonna consider this our flagship building here at AWC. It's going to add so much to the already amazing student experience at AWC. We're super excited to bring this thing online and see how it's going to be used and enjoyed by all the students, administrators and faculty here."

The plan for the center originally involved replacing the Business Administration building at the Yuma Campus since the financial time was right to take on the project.

"Once we started, we realized that demoing the BA building may be a little premature so let's build a new building, leave BA alone as it is," Eckert said. "So instead of just replacing square footage, we're truly adding square footage to the college."

He explained that the big thing moving to the center will be the KAWC radio station and AWC's TV studio. These departments will be viewable to the public through windows. Esports, the Honors Department, the campus Barnes and Noble, Andale's Pantry and Andale's Wardrobe will also be moving to the center along with student recreation and game rooms. A new makerspace, small flash studios for multimedia projects and a 100-seat tiered lecture hall will be key new features.

"Perhaps one of the most exciting things is the C-Store," Eckert added. "We are going to be having what they call a C-store concept in here from Sodexo where basically you go in and it's like an Amazon store. You just go in and purchase the stuff. There's no attendant and you're just deducted automatically from your account. To my understanding, there's not very many of those C-stores in the U.S. We're going to be one of the first college campuses to get one."

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Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is a project that brings hopes of faster travel across states. Some expressway sections have been operational to offer such transport services. On the same lines, the Gurugram-Dausa section of the project is expected to be inaugurated soon as the work on the section nears completion. When operational, the section will reduce the travel time between Gurugram and Jaipur by around an hour, making travelling easier and faster for commuters. Once the work is completed, the section will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as per a statement by Union Minister Rao Inderjit Singh.

Furthermore, the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway's Gurugram-Dausa section will reduce and help reduce traffic on the Delhi-Jaipur Highway and will also help reduce traffic on the Delhi-Jaipur Highway as well as control congestion in Gurugram.

Also read: New BMW X1 Luxury SUV Launched in India, Prices Start at Rs 45.90 Lakh

The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is India's longest expressway with 1,390 km of length and is being built as an 8-lane, access-controlled greenfield motorway, although it has the potential to be enlarged to 12 lanes by adding 4 more lanes. On this motorway, a median that will be 21 metres wide can be narrowed if necessary to make the route wider. Besides Gurugram, the expressway will also cover Palwal and Nud Districts in Haryana. Similarly, in Jaipur, the expressway.

The work on #Gurgaon Dausa section of #Delhi #Mumbai #Expressway has been almost completed. Click on the given link and watch the complete section Ground update. https://t.co/RyYHnzuJeL pic.twitter.com/VYDkRt1wLY  Rajan Singh (@imrslive) January 26, 2023

The construction of the expressway began in 2018, and on March 9, 2019, the project's foundation stone was laid. Nitin Gadkari, the minister of road transport for the Union, had previously stated that the motorway will be nearly finished by December.

The expressway will also connect five more states, including Rajasthan, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Maharashtra, in addition to Delhi and Mumbai. Additionally, it would enhance connectivity to many cities, including Jaipur, Ajmer, Kota, Udaipur, Chittorgarh, Bhopal, Indore, Ujjain, Ahmedabad, Surat, and Vadodara, bringing wealth to many.
African scientists root for hybrid rice to beat climate-induced hunger crisis

Xinhua) 16:38, January 29, 2023

NAIROBI, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- Large-scale adoption of hybrid rice that has proved effective in withstanding climatic stresses, as well as pests and diseases, is paramount in order to tackle Africa's hunger and malnutrition crisis, scientists said Friday.

Emmanuel Okogbenin, for programme development and commercialisation at African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), noted that the introduction of improved rice varieties will boost food security and tackle rural poverty in the continent.

"We are encouraging farmers to adopt hybrid rice whose yield levels are high, is adaptable to different ecologies, and is key to food security and improved incomes for rural communities," Okogbenin said.

He spoke during a tour of the Mwea irrigation scheme in central Kenya where AATF has facilitated the introduction of hybrid rice to test its resilience in the face of extreme weather events, invasive pests, and diseases.

According to Okogbenin, hybrid rice that has been introduced in central Kenya has registered a doubling of yields at the small-holder level besides boosting the socioeconomic status of farmers.

He stressed that the unfolding climate crisis in Africa coupled with the spread of voracious pests, diseases, and loss of soil fertility calls for a shift from conventional to improved rice varieties.

Sheila Ochugboju, the Executive Director of the Alliance for Science called upon African governments, research institutions, and industry to facilitate the deployment of improved rice varieties to small-holder farmers as part of climate adaptation in the agriculture sector.

Ochugboju added that extension services in Africa should be revamped to help farmers access information, improved seeds, fertilizer, and modern post-harvest storage facilities.

She noted that hybrid rice is not only climate smart but is also rich in nutrients and ideal for tackling growing micronutrient deficiency among children in the continent.

Ochugboju said that friendly policies and regulations, farmers' training, and investments in modern storage facilities will be key to spurring greater adoption of hybrid rice in Africa.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Photo by ALEXEI DRUZHININ/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images

The European Union's upcoming ban on Russian oil products could spell more turmoil for the Kremlin.

China and India are unlikely to buy refined Russian fuels that were once sold to the EU, which will ban them on February 5.

That's in contrast to Russian crude oil, which were snapped up by China and India after Europe shunned those supplies.

Russia faces new sanctions on its energy exports, but this time China and India may not come to President Vladimir Putin's rescue.

The European Union will ban imports of refined Russian fuels on February 5, adding to its embargo on seaborne Russian crude oil that began in December.

But while China and India eagerly snapped up discounted supplies of Russian crude that Europe shunned, they are unlikely to buy refined Russian fuels that were once sold to the EU.

"Both are net exporters of products, so there's no need for them to be importing more," Viktor Katona, lead crude analyst at Kpler, told Insider.

Russian fuels could instead find buyers in Singapore and Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates, then head to larger Asian markets from there, but not the big ones, he added.

Russian products could also flow to West Africa and Latin America, while Europe will likely start sourcing more of its diesel from the US and Asia in a "round of musical chairs," Katona said.

China and India produce fuels at their own refineries that could also supply Europe. In fact, a Chinese cargo is already headed to Latvia, according to the Financial Times, despite the extra time and cost of shipping across such distances.

In addition, a ban on Russian fuels could give both China and India more room to bargain for any supplies they do end up buying, according to Morningstar energy and utilities strategist Stephen Ellis.

Looming over the fuel market is a price cap on Russian fuels. Similar to the oil price cap, the EU and G7 plan to bar other countries from accessing insurance and shipping services unless they abide by a cap on refined products.

Story continues

EU officials are considering a cap of $100 per barrel for Russian diesel and a cap of $45 a barrel for Russian fuel oil, sources told Bloomberg.

However, Moscow wouldn't be helpless. Russia could refine less fuel but keep oil production stable, resulting in even more crude exports to India and China, Katona said.

The Kremlin could also "weaponize refined products by cutting exports," said Ellis. That would eventually result in lower supplies for Europe.

"China will likely to have to use its own products, reducing refined products exports from China that would have otherwise been available to EU buyers," he said.

Read the original article on Business Insider
The pieces of the flight data recorder of Sukhoi-30MKI and the black box of Mirage plane that crashed in Madhya Pradesh's Morena area have been recovered, as per officials. During a training flight in Morena on Saturday, the Indian Air Force's (IAF's) two frontline combat aircraft crashed, killing the wing commander and safely ejecting the other two pilots.

Defence experts have said it is probable that the Russian-designed Sukhoi-30MKI jet and the French Mirage-2000 had a mid-air collision, but there was no official comment on it from the IAF.

Also read: Passenger on Mumbai-Bound Indigo Flight Tries to Open Emergency Exit Mid-Air; Booked

Morena Collector Ankit Asthana on Saturday said both aircraft's debris fell in the district's Pahargarh area. Some debris also fell in Rajasthan's Bharatpur, which borders Madhya Pradesh, he had said. A black box, or the flight data recorder, is an electronic recording device placed in an aircraft that helps investigate flight accidents.

"The black box of the Mirage aircraft has been found from the wreckage in the Pahargarh area of Morena. A part of the Sukhoi aircraft's black box has also been found, and the remaining part of the recorder might have fallen in Bharatpur," Morena Superintendent of Police Ashutosh Bagri told PTI over the phone.

"The IAF, police, and other departments are searching for the remaining part of the Sukhoi aircraft recorder," he said. A high-level probe has been ordered into the accident, officials earlier said.

While the Mirage aircraft's pilot, identified as Wing Commander Hanumanth Rao Sarathi, died in the accident, the two pilots of the Sukhoi aircraft managed to eject and were taken to a military hospital, they had said.

According to an aviation expert, it was the first Mirage 2000 as well as Sukhoi-30MKI that the IAF lost in a mid-air collision. The SU-30MKI is a twin-seater combat jet, while the Mirage 2000, manufactured by French aerospace major Dassault Aviation, is a single-seater aircraft. Both the jets had taken off from the Gwalior Air Force station. The base has squadrons of both Sukhoi-30MKIs and the Mirage 2000 jets.

With PTI Inputs
The Mirage 2000 and Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jets of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed on Saturday while conducting an aerial exercise near Morena in Madhya Pradesh, resulting in the crash of both aircraft. Two Sukhoi Su-30 pilots were able to make an emergency exit, however, the pilot of the Mirage 2000 died after suffering critical wounds.

The deceased pilot has been identified as Wing Commander Hanumanth Rao Sarathi (flying the Mirage 2000). Two other pilots (flying Sukhoi Su-30) were later flown by an IAF helicopter for medical treatment in Gwalior. In its statement, the IAF said that it has set up a "Court of Inquiry which will establish whether there was a mid-air collision or not" between the two fighter jets.

Also read: New Zealand Flooding: Emirates Dubai-Auckland A380 Flight Makes U-Turn After Being 7 Hrs in Sky

The officials also confirmed that while the two IAF fighter aircraft crashed in Manpur village of Pahargarh forest area in Morena district of Madhya Pradesh`s Gwalior-Chambal region, the major portion of the Sukhoi aircraft was strewn in the neighbouring Pingora area at Bharatpur district in Rajasthan.

The IAF deeply regrets to inform that Wg Cdr Hanumanth Rao Sarathi suffered fatal injuries during the accident. All air warriors and the fraternity stand strongly with the bereaved family.  Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) January 28, 2023

According to Morena district collector Ankit Asthana, both jets reportedly collided in Morena district`s territory but since the ejection of the pilots happened from the Sukhoi aircraft at a very high altitude, both the pilots landed safely in Morena district, while the aircraft glided into the jungles of Bharatpur district of Rajasthan.

The IAF, in an official communication, later said an inquiry had been ordered to determine the cause of the accident of the two jets, which had taken off on Saturday morning from the IAF`s Maharajpura airbase in Gwalior district of Madhya Pradesh on a routine operational flying training mission.

"Two fighter aircraft of the IAF were involved in an accident near Gwalior. The aircraft was on routine operational flying training missions. One of the three pilots involved sustained fatal injuries. An inquiry has been ordered to determine the cause of the accident. Both Su-30MKI pilots are safe," IAF said in an official statement.

Sources in Morena district administration told IANS that a team of forensic experts from the IAF had arrived at the spot, which is around 90 km from Morena district headquarters and started a probe on the site.

Shocked over the death of the IAF pilot, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted: "Deeply anguished by the loss of brave air warrior, Wg Cdr Hanumanth Rao Sarathi, who suffered fatal injuries during an accident near Gwalior. My deepest condolences to his bereaved family. We stand by his family in this difficult hour."

The Morena police received phone calls from villagers in the Kailaras area at around 10.15 am about the rear portion of an aircraft catching fire following a loud noise in the air, after which the police in the entire area were alerted about the possibility of a crash.

Shailendra Shakya, sarpanch of the village where the incident occurred, told IANS: "People were shocked to hear a loud noise and smoke emanating from something that fell on the ground, which later turned out to be the rear portion of one of the aircraft. While one of the planes, which had caught fire in the rear portion, was seen plunging into the Pahargarh forests, the other aircraft glided towards the area of adjoining Rajasthan. Seeing the flashes of fire in the aircraft, which was plunging down into Pahargarh forests, many villagers started running in that direction. We also saw two pilots coming down in parachutes. We spotted them on the ground in a safe condition 15-20 minutes later."

With IANS Inputs
New Delhi: In light of the recent layoffs and challenging macroeconomic environment, it looks that CEO Sundar Pichai will receive a significant pay reduction. Pichai revealed that all positions beyond the "senior vice president" level will see a large decrease in their annual bonus during a recent town hall meeting with Google employees.

"The annual bonus for all positions above the senior vice president level will be reduced "quite significantly." Compensation for senior positions is based on business performance, "According to reports, Pichai stated in the town hall. While he didnt specifically say about taking a salary cut, by his statements it is evident that he would also take a wage decrease. (Also Read: Best Girl Child Investment Plans 2023: THESE are 5 Schemes to Consider in India)

Pichai omitted to state how much of a wage decrease will be implemented or for how long. (Also Read: Looking for Monthly Return Policy? THIS SBI Scheme may Fulfill Your Desire: Check Interest, Duration And Other Details)

Now, just a few weeks before Google's announcement of layoffs, Sundar Pichai received a significant pay raise. The board of Alphabet, the parent company of Google, acknowledged Pichai's "excellent performance" at the time and stated that a large portion of the award's vesting would depend on Alphabet's overall shareholder return in comparison to other S&P 100 firms.

Alphabet also mentioned that the performance stock units (PSUs) were changed from 43 percent in 2019 to 60 percent in order to raise the payout's performance criterion. The Alphabet CEO also received two tranches of restricted stock units with a target value of $63 million each and an additional $84 million in cash.

Wondering to know how much Pichai makes per year? Google revealed Pichai's annual pay to be $2 million in a file beginning in 2020. According to the IIFL Hurun India Rich List 2022, the net worth of the Google CEO decreased by 20 percent to Rs 5,300 crore.
New Delhi: The `Beating the Retreat` ceremony at the Vijay Chowk on January 29 every year marks the culmination of the four-day-long Republic Day celebrations. It has emerged as an event of national pride when the Colours and Standards are paraded. The ceremony traces its origins to the early 1950s when Major Roberts of the Indian Army indigenously developed the unique ceremony of display by the massed bands.

It marks a centuries-old military tradition when the troops ceased fighting, sheathed their arms and withdrew from the battlefield and returned to the camps at sunset at the sound of the Retreat. Colours and Standards are cased and flags are lowered. The ceremony creates nostalgia for the times gone by.

Beating Retreat Ceremony 2023 Programmes

According to the Ministry of Defence, 29 captivating and foot-tapping Indian tunes will be played by the music bands of the Army, the Navy, the Air Force and the State Police and the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will also be present at the ceremony. The event will witness the country`s biggest Drone Show, comprising of 3,500 indigenous drones.

Beating Retreat Ceremony 2023: Drone show in Delhi

The drone show will light up the evening sky over the Raisina hills, weaving myriad forms of national figures/events through smooth synchronisation. It will depict the success of the startup ecosystem, technological prowess of the country`s youth and pave the way for future path-breaking trends. The drone show will be organised by Botlabs Dynamics.

For the first time, a 3D anamorphic projection will be organised during Beating Retreat Ceremony on the facade of the North and South Block.

The ceremony will begin with the massed band`s `Agniveer` tune which will be followed by enthralling tunes like `Almora`, `Kedar Nath, `Sangam Dur`, `Queen of Satpura`, `Bhagirathi`, `Konkan Sundari` by Pipes and Drums band, said the Defence Ministry statement.

Indian Air Force`s band will play `Aprajey Arjun`, `Charkha`, `Vayu Shakti`, `Swadeshi`, while `Ekla Cholo Re`, `Hum Taiyyar Hai`, and `Jai Bharati` will be played by the band of Indian Navy.The Indian Army`s band will play `Shankhnaad`, `Sher-e-Jawan`, `Bhupal`, `Agranee Bharat`, `Young India`, `Kadam Kadam Badhaye Ja`, `Drummers Call`, and `Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon`.

The event will come to a close with the ever-popular tune of `Sare Jahan se Acha`.The principal conductor of the ceremony will be Flight Lieutenant Leimapokpam Rupachandra Singh.

While Sub Maj Diggar Singh will lead the Army Band, the Naval and Air Force band commanders will be M Anthoni Raj and Warrant Officer Ashok Kumar. The conductor of the State Police and CAPF bands will be Asstt Sub Inspector Prem Singh, said the official statement.

The Buglers will perform under the leadership of Naib Subedar Santosh Kumar Pandey, and pipes and drums band will play under the instructions of Subedar Major Baswaraj Vagge.

Beating Retreat Ceremony 2023

Beating Retreat Ceremony 2023: Where to watch live and online

The ceremony will take place on January 29 (Sunday) at Vijay Chowk, Delhi. Advance booking of tickets to watch the ceremony live is needed. People outside Delhi can watch the ceremony on Doordarshan (DD Channel) or its official YouTube channel.
New Delhi: Indian tunes based on Indian classical ragas and drone shows are among the highlights of the Beating Retreat ceremony which is graced by President Droupadi Murmu at Vijay Chowk in the national capital on Sunday. Twenty-nine captivating, foot-tapping Indian tunes are being played by the music bands of the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the State Police, and the Central Armed Police Force amid lashing rain in the national capital. The military bands enthralled the audience at the Beating Retreat ceremony. The Naval band performed Ekla Cholo Re on the occasion. The ceremony marks the formal end of Republic Day celebrations. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh are also present on the occasion.

The event will witness the countrys biggest Drone Show, comprising 3,500 indigenous drones. The drone show will light up the evening sky over the Raisina Hills, weaving myriad forms of national figures, and events through smooth synchronisation. It will depict the success of the startup ecosystem, and the technological prowess of the country's youth and pave the way for future path-breaking trends. The drone show will be organised by Botlabs Dynamics.

Also read: Beating Retreat Ceremony: President Droupadi Murmu Reaches Vijay Chowk in Delhi

For the first time, a 3D anamorphic projection will be organised during the Beating Retreat Ceremony on the facade of the North and South Block. The event will come to a close with the ever-popular tune of Sare Jahan se Acha. The principal conductor of the ceremony is Flight Lieutenant Leimapokpam Rupachandra Singh. While Sub Maj Diggar Singh is leading the Army Band, the Naval and Air Force band commanders are M Anthoni Raj and Warrant Officer Ashok Kumar.

The conductor of the State Police and CAPF bands is Asstt Sub Inspector Prem Singh. The ceremony traces its origins to the early 1950s when Major Roberts of the Indian Army indigenously developed the unique ceremony of display by the massed bands. It marks a centuries-old military tradition when the troops ceased fighting, sheathed their arms and withdrew from the battlefield, and returned to the camps at sunset at the sound of the Retreat. Colours and Standards are cased and flags are lowered. The ceremony creates nostalgia for the times gone by.

(With inputs from ANI)
Lal Chowk: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi concluded the Bharat Jodo Yatra on Sunday (January 29) after hoisting the national flag at Srinagars historic city center, Lal Chowk. Bharat Jodo Yatra started Sunday morning after Rahul Gandhi and other senior leaders left their night stay at Pantha Chowk on the outskirts of Srinagar city. Many enthusiastic locals came out to greet Rahul while elderly women hugged and blessed him. Many local politicians of other parties also marched with the Congress leader during his March to Lal Chowk. He is scheduled to address a party rally at the Congress headquarters in Srinagar city later in the day. While unfurling the flag, Rahul Gandhi said a "promise" made to India has been fulfilled.

Rahul Gandhi, along with his sister and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, party leaders, and workers, resumed the final lap of the yatra in Jammu and Kashmir from Srinagar's Pantha Chowk around 10:45 am. Those part of the march walked for about eight kilometers to Sonwar raising slogans such as "Jodo Jodo Bharat Jodo", and along the way, were cheered and greeted by locals.

Also read: J&K Being run by 'Bahar Ke Log', Says Rahul Gandhi; 'The Kashmir Files' Director Vivek Agnihotri Reacts

Within a multi-layer security ring, Gandhi, in a white T-shirt which he has sported for most of the over 4,000-kilometre yatra from India's southern tip, waved at people as yatris, including a large number of women, carrying the tricolour and Congress flags, moved towards Sonwar.

The security for the 10-minute event was at its peak as all roads in a one-kilometer radius leading to the chowk, which holds symbolic importance for the city, were sealed off from Saturday night and no vehicular movement was allowed.

#WATCH | Jammu and Kashmir: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi unfurls the national flag at Lal Chowk in Srinagar. pic.twitter.com/I4BmoMExfP  ANI (@ANI) January 29, 2023

Barricades were set up and concertina wires were installed at all entry points with a heavy deployment of security personnel, while shops, business establishments, and the weekly flea market were closed as part of the security exercise.

After reaching their destination, Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, and other senior party leaders drove to the party's headquarters at M A Road here. Later, they headed to Lal Chowk, where the former Congress president unfurled the national flag.

"By hoisting the tricolour at Lal Chowk, the promise made to India was fulfilled today. Hate will lose, love will always win. There will be a new dawn of hopes in India," Gandhi tweeted in Hindi after the event.

The yatra, which was launched on September 7 last year in Kanyakumari, has traversed 12 states and two Union Territories. It will culminate with the hoisting of the national flag at the Congress office here on Monday. Yatris of the foot-march led Gandhi will halt for the night at the Nehru Park here.

On Monday, a public rally will also be held at the SK Stadium for which 23 opposition political parties have been invited by the Congress.

Earlier in the day, All India Congress Committee general secretary, in-charge communications, Jairam Ramesh on Twitter said the flag unfurling was planned for Monday but had to be done a day earlier.

"@RahulGandhi was supposed to unfurl the national flag on Jan 30th in the PCC office, since permission to do so elsewhere wasn't given. Last evening, state administration allowed him to do so in Lal Chowk, but under the condition that it should be done today on 29th at end of #BharatJodoYatra," Ramesh tweeted.

The 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' has traversed through Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir.

On Friday, the yatra was cancelled for the day in Anantnag district after the party alleged a security lapse, saying police arrangements by the Jammu and Kashmir administration "completely collapsed." The administration had said pressure on security resources due to the size of the crowd, larger than planned, may have created an impression of a lack of security arrangements during the Rahul Gandhi-led march.

It resumed in Pulwama district's Awantipora on Saturday and Gandhi was joined by PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, her daughter Iltija Mufti and a large number of workers in the march. Priyanka Gandhi also joined her brother in the yatra later.

(With inputs from agencies)
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday (January 29) addresses the nation in the first episode of Mann Ki Baat of the year 2023. From urging the people of the country to read about the Padma Awardees of the year 2023 to the management of e-waste, PM Modi addressed various topics in the 97th episode of Mann Ki Baat. Here are some key points of the first edition of Mann Ki Baat 2023

"Various people from tribal areas - painters, musicians, farmers, artisans - have been conferred the Padma awards. I urge all countrymen to read their inspiring stories. Many dignitaries who have worked on tribal languages like Toto, Ho, Kui, Kuvi and Manda have received these awards," PM Modi said during the `Mann Ki Baat` radio programme.

Talking about the book named 'India- The Mother of Democracy', PM Modi said that the book has some superfine essays and it discusses interesting topics of democracy.

"There is a small but famous village in Tamil Nadu  Utirmerur. Here an inscription of eleven hundred-twelve hundred years ago surprises the whole world. This inscription is like a mini-constitution," said PM in Mann Ki Baat.

PM Modi talked about the popularity and importance of millet and showcasing of millet-made delicacies in the ongoing G20 Summits. The G-20 summits are going on and wherever the G-20 meetings, nutritious and tasty dishes made from millets are being served there," said PM Modi.

Lauding the Indian Institute of Sciences Bengaluru, PM Modi informed the nation that India jumped to 40th rank in the Global Innovation Index while it was behind the 80th rank in 2015.

PM Modi also talked about the proper management of e-waste and its ill effects on the environment. "If E-Waste is not disposed of properly, it can also harm our environment. But, if it is done carefully, it can become a great force for the Circular Economy of Recycle and Reuse," he said.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday (January 28, 2023) addressed the annual National Cadet Corps (NCC) PM rally at the Cariappa Parade Ground in Delhi and said that "it's evident that India's time has arrived". At the rally, Modi said that India and NCC are both celebrating their 75th anniversaries this year and praised the efforts of those who have contributed towards nation-building by leading the NCC and by being a part of it. He told them that both as NCC cadets and as the youth of the nation they represent the 'Amrit Generation' of the country which will take the nation to new heights in the coming 25 years and will create a 'Viksit' and 'Aatmnirbhar Bharat'.

Prime Minister Modi complimented the cadets for the Unity flame where they completed the run from Kanyakumari to Delhi by covering 50 kilometers daily for 60 days and said that the flame and the cultural extravaganza of the evening has strengthened the spirit of 'EK Bharat Shreshtha Bharat'.

He emphasised the centrality of youth as the key energy that runs a nation and said, "When dreams turn into resolution and a life is dedicated to it then success is assured."

"This is the time of new opportunities for the youth of India. Everywhere it is evident that India's time has arrived. The entire world is looking towards India and it is all due to the youth of India," Modi said.

He also expressed pride in the youth's enthusiasm for India's upcoming G-20 Presidency.

"When the country is brimming with the energy and enthusiasm of the youth, the priorities of that country will always be its young people," Modi said as he mentioned the efforts of the government to provide a platform for the youth that will help them in achieving their dreams.

Noting that various sectors are being opened up for the youth of the nation, be it the digital revolution, start-up revolution, or innovation revolution, he underlined that the youth of India are its biggest beneficiaries.

He strongly cautioned against the efforts to sow differences and create chasm amongst the people.

"Despite such efforts, there will never be differences among the people of India," he said.

"Maa ke doodh main kabhi darar nahi ho sakti," he added.

"For this mantra of Unity is the ultimate antidote. The Mantra of Unity is a pledge as well as Indias strength. This is the only way India will achieve grandeur, Prime Minister Modi stated.

Addressing the NCC rally in Delhi. We are proud of the determination of the cadets. https://t.co/9QkgIrXELa  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 28, 2023

During the event, he also released a special Day Cover and a commemorative specially Minted Coin of Rs 75 denomination, commemorating 75 successful years of NCC.

The annual PM rally was held as a hybrid day and night event and will include a cultural program on the theme "Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat".

As many as 196 officers and cadets from 19 foreign countries have been invited to be a part of the celebrations.
Kolkata: Touted as the world's longest river cruise, MV Ganga Vilas, has been docked at a Kolkata jetty and will on Monday leave for Sundarbans, a UNESCO heritage site, an official said. The cruise vessel, flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 13, entered West Bengal early this week through Murshidabad and later reached Kolkata, he said. The ship has been docked at the Indenture Memorial (IM) Jetty on the bank of the Hooghly river.

"The vessel will leave Kolkata on Monday and then it will be anchored at Sundarbans, one of the largest mangrove forests in the world and a UNESCO world heritage site, for two days," the official said.

Also read: Is Ganga Vilas Cruise stuck in Bihar? Here's what officials say

Taking to Twitter, Union Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said, "The next phase of the journey of MV #GangaVilas will be on the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Route, as it travels through B'desh (Bangladesh) to reach Assam. All infra has been provided at IM Jetty itself for a smooth immigration process for passengers."

MV Ganga Vilas began its journey from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh on January 13 and would travel around 3,200 km in 51 days to reach Dibrugarh in Assam via Bangladesh, sailing across 27 river systems in India and the neighbouring country.

Tourists, who are travelling on the maiden journey of the cruise, had a visit to Kumartuli, an idol-making hub in Kolkata on Saturday. "A city tour was planned for the passengers so that they can experience local culture," the official added.

(With inputs from PTI)
Madurai: Former Union Shipping Minister and senior DMK leader T R Baalu on Saturday courted controversy by remarking that he will chop off the hand of anyone touching his party president, Chief Minister MK Stalin or Dravidar Kazhagam chief K Veeramani. He asserted that doing it is his dharma. The senior Parliamentarian who lashed out at the BJP-led government at the Centre over the Sethusamudram Ship Canal Project, cursed the BJP for "abruptly halting the project" akin to pulling the chain to stop the train midway.

Speaking at an event organised by the Dravidar Kazhagam (DK), the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's ideological parent organisation at Palanganatham, here, late Friday night, Baalu said, apparently referring to party president and Chief Minister Stalin and Veeramani, that he would not tolerate anyone touching his leader and the DK president.

"I will not hesitate to chop off the hand of anyone touching my leader (Stalin) or ayya (Veeramani). This is my dharma. If you feel this is not right, then you can go to court and say so. But by then, I would have done the deed," Baalu said with a smirk.

Accusing the Central government of suddenly halting the Sethusamudram Ship Canal Project midway, he said the Centre failed to apply its scientific bent of mind or rational thinking while dealing with the project but merely toed religious lines.

"Was it not foolish to stop the project which would have now fetched about Rs 750 crore profit per annum. I say with great agony you will not fare well, you (the BJP) will not win the election this time," Baalu cursed at the meeting which was attended among others by TNCC chief K S Alagiri and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) chief Thol Thirumavalavan.

Though none opposed the project, either during the public consultation or during the initial phase of implementation the Centre cited the presence of Ram Setu and halted the project. "You had stopped the project when it was progressing fast, just like stopping a train by pulling the chain," Baalu said.

Accusing the BJP government of suddenly reversing its decision, he said initially the Centre asked the Shipping Ministry to expedite the project.

"A report suggested a fresh alignment through Adam's bridge (Ram Setu) east of Pamban Island. Former Defence Minister George Fernandes had even said this project, apart from providing continuous navigable sea route, would also be a great asset to the national security as it will provide security on the periphery of the coast of India," he claimed.
Photo Illustration by Erin O'Flynn/The Daily Beast/Getty Images and Courtesy of Subjects

At first, Gia Savocchi of Long Island thought the Instagram message she received late last week from a man with a name spelled out in Cyrillic letters was a scam.

Then she saw the photos that Serhiy Lutskyi sent of the dark blue 2014 Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen that she had reluctantly sold for scrap more than a year ago.

And what she learned next was extraordinary: Lutskyi told her that the junked car had ended up in Ukraine and enabled him and his family to escape the horrors of war.

The car arrive miraculously, Lutskyi told Savocchi via a translation app after he tracked down the 36-year-old dog behavior specialist through ownership papers she left in the glovebox.

I [repaired] it, put my wife and two children in it and left for the Czech Republic.

Wow! This is incredible. Omg. My car has a crazy exciting new life, Savocchi replied. My car has a family and is an escape vehicle.

Nice car, said Lutskyi, who is 28.

I took good care of it, Savocchi said. A man hit me in a parking lot while I was eating a bagel about to get my coffee. It had some damage insurance wouldnt fix.

Courtesy of Subject

Gave her a second life. And she gave me, Lutskyi responded. I love this car.

So my car enabled your family to leave? Savocchi asked. Like without this car, you were trapped?

Lutskyi sent a crying face emoji.

Its not a car, its a story, he said.

Lutskyi told Savocchi and later The Daily Beast via a translation app that he bought the Jetta online for $2,075 through Copart Auto Auctions on Dec. 15, 2021.

Courtesy of Subject

The seller was S-Line Motors, a California-based company that had bought the Jetta the day before from Savocchis insurer, State Farm. S-Line owner Sergii Cherkasov told The Daily Beast that his company specializes in selling Ukrainians damaged cars that American insurers decide are worth less than it would cost to repair them. Labor is cheaper in Ukraine and people are generally more willing to do the work themselves, he explained.

Story continues

On Feb. 4, Savocchis Jetta and 700 other S-Line vehicles were aboard a ship that departed Newark, New Jersey, for Odessa. The ship was hours from its destination on Feb. 24, when Russia invaded Ukraine, leaving it no place to go.

It was a nightmare, Cherkasov said.

But that was nothing compared to what Lutskyi was experiencing.

It's very scary when you are sleeping with your family and the ground starts shaking and you don't understand what happened, he recalled. You look out the window and there are people running around the street with bags.

A neighbor who, like Lutskyi, was raised in the village of Volodarka, 75 miles from Kyiv, telephoned and said they should get their children and head there. Lutskyi squeezed into the neighbors car with his 28-year-old wife, Lena, their 6-year-son Daniil, and 1-year-old daughter Karina, who has a rare genetic protein intolerance called phenylketonuria (PKU).

We were driving with him, there were big traffic jams and many accidents. Helicopters were flying overhead, children were crying, explosions were constantly heard, Lutskyi remembered.

After six harrowing hours, they arrived in Volodarka. But without a car of their own, Lutskyi and his family were stuck there. And there was no way to track the ship.

It seemed it disappeared, Lutskyi recalled.

He repeatedly emailed the local S-Line representative.

He didnt answer, Lutskyi remembered. It turned out that he was taken to the war.

Lutskyi went through the S-Line sales documents and found Cherkasovs name.

He didnt answer for a long time, and finally, two weeks later, he answered that the car is somewhere and they dont know what to do, Lutskyi remembered.

On May 10, the ship docked in Hamburg, Germany. Six days later, S-Line was able to tell Lutskyi that the ship had continued on to Gdymia in Poland. Lutskyi, who was working as a security guard in a supermarket, was asked to pay another $1,600 for delivery.

My wife and I already had no money because where I worked my salary dropped a lot, Lutskyi said. I had $250 a month.

He went to the bank and managed to take out a loan in the middle of an invasion. The Jetta was delivered in a truck-borne container on June 24. The container had apparently opened during the prolonged sea voyage, and the inside of the car was coated with thick greenish mold. The drivers side was partly caved in where Savocchis car had been hit 10 months before in Northport, Long Island.

Courtesy of Subject

But Savocchi had been meticulous in maintaining the car and had never missed an oil change right up to the accident.

I tried to start it and it started, Lutskyi remembered. I sat down and drove away.

He was able to keep driving with his family back to Kyiv, where he would be able to prepare the Jetta for imminent perils to come.

When I heard the words from my son, Papa, we are going to die, then I did everything to leave, Lutskyi said.

He repaired the Jettas body and replaced the generator, fan belts, and everything else that was needed. He secured the papers necessary for a male of military age to leave Ukraine.

Courtesy of Subject

I was released because my daughter has a disability from birth, he said.

A video taken on the night of Aug. 4 shows the family taking refuge in a dark cellar while rockets strike nearby army units. When the standing curfew lifted at 5 a.m. the next day, they commenced a 435-mile journey through a war zone.

We packed our things in the car and set off almost across Ukraine, drove through Irpin, Bucha, and saw what was happening, Lutskyi recalled. Many of our friends died.

The family continued on.

Destroyed cities and many checkpoints, he said. Rockets were falling nearby.

At the Polish border, they were held up until the next day, unsure if they might be turned back. They were finally allowed to cross.

And everything that was most terrible for our family was behind us, he said. I drove another 100 kilometers and we went to sleep at a gas station in the car.

They then proceeded to the Czech border and stood in line for hours before they were admitted as refugees.

I didnt know the language, even how they say yes or no, he recalled.

The family was placed in a summer home for two weeks. They then moved to a second house, where they have been living for six months.

Courtesy of Subject

Lutskyi figures with added fees and the cost of the repairs, the Jetta has cost him $7,000 and left him in debt. But he has no regrets.

The car has traveled 1,500 kilometers and has never let us down, he said.

And with the help of the Jetta, he arrived in the Czech Republic with wealth beyond any monetary measure.

I have two wonderful children, he said.

He reported that there are good doctors for Karina. And Daniil is in school.

Everything is fine, he said.

Lutskyi had come across the ownership papers in the Jettas glovebox, and as his most pressing worries receded, he contacted Savocchi.

I found you on Instagram out of curiosity, he told her.

Her initial thought that it must be a scam was dispelled when she saw photos he sent her of the car before and after it was restored to its previous glory, complete with its red detailing.

I really cant believe it, she told him. Is it running well and all that? I always did the maintenance and was careful with oil changes. it never had a problem.

I thank you for keeping it like that, he said. I am 100 percent satisfied with it.

This is amazing, she said. Are you a VW lover?

I like her so much, he replied.

She told him she had taken a video in the moments after the elderly man drove into the Jetta, thereby setting off the chain of events that led to Lutskyis escape with his family.

I would like to watch the video, Lutskyi told her.

Lutskyi had installed a sound system in the Jetta, and he sent her a video of himself at the wheel, moving to a joyous beat and smiling. In the backseat is his aunt, who recently arrived from Ukraine.

Savocchi incorporated that video into an Instagram synopsis of the tale how he saved my cars life and she saved them!

Bad things will sometimes happen in life, Savocchi wrote. But good things can come from it

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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has come under sharp attack from various personalities including The Kashmir Files director Vivek Agnihotri over one of his speeches delivered in Jammu and Kashmir during Bharat Jodo Yatra. While Agnihotri questioned the language, author Abhijit Iyer-Mitra accused Rahul Gandhi of 'stirring up xenophobia'.

In the video, Rahul Gandhi can be seen saying, "Earlier, people of Jammu used to do trade. Jammu and Kashmir was being run by the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Today, outsiders are running Jammu and Kashmir. The administration is not listening to our voices, and our rights. All the trade is being done by outsiders while the people of Jammu and Kashmir have been left to be mute spectators. Also, Jammu and Kashmir has the highest unemployment in India."

Sharing the video on Twitter, Agnihotri said, "According to Rahul Gandhi, anyone who comes from any other part of India to Jammu & Kashmir is an outsider. Bahar ke log is precisely what he calls all of us. Whose language is he speaking?"

According to @RahulGandhi anyone who comes from any other part of India to Jammu & Kashmir is an outsider. Bahar ke log is precisely what he calls all of us. Whose language is he speaking? pic.twitter.com/giUMiK2EC8 January 28, 2023

In a tweet, Mitra said, "After a wave of immigrant labourers have been killed, hatemonger Rahul Gandhi is stirring up xenophobia against those who come to J&K for their livelihoods. If anymore migrant labour are killed, their blood will be on Rahuls hands."

After a wave of immigrant labourers have been killed, hatemonger Rahul Gandhi is stirring up xenophobia against those who come to J&K for their livelihoods. If anymore migrant labour are killed, their blood will be on Rahuls hands. pic.twitter.com/plRNwKZ9By  Abhijit Iyer-Mitra (@Iyervval) January 28, 2023

Notably, many migrants have fallen victim to targetted attacks in the valley in the last year.

Rahul Gandhi is in Kashmir for the last leg of his Bharat Jodo Yatra. Addressing a rally today, Gandhi posted a video of his interaction with Kashmiri Pandits in Jammu and posed a question that the community is asking the Central government about being used for political gains.

He tweeted, "Today, Kashmiri Pandits are asking the BJP government - what have you done for us except using us politically? Do you have any answers, Prime Minister."

Rahul Gandhi had a conversation with the group in Jammu where Kashmiri Pandits complained about the apathy they were facing from the government. In the video, the Pandits are seen saying that the BJP wants the issue to be alive and that there have been no welfare measures after the Manmohan Singh government at the Centre.
Srinagar: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) today attached the office building of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) in Srinagars Rajbagh area. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) under the countrys anti-terror law today sealed the premises of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) office.

A team of NIA officials from Delhi arrived in Srinagar on Sunday (January 27) and enforced the order passed by a special court. In the NIA vs Mohammad Hafiz Saeed and others case registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

NIA officers said, "We are here to implement the court orders. We are not authorised to say anything more".

The case registered under sections of the Indian Penal Code 120B, 121, 121A, and several sections of the UAPA, including 18, 20, 38, 39, and 40, against Hafiz, a Pakistan-based terrorist, members of the APHC, proscribed terror organisations like Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), and others for funding of separatist and terrorist activities in Jammu and Kashmir.

On Saturday, the Court further said that among the different allegations and evidence, it was also the case that the office of APHC was the place where meetings were held to strategize different protests, fund activities of stone pelting on security forces, and recruit unemployed youths to carry out unlawful activities. In addition, the court stated that it was also used to plan terrorist activities to create unrest in Jammu and Kashmir in order to wage war against the Government of India.

In such a situation, taking into consideration the serious nature of the allegations against A-5 itself, the fact that he is part owner of the property in question, cannot be a reason for not attaching the property when it is not even made clear as to who others were co-owners of that property, the court had said.

An order was issued by Shailender Malik, Additional Session Judge of Special NIA Court. It directed for the immovable property of APHC to be attached.
Pune: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said Lord Krishna and Lord Hanuman were the greatest diplomats of the world. He was speaking on Saturday while interacting with the audience in Maharashtra's Pune city in a question-answer session during the launch of 'Bharat Marg', the Marathi translation of his book 'The India Way'.

Jaishankar said, "Lord Shri Krishna and Lord Hanuman were the greatest diplomats of the world. I am saying this very seriously."

If one looks at them in the perspective of diplomacy, what situation they were in, what mission was given to them, how they had handled the situation, he said.

"Hanumanji, he had gone ahead of the mission, he had contacted Goddess Sita, burnt Lanka... He was a multi-purpose diplomat," Jaishankar said.

The minister said for the world's 10 big strategic concepts pertaining to international relations in today's discourse, he could give an equivalent for every concept from the epic Mahabharat.

"If you say today it is a multi-polar world, at that time what was happening in Kurukshetra (the site of the battle of Mahabharat), that was multi-polar Bharat, where there were different rajya (kingdoms), they were told 'you are with them, you are with me'... A couple of them were non-aligned... Like Balram and Rukma."

He said now people say it is a globalised world, there is interdependence, there is constraint.

"What was Arjuna's dilemma, it was constraint, that he was emotionally interdependent...That how do I fight against my relatives. That was not material interdependence, but it was emotional interdependence," he said.

"We sometimes say Pakistan did this or that, and we will show strategic patience. The best example of strategic patience is the way Lord Krishna handled Shishupal. He (Lord Krishna) forgave him 100 times," he said.
Bhubaneswar: Odisha's Health and Family Welfare minister Naba Kishore Das was on Sunday (January 29, 2023) shot at by an assistant sub-inspector of police in Jharsuguda district. Das, a Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader, was shot at in the Brajrajnagar town of the district when he was on his way to attend a meeting.

"Assistant Sub-inspector of Police (ASI) Gopal Das opened fire at the minister. The minister is injured and rushed to hospital," Brajrajnagar Deputy superintendent of police Gupteswar Bhoi told the media.

"We are trying to ascertain the reason behind the firing. Strong action will be initiated against ASI Das," he added.

As per the initial reports, the ASI used his service revolver to fire at the Minister.

Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik condemns attack on Health Minister Naba Kishore Das

Meanwhile, Odisha Chief Minister and BJD President Naveen Patnaik condemned the attack on his cabinet colleague Naba Kishore Das and prayed for his early recovery.

"I am shocked at the unfortunate incident of attack on honourable minister Shri Naba Das. I strongly condemn the attack on him. I pray for his early recovery," he said.

"Crime branch has been directed to take up the investigation of the case. Senior officers of the crime branch have been asked to go to the spot," Patnaik added.
NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday reprimanded foreign newspapers for reserving adjectives like "Hindu nationalist" for the Indian government. "If you read foreign newspapers, they use words like Hindu Nationalist Government. In America or Europe, they won't say Christian Nationalist... these adjectives are reserved for us. They don't understand that this country is ready to do more with the world and not less with the world," said Jaishankar.

Jaishankar was in Pune for the release of his English book "The India Way: Strategies for an Uncertain World," which has been translated into Marathi as 'Bharat Marg'. The Marathi version of Jaishankar`s book was released by Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis.Jaishankar said he is proud of it and doesn't think there is anything to be apologetic.

"If you look at the last 9 years, there is no doubt that government and politics of the day are more nationalistic...I don't think there is anything to be apologetic about it. The same nationalist people have helped countries abroad and moved forward in disaster situations in other countries," he said. Notably, there is a row over the controversial BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, 'The Modi Question'.

India on Thursday denounced the controversial BBC documentary series on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and described it as a "propaganda piece" designed to push a discredited narrative. Addressing a weekly media briefing, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson, Arindam Bagchi said this documentary show, based on some internal UK reports, shows the colonial mindset.

"We think this is a propaganda piece designed to push a particular discredited narrative. The bias and the lack of objectivity and frankly continuing colonial mindset are belatedly visible," Bagchi said in response to the question on the PM documentary series.

UK's National broadcaster BBC aired a two-part series on PM Narendra Modi's tenure as Gujarat's Chief Minister. The documentary sparked outrage and was removed from select platforms. "So if you read next time in a foreign newspaper because they always, foreign newspapers, they like using words like Hindu nationalist comment, okay?" Jaishankar said.

"So next time you read it, ask yourself, how wrongly are they reading me that they actually do not understand that this country is getting ready to do more with the world, not less with the world," he advised. The EAM said that everyone in the country is connected with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during India's G20 Presidency.

"We want to show the world this G20 will have 200 meetings. Through these 200 meetings, we want to show the world, please, world, come to see India. See the changes in India, see how much enthusiasm and positive sentiment there is for the world in India," said Jaishankar. He also took a dig at Congress leader, Rahul Gandhi while referring to China. "Why doesn't opposition talk about areas occupied by China in 1962....They never talk about that?" adding, "I won't go to the Chinese ambassador to get inputs, but my military leadership."
Bharat Jodo Yatra: Throwing a challenge to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said that if the situation is so good in J&K, then he should walk to Srinagar`s Lal Chowk from Jammu. Responding to questions on the BJP's claims that there is peace in J&K, he said: "There are targeted killings in the state, bomb blasts happening, what security personnel are talking indicates that the situation is not good... if the BJP thinks so, why doesn`t Amit Shah walk to Lal Chowk from Jammu."





Gandhi said people are in pain in the state and the Congress is of the view that restoration of statehood and democratic process is the first step. He said his ancestors moved from Kashmir to Allahabad and he was moving towards Kashmir with love and affection. Gandhi said that he looking forward with an open mind, and asserted that on Article 370, he stands by the Congress Working Committee resolution.The Congress leader, along with many fellow marchers started the Bharat Jodo Yatra from Tamil Nadu's Kanniyakumari on September 7 and hoisted the national flag at Srinagar's Lal Chowk on Sunday after completing a 3,970 km walk.
Mumbai: Veteran actor Annu Kapoor got discharged on Sunday from Sir Ganga Ram Hospital after he complained of a chest problem on Thursday morning. According to Dr Ajay Swaroop, Chairman (Board of Management, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, "Mr Annu Madan Lal Kapoor admitted to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital on 26th January early morning with complaints of chest discomfort has been discharged today."

Kapoor underwent treatment by the Cardiology team comprising Dr JPS Sawhney, Dr Rajneesh Jain, Dr Rajiv Passey, Dr BS Vivek and Dr Sushant Wattal. Dr Rajneesh Jain, co-director of Cath lab and Head of the unit, under whom Kapoor was admitted, stated that "Mr Annu Kapoor has been discharged today in a stable condition."

Previously on Thursday, Dr Ajay Swaroop, Chairman (Board of Management) of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, stated that "Kapoor is currently stable and recovering, and is being treated." The actor is known for outstanding performances in films such as `Hum`, `Ek Ruka Hua Faisla`, `Ram Lakhan`, `Ghayal`, `Hum Kisise Kum Nahin`, `Aitraaz`, `7 Khoon Maaf`, `Jolly LLB 2`, and many more.

He received a National Award for his performance in the comedy-drama `Vicky Donor`. He was last seen in the web show `Crash Course`, which premiered on the OTT platform Amazon Prime Video last year.
New Delhi: Bollywood actor Suniel Shetty is the latest one to congratulate PM Modi for taking the initiative of Startup20, which is India`s innovation to the G20 movement.

Speaking to ANI exclusively at `Inception Meet of Startup20`, Hyderabad on Sunday, Suniel said, "Kudos to our honourable Prime Minister, G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant and the entire G20 management for this initiative."

Suniel added, "It`s a beautiful platform. I am proud of it. We always wanted a platform like this, something we can call our own. Over the last few years, I have interacted with many young entrepreneurs. They have sharp minds."

The Startup20 aims to develop a global narrative for supporting startups and facilitating synergies among startups, corporations, investors, innovation agencies, and other key ecosystem stakeholders, according to an official release of Startup20 PRO.

G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant said, "The Startup20 is India`s innovation to the G20 movement. That is because of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi`s belief that the world needs digitisation. It needs young energy and dynamism. It needs technological leap-frogging."

According to G20 Sherpa, they will also discuss the "digital public structure where public tracts were created and privates sector innovated further" and how India was able to use digital identity, data empowerment or bank accounts to drive a huge amount of payments.
New Delhi: Shamita Shetty and Aamir Ali recently made headlines with their friendly banter at a party in Mumbai. The two close friends caused a stir on the internet as Ali came escorted Shamita to her car and planted a kiss on her cheek while she sat in.

The video went viral in no time and netizens began to wonder if something is going on between the two. Shamita looked sizzling in a noodle-strapped white top with a plunging neckline paired with a leather skirt. Aamir on the other hand looked dapper in a grey t-shirt with blue pants paired with a white jacket.

Fans flooded the comment section with heart-eye and fire emojis. Netizens also wondered whether the two are dating and have moved on from their past relationships. One of the users wrote, 'Celebrities ka kch bharosa ni , inko goodbye kisses dene wale kabi b badal jate hain.' Another user asked Shetty, 'Did you move on from Raqesh Bapat?' Several others commented, 'They are just friends, let them be.'

Shamita Shetty shared pictures with her squad- Aamir Ali, Jennifer Winget, Anusha Dandekar, Mandira Bedi, and Ashish Chowdhry, among others from the party.

For the unversed, Aamir Ali and Sanjeeda Shaikh have parted ways, they ended their eight years long marriage, and have a daughter Ayra together.

Raqesh Bapat and Shamita Shetty met in Bigg Boss OTT and fell in love. The couple broke up prior to the debut of their romantic music video, 'Tere Vich Rab Disda.'
New Delhi: One of the most successful filmmakers in Bollywood, Kabir Khan, will soon collaborate with Kartik Aaryan, who is hailed as one of the youngest superstars of his generation on a film under the banner of Sajid Nadiadwala. Talking about how this project came to be, Kabir Khan says, I always go for peoples energy and Kartik is one of the most exciting actors today on the horizon. I met him with an open mind.I said lets discuss some ideas, I will tell you what Im doing and you tell me what kind of work you like doing. At that point of time, I had not locked in on a scriptI was working on a couple of ideas. So, we met for dinner, which we both probably thought would last an hour but it turned out to be more than 3 hours. And I really liked his energy, I really liked his passion for films and I really liked the fact that he wanted to do different films and not be stuck in one particular genre And from there it really all began, I shared the story with him; and it resonated with him.

It would be interesting to witness the filmmaker-actor dynamics between Kabir Khan and Kartik Aaryan, both of whom share mutual respect and admiration for each other. All praise for Kartik, Kabir Khan said, We met right after Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 was declared a blockbuster, and normally when you meet an actor post the success of his film you have to reserve 30 minutes to hear about the film, but Kartik didnt talk about (it)... He only spoke about the kind of work he likes to do, and thats very refreshing to have someone who is on the cusp of becoming superstar and now we all know hes already been dubbed a superstar; yet really talk about films and crafts and stories. The fact that he did a Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 and then a Freddy shows the hunger and greed in an actor .and wanted to try different things and thats always a refreshing element of his comfort zone, because in this industry too many people go into a comfort zone. The moment you hit success you start replicating what you became successful with. Thats what I liked about Kartik, when he became successful, he didnt say let me keep replicating what works, he wanted to try different things and thats always a refreshing elementIn my film, it will be a Kartik audiences havent seen before.

While details of the project are unknown at this juncture, the director revealed that it is scheduled to go on floors in April. The 83 director further added, We are right now in the prep stage. Kartik is shooting for Satya Prem Ki Katha which should be over by March. So I think we should be starting around April.

Besides Satyaprem Ki Katha and Kabir Khan's untitled next, Kartik will also be seen in the third instalment of the Aashiqui franchise.
On Oct. 27, 2018, 68-year-old Canadian Malcom Madsen disappeared in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, having last been seen at a bar with his girlfriend, Marcela Acosta Ramos.

The documentary, Malcom is Missing, takes you inside his daughter's journey to find out what happened to her father.

Madsen was a frequent traveller to Mexico, described by his friends and family as someone with a "child-like spirit" but also "incredibly intelligent."

His daughter, Brooke Mullins, was used to her dad having different partners throughout her life, but admits in the film that she was a bit bothered when she was introduced to Ramos, who is just three years older than her. At the time, Ramos was 43.

Ramos had been living in a one-bedroom apartment with her parents and her two teenage boys. When she started dating Madsen, he purchased a five-bedroom house in Puerto Vallarta for them to live in.

In October 2018, when Madsen had just made a trip from Canada to Mexico, his daughter and friends lost communication with him. When Mullins went to Mexico to try to figure out what happened, she discovered shocking details.

Marcela Acosta Ramos and Malcom Madsen from Robert Osborne and Jari Osborne's documentary, "Malcom is Missing." (Photo via Dam Builder Productions)

Getting access to video footage from a Puerto Vallarta bar called Andale's, Mullins sees her father having a drink with Ramos, who is fiddling with something in her purse. The video shows what appears to be Ramos putting a powder substance into his drink, while whispering in his ear so he can't see the table. She lets him have a few sips before pushing the drink away. That's the last time he was seen alive.

While that may seem like all the evidence one would need to solve this mystery and seek justice, it was just the beginning of the battle for Mullins.

When Mullins showed the video to police, they questioned whether the footage had been doctored. Jesus, a local taxi driver in Puerto Vallarta who would always drive Madsen when he was in town, said in the documentary that he believes Ramos was able to pay the police  using money she took from Madsen  so they would not investigate this case.

Story continues

"He was truly in love with this woman and he could not see that she was using him for money," Mullins said in the documentary.

What unfolds is a story about this devastating disappearance, paired with an exploration of systemic issues in place that prevent someone like Mullins to be able to seek justice for her father.

Ramos, dubbed "the black widow," was arrested in July 2020 and her brother, Martin Alejandro Acosta Ramos, was arrested later that year. Her son, Andres Javier Romero Acosta, was also arrested a year later.

Brooke Mullins in Robert Osborne and Jari Osborne's documentary, "Malcom is Missing." (Photo via Dam Builder Productions)

An 'intimidating' quest

Filmmakers Robert and Jari Osborne first learned about this story when they saw an article in the Vancouver Sun about a woman from Port Hope, Ont. who had been fighting the Mexican government after her father disappeared. They were able to track down a Facebook page Mullins made about her father and contacted her about working on this project.

Mullins admits she did have some apprehensions about making this film.

"I waited a year to even go public about his disappearance. I kept it a secret from many people in his life for the first year, but I did realize that the media has been incredibly supportive and has brought so many amazing people into my life, and it helped me with the case," Mullins said. "Having a background in film myself, ... I understood Robert's perspective as the person behind the camera.

"I never expected to be in the limelight of it, that's for sure. But I don't regret it. ... I just hope it makes a difference, that it informs people on what's going on."

Not only did Mullins open herself up to the Osbornes, she also agreed to travel with a film crew back and forth to Mexico amid serious tensions with police, officials and people in connection to Ramos.

"At one point, I had a bodyguard when I was travelling and I was flying into different cities to not be directly coming into Puerto Vallarta," Mullins said. "I'm going to have to probably be involved in the trial and, of course, I'm a little concerned about that.

"You don't know who to be afraid or concerned about. You might think the people are arrested, their family, but there's also the police that might not be very happy with me or other people over there. It's definitely intimidating, for sure."

Robert stressed that he thinks it was "very courageous" for Mullins to go to Mexico to film this documentary.

"Certainly when you're working somewhere in a city with a documentary crew, you create a very large profile. You can't kind of slip in and out," he said. "So, we made sure that we had really good people working with us, we hired this great fixer out of Mexico City.

"Plus, we had Jesus, who you met in the documentary, he was our driver. He works as a taxi driver in Puerto Vallarta. He knows everybody. ... So, between the two of them, when we would pull up to a location, they'd have a pretty good eye on the street in terms of if anything started happening that we needed to be aware of."

Malcom Madsen (left) and his daughter, Brooke Mullins, sit on a patio in Denmark in July 2018. Madsen went missing in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico three months later, and Brooke has been trying to find out what happened ever since. (Photo via Brooke Mullins)

'A very delicate balance'

One question Canadians will likely have about this story is, why didn't or couldn't the Canadian government step in to help Mullins get some answers about what happened to her father?

"I have been told by numerous people and in the government, mostly through Global Affairs, that a large part of the problem is that ... if they push the Mexican authorities for information or to make arrests, or to look into things, they can often have the opposite effect," Mullins explained. "They will draw back and stop giving information and resources, so it's a very delicate balance, according to my contacts.

"But at the same time, I find this frustrating because Mexico hugely relies on Canadians visiting its country every year. The tourism is massive, and if they want tourists to continue to go there, you would think that they would do everything in their power to make sure they're safe. And if something does happen, that they're there to give them the ability to be supported while trying to bring back a loved one, or find a loved one."

Mullins takes the audience inside her home throughout the story and is quite forthcoming about the logistical difficulty of this process, but also the impact that it's had on her personal life, including her relationship with her children.

But that's balanced with incredibly shocking moments, like when Mullins was offered to buy body parts, such as teeth and eyeballs, allegedly belonging to her father. Mullins actually went through with the transaction, paying for these items with a lawyer in Mexico retrieving them, so she could get DNA testing done.

"We wanted to capture that element because it was something that either could have turned out to be the definitive piece of evidence, or it could have turned out to be a scam," Robert said. "But we had to be aware of Brooke's feelings about this."

Mullins highlighted that this moment was a particularly big concern for her before watching the film.

"This was actually a huge concern I had before seeing the film. I think that Robert and Jari were incredibly respectful," she said. "I totally understand their perspective as filmmakers, not wanting to sensationalize, but to also show what an impactful experience that was emotionally for me.

"They didn't show my complete breakdown. They kept it to a minimum, and I really appreciate that because I think that was probably the worst moment. Other than when I first discovered my father was definitely missing. ... So I'm still, to this day, so grateful that they did not make a spectacle out of that scene."

Brooke Mullins in Robert Osborne and Jari Osborne's documentary, "Malcom is Missing." (Photo via Dam Builder Productions)

'It was the right decision'

Reports about Canadians  and people from other countries  disappearing or appearing dead in Mexico continue to come up. While this isn't entirely specific to this country, both Mullins and Robert hope Malcom is Missing sheds a light on what really happens in these circumstances, calling out the barriers that exist to get answers from Mexican authorities.

"I love Mexico. It's a beautiful country," Mullins said. "So many of the people that are helping me, as you can see in the documentary, are Mexican, who love their country and want to see change.

"So many people say, 'Well, I go there all the time, nothing ever happens,' or say, 'You can get hurt or things like that could happen anywhere in the world,' and this is true. But I think it's important that they realize that if something does go wrong, there in Mexico, you are on your own, as are your family if they're the ones trying to find you. That's what needs to change at this point. This is what I'm trying to convey in this film from my perspective."

"I like so many people in Mexico as a result of this trip, this work that we've done," Robert added. "I count two people down there now as good friends and people who I will continue to know, and to have as part of my life for the rest of my life.

"But people have to understand that there is a level of corruption that is almost unprecedented worldwide in that country. It is endemic in the system and if you're comfortable going there, understanding that, then go for it. But you better understand that, as Brooke says, if you get into trouble, you are in a world of hurt."

Looking back, after spending hundreds of thousands of dollars, Mullins admitted that sometimes, she does think about whether all of this was worth it. Ultimately, she feels like she made the right choice to start on this long journey to justice.

"I sometimes think about it, whether I would have done it again, because there has been so much loss," Mullins said. "I'm no longer with my fiance. Things have definitely changed. It's been hard for my family, as well as the financial struggles.

"I never would have imagined that it would end up costing as much as it has just to get to this point. I also think, how would I feel if I hadn't done anything and I didn't know anything, and that they were still allowed to go free and continue to hurt other people? ... I kind of just feel like it was the right decision."

Malcom is Missing is screening at the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema on Sunday, Jan. 29.
NEW DELHI: Actor Rakhi Sawant's mother Jaya Bheda, who had been battling cancer and brain tumour and was undegoing medical treatment at a Mumbai hospital, died on Saturday. Jaya, aged 73, passed away at around 9 pm on Saturday, according to Deepak Namjoshi, pulmonologist and director, CritiCare Asia Multispecialty Hospital & Research Center, Juhu. Her funeral was held on Sunday at Municipal Christian Cemetery in Mumbai. Rakhi and her brother Rakesh Sawant brought the mortal remain of their mother to the cemetry hall and peformed the last rites.

Several noted personalities from the industry including actor Rashami Desai, choreographer Farah Khan, actor Sangeeta Kapure, and comedian-actor Ehsaan Qureshi were seen at the cemetery to attend the funeral. Rashami and Farah were seen consoling a heartbroken Rakhi at her difficult time.

Photos and videos of the actress performing her mother's last rites have surfaced on the Internet.

Sawant's mother had stage four endometrial cancer which had spread to the brain, lungs and liver. Sawant also shared a post on Instagram informing her fans and followers about her mother's death.

Rakhi was often seen informing mediapersons about her mothers health. The actress, who was recently seen in Bigg Boss Marathi version, had told paps that she was shocked to learn about her mother's health and hospitalisation after she came out of the show.
New Delhi: The viral dialogue bot ChatGPT has taken the Internet by storm since the launch on November 30, 2022. Since then, the entire world is only talking about the artificial intelligence based technology and the potential threat it poses the traditional workforce once it begins to use for common purpose. Enamoured by its multiple uses, people have been asking different things to ChatGPT in a playful and lightly manner to test the chatbots capabilities and power.

ALSO READ | Know how Much 10 gms Gold Used to Cost in 1959? Old Bill Goes Viral

ChatGPT has recently passed some prominent exams including US Medical licensing exam, a Wharton Business school exam for the final test of the MBA programmes operations management course and four University of Minnesota Law school exams in Constitutional Law, more.

These texts contained a mix of short-answer, essay, and multiple choice questions. However, it just passed the exams not got gold-star in any one of them. According to examiners, ChatGPT was much better at writing than math.

On passing a Medical licensing exam, Elon Musk has taken a dig and said he was sure everything would be fine.

Im sure everything will be fine January 29, 2023

Who created ChatGPT? And what is it?

Artificial Intelligence research company Open AI, in which Elon Musk and Microsoft also invested capital, created the chatbot ChatGPT that talks to people like human. It wouldnt only answer queries but also suggests warnings and takes follow-up questions. It has been seen that it would accept its mistake and try to correct it every possible extent.

Right now, OpenAI is testing its prototype at the global level to take the feedback of public and teach its AI from inputs from users. Some experts warn that the bot has the potential to give a fierce challenge to Google, the dominate search engine on Internet for over two decades.
New Delhi: Google is celebrating Bubble Tea today, January 29, 2023 with a special doodle having an interactive game. Users can create their own bubble tea which is also known as boba tea and pearl milk tea. The Bubble tea became popular globally during covid-19 peak in 2020 and it was officially announced as a new emoji on this day in 2020.

Tangy and fruity or sweet and milky? The combinations are endless! Todays interactive game Doodle celebrates bubble tea, also known as boba tea and pearl milk tea. Honeydew, matcha, raspberry, mocha  no matter the flavor, dont forget to mix in some bubbly balls made with fruit jelly or tapioca, Google wrote in the blog.

ALSO READ | Anand Mahindra Shares Old Clip From 1957 of Young Talented Indian | Watch

"This Taiwanese drink started as a local treat and has exploded in popularity over the last few decades. Bubble tea has its roots in traditional Taiwanese tea culture which dates back as early as the 17th century. However, it wasnt until the 1980s that the bubble tea as we know today was invented. As waves of Taiwanese immigrants over the past few decades brought this drink overseas, innovation on the original bubble tea continues. Shops around the world are still experimenting with new flavors, additions, and mixtures. Traditional tearooms across Asia have also joined in on the boba craze, and the trend has reached countries like Singapore, Japan, South Korea, and more!," Google added in the blog.
videoDetails

Befriend India by forgetting Kashmir  UAE and Saudi Arabia advise Pakistan

| Updated: Jan 29, 2023, 10:26 AM IST

Pakistan, which is going through an economic crisis, has been given a big blow by its close Muslim friendly countries Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Both these countries have clearly told the government of Pakistan to forget Kashmir and end the dispute by making friendship with India.
WASHINGTON: A four-star U.S. Air Force general said in a memo that his gut told him the United States would fight China in the next two years, comments that Pentagon officials said were not consistent with American military assessments.

"I hope I am wrong," General Mike Minihan, who heads the Air Mobility Command, wrote to the leadership of its roughly 110,000 members. "My gut tells me will fight in 2025."

The letter was dated February 1 but had been sent out on Friday.

The general's views do not represent the Pentagon but show concern at the highest levels of the U.S. military over a possible attempt by China to exert control over Taiwan, which China claims as a territory. Both the United States and Taiwan will hold presidential elections in 2024, potentially creating an opportunity for China to take military action, Minihan wrote.

"These comments are not representative of the department's view on China," a U.S. defense official said.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said earlier this month he seriously doubted that ramped up Chinese military activities near the Taiwan Strait were a sign of an imminent invasion of the island by Beijing.

China has stepped up its diplomatic, military and economic pressure in recent years on the self-governed island to accept Beijing's rule. Taiwan's government says it wants peace but will defend itself if attacked.

In response to a request for comment, Air Force Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said in a statement that military competition with China is a central challenge.

"Our focus remains on working alongside allies and partners to preserve a peaceful, free and open Indo-Pacific," he said.
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
White House Unveils Plan to Tackle Cryptocurrency Risks, Calls for Increased Enforcement

Source: AdobeStock / Joe Gough

The White House has published a roadmap asking authorities to increase enforcement and ramp up efforts to regulate the crypto sector.

In an official blog on Friday, the Biden Administration detailed its plans to address potential risks from cryptocurrencies in a roadmap that calls for authorities to ramp up enforcement where appropriate and Congress to step up its efforts to regulate the industry.

The post starts by citing some major failures within the crypto sector last year, including the implosion of Terra's algorithmic stablecoin UST that prompted a wave of insolvencies. It also noted the collapse of FTX, once the third-largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, which delivered billions in losses to users.

"Thankfully, turmoil in the cryptocurrency markets has had little negative impact on the broader financial system to date," the post read, adding that the Biden Administration is focused on mitigating the risks of cryptocurrencies and making sure they do not undermine financial stability.

"At President Bidens direction, we have spent the past year identifying the risks of cryptocurrencies and acting to mitigate them using the authorities that the Executive Branch has."

The post added that "experts across the administration have laid out the first-ever framework for developing digital assets in a safe, responsible way while addressing the risks they pose."

It noted some of the biggest risk factors, including lack of applicable regulations, misleading statements, failure to make adequate disclosures, and poor cybersecurity measures "that enabled the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea to steal over a billion dollars to fund its aggressive missile program."

Furthermore, the administration called on agencies to use their executive power and "ramp up enforcement where appropriate and issue new guidance where needed." Specifically, the government asked Congress to increase efforts to regulate the crypto market.

"Congress should expand regulators powers to prevent misuses of customers assetswhich hurt investors and distort pricesand to mitigate conflicts of interest."

The administration noted that Congress should not allow mainstream institutions like pension funds to dabble into cryptocurrency markets as this would deepen the ties between cryptocurrencies and the broader financial system and increase systemic risks, calling it "a grave mistake" to pass laws that deepen the ties.

Authored by White House advisors Brian Deese, Arati Prabhakar, Cecilia Rouse, and Jake Sullivan, the paper concluded that the Biden Administration supports responsible technological innovations that make financial services cheaper, faster, safer, and more accessible while taking into account potential risks.

"To put the right safeguards in place, we will keep driving forward the digital-assets framework weve developed, while working with Congress to achieve these goals," the paper said.
Carlisle Borough Mayor Sean Shultz and Carlisle Borough Police Department Chief Taro Landis issued statements Saturday regarding the beating death of Tyre Nichols by five police officers in Memphis earlier this month.

Video released this week showed police holding down and beating Nichols for three minutes with their fists, boots and batons.

The five officers  Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith  have been fired and charged with murder and other crimes in Nichols death, which came three days after his arrest on Jan. 7. They face up to 60 years in prison if convicted of second-degree murder.

Shultz and Landis issued statements Saturday on the Carlisle Borough website and through Twitter.

Landis wrote: We offer our deepest condolences to the family of Mr. Tyre Nichols. The disgraceful, brutal murder of Mr. Nichols at the hands of the former Memphis, Tennessee police officers tarnishes the badge and trusting bonds that all law enforcement has sworn to uphold throughout our communities and nation.

We acknowledge that emotions are high and that people are rightfully angry. The Carlisle Police Department will protect the lives, property and rights of all people through service, integrity, courage and partnership with our community. We stand united with the citizens of the Borough of Carlisle for justice accountability, transparency, and respect.

Shultz shared on Twitter: Our hearts also go out to all people of color throughout America and Carlisle who hold their sons and daughters a little more tightly each time such atrocious acts are committed. There must be justice for Mr. Nichols, and there must be equal justice throughout our nation.

We live in a country founded on ideals of equality, justice, and freedom, none of which are truly achievable when power is so excessively abused as it was by the five Memphis officers now charged with murder. We can and should expect that the officers will be met with the fullest consequences of justice under law.

All police officers in Memphis, just like the officers of the Carlisle Police Department, bind themselves to the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics, committing to an unswerving acknowledgment that their badges are a symbol of public faith that they hold only so long as they uphold the public trust. The five officers in Memphis failed that pledge horrendously, and Tyre Nichols, a father described as a beautiful soul, was the victim of their terrible violation of the public trust.

Mr. Nichols death, sadly once again, is a reminder both of the grossly disproportionate deaths of our Black and Brown brothers and sisters in America as a result of excessive use of force by police and of our responsibility here in Carlisle to rededicate ourselves each and every day to pursue the highest principles of public trust placed in our police department. We will continue to pursue those ideals through policy and practice, through the consistent training we demand of our officers and they demand of themselves, and through transparency in accountability throughout our police department. This is expected under our Constitution and by the oath to which each of our officers has sworn themselves.

May justice be done for Tyre Nichols.
In October, billionaire business magnate and investor Elon Musk completed his purchase of the social media platform Twitter. Since that time a variety of moves to cut costs as well as try and generate more revenue for the platform have led some to wonder whether Musks acquisition was the beginning of the end for popular microblogging site.
A man is dead after a shooting late Saturday night near Fifeville Park in Charlottesville.

Charlottesville police responded to a report of shots fired a little before 10 p.m. near the park at the intersection of Grove and Spring streets across the train tracks from the University of Virginias University Hospital, according to officers Saturday night.

Weve located a male who is deceased from a gunshot wound, and thats all we really know at this point, Sgt. Ron Stayments told The Daily Progress at the scene shortly after midnight.

There were no other victims, officers said. An investigation is ongoing.

Saturdays incident is the third shooting in less than a week in Charlottesville. A juvenile male and adult woman were shot in separate incidents late Monday night closer to downtown. Both victims were treated at UVa Medical Center for their injuries, police said. The boy was released as of Tuesday night, and the woman was still being treated as of Wednesday evening.

The investigations into those shootings remain open, police have said.

An earlier fatal shooting occurred in broad daylight on Jan. 8 in the citys Belmont neighborhood.

Police have identified the victim as Osvaldo Lopez-Hernandez of Texas and charged two others. In relation to the incident, Jose Omar Rivas Sorto of Maryland has been charged with felony shooting from a vehicle, and a man identified only as John Doe has been charged with felony abduction for a pecuniary benefit, use of a firearm during an abduction and misdemeanor brandishing.

Police are asking anyone with any information related to any of the shootings to contact Crime Stoppers at (434) 977-4000.
A Richmond police officer from Louisa County is on administrative leave and behind bars where he faces dozens of child pornography charges.

David Edward Stone, 51, of Mineral was arrested Wednesday on 50 child pornography charges, according to the Louisa County Sheriffs Office.

After a lengthy investigation, investigators seized multiple digital media devices to be examined by the LCSO Forensics Unit, the sheriffs office said in a statement released on Friday. After the items were examined, they were found to contain a large number of files containing images of child sexual exploitation, with several of the images matching those reported in the cyber-tip.

The arrest came after the Southern Virginia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force provided information to the Louisa sheriffs office, authorities said.

The ages of the children involved and their locations were not disclosed.

Unfortunately, crimes like these happen entirely too much in our society, Louisa Detective Chuck Love told the Richmond Times-Dispatch. It affects everyone in every profession. No one is immune to it.

Stone has been with the Richmond police force since 2006.

The citys police department said it was cooperating with authorities in Louisa.

After learning of the existence of arrest warrants, members of the Richmond Police Department arrested Stone and later turned him over to deputies of the Louisa County Sheriffs Office, Richmond police said in a statement on Friday. The Richmond Police Department does not tolerate the abuse of children in any form and this officer will be held accountable for his actions.

Stone is on administrative leave without pay, police said.

A preliminary hearing for Stone is scheduled for Feb. 17 in Louisa County Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court. He is being held in Central Virginia Regional Jail in Orange.

Anyone with information about this investigation is asked to call the Louisa County Sheriffs Office at (540) 967-1234 or Crime Solvers at (800) 346-1466.
China speeds up post-holiday production with renewed vigor

Xinhua) 16:44, January 29, 2023

BEIJING, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- In Shanghai, more than 30 operators worked with a giant shield tunneling machine of 14.5 meters in diameter to form a solid lining structure at a tunnel construction site.

The tunnel, once completed, will further promote the integration of Puxi and Pudong, two sections of Shanghai, across the Huangpu River.

"This is a major project for Shanghai, as it will shorten commuting and logistics time for many people," said an on-site manager. "We are working day and night."

The same vigor and vitality apply to people across China as they return to work after spending the Spring Festival holiday with their families.

The holiday came after China's latest adjustment to the COVID-19 response. Convenient travels brought back hundreds of millions of homesick Chinese people for the grandest celebration of the year.

In the northeastern port city of Dalian, new projects with a hefty total investment of 83.86 billion yuan (about 12.36 billion U.S. dollars) were launched on Saturday alone. Less than a month into 2023, local authorities have planned to develop 3,200 projects, including 658 new ones.

At Youyi Pass on the China-Vietnam border, trucks carrying electrical and mechanical products for export formed a long queue near the pass, waiting for customs clearance. Truckloads of fruit from Southeast Asian countries also arrived before being shipped to other parts of China.

"The market is good, and customer orders are stable," said Han Qiuyang, general manager of Guangxi Wuhua International Trade Company. "This year, the total fruit import of our company is expected to grow 20 to 30 percent year on year."

Machines roared at workshops in Jilin Chemical Fiber Co., Ltd, a decades-old manufacturer in northeast China. The company has switched its focus to carbon fiber products, a transformation that has made it a major domestic supplier.

"With a good start this year, we will produce more and better carbon fiber products," said Cao Xu, a group head of a workshop in the company.

In a workshop of new energy vehicle (NEV) manufacturer BYD in Changsha, the capital of central China's Hunan Province, new models passed through advanced assembly and testing lines. Twelve NEV manufacturers have settled in Hunan, forming an industry with coordinated vehicle manufacturing development and auto parts production.

"Hunan will continue to upgrade traditional industries, like construction and machinery, while developing new sectors such as electronic information, NEV, and modern petrochemical to explore more growth drivers and create strong growth momentum," said Lei Shaoye, director of the Hunan provincial department of industry and information technology.

At an agricultural research and breeding base in south China's island province of Hainan, Zhang Qiuzhi, an associate professor with Beijing University of Agriculture, led a team of researchers in carrying out a series of testing for more than 40 mu (about 2.68 hectares) of silage corn.

"We can't afford to waste a single day at the base," Zhang said, explaining that the climate conditions of the base allow them to grow two or three seasons of corn a year, which speeds up the research process a lot.

"As long as we work hard, there will be hope for breakthroughs in the new year," Zhang added.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
The suspect in a Madison County hit-and-run has been arrested after police say he stole a vehicle in Culpeper and led multiple law enforcement agencies on a chase that began in Waynesboro and ended in Rockingham County.

Police said they arrested Joseph N. Jenkins, 35, of Madison on Friday night. It was more than 24 hours after they said Jenkins fled the scene of a Thursday morning hit-and-run in Madison.

On Thursday morning, a Chevrolet Silverado and a Subaru SUV collided in the southbound lanes of Route 29 south of Shelby, according to Virginia State Police. After the crash, the driver of the Chevrolet, who police now identify as Jenkins, fled the scene on foot.

The driver of the Subaru survived the collision and was taken to UVa Medical Center to be treated for their injuries, police reported.

After fleeing the scene, Jenkins is believed to have stolen a 2015 Ford F-350 from a business in Culpeper, according to Virginia State Police.

Waynesboro police said they spotted Jenkins driving the Ford on Interstate 64 around 8:30 p.m. on Friday, but when they tried to initiate a traffic stop, Jenkins sped away into Augusta County.

Police said they pursued Jenkins as he traveled northbound on I-81 into Rockingham County and then east on Route 33.

It was on Route 33 that the chase came to an end. Jenkins was apprehended after the Ford struck a tire deflation device that had been deployed by a Rockingham County sheriffs deputy, police said.

Jenkins was transported to Sentara RMH Medical Center in Harrisonburg where he was treated for minor injuries, police said, before he was then placed in Middle River Regional Jail in Staunton. He has been charged in Augusta County with one felony count of eluding law enforcement, one felony count of possession of stolen property and one misdemeanor count of reckless driving.

Additional charges are expected from the jurisdictions of Rockingham and Madison counties.
A Portland, Oregon, man has pleaded guilty to multiple sex crimes against a Louisa County minor.

Daniel R. Thomas submitted his guilty plea in Louisa County Circuit Court at the last minute on Wednesday, according to the Louisa commonwealths attorney.

The charges against Thomas included one count of indecent liberties with a minor less than 14 years of age, three counts of production of child pornography and two counts of soliciting a minor over a communication device.

Thomas will face up to 130 years in prison when he is sentenced on May 15, the commonwealths attorney said in a statement.

An investigation into Thomas was launched in early 2022, after a Louisa father checked his childs mobile phone and discovered an inappropriate conversation, according to the Louisa County Sheriffs Office.

A forensic examination of the phone found exploitative conversations and determined that the other party in the conversation had a Portland area code, the sheriffs office reported. The number, according to law enforcement officials, was linked to a man, now identified as Thomas, living in a Portland halfway house.

Louisa authorities worked with police in Portland who executed a search warrant on the halfway house where they discovered the phone the child had been messaging in Thomas possession, police said.

Thomas told police at the time he had recently left prison and was on probation, according to the sheriffs office report. Thomas has two prior convictions for sexual assault of minors less than 14 years of age in Portland, according to authorities on the West Coast.

Virginia State Police assisted in extraditing Thomas back to Virginia, according to the Louisa County Sheriffs Office.

In court, the prosecution argued that Thomas was a serial offender  and his two prior convictions were similar enough to Virginias aggravated sexual battery statute to press for enhanced punishment under Virginia code.

The case was scheduled for a two-day trial, but Thomas pleaded guilty on Wednesday before the case could proceed.

At the very least, Thomas will face 20 mandatory years in prison, according to the commonwealths attorney. He could face up to 130 years, depending on the judges sentence.

I guess the message did not reach Portland to not exploit our children in Louisa County, Commonwealths Attorney Rusty McGuire said in a statement on Wednesday.

The Portland Police Bureau did not comment on McGuires remarks nor its involvement in the case.

When The Daily Progress requested information on the arrest and charges against a Daniel R. Thomas, a Portland police spokesman responded, Thats a pretty common name.
canada-comment

Shortly after Robin Williams died by suicide on Aug. 11, 2014, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences tweeted an image of Aladdin tearfully hugging Williams's character from the iconic Disney film. "Genie, you're free," read the caption. The tweet, as The Post's Caitlin Dewey noted at the time, carried the "implication that suicide is somehow a liberating option" and was promptly blasted by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, whose chief medical officer warned "suicide should never be presented as an option."

In Canada, however, consensus seems to be consolidating around a different conclusion: Suicide is, in fact, a liberating, acceptable option for whoever wants it.

Medical assistance in dying (MAID) is legal in Canada thanks to the country's mercurial judiciary, which has, over the years, slowly constructed a constitutional right for Canadians to die by suicide.

In 1972, Canada's laws criminalizing attempted suicide were quietly rescinded by Parliament, though the legislators' motivations were debated: Was Parliament saying suicide was not morally worthy of being a crime, or was the ban just too impractical to enforce? Evidence against the former was found in the fact that prohibitions against encouraging or "aiding" a suicide remained on the books, along with an explicit provision that no right existed to "consent" to one's death at the hands of another.

In 1993, following a high-profile case involving a terminally ill woman who wished to obtain legal permission for a doctor-assisted death, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled 5-4 in favor of upholding these prohibitions, declaring that "seeking to control the manner and timing of one's death constitutes a conscious choice of death over life" and a "right to life" is guaranteed by the Canadian constitution. "Parliament's repeal of the offence of attempted suicide from the Criminal Code," said the majority, "was not a recognition that suicide was to be accepted within Canadian society."

In 2015, however, the court reversed itself in a unanimous decision, embracing the argument of the 1993 dissenters that the constitution's right to life did not mandate a "duty to live" but instead "encompasses life, liberty and security of the person during the passage to death." The court ordered Parliament to pass a new law, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal majority obliged, crafting a narrow right to medically assisted death for Canadians in an "advanced state of irreversible decline" with "reasonable foreseeability of natural death." The stipulations helped enshrine assisted suicide as a tool to expedite the "passage" to death, as the court described - not to instigate it unprovoked.

The rigidity of this permission structure, however, gave the Superior Court of Quebec pretext to overturn Trudeau's legislation in 2019, declaring it unconstitutionally discriminatory to make the right to die conditional on having a fatal medical condition. Rather than appeal the ruling, Trudeau's government responded last year by watering down its legislation, making the right to pursue suicide broader. A Canadian is now entitled to a medically assisted death so long as they "have a serious and incurable illness, disease or disability" with symptoms "that cannot be relieved under conditions that they consider acceptable." The Liberal government has promised that at some point, mental illness will be officially folded into the definition of "serious and incurable."

To be sure, the amended legislation still outlines complex "safeguards" for permitting assisted death, including mandatory medical assessments, doctor sign-offs and the confirmation of an "independent witness." And yet, in recent weeks the papers have nevertheless been filled with stories of what the first year of Canada's new MAID regime has been like in practice: strikingly popular, with 10,064 medically assisted voluntary deaths in 2021. As Alexander Raikin noted recently in a well-reported essay for the New Atlantis, California - with its own assisted suicide program and about the same population as Canada (nearly 40 million) - had only 486 such deaths in the same period. There's substantial evidence, Raikin wrote, that Canada's assisted dying regime - which he characterized as "the most permissive" in the world - is being amply used not just by people enduring physical suffering, but by the poor, lonely and outcast as a way of escaping the general hardship of their lives.

Canada is a country whose political process no longer seems capable of discussing "social issues." Politicians believe debates over heady moral questions are a turnoff to voters, while an imperious judiciary decrees policy prescriptions that are too strict and particular for Parliament ever to reverse, even if the politicians had the appetite to try.

Polls indicate the public tends to be supportive of medically assisted dying in the abstract, but more hesitant and divided when it comes to the details of implementing such a policy - whether the mentally ill should be eligible, for instance - and generally ignorant of the state of current rules.

In other words, the reasonable conclusion to draw is that ever-greater liberalization will likely continue, just because it's hardly obvious who would try to stop it. In a short time, Canada might well recognize suicide as a choice every person has an affirmative right to make for any reason, with the state assisting and never judging.

Amid the world's increasingly lurid fascination with Canada's MAID policies, other nations can do with this information what they wish. Canada has chosen to be a calibration point on one end of the spectrum.
As Saturday dawned, Virginia was the only ACC team without at least one player averaging more than 13 points per game. But as the afternoons 76-57 thumping of Boston College affirmed, this Cavaliers offense is elite and in overdrive.
Clera Rorex was a legend. She issued marriage licenses to six same sex couples in Boulder County starting in 1975, decades before same-sex marriage was legalized by the 2015 landmark Obergefell v. Hodges U.S. Supreme Court Decision. On Thursday, she posthumously received the Mountain Leader Award at the Governor's Citizenship Medal Celebration.

Rorex's was a life of activism, and as a feminist asking for equal rights, she felt it was not her place to deny someone also seeking equal rights, according to a quote from the awards webpage. Rorex passed away in June 2022.

Rorex joins Pat Bowlen and Emily Griffith as a recipient of the Mountain Leader Award. The award is given to a community leader or enduring organization that has provided an innovative impact on the state of Colorado, according to the award's webpage.

At times, Rorex's dedication to activism, feminism and blunt honesty made motherhood difficult, according to her son Scott Poston. However, she raised him to the best of her abilities, and after reflection and 55 years lived, Poston said he is grateful.

"In hindsight, I'm glad because I look at now at my adult life, I'm 55 years old and I look back on it as being thankful for having a mom that exposed me to so many new ideas," he said. "They really gave me a broader view of people and categories of people."

Rorex's service did not stop when she left the Boulder County Clerk's office, however. Over the course of her life, she volunteered with Out Boulder County, an organization dedicated to helping LGBTQ+ people "thrive in Boulder County and beyond," according to their mission and vision page.

As a lifelong activist and feminist, Poston said the years of the Trump presidency were tough for his mother. The rollback of Roe v. Wade undid decades of work, and "really hurt her," he said. However, Rorex's spirit was not broken.

"Her mandate was always, change takes time. Meaningful political change takes time" he said. "She was always a believer that you have to keep fighting for equality issues and for for political freedom issues and for the freedom to love who you fall in love with."

Rorex raised Poston as a single mother. There was a short period of time after Rorex remarried and the new family moved to California, but for many reasons Poston said that didn't last and they found themselves back in Boulder.

That experience, combined with the life of activism and honesty led Poston to call attention to the single mothers navigating life. Poston was almost overcome with emotion as he reflected on what he believes his mother stood for in her lifelong commitment to activism and feminism.

"I just want to make sure I express how much courage people have who walked life alone, because they believe in a politically progressive idea that's not widely accepted yet, or because they're just physically alone," he said. "For me, that's what my mom stands for is all those women and minorities who often find themselves without an ally."
Denver Mayor Michael Hancock will travel to Egypt and Ethiopia this week with a delegation of city and metro area leaders at a cost of more than $100,000. The trip, which comes at the tail end of Hancock's tenure as mayor, will help the city find new air service and economic development opportunities on the African continent, officials said.

The trip is expected to cost a total of $107,567.56. Of that amount, the Denver International Airport's enterprise fund will cover $88,521.50 while the remaining amount is coming from the general fund, officials said. The trip is part of Denver's Vision 100 plan, which wants to bring 100 million passengers annually at DIA within the next 10 years.

Hancock and the delegation depart Monday and return Friday.

"One of the main pillars of the Vision 100 plan is to expand Denvers global connections, and Africa is an expansion opportunity," Hancock said in a release announcing the trip. "The success of new flights, especially international flights, depends on support from all categories of travelers  business, leisure, family visits and education  and this mission is an important step to raise awareness of our efforts to add these flights and gain the support of future travelers.

Earlier in the year, Hancock traveled to Turkey, the United Kingdom and Ireland for similar reasons. That trip cost just over $66,000, with about $15,000 coming out of the general fund.

In 2022, a committee formed by Hancock began exploring adding service to two cities in Africa: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and Cairo, Egypt. Addis Ababa is considered to be a gateway to the rest of the African continent, as well as Middle Eastern markets. Additionally, Addis Ababa is the headquarters of the African Union and home to several non-government organizations.

Since being elected in 2011, Hancock's efforts have added six international airlines and 18 international destinations to DIA.

"This is part of the airports Vision 100 Strategic Plan as we are working to position Denver as an important access point for passengers and cargo to be able to take advantage of future business and tourism opportunities as African economies grow," DIA CEO Phil Washington said in a release.

Members of the delegation include Chief of Staff Alan Salazar, Deputy Chiefs of Staff Evan Dryer and Tracy Winchester, DIA CEO Phil Washington, DIA VP for Air Service Development Laura Jackson, DIA VP Penny May and Executive Director of Parks and Recreation Happy Haynes.
This page offers information and resources to help limit the spread of COVID-19 in non-health care settings. See the Department of Health Services (DHS) Health Care Providers webpage for information that is specific to health care settings. Employers will find resources and recommendations for protecting employees, clients, and customers. Workers will find resources for staying safe in the workplace, information about financial assistance (including options for health insurance and no- and low-cost health care).

Four steps to stay safe

Effective August 11, 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released new guidance emphasizing a four-step plan for individuals to protect themselves from COVID-19. These also apply to the workplace. They are:

1. Know your risk. People of older age, those with disabilities, or anyone with a weakened immune system, or people with other underlying medical conditions (including pregnancy) are at higher risk for severe infection. During times of medium and high COVID-19 Community Levels, people with high risk and their close contacts should consider wearing a well-fitted filtering mask, such as an n-95, or respirator. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), workers with disabilities may be legally entitled to reasonable accommodations that protect them from the risk of contracting COVID-19 if, for example, they cannot be protected through vaccination, cannot be vaccinated, or cannot use face coverings. Employers should consider taking steps to protect these at-risk workers as they would unvaccinated workers, regardless of their vaccination status. 2. Protect yourself. The best way to protect people from severe COVID-19 infection is to make sure they are fully vaccinated and have received their booster shots. Employers can encourage boosters and vaccinations by offering them at work, by giving time off for vaccinations, or by making policies that require vaccination. Many employee vaccination requirements have been very effective at raising vaccination rates. See the Wisconsin Vaccine Guidance for All Businesses from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) for more ideas on promoting vaccination in the workplace. 3. Take action if exposed. People who have been exposed to COVID-19 should wear a high quality (n-95 or similar) mask for five days, and then take a screening test to make sure they aren't infected. 4. Take action if you're sick or test positive. Support your workers by giving them paid time off when they are sick. Offer them a COVID-19 screening test, or encourage them to test on their own. Individuals can order free COVID-19 tests. People who are infected with COVID-19 need to isolate for a minimum of five days.

Companies that took steps during the pandemic to implement Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) rules should not be discouraged by these changes. Your organization is more resilient as a result of policies like paid time off for vaccination, vaccination requirements and masking or testing of unvaccinated employees.

Although these steps should be taken by every individual, employers can still take steps to protect the health of their workforce and business by:

Keeping people in your workplace up-to-date on your local COVID-19 Community Level. You can find the level for your county on the DHS COVID Data webpage.

Making your own masking and hand-washing policies that protect employees, customers, or clients.

Encouraging workers to prioritize their health by staying home when sick.

Resources for employers, and workers

From Wisconsin Division of Public Health:

List of COVID-19 vaccinators that are willing to support community-based, mobile, or homebound COVID-19 vaccination requests. Please note that WI DHS will not play a role in the coordination of these events, and all details should be coordinated with the vaccination partner directly.

Recommendations for COVID-19 prevention and mitigation among migrant and seasonal agricultural workers (PDF)  September 1, 2022.

From OSHA on Protecting Workers: Guidance on Mitigating and Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 in the Workplace.

From the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygienes Occupational Health Division (WisCon):

A quick guide to COVID-19 prevention in the workplace, P-03297 (PDF) from Wisconsin Occupational Health Surveillance.

Frequently asked questions

What are best practices that workers and visitors to my business or organization can follow? The four steps for limiting the spread of COVID-19 are: Know your risk.

Protect yourself  Stay up-to-date on vaccines and boosters, and consider wearing a mask if your area's COVID-19 Community Level is High.

Take action if exposed. Wear a mask for five days, and take a COVID-19 test on day five.

Take action if you're sick or test positive. Isolate from others if you have symptoms, and take a COVID-19 test. People who test positive should isolate for at least five full days. How can I ensure my business is maintaining a safe building environment for workers? Every business and organization should have a plan to prevent COVID-19 by protecting employees, educating customers, and keeping your building or environment safe and sanitary. Policies and programs Analyze sick leave policies and consider modifying them to make sure ill workers are not in the workplace. Make sure employees are aware of and understand these policies.

Analyze and consider modifying any policies that penalize employees for taking sick leave.

Analyze additional flexibilities, which might include giving advances on future sick leave and allowing employees to donate sick leave to each other. Ventilation The virus that causes COVID-19 can spread between people indoors, especially in poorly ventilated areas with limited air exchange. Effective ventilation systems can help reduce viral particle concentrations and reduce the risk of COVID-19 spreading in your facility. In most cases, new building ventilation systems are not required. However, ventilation system upgrades or improvements can increase safety by reducing the potential for COVID-19 to spread through the air. Consult experienced heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) professionals when considering changes to HVAC systems and equipment. Here are some tips for ensuring your facility is properly ventilated. Make sure air filters in your HVAC system are properly sized and within their recommended service life.

Open windows and doors, when weather conditions allow, and use fans to increase the effectiveness of open window.

Review DHS's COVID-19 Ventilation Checklist, F-02771 (PDF) for additional considerations.

See CDC's webpage for detailed guidance on building ventilation to prevent COVID-19. Cleaning and disinfecting According to the CDC, the virus that causes COVID-19 can land on surfaces. It is possible for people to become infected if they touch those surfaces and then touch their nose, mouth, or eyes. In most situations, the risk of infection from touching a surface is low. The most reliable way to prevent infection from surfaces is to regularly wash hands or use hand sanitizer. For more information, see the: CDCs webpage on Cleaning and Disinfecting facilities

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)s List N disinfectant When can someone recovering from COVID-19 return to work? Employees who test positive for COVID-19 or has symptoms of COVID-19 should: Stay home and isolate from other people for at least five full days. Day 0 is the first day symptoms began or the day that the positive COVID-19 test was taken (if they do not have symptoms). If the employee has symptoms, they can end isolation after five full days if they are fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication and their other symptoms have improved. They should continue to wear a well-fitting mask around others in their home and in public for an additional five days after their five-day period of isolation. See the CDCs webpage on ending isolation for more information.

Resources for workers

DHS The Working Safely fact sheet, P-02805 (available in English, Hindi, Hmong, Mandarin, Somali, and Spanish) provides information for workers who are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19: Response Resources for Wisconsinites webpage provides information about a variety of financial resources that are available to help with income, housing, food, and more. Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) has information on COVID-19 and Workers Compensation. University of Wisconsin - Madison's School for Workers The UW-Madison's School for Workers has a variety of information on COVID-19 and workplace safety, unemployment insurance, health care, and more. WEDC has a one-page document on Mental Health Guidelines (in English, Hmong, and Spanish) with suggestions and resources to support workers mental health during COVID-19.

Private sector employees

Contact your personnel department to find out what your employers COVID-19 safety plan is.

If you believe that your employers policy is not protecting workers from COVID-19, you can contact your OSHA regional office by phone or online at the OSHA website. Many complaints are handled informally by OSHA. There are whistleblower provisions designed to protect employees who file a complaint from losing employment or pay, and OSHA has a whistleblower liaison.

Public sector employees

Contact your personnel department to find out what your employers COVID-19 safety plan is. If you believe that your employers policy is not protecting workers from COVID-19, you can send questions or concerns to the Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) Tech mailbox. You can also file a complaint or concern on the DSPS webpage. Click on file a complaint on the right side of the page to reach an online form. Make sure to enter your category and profession in the drop-down boxes to route your question, concern, or complaint to the right person.

Facility-wide public health investigation data View the latest facility-wide public health investigation data by county or healthcare emergency readiness coalition (HERC) region. See public health investigation data

Coping tips for workers and families Altered family routines. New financial pressures. Worry for yourself and your loved ones. Facing uncertainty at work, interrupted employment, or the increased risks that come with working an essential job. There is no doubt that COVID-19 is difficult for people throughout Wisconsin. Adapting to these changes can be stressful for you and your family. But with self-care, the support of your loved ones, and a few healthy coping strategies, you can manage and reduce the pressure you may feel at work or at home.
UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Friday urged the international community to help Mali build counterterrorism capacities.

"The international community should help Mali strengthen its counterterrorism capacity building, bolster its support in terms of finance, equipment, intelligence, and logistics, and respect Mali's sovereign right to engage in external security cooperation," Dai Bing, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, told a Security Council briefing on Mali.

"Regional countries should keep up the current counterterrorism cooperation momentum and forge synergy," the envoy added.

Dai stated that Mali has recently conducted counterterrorism operations in Mopt among other areas to maintain local stability and protect civilians, noting that these efforts "merit our full recognition."

"Terrorist forces remain rampant and are constantly harassing villages, kidnapping and attacking civilians. Such security threats are spilling over to neighboring countries," he said. "Mali stands at the forefront of counterterrorism efforts in the Sahel and West Africa."

"To support Mali in combating terrorism is to safeguard regional peace," the envoy stressed.

Speaking about the situation in the war-torn country, Dai said that "the political and peace process in Mali stands at a critical juncture, which requires unrelenting attention and support from the international community."

"We need to help the Malian Government properly address the various challenges," he added.

Referring to the efforts made by the Malian government, the envoy said that Mali has recently initiated the constitutional process, set up a more inclusive National Transitional Council, and advanced election preparations.

"China welcomes these positive outcomes," he said.

Noting that political transition can hardly be achieved overnight, the ambassador said that it is essential to ensure broad-based participation, take into account the interests of all parties, safeguard unity and stability, and address differences through dialogue and consultation, thereby creating conditions conducive to the constitutional referendum and the electoral process.

"The international community, in providing support, should respect Mali's sovereignty and ownership. The AU and the Economic Community of West African States should continue to play a constructive role. The implementation of the Peace and Reconciliation Agreement is of vital importance," Dai spelled out.

"We welcome the efforts made by all parties concerned to reopen the dialogue mechanism, including the monitoring committee, commend the important role played by Algeria in leading the international mediation team, and look forward to greater contributions from the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA)," he said.

With the backdrop that Mali faces a grim economic situation, with a quarter of its population in need of humanitarian assistance, Dai said that "we should work together to help alleviate its difficulties, ensure that relief funds are in place, and forestall the recurrence of humanitarian disaster in Mali."

"It is necessary to scale up investment in peacebuilding, support Mali in implementing projects in such areas as agriculture development, infrastructure, education, and housing, and help Mali enhance its own development capacity," he added.

Turning to MINUSMA, Dai said that efforts must be made to strengthen the mission's top-level design, streamline and optimize its mandate, and focus its resources and strength on the most central and urgent tasks.
Anna Elizabeth (Annie) Wingate, a graduating senior at Eufaula High School, has been named one of more than 5,000 candidates in the 2023 U.S. Presidential Scholars Program. The candidates were selected from nearly 3.6 million students expected to graduate from U.S. high schools in the year 2023.

Inclusion in the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program is among the highest honors bestowed upon graduating high school seniors. Scholars are selected based on superior academic and artistic achievements, leadership qualities, strong character and involvement in community and school activities.

The U.S. Presidential Scholars Program was established in 1964 by Executive Order of the President to recognize some of the nations most distinguished graduating seniors for their accomplishments in many areas: academic success, leadership and service to school and community. It was expanded in 1979 to recognize students demonstrating exceptional scholarship and talent in the visual, creative and performing arts.

In 2015, the program was expanded once again to recognize students who demonstrate ability and accomplishment in career and technical fields. Annually, up to 161 U.S. Presidential Scholars are chosen from that years senior class.

A distinguished panel of educators will review these submissions and select approximately 600 semifinalists in early April. The Commission on Presidential Scholars, a group of up to 32 eminent citizens appointed by the president, will select the finalists, and the U.S. Department of Education will announce the scholars in May.

U.S. Presidential Scholars are honored for their accomplishments during the National Recognition Program each June. To commemorate their achievement, the scholars are awarded the Presidential Scholars Medallion.

Anna Elizabeth Wingate is the child of Richard and Erin Wingate.

For more information about the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program, parents and students can email the U.S. Presidential Scholars Office at PSP@scholarshipamerica.org or call 507.931.8345.
OZARK  A man called a servant of the Lord, of the First United Methodist Church family and the community of Ozark, was presented Sunday a gold key to the city and a quilt handcrafted from Make A Difference Day T-shirts spanning the 30 years since the projects inception in this Dale County city.

A visibly surprised Chuck Auman was presented the gold key by Ozark City Councilman Les Perault and the quilt, crafted by Lynn Aley Howe, by longtime family friend Patty Fenn at the start of the FUMC church service Sunday.

The purpose of Make a Difference Day is simply to demonstrate that Christian giving, and brotherhood extend beyond church walls, said Auman, who started the project in Ozark in 1996. Its to show that concerned Christians can make a difference one project at a time, no matter how large or small.

The retired civil servant shakes his head and smiles as he realizes that the service day project is now more than a quarter century old. It was really just a suggestion to my Sunday School class that we initiate such a project here after I read an article about Make a Difference Day in the newspaper that was sponsoring it nationwide, he said. Because it was my suggestion, I was appointed chairman.

Twenty-two members of the Ozark First UMC John Wesley Sunday school Class participated in that first service project on Oct. 26, 1996, which was landscaping the Ozark Dale County Public Library. They cleaned the yard, planted flowers, filled holes, trimmed bushes, removed old stumps and edged 400 feet of sidewalk and driveway. They filled four truckloads of trash. We were proud of the trash piles as that was one measure of progress, Auman said. Inside the library, the class indexed and filed 44,000 library cards.

The John Wesley Sunday School Class project received national recognition in a newspaper magazine and as a result, a $2,000 donation from actor Paul Newman and his food company, Newmans Own. In a May 29, 1997, proclamation to the FUMC of Ozark, signed by then Gov. Fob James Jr., the John Wesley Sunday School Class was commended for making a difference within their own community.

That got the communitys attention and the project expanded beyond our church, which we were very happy about, Auman said. He and his wife, the late Pat Parker Auman, continued to work each year on the annual service project. 

Over the years, countless shelves and walls have been painted, community centers organized, food pantries stocked, yards and cemeteries have been cleaned and that is just the tip of the iceberg, Fenn said. Community members from all walks of life have worked side by side, young and old alike have seen the values of serving others and pouring into your community.

Chuck has been faithful to serve, support and cheer lead every step of the way, Fenn added. Our community and church family have been blessed beyond measure by his services, commitment and selfless obedience to not only be a hearer of The Word  to love your neighbors  but also be a doer of The Word.

Perhaps in the future, we can involve the entire church and someday the entire community, Auman wrote in his 1997 Make a Difference Day after-action report notes. Its with a certain amount of pride that we can say that we did exactly that, he said Sunday.
Q: Why is the word yellowhammer associated with Alabama?

A: According to an Encyclopedia of Alabama article, the northern flicker (Colaptes auratus), also known as the yellowhammer, was adopted as the state bird of Alabama in 1927.

The species of terrestrial woodpecker earned its common name for its incessant hammering on objects (colaptes is from the Greek for to peck) and bright yellow underwing feathers (auratus is Latin for golden).

It is found year-round in Cuba, most of the United States, Mexico, and parts of Central America, the article says. One of the few migratory species of woodpecker, it flies to Alaska and Canada except the polar regions during the breeding season. In Alabama, northern flickers are found throughout the year, but they are most abundant during the winter, when northern populations migrate to the warm southern states to find food and join the resident bird population.

The article says Alabama became known as the Yellowhammer State during the American Civil War because the homespun uniforms of some Alabama soldiers were dyed in a manner that looked like the coloration of the northern flicker.

The northern flicker is a relatively large species, with both males and females measuring up to 11 to 12 inches in length.

In Alabama and the rest of North America, the breeding season occurs from March to June.

Like other woodpeckers, northern flickers drum by rapidly hitting solid objects with their beak to communicate with each other, the article says. Males will drum and use various displays such as head- and body-bobbing dances to court females and signify their territory to other males.

Once paired, males and females will work together, using their strong, stout beaks, to excavate nest cavities in dead trees, old wooden poles, fence posts, or even house siding.

Females lay typically between 3 and 12 eggs on chips of wood left from the nest excavation, the article says. Like most woodpeckers, northern flicker eggs are pure white with a smooth glossy surface. Their eggs are the second-largest of North American woodpeckers, exceeded only by the slightly larger pileated woodpecker.
ELKO  When Ruby B. Sutton found out she was pregnant in late 2021, it was hard to envision how her full-time job would fit with having a newborn at home. She faced a three-hour round-trip commute to the mine site where she worked as an environmental engineer, 12-plus-hour workdays, expensive child care, and her desire to be present with her newborn.

Sutton, 32, said the minimal paid maternity leave that her employer offered didnt seem like enough time for her body to heal from giving birth or to bond with her firstborn. Those concerns were magnified when she needed an emergency cesarean section.

Im a very career-driven person, Sutton said. It was really difficult to make that decision.

Sutton quit her job because she felt even additional unpaid time off wouldnt be enough. She also knew child care following maternity leave would cost a substantial portion of her salary if she returned to work.

Tens of millions of American workers face similar decisions when they need to care for themselves, a family member, or a baby. Wild variations in paid leave regulations from state to state and locally mean those choices are further complicated by financial factors. And workers in rural areas face even more challenges than those in cities, including greater distances to hospitals and fewer medical providers, exacerbating health and income disparities. Companies in rural areas may be less likely to voluntarily offer the benefit because they tend to be smaller and there are fewer employers for workers to choose from.

While a growing number of states, cities, and counties have passed paid sick leave or general paid time off laws in recent years, most states where more than 20 % of the population is rural havent, leaving workers vulnerable. Vermont and New Mexico are the only states with a sizable rural population that have passed laws requiring some form of paid sick leave.

Experts say the gaps in paid leave requirements mean workers in rural areas often struggle to care for themselves or loved ones while making ends meet.

The problem is, because its a small percentage of the population, its often forgotten, said Anne Lofaso, a professor of law at West Virginia University.

The covid-19 pandemic steered attention toward paid leave policies as millions of people contracted the virus and needed to quarantine for five to 10 days to avoid infecting co-workers. The 2020 Families First Coronavirus Response Act temporarily required employers with fewer than 500 employees and all public employers to give workers a minimum of two weeks of paid sick leave, but that requirement expired at the end of 2020.

The expiration left workers to rely on the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, which requires companies with 50 or more employees to provide them with up to 12 weeks of unpaid time off to care for themselves or family members. But many workers cant afford to go that long without pay.

By March 2022, 77% of workers at private companies had paid sick leave through their employers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics  a small increase from 2019, when 73% of workers in private industry had it. But workers in certain industries  like construction, farming, forestry, and extraction  part-time workers, and lower-wage earners are less likely to have paid sick leave.

Paid leave is presented as a high-cost item, said Kate Bronfenbrenner, director of labor education research at the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University.

But it comes with a payoff: Without it, people who feel pressure to go to work let health conditions fester and deteriorate. And, of course, infectious workers who return too early unnecessarily expose others in the workplace.

Advocates say a stronger federal policy guaranteeing and protecting paid sick and family leave would mean workers wouldnt have to choose between pushing through illness at work or losing income or jobs.

A recent report by New America, a left-leaning think tank, argues that creating policy to ensure paid leave could boost employment numbers; reduce economic, gender, and racial disparities; and generally lift up local communities.

Support for paid sick and family leave is popular among rural Americans, according to the National Partnership for Women & Families, which found in 2020 polling that 80% of rural voters supported a permanent paid family and medical leave program, allowing people to take time off from work to care for children or other family members.

But lawmakers have been divided on creating a national policy, with opponents worrying that requiring paid leave would be too big a financial burden for small or struggling businesses.

In 2006, voters in San Francisco approved the Paid Sick Leave Ordinance, making it the first U.S. city to mandate paid sick leave. Since then, 14 states, the District of Columbia, and 20 other cities or counties have done so. Two other states, Nevada and Maine, have adopted general paid time off laws that provide time that can be used for illness.

Federal workers are offered 12 weeks of paid parental leave in the Federal Employee Paid Leave Act, adopted in October 2020. It covers more than 2 million civilian workers employed by the U.S. government, though the law must be reapproved each fiscal year and employees are not eligible until theyve completed one year of service.

The patchwork of laws nationwide leaves workers in several mostly rural states  places like Montana, South Dakota, and West Virginia where more than 40% of residents live outside cities  without mandated paid sick and family leave.

Sutton said she would have definitely loved to stay at her job if she couldve taken a longer paid maternity leave. She said she wants to return to work, but the future is unclear. She has more things to consider, like whether she and her husband want more children and when she might feel healthy enough to try for a second baby after last summers C-section.

Sutton recalled a friend she worked with at a gold mine years ago who left the job a few months after having a baby. And I understand now all the things she was telling me at that time.  She was like, I cant do this, you know?
Shahriar Nafici, born in Iran, has a passion for Chinese culture and feels he is half Chinese in his heart. He likes traditional Chinese music, writing, painting, and dancing. "I feel that half of my heart and my love is here," he says.

He has lived in Linqing, East China's Shandong province, for three years, where he has seen many changes and feels the potential of the city. As a scientist in the field of paper pulp making from agriculture, he is trying to find other raw material from agricultural waste for paper making, "so we don't need to cut the trees," he says.

Watch the video to find out more.
Ambassador Le Thi Tuyet Mai, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the United Nations, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and other international organisations in Geneva. (Photo: VNA)

Ambassador Latsamy Keomany congratulated Vietnam on its success in enhancing its position in international relations and on the country's election to the United Nations Human Rights Council for the second time.



He highly appreciated the efforts of the Permanent Representative of Vietnam to Geneva in participating in UN mechanisms and forums.



For her part, Vietnamese Ambassador Mai warmly welcomed Ambassador Keomany, his spouse and staff of the Lao mission who came to extend Tet greetings, while emphasising the solidarity and closeness between the two delegations in the locality.



The diplomat said officials and staff of the Vietnamese delegation will accompany and work closely with the Lao counterparts in Geneva to fulfil the two delegations' missions at the UN and other multilateral forums./.
Ambassador Hilde Solbakken

On the occasion of the New Year 2023, Ambassador Hilde Solbakken granted an interview to the Communist Party of Vietnam Online Newspaper.

Reporter: Could you please share some feelings about taking the position of Norwegian Ambassador to Vietnam?

Ambassador Hilde Solbakken: I am honored to be Norwegian Ambassador to Vietnam. Vietnam is a dynamic economy, while Norway and Vietnam have many common priorities related to oceans, climate change, as well as energy transition and green economy, so there is great potential for cooperation.

One of the great advantages of the diplomatic profession is to experience different cultures and traditions. I am very excited and look forward to the opportunity in the next 4 years to learn more about Vietnamese culture and history.

Reporter: How can you assess the Vietnam-Norway cooperation in the context of recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic?

Ambassador Hilde Solbakken: Vietnam's rapid economic recovery after the pandemic and GDP growth have impressed the international community. Vietnam's ambition and determination to achieve its net-zero emissions target by 2050 is commendable, including your recent participation in the Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETP) in which Norway is a member. Norway will join other countries to support Vietnam's transition to renewable energy. Vietnam can play an important role showing that economic development can completely decouple from the use of fossil energy.

In the next three years, Vietnam will fulfill its role as a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UN). This is an important opportunity and also a great responsibility. We look forward to constructive dialogue with Vietnam on human rights issues on the Council's agenda. In 2021, Norway and Vietnam worked together on the UN Security Council as elected members and shared many priorities such as protecting civilians in conflict; women, peace and security; and climate. I hope this will be the basis for us to continue to strengthen the good cooperation in many fields.

Reporter: As a diplomatic bridge between Vietnam and Norway, in 2023, what plans will you have to continue promoting the two countries' relations, especially in potential fields?

Ambassador Hilde Solbakken: The past five decades have been a solid foundation for us to continue to deepen the friendly relationship between the two countries. Norway and Vietnam will work together in multilateral forums to implement the principles of the UN Charter, and uphold the predictable rules of international trade as a means to growth and prosperity.

The ocean will certainly continue to be an important area of cooperation between the two countries, with new opportunities opened up in issues such as marine spatial planning with the aim of facilitating the green transition of Vietnam, including offshore wind power development, sustainable marine farming and marine environmental protection. In the coming time, Norway will join with other donor countries to support Vietnam to fulfill its international commitments on environment, including JETP implementation.

I will also do my best to create conditions for more Norwegian exports to be present in the Vietnamese market, especially seafood, and to have more Norwegian companies invest here. Green economy and energy transition bring many cooperation opportunities for the two countries and our businesses in the fields of renewable energy, circular economy, and marine farming.

I also look forward to the resumption of the negotiation process of the Free Trade Agreement between Vietnam and the European Free Trade Area (EFTA) consisting of 4 countries Iceland, Lichestein, Norway, and Switzerland. Sixteen rounds of negotiations have been carried out since 2012. I hope this Agreement will be signed and ratified during my next 4 years here to help break down trade barriers, and create conditions for the circulation of goods and services between the parties, bringing benefits to both Vietnam and EFTA member countries, including Norway.

Reporter: Can you share your feelings on enjoying the atmosphere and taste of the traditional Tet in Vietnam for the first time? What message do you have to send to readers of the Communist Party of Vietnam Online Newspaper on the occasion of the New Year?

Ambassador Hilde Solbakken: My family is very excited to welcome the first Tet in Hanoi. We have heard a lot about Tet and related customs. We will go to the Temple of Literature for letters and especially want to try the Vietnamese traditional sticky rice cakes.

On the occasion of the Lunar New Year, I wish the readers of the Communist Party of Vietnam Online Newspaper and all Vietnamese people good health, happiness and a very successful 2023.

Reporter: Thank you so much!
South Africa: Eskom has no plans to retrench staff members

Eskom has assured the public that there are no plans to retrench any staff members nor has a decision to retrench any employees been taken.

This assertion comes after trade union Solidarity alleged in an article that Eskom intends to retrench 500 employees, whom it alleged are white maintenance workers, as part of the latest Employment Equity Plan for 2023  2025.

In a statement of Friday, the power utility refuted the claims.

Retrenchments in South Africa are regulated by Section 189 (3) of the Labour Relations Act of 1995, with strict requirements on appropriate consultations with all the relevant stakeholders, including the recognized trade unions.

These consultations must clearly spell out the reasons and conditions under which retrenchments can be allowed. Discrimination based on race or gender do not qualify as a criterion for retrenchment, Eskom said.

Eskom said the document referred to in the article is part of internal consultations on employment equity with trade unions, which amongst others seek to verify information for correctness, solicit inputs on targets as well as the required affirmative action measures.

As per consultation process, all parties are afforded an opportunity to engage, clarify, suggest alternatives before final decisions are taken.

It is rather unfortunate, opportunistic, and unprofessional for Solidarity, or any party to the confidential internal consultations, to opt to cause unnecessary panic and fear, creating sensation among our staff and in the media before allowing the internal process to make the appropriate decision.

Eskoms transformation agenda and employment practices are guided by our values, operational requirements, and the countrys labour laws rather than race. We are committed to achieving diversity, equity and inclusion in a responsible and sustainable manner, Eskom said.

Resolving the energy challenge

Meanwhile, Eskom acknowledged the concerns of all South Africans regarding the current energy crisis.

We have put in place measures to bolster the critical skills required to improve plant performance. Amongst other, as Eskom has regularly communicated, these include recruiting the retired former employees and other specialists skills that have the potential to help solve the energy crisis. There are South Africans of all hues and gender, Eskom said.

To respond to the severe impact of load shedding on households, small businesses and the economy as a whole, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a range of measures in July 2022 to improve the performance of existing power stations and add new generation capacity as quickly as possible.

The Energy Action Plan was developed through extensive consultation and endorsed by energy experts as providing the best and fastest path towards energy security.

Intensive work is underway to implement the plan, which aims to, firstly, improve the performance of Eskom power stations, and, secondly, to bring new generating capacity onto the system as quickly as possible.

The Energy Action Plan focuses on five main tasks:

Fix Eskom and improve the availability of existing supply.

Enable and accelerate private investment in generation capacity.

Accelerate procurement of new capacity from renewables, gas and battery storage.

Unleash businesses and households to invest in rooftop solar.

Fundamentally transform the electricity sector to achieve long-term energy security.

Since it was announced in July 2022, there has been important progress in implementing the Energy Action Plan.

While the benefits may not be felt immediately, this work is going to contribute to reducing load shedding in the months ahead and ultimately to end it.

Among the areas where progress has been made:

The licensing requirement for embedded generation projects has been removed. Since government first raised the licensing threshold to 100 MW, the pipeline of private sector projects has grown to more than 100 projects with over 9,000 MW of capacity. Government expects the first of these projects to connect to the grid by the end of this year.

Agreements have been signed with independent power producers for 26 renewable energy projects, which together will generate around 2,800 MW. Construction on these projects will soon start.

An additional 300 MW has been imported through the Southern African Power Pool, and negotiations are underway to secure a potential 1,000 MW from neighbouring countries.

Eskom has also launched a programme to purchase up to 1,000 MW of power from companies with existing generation capacity for a period of three years.

Government has cut red tape and streamlined regulatory processes, reducing the timeframes for environmental authorisations, registration of new projects and grid connection approvals.

Government has established a team of independent experts to work closely with Eskom to diagnose the problems at poorly performing power stations and take action to improve plant performance. Six power stations have been identified for particular focus over the coming months in order to recover additional capacity.

- SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2023-01-29. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
By Xiang Haoyu

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg began his visit to South Korea and Japan on January 29. It seems to be a return visit in response to the attendance at NATO summit by the leaders of these two countries last year. However, against the background of the Ukraine crisis and the unstable situation in the Asia-Pacific, this visit may accelerate NATO's calculations in Asia-Pacific.

In recent years, NATO has frequently interacted with Japan and South Korea, gradually revealing the political calculations and strategic ambitions of both sides. As a military security bloc based in the North Atlantic, NATO does not disintegrate with the end of the Cold War, but still exists by continuously concocting the so-called common enemies" under the hegemonic logic of the US and Europe. In the NATO 2022 Strategic Concept released in June last year, NATO pointed out that Russia is the "the most significant and direct threat and named China as a "systemic challenge" to NATO for the first time. It also declared that the situation in the Indo-Pacific directly affects Euro-Atlantic security. According to the document, NATO will strengthen dialogue and cooperation with regional partners to deal with cross-regional challenges and share security interests. This further clarifies that its global strategic focus is shifting to the Asia-Pacific.

For Japan and South Korea, to get closer to NATO has dual strategic considerations of boosting military expansion and seeking great power status. Their relationship with NATO has been warming up since last year. The leaders of the two countries participated in the NATO summit for the first time, and then they successively joined the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defense Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE). Under the guidance of intensive high-level interactions, their cooperation with NATO has deepened from traditional defense exchanges, such as mutual visits of personnel and ships, to substantive military cooperation in the fields of intelligence sharing, joint exercises, and joint research and development of weapons and equipment, and is even expanding to non-traditional security fields such as network security, supply chain, and infrastructure. Japan proposed in the three security documents that its defense expenditures should reach the goal of 2% of GDP, which aims to align with NATO standards.

It is worth noting that Japan and South Korea are promoting NATOs steps in the Asia-Pacific through their closeness to NATO. According to the news released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, during this visit, Japan and NATO will exchange views on dealing with the situation in Ukraine and cooperation in the "free and open Indo-Pacific". South Korean government sources revealed that the two sides will focus on discussing regional security issues such as the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

It is known to all that Indo-Pacific, as a geopolitical concept forcibly implanted in the Asia-Pacific region by the US, Japan and other countries, has become a tool for the US and the West to provoke great power competition and camp confrontation in this region. In NATO's view, getting involved in the Indo-Pacific can induce Japan and South Korea to put further pressure on Russia on the Ukraine issue, and expand their global interests. For Japan and South Korea, the introduction of NATO can strengthen their confidence in regional issues, and demonstrate their status and influence as major powers.

The baton of the US is looming behind their interactions. In recent years, from the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue between the US, Japan, India, and Australia, the AUKUS between the US, the UK, and Australia, the trilateral military cooperation among the US, Japan, and South Korea, to the quasi-alliance "Reciprocal Access Agreement" (RAA) signed between Japan and the UK as well as Australia, the US' alliance systems in the Asia Pacific and Atlantic are increasingly converging. After the Ukrainian crisis, NATO concocted the argument that European security and Asian security are inseparable, took the opportunity to strengthen interaction with US allies in the Asia-Pacific such as Japan, South Korea, and Australia, exaggerated the security threat" in East Asia, and even hyped up the word of "Asia-Pacific version of NATO".

Various signs have exposed a major risk in today's world, that is, the Western bloc has taken great-power competition and camp confrontation as the main tone of global governance. It is accelerating the layout of the new cold war through the political manipulation of overstretching the concept of security and ideology around the world, and the Asia-Pacific region has become a key investment direction. NATO's overstepping intervention in regional security issues may stimulate further intensification of already complex and acute geopolitical conflicts, leading to the rise of regional security dilemmas, and intensifying the risk of military confrontation and even conflicts.

Japan and South Korea should have been beneficiaries of peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region and regional integration. However, they have turned into destroyers of peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region amidst the populist agitation of domestic conservative politicians. Treating neighbors as enemies will never make a country more secure. Instead, it will only further exacerbate the diplomatic and security difficulties in the surrounding areas.

(The author is a special researcher at the Department for Asia-Pacific Studies, China Institute of International Studies)

Editor's note: Originally published on huanqiu.com, this article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information and opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.
Samsung Electronics has made a significant contribution to Thai Nguyen's trade annually.

(Photo: nhadautu.vn)

The northern mountainous province generated an export surplus of US$11.6 billion in 2011, topping the list of localities that produced a trade surplus for the whole year, said the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

Statistics show the province raked in more than US$31 billion from exports (up 6.6% year on year), but only spent US$18.3 billion on imports (up 3.3% year on year).

Thai Nguyen mainly exports electronic products, garments, non-ferrous metals and non-ferrous metal concentrates, transport spare parts, paper and paper products. Its main imports included raw materials for animal feed processing, iron and steel products, machinery and equipment and spare parts, fabrics and textile materials.

According to the Thai Nguyen Provincial Portal, the locality last year attracted a large number of investors interested in production projects that mainly serve export needs. Other operational businesses applied for an increase in capital to expand production in the locality.

Notably, Samsung Electro-Mechanics Vietnam decided to pump an additional US$920 million into its expansion project, starting in 2022. Meanwhile, Sunny Opotech committed to pouring US$350 million into its second project in the locality.

The local export value in recent years has always grown by over 10% per year, directly contributing to the provinces export value./.
This photo taken on Jan. 14, 2023 shows the Chinese Lunar New Year concert presented by Xinjiang Art Theater's folk orchestra in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Xinhua)

URUMQI, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- On hearing the duet of the Kazakh folk song "A Lovely Rose" and Italian opera "Nessun Dorma" (None Shall Sleep), Xu Dandan was a bit surprised, then soon enchanted by the chemistry generated from the unfrequent combination, especially the accompaniment of the gijak, a traditional Uygur bowed string instrument.

"The concert featured various musical instruments and music genres, and was excellently performed," said Xu after enjoying the Chinese Lunar New Year concert in Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Presented by Xinjiang Art Theater's folk orchestra, the repertoires also encompass Western classics, folk music from other parts of China, and well-known tunes from Chinese movies -- all performed with Xinjiang's folk musical instruments such as rewap, dutar, satar, and gijak.

The orchestra is mainly composed of musical instruments played by Xinjiang's ethnic minorities, said Xu Zhijun, conductor of the concert. He added that its music embodies the flamboyant musical style along the Silk Road, thus possessing great potential for going global.

"It was wondrous and magical that (the performance) brought Xinjiang's music and Western music closer to each other both in terms of time and space," said Xu.

However, the lack of performance standards and a nationwide fanbase for Xinjiang folk music hindered the orchestra's rise to fame for a long time.

The endeavor to integrate Xinjiang folk music with Western music started 10 years ago, when Zhang Rui, now head of the orchestra, kicked off his career at the orchestra. "We wanted to broaden our market and shake off the stereotype of being 'rustic.' That's why we tried, for instance, works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Dmitri Shostakovich," he recalled.

Thanks to the bold experiment, musical fusion has now become a name card of the orchestra, attracting more and more conductors and performers to collaborate. The orchestra has toured more than 70 countries and regions globally. Meanwhile, a growing number of young musicians are joining.

For Adile Mahmut, a gijak musician, the orchestra is on the right track. "Western instruments like cello, bass, and trombone are used to fill in the bass parts that we lack, making our music more dense and luxuriant. I think we should try more (collaboration) so that more people will like our music," she said.

The 28-year-old learned to play both the gijak and violin from her father at the age of eight until her father decided that she should focus on gijak. "I used to consider playing the gijak a bit 'old-fashioned,' but not anymore," she said.

Characterized by its crisp, light sound, a gijak usually has two main strings and a spherical sound box. At its bottom is an extended knee rest for playing upright, rather than horizontally like a violin.

"Sometimes people may confuse a gijak with a violin or erhu," Adile Mahmut told Xinhua while practicing the instrument, explaining the differences between them. "After our recent concerts, I'm more convinced that the melodies of gijak can be heard from even more distant places in the world."

"These years, we're having more young musicians with us. I can see the confidence and pride in them. They're proficient and with broad horizons," Zhang said. "We're now on our way to take Xinjiang music to the whole country and the world."

This photo taken on Jan. 14, 2023 shows the Chinese Lunar New Year concert presented by Xinjiang Art Theater's folk orchestra in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Xinhua)

This photo taken on Jan. 14, 2023 shows the Chinese Lunar New Year concert presented by Xinjiang Art Theater's folk orchestra in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Xinhua)

Editor: GSY
Song Yanqun (L), minister-counselor for culture at the Chinese embassy in Australia, visits an exhibition with Frances Adamson, governor of South Australia, during the "China Today" arts week in Adelaide, Australia, on Jan. 28, 2023. The "China Today" arts week was launched in Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia, on Saturday in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Australia.

Co-hosted by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, the Chinese embassy in Australia, the Consulate-General of China in Adelaide and the Adelaide Festival Center, the arts week runs till March 19. (Photo by Lyu Wei/Xinhua)

ADELAIDE, Australia, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- The "China Today" arts week was launched in Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia, on Saturday in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Australia.

Co-hosted by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, the Chinese embassy in Australia, the Consulate-General of China in Adelaide and the Adelaide Festival Center, the arts week runs till March 19.

It features an exhibition of ceramic artwork from China's Jiangxi province and paintings and prints from the northeastern Heilongjiang province.

The 50 items from Jingdezhen, a world-famous porcelain town in Jiangxi, were created by three generations of inheritors of an intangible cultural heritage, while the 39 works chosen from traditional Chinese paintings, oil paintings, prints, watercolor and other forms of art showed the scenery of northeastern China as well as people's life there.

Frances Adamson, governor of South Australia, said in her speech that having worked in China for years, she had developed an appreciation for Chinese art forms.

"Previously as a diplomat and now a governor, I have seen the important role the arts can play in diplomacy, and strengthening people-to-people relations," she said.

Douglas Gautier, CEO of the Adelaide Festival Center, noted that cultural collaboration between China and Australia helped enhance understanding between peoples.

"Our audiences here get to see those wonderful items. And equally, the whole cultural sector of Australia over years has been taking Australian artists to China," he added. "That collaboration is a positive thing."

"Culture works as a bridge," said Song Yanqun, minister-counselor for culture at the Chinese embassy in Australia.

He believed that the exhibition, launched for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties and during the Chinese Lunar New Year, had special significance, hoping that many Australian people could visit.

Frances Adamson, governor of South Australia, delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of "China Today" arts week in Adelaide, Australia, on Jan. 28, 2023. The "China Today" arts week was launched in Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia, on Saturday in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Australia.

Co-hosted by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, the Chinese embassy in Australia, the Consulate-General of China in Adelaide and the Adelaide Festival Center, the arts week runs till March 19. (Photo by Lyu Wei/Xinhua)

Douglas Gautier, CEO of the Adelaide Festival Center, delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of "China Today" arts week in Adelaide, Australia, on Jan. 28, 2023. The "China Today" arts week was launched in Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia, on Saturday in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Australia.

Co-hosted by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, the Chinese embassy in Australia, the Consulate-General of China in Adelaide and the Adelaide Festival Center, the arts week runs till March 19. (Photo by Lyu Wei/Xinhua)

This photo taken on Jan. 28, 2023 shows ceramic artwork displayed during the "China Today" arts week in Adelaide, Australia. The "China Today" arts week was launched in Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia, on Saturday in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Australia.

Co-hosted by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, the Chinese embassy in Australia, the Consulate-General of China in Adelaide and the Adelaide Festival Center, the arts week runs till March 19. (Photo by Lyu Wei/Xinhua)

Editor: WXL
A staff member in the costume of the God of Wealth takes part in a parade at Sanfangqixiang (Three Lanes and Seven Alleys), an ancient block in downtown Fuzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province, Jan. 26, 2023. Ceremonies were held to welcome the God of Wealth as a tradition on the fifth day of the Chinese Lunar New Year, which falls on Thursday this year. (Xinhua/Lin Shanchuan)

A staff member in the costume of the God of Wealth interacts with tourists at Sanfangqixiang (Three Lanes and Seven Alleys), an ancient block in downtown Fuzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province, Jan. 26, 2023. Ceremonies were held to welcome the God of Wealth as a tradition on the fifth day of the Chinese Lunar New Year, which falls on Thursday this year. (Xinhua/Lin Shanchuan)

A staff member in the costume of the God of Wealth takes part in an event at a historic street in Nanning, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Jan. 26, 2023. Ceremonies were held to welcome the God of Wealth as a tradition on the fifth day of the Chinese Lunar New Year, which falls on Thursday this year. (Photo by Yu Xiangquan/Xinhua)

A staff member in the costume of the God of Wealth poses for photos with tourists at a scenic spot in Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, Jan. 26, 2023. Ceremonies were held to welcome the God of Wealth as a tradition on the fifth day of the Chinese Lunar New Year, which falls on Thursday this year. (Photo by Hang Xingwei/Xinhua)

People take part in a parade welcoming the God of Wealth at Sanfangqixiang (Three Lanes and Seven Alleys), an ancient block in downtown Fuzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province, Jan. 26, 2023. Ceremonies were held to welcome the God of Wealth as a tradition on the fifth day of the Chinese Lunar New Year, which falls on Thursday this year. (Xinhua/Lin Shanchuan)

A staff member in the costume of the God of Wealth takes part in a parade along waterways at an ancient town in Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, Jan. 26, 2023. Ceremonies were held to welcome the God of Wealth as a tradition on the fifth day of the Chinese Lunar New Year, which falls on Thursday this year. (Photo by Zhu Guigen/Xinhua)

People take part in a parade welcoming the God of Wealth along waterways at Digang Village in Huzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Jan. 26, 2023. Ceremonies were held to welcome the God of Wealth as a tradition on the fifth day of the Chinese Lunar New Year, which falls on Thursday this year. (Xinhua/Huang Zongzhi)

People take part in a parade welcoming the God of Wealth along waterways at Digang Village in Huzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Jan. 26, 2023. Ceremonies were held to welcome the God of Wealth as a tradition on the fifth day of the Chinese Lunar New Year, which falls on Thursday this year. (Xinhua/Huang Zongzhi)

Editor: JYZ
Egypt and Turkey have agreed on a timeframe for upgrading diplomatic relations, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said on Thursday during a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in Ankara.
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.
Belgium announced a new package of military aid for Ukraine on Friday, promising cash, missiles, machine guns, and armored vehicles to help fight off the Russian onslaught.

But Defence Minister Ludivine Dedonder had to admit that Belgium has no main battle tanks to match the latest offers from NATO allies like Britain, Germany, Poland and the United States.

The Belgian shipment, she said, would notably include "anti-aircraft missiles, anti-tank missiles, machine guns, grenades, and other military equipment".

The new package will be worth 93.8 million euros ($100 million), bringing Belgium's total military contribution to the allied support effort to 228 million euros over the year.

Belgium sold its tanks more than a decade ago.

Fighting resumed on February 24 last year when Russia, which already occupied Ukrainian territory in Crimea and the Donbas region, launched a full-scale invasion.

Separately, Prime Minister Alexander De Croo announced an additional 86 million euros in humanitarian and civil aid, along with 38,000 tonnes of diesel fuel.

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Egypt has warned against the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli escalation, calling for maximum self-restraint after a shooting in East Jerusalem on Friday killed seven people and injured others.

Egypt expressed its categorical rejection and denouncement of the Jerusalem shooting and stressed its condemnation of all operations targeting civilians, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Saturday.

Egypt warned of the severe dangers of the ongoing escalation between the Palestinian and Israeli sides, calling for the exercising of maximum restraint and an end to aggression and provocative measures, the ministry stressed.

The ministry warned against slipping into a vicious cycle of violence that worsens the political and humanitarian situation and undermines efforts to achieve calm and all chances of reviving the peace process.

Egypt also extended condolences to the families of the victims and wished the injured a speedy recovery.

A Palestinian gunman opened fire outside an East Jerusalem synagogue on Friday night, killing at least seven people and wounding several others in one of the deadliest attacks on Israelis in years.

The gunman was shot dead by police following a brief chase after the shooting. Israeli police said on Saturday that they have arrested 42 people in connection with the deadly shooting.

Israeli police also said they arrested a 13-year-old Palestinian boy following a second shooting in Jerusalem on Saturday, seriously injuring two. The alleged assailant is being treated in hospital after he was injured by passersby, according to reports.

The incidents came after Israeli forces raided the West Bank's Jenin refugee camp on Thursday morning, killing nine Palestinians and injuring many others in the deadliest Israeli attack in the occupied territory in more than a year.

The New Year has seen growing Israeli violence against Palestinians, especially in the West Bank and Jerusalem, under the new far-right government of Benjamin Netanyahu.

Egypt has repeatedly called for a fair and comprehensive peace between the Palestinian and Israeli sides, urging Israel to stop unilateral measures that would complicate the situation and undermine chances of reviving the peace process.

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Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease, has been haunting humanity for at least 4,000 years, often affecting the poorest communities..

Related World turns attention to neglected tropical diseases with new goals

Dan Izzett has lived with leprosy's effects on his body for 70 years, and has lost much to what he calls an "ancient, fascinating, very unkind disease".

The Zimbabwean former civil engineering technician and pastor was diagnosed at the age of 25 in 1972, but first contracted the disease when he was just five.

That long incubation period gave the bacteria that causes leprosy, Mycobacterium leprae, lots of time to spread through his body.

His right leg was amputated in 1980 in Zimbabwe's capital Harare. Now 75, Izzett has no feeling above his elbows, below his knees or in 70 percent of his face.

That lack of feeling poses a "constant danger," Izzett told AFP in a phone call from his home in southwest England.

In October 2020, "I put my hands on a hot plate and hadn't noticed it until I could smell my flesh burning," he said, leading to the amputation of the middle finger of his right hand.

The following year, the little toe on his left foot was amputated. Last month, he lost another toe.

Izzett said he chose to speak out about his experience because millions of survivors who were less well off were unable to, partly because of the stigma and discrimination that still surrounds the disease.

The 'forgotten' patients

Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease, has been haunting humanity for at least 4,000 years, often affecting the poorest communities.

It is a considered a neglected tropical disease by the World Health Organization, and remains under researched and little discussed compared to many other illnesses.

In 2021, more than 140,500 new cases were detected worldwide, nearly three quarters of them in Brazil, India and Indonesia, according to the WHO.

However pandemic-related disruptions have led to nearly 40 percent fewer cases being detected a year, with fears that tens of thousands have gone undiagnosed.

Even before the pandemic, the official numbers likely did not reflect reality.

"We know the number of patients who have been tested, but we do not count the forgotten, undetected patients," said Bertrand Cauchoix, a leprosy specialist at the Raoul Follereau Foundation in France.

This is in part because the disease's incubation period can last up to 20 years. Testing and diagnosis also takes time, during which patients could potentially infect their family members.

Before he received his diagnosis, said Izzett, "my wife got the disease from me".

Back in the 1970s, Izzett was given the antibiotic Dapsone, which was then a lifetime treatment.

In the mid-80s, a combination of drugs including Dapsone known as multidrug therapy (MDT) became available. It can cure leprosy over a 12-month course -- though nerve damage and other remnants of the disease remain.

Mathias Duck, a former chaplain in Paraguay's capital Asuncion, only needed six-months of MDT after being diagnosed with leprosy in 2010.

"I consider myself the luckiest person affected by leprosy because I was diagnosed and treated in time and so I have no impairments whatsoever," the 44-year-old told AFP.

The WHO provides MDT to patients worldwide for free, with Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis donating doses since 2000.

However there has been little progress for new treatments.

"There is no money for leprosy, only charitable donations," Cauchoix said.

Don't use the 'L word'

Alexandra Aubry, a specialist at the Centre for Immunology and Infectious Diseases in France, evaluates whether every new antibiotic developed for other illnesses could also be used for leprosy.

Her laboratory is one of the few in the world able to carry out tests on the leprosy bacteria, which does not survive in a petri dish.

They are trying to find a way to "simplify" treatment so it can take less than six months, she said.

There are also a couple of vaccines being developed, though they remain in early phases of human testing.

"It is very complex to get funding for this," Aubry said.

"To assess the effectiveness of a vaccine, you have to follow the vaccinated population for 10 to 15 years," with the timeframe extended further by the disease's long incubation period, she said.

In comparison to how swiftly the world responded to Covid, leprosy efforts are "a drop in the bucket," Duck said, calling for far more research and political action.

But he added that there is something everyone can do for World Leprosy Day on Sunday -- stop using the word "leper".

"We call it the 'L word'," Duck said, describing it as discriminatory.

"It's a little step that most people can do," he added, "to give people affected by leprosy "the dignity they deserve"

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Bomb-carrying drones targeted an Iranian defense factory in the central city of Isfahan overnight, authorities said early Sunday, causing some damage at the plant amid heightened regional and international tensions engulfing the Islamic Republic.

The Iranian Defense Ministry offered no information on who it suspected carried out the attack, which came as a refinery fire separately broke out in the country's northwest and a 5.9 magnitude earthquake struck nearby, killing three people.

However, Tehran has been targeted in suspected Israeli drone strikes amid a shadow war with its Mideast rival as its nuclear deal with world powers collapsed. Meanwhile, tensions also remain high with neighboring Azerbaijan after a gunman attacked that country's embassy in Tehran, killing its security chief and wounding two others.

Details on the Isfahan attack, which happened around 11:30 p.m. Saturday, remained scarce. A Defense Ministry statement described three drones being launched at the facility, with two of them successfully shot down. A third apparently made it through to strike the building, causing "minor damage'' to its roof and wounding no one, the ministry said.

Iranian state television's English-language arm, Press TV, aired mobile phone video apparently showing the moment that drone struck along the busy Imam Khomeini Expressway that heads northwest out of Isfahan, one of several ways for drivers to go to the holy city of Qom and Tehran, Iran's capital. A small crowd stood gathered, drawn by anti-aircraft fire, watching as an explosion and sparks struck a dark building.

"Oh my God! That was a drone, wasn't it?" the man filming shouts. "Yeah, it was a drone.''

Those there fled after the strike.

That footage of the strike, as well as footage of the aftermath analyzed by The Associated Press, corresponded to a site on Minoo Street in northwestern Isfahan that's near a shopping center that includes a carpet and an electronics store.

Iranian defense and nuclear sites increasingly find themselves surrounded by commercial properties and residential neighborhoods as the country's cities sprawl ever outward. Some locations as well remain incredibly opaque about what they produce, with only a sign bearing a Defense Ministry or paramilitary Revolutionary Guard logo.

The Defense Ministry only called the site a "workshop," without elaborating on what it made. Isfahan, some 350 kilometers (215 miles) south of Tehran, is home to both a large air base built for its fleet of American-made F-14 fighter jets and its Nuclear Fuel Research and Production Center.

The attack comes after Iran's Intelligence Ministry in July claimed to have broken up a plot to target sensitive sites around Isfahan. A segment aired on Iranian state TV in October included purported confessions by alleged members of Komala, a Kurdish opposition party that is exiled from Iran and now lives in Iraq, that they planned to target a military aerospace facility in Isfahan after being trained by Israel's Mossad intelligence service.

Activists say Iranian state TV has aired hundreds of coerced confessions over the last decade. Israeli officials declined to comment on the attack.

Separately, Iran's state TV said a fire broke out at an oil refinery in an industrial zone near the northwestern city of Tabriz. It said the cause was not yet known, as it showed footage of firefighters trying to extinguish the blaze. Tabriz is some 520 kilometers (325 miles) northwest of Tehran.

State TV also said the magnitude 5.9 earthquake killed three people and injured 816 others in rural areas in West Azerbaijan province, damaging buildings in many villages.

Iran's theocratic government faces challenges both at home and abroad as its nuclear program rapidly enriches uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels since the collapse of its atomic accord with world powers.

Nationwide protests have shaken the country since the September death of Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish-Iranian woman detained by the country's morality police. Its rial currency has plummeted to new lows against the U.S. dollar. Meanwhile, Iran continues to arm Russia with the bomb-carrying drone that Moscow uses in attacks in Ukraine on power plants and civilian targets.

Israel is suspected of launching a series of attacks on Iran, including an April 2021 assault on its underground Natanz nuclear facility that damaged its centrifuges. In 2020, Iran blamed Israel for a sophisticated attack that killed its top military nuclear scientist.

Israeli officials rarely acknowledge operations carried out by the country's secret military units or its Mossad intelligence agency. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who recently re-entered the premiership, long has considered Iran to be the biggest threat his nation faces. The U.S. and Israel also just held their largest-ever military exercise amid the tensions with Iran.

Meanwhile, tensions remain high between Azerbaijan and Iran as Azerbaijan and Armenia have fought over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Iran also wants to maintain its 44-kilometer (27-mile) border with landlocked Armenia, something that could be threatened if Azerbaijan seizes new territory through warfare.

Iran in October launched a military exercise near the Azerbaijan border. Azerbaijan also maintains close ties to Israel, which has infuriated Iranian hard-liners, and has purchased Israeli-made drones for its military.

Anwar Gargash, a senior Emirati diplomat, warned online that the Isfahan attack represented one more event in the "dangerous escalation the region is witnessing.'' The United Arab Emirates was targeted in missile and drone attacks last year claimed by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

It "is not in the interest of the region and its future,'' Gargash wrote on Twitter. "Although the problems of the region are complex, there is no alternative to dialogue.''

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By Li Gongmiao, Xia Yanfei

The past year of 2022 has seen an eventful world shrouded in dark clouds of conflicts, with joint military exercises being staged one after another across the world against the background of the yearlong Russia-Ukraine conflict. As confrontation is growing in intensity, military exercises have become more tech-oriented - new technologies are tested, new equipment keeps emerging, and new forces are coming to the fore. As the highest form of military training, military exercise is somewhat like a wind vane for the development of geopolitical hotspots. All signs show that the year of 2023 is going to witness more complicated dynamics in joint military exercises.

(I)Exercises for verification become the new normal.

While conducting massive joint live-fire exercises in large quantities every year, countries have also organized numerous exercises for research and verification, which, although of a smaller scale, may represent the future direction and priority of war preparedness and the future trend of warfare. What the US has done in this regard is worth special attention. For instance, the US Army initiated the Project Convergence 2022 that offered a platform for the industrial sector to exhibit and verify their cutting-edge technologies and prove whether they are mature enough for military application. The Test Flag Enterprise represented by Emerald Flag and Black Flag is tasked with testing how UAVs, maneuvering command and control, and other technologies can be applied in the troops, while the US Marines Exercise Steel Knight 2023 is to validate the Pacific combat concept. Clearly the US military has shifted the purpose of some of its military exercises from practicing tactics, as is the tradition, to verifying technologies. Such systematic verification will facilitate the quicker completion of emerging technologies development cycle from proposing the needs, experimenting and demonstrating, application in exercise (real combat) to proposing new needs, and minimize the time needed to move high and new technologies from concept to combat.

(II)Japans multiple breaches in 2022 call for grave concerns.

In recent years, Japan, with Americas backing and abetting, has tried hard to break away from the Pacifist Constitution on the excuse of revising the Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology, with the aim of completely normalizing its military development. In 2022, the JMSDF led the ANNUALEX joint maritime exercise involving the American, Canadian, Australian, and German navies to enhance their collective war preparedness, maritime superiority and troop projection capability in the Indo-Pacific region. While Japanese troops have participated in multilateral military exercises before, it was rare for Tokyo to lead in one. In fact, Japan has taken many other steps in 2022 to normalize its military forces step by step. In March, it hosted a multilateral cyber warfare exercise; in August, it participated in NATOs Noble Partner 2022 exercise in Georgia; from the end of November to early December, it deployed fixed-wing warplanes in the Philippines and dispatched two F-15 fighter jets to their joint military exercise; in November; it escorted American and Australian troops at the same time; in late November, it signed the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) with the UK - the first such agreement with a European country - that simplified the procedures needed for their troops to enter the other country. All these moves are firsts for Japan. Experts said the JSDF has become increasingly like a formidable, powerful defense force, and the countrys military exercises in 2023 are worth special attention.

(III)Humanity is facing unprecedented nuclear threats.

The US-led NATO and Russia would carry out nuclear exercises annually to demonstrate their nuclear strengths, and the situation in 2022 was obviously more complex and severe owing to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Russia staged the Grom or Thunder strategic nuclear exercise even before the conflict broke out. After it did break out, Moscow was faced with a dire situation at home and internationally under the all-round sanctions by western countries, and put its nuclear forces in a state of special combat readiness three days through the conflict. Later as the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station, the largest in Europe, was under constant attacks, senior Russian officials made ambiguous remarks about the use of nuclear weapons several times, and their warnings about the use of dirty bomb captured intense attention, causing some world-renowned politicians to repeatedly warn of an imminent threat of a nuclear war. On December 29, Russian President Putin attended the launch ceremony of nuclear-powered strategic submarines Generalissimo Suvorov and Emperor Alexander III via video link. Every move it takes concerning nuclear forces pulls at the nerve of the world. At the same time, the US-led NATO has staged multiple strategic nuclear exercises such as the Steadfast Noon, and America will hold the keel laying ceremony for its first Columbia-class strategic nuclear submarine this year. DPRK has already test-fired a slew of new strategic nuclear weapons this year, while senior Israeli officials have said multiple times that they may attack Irans nuclear facilities in the future. Compared with 2022 featuring the Russia-Ukraine conflict, one can hardly imagine a year imbued with more unsettling nuclear risks than 2023.

Editor's note: Originally published on gmw.cn, this article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information and opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.
A survey by the Cabinets Information and Decision Support Centre (IDSC) shows that 75.6 percent of citizens are aware of the "overpopulation problem" in Egypt.

About 11.9 percent of those surveyed have no idea about the problem the state is facing as a result of overpopulation, the IDSC said Sunday.

The poll was conducted in December and covered a number of Egyptian families in all governorates.

Overpopulation is one of Egypts major problems and constitutes the main obstacle to development efforts, the IDSC said.

It also hinders efforts by the state to secure best services for citizens and fight other economic problems, such as unemployment and poverty, the IDSC added.

About 91.1 percent of the surveyed families supported family programmes, while 1.9 percent were against them, according to the IDSC.

The IDSC poll also showed that 52.5 percent of those surveyed believe that, in light of the current circumstances, each family should have no more than two children, while 29.1 percent said that each family should have three children.

Egypt's population increased by 1.6 million in 2022 to reach 104.4 million in December, up from 102.8 in January, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS).

Previously, CAPMAS said that the countrys population could reach 192 million people by 2052 if current growth rates continue. However, it says that this projection could be reduced to 143 million if state efforts to reduce fertility rates are intensified.

Government officials have said that the state will need to double its spending on infrastructure projects and development over the coming 30 years to accommodate the expected growth.

In recent years, the country has launched several campaigns and programmes to curb runaway population growth, spending over EGP 100 million (approximately $5.2 million) annually to provide birth control for free or at lowered prices.

In August, CAPMAS reported a 20 percent drop in the fertility rate in Egypt, from 3.5 births per woman in 2014 to 2.8 in 2021.

Egypt aims to further reduce the fertility rate to 1.6 births per woman, according to adviser to the chairman of CAPMAS Hussein Abdel-Aziz.

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Neglected tropical diseases are a group of communicable diseases found in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. They are classified as neglected because they have received little or no attention in terms of prevention and control for several decades. The World Health Organization guides the way they are identified and managed.

These 20 conditions mostly affect impoverished communities, women and children. Most people affected by them live in rural areas where houses are overcrowded, and basic infrastructure such as water and toilet facilities are lacking.

More than one billion people are estimated to be affected globally.

The neglected tropical diseases include onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis, lymphatic filariasis, soil-transmitted helminth infections and trachoma. Also among them are dengue fever, leptospirosis, trypanosomiasis, leishmaniasis, Buruli ulcer, leprosy and snake-bite envenoming.

More than 170,000 people die of these diseases annually, fewer than malaria with 627,000 deaths in 2020. But the diseases can cause disfigurement, stigmatisation, malnutrition and cognition problems, leading to a range of social, economic and psychological burdens for those affected.

Nigeria carries a particularly heavy burden. A quarter of the people affected by neglected tropical diseases in Africa live in Nigeria.

An estimated 100 million people in the country are at risk for at least one of the diseases and there are several million cases of people being infected with more than one of them.

As an epidemiologist who has studied some of these diseases for 21 years and provided technical support for control activities, I can say that Nigeria has made progress in controlling them.

The country has eradicated Guinea-worm disease and two states have eliminated onchocerciasis. But it can still do more.

Other diseases are still endemic in Nigeria. There is a National Neglected Tropical Diseases steering committee overseeing control efforts. There are also control units at the federal, state and local government levels.

Local and international donors are helping as partners. Progress has been made in mapping of the diseases, development of master plans and the delivery of intervention.

Global Efforts

The WHO puts efforts to control the diseases into two categories: prevention and management.

Preventive control is about administration of efficacious, safe, and inexpensive medicines. The diseases that can be prevented this way include onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis, lymphatic filariasis, soil-transmitted helminths and trachoma. They are the most common in sub-Saharan Africa.

Diseases that lack appropriate tools for large scale use are managed case by case.

In 2012, pharmaceutical companies, donors, endemic countries and NGOs signed the London Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases. They committed to control, eliminate or eradicate 10 priority diseases by 2020.

In 2020, World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day was declared, to be marked on 30 January every year.

The various global initiatives have built capacity for African scientists through research grants, and created awareness and funding partnerships to meet the WHO 2030 elimination goals in Africa.

Nigeria

Nigeria began concerted efforts to combat human and animal trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness and nagana) in 1947 with the establishment of Nigerian Institute for Trypanosomiasis Research, Kaduna. Large scale human onchocerciasis (river blindness) control efforts started in 1988.

When drug efficacy evidence become available, the National Lymphatic Filariasis Elimination Programme was established in 1997.

Support for the procurement, delivery and distribution of medicines increased in the 1990s through donor programmes. Control units were established at the Federal Ministry of Health, and all 36 states were given the responsibility to implement control activities using recommended medicines.

To reach the marginalised populations who bear the greatest burden of these diseases, volunteers visit from door to door to administer medicines to people in their community. Teachers also played similar role where the drug distribution is school-based.

These interventions are supported through the national budget, bilateral aid and direct support from development partners. Medicines are donated by pharmaceutical companies, and deliveries are coordinated by the WHO.

The treatment data for human onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis) from 2014 to 2021 showed progress in the number of people treated and achieving WHO treatment coverage of 65%.

However, for schistosomiasis (bilharzia) and soil transmitted helminthiasis (intestinal worms), Nigeria has not been able meet the recommended coverage of 75% set by WHO.

This shows that the control and elimination of these diseases are in progress.

The lowest coverage was recorded during the COVID pandemic 2020 and 2021.

Two states (Plateau and Nasarawa) have interrupted the transmission of onchocerciasis. A number of local governments are near elimination stage  61 in 2021. This shows that the disease is under control.

Lymphatic filariasis is also on a downward trend, but only 37 local government areas are nearing elimination. The disease is found in 520 local governments out of 774 in Nigeria.

For schistosomiasis, treatment coverage has been below the WHO target. This is largely due to inadequate drug supply and the challenges of treating children in and outside the school system. The WHO introduced new guidelines on control and elimination in 2022.

The road map targets the elimination of schistosomiasis as a public health problem, globally. The new guidelines also recommended the implementation of other interventions such as provision of water, sanitation and hygiene education (WASH), behavioural health education and snail control to break the transmission of schistosomiasis in affected communities.

For soil transmitted helminthiasis, 117 local government areas have achieved more than 75% treatment coverage out of the 147 targeted for treatment.

Nigeria has taken massive strides towards reducing trachoma prevalence.

The Way Forward

Preventive control of neglected tropical diseases relies on mass administration of drugs. This requires substantial financial and human resources.

More importantly, effective communal participation is vital. But there is low public awareness about these diseases and the efforts being made to control them.

The shortage of medicines, poor financial support and material logistics for treatment campaigns are not helping control and elimination efforts.

Additional challenges are poor political will, lack of NGO partner in some states, and apathy among drug distributors and health workers due to lack of incentives. These challenges got worse during the pandemic.

Government and stakeholders at all levels should commit to control activities through increased funding. There should also be sensitisation of citizens through advocacy to support control activities in their communities.

It is important that Nigeria should enact legislation to drive and scale up control activities. Otherwise the country would be left behind when these diseases have been controlled or eliminated in the rest of sub-Saharan Africa by 2030.

* Uwem Friday Ekpo, Professor of Parasitology and Epidemiology, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta

** This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here

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Egypts President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi discussed enhancing Egypts endeavours to establish a free trade zone with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) in a meeting on Sunday with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Yerevan.

El-Sisi affirmed that the establishment of a free trade zone with the EAEU would benefit the two sides as Egyptian products suit the needs of these countries in terms of quality and price, Presidential Spokesman Bassam Rady said in a statement.

The EAEU is a Eurasia-based economic union that consists of a number of post-Soviet states: Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, with reports estimating their GDP to be around $2 trillion.

Since the establishment of the union in 2015, Egypt has worked to strike a free trade zone agreement with the EAEU states.

In this regard, El-Sisi affirmed Egypts keenness to achieve a qualitative leap in the bilateral relations with Armenia, especially by encouraging cooperation between business communities in both countries in a way that helps boost their trade exchange and investments.

The president also affirmed the need to hold the sixth round of the Egyptian-Armenian joint committee for economic, scientific and technical cooperation, given its role as an institutional mechanism for dialogue between the two sides.

He also expressed keenness in developing cooperation with Armenia in several promising fields, including energy, infrastructure, information technology, and food and pharmaceutical industries.

Meanwhile, Pashinyan praised Egypts efforts to achieve political solutions to the different crises in the Middle East. He also discussed with El-Sisi several regional issues and crises and their repercussions in relation to European security.

El-Sisi and Pashinyan also agreed on the necessity to intensify coordination and consultations on issues in Eastern Europe and South Caucasus.

They especially agreed on the need to intensify coordination regarding the developments of the Russia-Ukraine crisis and its global economic repercussions.

Pashinyan hailed the progress achieved in Egyptian-Armenian relations over the past period in light of the high-level visits between the two countries. The most recent visit being that of Armenias President Vahagn Khachaturyan to Egypt to attend the 27th UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Sharm El-Sheikh in November last year.

El-Sisi, for his part, praised Armenias positive positions towards Egypt and the huge progress achieved in the two countries' relations over the past period.

He also held expanded talks on Sunday with Armenian President Khachaturyan, a day after he arrived in Yerevan as the first Egyptian president to visit the city since the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries about 30 years ago.

The president arrived in Armenia on Saturday on the third leg of his visit, which included India and Azerbaijan, where he discussed enhancing cooperation in all fields, including trade and investments.

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Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov urged "maximum responsibility" in calls with his Israeli and Palestinian counterparts following recent attacks in Jerusalem, the foreign ministry in Moscow said Sunday.

Lavrov "called on the Israeli and Palestinian partners to show maximum responsibility and refrain from any actions that could provoke further degradation of the situation" in phone calls with Israel's Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and Palestinian counterpart Riyad al-Maliki, the ministry said in a statement.

"The Russian side emphasised that Moscow is seriously concerned about the new round of violence in the zone of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict," the ministry added.

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Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi underlined on Sunday the special historical ties between Egypt and Armenia, especially at the popular level in light of Egypt's hosting of a large Armenian community who have long bolstered bilateral ties at the political, economic, cultural and artistic level.

The Egyptian president made his remarks while addressing a joint press conference with Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan, a day after arriving in Yerevan on Saturday.

El-Sisi voiced happiness for being the first Egyptian president to visit the city since the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries about 30 years ago.

Khachaturyan hailed El-Sisi's historic visit to his country, saying friendship between the two countries is deeply-rooted.

He also referred to the role of the Armenian-Egyptian community in boosting relations between the two countries, expressing gratitude for the special care given to Armenian nationals in Egypt, saying his people would never forget the welcome they received after surviving genocide back home.

Thanks to the strong friendship binding the two countries, Armenia will be able to overcome the current stage which is marred by many challenges and flourish in the future, he said.

El-Sisi thanked the Armenian president for his hospitality, adding that the visit reflects Egypt's deep interest in developing ties with Armenia in various domains.

The press conference came after an expanded session of talks with his Armenian counterpart in the presence of delegations of the two countries at the presidential palace earlier in the day, where an official reception was held and the national anthem was played.

Enhancing bilateral ties



During the joint press conference, El-Sisi voiced confidence that his current visit to Armenia would be a starting point for enhancing political cooperation, especially at the economic and investment levels.

He highlighted Egypt's expertise in several industrial sectors that are a top priority for the Armenian market.

El-Sisi revealed that the talks focused on energy production and Egypts strategy for green hydrogen production, making it a promising investment destination in light of securing needed energy for industry.

The Egyptian president also underlined the importance of joint work to boost trade exchange and political ties between Egypt and Armenia.

He said this will require activating current economic cooperation mechanisms, chief among which are the joint committee for economic, scientific and technical cooperation as well as the business forum.

El-Sisi said he reviewed during the talks the efforts exerted by Egypt to remove obstacles facing foreign investors and the national projects being carried out in Egypt, especially in the Suez Canal Economic Zone.

He referred to the issuance of the golden investment license, which was launched in October to facilitate investment in priority projects for the state, underlining the leap witnessed by Egypt in the field of infrastructure and transportation.

The Armenian president said Egypt and Armenia are closely cooperating in the political, economic, cultural, scientific and tourist domains but unfortunately the volume of trade between the two countries is still not satisfactory.

Thanks to the expanded political agenda of the two countries, more efforts will be exerted by the two governments to promote cooperation in the near future and increase trade exchange, Khachaturyan said.

Big progress in cooperation between the two countries has already been realised, he said, citing the signing of more than 50 documents for cooperation.

He said the number of Armenian tourists travelling to Egypt is on the rise as it is a favorite tourist destination.

The Armenian president also expected more Egyptian tourism to Armenia after facilitating entry visa procedures.

El-Sisi and Khachaturyan witnessed on Sunday the inking of a number of cooperation agreements between the two countries at the presidential palace in Yerevan.

Both countries signed a cooperation memo in the fields of culture and youth. The memo was inked by Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry.

Also, the Enterprise Armenia (Investment Support Center) signed a memo with the Egyptian General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI). Planning Minister Hala El-Saeed signed the deal for Egypt.

Importance of dialogue to realise peace

President El-Sisi said the talks with the Armenian president tackled a host of regional and international issues of mutual concern in the Middle East and South Caucasus.

He stressed the importance of dialogue, negotiations and exerting efforts to realise peace and a decent life for all people, especially at the present, in which people are suffering double at the economic level in light of the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic and the Russian-Ukrainian crisis.

From his side, Khachaturyan said he personally needs the advice of El-Sisi who has faced big challenges and was able to turn Egypt a stable country.

Khachaturyan said he exchanged with El-Sisi the viewpoints of the two countries on regional issues, pointing out that Egypt is a major power in the region with well-known expertise in the field of mediation tasks.

He said that Egypt promotes the agenda of peace and like Armenia, believes in peaceful co-existence with neighbors.



The Armenian president added that his country needs Egypt's expertise in achieving peace and stability in the region.

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The United States stands with Egypt and supports Egyptians in their pursuit of a prosperous future which protects fundamental freedoms for all, said a press release by the US Department of State on Sunday.

"The United States stands with Egypt and the Egyptian people to promote regional security, bolster economic resilience, advance people-to-people ties, tackle the climate crisis, strengthen a critical defense partnership," the statement added.

The statement comes as both countries mark more than a century of diplomatic cooperation and friendship. It also coincides with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to Cairo as part of his Middle East tour.

Regional security

The US said it is cooperating "closely" with Egypt to de-escalate conflicts and promote sustainable peace, including by supporting UN mediation to enable elections in Libya as soon as possible.

They are also cooperating to restore a civilian-led transition in Sudan through the Framework Political Agreement, the statement added.

It noted that both nations share "an unwavering" commitment to a negotiated two-state solution as the only path to a "lasting resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and equal measures of security, prosperity, and dignity for Israelis and Palestinians."

The US said, based on Egypts transformational peace with Israel, it is partnering with Egypt to foster further regional cooperation including through the Negev Forum process, the state department added.

The US is engaged with Egypt, as well as Sudan and Ethiopia, to advance a swift diplomatic resolution on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) that safeguards the interests of the three parties, it added.

Economic Opportunity

The US and Egypt have a shared commitment to strengthening bilateral economic cooperation for the mutual benefit of the American and Egyptian people, including through expanding trade, increasing private sector investments and collaborating on clean energy and climate technology.

The US has invested $600 million to digitise Egypts telecommunications sector, and Egypt has imported $5.9 billion from the US to construct, expand and modernise Egyptian infrastructure to meet the needs of a growing population.

The US also commends Egypt for concluding an agreement with the International Monetary Fund in December, the statement added, saying that it is crucial to stabilising its economy and enabling vital reforms.

In addition, the US and Egypt have committed to establishing a joint economic commission that will further enhance cooperation on all economic and commercial issues.

The statement also shed light on people-to-people ties, saying more than 20,000 Egyptians have participated in US government exchange programs, and 450 Egyptians travel to the US annually on professional and academic exchange programmes facilitated by US embassy Cairo.

The missions English language programming reaches thousands of students and teachers across Egypt, including at Al-Azhar University and affiliated institutions, it added.

The state department said the US and Egypt in November 2021 renewed a memorandum of understanding that strengthens protections for Egypts cultural patrimony and enables bilateral cooperation to disrupt the trafficking of archeological artifacts and cultural objects.

The steps come in line with both nations' partnership in preserving, restoring, and protecting Egypts cultural heritage, added the statement.

Climate cooperation

The US welcomes Egypts ongoing leadership through its presidency of the 27th UN Climate Change Conference (COP27), which Egypt hosted in November, to accelerate global ambition and action to tackle the climate crisis, the statement added.

The two countries support the Global Methane Pledge (GMP) and the new GMP Energy Pathway, which Egypt has joined with respect to the oil and gas sector.

The US and Egypt co-lead the new partnership on Adaptation in Africa, which is focused on concrete initiatives to help build resilience in a changing climate.

The US, the statement added, is providing $10 million to support the launch of the Cairo Centre for Learning and Excellence on Adaptation and Resilience, which will build adaptation capacity across Africa.

At COP27, the US together with Germany announced more than $250 million to accelerate Egypts energy transition through the deployment of 10 GW of new wind and solar energy projects and the decommissioning of 5 GW of inefficient natural gas generation, according to the statement.

Defence partnership

The statement added that Egypt is a valued US partner in counterterrorism, anti-trafficking and regional security operations, which advance both US and Egyptian security.

The decades-long defense partnership, it noted, is a pillar for regional stability.

"Since 1978, the US has contributed more than $50 billion in military assistance, which has contributed to Egypts capabilities to protect and defend its land and maritime borders and to confront an evolving terrorist threat, including in the Sinai Peninsula," it further noted.

Both nations established diplomatic relations in 1922 and over the last century, this deep partnership has proven flexible to changing circumstances.

"Egypt seeks to build a stable and prosperous future that advances the basic rights and fundamental freedoms of all citizens. The United States firmly believes critical partnerships like the US-Egypt relationship are stronger when there is a shared commitment to human rights," it added.

"We maintain an active dialogue that seeks to reinforce tangible steps to promote freedom of expression, end political detention and strengthen the rule of law, and undertake critical judicial reforms, including with respect to pre-trial detention reforms, in line with Egypts National Strategy for Human Rights."

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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken started his visit to Egypt, the first leg of his three-nation Middle East trip, with a conversation on Sunday with a group of youth at the American University in Cairo (AUC).

Blinken is in a two-day official visit to Egypt that extends to Monday, during which he is set to meet with President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry.

Blinken will then travel to Israel and the West Bank from 30-31 January to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian relations and de-escalation of the current tensions between the two sides.

I wanted to start here for a couple of reasons, the US Embassy in Cairo quoted Blinken as saying in the conversation with youth at the AUC.

The main reason is this: As were looking at the partnership between the United States and Egypt, the strategic partnership that is of great consequence to the United States, we know that going forward that partnership ultimately is going to be built and sustained and strengthened by the people here today and the people that you represent, Blinken stated.

He stressed the importance that the US engage with every sector of society in Egypt, especially the rising generation of Egyptians, rather than just engaging government to government.

Quite literally, you will be the ones making this country and you will be the ones who are carrying forward the relationship with the United States, Blinken stressed.

Enjoyed hearing from these young Egyptian leaders who are promoting our shared values and strengthening our important bilateral relationshipthis makes me optimistic about our future. pic.twitter.com/oP8sBx6pzu  Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) January 29, 2023

Egypt and the US mark more than a century of diplomatic cooperation and friendship.

In a statement on Sunday, the US Department of State affirmed that the US stands with Egypt and supports Egyptians in their pursuit of a prosperous future which protects fundamental freedoms for all.

"The United States stands with Egypt and the Egyptian people to promote regional security, bolster economic resilience, advance people-to-people ties, tackle the climate crisis, strengthen a critical defense partnership," the statement added.

The US said it is cooperating "closely" with Egypt to de-escalate conflicts and promote sustainable peace, including by supporting UN mediation to enable elections in Libya as soon as possible.

They are also cooperating to restore a civilian-led transition in Sudan through the Framework Political Agreement, the statement added.

It noted that both nations share "an unwavering" commitment to a negotiated two-state solution as the only path to a "lasting resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and equal measures of security, prosperity, and dignity for Israelis and Palestinians."

The statement also hailed Egypt as a valued US partner in counterterrorism, anti-trafficking and regional security operations, which advance both US and Egyptian security.

The US and Egypt have a shared commitment to strengthening bilateral economic cooperation for the mutual benefit of the American and Egyptian people, including through expanding trade, increasing private sector investments and collaborating on clean energy and climate technology.

Egypt-US total bilateral trade in goods hit $9.1 billion in 2021, the highest level ever with Egypt being the US largest export market in Africa, the US Department of State said in April last year.

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The Egyptian Centre for Strategic Studies (ECSS), a Cairo-based non-profit think tank, will present the findings of a research project dubbed The Cost of Terrorism and Extremism in Egypt (1990-2020) in a panel discussion at the 54th Cairo International Book Fair next Thursday.

Minister of Social Solidarity Nevine El-Qabbaj will attend the discussion. The event will be held at the Cultural Salon in Plaza 2 with the participation of senior experts and researchers from the team involved in the project.

The two-year project was carried out jointly by the Ministry of Social Solidarity and the ECSS.

In a statement on Sunday, the ECSS said that the research project seeks to provide an alternative to the dominant western narrative about terrorism, religion, politics, and culture in Islamic societies, stressing that many western studies on terrorism are based on western assumptions and visions.

While many of the [western] studies have a high scientific value, they are frequently based on western assumptions and visions, the ECSS said, noting that these studies, therefore, may result in misinterpretation and serious injustice to Arab countries.

The ECSS stressed that the majority of rigorous studies on terrorism has been conducted by western researchers and that the project hence seeks to redress the balance, especially given the fact that it is Muslims and Arabs who suffer most from terrorism. The ECSS further explained that the project provides an Egyptian perspective on the phenomenon.

The narrative provided by the research project can be used to connect with academics, researchers, and decision-makers from various backgrounds, the ECSS noted.

This narrative will seek to initiate a rational and fact-based conversation about terrorism, rather than passing judgment and levelling accusations based on preconceived notions, the statement added.

The project sought to quantify the political, economic, and social impacts of terrorism on Egypt while identifying the mechanisms and dynamics of its production. It also sought to suggest policies to control and limit terrorism based on a thorough understanding of the surrounding context, the ECSS explained.

In a symposium on the project in April last year, El-Qabbaj said that the project was being implemented under a mandate from President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi to conduct research on the economic and social impacts of terrorism in Egypt and Islamic countries.

The president also instructed that the research results should be made public so that people become aware of the facts and the magnitude of losses incurred by the state and citizens as a result of the various waves of terrorism, the minister added.

The project encompasses four key axes political, economic, social and cultural  with each axis examined in terms of the cost of terrorism, its causes and ways to counter it.

The project is the first research, and academic initiative in Egypt that opens a scientific dialogue about the phenomenon since the 1970s, ECSS General Manager Khaled Okasha said during the symposium.

It offers a comprehensive Egyptian approach to reducing the repercussions of terrorism on the social, economic, political and cultural sectors, he added.

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To mark 130 years since it first came out in 1892, the Dar Al-Helal monthly magazine put out a special issue reprinting articles and pictures that have appeared on its pages for over a century, charting the great debates that have shaped the countrys intellectual history.

The special issue contains 124 articles, as well as several photo features, stretching over 610 pages.

The vast issue tells selected stories from the cultural history of the nation and of its path to embracing modernity right from the very early decades of the 20th century and earlier.

The very publication of the first issue in 1892, according to several commentators who contributed articles to the special issue, was a step in the path of opening up the scene for many an intellectual debate at a moment when the call for modernity was gaining momentum.

The vision of the founding editor of the magazine, Jurji Zaydan, a journalist of Lebanese origins, was to create a platform for new ideas and voices to be echoed and shared. This is a commitment that Zaydan kept until his death in 1914. His successors, first his sons and later others, tried to also honour this commitment.

The selection of articles that is offered to the reader reveals that the pursuit of modernity was central to all intellectual debates at the time. They show that whether on politics, the economy or culture, the magazine did not hesitate or shy away from calling for modernity.

The republished articles of Taha Hussein, Zaki Naguib Mahmoud and others reveal the level of openness in Egypt during the early decades of the 20th century  and actually throughout the decades of the Free Officers regime  when it came to big intellectual debates. Equally, there are articles on art and culture that show the dedication of artists of the time, including such divas like Oum Kalthoum, Mohamed Abdel-Wahab, Ahmed Ramy and others, to their art.

Other articles and photos highlight other aspects of the nations indelible socio-political choices over the years, especially that of a certain bond between the people and the Army, including the times of wars.

The special issue has much to say about the people and the Army, not just with articles from the very rich archive; it also features articles from contemporary columnists, a great deal of which was dedicated to the 30 June 2013 demonstrations.

The special issue also deals with culture, featuring original literary texts that were originally published between the 1920s and 1940s, including pieces by May Ziyada and Ibrahim Abdel-Kader Al-Mazeni. Those are collected in the third part of the volume under the title of the essence of literature.

In the first part of this special issue, Al-Helal re-runs a series of articles published by Egypts first three presidents: Mohamed Naguib, Gamal Abdel-Nasser and Anwar Sadat. It also runs a special note that Honsi Mubarak contributed to Al-Helal to mark the birthday of Naguib Mahfouz. But first of course there is a special note from President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi dedicated to El-Helal on the occasion of its 130th anniversary.

Overall, the volume is a long, slow walk down memory lane. It features some very interesting material including articles on the big intellectual debates of the time, especially on the role of religion and the scope of freedoms. It also includes some light and amusing articles, including one that Oum Kolthoum wrote about her first encounter with Gamal Abdel-Nasser.

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The first US Cabinet member to visit Somalia since 2015 urged the worlds distracted donors Sunday to give immediate help to a country facing deadly famine, which she calls the ultimate failure of the international community.

The US ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, heard perhaps the starkest warning yet about the crisis: Excess deaths during what is now Somalia's longest drought on record will almost certainly surpass those of the famine formally declared in the country in 2011, when more than a quarter-million people died.

This time, the world is looking elsewhere, many humanitarian officials say.

Many of the traditional donors have washed their hands and focused on Ukraine, the UN resident coordinator in Somalia, Adam Abdelmoula, told Thomas-Greenfield during a briefing in Mogadishu.

While the US ambassador declined to openly name and shame in her speech calling on donors for more help, saying The countries know who were talking about, the UN resident coordinator didnt hesitate.

The European Union, for example, funded just 10% of the humanitarian response plan for Somalia last year, Abdelmoula told The Associated Press.

The EU gave $74 million and the U.K. $78 million, according to UN data. Japan gave $27 million and Saudi Arabia $22 million.

The United States, meanwhile, funded roughly 80%, giving $1.3 billion to Somalia since the start of the 2022 fiscal year. The ambassador announced another $40 million on Sunday.

But the US cant continue to pay at that level, even if there were no Ukraine, Thomas-Greenfield told the AP in an interview, adding that Washington would like to see countries in the nearby Gulf region, for example, donate more.

She spelled out the fatal risks in the weeks ahead if other nations don't step up. According to the UN, without contributions from other donors, critical food and nutrition assistance supporting 4.6 million people in Somalia will end by April, Thomas-Greenfield said.

That will be just as a sixth consecutive rainy season in the parched country is expected to fail. The US is deeply alarmed by the dire situation, she told humanitarian officials.

The ambassador delivered her speech in the seaside diplomatic compound at Mogadishus international airport, where bunker-bound officials try to respond to the growing crisis compounded by the security threat posed to large parts of Somalia from al-Qaidas East Africa affiliate, al-Shabab.

Tens of thousands of people are thought to have died in the drought that also affects parts of neighboring Ethiopia and Kenya.

More than a half-million children under the age of 5 in Somalia alone have severe acute malnutrition, according to the UN childrens agency.

Millions of livestock essential to families health and wealth have died.

While the latest data assessment released last year found that Somalia had not met the benchmarks for a formal famine declaration, the UN and US have made clear that the limited humanitarian aid has only delayed the worst.

Almost 2 million hungry people in Somalia are at the crisis point where bodies start to consume themselves," a Western humanitarian official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

There are now 2.7 million more people in need than during Somalias last famine in 2011, the official added.

About 900,000 of them have been living in areas under control of the al-Shabab extremists, complicating efforts both to understand the droughts toll and to reach people with help.

But the death toll from the drought remains unclear even as fears grow. I dont think any of us know the number, Thomas-Greenfield said.

The last Cabinet member to visit Somalia was John Kerry as secretary of state in May 2015.

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The 10th Chinese peacekeeping defense unit to Mali received new-type mine-resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicles in the mission area of Gao. (Video screenshot/CCTV news)

BEIJING, Jan. 29 -- Recently, the 10th Chinese peacekeeping defense unit to Mali received new-type mine-resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicles in the mission area of Gao, marking the first deployment of the MRAP vehicles to China's overseas peacekeeping force.

The MRAP vehicle has been modified to meet the task needs in the mission area, with defense, communication, electromagnetic interference and observation functions upgraded. It can well respond to improvised explosives devices (IEDs) and comprehensively improve the patrol and defense capabilities of the contingent.

According to Xie Wanglin, head of the unit's rapid response squadron, roadside bomb attacks have caused most casualties to the peacekeepers under the continuously deteriorating security situation in the mission area. "The deployment of the new-type MRAP vehicles will facilitate our mission performance and guarantee our safety to a larger extent," he said.

China has deployed the guard contingent to the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) for a decade since 2013, which was reorganized into the base defense unit in 2022. After the distribution of the MRAP vehicles, the unit will possess better maneuverability and defense capability, so as to carry out peacekeeping missions more efficiently.
Newly-elected Czech president Petr Pavel, a former NATO general, will promote close ties with the European Union and offer firm support for Ukraine in the face of the Russian invasion, analysts said.

The 61-year-old war hero beat billionaire populist Andrej Babis to win Saturday's presidential election.

A former chief of NATO's military committee, he will replace outspoken, divisive incumbent Milos Zeman who had fostered closer ties with Moscow and Beijing before making a U-turn when Russia invaded Ukraine last year.

Analysts told AFP that Pavel's experience in military diplomacy would be a clear asset as he held a very different presidency than his predecessor.

"We know that his contacts at NATO, as well as with peers from NATO member states... are very strong, and foreign policy will be his domain," said Pavel Havlicek, a scientist at the Association for International Affairs in Prague.

"I think he will be a proficient president if we realise the war in Ukraine is one of the key problems Europe is facing," Havlicek told AFP.

Pavel was a member of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia in the 1980s and began a rapid rise through army ranks until communism fell in 1989.

After Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993, Pavel became an advocate of EU and NATO membership.

During campaigning he argued there was still "no better alternative".

He also called for more aid to Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia in February last year.

"He is very much in favour of Ukraine, he has repeatedly voiced his support, and he's very critical towards Russia," said Jiri Pehe, a political analyst at New York University Prague.

"His stance will entail strong support to Ukraine without any conditions," Pehe told AFP.

European leaders have welcomed Pavel's win, which follows the Czech Republic's 2022 EU presidency.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Berlin would work "hand in hand for a stronger EU and NATO" with Pavel, while European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen praised his "strong commitment to our European values".

Pavel is also in favour of adopting the euro as the currency of the Czech Republic.

He is expected to work closely with his country's governing centre-right coalition led by Prime Minister Petr Fiala, which also provides military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

"Pavel will draw upon the government's policy in this sense, and I think there will be no fundamental disputes," said Palacky University analyst Pavel Saradin.

"There will be none of that ambivalence we had with Milos Zeman," said Pehe.

Analysts also expect Pavel to turn a more critical eye towards his country's close ties with the so-called Visegrad-four group, which consists of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been at odds with the EU over the rule of law in his country and his ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Pavel has criticised Orban on several occasions and met with opposition figures when he visited Hungary last December.

"He would rather redefine the regional cooperation to a broader format of more countries, meaning that Hungary's influence would be neutralised," said Pehe.

Havlicek said he also expected Pavel to strengthen ties with the United States.

"(Pavel) has great and strong experience with meetings and negotiations and he will show it," said Havlicek.

"He will be in his element when it comes to foreign policy."

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Friends and volunteers gathered in Kyiv's St Sophia's Cathedral on Sunday to say goodbye to volunteer Andrew Bagshaw who was killed with his colleague Christopher Parry while they were evacuating people from a front-line Ukrainian town.

Bagshaw, 48, a New Zealand-British joint national, and Briton Parry, 28, went missing earlier this month while heading to the town of Soledar, in the eastern Donetsk region, where heavy fighting was taking place.

Volunteers spoke of their memories of Bagshaw and read out tributes from his family.

Nikolletta Stoyanova, a friend of Bagshaw's, spoke afterwards of his bravery.

``Even if no one wanted to go to Soledar, they can't do it. Because if he understood that someone needs help, they need to do this help for these people,'' Stoyanova said.

Bagshaw's father, Phil, told reporters in New Zealand that his son wanted to do something to help.

``He was a very intelligent man, and a very independent thinker,'' he said. ``And he thought a long time about the situation in Ukraine, and he believed it to be immoral. He felt the only thing he could do of a constructive nature was to go there and help people.''

Ukrainian police said on Jan. 9 that they had lost contact with Bagshaw and Perry after they headed for Soledar. Their bodies were later recovered.

In a statement released earlier this week, Parry's family said he had been ``drawn to Ukraine in March in its darkest hour.'' It added that he'd ``helped those most in need, saving over 400 lives plus many abandoned animals.''

Friends said that the volunteers' bodies will be handed over to their families in the U.K.

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said for the first time Sunday that Ankara could accept Finland into NATO without its Nordic neighbour Sweden.

Erdogan's comments during a televised meeting with younger voters came days after Ankara suspended NATO accession talks with the two countries.

Its decision threatened to derail NATO's hopes of expanding the bloc to 32 countries at a summit planned for July in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius.

Finland and Sweden dropped decades of military non-alignment and applied to join the US-led defence alliance in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Turkey and Hungary remain the only members to have failed to ratify the two bids by votes in parliament.

The Hungarian legislature is expected to approve both bids in February.

But Erdogan has dug in his heels heading into a tightly contested May 14 election in which he is trying to energise his conservative and nationalist support base.

Erdogan's main complaint has been with Sweden's refusal to extradite dozens of suspects that Ankara links to outlawed Kurdish militants and a failed 2016 coup attempt.

He drew a clear distinction on Sunday between the positions taken by Sweden and Finland in the past few months.

"If necessary, we can give a different response concerning Finland. Sweden will be shocked when we give a different response for Finland," Erdogan said.

He also repeated his demand for Sweden to hand over suspects sought by Ankara.

"If you absolutely want to join NATO, you will return these terrorists to us," Erdogan said.

'First Option'

Sweden has a bigger Kurdish diaspora than Finland and a more serious dispute with Ankara.

Both countries have been trying to break down Erdogan's resistance through months of delicate talks.

Sweden has approved a constitutional amendment that enables it to enact tougher anti-terror laws demanded by Ankara.

And both nations have lifted bans on military sales to Turkey that they imposed after its 2019 military incursion into Syria.

But Ankara reacted with fury to a decision by the Swedish police to allow a protest at which a far-right extremist burned a copy of the Koran outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm earlier this month.

Ankara has also been outraged by a Swedish prosecutor's decision not to press charges against a Kurdish support group that hung an effigy of Erdogan by its ankles outside Stockholm City Court.

Swedish officials have roundly condemned the protests but defended their country's broad acceptance of free speech.

The standoff between Ankara and Stockholm prompted Finnish officials to hint for the first time last week that they might be forced to seek NATO membership without Sweden.

The two nations had sought to join the bloc together from the start.

"We have to assess the situation, whether something has happened that in the longer term would prevent Sweden from going ahead," Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said last Tuesday.

But Haavisto also stressed that a joint accession remains the "first option".

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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Cairo Sunday on the first stop of his Middle East visit, where he is expected to address a surge in deadly Israeli-Palestinian violence.

During his stopover in Cairo, before Jerusalem and Ramallah on Monday and Tuesday, the US top diplomat will meet Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi as well as his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry.

After Cairo Blinken, will travel Monday and Tuesday to Jerusalem and Ramallah. He had long planned the visit to see Israel's new right-wing government, but the trip takes on a new urgency after some of the worst violence in years.

A Palestinian gunman on Friday killed seven people outside a synagogue in a settler neighborhood of east Jerusalem, and another attack followed on Saturday.

On Thursday, nine people were killed in an Israeli army raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank in one of the deadliest such operations in years. Israel claims it was targeting Islamic Jihad militants and also hit the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip in response to rocket fire.

Blinken will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas and call "broadly for steps to be taken to de-escalate tensions," State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters as he condemned the "horrific" synagogue attack.

The violence is also likely to figure in talks between Blinken and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, whose country's traditional role as a Middle East mediator has helped broker many cease-fire agreements that came amid heightened tensions in the past.

Although the United States, with its close relationship to Israel, has historically taken a lead on Middle East diplomacy, experts question whether Blinken could achieve any breakthroughs in the matter.

"The absolute best they can do is to keep things stable to avoid another May 2021," said Aaron David Miller, a veteran US negotiator, referring to more than two weeks of fighting between Israel and Hamas that ended with an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire.

Ghaith Al-Omari, a former Palestinian official now at The Washington Institute, expected Blinken to repeat traditional US positions rather than break new ground.

"The trip itself is the message," he said.

"Blinken will ask Abbas to do more but it is not clear what they can do," he said, referring to the Palestinians.

"Flooding the zone" with Netanyahu

Blinken's visit is part of an effort by the Biden administration to engage quickly with Netanyahu, who returned to office in late December leading the most right-wing government in Israel's history.

Israel's longest-serving prime minister had a fraught relationship with the last Democratic president, Barack Obama, as Netanyahu openly sides with his Republican adversaries against US diplomacy with Iran.

Biden's national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, visited earlier in January to discuss Iran after Biden's efforts to restore a 2015 nuclear accord -- despised by Netanyahu -- effectively died.

"I've never seen such an intense flurry of high-level contacts under any administration as you're watching right now," said Miller, now at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

The Biden team is looking "to avoid confrontation with Netanyahu," Miller said, noting the strong support for the Israeli leader among Republicans who now control the House of Representatives.

David Makovsky, also at the Washington Institute, said he also understood that CIA Director Bill Burns has been visiting the region.

"It looks a little like flooding the zone," he said.

Netanyahu has hailed as a key achievement the normalization of relations in 2020 with the United Arab Emirates, which has moved full speed ahead on developing ties despite public concerns over the new government's moves.

Blinken is expected on his trip to reiterate US support for a Palestinian state, a prospect that few expect to advance under the new Israeli government.

The State Department said Blinken would also call for the preservation of the status quo at the flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound, which is holy both to Jews and Muslims.

Itamar Ben-Gvir, a far-right ideologue who holds a security post in Netanyahu's government, in early January defiantly visited the site, which Jews call the Temple Mount.

Blinken during his visit to Egypt is also expected to discuss regional issues such as Libya and Sudan, the State Department said.

*This story was edited by Ahram Online

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Ukraine's military said Sunday its forces repelled an attack near Blahodatne in the eastern Donetsk region after Russia's Wagner mercenary group claimed it took control of the village.

Kyiv's forces "repelled attacks near... Blahodatne" and 13 other settlements in the Donetsk region, the Ukrainian General Staff said in its daily report.

Earlier, Russia's private military group Wagner said its units had taken control of the village.

"Units of Wagner PMC have taken Blahodatne. Blahodatne is under our control," Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said as quoted by his press service.

There was no immediate confirmation from Russia's defence ministry.

Moscow has made capturing the eastern Donetsk region, which it has already declared a part of Russia, its primary goal in Ukraine.

Kyiv recently said that Russian troops had stepped up their attacks in the east, particularly on the towns of Vugledar and Bakhmut.

Earlier this month, Russia said it wrested control of Soledar, a salt-mining town near Bakhmut, Moscow's first claim of victory after months of battlefield setbacks.

Blahodatne is located to the north of Bakhmut.

Russian forces have been seeking to seize Bakhmut for months in some of the heaviest fighting since Russia invaded in February last year.

Separately, five civilians were killed in attacks on the Donetsk region over the past day, local governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said Sunday, including one person in Bakhmut.

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Israeli guards killed a Palestinian near a settlement in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian health officials said Sunday, with the Israeli military alleging he was armed.

Karam Ali Ahmad Salman, 18, was shot dead by "the Israeli occupation near the settlement of 'Kedumim'," the Palestinian health ministry reported.

Israel's army said a "civilian security team" shot a person "armed with a handgun" near the settlement in the northern West Bank.

The Palestinian health ministry reported that Kedumim was built on privately-owned Palestinian land.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War and settlements are regarded as illegal under international law, a charge Israel disputes.

Salman is one of at least 34 Palestinians killed in the West Bank this month, including civilians and militants, according to an AFP tally based on official sources from both sides.

The Palestinian health ministry also announced on Sunday a 24-year-old man, Omar Tariq Ali al-Saadi, died from wounds sustained Thursday during an Israeli raid on Jenin.

Nine other Palestinians had been killed in Jenin on Thursday in the deadliest West Bank raid by Israeli forces in nearly two decades.

Separately, on Sunday a Jerusalem hospital spokeswoman said a Palestinian had died after being wounded during clashes with Israeli forces last week.

The Palestinian died on Friday night, the Shaare Zedek hospital spokeswoman told AFP, without immediately providing the person's name or age.

A Palestinian gunman killed seven people Friday outside a synagogue in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem.

In response to the deadly attack, the Israeli government announced a slew of measures including "steps to strengthen settlements".

The latest violence follows a surge in killings last year.

Some 235 people died in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict last year, with nearly 90 percent of the fatalities on the Palestinian side, according to AFP figures.

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France's prime minister insisted Sunday that the government's plan to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 is "no longer negotiable,'' further angering parliamentary opponents and unions who plan new mass protests and disruptive strikes this week.

Raising the pension age is one part of a broad bill that is the flagship measure of President Emmanuel Macron's second term.

The bill is meeting widespread popular resistance, more than 1 million people marched against it earlier this month, and misunderstanding about what it will mean for today's French workers.

In an interview with France-Info radio broadcast Sunday, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said the age "is no longer negotiable.''

Retirement at 64 and a lengthening of the number of years needed to earn a full pension "is the compromise that we proposed after having heard employers' organizations and unions,'' she said.

A union-led online petition against the retirement plan saw a surge in new signatures after Borne's comments. France's eight leading unions are in discussions Sunday about a joint response to her remarks, according to officials with the FO and CFDT unions.

Lawmaker Manuel Bompard, whose France Unbowed party is leading the parliamentary push against the reform, called for "the biggest possible'' turnout for upcoming strikes and protests.

"We have to be in the streets Tuesday,'' he said on BFM television Sunday.

The government says the reform is necessary to keep the pension system solvent as France's life expectancy has grown and birth rates have declined.

"Our aim is to ensure that in 2030 we have a system that's financially balanced,'' Borne said.

Unions and left-wing parties want big companies or wealthier households to pitch in more to balance the pension budget instead.

Borne suggested openness to adjustments on how the reform addresses time that people take out of their careers to bear children or pursue education. The plan's critics say women are unfairly targeted; Borne disagreed, but said, "We are in the process of analyzing the situation.''

The bill goes to a parliamentary commission on Monday, and to a full debate in the National Assembly on Feb. 6. Opponents have submitted 7,000 proposed amendments that will further complicate the debate.

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Lebanon, two international oil giants and state-owned oil and gas company Qatar Energy signed an agreement Sunday that the Qatari firm will join a consortium that will search for gas in the Mediterranean Sea off Lebanon's coast.

The deal inked in Beirut brings Qatar into Lebanon's gas exploration market three months after Lebanon and Israel signed a U.S.-mediated maritime border agreement ending a yearslong dispute. Qatar Energy is replacing a Russian company that withdrew from the Lebanese market in September.

In 2017, Lebanon approved licenses for an international consortium including France's TotalEnergies, Italy's ENI and Russia's Novatek to move forward with offshore oil and gas development for two of 10 blocks in the Mediterranean. The borders of one of the two blocks were disputed by neighboring Israel until a maritime border deal was reached last year.

The companies did not find viable amounts of oil or gas in block No. 4 north of Beirut, and drilling in block No. 9 in the south has been repeatedly postponed because of the dispute with Israel.

Lebanon and Israel have been formally at war since Israel's creation in 1948.

The agreement was signed by Saad Sherida al-Kaabi, Qatar's Energy Minister; his Lebanese counterpart Walid Fayad; Claudio Descalzi, the CEO of Italy's state-run energy company, ENI, and TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne. The signing ceremony was attended by Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati.

"Our concentration will be on block number nine,'' al-Kaabi said, adding that this could be a first step for Qatar Energy to play a bigger role in future explorations.

Back in 2017, Total and ENI each got 40 percent stakes in the blocs while Novatek got 20 percent. Under the deal signed Sunday, Qatar Energy will take the 20 percent stake of Novatek in addition to 5 percent each from ENI and Total leaving the Arab company with a stake of 30 percent. Total and ENI will have 35 percent stakes each.

Lebanese media reported that exploration in block No. 9 could begin before the end of November. "We are committed to execute this first well as soon as possible,'' TotalEnergies' Pouyanne said. The company said two months ago it would soon launch exploration activities in search of gas off Lebanon's coast.

Cash-strapped Lebanon hopes that future gas discoveries will help the small Mideast nation pull itself out of the worst economic and financial crisis in the country's modern history.

Since the crisis erupted in October 2019, the Lebanese pound has lost more than 90 percent of its value. Tens of thousands have become jobless and three quarters of the population of 6 million, including 1 million Syrian refugees, now lives in poverty.

"It is an honor to be in Lebanon with these two companies,'' said Descalzi. "We will work all together to give the best to your country.''

Qatar is among the world's top liquefied natural gas exporters and its state-owned company operates all of the country's oil and gas exploration and production, making the nation among the world's richest per capita. The tiny country, which borders Saudi Arabia to the east, shares control with Iran of the world's largest underwater natural gas field in the Persian Gulf.

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This year's edition of Cairo International Book Fair will witness special and "distinct" participation by Russia's delegation, according to Marat Gatin, Director of the Russian Cultural Centres in Egypt.

Marat Gatin, Director of the Russian Cultural Centres in Egypt, announced that Russia's participation this year is distinct in terms of both the composition of the Russian delegation of writers and poets and the quality of Russian books that cover all literary and scientific topics.

During the opening, Gatin affirmed his great admiration for the organisation of the opening ceremony, which saw the participation of a large number of foreign countries.

He also expressed his gratitude and thanks to the organising committee, which arranged for the famous Russian folk song Katyusha to be played in front of the Russian pavilion in a surprise that pleased the Russian delegation and echoed the interest in the cultures of the different peoples participating in the fair.

Gatin said that this is not strange to the Cairo International Book Fair "which is one of the major fairs in the Middle East and the world".

He was keen to invite those interested in Russian culture to meet with the Russian delegation on 3 February, from 3pm until the end of the day, in the seminar hall of the Cairo International Book Fair.

The fair is open to the public from 26 January until 6 February at the International Exhibition Centre in New Cairo. It opens daily from 10am to 8pm, except on Fridays and Saturdays when it closes at 9pm.

On the sidelines of the book fair, the delegation of the Russian House in Cairo, headed by Gatin, and the Director of the Representative Office of the Russian Federal Agency for Cooperation in Egypt participated on 26 January in a seminar dedicated to people with disabilities.

The event was attended by the President of the Egyptian Council for Persons with Disabilities Iman Karim, the Ambassador of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to Egypt Amjad Al-Adayleh, the Head of the Village of Hope charitable foundation Nada Thabet, and the Secretary-General of the Higher Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Jordan Muhannad Al-Azza.

The participants of the event exchanged their experiences in implementing integrated programmes in Egypt and Jordan.

For his part, Gatin raised the issue of the participation of foreign volunteers in the work, citing as an example to the attendees the international humanitarian project "Mission Dobro" (mission of good) which has been implemented since 2021 by the Russian Federal Agency for Cooperation, the Association of Voluntary Centres, and the Russian Humanitarian Mission.

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Italian designer Sabato De Sarno has been named the new creative director of Gucci, and will unveil his first collection during Milan Fashion Week next September, Gucci and parent company Kering announced.

De Sarno has previously worked for Prada, Dolce & Gabbana and Valentino, where he was most recently fashion director overseeing both mens and womens collections.

I am delighted that Sabato will join Gucci as the houses new creative director, one of the most influential roles in the luxury experience, said Gucci CEO Marco Bizzarri, noting his experience with a number of Italys most renowned luxury fashion houses.

Speculation has been rife in the fashion world over who would succeed Alessandro Michele after he stepped down from the role unexpectedly last fall, after nearly eight years in which he redefined the brands codes with gender fluid, romantic and eclectic looks.

Like Michele when he was promoted from the in-house team in 2015, De Sarno is a relative unknown in the wider fashion world, having worked primarily behind the scenes.

De Sarno, a native of Naples, will join Gucci as soon as he completes current obligations and will be responsible for all the brands collections: womens, mens, leather goods, accessories and lifestyle. In the meantime, Gucci collections, including the womenswear Fall-Winter 2023-24 collection to be previewed next month in Milan, are being designed by the in-house team.

De Sarno said he was touched and excited to contribute my creative vision for the brand, which he said has been able to welcome and cherish the values I believe in.

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KYODO NEWS - Jan 29, 2023 - 21:14 | All, Japan

The Philippines is willing to deport Yuki Watanabe, alias "Luffy," a suspected mastermind behind a string of robberies in Japan who is now in detention in the Southeast Asian country, once a local case against him is cleared, officials said.

A Philippine government source had earlier told Kyodo News that the local case against Watanabe complicated the possible handover. As Japan and the Philippines do not have an extradition treaty, that case must first be cleared before he can be deported.

Watanabe has been charged with violating a law on violence against women and children, according to a local court. An investigative source said that Watanabe maybe hopes the case will be a "way to avoid" being sent back to Japan. It was not clear when the case was filed against him.

A South Korean reporter who was once detained at the same immigration facility in Manila as Watanabe, meanwhile, told Kyodo News that foreign detainees who face cases in their home countries often ask Filipino residents to trump up charges against them to prolong their detention.

"That kind of arrangement can be easily made by paying 1 million won ($812)," Kim Yoon Young said, adding that trials in such cases can then be delayed using excuses such as ill health. One such person has been detained for nearly 10 years using such methods, he said.

Philippine Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said that while a person with a pending court case cannot be deported, the government is investigating whether the charges against Watanabe were fabricated.

The South Korean reporter said that based on what he has heard from an acquaintance currently being held in the same immigration facility, Watanabe is living in a so-called "VIP room" where air-conditioning expenses are very costly, at 100,000 yen ($770) per month.

During his detention, Kim said he was able to use a mobile phone and even witnessed a Japanese group apparently involved in a fraud operation.

Japanese police requested the transfer of Watanabe and three other men to Japan from Manila after obtaining arrest warrants on suspicion of theft in connection with a scam targeting elderly people in Japan.

The four are also believed to be behind a spate of robberies starting last year, paying individuals to carry them out in a similar fashion to the way they had recruited people in the alleged scam operation.

Given that Watanabe faced a deportation order in May 2021, the investigative source said he was "surprised" that Watanabe has still not been sent to Japan.

According to Japan's National Police Agency, at least 20 cases of theft and robbery in 14 prefectures have occurred since last year, including the murder-robbery of 90-year-old Kinuyo Oshio at home in the city of Komae in western Tokyo on Jan. 19.

Over 30 suspects have been arrested in connection with the crimes.

Related coverage:

"Luffy" Japan robberies head suspected to be behind Manila fraud ring

Man detained in Manila allegedly gave robbery orders in Japan via app

8 arrested in case linked to "Luffy" group robberies across Japan
KYODO NEWS - Jan 30, 2023 - 07:15 | All, Japan

More than 500 women in Japan made use of a major Denmark-based sperm bank in the roughly three and half years through last October, a recent report by the company showed, highlighting growing domestic demand for the service.

Cryos International, the world's largest sperm bank with around 1,000 registered donors, has sold sperm to single women, sexual minorities and women with infertile husbands in Japan since officially launching local consultation services in March 2019.

With only around 150 clients in Japan tallied in November 2020, recipients have jumped more than three-fold in the roughly two years to October 2022.

A nonpartisan parliamentary group is deliberating on legislation for assisted reproductive technology using donated sperm or ova in Japan, but an outline of a bill last March showed that commercial transactions would be prohibited.

Hiromi Ito, who heads Cryos International's Japan operations, has expressed her willingness to begin recruiting donors in Japan, saying that "women who want children will not give up and will turn to person-to-person transactions, which involve risks such as infectious diseases."

"I would like (the government) to create an environment where private sperm banks can operate under certain rules and safety controls," Ito added.

Donors at Cryos International, the majority of whom come from the United States and Europe, can either be anonymous or consent to an ID release, where identifying information is disclosed when the child comes of age.

The report showed that 70 percent of clients in Japan chose non-anonymous donors, suggesting many believe that a child has the right to know their origins.

User surveys conducted in 2021 and 2022 showed that 35 percent of the 246 respondents were married, while 13 percent were in same-sex relationships and 52 percent were single.

The report estimates that sexual minorities make up between 30 to 40 percent of all clients. Consultation data indicates that unpartnered lesbians and asexuals make up a share of those who are single.

"The desire to have children is a lifestyle choice, and it is unacceptable to discriminate based on gender identity or sexual orientation," said Shuhei Ninomiya, a professor emeritus in family law at Ritsumeikan University.

While the Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology stated in its proposal in 2021 that assisted reproductive technology using donated sperm or eggs would be limited to infertile heterosexual couples, it has noted the need to respond in the future to increasing demand from sexual minority couples.

Satoko Nagamura, the chairperson of Kodomap, an organization advocating for sexual minorities who wish to have children, stressed that the government "should not exclude sexual minorities from assisted reproductive technologies when enacting legislation."

Yoshie Yanagihara, professor of bioethics at Tokyo Denki University, said the issue is not only for women.

"Commercial sperm banks put a price tag on men supplying sperm and sell their genetic information," Yanagihara said. "I would like men, as well as women, to consider this issue...about whether we should live in a society where people's genetic information is evaluated and traded for money."
Cambodian officials welcome the Chinese travelers arrived at the Sihanoukville International Airport in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, Jan. 27, 2023. (Photo by Chhairath/Xinhua)

SIHANOUKVILLE, Cambodia, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia on Friday welcomed the arrival of Chinese travelers after the world's second-largest economy optimized its COVID-19 strategy early this month, officials said.

A Ruili Airlines flight, carrying more than 100 passengers from Kunming in southwestern China's Yunnan Province, landed in Sihanoukville in southwestern Cambodia on Friday morning, receiving a warm welcome from local authorities.

Speaking to reporters at the welcoming event, Hor Sarun, secretary of state for Cambodia's Ministry of Tourism, said Cambodia is ready to welcome all Chinese people and tourists.

"There is neither COVID-19 restriction, nor COVID-19 test on Chinese travelers, and they are free to travel everywhere in Cambodia," he said.

Chea Aun, secretary of state for the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation, said he expected the number of Chinese tourists to Cambodia to reach the pre-pandemic level within a couple of years.

"We hope that the number of Chinese travelers to Cambodia and other countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will again increase sharply," he said.

China was the largest source of foreign tourists to Cambodia in the pre-pandemic era, a report from the Ministry of Tourism said, adding that the kingdom received 2.36 million Chinese tourists in 2019, generating about 1.8 billion U.S. dollars in revenue.

Tourism Minister Thong Khon has told Xinhua that Cambodia is projected to attract at least 1 million Chinese tourists in 2023, an expected increase from merely 110,000 in 2022.

"China is the most important outbound tourism market for the world, so China's resumption of outbound tourism is very beneficial not only to Cambodia, but also to the whole world," he told Xinhua.

Thourn Sinan, chairman of the Pacific Asia Travel Association Cambodia chapter, said China's resumption of outbound tourism would give a boost to global tourism growth.

"Not only Cambodia but also the whole world are waiting for the return of the Chinese tourists to their countries," he told Xinhua. "The presence of Chinese tourists has greatly contributed to the development of the tourism industry in Cambodia." 

Chinese travelers are greeted by Cambodian officials at the Sihanoukville International Airport in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, Jan. 27, 2023. (Photo by Chhairath/Xinhua)




BEIJING, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- As Chinese people celebrate the Lunar New Year, a surge in consumption is sweeping across the country.





Produced by Xinhua Global Service
Journalists from Chinese and Indonesian media outlets witness and observe the construction of the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway at the Tegalluar Station in Bandung, Indonesia, Jan. 28, 2023.(Xinhua/Zulkarnain)

JAKARTA, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- Indonesian Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi invited guests from over 20 Chinese and Indonesian media outlets to witness and observe the construction of the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway (HSR) at the Tegalluar Station on Saturday.

During the tour, Budi conveyed Chinese New Year greetings to Chinese workers and praised the construction progress.

He said that the construction of the Jakarta-Bandung HSR is seeing a crucial year, hoping that the Chinese and Indonesian construction units would continue to work hard, collaborate closely and ensure the on-time completion and launch of the Jakarta-Bandung HSR.

The high-speed line, a landmark project under the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, connects Indonesia's capital Jakarta and another major city Bandung.

With a design speed of 350 km per hour, the railway will cut the journey between Jakarta and Bandung from over three hours to around 40 minutes. 
Song Yanqun (L), minister-counselor for culture at the Chinese embassy in Australia, visits an exhibition with Frances Adamson, governor of South Australia, during the "China Today" arts week in Adelaide, Australia, on Jan. 28, 2023. The "China Today" arts week was launched in Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia, on Saturday in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Australia.

Co-hosted by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, the Chinese embassy in Australia, the Consulate-General of China in Adelaide and the Adelaide Festival Center, the arts week runs till March 19. (Photo by Lyu Wei/Xinhua)

ADELAIDE, Australia, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- The "China Today" arts week was launched in Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia, on Saturday in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Australia.

Co-hosted by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, the Chinese embassy in Australia, the Consulate-General of China in Adelaide and the Adelaide Festival Center, the arts week runs till March 19.

It features an exhibition of ceramic artwork from China's Jiangxi province and paintings and prints from the northeastern Heilongjiang province.

The 50 items from Jingdezhen, a world-famous porcelain town in Jiangxi, were created by three generations of inheritors of an intangible cultural heritage, while the 39 works chosen from traditional Chinese paintings, oil paintings, prints, watercolor and other forms of art showed the scenery of northeastern China as well as people's life there.

Frances Adamson, governor of South Australia, said in her speech that having worked in China for years, she had developed an appreciation for Chinese art forms.

"Previously as a diplomat and now a governor, I have seen the important role the arts can play in diplomacy, and strengthening people-to-people relations," she said.

Douglas Gautier, CEO of the Adelaide Festival Center, noted that cultural collaboration between China and Australia helped enhance understanding between peoples.

"Our audiences here get to see those wonderful items. And equally, the whole cultural sector of Australia over years has been taking Australian artists to China," he added. "That collaboration is a positive thing."

"Culture works as a bridge," said Song Yanqun, minister-counselor for culture at the Chinese embassy in Australia.

He believed that the exhibition, launched for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties and during the Chinese Lunar New Year, had special significance, hoping that many Australian people could visit. 

Frances Adamson, governor of South Australia, delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of "China Today" arts week in Adelaide, Australia, on Jan. 28, 2023. The "China Today" arts week was launched in Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia, on Saturday in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Australia.

Co-hosted by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, the Chinese embassy in Australia, the Consulate-General of China in Adelaide and the Adelaide Festival Center, the arts week runs till March 19. (Photo by Lyu Wei/Xinhua)

Douglas Gautier, CEO of the Adelaide Festival Center, delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of "China Today" arts week in Adelaide, Australia, on Jan. 28, 2023. The "China Today" arts week was launched in Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia, on Saturday in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Australia.

Co-hosted by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, the Chinese embassy in Australia, the Consulate-General of China in Adelaide and the Adelaide Festival Center, the arts week runs till March 19. (Photo by Lyu Wei/Xinhua)

This photo taken on Jan. 28, 2023 shows ceramic artwork displayed during the "China Today" arts week in Adelaide, Australia. The "China Today" arts week was launched in Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia, on Saturday in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Australia.

Co-hosted by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, the Chinese embassy in Australia, the Consulate-General of China in Adelaide and the Adelaide Festival Center, the arts week runs till March 19. (Photo by Lyu Wei/Xinhua)
JERUSALEM, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- Clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police erupted in Jerusalem Saturday night in the wake of two anti-Israeli attacks in the disputed holy city.

Israeli police entered Arab neighborhoods in the city looking for people who may have assisted the assailants in the previous attacks, sparking clashes with Palestinians.

On Friday evening, a Palestinian resident of East Jerusalem shot dead seven Israelis and wounded three others. On Saturday morning, a 13-year-old Palestinian from the city shot at a group of Israelis, wounding two of them.

"The forces are encountering stone throwing, Molotov cocktails and fireworks," said a police statement, adding the police's increased operational readiness "will continue in the coming days."

Footage on social media showed widespread firing of fireworks in several Jerusalem neighborhoods.

Also on Saturday, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said that a Palestinian assailant shot at a restaurant near the Dead Sea. There were no casualties and the shooter escaped from the scene.

Israeli media also reported the Israeli military entered the West Bank Palestinian city of Jericho. The details of the raid were unclear and it was not confirmed by the military.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a security cabinet meeting later Saturday to discuss the response to the latest events, vowing the response "will be strong, swift and precise."

Earlier this week, a raid by the Israeli military in the West Bank city of Jenin resulted in the killing of nine Palestinians, triggering vows of revenge from Palestinian militant organizations. 
Guess who's the one who really has a debt issue?

by Xinhua writer Zhu Shaobin

NAIROBI, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- High-ranking U.S. officials are heading to Africa, hot on the heels of the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit held last month for the first time in eight years. Following U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's trip to the continent earlier this month, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield kicked off her Africa tour Wednesday.

The United States is signaling its "return to Africa" with these trips. But what is its true intention? Is it to promote cooperation with Africa or an attempt to pressure the continent to counter "China's influence"?



During their visits, U.S. officials have attempted to drive a wedge between China and Africa by raising concerns about African debt. The so-called "debt trap" has long been a narrative trap set by the West to smear China-Africa cooperation.

Photo taken on Nov. 29, 2021 shows a provincial airport financed by the Chinese government in Gaza province, Mozambique. (Xinhua/Nie Zuguo)

During his recent visit to Africa, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang pointed out that Africa's debt problem is essentially an issue of development. The solution to the problem requires addressing not only the symptoms but also the root causes.

Qin said that China has always been committed to helping Africa ease its debt burden, and the country is an active participant in the Group of 20 (G20) Debt Service Suspension Initiative. China has signed agreements or reached consensuses with 19 African countries on debt relief and has suspended the most debt service payments of any G20 member. The country has also been actively engaged in the case-by-case debt treatment for Chad, Ethiopia and Zambia under the G20 Common Framework.

Data from the World Bank showed that multilateral financial institutions and commercial creditors hold nearly three-quarters of Africa's total external debt. They could and should take more robust actions to relieve the debt burden of African countries. China calls upon all parties concerned to contribute to alleviating Africa's debt burden.

Meanwhile, China's financing cooperation with Africa has been mainly in infrastructure construction and production capacity to enhance Africa's ability for independent and sustainable development.

Over the years, China-Africa cooperation has met the urgent development needs of African countries. Driven by the Belt and Road Initiative, China-Africa cooperation in infrastructure has yielded fruitful results. Statistics showed that since the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation was founded 23 years ago, Chinese companies have built or upgraded more than 10,000 km of railways, nearly 100,000 km of roads, roughly 1,000 bridges and 100 ports, and several hospitals and schools in Africa, creating more than 4.5 million jobs.

This photo taken on May 8, 2022 shows a section of the Nairobi Expressway built by China Road and Bridge Corporation in Nairobi, Kenya. (Xinhua/Dong Jianghui)

It is worth noting that the airports where the U.S. officials landed and the roads and bridges their convoys passed during their Africa visits were likely built in cooperation with Chinese companies.

Who is sincerely helping Africa to develop? The African people are best qualified to answer the question.

A survey issued last year by the Inter Region Economic Network, a Kenya-based think tank, found that China takes a substantial lead in decision-making and timely completion of infrastructure projects such as roads, power dams, railways and bridges in Africa. Facts and figures in the study showed that through efficient action, China tangibly contributes to Africa's development.

Worried that the United States is not genuinely interested in helping Africa or Zambia but cares more about advancing its interests where it feels it is losing ground, Fred Mutesa, a Zambia-based expert on governance, development cooperation and poverty alleviation, said that "we hope that the United States will not take advantage of its renewed friendship with Zambia to score points against China."

Africa should not become an arena for a great power rivalry. Instead, let Africa become a land of win-win cooperation for all, especially Africans. 
A visiting Italian delegation, headed by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, meets with the Libyan government officials in the Libyan capital Tripoli on Jan. 28, 2023. A visiting Italian delegation headed by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Saturday signed agreements on enhancing cooperation in various fields with Libya in the Libyan capital Tripoli. (Photo by Hamza Turkia/Xinhua)

TRIPOLI, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- A visiting Italian delegation headed by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Saturday signed agreements on enhancing cooperation in various fields with Libya in the Libyan capital Tripoli.

Libyan Prime Minister Abdul-Hamed Dbeibah told a joint press conference along with Meloni that they discussed increasing cooperation in the fields of energy, economy, border control and combating illegal immigration, as well as coordination of political positions between the two countries.

The foreign ministers of the two states also signed a memorandum of understanding, under which Italy will provide Libya with five fully equipped ships to be used for search and rescue operations, Dbeibah said.

Italian energy company Eni and Libyan National Oil Corporation agreed on the development of Structures A&E, a strategic project aimed at increasing gas production to supply the Libyan domestic market and ensure gas export to Europe, Eni said in a statement.

"The combined gas production from the two structures will start in 2026 and reach a plateau of 750 million standard gas cubic feet per day," the statement said. 
TEHRAN, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Iran successfully repelled a drone attack on one of its military plants in the central province of Isfahan, the country's Defense Ministry said early Sunday.

The foiled attack was carried out at about 23:30 local time (2000 GMT), the ministry said in a statement after local media reported that a loud blast had been heard at a military plant in the city.

The statement said one of the drones was hit and brought down by the plant's air defense system and the other two were caught in its defense traps and exploded.

The ministry noted that minor damage was caused to the plant's roof, but the attack inflicted no casualty and the equipment was unharmed.

Mohammadreza Jan-Nesari, Isfahan's deputy governor for political and security affairs, said security authorities have launched investigations to identify those behind the attack. 
This photo taken on Jan. 11, 2023 shows the laboratory building of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A ceremony marking the completion of the China-aided Africa CDC headquarters project was held in the southern suburb of Addis Ababa. (Xinhua/Dong Jianghui)

The African continent and China have ushered in a harmonious and increasingly prosperous cooperation dynamic, said Amadou Diop, a Senegalese expert on China. "The strengthening of cooperation between China and Africa is increasingly raising new hopes for the future of Africa," the expert said.

DAKAR, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- The cooperation model that China offers to African countries and the rest of the world is healthy, fair and based on the principle of mutual benefit, a Senegalese expert has said.

Far from the drastic conditions or eligibility criteria that other nations or institutions advocate for African countries, China seeks mutually advantageous and equitable cooperation with Africa according to the priorities defined by African countries, said Amadou Diop, a Senegalese expert on China.

China's assistance to Africa "is largely aimed at achieving socio-economic and cultural projects of great importance, such as road infrastructure, hospitals, schools, bridges," Diop said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

Cooperation between the two sides is focused on development, the expert said, adding that China has helped Africa in building various quality infrastructures throughout the continent.

"There is a wealth of examples, notably those in Senegal and in most African countries," Diop said, citing the Blaise Diagne-Mbour-Thies International Airport highway and the Mbour-Fatick-Kaolack highway both funded by Chinese corporations in his country.

Africa-China cooperation will undoubtedly grow stronger, he said, pointing to the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) as "a good example."

In 2000, FOCAC was established to form a collective dialogue mechanism between China and African countries on the basis of equality and mutual benefit. The forum opened a new chapter of pragmatic cooperation in the China-Africa friendship.

The African continent and China have ushered in a harmonious and increasingly prosperous cooperation dynamic, Diop said. "The strengthening of cooperation between China and Africa is increasingly raising new hopes for the future of Africa," the expert said. 
BEIJING, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese mainland remains committed to the promotion of economic and cultural exchanges and cooperation across the Taiwan Strait and will continue to facilitate the import of Taiwan food products, a mainland spokesperson said Sunday.

Ma Xiaoguang, a spokesperson with the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, made the remarks in response to a media inquiry.

The mainland stands ready to continue to help solve problems involving incomplete details and irregularities in the registration information of some Taiwan food enterprises, Ma said.

Since last year, some Taiwan food companies saw their exports to the mainland affected by a failure to improve the registration information as required by relevant regulations, he noted.

The spokesperson said the mainland attaches great importance to these problems and is actively working to help solve them.

Following a review by competent authorities, a total of 63 enterprises that met the requirements, including Kinmen Kaoliang Liquor Inc., have been approved for registration or to update their registration information, he said.

In cases where a company failed to meet the requirements and could not be registered for the time being, the reasons have been specified, according to the spokesperson. 
This aerial photo taken on Jan. 26, 2023 shows lanterns at the ancient city wall in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. Scenic spots in Xi'an are welcoming legions of tourists with colorful lights and lanterns. (Xinhua/Liu Xiao)

This aerial photo taken on Jan. 26, 2023 shows lanterns at the ancient city wall in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. Scenic spots in Xi'an are welcoming legions of tourists with colorful lights and lanterns. (Xinhua/Liu Xiao)

This aerial photo taken on Jan. 24, 2023 shows lanterns at the Tang Paradise in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. Scenic spots in Xi'an are welcoming legions of tourists with colorful lights and lanterns. (Xinhua/Liu Xiao)

This aerial photo taken on Jan. 24, 2023 shows lanterns at the Tang Paradise in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. Scenic spots in Xi'an are welcoming legions of tourists with colorful lights and lanterns. (Xinhua/Liu Xiao)

This aerial photo taken on Jan. 24, 2023 shows lanterns at the Tang Paradise in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. Scenic spots in Xi'an are welcoming legions of tourists with colorful lights and lanterns. (Xinhua/Liu Xiao)

This aerial photo taken on Jan. 28, 2023 shows a night view of the Datang Everbright City scenic area in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. Scenic spots in Xi'an are welcoming legions of tourists with colorful lights and lanterns. (Xinhua/Liu Xiao)

This aerial photo taken on Jan. 28, 2023 shows a night view of the Datang Everbright City scenic area in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. Scenic spots in Xi'an are welcoming legions of tourists with colorful lights and lanterns. (Xinhua/Liu Xiao)

This aerial photo taken on Jan. 26, 2023 shows lanterns near the ancient city wall in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. Scenic spots in Xi'an are welcoming legions of tourists with colorful lights and lanterns. (Xinhua/Liu Xiao)

This aerial photo taken on Jan. 24, 2023 shows lanterns at the Tang Paradise in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. Scenic spots in Xi'an are welcoming legions of tourists with colorful lights and lanterns. (Xinhua/Liu Xiao)

This aerial photo taken on Jan. 28, 2023 shows a night view of the south plaza of Giant Wild Goose Pagoda scenic spot in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. Scenic spots in Xi'an are welcoming legions of tourists with colorful lights and lanterns. (Xinhua/Liu Xiao)

This aerial photo taken on Jan. 28, 2023 shows a night view of the Datang Everbright City scenic area in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. Scenic spots in Xi'an are welcoming legions of tourists with colorful lights and lanterns. (Xinhua/Liu Xiao)

This aerial photo taken on Jan. 24, 2023 shows lanterns at the Tang Paradise in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. Scenic spots in Xi'an are welcoming legions of tourists with colorful lights and lanterns. (Xinhua/Liu Xiao)

This aerial photo taken on Jan. 26, 2023 shows lanterns at the ancient city wall in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. Scenic spots in Xi'an are welcoming legions of tourists with colorful lights and lanterns. (Xinhua/Liu Xiao)
Prime Minister of Cambodia Samdech Techo Hun Sen (1st R, front) attends the extraordinary congress of Cambodian People's Party (CPP) in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Jan. 28, 2023. The ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) concluded its extraordinary congress on Sunday, voicing its full support for the candidacy of incumbent Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen to run for a new five-year term in the July general election. (Photo by Ly Lay/Xinhua)

PHNOM PENH, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- The ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) concluded its extraordinary congress on Sunday, voicing its full support for the candidacy of incumbent Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen to run for a new five-year term in the July general election.

The extraordinary congress "fully supports Samdech Techo Hun Sen as the Prime Minister candidate for the seventh legislature of the National Assembly and supports His Excellency Hun Manet as the future Prime Minister candidate," said a party's resolution.

Hun Sen, 70, has been in power for 38 years, while his eldest son, Hun Manet, 45, who is currently a member of the CPP's Permanent Committee, is a deputy commander-in-chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) and the commander of the Royal Cambodian Army.

The resolution came at the end of a two-day CPP extraordinary congress held at the party's headquarters in Phnom Penh under the presidency of Hun Sen, who is also the CPP's president.

Speaking at a press briefing after the meeting, CPP spokesman Sok Eysan said the congress approved tasks and directions for 2023 and a political platform for 2023-2028.

"The CPP is very confident to win the forthcoming general election thanks to the party's strong support from the people from all walks of life," he said.

The Southeast Asian nation is scheduled to hold the seventh National Assembly election on July 23, 2023.

In the 2018 election, the CPP won all the 125 seats in the National Assembly. 
People visit a fair celebrating the Chinese New Year in Namur, Belgium, Jan. 28, 2023. (Xinhua/Pan Geping)

China is also working to make the whole world benefit from its development, the ambassador said. "This will inject a new dynamic into Sino-Belgian relations and bring new opportunities for Belgium's development."

BRUSSELS, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese New Year, or Year of the Rabbit according to the Chinese lunar calendar, was celebrated on Saturday in the central Belgian city of Namur.

Nearly 3,000 people participated in the festivities, which included traditional dances and other cultural performances.

Organized by the Federation of Chinese Communities in Belgium, the celebration allowed visitors to experience a wide range of Chinese culture and folklore, including gastronomy, Chinese liquor, painting and calligraphy, porcelain, Tai Chi, traditional Chinese medicine, lion dances and lanterns.

For Elise Boucher, a 23-year-old Belgian student at the University of Mons, the idea of celebrating Chinese New Year in Namur is incredible. "I discovered the gastronomy, the Chinese liquor and there is something for everyone. What I liked most about these visits was the food tasting," she said.

People taste Chinese snacks at a fair celebrating the Chinese New Year in Namur, Belgium, Jan. 28, 2023. (Xinhua/Pan Geping)

"It's really interesting to be able to share this culture. I liked the artist's calligraphy lessons. I found it impressive to see how in a few strokes he can express so many things in his painting," said Veronica Dakpui, an architecture student at the University of Liege, who is also taking Chinese classes at the Confucius Institute in Liege.

For 63-year-old Jean Michel Paulin who teaches Tai Chi in Jambes, not far from Namur, the celebration is "an additional discovery of Chinese culture."

"I have already been to China several times. I practice Tai Chi, I teach it. It's great to see so many people and so many Chinese," said the Tai Chi practitioner.

In his opening speech, Chinese Ambassador to Belgium Cao Zhongming hailed the relations between China and Belgium.

These relations, he said, "have maintained a good momentum of development," and the people of the two countries benefited from the cooperation in economic, commercial and cultural fields.

People taste tea at a fair celebrating the Chinese New Year in Namur, Belgium, Jan. 28, 2023. (Xinhua/Pan Geping)

China is also working to make the whole world benefit from its development, the ambassador said. "This will inject a new dynamic into Sino-Belgian relations and bring new opportunities for Belgium's development."

Denis Mathen, governor of the province of Namur, noted that this occasion of the Chinese Spring Fair was an opportunity to "participate in the reestablishment of ties with China, your immense country that geographers call the 'Middle Kingdom'." 
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (L) and Argentine President Alberto Fernandez pose for a photo during the welcoming ceremony of the seventh Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Jan. 24, 2023. (Photo by Martin Zabala/Xinhua)

by Xinhua writer Zhao Kai

MEXICO CITY, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- The 7th Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), which was held Tuesday in Buenos Aires, demonstrated the will of the regional countries to strengthen solidarity, promote integration, oppose foreign interference, and enhance cooperation, analysts said.

At the invitation of Argentine President Alberto Fernandez, Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a video address to the summit, in which he said that China is ready to join hands with Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries to promote world peace and development, build a community with a shared future for mankind, and open up an even brighter future for the world.

BOOSTING REGIONAL INTEGRATION PROCESS

In his inaugural speech in the Argentine capital, Fernandez said that the LAC region is one of the most unequal ones in the world in terms of development. He called on CELAC member countries to move forward and establish a regional integration mechanism that protects the common interests and respects the diversity of the region.

Leaders affirmed in their respective speeches that the mechanism should strengthen coordination and cooperation, bring countries together to tackle global challenges, promote multilateralism, and focus on building world peace.

This year's Declaration of Buenos Aires demonstrated CELAC's commitment to strengthening unity on the basis of respecting "political, economic, social, and cultural diversity" to "advance with determination the integration process."

Argentine Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero said that the declaration "is the fruit of dialogue and respect. It is the multilateralism of solidarity in the most vivid way that we practice and that we carry forward."

One of the most outstanding aspects of the meeting was Brazil's return to CELAC, after Jair Bolsonaro's government suspended its membership in 2020.

REJECTION OF FOREIGN INTERVENTION

The CELAC member countries also jointly opposed foreign intervention, hegemony, and any unilateral act that affects Latin American and Caribbean countries, and called for an end to the U.S. blockade against Cuba.

Former Bolivian Foreign Minister Fernando Huanacuni said that foreign interference and hegemony will never lead to economic and social stability, while the strengthening of South-South cooperation is the "key to the process of democratization and integration."

In December 2011, a total of 33 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean formally established CELAC during a meeting in Caracas, Venezuela.

"CELAC has an advantage, which is that the United States does not participate in it, so our countries do not have pressure from Washington to promote their regional and global integration with extra-regional partners," Argentine sociologist Marcelo Rodriguez said in an interview with Xinhua.

In a joint statement, the presidents of Argentina and Brazil confirmed that they are studying the possibility of establishing a common South American currency to boost cooperation in areas such as finance and trade, and to improve their capacity to respond to external shocks.

People visit an exhibition during the 14th China-Latin America and the Caribbean Business Summit in southwest China's Chongqing on Nov. 16, 2021. (Xinhua/Tang Yi)

BRIGHT FUTURE OF CHINA-CELAC COOPERATION

Since 2012, China has maintained its position as Latin America's second largest trading partner, and even during the COVID-19 pandemic, trade between China and the region continued to grow, with trade volume between the two sides exceeding 450 billion U.S. dollars for the first time in 2021.

In his video message to this CELAC summit, Xi stressed that China always supports the regional integration process of Latin America and the Caribbean, attaches high importance to developing relations with CELAC, and regards it as an important partner.

China has been working with the LAC countries to strengthen the construction of the China-CELAC Forum and take the China-LAC relationship into a new era characterized by equality, mutual benefit, innovation, openness, and benefits for the people.

Miguel Rodriguez MacKay, former Peruvian foreign minister, told Xinhua that Xi's message sent a strong signal to regional countries striving for common development and greater cooperation, providing an opportunity for them to strengthen cooperation with China and promote development and prosperity.

China's call for building a community with a shared future for mankind has been well received in the LAC region and more and more countries in the region are cooperating with China to promote the Belt and Road Initiative, the Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative.

For Pamela Cristales, an academic from the Autonomous University of Yucatan in Mexico, China-CELAC cooperation well meets the development needs of regional countries, namely infrastructure and economic support, without imposing conditions.

As the world enters a new period of turbulent change and economic slowdown, developing countries will be most affected, making cooperation with China especially important for Latin American countries, said David Castrillon Kerrigan, a professor at the Externado University of Colombia. 
The Large-scale adoption of hybrid rice, which has proved effective in withstanding climatic stresses, pests and diseases, is paramount to tackling Africa's hunger and malnutrition crisis, scientists have said.



NAIROBI, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- The large-scale adoption of hybrid rice, which has proved effective in withstanding climatic stresses, pests and diseases, is paramount to tackling Africa's hunger and malnutrition crisis, scientists have said.

Emmanuel Okogbenin, African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) director for program development and commercialization, noted that the introduction of improved rice varieties will boost food security and tackle rural poverty in the continent.

"We are encouraging farmers to adopt hybrid rice that is adaptable to different ecologies and whose yield levels are high, which is key to food security and improved incomes for rural communities," Okogbenin said.

The file photo shows farmers raising hybrid rice seedlings in Kihanga, Bubanza Province, Burundi, on Oct. 29, 2022. (Xinhua/Dong Jianghui)

He spoke during a tour of the Mwea irrigation scheme in central Kenya, where AATF has facilitated the introduction of hybrid rice to test its resilience in the face of extreme weather events, invasive pests, and diseases.

According to Okogbenin, hybrid rice introduced in central Kenya has registered a doubling of yields at the small-holder level besides boosting the socioeconomic status of farmers.

He stressed that the unfolding climate crisis in Africa, coupled with the spread of voracious pests, diseases, and loss of soil fertility, calls for a shift from conventional to improved rice varieties.

The file photo shows a farmer pollinating in a hybrid rice field in Kihanga, Bubanza Province, Burundi, on Oct. 29, 2022. (Xinhua/Dong Jianghui)



Sheila Ochugboju, executive director of the Alliance for Science, called upon African governments, research institutions, and industry to facilitate the deployment of improved rice varieties to small-holder farmers as part of climate adaptation in the agriculture sector.

Ochugboju added that extension services in Africa should be revamped to help farmers access information, improved seeds, fertilizer, and modern post-harvest storage facilities.

She noted that hybrid rice is not only climate smart but is also rich in nutrients and ideal for tackling growing micronutrient deficiency among children in the continent.

Ochugboju said friendly policies and regulations, farmers' training, and investments in modern storage facilities will be key to spurring greater adoption of hybrid rice in Africa. 
People watch lion dance in Sliema, Malta, Jan. 28, 2023. (Photo by Jonathan Borg/Xinhua)

Yuan Yuan, director of China Cultural Centre in Malta said that the highly popular event demonstrated that more and more Maltese people liked the Spring Festival and events as such were expected to bring the two peoples even closer.

VALLETTA, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Celebrations of the Chinese Lunar New Year, or the Spring Festival, were held in Malta's largest shopping mall in Sliema, a commercial centre in eastern Malta on Saturday.

With the lion and dragon dance performance, brought by the Malta School of Wushu-Longgui, kicking off the celebrations, hundreds of local residents and tourists were attracted by the dance performance, the martial arts performance, and experienced activities such as Chinese calligraphy and painting, lantern folding and traditional Chinese medicine services.

The event was co-organized by the China Cultural Centre in Malta and The Point shopping mall, where giant electronic screens in the shopping mall also displayed posters and videos showing the Year of the Rabbit.

The "Chinese Lantern Workshop" set up by the China Cultural Center was crowded with children, who learned to fold exquisite Chinese lanterns and painted rabbits with Chinese brushes. Participants were thrilled to receive rabbit mascots and New Year cards in the lucky draw.

At the booth set up by the Confucius Institute at the University of Malta, Ji Nengwen, the Chinese director of the institute, wrote the Chinese character "fu" (meaning happiness, blessing, and good fortune) with a brush to convey New Year blessings.

Children paint rabbits with Chinese brushes in Sliema, Malta, Jan. 28, 2023. (Photo by Jonathan Borg/Xinhua)

Casper, a young Dane, was deeply attracted by the Chinese calligraphy. He, accompanied by his Maltese girlfriend, told Xinhua that he liked China very much and planned to visit China this summer, with east China's Shanghai as his first stop.

During the event, doctors of the Chinese medical team from the Mediterranean Regional Centre for Traditional Chinese Medicine (MRCTCM) presented basic traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and culture and provided free medical services to people onsite.

Maltese resident Alfred Farrugia, 72, told Xinhua that four sessions of TCM treatment freed him from back pain, which had tortured him for a long time. And he wanted to recommend the treatment to his friends, noting its effectiveness and the affordable cost.

Students from the Malta Chinese School dressed in traditional costumes sent blessings while the gourmet stalls, set up by the Chinese Community Association in Malta, featured different kinds of traditional Chinese snacks, attracting most for the first time to taste them.

Participants also feature locals from other parts of the country who, accompanied by families and friends, are eager to experience and share the joy of the Chinese Lunar New Year.

Children learn to fold lanterns with the Chinese character "fu," which means good fortune, in Sliema, Malta, Jan. 28, 2023. (Photo by Jonathan Borg/Xinhua)

Yuan Yuan, director of China Cultural Centre in Malta said that the highly popular event demonstrated that more and more Maltese people liked the Spring Festival and events as such were expected to bring the two peoples even closer.

Chen Juheng, chairman of the Chinese Community Association in Malta, said that the celebrations highlighted the integration of Chinese culture in Malta, and hoped for more traditional Chinese festivals for the locals. 
LONDON, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Sunday fired chair of the ruling Conservative Party Nadhim Zahawi from the government after an investigation into his tax affairs found "a serious breach" of the ministerial code.

Zahawi, who last year was briefly Britain's chancellor of the exchequer, or finance minister, during a period of political turmoil, had been under increasing pressure to resign in recent weeks amid allegations that he settled a multimillion-dollar unpaid tax bill with the authorities.

"Following the completion of the Independent Adviser's investigation - the findings of which he has shared with us both - it is clear that there has been a serious breach of the Ministerial Code," Sunak said in a letter to Zahawi.

"As a result, I have informed you of my decision to remove you from your position in His Majesty's Government," it read.

Zahawi initially called media reports about his tax affairs "smears" but admitted last week to paying a penalty to the authorities as part of the settlement. The Guardian reported an estimated tax bill of about 5 million pounds (6.19 million U.S. dollars). In Britain, penalties are applied if someone fails to pay the correct tax at the right time.

"I consider that this delay in correcting an untrue public statement is inconsistent with the requirement for openness," Laurie Magnus, the independent adviser, said in a letter to Sunak.

Zahawi had shown "insufficient regard" for the general principles of the ministerial code and the requirements "to be honest, open and an exemplary leader through his own behaviour," Magnus added. 
BEIRUT, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- The Lebanese foreign ministry on Sunday condemned the recent deadly Israeli raid in the Palestinian city of Jenin in the northern West Bank.

The ministry said it held "Israel fully responsible for the escalation in the occupied Palestinian territories ... and the Gaza Strip, and the repeated violation of the sanctity of the holy mosque" in Jerusalem.

The deterioration of the situation results from "Israel's elimination of the two-state solution, the decline in international interest in the Palestinian cause and the aggressive and racist Israeli policies," it added.

On Thursday, the Israeli forces raided the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank, killing nine Palestinians and wounding 16 others.

On Friday evening, a Palestinian gunman opened fire near a synagogue in a settlement in East Jerusalem, killing at least seven and wounding three others. On Saturday morning, a 13-year-old Palestinian from the city shot at a group of Israelis, wounding two of them. 
DAMASCUS, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian Foreign Ministry on Saturday slammed as "lacking credibility" a recent report by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) accusing the Syrian air force of being behind a 2018 alleged chemical attack near the capital Damascus.

In a statement, the ministry listed Syria's own accusations and condemnations in response to the OPCW report, pointing at the possible role of the United States in politicizing and fabricating reports about incidents in Syria.

"The report lacks any scientific and objective evidence, and no sane person or specialist can reach the misleading conclusions of its authors, who neglected the objective observations raised by state parties, experts, academics, and former inspectors from the organization who are known for their experience and knowledge," the ministry said.

It urged the OPCW and the UN to assume their responsibilities to preserve the independence, credibility, and future of the OPCW, and not to allow the U.S.-led Western countries to dominate its work and role, or to politicize its tasks and use it as a tool to achieve their political goals.

On Friday, the OPCW Investigation and Identification Team (IIT) issued a report, claiming that "there are reasonable grounds to believe that the Syrian Arab Air Forces were the perpetrators of the chemical weapons attack on 7 April 2018 in Douma, Syrian Arab Republic."

It said that during the attack, at least one helicopter of the Syrian "Tiger Forces" Elite Unit dropped two yellow cylinders containing toxic chlorine gas on two apartment buildings in a civilian residential area in Douma, killing 43 named individuals and affecting dozens more.

The Syrian government has repeatedly denied previous reports that indicated an involvement of the Syrian military in the alleged attack. 
Presidential candidate, retired general Petr Pavel, leaves a polling station in the village of Cernoucek, the Czech Republic, Jan. 13, 2023. Retired general Petr Pavel won the second round of the Czech presidential election held on Friday and Saturday, according to official results published on Saturday. (Photo by Dana Kesnerova/Xinhua)

PRAGUE, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- The second round of the Czech presidential election concluded Saturday, with retired general Petr Pavel winning over former prime minister Andrej Babis, according to official results.

With 99.99 percent of precincts counted, Pavel won with 58.32 percent of the vote to Babis' 41.67 percent. Turnover for the election surpassed 70 percent.

Voters cast their ballots on Friday and Saturday, with Czechs abroad heading to the polls on Thursday. The first round, which took place on Jan. 13-14, featured eight candidates before going to a run-off between the two men after Pavel received 35.4 percent of the vote and Babis received 34.99 percent.

Pavel, 61, served as head of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Military Committee. He was endorsed by the current ruling government coalition. Babis, 68, the head of the Action of Dissatisfied Citizens (ANO) party, served as prime minister from 2017 to 2021.

In his victory speech, Pavel called on Czechs to work together to get through differences and solve the country's various challenges.

"It is important that we are able to solve problems together, as one community," Pavel said at an election watch party in Prague. He said that the Czech society was not only divided by the campaign but also by the hardships the country is currently facing.

The president of the Czech Republic is chosen in a direct election and serves a term of five years. The mandate can be held for a maximum of two consecutive terms. Incumbent President Milos Zeman's term concludes in March. 

Presidential candidate, retired general Petr Pavel, presents his identity card before voting in the presidential election at a polling station in the village of Cernoucek, the Czech Republic, Jan. 13, 2023. Retired general Petr Pavel won the second round of the Czech presidential election held on Friday and Saturday, according to official results published on Saturday. (Photo by Dana Kesnerova/Xinhua)
Photo shows a display of light and colour projected onto enormous water screens by Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra, Australia on Jan. 28, 2023. (Photo by Chu Chen/Xinhua)



Canberra, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- A show called Lights on the Lake kicked off at Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra, Australia with the theme of "Reflect, Respect and Celebrate".

With a stunning display of light and colour projected onto two enormous water screens, people can enjoy a visual feast of laser lights and a stirring soundtrack.

The four-day light show is a collaboration between the National Capital Authority and National Australia Day Council, showing that the country really cares for the environment and the people doing their daily jobs who are unsung heroes including transport workers, teachers and nurses.

Photo shows a display of light and colour projected onto enormous water screens by Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra, Australia on Jan. 28, 2023. (Photo by Chu Chen/Xinhua)



Photo shows a display of light and colour projected onto enormous water screens by Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra, Australia on Jan. 28, 2023. (Photo by Chu Chen/Xinhua)



Photo shows a display of light and colour projected onto enormous water screens by Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra, Australia on Jan. 28, 2023. (Photo by Chu Chen/Xinhua)



Photo shows a display of light and colour projected onto enormous water screens by Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra, Australia on Jan. 28, 2023. (Photo by Chu Chen/Xinhua)



Photo shows a display of light and colour projected onto enormous water screens by Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra, Australia on Jan. 28, 2023. (Photo by Chu Chen/Xinhua)



Photo shows a display of light and colour projected onto enormous water screens by Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra, Australia on Jan. 28, 2023. (Photo by Chu Chen/Xinhua)



Photo shows a display of light and colour projected onto enormous water screens by Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra, Australia on Jan. 28, 2023. (Photo by Chu Chen/Xinhua)


STOCKHOLM, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- Sweden's Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said on Saturday that the country's North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) process has paused, local media reported.

"The events of the last few weeks have temporarily caused the process to a pause," Billstrom told Expressen newspaper, adding that the Swedish government was now investing energy and time to try to push forward the process.

Billstrom told Swedish Television on Saturday that the ministry of foreign affairs had put a lot of work into the recent weeks' anger against Sweden, and that it might take a while for it (anti-Sweden sentiment) to subside after such a big event.

Sweden suffered a major setback in its bid for NATO membership after events earlier this month that saw protests against the Turkish president and the burning of a copy of the Quran in Stockholm.

Turkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday warned Sweden that it should not expect Ankara's backing to join the NATO after the events. And a meeting between Turkiye, Sweden and Finland planned for February had also been postponed indefinitely.

In a recent survey by the semi-official Anadolu agency, 92.5 percent of the respondents in Turkiye said no to Turkiye approval of Sweden's NATO bid, the news agency reported. 
MACAO, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Visitor arrivals in the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) surged 297.0 percent year-on-year during the Spring Festival holiday on Jan. 21-27, the Macao Government Tourism Office said on Sunday.

This was the first "Golden Week" holiday after Macao eased inbound travel restrictions in early January, dropping the requirement for those who enter Macao from the mainland, China's Hong Kong SAR and Taiwan region to present negative nucleic acid test results for COVID-19.

In addition, no prior approval or quarantine is required for foreigners visiting Macao.

Macao recorded 451,000 visitor arrivals in total during the holiday, with 165,000 from Hong Kong, a remarkable surge of 2,601.8 percent over the same period of last year, and 265,000 from the mainland, surpassing the government's expectations, the office said.

On Jan. 24, the third day of the Lunar New Year, Macao welcomed over 90,000 visitors, the highest single-day record since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020.

Industry figures showed the average hotel occupancy rate in Macao reached 85.7 percent during the "Golden Week" holiday, a year-on-year increase of 22.4 percentage points, with the hotel occupancy rate on Jan. 24 reaching 92.1 percent, the highest among those days, the office said.

The office has been dedicated to promoting Macao as an attractive tourist destination, unfolding a variety of festive celebrations including the street tour of a more than 200-meter-long "dancing golden dragon," dazzling floats and passionate performances along main roads, and glittering fireworks that lit up the night sky above the sea. 
A man attends a protest against police brutality in Washington, D.C., the United States, Jan. 27, 2023. Protesters hit the streets in some U.S. cities following the release of footage Friday night showing a deadly police beating of an African American man. (Photo by Aaron Schwartz/Xinhua)

WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- Protesters hit the streets in some U.S. cities following the release of footage Friday night showing a deadly police beating of an African American man.

The hour-long video captured several police officers beating Tyre Nichols, 29, during a traffic stop on Jan. 7 in Memphis, Tennessee, where they allegedly stopped him for reckless driving.

The officers pepper-sprayed and shocked Nichols with Taser while they can also be seen beating the motorist with a baton and kicking and punching him. Nichols, subdued, kept yelling "mom."

Nichols died three days later in a hospital after the confrontation due to cardiac arrest and kidney failure.

David Rausch, director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, told reporters on Friday that he saw the video before it was released to the public and found it "absolutely appalling."

"What happened here does not at all reflect proper policing. This was wrong. This was criminal," Rausch said.

Demonstrations have broken out in a series of cities, including Memphis, Washington, D.C., New York, Atlanta, and Los Angeles, over the police treatment of Nichols this weekend.

"Shame on this system," protesters chanted in downtown Washington, D.C., on Friday night.

U.S. President Joe Biden said in a statement that he was "outraged and deeply pained to see the horrific video of the beating that resulted in Tyre Nichols' death."

"It is yet another painful reminder of the profound fear and trauma, the pain, and the exhaustion that Black and Brown Americans experience every single day," Biden stressed.

The five officers involved in the death of Nichols were fired after an internal investigation and are facing criminal charges, including second-degree murder.

The incident came nearly three years after the police murder of 46-year-old African American man George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Floyd died on May 25, 2020, after an encounter with Minneapolis police, during which officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes during a street arrest. Floyd's death sparked outrage and protests across the United States in the summer of 2020 against police brutality and systemic racism.

Police killed 1,186 people in the United States last year, according to Mapping Police Violence. African Americans were 26 percent of those killed by police in 2022 despite accounting for only 13 percent of the population. 

People attend a protest against police brutality in Washington, D.C., the United States, Jan. 27, 2023. Protesters hit the streets in some U.S. cities following the release of footage Friday night showing a deadly police beating of an African American man. (Photo by Aaron Schwartz/Xinhua)
BEIJING, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- When visiting a Li ethnic village in the southern province of Hainan last April, President Xi Jinping said that he was glad to see the villagers enjoying a happy life, and urged officials at all levels to put "every possible effort" into ensuring a better life for the people.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, has set an example with his own actions.

During that Hainan inspection, Xi visited the home of Wang Bohe, a Li ethnic villager, and took part in the process of frying tea leaves at the family's handmade-tea workshop, where he bought two packets of tea. He encouraged Wang and his family to run the tea business well and to become increasingly well-off.

In a talk with locals, Xi learned about how the villagers developed industries based on local conditions, and protected and kept alive their traditional ethnic culture.

The lives of ordinary people are always on Xi's mind, especially around the Chinese Lunar New Year, one of the most important traditional holidays in the country.

In January 2022, Xi joined Shi Hongbing, a villager from north China's Shanxi Province, while Shi was preparing food for the Lunar New Year with his family.

Shi's village, Fengnanyuan, was among those hit hardest by unprecedented floods that lashed Shanxi the previous autumn. Shi showed Xi around his new house, which had been rebuilt with the help of a government subsidy and other assistance measures distributed after the floods.

"I came to Shanxi primarily out of concern for people whose work and lives were affected by last year's disaster," Xi told the villagers.

"I feel reassured to see that the rebuilt houses are of good quality, the subsidies are in place, and that you are so well-prepared for the festival," Xi said.

In his 11th pre-Chinese New Year visit to local people -- through video link this year -- Xi chatted with residents of Shiyi Village in the city of Mianyang, southwest China's Sichuan Province.

The village has been reconstructed after a devastating earthquake in 2008 and has become an exemplary village thanks to its specialty agricultural products and abundant tourism resources, featuring the Qiang ethnic group.

Xi asked about the village's income and the number of tourists visiting the village, among other aspects of their life and work, and was pleased to learn that local agriculture and agritourism businesses are thriving.

"You have set a good example for rural revitalization in the new era," Xi said, encouraging villagers to strive together for common prosperity and a more prosperous life.

Since assuming the Party's top job in November 2012, Xi has on multiple occasions stressed the commitment to meeting people's aspirations for a better life, and wherever his visits took him -- from remote border areas to neighborhoods in a metropolis -- people's livelihoods and local development were always a priority in his heart.

"To ensure that everyone leads a better life, we must never rest on what we have achieved, and there is still a long way to go." The president's busy schedule over the past decade and more is a vivid demonstration of his actions backing up his words. 
Robert Mardini, director-general of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), named China "a key player in the international arena" which has "played a very positive role when it comes to advocating for humanitarian access in the difficult places."



Produced by Xinhua Global Service








VALLETTA, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Celebrations of the Chinese Lunar New Year, or the Spring Festival, were held in Malta's largest shopping mall in Sliema, a commercial centre in eastern Malta on Saturday.

With the lion and dragon dance performance, brought by the Malta School of Wushu-Longgui, kicking off the celebrations, hundreds of local residents and tourists were attracted by the dance performance, the martial arts performance, and experienced activities such as Chinese calligraphy and painting, lantern folding and traditional Chinese medicine services.

The event was co-organized by the China Cultural Centre in Malta and The Point shopping mall, where giant electronic screens in the shopping mall also displayed posters and videos showing the Year of the Rabbit.

The "Chinese Lantern Workshop" set up by the China Cultural Center was crowded with children, who learned to fold exquisite Chinese lanterns and painted rabbits with Chinese brushes. Participants were thrilled to receive rabbit mascots and New Year cards in the lucky draw.

At the booth set up by the Confucius Institute at the University of Malta, Ji Nengwen, the Chinese director of the institute, wrote the Chinese character "fu" (meaning happiness, blessing, and good fortune) with a brush to convey New Year blessings.

Casper, a young Dane, was deeply attracted by the Chinese calligraphy. He, accompanied by his Maltese girlfriend, told Xinhua that he liked China very much and planned to visit China this summer, with east China's Shanghai as his first stop.

During the event, doctors of the Chinese medical team from the Mediterranean Regional Centre for Traditional Chinese Medicine (MRCTCM) presented basic traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and culture and provided free medical services to people onsite.

Maltese resident Alfred Farrugia, 72, told Xinhua that four sessions of TCM treatment freed him from back pain, which had tortured him for a long time. And he wanted to recommend the treatment to his friends, noting its effectiveness and the affordable cost.

Students from the Malta Chinese School dressed in traditional costumes sent blessings while the gourmet stalls, set up by the Chinese Community Association in Malta, featured different kinds of traditional Chinese snacks, attracting most for the first time to taste them.

Participants also feature locals from other parts of the country who, accompanied by families and friends, are eager to experience and share the joy of the Chinese Lunar New Year.

Yuan Yuan, director of China Cultural Centre in Malta said that the highly popular event demonstrated that more and more Maltese people liked the Spring Festival and events as such were expected to bring the two peoples even closer.

Chen Juheng, chairman of the Chinese Community Association in Malta, said that the celebrations highlighted the integration of Chinese culture in Malta, and hoped for more traditional Chinese festivals for the locals. 
ACCRA, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- A Ghanaian official has called on the African continent to harness the full potential of its critical natural resources and investments from Africans in the diaspora to unlock its prosperity.

Reginald Yofi Grant, chief executive officer of the Ghana Investments Promotion Center, made the call in an interview with Xinhua during the three-day Africa Prosperity Dialogue which ended in Ghana late Saturday.

"Africa right now has no less than 30 percent of the world's remaining mineral resources, particularly natural resources required to rejuvenate the global economy going forward," said Grant.

Africa's rich mineral resources have not been able to attract the needed foreign direct investment (FDI) for its economic development, he said.

"There is a great opportunity. We are resource-rich and rich in human resources but do not have the capital to develop. So, we need to reposition ourselves to leverage our mineral resources to attract capital to develop the continent," he added.

Grant noted that Africa is rich in a variety of natural resources, including lithium, platinum, chromium, cobalt, and even coal tar, which provide the continent an opportunity in the energy transition to mobilize the kind of capital the continent needs to develop its industries, create wealth and reduce poverty.

"That means we need to attract the kind of investment that will help us to build value on those investments, not just ship out the raw materials, which we all tacitly agree that we should stop doing," Grant said.

To raise the required capital for Africa's industrialization, wealth creation, and inclusive growth, the official said Africa should tap into the vast resources available to Africans in the diaspora.

"One of the biggest bridges to global capital is through Africans in the diaspora. Over the past few years, total inward remittances to Ghana from the diaspora topped four billion U.S. dollars," Grant said.

"That figure is more than what we borrow from the multilateral agencies in a year and much more than we get in FDI in Ghana in a year. So it is significant, and if we invest such resources into production and add value to our resources for export, it would change the color and structure of our economy," he said. 
AUCKLAND, New Zealand, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Four people have died during the Auckland severe weather since Friday, confirmed the New Zealand Police on Sunday.

The record rainfall and severe weather in Auckland from Friday has caused massive flooding across the country's largest city.

The New Zealand Police has now confirmed that four people had died during the severe weather event since Friday.

While clear-up and damage assessment works have been under way, severe weather is continuing in the region. Civil Defense has put Heavy Rain Watch for Auckland from Sunday morning through until Monday morning.

The country's national meteorological service, MetService said that another weather system would move into Auckland and Northland in the next few days, while severe weather watch was still in place for upper North Island.

New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni said on Sunday that the government's priority is to make sure that Aucklanders are safe, housed and have access to support services.

Since Friday, Auckland recorded a historical rainfall volume with 249 mm of rain in 24 hours until 1:00 am Saturday. A state of emergency was declared for Auckland and nearby Waitomo.

The record rainfall has also forced the closure of State Highway 1 and the Auckland Airport.

At least 5,000 Auckland properties were assessed for flood or landslide damage.

The previous 24-hour record of rainfall in Auckland was 161.8 mm, dating back to February 1985, according to MetService. 
COLOMBO, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- The Sri Lankan government will establish 50 regional centers for issuing passports for Sri Lankans, a minister said on Sunday.

A large number of people have to travel long distances to get passports and the government wants to make the process easier with the new offices, said Minister of Public Security Tiran Alles.

Currently, four regional offices are issuing passports in Vavuniya, Kurunegala, Matara and Kandy, with the main passport office located in the capital Colombo.

Alles told the media that there will be a facility to get the passport delivered to the doorstep.

He also said the Department of Immigration and Emigration will introduce an e-passport with an electronic chip soon. 
COLOMBO, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- The Sri Lankan police arrested over 200 drug suspects in a special operation conducted in parts of the island country, the police said on Sunday.

Police spokesperson Nihal Thalduwa said a special operation was carried out by the police, special commandos and the air force in the western and southern parts of Sri Lanka.

He said that during the operation, the police arrested 285 suspects for smuggling narcotics.

Thalduwa said heroin and cannabis were among the illegal substances seized during the special operation.

Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan navy said a large haul of cannabis was seized in the northern Jaffna peninsula during an operation carried out by the navy and police.

The navy said in a statement on Sunday that it will try to prevent the smuggling of narcotics into Sri Lanka using the sea route. 
Percussion soloist Petra Elek (back) performs with The Orchestra Now during the "The Sound of Spring" Chinese New Year concert at the Rose Theater in New York, the United States, on Jan. 28, 2023. A unique Chinese New Year concert "The Sound of Spring" was held here on Saturday, charming the audience with the diversity and artistry of Chinese symphonic music.

Now in its fourth year, the concert was jointly presented by the U.S.-China Music Institute of the Bard College Conservatory of Music, and the Central Conservatory of Music in China. (Photo by Michael Nagle/Xinhua)

NEW YORK, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- A unique Chinese New Year concert "The Sound of Spring" was held here on Saturday, charming the audience with the diversity and artistry of Chinese symphonic music.

Now in its fourth year, the concert was jointly presented by the U.S.-China Music Institute of the Bard College Conservatory of Music, and the Central Conservatory of Music in China.

Featuring well-known musical pieces such as Spring Festival Overture, Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto, along with other festive works, the two-hour-long program showcased an exciting blend of Chinese American artists, Chinese symphonic music, and traditional instruments.

Chinese music is full of enchanting stories and uplifting sounds, said Cai Jindong, conductor of the concert and director of the U.S.-China Music Institute, adding the concert was aimed at bringing authentic Chinese music to the audience.

"Music connects cultures and people. It helps us overcome obstacles and leave our differences behind," he said.

Saturday's concert attracted more than 1,000 visitors.

Founded in 2017, the U.S.-China Music Institute promotes the study, performance, and appreciation of music from contemporary China, and supports musical exchanges between the United States and China. 

Percussion soloist Petra Elek (back) performs with The Orchestra Now during the "The Sound of Spring" Chinese New Year concert at the Rose Theater in New York, the United States, on Jan. 28, 2023. A unique Chinese New Year concert "The Sound of Spring" was held here on Saturday, charming the audience with the diversity and artistry of Chinese symphonic music.

Now in its fourth year, the concert was jointly presented by the U.S.-China Music Institute of the Bard College Conservatory of Music, and the Central Conservatory of Music in China. (Photo by Michael Nagle/Xinhua)

Violin soloist Na Sun (L, front) performs as conductor Jindong Cai (R, front) conducts The Orchestra Now during the "The Sound of Spring" Chinese New Year concert at the Rose Theater in New York, the United States, on Jan. 28, 2023. A unique Chinese New Year concert "The Sound of Spring" was held here on Saturday, charming the audience with the diversity and artistry of Chinese symphonic music.

Now in its fourth year, the concert was jointly presented by the U.S.-China Music Institute of the Bard College Conservatory of Music, and the Central Conservatory of Music in China. (Photo by Michael Nagle/Xinhua)

Pipa soloist Gao Hong (C) performs with The Orchestra Now during the "The Sound of Spring" Chinese New Year concert at the Rose Theater in New York, the United States, Jan. 28, 2023. A unique Chinese New Year concert "The Sound of Spring" was held here on Saturday, charming the audience with the diversity and artistry of Chinese symphonic music.

Now in its fourth year, the concert was jointly presented by the U.S.-China Music Institute of the Bard College Conservatory of Music, and the Central Conservatory of Music in China. (Photo by Michael Nagle/Xinhua)
EU Commission president pledges unconditional, long-term support for Ukraine 29 January, 01:10 PM             (Photo:REUTERS / Johanna Geron)

The European Union will support Ukraine for as long as is needed, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said ahead of an EU-Ukraine summit on Feb. 3, news agency Reuters reported.

"We stand by Ukraine's side. Without any ifs and buts," von der Leyen said in a speech on Jan. 28 at an event of her party, the Christian Democrat CDU, in Duesseldorf, Germany.

She stressed that Ukraine would get the EU support "as long as it is needed."

"Ukraine is fighting for our shared values, it is fighting for respect for international law and for the principles of democracy, and that is why Ukraine has to win this war", the EU commission president said.

Video of day

Von der Leyen and other EU commissioners are to be present at the upcoming EU-Ukraine summit that will take place in Kyiv. Politico wrote that around 10 to 15 commissioners will arrive in Kyiv to hold a series of consultations with the Ukrainian government.

The EU-Ukraine summit is to take place in Kyiv on Feb. 3. In particular, the question of Ukraine's economic integration into the European market is on agenda.

Previously, during the 17th annual Yalta European Strategy (YES) forum in Kyiv on Sept. 1, Ukrainian PM Denys Shmyhal said Ukraine intends to satisfy EUs eight criteria for membership by the end of 2022.

We examined how other countries made their journey to the EU. It took five, seven, eight years, Shmyhal said.

We aspire to do the same in two years and achieve our goal of becoming a full member of the EU.

The PM added that Ukraine has made its choice to continue moving towards Western civilization.

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Germany might start producing HIMARS multiple launch rocket system 29 January, 09:31 PM American M142 AR (HIMARS) at the Tapa military base in Estonia, January 6, 2023 (Photo:REUTERS / Ints Kalnins)

German automotive and arms manufacturer Rheinmetall AG might begin to produce HIMARS light multiple rocket launchers that are being actively used by the Ukrainian army, the company's CEO, Armin Papperger, told Reuters news agency on Jan. 29.

Papperger said that his company is in talks with the producer of the HIMARS, the U.S. company Lockheed Martin.

Read also: Rheinmetall ready to supply Ukraine with lots of ammunition for donated Leopard 2 tanks

"At the Munich Security Conference (in the middle of February), we aim to strike an agreement with Lockheed Martin to kick off a HIMARS production (in Germany)," he said.

Papperger added that such a boost in munition production requires hundreds of euros of investment, but that Rheinmetall is ready to fund a large part of it.

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"We have the technology for the production of the warheads as well as for the rocket motors  and we have the trucks to mount the launchers upon," the CEO added.

Ukraines use of HIMARS since obtaining the system in the summer has allowed it to attack invading Russian forces ammunition depots, command posts, and barracks with incredible accuracy and force.

The system is credited in Ukraine with blunting the Russian invasion forces attacks and allowing Ukraine to seize the initiative in the full-scale war launched by Russia on Feb. 24 last year.

Since taking delivery of HIMARS, Ukraine has liberated around half the territory seized by Russian invasion forces since the beginning of the invasion, including almost all of Kharkiv Oblast and the part of Kherson Oblast on the right (western) bank of the River Dnipro.

The system was used to put the Anonivsky bridge across the Dnipro near Kherson out of commission, forcing the Russians to build a pontoon bridge, and operate a ferry.

Read also: Germany made a huge step forward from the position it had before February 24

That complicated Russian logistics to the extent that the Russian command was forced to order Russian invasion forces to retreat from right-bank Kherson Oblast in early November.

Advancing Ukrainian forces liberated the city of Kherson on Nov. 7.



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Kremlin preparing new major offensive in Ukraine, believes ISW 28 January, 05:50 PM Ukrainian soldiers near the front line near Soledar, Donetsk Oblast, January 23, 2023 (Photo:REUTERS/Oleksandr Ratushniak)

Russia is likely preparing to conduct a decisive strategic action in Luhansk Oblast or in the area of Vuhledar in Donetsk Oblast in the next six months, in order to regain the initiative in its full-scale war against Ukraine, the U.S. Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in a recent assessment of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Jan. 27.

Kremlin insiders reportedly told Bloomberg that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin plans to renew his offensive campaign against Ukraine as soon as in February or March 2023, to regain the initiative after a string of losses.

The ISW clarified that decisive strategic action could mean both a new offensive and a defensive operation in response to a Ukrainian counteroffensive, while recent limited Russian ground attacks in Zaporizhzhya Oblast may be intended to disperse Ukrainian troops to set conditions for offensive actions in the Luhansk direction. Russia is currently redeploying elements of the 2nd Motorized Rifle Division from Belarus to Luhansk Oblast.

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This recent development suggests that the planned Russian offensive referenced in the Bloomberg report is most likely aimed at Luhansk Oblast, though it could also occur in the Vuhledar area in western Donetsk, the ISW wrote.

Meanwhile, an assault in the north of Ukraine from Belarus is extremely unlikely, the ISW has reckoned. There are no signs of the strike groups necessary for such an operation forming in Belarus, while the military training facilities there are used by the Russians mostly for rotation.

The Instituted noted that even Russian military bloggers are increasingly writing off the notion of a second attack against Kyiv as an information operation, while the eastern part of Ukraine or neighboring Kharkiv Oblast is considered the most likely target.

At the same time, the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) may be conducting its own line of effort to silence the milbloggers independent of Putin, though it is unclear whether Putin himself supports these efforts, ISW experts write.

The Russian MoDs effort to restrict embedded milbloggers in conventional units will not silence all milblogger criticism online, however, the ISW said.

A Russian milblogger observed that restrictive measures such as government-distributed press vests will further solidify Wagner Group as the dominant source of independent frontline information, since Wagner will not abide by such restrictions.

Other key takeaways:

The Kremlin confirmed that Putin is issuing preemptive pardons for convicts who serve in Russian operations in Ukraine.

A Russian opposition outlets investigation confirmed that Russian authorities are deporting children from occupied Kherson Oblast to occupied Crimea.

Russian officials denied reported explosions near the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) on Jan. 26.

Ukrainian forces continued counteroffensive operations near Kreminna on Jan. 26 and Jan. 27.

Invaders continued ground attacks around Bakhmut, on the western outskirts of the city of Donetsk, and in western Donetsk Oblast.

Russian sources did not report that Russian forces continued localized offensive operations in Zaporizhzhya Oblast on Jan. 27.

Russian officials claimed that the conscription age will not change in the upcoming 2023 spring conscription cycle.

Russian occupation authorities are continuing to intensify efforts to integrate occupied territories into the Russian legal and administrative structures.

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Ukrainian tank crews arrive in UK for Challenger 2 tank training 29 January, 06:06 PM Ukrainian tankers have arrived in Britain for training (Photo:@DefenceHQ / Twitter)

Ukrainian tank crews have arrived in the United Kingdom to start training on Challenger 2 tanks, the UK Ministry of Defense reported on Twitter on Jan. 29.

The ministry's press office wrote that the Ukrainian tank crews will be "training for their continued fight against Russia."

The UK is providing Ukraine with modern main battle tanks alongside other nations. The UK Ministry of Defense said the provision of the tanks "demonstrates the strength of support for Ukraine, internationally."

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In the middle of January, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged 14 Challenger 2 battle tanks for Ukraine. The UK was the first Western country that announced a positive response on the Kyiv's request for main battle tanks.

Poland then offered 14 of its Leopard 2 tanks, but because they are German-made, Warsaw needed to obtain permission from Berlin to export the tanks to Ukraine.

German Chancellor Scholz, however, was slow to provide such permission, and even as late as the eighth meeting of Ukraines military allies at the Ramstein U.S. airbase in Germany on Jan. 20 Germany was still insisting the no decision had been made on the provision of tanks to Ukraine.

However, the United States then announced on Jan. 25 that it would send 31 Abrams main battle tanks to Ukraine, leaving Scholz little choice politically to acquiesce to Ukraine and its other allies request that Germany allow Leopard 2 tanks to be sent to Ukraine.

Several other countries have since confirmed that they plan to send Leopard 2 tanks to aid Ukraine in its fight to repel the Russian invasion.

The British Armys Challenger 2 battle tanks are expected to arrive in Ukraine at the end of March.



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Zelenskyy commemorates Heroes of Kruty from earlier struggle for Ukrainian independence 29 January, 04:16 PM Zelenskyy commemorates Heroes of Kruty from earlier struggle for Ukrainian independence (Photo:Office of the President of Ukraine)

Top Ukrainian officials gathered on Heroes of Kruty Remembrance Day, Jan. 29, at a memorial site in Kyiv to honor the memory of those who died in the struggle for independent Ukraine during the Ukrainian Revolution of 1917-1921.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, joined by the head of his office Andriy Yermak and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine General Valery Zaluzhnyi, laid flowers at the memorial cross to the Heroes of Kruty at the Askolds Grave memorial site above the banks of the Dnipro River in Kyiv, the Office of the President reported on Jan. 29.

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The Heroes of Kruty were a small force of Ukrainian soldiers, many of them students, who were killed in the Battle of Kruty, a town to the east of Kyiv, while trying to stop the Bolshevist army of Russian Lieutenant General Nikolai Muravyov from advancing on Kyiv.

The head of state noted that by honoring the memory of the Heroes of Kruty, Ukrainians remembered their history, and that they are proud and thankful to the Ukrainian army, support it and together were bring victory closer. That is why Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhnyi was also present at the commemoration, Zelenskyy said.

The ceremony was also attended by Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleksiy Danilov, Minister of Defense Oleksiy Reznikov, and Deputy Head of the Presidents Office Roman Mashovets.

Cadets of military educational institutions also laid flowers at the memorial cross, including the Hetman Petro Sahaidachnyi National Army Academy, Ivan Kozhedub National Air Force University of Kharkiv, the Institute of the Navy of the National University Odesa Maritime Academy, the Military Institute of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, the Heroes of Kruty Military Institute of Telecommunications and Informatization, and the Ivan Bohun Military Lyceum of Kyiv.

Commemoration of the Heroes of Krut / Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine

Commemoration of the Heroes of Krut / Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine

Commemoration of the Heroes of Krut / Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine

Commemoration of the Heroes of Krut / Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine

Andriy Yermak wrote on his Twitter that students and cadets who faced the overwhelming force of the Bolsheviks and restrained their attack on Kyiv paid with their lives for Ukraines independence and inspired the next generations to fight for it.

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Best electric vehicles in Nepal. Photo: Onlinekhabar collage

The search for the best electric cars now has been a race not only in Nepal but all over the world. With electrification being a topmost priority, and vehicles using some of the most amounts of fossil fuels, electric cars are now the future of mobility.

In Nepal too, people are searching for the best electric cars, whether they are buying new or switching from fossil-fueled to electric cars. There are some absolute best electric cars available currently and new and improved electric cars are getting available in the near future in Nepal.

So, here we have a list of the eight best electric cars in Nepal as of January 2023:

SN Models Price 1 Neta V Rs 3,799,000 2 TATA Nexon EV XM  Rs 3,899,000

XZ+  Rs 4,099,000

XZ + Lux  Rs 4,299,000 3 BYD ALL-NEW E6 Rs 5,900,000 4 Hyundai Kona EV NS  Rs 6,096,000

GL 100 KW  Rs 6,196,000

GLS 100 KW  Rs 6,456,000 5 Nissan Leaf Rs 6,499,000 6 Kia Niro EV Rs 6,990,000 7 MG ZS EV Rs 8,199,000 8 Hyundai Iqoniq 5 Rs 11,696,000

1. Neta V

Made by the Chinese company Honzon Auto, Neta V was officially brought by CG motors in Nepal in 2022. It is already loved by the Nepali people and is the cheapest on this list of the best electric cars. It is in the SUV segment and has the same design language as the Tesla Model 3. It has a 38.5 kWh battery, which on a full charge can run a maximum distance of 410km, according to the company. The EV has a large 14.6-inch display to control almost all the features of the car, which supports the Android and Apple systems.

Neta V Photo: CG Motors

Specifications

Dimensions (Length, width, height) 4070mm1690mm1540mm Battery 38.5 kWh Seating capacity 5 Top speed 101 km/h Charging duration 6-8 hours with a regular charger Range 401 km Brake Front: Ventilated disc

Rear: Disc Boot space 335 litres Kerb weight 1151 kg Ground clearance 160 mm

The price of Neta V is Rs 3,799,000.

2. TATA Nexon EV

One of the best electric cars of 2022 in Nepal is from TATA Motors. The TATA Nexon EV is probably the most-seen electric car in Nepal currently. The electric car has been a favourite since its arrival. It has a 30.2 kWh battery, which on a full charge gives a maximum range of 312km. It has a ground clearance of 205mm and a height of 1606mm. The battery can charge fully in 8.5 hours from a regular charger whereas it can charge from 0-80 per cent in 60 minutes using a fast charger.

TATA Nexon EV Photo: TATA Nepal

Specifications

Dimensions (Length, width, height) 3993mm X 1811mm X 1606mm Battery 30.2 kWh Seating capacity 5 Top speed 120 km/h Charging duration 8.5 hours with a regular charger Range 312km Brake Front- Disc

Rear- Drum Boot space 350 litres Kerb Weight 1400kg Ground clearance 205mm

The price of the TATA Nexon EV is as follows for the available variants:

Models Price XM Rs 3,899,000 XZ+ Rs 4,099,000 XZ + Lux Rs 4,299,000

3. BYD ALL-NEW E6

The Chinese company BYD is also one of the most popular electric vehicle brands in Nepal. BYD ALL-NEW E6 is one of the best electric cars available in Nepal. The ALL-NEW E6 has a 71.7kWh battery, which on a full charge gives 522km of range. The battery can be charged fully within two hours using a 60kW DC charger. It also has a 10.1-inch manual rotatable carpet. It has a seating capacity of five people.

BYD ALL-NEW E6 Photo: Cimex Nepal

Specifications

Dimensions (Length, width, height) 4695mm X 1810mm X 1670mm Battery 71.7 kWh Seating capacity 5 Top speed 130 km/h Charging duration 2 hours with DC fast charger Range 522km Brake Front-Vented Disc

Rear- Disc Boot space 580 litres Kerb weight 1930kg Ground clearance 175mm

The price of BYD ALL-NEW E6 is Rs 5,900,000.

4. Hyundai Kona EV

Another loved and one of the best electric cars in Nepal is Hyundai Kona EV. The electric version of the Hyundai Kona, the compact electric SUV, has a battery capacity of 39.2kWh. The battery delivers a range of about 305km on a full charge, according to the company. It has a top speed of 155km/h and can reach a speed of 100km/h in 9.9sec. It has a seating capacity of five people and a boot space of 332 litres.

Hyundai Kona EV Photo: Laxmi Motors Nepal

Specifications

Dimensions (Length, width, height) 4180mm X 1800mm X 1555mm Battery 39.2 kWh Seating capacity 5 Top speed 155 km/h Charging duration 8-10 hours with a regular charger Range 305km Brake Front: Ventilated disc

Rear: Solid disc Boot space 332 litres Kerb weight 1685-1743kg Ground clearance 172mm

The price of the Hyundai Kona EV is as follows for the available variants:

Models Price Ns Rs 6,096,000 GL 100 KW Rs 6,196,000 GLS 100 KW Rs 6,456,000

5. Nissan Leaf

The Japanese company Nissan released its first electric car in Nepal in 2022. Nissan Leaf is one of the best electric cars that came to Nepal recently. It has a 40kWh lithium-ion battery delivering a range of 311km on a full charge. The electric car is hatchback in design and has a look like most Nissan cars. The boot space is 435 litres and has a ground clearance of 150mm. It has a top speed of 144km/h and a seating capacity of five people.

Nissan Leaf Photo; Nissan Nepal

Specifications

Dimensions (Length, width, height) 4480mm X 1790mm X 1540mm Battery 40 kWh Seating capacity 5 Top speed 144 km/h Charging duration 7.5 hours with a regular charger Range 311km Brake Front: Ventilated disc

Rear: Disc Boot space 435 litres Kerb Weight 1544kg Ground clearance 155mm

The price of Nissan Leaf is Rs 6,499,000.

6. Kia Niro EV

Kia has some of the best electric cars and Kia Niro EV is one of them currently available in Nepal. Kia Niro EV has a lithium-ion polymer battery with a capacity of 64 kWh and gives a range of 460km on a full charge according to the company. It has a maximum speed of 167km/h and can reach a speed of 0-100km/h in 7.8sec. It has a ground clearance of 160mm and a boot space of 451 litres. It also has an 8-inch colour touch display with Apple car play.

Kia Niro EV Photo: Kia Nepal

Specifications

Dimensions (Length, width, height) 4355mm X 1805mm X 1545mm Battery 64kWh Seating capacity 5 Top speed 167 km/h Charging duration 9-10 hours with a regular charger Range 460km Brake Front: Ventilated disc

Rear: Solid disc Boot space 451 litres Kerb Weight 1748kg Ground clearance 160mm

The price of Kia Niro EV is Rs 6,990,000.

7. Mg ZS EV

One of the best electric cars from the British car company MG motors in Nepal is MG ZS EV. MG ZS EV has a 44.5 kWh battery, which can give a range of almost 428km* (at 60km/h). It has a top speed of 140km/h and can reach 0-100 km/h in 8.5sec. It has a boot space of 470 litres and a ground clearance of 177mm. The seating capacity is five. It also has an 8-inch colour screen on the centre console.

MG ZS EV Photo: MG Nepal

Specifications

Dimensions (Length, width, height) 4314mm X 1809mm X 1644mm Battery 44.5kWh Seating capacity 5 Top speed 140 km/h Charging duration 7.5hours with a regular charger Range 428km Brake Front: Disc

Rear: Disc Boot space 470 litres Kerb Weight 1566kg Ground clearance 177mm

The price of MG ZS EV is Rs 8,199,000.

8. Hyundai Ioniq 5

Might be the most loved electric car and also the winner of World Car of the Year 2022 from Hyundai is Hyundai Ioniq 5. With a retro-modern look, Hyundai Ioniq 5 is one of the best electric cars available in Nepal currently. This model has a 58kWh battery which gives a range of 375km on a single charge. It has a top speed of 185km/h and can reach 0-100km/h in 5.2 seconds. It has a boot space with a capacity of 537 litres. It also has a 12.3-inch digital screen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Ioniq 5 has a seating capacity of five people.

Hyundai Ioniq 5 Photo: Laxmi Motors

Specifications

Dimensions (Length, width, height) 4635.5mm X 1889.76mm X 1600.2mm Battery 58kWh Seating capacity 5 Top speed 185 km/h Charging duration 7 hours with a regular charger Range 375km Brake Front: Disc

Rear: Disc Boot space 527 litres Kerb weight 1830kg Ground clearance 155mm

The price of Hyundai Ioniq 5 is Rs 11,696,000.
File Photo

Tek Mahato Tharu had only heard from his grandfathers that dolphins in Nepal were a common sight in yesteryear. But as he grew up, he could not spot them in the Narayani river close to his house. He thought the grandfather told him a story.

However, in these last two months, Mahato has not only seen the dolphins but also taken photos and made the country aware of how the dolphins are making the much-awaited comeback to the Narayani river.

I heard that dolphins in Nepal, including in the Narayani, were spotted in 2018, but only last year, during the bird census, I saw two dolphins near the Bhelauji border point, a nature guide in the area and young wildlife photographer Mahato says that people like him have seen dolphins many times since then in Nawalpur, Amaltari and Triveni regions.

It is a matter of pride to see dolphins in our Narayani, and a great pleasure to see them up close.

Dolphins have been sighted in the Nandpur, Golaghat, Amaltari, Pitaujighat and Devghat areas also. But what does it mean for Nepali rivers?

Dolphins in Nepal

Conservationist DB Chaudhary echoes Tharus voice as has seen the dolphins in the Amaltari area.

Some 40 to 50 years ago we used to see them in the Narayani river. I remember going to the river to catch sight of them when I was young.

Then, dolphins in Nepal became a rare sight, just one to two in this last decade. But in the last five or six years, they are now being more common.

File: A dolphin

A dolphin conservation action plan prepared by the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, quoting a 2017 assessment, said there are less than 5,000 Asian river dolphins in the world, including the 3,500 of the Ganges subspecies. Meanwhile, a 2016 study estimated some 60 to 50 dolphins in Nepal.

The Ganges river dolphin (Platanista gangetica) is a freshwater dolphin found in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna and Karnaphuli-Sangu river systems in Nepal, India and Bangladesh. It is one of the four extant species of freshwater dolphins.

Some physical characteristics of the Ganges river dolphin include a long, pointed snout and a low triangular dorsal fin. Their eyes are small and placed on the sides of their head, which gives them poor eyesight but an excellent sense of hearing and echolocation.

They are known to be very social animals and they are often found in groups of two to 10. They are also known to be active swimmers and can be seen leaping out of the water. They use echolocation to navigate and find food, which mostly consists of fish and crustaceans. Their population is also taken as an indicator of the overall health of the river ecosystem.

The dolphin exhibit preference for areas that create eddy countercurrents, such as small islands, sand bars, river bends, and convergent tributaries. In the monsoon season, dolphins migrate locally to tributaries and then return to larger river channels in the dry, winter season.

They rest in the deep waters and near the gorges where there is a thinner settlement. They travel both upstream and downstream.

Why did the population of dolphins in Nepal decrease?

The Ganges river dolphin was classified as endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 1996 as the species population was declining in its entire distribution range. The threat position has remained intact to date.

Its population is considered to be endangered due to habitat loss, pollution, overfishing and more tourism activities, which have led to a decline in the numbers. There is not only one reason behind it. All the reasons, including climate change and its cascading impacts, have been the factors behind the decreased sightings, says Chaudhary.

Active in the observation of dolphins in Nepal since 1996, Chaudhary says, Human intervention seems to be the most damning act against these dolphins. The dams built in the rivers including the Triveni barrage on the Narayani-Gandak river make it difficult, almost impossible, for dolphins to swim against the river flow and reach the points they are being seen this time.

The IUCN has also acknowledged this as a problem for dolphins and their movement as well as endangering their habitat.

Other factors that threaten the species including other marine lives are illegal fishing activities and the use of nets to fish that get entangled and entrap the bigger species too. All have been posing a challenge to its conservation.

A recent sighting of dolphin seen in Narayani river.

Moving towards conservation now

Though it is not certain that the dolphins seen in all these places are the same, Chaudhary says he has spotted only two dolphins in Narayani recently. But, regardless of the number, he says that the conservation efforts should be expedited to make sure Nepal does not lose sight of the mammals again.

The departments Dolphin Conservation Action Plan (2021-2025) in Nepal is aimed at conserving the number of dolphins in Nepal by assessing their conservation status, setting conservation priorities, identifying key issues, reducing anthropogenic pressure on aquatic habitats and addressing them through viable action plans to ensure the long-term survival of the species.

Besides, Chaudhary says Nepal also needs a water conservation policy to make sure that it is implemented properly. In the policy, he says, human intervention as well as the water pollution level and its impacts on dolphins in Nepal should be specially focused on to ensure that the mammals do not shy away again. Apart from that advocacy on all levels should be ensured along with awareness among the locals and those involved in fish farming, he stresses.
A man with hand deformity caused by leprosy.

Leprosy, also known as Hansens disease, is an infectious disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae. It is one of the oldest known diseases and has been mentioned in various religious texts throughout history. Leprosy in Nepal and its symptoms have been mentioned in various religious texts including Swasthani.

Overall, people knew the disease but considered it a result of sins and actions of past life.

Nepal declared itself leprosy-free in January 2010, but the disease still affects at least 3,000 people in the country on a yearly basis. So why?

Why is leprosy in Nepal still a problem?

World Leprosy Day banner. Photo: Pixabay

Despite Nepals leprosy-free status, the country continues to struggle with the disease due to a lack of awareness and the stigma associated with leprosy in Nepal.

Another challenge is the nature of the disease itself. It is a less infectious disease and has an incubation period of two to five years, allowing it to progress. Many people who notice the symptoms and reach health institutions are already in the advanced stages of the disease.

Efforts to curb the problem of leprosy in Nepal include outreach to communities and providing treatment and reconstructive surgery to those affected by the disease. The goal is to end the transmission of this 4,000-year-old disease by 2035.

How does it spread?

The disease is transmitted through contact with the nasal secretions or skin lesions of an infected person. It affects the motor, sensory and autonomic or peripheral nervous systems. The incubation period for leprosy is two to five years, making it difficult for patients to receive treatment in the early stages of the disease.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

The major symptoms of leprosy in Nepal include numbness and loss of sensation in the hands and feet, as well as skin patches that are lighter or darker than the surrounding skin. The disease also affects the nervous system, causing muscle weakness and deformities in the hands and feet.

Mycobacterium leprae is the bacterium that causes leprosy, but there are different subtypes of the bacterium that can lead to different clinical forms of the disease, such as tuberculoid, lepromatous, borderline, and indeterminate leprosy.

There are also three degrees of disability. Grade 0 is no eye problem or loss of vision; grade 1 is having anaesthetic limbs, but no visible deformity or damage, and grade 2 is the presence of visible deformity or damage.

When an individual reports leprosy, there are chances of other family members getting the disease too. There is no precautionary test to detect leprosy. But, if someone has been detected, it is advised to perform contact tracing or a smear test to determine the infection.

So what is the treatment?

Representational image

Treatment for leprosy in Nepal involves a combination of antibiotics, called multidrug therapy (MDT), which is provided free of charge by the World Health Organization (WHO). Reconstruction surgery may also be necessary to correct physical deformities caused by the disease.

In 1982, the WHO prescribed a list of medicines that are to be consumed by patients. Depending on the patients, doctors prescribe one or multi-drug medicines that help them combat leprosy in Nepal. The drugs are prescribed to them for a period of six months to one year, depending on the severity of the cases.

From the very first dose of the medication, the infection chances drop down to 99 per cent. So, patients do not need to be isolated anymore. The medications are all available free of cost and given to the patients on a monthly basis from health offices across the country. There are still hospitals and referral institutions working to treat patients with leprosy in Nepal, including Pokhara, Nepalgunj, Surkhet, and Dhangadhi.

Other treatment includes reconstructive surgery, with which doctors may be able to correct deformities caused by leprosy, such as clawed fingers or shortened tendons. Prosthetics and orthotics can be another option to create artificial limbs for people who have lost limbs due to the disease.

Physiotherapy and rehabilitation include physical therapy, occupational therapy, and other forms of therapy to help improve mobility, reduce pain, and prevent further disability.
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James W. Pfister

When the early Portuguese explorers landed on the northern coast of Taiwan in 1590, they called the island Ilha Formosa, meaning Beautiful Isle. Jerry Chen from New York, on Jan. 22, 2023, published a critical response to my column, Same Mistake: Vietnam and Taiwan, of Jan. 8, 2023. Others responded by email. Many of them had a connection to Taiwan. It is clear they love their Beautiful Isle, and they want the United States to help them defend it from the desire of the People's Republic of China (herein China) to reintegrate it into China. My thesis in said column was that the United States should mind its own business and defer to Chinas sovereignty over Taiwan, which we ourselves support in the One-China policy; that but for our intervening, they probably would already be reunited.

Mr. Chen refers to Taiwan as a de facto country with a distinctively Taiwanese way of life. The United Nations replaced the Republic of China on Taiwan with mainland China. In 1972, the United States instituted the One-China policy by joint communique. Unfortunately, in 1979, the year we recognized China, we passed the Taiwan Relations Act which continued to treat Taiwan as an ally. This contradiction has created ambiguity in our relationship with China. Most states in the world do not recognize Taiwan as a state (only 14 do). A de facto country over which an adjacent state has sovereignty is not an independent legal entity, no matter how pleasant and democratic it is.

Regarding history, Mr. Chen states that Taiwans history did not begin with the Qing dynasty in the 17th century. Mr. Paul Ding emailed to say that the peoples of Taiwan trace their origins to the pre-17th century: since the days of the aboriginals and their ancestors tens of thousands of years ago. Mr. Ding talks of those who have recently immigrated to Taiwan, who loved Taiwan so much (to) become Taiwanese citizens  all of them have forged a great and rare melting pot with one single national identity

Story continues

If we were to predate the 17th century, we might have to yield to American Indian sovereignty. The fact is that China governed Taiwan, making arrangements with the aboriginals, as a province from the latter 17th century until 1895, when they were forced to transfer it to Japan as a result of the Chinese-Japanese war, a period of over 200 years. And it was understood at the 1943 Cairo Conference that Taiwan would go back to China after World War II. According to government figures, 95% of Taiwans population is Han Chinese, while only 2.3% are Austronesian Taiwanese indigenous peoples.

Mr. Chen makes the point that every world power is self-interested  Taiwanese and U.S. interests are aligned in the Taiwanese Strait. Then, he says that the U.S. would like peace and order in the Indo-Pacific. If the United States wants peace and order in the region, it should not attempt to defend Taiwan or otherwise interfere in the reunification process. But the United States could help in negotiating a solution, such as a Hong Kong-style deal with a shorter term, where the U.S. would repeal the Taiwan Relations Act and foreswear any further aid to Taiwan.

A war between China and the United States would be unthinkable, even if it did not involve a nuclear strike. An editorial in the Wall Street Journal, Jan.20, 2023, states: The cost in blood of U.S. sailors and airmen would be enormousnot seen in living memory. The American public has no experience since World War II of enduring dozens of lost ships, including two U.S. Navy aircraft carriers (crew: 5,000) badly damaged or lost

There may be reasons for U.S. interest in Taiwan, such as naval intelligence and semiconductors. But Mr. Chen and others seem to cite emotional identity issues, such as prior 17th century history, the uniqueness of Taiwans society, its way of life, and love. But those concerns are not consistent with the hard security realities of international relations and rights in international law. The U.S. should concentrate on building a positive-sum relationship with China and on an objective structure of peace and order in the region with appropriate alliances.

James W. Pfister, J.D. University of Toledo, Ph.D. University of Michigan (political science), retired after 46 years in the Political Science Department at Eastern Michigan University. He lives at Devils Lake and can be reached at jpfister@emich.edu.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: James Pfister: Taiwan: Emotional identity versus structure of peace
Jan. 2WILKES-BARRE  A long-standing tradition for many in the area's running community, the Wyoming Valley Striders ushered in the new year with the club's 38th annual Informal New Year's Day Run inside Kirby Park on Sunday.

A large crowd hit the trail inside the park this year, continuing a trend that Striders member Linda Wojnar-Krasnavage said has really blossomed in recent years.

"It has grown over the years, there used to be just a few members that would show up," Wojnar-Krasnavage said. "I think social media (helped), and people would hear about it and want to show up."

The Striders, a local nonprofit founded in 1975, will participate and host several marquee races over the course of 2023, as they have in years' past.

The New Year's Day run, however, is less about racing and setting a time, and more about enjoying the day and enjoying the company of others.

"It's more of a social run," Wojnar-Krasnavage said. "Runners in this area are so social, it's such a great community."

Sunday's run was open to Striders members and non-members alike, and those interested in signing up with the Striders were able to pay their dues and join the club right there in Kirby Park.

Before the run got started, many of the runners were deep in conversations with one another, already leaning into the afternoon's social aspect.

"It's a beautiful day, you actually get to talk with the other runners," said Patty Phillips-Pavlock, of Hanover Township. "It's a great way to start the new year."

Like a large portion of Sunday's runners, Phillips-Pavlock had just participated in the previous day's Back Mountain Trail 5K.

"And that was a great way to end the old year," she quipped.

Phillips-Pavlock boasts a wealth of experience running marathons and distance races; she's run all 25 Steamtown Marathons, one of only seven runners to do so.

Story continues

Carmella DePippa had also run the Back Mountain 5K on Saturday, but the Berwick native didn't just stop there: she actually ran three races on New Year's Eve, before joining the group in Kirby Park on New Year's Day.

"It's a social run, there's no pressure here," DePippa said.

Other runners, such as Nanticoke resident Brenda Bartlett, weren't quite as experienced; Bartlett said she took up running a couple of years ago as a way of rehabbing from a couple of knee injuries.

"It's frustrating to be patient," she said of her experience waiting to recover from her injuries.

At 12 p.m. sharp, the group made their way inside the park for the customary group photo. Once that bit of business was handled, the word was given and the runners took off, some looking to set a good pace for themselves and others just looking for a nice, leisurely run.

When asked about what she was looking forward to most, Bartlett gestured up toward the clear blue sky.

"Fresh air and sunshine," she said.
The foundation that raises funds to support the Blue Ridge Parkway has appointed new officers and members to its leadership teams.

The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation announced Tuesday that former Regional President of US Foods Bob Stout had been elected chairman of the groups board of trustees. He previously served as the vice chairman, a post that is now held by dry-stone waller and writer Whitney Brown. Retired finance manager Bob Lassiter will serve as the groups treasurer, while Julie Moore will continue her role as secretary.

I am looking forward to working with our dedicated leadership and staff to continue our support of one of our national treasures, Stout said in a statement. Helping to protect this national park unit and enhance the visitors experiences are our aspirations.

The 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway is a U.S. designated National Parkway, stretching from Virginias Shenandoah National Park to North Carolinas Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The foundation serves as a fundraising partner for the parkway in order to support initiatives such as historical and cultural preservation, environmental protection, visitor amenities and educational outreach.

The board and council also saw several additions that were announced Tuesday. Roberts Bass, David Huff and Sam Johnson will serve on the board of Trustees, with Deanna Ballard, Charles Hauser and Marsha Ralls Hershman joining the council of advisers.

The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation also announced that Kevin Brandt would serve as the new development director for Virginia. Previously a project manager for the foundation, Brandts role will now include supporting community outreach and Virginia fundraising.

Im thrilled to be expanding my role with the Foundation, which will allow me to help my fellow Virginians connect and support the national park we all love, said Brandt in a statement. We are lucky to have such a special place in our backyards.
It was reported recently that the federal government was possibly considering banning gas stoves.

No, U.S. Marshals wouldnt come and force you to remove your present gas stove if a ban was effected, but when the old one wears out, you just wouldnt be able to replace it.

The reason? The U.S. Product Safety Commission says pollutants from gas cooking stoves are contributing to childhood asthma. (Could gas fireplaces be next?)

Meanwhile, California will ban the sale of new, small gasoline-powered engines  lawn mowers, leaf blowers, weed whackers and chainsaws  in less than a year.

Where all this will end is anyones guess, but sometimes it seems we are going backward in time instead of forward. The inventions that propelled society to where it is now are being eliminated one by one.

All these bans do is throw more pressure on Americas electricity grids. Electric stoves will replace gas stoves in the kitchen and electric lawnmowers will replace gasoline-powered ones, at least in California.

On a small scale, this seems to be a workable idea. Electric mowers and trimmers can handle a small yard, but cords are not long enough and batteries dont last long enough to handle 2 acres.

And cutting down and trimming up an 18-inch oak tree with an electric chainsaw could present a real problem. Such saws not only do not have the power but are also impractical.

You can refill a chainsaw gas tank in the middle of the woods but there is no way to recharge batteries  unless you use one of those big pickup trucks for electricity. That only means that the larger truck is doing the polluting instead of the smaller chainsaw engine.

As stated earlier, all you are doing is transferring the source of pollution from oil to electricity. Remember that electric generating plants are powered either by coal, a real pollutant, or nuclear, whose pollutants are transported down highways and stored in the ground. There is no free lunch.

Remember, too, that electricity must be transported over long distances by high-tension wires on big metal poles. And the more demand we put on the electric grid the bigger those poles and wires will get.

If you think that is not a point of contention, just attend a public hearing when an electric company proposes to build a new powerline or enlarge an existing one. People go wild. They want no part of larger poles and more electrified wires and fight to prevent power companies from building them.

They also fight to keep solar farms out of their neighborhoods and offshore wind turbines from being built. And when the next nuclear accident happens  and it will  they will want to rid the land of that source of energy (there is already a moratorium on new nuclear plants being built).

Despite the publics distain for metal poles, high-tension wires and alternative sources of electrical power, governments want to outlaw other sources of energy and put more pressure on power companies.

One advantage of gas kitchen stoves is that when the power goes out  and it does these days with ever more frequency, it is still possible to cook a meal.

And soon in prestigious California neighborhoods, it seems you could be arrested for keeping your lawn neat with gas-powered tools.

If the government is going to ban anything that affects breathing, they might start with heat pumps, whose dry air can cause all kinds of sinus problems.

And they could ban clothes dryers, which consume electricity. Hanging laundry on a clothesline uses natural sunshine and wind to dry clothes without using a single amp of electricity.

Of course, the real culprit here is not oil or coal or electricity. It is people. If there were not so many people we would not need as much power and pollution would drop dramatically.

Should the government ban people? China in effect did by limiting the number of children a couple could have.

Given the direction in which things are moving, California might also soon ban people by limiting the birthrate.

And make no mistake about it, people are the root of the energy problem.

It is an interesting society in which we live.
Officials from the Fremont Fire Department verified at 9:10 p.m. Friday, Jan. 27, that an industrial fire inside the ADM grain facility in downtown had been extinguished.

Fremont Fire Capt. Brian Monaghan said there were no injuries to employees or any firefighters.

"We are tearing (equipment) down now. Initially we got a call here to ADM for a fire. When we first got here, there was smoke coming out of a building," Monaghan said at 9:15 p.m. Friday. "We made access on the second level and made it to the third level where we found the fire. It looks like it was in one of the hoppers."

Monaghan said the cause of the fire is not known, and an investigation will be conducted. He said facility managers arrived on the scene about two hours after the fire was reported to assist with putting the blaze out.

"No injuries at this point, that I know of. We got all of the personnel out of the building," he added. "We did have to utilize some of the ADM personnel to get around the building and understand the layout and access points. They have been extremely helpful and used a system called a 'snuff steamer' to help put out the fire."

Jackie Anderson, a spokesperson for ADM based in Chicago, thanked Fremont fire staff for their assistance with the blaze.

"At approximately 6:30 p.m. this evening, employees at ADMs oilseed processing facility in Fremont detected a fire in the heater coil system at the plant. They quickly called the local fire department for assistance and shut down facility operations," Anderson said in an email to The Fremont Tribune. "No one was injured. We are in the processing of evaluating the damage and repairs needed to resume operations. We appreciate the quick response and assistance from the fire department to manage this situation."

The initial call for the fire came in at about 6:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 27, to the ADM grain facility on the south edge of downtown Fremont.

Several Fremont fire engines, supported by officers from the Fremont Police Department, frantically searched the exterior of the facility before being told by an unnamed ADM employee that the fire was on an upper level of one of the many towers at the site.

The fire caused a temporary stoppage of Union-Pacific railroad traffic into the downtown tracks near the ADM facility. As of 9:25 p.m., the train flow was still on hold.

At 7:20 p.m., Fremont fire officials requested mutual aid with one fire engine and at least four firefighters from the Fremont Rural Volunteer Fire Department arriving on scene along with FRVFD Chief Carl Nielsen on site, too.

While Fremont firefighters were battling the blaze, fire staff and units from Hooper and Arlington were summoned to Fremont to assist with covering any other fires, accidents or medical emergencies that may have arisen.

The blaze was feisty in the early stages, resulting in a call at 7:07 p.m., Friday, in which fire officials also requested assistance from the county 911 dispatch center to have electrical power to the facility turned off to assist with fighting the blaze.

Speaking to the Fremont Tribune about 15 minutes after fire officials arrived at the North Broad Street facility, the unnamed employee said no one had been injured and he was unsure what had caused the fire, other than stating it was not caused by the grain processing work done at the plant.

The blaze is the fourth to strike the grain facility since 2019, and the second fire at the site since December, when a grain bin erupted in flames. There were also grain bin fires in February 2022 and August 2019 at the North Broad Street facility.

The facility is owned by Archer Daniels Midland, a large Chicago-based agriculture company that according to its website transforms, crops into products that serve vital need, and converts, oilseeds, corn, wheat and cocoa into products for food, animal feed, industrial and energy uses.
Local business leaders and city officials call it the Southwest effect  and for good reason.

After Southwest Airlines brought service to the Colorado Springs Airport nearly two years ago, local air fares plunged to a 25-year low, according to recent federal transportation data.

Whats more, the gap between air fares for passengers who fly out of the Springs versus those who drive to Denver International Airport has shrunk to its lowest level in 20 years, the data show. As a result, flying out of Denver isnt quite the bargain it once was.

We are seeing the Southwest effect  fares are down and traffic is up, said Joe Nevill, the Colorado Springs Airports air service development manager. Traffic is growing and fares are going down in most markets (from Colorado Springs).

We believe we are taking passengers off the road to Denver, Nevill said.

We are becoming more competitive vs. Denver, and that helps us keep more local traffic. Airlines see that, and it turns into good results and more (service) expansion.

According to figures from the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics:

 The average fare for passengers who flew out of the Colorado Springs Airport fell to $312.13 in 2021, the lowest annual average since 1997. That was the last year that low-fare startup Western Pacific Airlines operated a hub from the Springs Airport before it moved to Denver and later filed for bankruptcy.

 The decline in local fares also cut the difference in average fares between the Colorado Springs and Denver airports by half from the previous year to just $40, the bureaus data shows.

 Annual data for 2022 wont be available until April, but similar data (which doesnt include passengers on connecting flights) from the U.S. Department of Transportation show the difference in average fares between the Springs and DIA continued to decline last year and was less than $20 in each of the first three quarters of 2022. Thats the smallest fare gap between the airports since 2003.

A narrower gap between Colorado Springs Airport and Denver International Airports airfare gives our businesses more options and flexibility in their travel plans, said Johnna Reeder Kleymeyer, the Colorado Springs Chamber & EDCs president and CEO.

Notably, the Southwest effect continues as the data points to a shrinking gap in overall fares since their arrival (in Colorado Springs).

Doug Price, CEO of Visit Colorado Springs, the areas lead tourism agency, said the declining fare gap between Colorado Springs and Denver is a sign Southwests impact as well as cost-containment efforts by the Springs Airport.

Fares in Colorado Springs had been lower than in Denver from 1993 to 2001, Price said, but local fares were higher for the next 20 years, which makes the recent decline in the fare gap a welcome development for local travelers.

At Visit COS, we urge both residents and visitors to look hard before they book, Price said. Its important to factor in the value of time (for travel to each airport and in security lines) and costs (airfares, tolls and parking) in comparing airports. The Colorado Springs Airport, he added, is heading in the right direction.

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A note of caution: Consumers should be aware that both sets of federal Transportation Department data are average domestic fares, so individuals looking for flights might find higher or lower fares when they compare fares for specific flights from Colorado Springs and Denver.

In any case, local passengers responded in a big way to the lower fares.

The number of enplanements  travelers who board outgoing flights  from the Colorado Springs Airport totaled 1.07 million in 2022  an increase of 15% over 2021 and a jump of 27% from pre-pandemic levels in 2019.

Last years enplanements were the highest annual total since 2000 and the first time the Colorado Springs Airport has reached more than 1 million outbound passengers in 15 years. The increase came in spite of Southwest canceling many flights in late December due to operational issues.

Southwests impact on fares also was demonstrated by contrasting its average fare in the third quarter of last year, when its Colorado Springs fares were an average of $5 less than its fares in Denver, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics data. Average fares for the three other airlines serving Colorado Springs were $64 higher than their Denver fares.

Nevill believes the gap between Colorado Springs and Denver fares will continue to narrow this year as long as Southwest continues to be a big part of the market here. Southwest carried nearly half of departing passengers last year.

Southwests competitors in Colorado Springs  American, Delta and United  have responded by switching from 50-seat regional jets to larger-capacity aircraft and additional flights to their current destinations that has significantly expanded the seat capacity on flights from the local airport, Nevill said.

Sun County Airlines announced plans in November to expand to Colorado Springs and offer seasonal service to Minneapolis-St. Paul starting June 8, prompting Delta Air Lines to add that city to its local schedule and restore service to Atlanta, both on June 5.

Southwest also has expanded its initial schedule of 13 daily flights to Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Las Vegas and Phoenix to 16 daily flights. The low-fare giant also has experimented with holiday-season service to Houston, San Antonio and San Diego.

The carriers fares are likely to stay low for a while  Southwest launched a major fare sale this month as it tries to lure back passengers reluctant to book in the wake of the airlines December cancellations and delays.

Mike Boyd, an Evergreen-based aviation consultant who formerly worked with the Colorado Springs Airport, said Southwest may trim flights, locally and nationally, in coming weeks and months as it tries to solve its operational issues. But his outlook for local air service remains upbeat.

The market can support this (the current level of service) and perhaps much more, as the nations major airlines and some low-fare upstarts battle to attract passengers, Boyd said.

He cautioned that a large number of local passengers always will drive to Denver for a much larger selection of destinations, especially international cities popular with many travelers such as London, Paris and Tokyo.

Denver, Boyd said, remains the gateway for the entire region.
The fact that George Santos is still drawing a tax-funded salary begs the question of what level of deceit is required to get booted from Congress.

The Santos spectacle invites a second question. Namely, what has become of the whole idea of shame in modern America?

To be clear, there are plenty of longtime causes of shame that we have affirmatively relegated to the past tense. Children born out of wedlock no longer feel societys scornful reproach.

All kinds of romantic pairings across old lines of race and religion are heartily accepted. My son is able to live a full, unapologetic life as a gay man. Hooray for progress and evolving mores.

But one wonders whether modern culture has gone too far in renouncing shame in concept and practice. As the expression of judgment has gone out of fashion while acceptance and tolerance are all the rage, have we become a better place?

That answer is, at least, in doubt.

No decent person pines for the days when the low-performing student was told to wear a dunce cap. Shame over the course of history was often downright cruel.

But it was also a way of enforcing societal standards, not an all-bad pursuit. Those standards have advanced, mainly for the better if not uniformly so.

These days, we can be all too quick to play the cancellation card, mainly for speech that violates the political code of sensitivity, while we look increasingly askance at the old-fashioned application of shame when someone steps across a bright line of proper conduct.

In many circles of enlightenment, cancellation is in while shame is out.

Peter Stearns, a professor at George Mason University and the author of Shame: A Brief History, points out the distance we have come from the colonial days of putting transgressors in public stocks.

The book quotes Benjamin Rush, a founding father and signatory to the Declaration of Independence, Shaming is universally acknowledged to be a worse punishment than death.

That might be a bit of hyperbole, but one gets a sense of the prevailing ethos of that era. Somehow, I doubt that self-esteem was valued quite so highly as is the case today. Or that it was a stated goal of much of parenthood and education.

All of which brings us back to the newly elected congressman from Long Island. Whether going by the name of George Santos or Anthony Devolder or Anthony Zabrovsky or Kitara Ravache, the man possesses a vivid imagination, even lacking a true north or any compass point.

He claims to have attended Baruch College (not); to have been a volleyball star there (not); to have an MBA from New York University (not); to have saved over 2,500 dogs and cats through a nonprofit he founded (not); to have worked for Citigroup and Goldman Sachs (not); to have been mugged on the way to deliver an overdue rent check to his landlord (not); and that his mother was a finance executive who worked at the World Trade Center and perished in the Sept. 11 attack (not, not and not).

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Nor did he have employees who died in the shooting at the Pulse nightclub. Nor were his grandparents Holocaust refugees. Nor is he a Jew or even Jew-ish. And on and on.

What seems to be true is that he performed in drag years ago in Brazil and that he wore a stolen Burberry scarf to a Stop the Steal rally. Apparently, he was OK with that particular bit of thievery.

Long Island has bred its cast of unsavory characters over the years. Was Joey Buttafuoco not available to run for this seat?

For Kevin McCarthy and the Republicans attempting to run the U.S. House by the thinnest of majorities, all of this is embarrassing but not disqualifying. From the back benches of the chamber, Santos provides them with a meek, reliable, acquiescent vote.

Santos is not alone in illustrating how team play now supersedes most any code of reasonable conduct.

When multiple women came forward with credible evidence that Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker had urged them to abort developing babies he had fathered, in blatant contradiction of his pro-life stance, no Republican of any stature walked away from him. He was part of the team.

Lest anyone think this is a partisan observation, Democrats did themselves no credit a quarter century back when Bill Clintons behavior with a young intern was decidedly unpresidential.

During that firestorm, liberal journalist Nina Burleigh famously commented, Id be happy to give Clinton (oral sex) just to thank him for keeping abortion legal.

Clintons antics might not have merited impeachment. But is there any doubt that the response from his party should have been one of disgust, derision and even censure?

I am hardly some killjoy, nor am I free of my own mistakes and breaches. All of us are fallible; none of us are free of our foibles.

But the whole idea of dimension has fallen victim to the all-or-nothing tribalism that rules the day. There is run of the mill political exaggeration and distortion, and then there are Santos fantasies and inventions. A country that cannot make that distinction has lost its bearings.

Recent examples are plentiful of the constructive use of public shaming. The Me Too movement a few years back was a necessary shock to an old-boys-club sense of entitlement.

Society is doing fine, thank you, with the likes of Harvey Weinstein, Matt Lauer and Kevin Spacey banished to jail cells or distant sidelines. Their disgrace has changed assumptions far and wide of what constitutes appropriate workplace behavior.

But George Santos has avoided any such sanction. Which brings this column back to asking how much dishonesty and mendacity does it take to get drummed out of polite society? Or just out of the halls of Congress?

Santos shame is inescapable and his to bear. But if our institutions fail to enjoin this naked fraudulence, then they are shameless as well.
In January 2021, La Plata County Court Judge Anne K. Woods presided over an emotionally fraught sentencing hearing: Preston Edward Pitcher, a church leader, pleaded guilty to four misdemeanor offenses after sexually abusing young adults whom he groomed as children.

Despite the option to impose jail time, Woods opted against incarcerating Pitcher for 60 days and instead sentenced him to four years of probation, as the parties had agreed to.

Observers were aghast.

What if it was your son that was molested or sexually abused? one victims parent told her.

The victims here deserve something, the prosecutor added.

Woods, who was barely into her fourth month as a judge, attempted to make the point that Pitcher needed reformation and supervision, and putting him in a cell would not serve the community. But her actual words, as the local newspaper described the hearing, conveyed an air of insensitivity.

Im not going to sentence you to 60 days in jail because I just dont see the point, Woods said. Theres no amount of jail thats going to help anyone here.

The day after the November 2022 election, Annie Woods was no longer a judge. Appointed at age 33 just two years prior, a slim majority  51%  of La Plata County voters opted not to retain her in office.

I had strong reactions sometimes when presiding over cases, hearing from victims who were harmed. And having the instinct to tell that defendant how horrible they were and punish them. Im human, she said, explaining her style as a judge. But so are they.

Woods was the only judge in Colorado not to be retained in 2022. It is not a rare event to have a judge come up short on a retention vote, as each of the four prior election cycles also featured judges losing their seats.

However, Woods fell into the unusual category of being non-retained despite a favorable evaluation from one of the states independent, citizen-led commissions that reviews the performance of judges. The performance commissions used to recommend to voters whether to retain or not retain a judge; now, they advise whether judges meet performance standards based on a matrix of factors.

Woods was one of several judges in 2022 to receive a split vote from her performance commission. Six members believed she met performance standards, while three did not. It was the same margin, for instance, of a county court judge in Rio Blanco County  an older man  who met performance standards despite parties in his courtroom feeling pressured to settle cases for fear the judge would get confused and misapply the law at trial. (Voters retained him by 2 to 1.)

In contrast, Woods commission repeatedly noted that she had improved as a judge since the time of the Pitcher hearing. And yet, its members wrote, the Commission found the public did not see Judge Woods as fair.

Rather than being the first signal to voters that something was wrong, the commissions observation was actually a confirmation of the local narrative about Woods, spread for two years online and through the media.

To her opponents, Woods loss was a function of her approach to crime, specifically her application of restorative justice, which focuses on repairing the harmful effects of a crime rather than punishing the offender. In their telling, Woods version crossed over the line into coddling criminals.

For Woods, in contrast, the election involved a confluence of external and internal forces  of her own unfamiliarity with the job, of misinformation, of differential treatment because of her age and sex, and of a Democratic-leaning county not liking the criminal justice reform it was seeing.

I was different and they didnt want that, she said.

Defense attorney with a vision

Woods graduated from the University of Denvers law school in 2015, five years before her appointment. She then became a public defender in Durango, which she characterized as a front seat to the systemic flaws of the criminal justice system. In 2020, she applied to become the sole La Plata County Court judge, beating out two men with prosecutorial experience for the position.

Woods recalled being open with the governors office and the citizen-led judicial nominating commission about her goals.

I really was always a fan of procedural justice, which is the concept of giving everyone a voice, treating everyone with dignity and respect, and using plain language that people can understand, trying to be neutral, she said.

In Colorado, county court judges preside over misdemeanor crimes, traffic cases (including non-felony drunken driving), small claims and evictions. They also set bail for criminal defendants.

Initially, Woods struggled to adapt. Multiple attorneys told Colorado Politics that lawyers would openly demean her, and she occasionally had difficulty controlling the courtroom. An initial evaluation from her judicial performance commission in 2021 corroborated the concerns  70% of attorneys and 100% of non-attorneys who filled out surveys believed Woods did not meet performance standards. Her lowest score was in the category of application and knowledge of law.

At the time, Woods felt that some of the criticism of her performance was unfair, but acknowledged she had legitimate issues to fix. In large part, there was concern the judge extended inappropriate amounts of compassion to the criminally accused.

I just really wanted to empathize with everyone and feel like the court is a place where they are not gonna come in and the judge is gonna throw a bunch of terms at them and not help them at all, Woods said. I didnt want my courtroom to be a place like that. But I definitely think I crossed the line sometimes into the category of giving advice.

The public portrait of her was as someone who privileged the criminally accused, a reputation developed through a small number of cases highlighted in the media. There was the man for whom Woods granted bond in a DUI case, only to then drive drunk again and kill his passenger. There was a mentally ill woman arrested for setting fire to a barn, but then led police on a high-speed chase after Woods granted her bond. And there was Pitchers sentencing.

Some victims corroborated the view that Woods was to blame, at least in part, for perceived leniency.

John Purser was riding his motorcycle in March 2021 when another biker hit him on a curve, injuring them both. The man pleaded guilty to a traffic offense, careless driving resulting in injury, and received a fine with no jail time. Purser, who voted against Woods retention, is still unhappy with her and the district attorneys office for agreeing to the punishment.

She didnt require him to address me personally, to write a letter of apology, to do public service. There was virtually no consequence for what he did, Purser said.

Still, by 2022, the majority of Woods performance commission was satisfied she had improved enough.

The public still may be partially anchored on the view that Judge Woods is a pro-defense judge, commission members wrote to voters, but the Commission noted a significant increase in cash bail and sentences above the minimum since the interim evaluation.

The numbers bore out that narrative. Disapproval of her job performance dropped from the previous year. One-third of lawyers and one-quarter of non-lawyers still believed she did not meet performance standards  percentages higher than average for county court judges  but it was a steep decline from 2021.

But there was another number that foreshadowed a retention problem. In 2022, the chief judge of Woods judicial district, who was also up for retention, received 39 survey responses from lawyers and nonlawyers across all three counties in the district. Two other counties closest in population to La Plata  Garfield and Fremont  also had their county judges up for retention, who garnered 59 and 48 responses, respectively.

In contrast, 90 people had something to say about Woods.

Persistent coverage, persistent outrage

Marshall R. Sumrall, a private criminal defense attorney in Durango, believed Woods was doing a good job. He noticed the newspaper, The Durango Herald, published a slew of opinion articles, editorials and letters to the editor that were critical of Woods during her time in office.

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The Durango Herald seemed to be opposed to her from the beginning, he recalled. In my opinion, the voters were influenced by their unfair reporting.

Nikkolette Moyer, who worked for the court system between 2021 and 2022 and was assigned to Woods as a clerk, said the papers coverage bothered Woods.

They didnt really talk about Annie in the most positive light. All of the articles they wrote about her, there was nothing ever positive, Moyer said. It was just really strange how they always picked her out.

Senior editor Trent Stephens told Colorado Politics he had not detected a bias or known of an uncorrected inaccuracy in The Heralds coverage of Woods. Woods acknowledged the paper did not publish anything factually inaccurate, but argued its reporting about her sensationalized certain cases or failed to mention key facts.

The paper was not the only venue for conversation about Woods approach to judging. A post on Reddit, with 89 comments, featured a discussion ostensibly about her, but veered into the merits of restorative justice and criminal justice procedure.

Be honest with yourself: If you were the defendant  and we are all just a moment and a mistake away from becoming the defendant  you would want someone with compassion, integrity, and principles sitting behind that bench, wrote one commenter.

Repeat offenders need to be locked up, rehabilitation be damned, responded another.

Then the radio ads started.

The party chair

Dave Peters is the chair of the La Plata County Republican Party. He also happens to be a member of the judicial performance commission that received information about Woods performance and deliberated confidentially about its recommendation to voters.

Before the election, the county party ran radio ads for 10 days, including against Woods. Peters estimated the group spent $1,000 specifically on her. The GOP also posted a voter guide that recommended Woods not be retained, with an explanation.

Judge Woods is a far-left activist Judge, with an abysmal track record. This Polis appointee has shown time and again a blatant disregard for public safety and the rule of law, the guide explained.

Peters denied any impropriety given his dual roles as commissioner and party chair.

My views on the performance commission are based solely on the performance standards laid out by the state, he said, suggesting the much bigger issue was the presence of lawyers on the commission reviewing the judges they appear before.

The local Democratic Party did not take a position on judicial retention.

Although the rules governing performance commissions forbid members from publicly advocating for or against the retention of judges, Kent Wagner, the director of Colorados Office of Judicial Performance Evaluation, said he detected no breach in this circumstance.

I have found no indication that Mr. Peters publicly advocated against Judge Woods retention personally, he said.

Gary M. Jackson, a retired Denver County Court judge and a former judicial performance commissioner in Arapahoe County, said he could not recall a prior instance of a political party advocating against a judges retention.

Peters involvement struck him as problematic, as did the partys characterization of Woods, Jackson said.

What was put in that voter guide, first of all, was inaccurate. That performance commission did not make a determination that her performance as a judge was abysmal, he said. It did not come to the conclusion that she was not abiding by the rule of law.

And yet, at the same time Woods was narrowly losing her retention election, La Plata County voters selected Democrats across the partisan races, suggesting the countys Republicans were far from the only demographic dissatisfied with her.

Pulling the cards

Woods said she does not like to pull the woman card or the young woman card.

I think it can be used as an excuse for our own shortcomings, she explained.

But Woods nonetheless perceived differential treatment  by attorneys, by litigants and by voters  because of her age and sex. Perhaps coincidentally, of the last four judges who lost their retention elections, three were women.

When youre a woman or youre a judge of color, said Jackson, we still live in a society and a system where we are viewed differently, and we have to work harder and longer and are not given the same leeway that white males are given.

Some observers who spoke to Colorado Politics witnessed what they believed to be hostile treatment of Woods. Others, including those who worked for her and were in her courtroom frequently, did not pick up on any problematic behavior.

Woods made clear that she does not blame anyone else for her non-retention. But she also suspected those who might have labeled as competent a man with similar credentials instead saw her as inexperienced.

Ellen Stein, the former editorial page editor for The Herald and currently a corporate marketing director, voted against Woods retention. Stein said she is as liberal as they come and in favor of restorative justice. But Woods version of restorative justice was not what Stein wanted.

I hate to say this  I would like to see somebody who has a little more experience under their belt, she said. I want to see women thrive in government and public positions, but my sense in this case is that she needs more experience.

It made me grateful

Steins no vote on Woods was driven by a specific case she handled: Preston Pitcher, the man Woods sentenced for sexual abuse, with no jail time.

He was not sentenced to more than some kind of therapy, Stein said. I thought that was abhorrent.

In reality, Pitchers plea agreement stipulated to four years of probation, with up to 60 days in jail as an option. Probation, in turn, includes several limitations on a defendants liberty, along with supervision and the possibility of incarceration for violating the conditions. In Pitchers case, Woods also ordered treatment.

Stein said she spoke to a lawyer she knew about Pitchers sentence, who agreed with Woods approach to rehabilitating Pitcher. But that did not convince her that what the judge did was right.
Candidates in a crowded mayoral race to replace Mayor John Suthers in April will slug it out publicly in the coming months, throwing all they have at it: money, name recognition, political experience and strong vision for the city.

Likely front-runners with stuffed war chests and lengthy resumes include Wayne Williams, Colorado Springs councilman and former secretary of state; Longinos Gonzalez, a county commissioner; Sallie Clark, a former Colorado Springs councilwoman and El Paso County commissioner; and Yemi Mobolade, political newcomer and businessman.

They are among 12 candidates running to replace Suthers, who is term-limited. They join Councilman Tom Strand; former county commissioner and city councilman Darryl Glenn; businessmen Andrew Dalby and Jim Miller; and comedian and model Kallan Reece Rodebaugh. Johnathan Tiegen, a former CIA security contractor and founder of a local militia group, and Lawrence Martinez, who has worked as a hospice home care specialist and a business consultant, are also competing.

Though Williams faced an unsuccessful recall effort in the summer, he doesn't feel it will hinder his campaign, he said.

"The fact that people overwhelmingly rejected that attempt shows that is not where the majority of people in Colorado Springs are," he said.

Williams was targeted for his appearance with Secretary of State Jena Griswold in a public service announcement about the security of elections.

He also faced criticism for voting to reduce the amount of parkland developers must give to the city when they build new homes; for opposing an effort known as Protect our Parks that would require a vote of the people to approve parkland deals; and for supporting District 3 Councilwoman Stephannie Fortune's appointment to City Council. Fortune was also named in the same recall effort.

The candidates will need to address top resident concerns in their campaigns including public safety, affordable housing and development, homelessness, transportation and an unstable economy, local politicos said.

They are competing to replace a mayor that saw strong economic growth during his tenure.

In the past eight years, the city added 47,000 jobs, added 50,000 residents, and saw its annual gross domestic product grow to $40 billion, up from $30 billion, Suthers reported in September during his last State of the City speech. The city also saw only 0.1% of an economic loss during the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.

Possible front-runners for mayor have been fundraising in earnest ahead of the little more than two-month campaign before them. Mobolade is leading with the most cash available  about $204,800  as of Jan. 11, the most recent city finance records show. Gonzalez had about $179,300, Williams about $106,600, and Clark about $104,400.

The next round of campaign finance records must be filed with the city by Wednesday.

Strong fundraising allows candidates to reach more people with messages about key challenges, such as housing, water availability and public safety.

The city will need a strong voice at the state level to help keep housing construction costs down, Gonzalez and Williams said.

"Smart growth" would also mean looking for options to build near existing infrastructure and essential services, Gonzalez said.

On Tuesday, the City Council approved a new zoning code that lays a foundation for more infill building and future neighborhoods with a wider variety of housing, as well as other changes.

Gonzalez said he thinks the new code will be a key part of helping the city keep housing costs down, emphasizing that "we need public dialogue to best take advantage of these revisions."

Mobolade said the city should also focus on its "missing middle" earners, or residents who make between 60% and 150% of the area's median income. In El Paso County, those are residents with household incomes of between $50,000 and $100,000 a year, he said.

"These are our firefighters, law enforcement officers, teachers, clerks," he said. "These are working professionals that we need to help keep our city running. ... There's virtually, right now, no housing for that group of people."

Mobolade said if elected, he would work to implement a "missing middle gap fund" that would partner with businesses and philanthropic organizations to provide funding for more efficient housing that will, in turn, "drive down the cost of new types of housing that we need in our community."

The strength of Colorado Springs' economy, Williams said, will also depend on its housing availability. In the discussion of whether Space Command headquarters should remain in Colorado Springs or should move permanently to Huntsville, Ala., he said, housing availability in the Pikes Peak region has been a concern.

The council has taken a number of steps to address the housing crisis, including adopting a fee rebate program for developers to encourage them to build more affordable housing for some of the lowest income earners in town, he said. Colorado Springs Utilities will also earmark $2 million each year to pay for infrastructure costs for 120 single-family homes or 2,000 apartments, "key actions" he said the next administration must continue.

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Colorado Springs will need to participate in regional solutions for water availability as the Colorado River experiences a megadrought, candidates said.

The City Council also on Tuesday approved a tweaked version of a controversial water rule that requires Utilities to have 128% of the water necessary to serve existing city demand and the projected demand from new properties.

The council said it, too, would study regional water needs, as several neighborhoods in El Paso County rely on diminishing groundwater and could require in the future water from Utilities.

"We need to bring all our stakeholders together to see how this rule, or any rule, should be implemented and how it affects us all," Gonzalez said.

A proposal from Councilwoman Nancy Henjum on Tuesday to form a regional water task force that would deliver recommendations received broad support. The council, though, did not commit to a date to set up a new task force.

Clark said she supports the proposed task force to "slow down" the conversation and assess the community's resources. If elected mayor, Clark said she would commit to establishing the task force within her first 90 days in office.

"How we grow is going to be determined by our resources," she said. "... This water rule can have long-ranging impacts on our community."

Alongside the new water ordinance, Williams said, officials must "continue to work on where to acquire water resources, and work collaboratively with our neighbors to acquire water in a way that still allows farmers to grow agriculture to support our state and community."

Public safety, too, should be top of mind for the next administration as the city fights rising crime rates, candidates and politicos said.

Though the council in December approved a $1 billion budget, adding funding for 15 police officer positions, the city is still short about 50 police officers. Officials will have to fill those new positions amid changing attitudes toward law enforcement, Clark and Williams said.

"The numbers are there in terms of ability to hire. The question is, why we aren't able to fill those positions?" Clark said.

Clark said the next administration should consider bonuses for officers who recruit peers, keeping wages and benefits competitive, offering opportunities for continuing education, and ensuring officers have support from supervisors, the City Council and the mayor.

Gonzalez said more conversation between the community and police force through town halls could help re-instill public trust in law enforcement, which will help recruit more officers.

The city's efforts to implement a police academy that can operate more frequently throughout the year could also help, Williams said. Typically, applicants could wait months between receiving their employment offer and joining the academy, increasing their chances of finding other work in the interim to provide for themselves, he said.

"Being able to decrease the waiting time between the offer and the start of the academy is one of those critical steps that we need to take," he said.

Leaders must also find better ways to address homelessness, Clark said.

"How can we be tough, and how can we also be compassionate, and how can we also be innovative in solving this problem?" she said.

An innovative and tailored solution requires engaging leaders across several sectors like health care, behavioral health and human services, criminal justice, employment, education and others, she said.

Candidates also said fire-response times and evacuation routes must be top of mind.

No matter who is elected in April, Mobolade said, Colorado Springs leadership has to work collaboratively together and with residents.

"We have to keep moving forward. We cannot stay stagnant," he said.
Another deadline to establish major cutbacks in water use in the seven-state Colorado River Basin is quickly approaching, as the states continue talks, as ordered by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

Last summer Reclamation Commissioner Camille Touton ordered the states to figure out how to reduce water use by an enormous 2 million to 4 million acre-feet by August, as historic drought continued across the basin, which they failed to do.

If no consensus by the states, tribal leaders and federal authorities is reached by Tuesday, it increases the possibility that the Bureau of Reclamation will unilaterally make the decisions on usage and impose them on the states.

Becky Mitchell, director of the Colorado Water Conservation Board who also represents Colorado on the Upper Colorado River Commission, said state talks were continuing but that more work and specific plans from California, Arizona and Nevada would be necessary to reach an agreement and take action.

The basin states, the federal government, and the tribes have been working collaboratively and tirelessly to find potential points of consensus on short-term actions to protect lakes Powell and Mead, Mitchell said last week at a meeting of the Colorado Water Conservation Board in Aurora.

I continue to believe strongly that the Lower Basin states must take action to reduce their demands out of Lake Mead.

We are moving forward on our commitments, but it is important to recognize that those commitments and that work alone mean nothing if the Lower Basin use continues as it has been, she said. She also stressed the importance of considering what must occur in the Lower Basin before Colorado moves forward with widespread participation in the System Conservation Pilot Program.

In addition to the cutbacks, several other key decisions also lie ahead in the coming weeks, including how a $125 million, broad-based water conservation pilot program would operate, whether a permanent water conservation program known as demand management could work among the Upper Basin states, and how the third year of an emergency drought plan, known as the Drought Response Operations Agreement, will function this spring and summer.

All are tied to reducing short-term and long-term demands on the drought-strapped river. The Upper Basin states put forward a five-point plan last summer, but it hinged on additional actions to reduce use in the Lower Basin.

The basin is divided into two regions. The Upper Basin includes Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico and Utah, while the Lower Basin covers Arizona, Nevada and California.

As lakes Powell and Mead have dwindled, all seven states have had to get by with less water and federal forecasts indicate that is likely to be the case for several more years.

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Since December, the water forecast has improved slightly thanks to heavy mountain snows in Utah and Colorado, according to Michelle Garrison, a water resources specialist at the Colorado Water Conservation Board.

Snowpack and runoff in all of western Colorado and Utah is quite a bit above average  but from here on, it could get really dry just like it did last year. So folks need to be prepared to plan for a continued wet or a sudden drop to really dry or anything in between as theyre looking forward, Garrison told the board.

Now 23 years into a megadrought widely believed to be the worst in 1,800 years, the highly developed river system is on the brink of collapse, with lakes Powell and Mead falling dangerously close to deadpool, a water level so low that, if it is reached, Powell wont be able to produce hydropower and Mead wont be able to serve the millions of people in the Lower Basin who rely on the river for water.

The river begins in Colorados Never Summer Mountains, high in Rocky Mountain National Park. It gathers water from major tributaries in Colorado, such as the Yampa and Gunnison rivers, and throughout the Upper Basin, accumulating some 90% of the streamflow that it will provide throughout the seven-state river system, thanks to the runoff from the Upper Basins deep mountain snows.

But since 2002, those mountain snowpacks have been shrinking, crushed by warming temperatures and fewer snow days.

Beginning in July of 2021, the U.S. Department of the Interior ordered, for the first time, emergency releases from Utahs Flaming Gorge, Colorados Blue Mesa and New Mexicos Navajo reservoirs. But that has done little to restore levels, although the releases are credited with providing some protection to the power supply.

While Lower Basin states have been forced to begin cutting back water use under a special set of operating guidelines and drought plans approved respectively in 2007 and 2019, negotiations in recent months have failed to achieve the federally ordered cutbacks. Upper Basin states are considering new programs and actions to further cut Upper Basin water use, but are hoping for additional Lower Basin commitments before taking additional water use reductions of their own.

At the same time, the drought has continued, and this winter could ultimately be dry once again, particularly in the Lower Basin. In response, the federal government announced last week it would expedite negotiations on a new set of operating guidelines designed to protect lakes Powell and Mead to help restore the river.

Under the terms of the Colorado River Compact of 1922, the rivers supplies are divided equally between the Upper and Lower basins. But because the Upper Basin states have smaller and fewer reservoirs than the Lower Basin, users here have had to cut back their water use as the drought has continued. At the same time, Lower Basin users have been able to rely on stored supplies in Powell and Mead, at least until now.

Looking ahead, Jessica Brody, who represents the Metro Basin on the CWCB Board of Directors, said she would like to see more time taken before critical Upper Basin decisions are made, including participation in the $125 million System Conservation Pilot Program, which is accepting applications through Feb. 1.

Im a little bit concerned about the Feb. 1 deadline when we dont yet know whether the Lower Basin will be able to come to the table in terms of reducing the demands in the Lower Basin, Brody said.
Gerrymandering is the political crafting of safe election districts for one's own political party and less safe or competitive election districts for your partisan opponents. It is among the oldest dirty tricks in American politics, and perhaps the only legalized form of vote stealing left in the United States.

Voters ideally pick their elected officials, but under gerrymandering in most states it is elected officials who, in effect, pick their voters.

The word gerrymandering originated in 1812, when Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry created a voting district that looked like a salamander. But drawing district lines to favor a political party goes back to the rotten boroughs that guaranteed the election of certain representatives to the English Parliament in the 13th century.

Alas for Elbridge Gerry. His name has been wrongfully attached do a redistricting plan that he did not author but strongly backed. Furthermore, his redistricting plan was in effect for only one year.

Coloradans should not get too upset that their state legislature has been gerrymandered to heavily favor the Democratic Party. Gerrymandering is the norm, not the exception, for state legislatures in the United States.

Further, gerrymandering has existed in the U.S. since colonial times and will continue to exist far into the future, mainly because it is a complex and compelling issue that seems to defy correction.

These are the conclusions of political scientist Nick Seabrook of North Florida University, writing in his book, One Person, One Vote: A Surprising History of Gerrymandering in America.

Seabrook notes that Colorado used an independent redistricting committee to redraw the boundary lines of its state legislative districts following the 2020 U.S. Census.

Instead of coming up with a fair redistricting, however, the independent redistricting committee came under the influence of Democratic Party lobbyists and gerrymandered both houses of the Colorado Legislature strongly Democratic.

In the state House, the redistricting committee created 30 safe Democratic seats to only 19 safe Republican seats. In the Senate, they fashioned 15 safe Democratic seats with just nine safe Republican seats.

In describing how independent redistricting commissions can be compromised by political parties, Seabrook wrote that local voters, elected officials, labor unions and community groups are called to testify before the commission in support of a redistricting plan that just happens to coincide with the Democratic Partys interests.

That is clearly what happened in Colorado's redistricting of the Legislature for the 2022 general election.

Seabrook begins his book with descriptions of the age-old art of gerrymandering:

At its heart, gerrymandering involves a concerted effort to make the votes of certain groups of people matter more than the votes of others.

Nothing pleases politicians more than knowing that their district is safe, that their majority is safe, that no matter which direction the winds of popular sentiment may be blowing, their shelter is well built, sturdy, and prepared to weather the storm.

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Seabrooks book takes a historical approach. It is filled with interesting tidbits from American history that have a gerrymandering angle. Here is one concerning Abraham Lincoln:

Before being elected president of the United States, Lincoln was the victim of a gerrymander. In 1858 he ran for U.S. senator from Illinois and engaged in a famous series of debates with his Democratic opponent, Stephen Douglas.

At that time, U.S. senators were selected by their state legislature rather than a popular vote. The Democrats had gerrymandered the Illinois legislature and, although the Republicans received the most votes, the Democrats won majorities in both the Illinois Senate and House.

It was those unfair majorities in the Illinois legislature that selected Democrat Douglas over Republican Lincoln.

Seabrook is upset by the way both political parties in the United States openly set out to gerrymander the state legislatures to their political benefit. He makes a particular example of the national Republicans.

Following the 2010 U.S. Census, the national Republican Party embarked on Redmap, a plan to use gerrymandered redistricting to ensure Republican majorities in state legislatures throughout the nation. Wisconsin was one of the targeted states. Outside money was brought into Wisconsin to finance the project.

Seabrooks research revealed that partisan gerrymanders favoring the Republicans were instituted for the state legislatures in Florida, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

These state legislative gerrymanders were in effect for more than a decade and showed no sign of being seriously threatened, let alone reversed.

The impact of modern computing on redistricting is a major concern to author Seabrook. He writes that Colonial gerrymanders were amateurish and relatively ineffective when compared with the computer-driven gerrymandering of the present day.

American elections now take place in the mainframes of supercomputers, Seabrook notes, where redistricting professionals decide for the next 10 years whether districts will be safe Democratic, safe Republican or competitive. Competitive districts can be won by either political party and thus set up real elections.

As for redistricting reform, Seabrook favors the independent commission system such as the one currently in use in Colorado. He sees the independent redistricting commission as the gold standard for ending gerrymandering, yet he warns the final result often leads to the same gerrymandering the independent commission form hopes to avoid. That happened in Colorado.

Both political parties now have national organizations devoted to gerrymandering state legislatures on behalf of the political parties. The Democratic National Redistricting Committee is headed by former U.S attorney general Eric Holder. The Republicans have the National Republican Redistricting Trust led by Adam Kincaid.

Both political parties thus have national committees staffed with skilled political operatives openly working to gerrymander state legislatures. The book leaves us with the final thought that it is almost impossible to get political parties seeking political advantage out of the redistricting process.

Seabrook wants the redistricting process to be in the hands of map makers, attorneys, data scientists, and redistricting professionals who are completely separate from the two major political parties. Sadly, his book does not offer a method for accomplishing that goal.
The Colorado Supreme Court discipline committee that dismissed an inquiry into former Chief Justice Nathan Ben Coats professional conduct need not have recused itself from that decision even though nearly all the members of the panel were appointed by him, according to a legal ethics expert.

Whats more, a rule that specifically requires members of the courts Legal Regulation Committee to disqualify themselves from any case in which a judge, similarly situated, would be required to do the same doesnt necessarily apply, according to Eli Wald, a professor at the University of Denvers Sturm School of Law.

At least six of the 11 members who sit on the committee  eight members are lawyers  were appointed by the Supreme Court while Coats was its chief justice; four were appointed while he was a member of the court. Several worked closely with him in other capacities with the court. Each is appointed to a 7-year term on the committee.

This is not to say that our disciplinary system is perfect, Wald told The Denver Gazette when asked to review the matter. There is always room for growth and improvement, but in this instance, it seems the system worked reasonably well.

Some questioned how the committees decision could avoid the appearance of any conflict of interest, especially in light of a rule the Supreme Court recently adopted for itself that mandates the justices step down from any discipline matter that involves them, a family member or even a former colleague such as Coats.

The committees job is to review misconduct allegations against any licensed attorney in Colorado and recommend formal proceedings to the Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel, which oversees the licensing process.

The OARC in 2021 hired an outside investigator to examine allegations that Coats, while chief justice, had approved a multi-million-dollar contract to silence a Judicial Department executive who was being fired for financial irregularities. If fired, the executive, Chief of Staff Mindy Masias, threatened a tell-all sex-discrimination lawsuit that would also reveal years of judicial misconduct that went unreported or was handled lightly.

The allegation came from former State Court Administrator Christopher Ryan, who resigned when a newspaper investigation in 2019 uncovered the contract deal and, in 2021, the existence of a secret memo that laid out the alleged misconduct by the judges and the alleged quid pro quo arrangement. The memo was read to Coats during a meeting that led to the contract.

Two other outside investigations, both paid for by the Judicial Department, have already concluded Coats did not directly approve the contract and was merely the unwitting accomplice in a complex deal that they say Ryan helped engineer. The investigations, including the one commissioned by the OARC, concluded Coats was a poor administrator who let a dysfunctional and toxic work environment permeate the State Court Administrators Office he was supposed to oversee.

Ryan has consistently maintained his allegation and that the outcome of all the investigations  seven were launched  were designed "to protect the robes."

The investigators hired by the OARC submitted their findings and recommendations to the committee, which determined there wasnt clear and convincing evidence to prove the quid pro quo allegation.

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The committee did slam Coats for not reporting the apparent misconduct of two unidentified Judicial Department lawyers involved in the contract deal  it doesnt say whether they are being investigated or disciplined for that conduct  a violation of his professional conduct promise. But the committee ultimately decided not to discipline Coats for any of it.

The investigators report is secret, according to the rules surrounding attorney discipline, as are the recommendations.

Some critics quickly said the same conflict-of-interest concerns that caused the Supreme Court to issue its new disqualification rule should have influenced the committee to recuse itself from the Coats matter. There are no provisions in the committees rules for when that happens.

Ten of the 11 members of the committee that rendered the decision, including its chairman, Boulder defense attorney Steven Jacobson, were appointed by Coats and other members of the current Supreme Court, according to annual reports by the Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel.

Coats retired in December 2020 after twenty years on the court, the last three as its chief justice.

And while Jacobson has held the chairmanship of the regulation committee since at least 2016  committee chairmen and vice-chairmen can be appointed twice for a total of 14 years  he also sat alongside Coats as a member of the courts influential Advisory Committee going back to at least 2003, records show.

Whats more, the committees rules require any decision to be made by at least a quorum, or majority, of its membership, or six of them.

If the decision about Coats was instead made by a quorum, at least five of the six would have been appointed to the job by Coats or a Coats-led court, records show.

Wald said he didnt think there was enough reason for the committee to step aside. He is a member of the Colorado Supreme Court committee on the state Rules of Professional Conduct, a member of the Colorado State Bar Associations ethics committee, and a member of the Colorado Judicial Ethics Advisory Board.

I believe that the OARC handled the matter appropriately, Wald said. Although not required by the applicable rules, the office retained out-of-state investigators to avoid the appearance of impropriety. Review of the investigators findings by the committee was appropriate because the disqualification provision does not apply. Moreover, it ought not to apply.

Wald explained that committee appointments by the Supreme Court should not suffice as a basis to disqualify members reviewing allegations against one former court member.

If the committee had recused itself, the only apparent alternative would be another group of people appointed by the Supreme Court to temporarily take its place, fostering the same questions.

Its unclear that disqualification would address theoretical concerns about the appearance of impropriety, Wald said.
Its hard to believe that its been a year and a month since the Marshal fire swept through my neighbors in Superior and Louisville. Wasnt much longer back in time it happened to folks near Colorado Springs.

After the Marshall fire, I saw police stationed outside the affected neighborhoods and barricades put up to keep looters and thieves from stealing from victims who lost so much.

So just how repugnant is it that it turns out its the Colorado state government and, by default, our dear friends at the Regional Transportation District pilfering from these poor fire victims to the tune of around $10,000 per homeowner.

Heres how the crime works. Every time we buy stuff, we pay sales and use tax on it. The state charges 2.9% on most everything we buy.

If you live in the Denver metro area, you get the extra delight of paying another 1% to one of the most bloated, inefficient transit agencies in the country, RTD. (Thus reason our traffic is so awful. Our taxing capacity for transportation doesnt go to roads, but mostly goes to trains, trolleys, and buses that the Census Bureau says carries a measly 4% of our trips.)

The rest of the sales and use taxes we pay are gobbled up by counties, cities, special districts and the like.

So, when a new home goes up everything that it takes to build that house is purchased and subject to sales and use taxes. Say someone builds a house in the mountain town of Allenspark.

For everything they buy to build it they give a 1% hostage fee to RTD, even though RTD gives absolutely no service to their community. I believe the term is paying tribute to the emperor.

OK, that was just gratuitous to RTD. Lets say someone builds their home in Superior. They pay 1% tribute to RTD (for their Frastrasks train to Boulder that was to be completed by 2017 but has never even been started AND the Personal Rapid Transit rail system that was to be completed by 1980 but never started (just how stupid are we?)), 2.9% to the state, 3.46% to Superior, 0.985% to Boulder County, and so on.

Now, you pay those sales taxes every time you buy a cup of coffee as well, but thankfully you only build your house once.

Well, most folks only build their house once. Some lucky bastards, like those around Superior and Colorado Springs recently, get to build it two times!

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Under the label, let growth pay its own way, sales and use tax on new building makes sense. But replacing the burned-down building just brings back what was there before. Its not growth. Its not new. Theres no extra burden to any of these governments.

The cities, counties, RTD, the state, etc., didnt even budget for this extra money to flood into their coffers. If not for the fires, the extra dough wouldnt have appeared. As far as the governments are concerned, its winning the lotto, manna from heaven. One familys tragedy is their windfall.

Some local governments, like Superior, understood this and waived their sales and use tax for homes being rebuilt after the fire. Even the remarkably greedy county of Boulder cut it for the victims, understanding it didnt really cost them anything.

Gov. Jared Polis pledged to do all he could to help fire victims. So last legislative session Senate Bill 206, which dealt with disaster recovery, lifted the state and RTD sales and use taxes for those rebuilding from natural disasters. Awesome.

Well, awesome until that language was mysteriously ripped out of the bill just before it passed and signed into law.

Now the state of Colorado will get a nice little cash windfall it didnt expect of about $9 million on the backs of fire victims who cant afford to rebuild their homes and their lives. RTD is set to pocket $3 million.

The supermajority of Democrats in the Legislature has an opportunity to prove they have a modicum of human decency and ethics by not double taxing victims of natural disaster. Lets see if they fix their malfeasance this session.

Polis has signaled hell sign such a fix. Right on.

Legislature, what kind of looters steal from those in their time of need?

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.
A movement of anti-energy evangelism threatens our health, welfare and lifestyles. The great Satan  oil and gas  has grown to include most promising energy sources. Maybe we can live like the Paleolithic cave people and burn sticks for energy.

For a fringe example of this philosophy  the environmental movements version of a hypocritical religious zealot  consider Colorados Dr. Mohammed Mesmarian. An Aurora-based pediatric dentist and orthodontist, Mesmarian admits to setting a fire that damaged a solar array outside Las Vegas this month.

Mesmarian admitted ... he did it for the big message, larger picture, greater good. He explained the greater good was clean energy, a police report explains.

Police say Mesmarian mistook the transformer for part of a Tesla facility.

Mesmarian is not alone in attacking portions of the electrical grid to save Mother Earth from energy  any energy.

Stephen Plato McRae spent several months shooting electrical grid facilities in Utah and Arizona as his master plan to shut down electrical power and stop global warming.

Even in Colorado  a hub of renewable and clean energy policy think tanks and activists  wind and solar come under attack. Before El Paso County commissioners approved a small wind farm near Calhan in 2015, a barrage of environmentalists tried to stop them. In a packed room, they said rotating blades would cause chickens to lay eggs more erratically and harm other livestock. The blades would decapitate birds.

One activist from Manitou Springs  41 miles west of the wind farm  complained the repetitive shadow effect of turbines could jeopardize her mental and physical health.

Gizmodo  a journal of tech, science and culture  reported in 2018 that anti-wind farm activism is sweeping Europe and the U.S. could be next.

That was prophetic. All over the United States, groups are forming to protect the environment from wind turbines and solar arrays. Not in My Back Yard. Not on my pasture. Not near my beach.

Finding places to build all the clean energy well need to limit global warming isnt getting any easier, reported the Los Angeles Times in late 2022.

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As developers flood rural communities and remote landscapes with proposals for solar fields and wind turbines, they often face intense opposition from conservationists dedicated to protecting habitat for migratory birds, sage grouse and desert tortoises  and from local residents who see industrial energy infrastructure as a threat to their small-town way of life.

Alas, anti-energy activism does not begin and end with NIMBYism and unhinged extremists.

During the first week of January, Consumer Product Safety Commissioner Richard Trumka Jr. told Bloomberg the board might outlaw appliances powered by clean-burning natural gas. He cited an obscure study that links gas stoves to childhood asthma  a correlation far from proven.

Other commissioners told Gazette reporter Scott Weiser they had no plans for an imminent ban. Of course, they would say that. This unpopular idea must be carried out with an insidious incrementalism that will mitigate opposition.

Dont be surprised if gas stoves, heating systems and water heaters go the way of incandescent lightbulbs and high-capacity shower fittings without much notice.

The Sierra Club is committed to eliminating the use of fossil fuels, including coal, natural gas and oil, as soon as possible, the organizations website says. President Joe Biden has stated a near-identical commitment.

We can dismiss the likes of Dr. Mesmarian as fringe operatives, but they represent a dangerous and irrational agenda shared by a mainstream movement. The emotional pandering of clean energy resonates more easily than data highlighting the obstacles to an all-electric world.

Our electrical grid  whether powered by wind, solar, coal or gas  has nowhere near the capacity to meet our energy needs and will not for generations. Most older homes lack access to adequate voltage for all-electric heating, cooling and cooking. Deprive foodies and chefs of gas stoves, and they might storm the Capitol.

Humans have advanced and extended their lives by harnessing available energy sources. We must continue making them safer and cleaner. We cannot let the radical fringe  or the establishment  threaten our access to power.

The Gazette Editorial Board
A work in progress

As Black History Month approaches, I am torn between acknowledgment of it and not. One might ask why; well, the simple answer is its another way of dividing us as Americans. Given that this letter speaks to my acknowledgment, it is only wise to say, I feel duty bound to highlight one of my favorite Black American historical topics  the relatively unknown history of the Buffalo Soldiers. These soldiers were the first American federal black soldiers and troops: soldiers being infantry walking or wagon mounted and troops being the calvary, or those who are horse mounted going into battle.

As the first federal black troops, they were paid the same as their white counterparts; for example, a black private received $13 a month. During the American Civil War, however, white soldiers were paid more than the black soldiers. Consider black soldiers fought on both sides of the Civil War, yet they received less pay from their respective states. Most states mustered up militias to participate in the Civil War.

Shortly, after the end of the Civil War in 1865 Congress authorized the creations of six black regiments, each regiment was approximately 1,000 men, and commanded by white officers. Many of the officers were former Confederate officers so you can imagine what that meant to many of the black soldiers and troopers under their command. I should note, the six black regiments were later reduced to four regiments; 9th and 10th Calvary regiments and 25th and 26th, each with approximately 1,000 men.

Historically, there were many accounts of abuse based of a soldiers skin. In Fort Bliss, Texas, one former Confederate officer tied several black soldiers to the back of a supply wagon and had them walk for miles in the heat and dust, the exact reason alludes historians.

The reason I am sharing this information is we as a nation have come a long, long way in the 157 years since the end of the Civil War. We should learn from our past mistakes, and understand the nation is a work in progress. The U.S. Constitution and its 27 amendments suggest it is aspirational. However, we are not there yet.

The U.S. Constitution is a living document. The insurrection of January 6, 2021, is a clear reminder we as a nation are still working out the kinks in our democratic republic.

So maybe we do need Black History Month to allow the nation to at least consider the history of Black Americans and their contributions from all walks of life.

Willie Breazell

Colorado Springs

Thankful for safe evacuation

Sincere thanks to the Colorado Springs Fire Department and all others who helped safely evacuate residents from Regency Tower Senior 55 Plus Apartments, after we lost power recently.

Your calmness and professionalism made an unfortunate circumstance much easier to bear.

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Those of us lucky enough to live in Regency Tower are eager to return, once safety concerns are met and a new transformer installed.

This is certainly one of the best places to live in Colorado Springs. With the help of a fine owner and excellent staff, we have weathered other challenges, and 2023s Great Migration will soon join The Great Fire and The Yucky Flood as a source of hilarious stories to be shared with our friends and neighbors.

Roberta Hardy

Colorado Springs

Multiple cheating options

What if candidates in your favorite party cheated in the primary to win, but didnt cheat enough in the general to win, what would such observers be called? Answer: Election deniers. Some astute Colorado voters are mocked for being election deniers. These folks only want legitimate votes for all winning parties.

Why? Even favorite candidates who win by cheating, have no motivation to read letters of concern from anyone. Isnt this a form of tyranny?

DEF CON sponsors a hacking Village where computer nerds wirelessly hack into electronic voting machines yearly, that are not connected to the internet.

The various ways to cheat electronically are easier and more varied than most realize. Check out CensoredEvidence.org for the ingenious and multiple cheating options. A career in politics is easier than you think.

Only an informed citizenry can protect their votes, interest and concerns. France does a bipartisan hand count with results completed the same voting day.

Jearell C. Kelley, P.E.

Colorado Springs
South Africa: Task team to monitor the impact of load shedding on agriculture sector

A task team comprising of government, industry participants in the agriculture sector and energy specialists has been established to continuously monitor the impact of loadshedding in the sector and its ability to ensure food security.

The task team was established earlier this month when Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, Thoko Didiza, met with leaders of the agriculture sector and food, fibre and beverages value chains to assess the impact of load shedding on business activity and plans for the sector going forward.

The industry leaders conveyed the difficulties faced by businesses, workers and associated costs for the Minister's attention. They also highlighted the threat to food security in the event that continuous load shedding continues to take place at short notice, without joint strategies on how to mitigate the impact through contingency plans and predictability.

Possible development of alternative energy sources within the sector was also analysed. The meeting resolved that the Minister establish a small sector task team comprising government, industry participants and energy specialists that will continuously monitor the impact of load shedding in the sector and its ability to provide safe and nutritious food to South Africans, the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development said.

The technical work of measuring the financial costs is underway and will help draft the sector strategy.

The task team will also explore short, medium and load-term interventions to ease the burden of load shedding within the farming, food, fibre and beverages value chains.

The Minister acknowledged the difficulty faced by businesses and thanked the leaders for their heroic efforts to supply food to the country under challenging conditions.

Despite the current challenges, the agricultural industries will continue to ensure that availability of food and fibre is assured, Didiza said.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2023-01-29. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics projects 194,000 nursing jobs will open up between now and 2030. In response, MercyOne has implemented the JumpStart Program to help fill those openings locally.

JumpStart provides financial support to nursing students to help earn their Associate Degree in Nursing. After they finish school, students are eligible to sit for the national licensure test to become a certified registered nurse. The program also provides a job after graduation.

The program allows a monthly $1,500 stipend to nursing students in their final semester of study from February to May during spring semester or September to December in the fall semester. It also reimburses the cost of the initial Board of Nursing exam and licensure fees up to $350.

Rachel Ingle, a registered nurse at MercyOne North Iowa Medical Center, said JumpStart helped her finish her RN studies.

The program provided me with financial assistance throughout my last semester of nursing school, she said. The support allowed me to really focus on my studies.

Ingle began her health care career as a certified nurse assistant at MercyOne in 2019 before going back to school at North Iowa Community College to become an RN.

I joined JumpStart because I knew I wanted to continue to serve our patients at MercyOne and work alongside an amazing team in the Critical Care Unit, Ingle said. I love being a nurse because it allows me to make connections with so many people.

In order to qualify for the program, associate-degree nurses must agree to work at a MercyOne health care facility for at least 18 months after becoming an RN. It is preferred enrollees be employed at MercyOne as a LPN, student nurse tech, or nurse assistant while earning their RN certificate.

Megan Quam, a senior recruiter at MercyOne North Iowa, said once graduates become a licensed RN, MercyOne provides employment at one of its medical centers. She said they is able to provide the Jumpstart program because of its strong relationship with NIACC.

The best ways to apply for the JumpStart program is to visit mercyone.org/northiowa/careers or call (641) 428-7287.

MercyOne North Iowa, NIACC team up in other ways

NIACC's Health Simulation Center opened in 2015, and it's been a solid partner with MercyOne North Iowa to provide training for new nurses and those already working in the field.

LeAnn Eckhardt, interim nurse administrator for the NIACC nursing programs, said the two entities partner in multiple ways from MercyOne allowing the use of its facilities for clinical training, to the MercyOne Medical Assistant Partner Program.

Eckhardt said MercyOne is using the latter program to help recruit employees due to the shortage of health care workers.

Eckhardt said workers could be placed in the front of an office doing paperwork or doing things with patients, such as taking blood pressure.

"So, we're partnering with Mercy and they are saying 'we would hire people off the street that don't have a medical degree or a medical background,'" she said. "They would hire them after an interview process. They would start them out as maybe a front-office medical-assistant worker."

According to information provided by MercyOne and NIACC, the students can enroll in clustered courses so they can attend school and still work at least part time. MercyOne covers the cost of text books and certification fees. The information says top earnings would be around $42,000 per year.

Eckhardt said another program NIACC's 93 nursing students may take advantage of is Last Dollar Scholarships. The scholarships are provided as part of the state's Future Ready Iowa program.

If all other available state and federal financial aid fails to cover a student's entire tuition, the Last Dollar Scholar program fills in the gap. A total of 25 different programs from accounting to welding are eligible for the program due to the need for workers in those specific fields. Qualifications for eligibility include:

High school grads must enroll full time in the fall immediately after graduation.

Those 20-year-old and up can enroll full or part time.

Must be in a qualifying program

File a FAFSA application for federal student aid.

Barb Godfrey, health-simulation coordinator at NIACC, said working with MercyOne has allowed them to enhance the student learning experience.

"It's just continually evolving and we're just adding in new curriculum to enhance the student experience or give them experiences they might not see in the clinical setting," she said.

Eckhardt said NIACC students are lucky to have so much time to use the MercyOne facilities for hands-on training.

"They're great to work with. They open their doors and let our students do clinicals there," she said. "A lot of schools have to vie for clinical spots, but Mercy makes us a priority."

Photos: North Iowa history book, 1940s-1960s 1962 Band Festival Hamilton basketball South Federal Avenue 1961 McDonald's Drive-in MCHS wins championship Lock store Hawke hemp farm Gone with the Wind Federal Avenue at night 02-23-1949.jpg Main and State streets Christian Church fire Navy books 1962 Band Festival Tug of War in East Park Officers find ammunition in car
Getting to Know Your Shortlisted Schools - Essaysnark

Now that you've narrowed down the full universe of business schools to a more manageable list of ten or so MBA programs, EssaySnark has a few more tips for taking your research to the next level.

Follow your schools on Twitter and Facebook

TIP:

Consider creating a new Twitter account for yourself just for your bschool admissions project. You don't have to do that but it would allow you to have a more focused experience, and sometimes the schools follow back  if you're using a bschool-only account for yourself, then there's no risk that they'll see your tweets to your friends.



Many schools have multiple Twitter accounts  not just the admissions team, but often other accounts that broadcast school news, and for career services, and often different research departments and rockstar professors too.

Attend any and all school webinars, Twitter chats, and especially any in-person events that you can.

Most schools send admissions staff around the world in the summertime so it's very likely that there will be information sessions happening somewhere near you. Other schools have virtual events and discussions. Look for online MBA fairs and other opportunities to interact with the schools. Webinars with admissions consultants are certainly also helpful (you can learn about those here on GMAT Club) but your priority needs to be the schools themselves.

Talk to current students.

Many schools have a way to contact students with questions. Look on their websites for email addresses and contact forms. Wharton, for example, has the S2S Discussion Forum where you can post a question for current students and alumni to answer. There's only a few Wharton alumni who are active on that forum and keep in mind that they are not admissions representatives, so sometimes the answers given seem a little off (that's just EssaySnark's opinion). However, those forums and direct contact with students are a great way to get valuable information from the school community.

Reach out to admissions.

A few schools will let you do a pre-application consult with their admissions teams, to talk about your goals and whether their program is a good fit. The Duke Cross-Continent MBA is one such program that has this. Definitely take advantage of this if it's available (just to be clear though, this is not something that most top full-time programs do; it's the less-common programs and schools that tend to offer it). However, unless you have a really good reason, EssaySnark feels that it's best to avoid contacting the admissions people outside of their regular outreach channels like info sessions and chats. Most people's application questions can be answered through a search through the school's website. If you have an unusual situation that you need guidance on, then sure, you can ask admissions what to do. Often though, people contact admissions when they don't need to, and sometimes that can backfire.

The best way to learn about a school is to visit.





The process of selecting schools can be a little daunting. Take your time with it, and be as thorough as you can. Just like with dating, it's the kind of effort you need to put in for yourself  nobody else can tell you what the right school for you is. You need to have some quality time with the school before you can decide if they might be The One.



EssaySnark invites you to read some of the applicant Success Stories on our blahg  almost all of them talk about how they found the school they applied to and the process (it's a little like falling in love  lots of fun but often some heartache!). Here's a great one to begin with: 



We hope that you'll have an equally exciting Success Story to share with us soon! A quick warning about the advice above regarding outreach to schools and students: Make sure that your communication has a purpose! If sending an email to a student, you need to pose a question for them  and be sure it's a good one! Don't contact people just for the sake of contacting them, and definitely don't waste people's time by asking something that could easily be answered from the website. Many school websites are a little lacking, so it may require some digging on your part, but be sure to make that effort before you ask a question of anyone at the school (either a student or the admissions team).The process of selecting schools can be a little daunting. Take your time with it, and be as thorough as you can. Just like with dating, it's the kind of effort you need to put in for yourself  nobody else can tell you what the right school for you is. You need to have some quality time with the school before you can decide if they might be The One.EssaySnark invites you to read some of the applicant Success Stories on our blahg  almost all of them talk about how they found the school they applied to and the process (it's a little like falling in love  lots of fun but often some heartache!). Here's a great one to begin with:  How I discovered the IESE was the school for me. We hope that you'll have an equally exciting Success Story to share with us soon!

Obviously this is time- and resource-intensive so you wouldn't do it for just any school. However, once you start to narrow your list, there's nothing more valuable than visiting the campus in terms of the ROI it offers on knowing whether it's a good fit for you._________________
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This last week I joined with parents and education freedom advocates across Montana in celebrating National School Choice Week  recognizing a growing movement to transform public education to focus on students and empower parents with more control over their childs education.

At the core of the education freedom movement is the belief that every student is a unique individual capable of amazing things. This belief drives the idea that one education does not fit all students. The problem is that state education funding historically supports only one type of education system public schools.

Weve essentially set public education up for failure: funding a one-size-fits-all public school system with the impossible task of meeting the diverse learning needs of all students, in all places, simultaneously. And when this one-size-fits-all system fails students, its only the wealthy or well-connected families who are able to opt out while disadvantaged students get left behind.

The goal of the education freedom movement is to transform the way we think about government support for education for the 21st century.

Instead of forcing every kid into the same box for education, education freedom advocates argue that public funds should be focused on empowering families and students directly so they can choose what education system works best for them.

Public education dollars should follow all students wherever they choose to receive an education  be it a public school, charter school, private school or a homeschooling option.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, its safe to say that education freedom is having a moment here in Montana.

HB203, introduced by Representative Dave Bedey, is the latest education freedom legislation to make its debut. House Bill 203 expands the ability of students to attend a public school outside the district where they live, increasing options and empowering parents to make decisions about their childs education.

HB203 also creates a process for public education funding to follow the student from one school district to the other, ensuring that parents wont have to foot the cost of choosing another public school. HB203 received wide support and only one soft opponent, indicating that public school choice as a form of education freedom is quite popular.

HB294 from Rep. Sue Vinton is another bill brought this legislative session to expand a popular Montana education freedom program: tax credit scholarships. Montanas education tax credit program was maxed out completely within a matter of minutes in 2022, with generous donors eager to support providing students more diverse opportunities and choice in both public and private schools. HB294 aims to increase these funding caps so that more schools, parents and students have access to these programs.

A group of passionate and motivated Montana parents are also making a push for public charter schools this year. Public charter schools are specialized public schools that allow more flexibility for innovative educational curriculums focused on particular student needs.

Surprisingly, Montana is one of the last five states in the country that does not allow for public charter schools.

These Montana proposals come on the heels of big reforms in other states like Iowas Students First Act, which was just signed into law last week. This Iowa reform creates a universal scholarship program for all students, allowing parents to direct their students share of public education dollars to pay for a variety of educational options, such as private or public school tuition, tutoring, special learning programs etc.

Whatever form it takes, what the education freedom movement believes is simple: lets transform public education to fund students, not systems.
The Montana Legislature lost a member recently. A young woman resigned because, among other reasons, as a college student, the low-paying part time job serving her state didn't pencil out.

"The Montana Legislature was designed for people  often men  who have flexible schedules with steady and significant incomes," Rep. Mallerie Stromswald said.

As a single parent with two jobs and a school-aged child, this statement resonates strongly for me. And this story is a familiar one for many women. The stories are myriad, and often go like this: making dinner with one hand while attending a virtual meeting; missing story time to answer constituent calls; bringing your 9-year-old honorary campaign manager out to knock doors on weekends.

Former Rep. Stromswald summed it up, "Legislative systems need to adapt so that more young people, students, single parents, and those living on low incomes can serve.

Those who represent Montana should look like Montana. Men outnumber women 2 to 1 in the current Montana Legislature. The largest age group is 65-74, with 50 members. The largest occupational group is identified as retired, with 29 out of 150. From 150 elected representatives, 138 identify as white. City councils and commissions across the state often follow the same patterns. As a result, decisions made at the municipal level, as well as at the state level, often do not consider the views and perspectives of lower income families, single parents, non-white residents, women, and young people.

Change is hard. But even small changes matter. Allowing virtual participation in the public process of government is opening meeting rooms to many varied voices. Parents can testify without getting babysitters. Those who may not have money or transportation to get to Helena can still tell their stories to those who make decisions about their lives.

But big changes are needed too.

Increased incentives and ability to access child care gives working parents the ability to serve their communities and be role models. Meaningful solutions to workforce housing issues and affordable housing would allow more low-income people to consider the cost of serving.

Montana isn't just one type of person, but we can work harder toward the shared traits of civility, integrity and empathy in public service. That means embracing and helping those who are different. Giving them a place to be heard and to work for their communities, and for Montana.
When Illinois Supreme Court Justice Mary Kay OBrien introduced her 5-year-old son to then-Justice Thomas Kilbride years ago, she recalled him saying to her, Mom, I didnt know boys could be judges.

Growing up, he had only known women judges like his mom.

Now, the ascendance of OBrien and other women to the states highest court could be changing the image of who can be a judge for the entire state.

The November election saw the demographics of the Illinois Supreme Court shift to a majority female court for the first time.

OBrien was elected from the courts 3rd District while Justice Elizabeth Rochford was elected to serve for the 2nd District. Both won heavily contested races in districts that include the Chicago suburbs and portions of rural northern Illinois.

They join Chief Justice Mary Jane Theis, Justice Joy Cunningham and Justice Lisa Holder White to form a 5-2 female majority on the state Supreme Court, which also includes Justices P. Scott Neville, Jr. and David K. Overstreet. The previous record for most female justices serving at one time was three.

This new balance begins at a pivotal time as the court is expected to hear arguments in March on the provision of the SAFE-T Act eliminating cash bail. It may also eventually take up the lawsuits that have been filed in state court on the assault weapons ban. And, of course, it will grapple with the post-Roe legal landscape surrounding abortion rights.

Breaking glass ceilings

OBrien practiced small town law in Coal City, a village of roughly 6,000 in Grundy County, where she owned her own law firm. She served as a member of the Illinois House of Representatives from 1997 to 2003 and had nearly 20 years of experience on the 3rd District Appellate Court.

When OBrien ran for the House in 1996, she was the first Democratic woman to be elected for her district. She noted the difference time can make in the way such milestones are acknowledged.

Nobody mentioned it or said anything because I think that we just werent celebrating all of that yet, OBrien told Lee Enterprises in an interview. "We werent really recognizing how historic it is when those barriers are finally broken, so this is of course exciting.

The Illinois Supreme Court was founded in 1818. The first Black member, Justice Charles Freeman, was elected to the bench in 1990 and the first woman, Justice Mary Ann McMorrow, joined in 1992.

Its an incredible honor to be part of the historic milestone of a majority of women on Illinois court of last resort, said Rochford, also elected in November. Women everywhere should be proud. But I dont think it will radically affect our jurisprudence. We will work to find consensus just as the male majority courts that came before us.

Thirty years after McMorrows rise, Illinois has the third-highest majority female supreme court in the nation at 71%. Only Wisconsin (86%) and Washington (78%) have higher percentages, according to an analysis of data collected by Lee Enterprises Springfield bureau.

Its very encouraging, said Lauren Price, a first year law student at Northern Illinois University College of Law. Ive thought for a while about becoming a judge myself after I graduate and practice law for a little bit and so it makes it seem very possible for me to do that by seeing these other women who are Supreme Court justices.

Collective encouragement

Growing up, OBrien had always wanted to be an attorney and looked to her teachers as role models for career-driven women.

I remember several teachers coming back from having babies and I was like, Oh, isnt that great, they can work and do all of this, and underneath of it, what I found out later was just how hard of a time they were having, OBrien said. They made it look possible and those are things I aspire to, and they were something that were very inspirational and very influential to me.

OBrien and her fellow female justices are making it seem possible for current law students like Samantha Malone, a third year law student at Northern Illinois University College of Law. Malone works as a graduate assistant for the Office of General Counsel at NIU and is a judicial law clerk in the Ogle County Courthouse.

I feel very strongly about having a family and being a mother and a good mother, Malone said. Seeing women not just in law, but in powerful positions at all or in business-driven or career-driven women, gives me just a sense of just ability, like, Oh, I can do that too. It reaffirms that theres just a spot for you in what youre doing.

OBrien had her first child at 37. By age 40, she was the mother of three.

We all have a picture in our mind of everything being perfect and its going to look just like an ad, OBrien said. That everything is always going to be perfect. And then I realized that for me, my kids were better and that I was a better mother because I did work and had a little outside influence. Dont let great be the enemy of good.

Law is still a male-dominated field. Men still comprise more than 61% of attorneys, according to the American Bar Association. But many women in law find support in one another, OBrien said.

A woman named Jean Smith just saw that I had potential and she kept encouraging me, OBrien said. I think that those collective affirmations find a way I think that the best advice I got from her, and from others, that if its important, youre going to keep moving forward and youll find a way; and when you hit a roadblock, youll figure a way to get around it, or over it.

Price, the first-year law student, said being a woman in law can be discouraging at times.

But it is very encouraging talking to other women who are currently students, talking to women who are practicing attorneys, she said, and even talking to women who have retired and are older and may have a different perspective on how difficult it was for them to be women when they went to law school.

Fourteen states have a majority female Supreme Court, while New Jersey and Pennsylvania have equal representation.

Representative court and elections

Illinois is one of four other states that is a representative court, meaning that the justices are elected by members of their respective districts. The state is also unique because it requires candidates to declare a party affiliation.

Following the results of the 2020 U.S. Census, state lawmakers voted to redistrict the Supreme Courts district boundaries for the first time since 1964.

The change came after Democratic Justice Thomas Kilbride lost his bid for retention in 2020. Democrats, with a slim 4-3 majority at the time, feared they could lose control of the court without a more favorable map. The changes also helped even out population disparities between the districts that grew significantly over the past five-and-a-half decades.

(Redistricting) did create an opportunity for Democrats to take over because the 2nd District had been a Republican stronghold since forever, said John Lupton, executive director of the Supreme Court Historic Preservation Commission. And now you have a Democrat sitting in that seat.

The states high court now has a 5-2 Democratic majority.

Money and endorsements

The entire political landscape has grown less friendly in recent times, OBrien said.

In the late 90s and early 2000s when I last ran for the General Assembly  there were tough campaigns, but they werent nearly as personal and the flood of dark money hadnt happened yet, she said.

OBrien received campaign donations from top Democrats, including $500,000 each from Gov. J.B. Pritzkers campaign and his personal trust, according to campaign finance reports.

During her election, OBrien was endorsed by several labor unions and organizations such as Planned Parenthood. Abortion was considered a major campaign issue in the recent election.

I always tell people that its great when somebody supports you, but they do so knowing that theres nothing that they get in return for that other than they hope that it's somebody that will be fair and impartial, OBrien said. And thats all anyone can ask of a judge  and no one has ever asked me for anything else.

The increase in female representation comes after the federal U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, which established a constitutional right to an abortion.

Particularly in the political and legal climate that were working in, I think its really important for women to be involved in the legal field, said Malone, the third-year law student. Whether thats through representing a woman who is a victim of domestic violence or fighting for bodily autonomy and things like that.

OBrien said that each judge comes to the bench with their own perspective, but that they are focused on the merits of the case and the law.

The law is still the law and we are going to do our best to interpret it as written, but I think that theres always a different perspective that everyone brings based on their backgrounds, OBrien said.

Lupton echoed OBrien and expressed that the court is not anticipated to change drastically because the premise of the law is unchanged.

Calls for more representation

Illinois has four white justices and three Black justices  the latter a record number. But there is zero representation from the Latino, Asian or indigenous communities.

Census Bureau data estimates 14.7% of Illinois population is Black and 18% is Hispanic.

There have been calls from the Latino legal community to address the lack of representation. Some leaders are calling for a Latino judge to be slated for the 2024 election to the seat held by Justice Joy Cunningham, a Black woman. She was appointed to replace Justice Anne Burke, who retired in November.

Illinois ranks fifth in the racial diversity of its court behind California, New Mexico, Florida and Washington according to data collected by Lee Enterprises Springfield Bureau.

But the progress has come after decades of more homogenous courts. A visual representation of the historic imbalance exists in the Supreme Court building, where hang the portraits of every justice who has retired.

Until the retirements of Garman and Burke, Lupton said, there was only one African American and one woman in that room of 115 photographs.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Justice Thomas Kilbride and John Lupton.

Photos: Illinois Supreme Court Justice Lisa Holder White
Dolly Self scrambles to strain a profit from the yoke of escalating egg prices. No place can cope with that  the high price of eggs, said Self, 67.

For nearly a decade, she has kept customers happy with bacon, biscuits and tasty eggs at her restaurant, Dollys Diner, off State Route 75 in Blountville.

Still, she is customer-conscious, saying many of her regulars are on fixed incomes. She keeps prices as low as possible, like selling a single cooked egg for 50 cents.

Even my customers tell me I need to go up, Self said with a laugh. I kind of hope that things will come down.

For now, too, shes still selling a house specialty Western Omelets  with three large eggs, ham, cheese, peppers, onion and tomatoes, plus toast or a biscuit and gravy  for $6.99.

Each week, she cracks the shells and cooks the contents of 30 dozen eggs. Yet, in recent weeks, she has found wholesale prices remain higher than normal  due to a stew of market conditions.

Its pretty rough, Self said. Ive kind of been holding back on raising my prices. Ive tried to cope. But its coming to the point where I have to now.

Its terrible

Dolly Diner is far from alone in seeking a safe shell from the perfect storm of supply, demand and bird flu  all factors that have caused eggs to double and even triple in price.

Its terrible, said Kim Prater, 61, owner of Homeslice Cafe at Greendale, on the outskirts of Abingdon, Virginia.

Eggs are outrageous. And milk, Prater said. Everything went up on us. But we are trying to keep the prices as low as we can.

Like Self, Prater does not want to poach customers with higher prices.

Homeslice sells a single cooked egg for 99 cents.

Still, Homeslices two-egg breakfast recently rose from $5.99 to $6.99 to $7.59, Prater said.

And the popular Kitchen Sink Omelette climbed from $7.99 to $8.99.

Large to Medium

Abingdons Chick-n-Little Restaurant remains an institution on Main Street: an eatery as famous for its chicken as its eggs.

Owner Carrie Baxter has cautiously tried to wade whopping wholesale prices on eggs  and, well, everything else, she says  with miniscule menu modifications.

Chick-n-Littles Western Omelets now use medium eggs  not large  and has gone up, from $10 to $11 on the menu, Baxter said.

One single egg jumped from $1.15 to $1.35.

We raised our prices, Baxter said. But it was also food cost and increase in general.

Understanding

In Russell County, Virginia, the owner of Pats Kountry Diner has weathered the high cost of eggs  with no price increases.

Breakfast is a big deal because we sell breakfast all day long, said owner Amber Franks, 45.

Even so, Franks added, Theres not much profit in eggs. Youre basically buying the eggs and selling it for the same price.

Pats offers a western omelette  with no sides  for $5.25, a price that has not been raised since egg prices began ascending. The diner also sells single cooked eggs on the menu for 95 cents.

Ultimately, Franks said, prices must rise.

We have to pass that on, Franks said. But, we have great customers. And theyre all understanding.
In September 2021, Everything Attachments owner Ted Corriher spoke of his excitement about the future of his company.

He was announcing the companys plans to add about 150 new jobs and invest $20 million in an expansion of his Conover-based business, which manufactures blades, buckets and other attachments for equipment such as tractors and excavators.

Now, a year and a half later, Corriher is striking a different tone. His message to the community: Im sorry.

He said he is sorry that the company has not yet been able to add the jobs and complete the expansion he promised two years ago. A big part of the regret comes from the fact that the company entered into agreements for hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax incentives from Catawba County and Conover.

Corriher said the question of why the company has not completed the project is a matter of curiosity in the community.

At this point I rarely go out in public due to so many people asking me, When are you going to do something with that new building? Corriher said.

He said he is limited in what he can say because the status of the large, new factory building is now the subject of a lawsuit between Everything Attachments and Neill Grading & Construction Co., the Hickory-based contractor the company hired to build the new factory.

Everything Attachments contends Neill Grading has left them with a new building they are unable to occupy. Nate McAbee, the general manager of Everything Attachments, calls the factory 105,000 square feet of dead space.

For its part, Neill Grading plans to respond with counterclaims of its own against Everything Attachments.

Lawsuit and liens

In the time since he announced the expansion, Corriher has said they have done what they can to hold up their end of the deal, including spending around $10 million on new equipment.

But they have still not received a certificate of occupancy for the new building. For this, the company faults Neill Grading.

The companys specific claims against Neill Grading are outlined in the lawsuit filed in October. Everything Attachments filed the suit under the corporate names TC Corriher Implement Co. and Landshark Attachments LLC.

In court documents, the company accuses Neill Grading of defective workmanship, making unauthorized and unwanted changes to construction plans and refusing to provide the plans and accounting records in order to conceal defects and other misconduct.

The documents reveal the company further says that Neill Grading falsely claimed to have passed inspections and submitted doctored specifications for the heater to the inspector in an attempt to pass the inspections based on fraud.

Specifically, they claim Neill Grading provided inspectors documentation for the minimum installation heights for the heaters that conflicted with information given by the company that manufactures the heaters.

Neill Grading subsequently represented that its subcontractor altered the specifications, according to the lawsuit.

When asked about what would need to be done to secure the certificate of occupancy, Catawba County Communications and Marketing Director Amy McCauley said: We are not sure, at this point. The owner or a representative would need to request an inspection in order to determine this.

Neill Grading has yet to publicly respond to the specific claims in the lawsuit, but has indicated it plans to respond with claims of its own soon.

Neill intends to file a counterclaim to the owners lawsuit on or before Feb. 1, 2023, for breach of contract and to enforce its liens against the real property, the company said in a statement.

The company plans to pursue $2 million in liens against Everything Attachments for lack of payment. Everything Attachments notes in the lawsuit that it withheld payment and said it did so because of Neill Gradings alleged contractual breaches.

Corriher said the companys inability to move into the new building is hurting business. Hundreds of orders have been delayed and the company fields daily inquiries about when the new factory will be operating.

Walking behind the existing factory, McAbee points to the many metal products the company now has to keep outdoors because of the lack of space. He said the company has to pay employees more than $30 an hour to buff rust from the inventory.

We have never stored metal outside until we had to, he said.

What about the incentives?

Both Corriher and McAbee are adamant they have not taken a dime of the tax incentives from the county or city of Conover. The city and county have both confirmed the business has not received any payments.

When local governments grant tax incentives, they agree to refund a certain amount of the property tax paid by the given company.

Both McCauley and Conover Public Information Officer Madeleine Epley said the company would be eligible to start receiving payments this year provided they met certain contractual requirements. Both also said that the company has not requested payments.

In this case, Catawba County agreed to pay more than $376,200 over six years. Conovers incentives were for nearly $228,000 over a similar time frame.

Both local governments said the company has not breached its incentives agreements with them and is not in danger of breaching those agreements until Dec. 31, 2025. That is the date by which the company is obligated to meet its jobs and investment commitments.

Both McCauley and Epley said their respective local governments are not concerned about the project because of the safeguards in place that would prevent the company from receiving public money unless they deliver on their obligations.

Because the contracts are performance-based, no public funds are expended without verification of progress towards contractual commitments, McCauley said. At the end of the performance period, if total investment commitments have not been met by the company, the incentive contract contains claw-back provisions whereby the county would recoup any incentive payments received by the company up to that point.
HICKORY  Safe Harbor recently received a grant from the Kenneth K. and Suzanne G. Millholland Endowment Fund. This grant was in the amount of $3,500 and will go towards the general operating support of Safe Harbors newest program, The Passage.

The Passage is a transitional cottage program that offers programming and a safe and temporary shelter for women who are experiencing homelessness and are unable to secure housing on their own.

In addition to having a safe place to stay at The Passage, women who are medically and mentally fragile have the opportunity to access ongoing programming services through Safe Harbors Community Center. All program participants are offered customized individual plans to assist in their ongoing personal development with the ultimate goal of becoming self-sufficient and independent in the community.

Safe Harbor feels tremendously blessed that the Kenneth K. and Suzanne G. Millholland Endowment Fund has provided funding to go towards life transformation, said Vicki Murray, chief executive officer of Safe Harbor.

While Don and Elechia Wimbish have provided most of the funding for The Passage, this grant will allow us to have a benevolence fund and to help pay for other incidental expenses incurred while helping our participants. We are grateful for the loyal support of the Kenneth K. and Suzanne G. Millholland Endowment Fund. Murray said.

Safe Harbor is a Christ-centered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides a variety of recovery programs.

Their Whole Woman Program offers a 12-month residential recovery program that allows women to enhance their recovery through eight life domain goal-setting and evidenced-based recovery tools at no cost for participants.

Their GreenLeaf Transitional program provides low-cost, furnished and safe apartments in a community for women and children looking for structure and support for recovery maintenance while preparing for successful independent living.

Their Community Day Center offers a safe place for women and children who are experiencing homelessness, or at risk for experiencing homelessness, to access an array of services to enhance their quality of life including resource and service navigation offered by trained support staff. In the evening the community center is a venue for co-ed support groups and community events.

Safe Harbor's ReSource Warehouse provides job training for their program participants and raises dollars to support the ministry.

The North Carolina Community Foundation (NCCF) is the only statewide community foundation serving North Carolina and has administered over $243 million in grants since 1988. With more than $440 million in assets, NCCF sustains over 1,200 endowments and partners with a network of affiliates to award grants and scholarships in communities across the state. NCCFs mission is to ensure rural philanthropy has a voice at the local, regional and national levels.

To learn more about either organization you can go to www.safeharbornc.org for Safe Harbor; www.nccommunityfoundation.org for the North Carolina Community Foundation.
Carnivorous plants. What delightful curiosities! They trap live creatures, liquefy them, and then ingest them.

Is the 1986 movie Little Shop of Horrors coming to mind? Catawba County has its own little shop of horrors in a private greenhouse owned by Steve Baker, nurse by day in the surgery center of Graystone Eye  Hickory and guardian of carnivorous plants by night.

Dont worry. Steve doesnt pocket discarded eye tissue (ew!) and feed it to his scores of quirky carnivores. The plants wouldnt ingest old eyeball parts anyway. They like live prey, particularly unsuspecting insects that settle on the plants for quick licks of tempting gooey stuff, only to slide off their precarious perches and fall into little vats of deadly plant-produced chemicals, where they dissolve into brews only carnivorous plants can appreciate.

It was sunny, humid, and very warm in Steves greenhouse the morning I visited. I was taken aback by the variety of carnivorous plants on the tables in the hothouse, having arrived at Steves knowing little about creature-eating flora and thinking I was going to see a bunch of Venus flytraps.

On the contrary, Steves flytraps were outside, alive but hunkered down for the winter. Steve said theyre OK with our climate, adding that they live mostly in eastern North Carolina in a boggy area known as the Green Swamp, which is in the vicinity of Wilmington.

Steve said most of his conservatory-grown plants, all of which were sitting in sphagnum moss, are various Nepenthes, the genus for all sorts of tropical pitcher plants from the Philippines and Malaysia and thereabouts. Interestingly, Steve explained, there are female Nepenthes and male Nepenthes. To get a true breed, said Steve, you need a male flower and a female flower of the same species. In most flowers, its usually self-contained in one.

The Nepenthes create a vine and a leaf and on the end of the leaf, a pitcher. A unique one was his Nepenthes bicalcarata or fanged pitcher plant. It had two fang-like protuberances under its lid, making it look somewhat vampire-ish or like a freakish stapler. Many carnivorous plants have lids. Steve said they protect the pitchers from flooding. If youre a carnivorous plant, you dont want a bunch of water diluting that deadly potion youre storing in your pitcher.

I read that some carnivorous plants lids can close, trapping their prey. The fanged plant doesnt use its daggers to suck a preys fluids, but the projections do create nectar attractive to prey that try to have at it but instead, tumble into the pitcher and, as Ive mentioned, dissolve.

What a terrible way to go! Steve said he had a little ant invasion in his greenhouse awhile back. They didnt last long.

Of course, some water does get into the pitchers, and for this reason, the plants are sometimes nicknamed monkey cups because monkeys have been spied drinking from them.

For the purpose of increasing the creepiness of this story, let me share something else Steve told me. Rodents are sometimes carnivorous plants prey. Steve said some pitchers can grow to a foot long and have a diameter of 10 inches or so. A furry varmint comes along, likes the taste or maybe the smell of the nectar oozing at the lip of the pitcher, tries to lap at it and, splash. No buoy for him.

Compounding the ew factor is a certain shrew that likes and licks the nectar without falling into the vat of death. Instead, he quickly suffers an attack of diarrhea, which he deposits into the pitcher, fertilizing the plant. Thats whats known as a symbiotic relationship. Yummy sap in exchange for pitcher poop. Lovely.

Steves just full of these stories.

The main thing is that carnivorous plants dont need nutrients from the ground. They get all they require from their prey or their preys feces.

Moving on. Steve also has plants from the genus Heliamphora. They look somewhat like orchids. They have pitchers but theyre shaped differently from the Nepenthes, looking to me like leaves that have curved around and then sealed themselves. Theyre tubular, while the Nepenthes looked more like long bags.

Getting a little hot under the collar, Steve and I exited the greenhouse to see a number of perennial carnivorous plants toughing out the cold days of winter. His Venus flytraps were in a big container in which hed created a mini bog with peat moss and sand.

I looked closely at some of the flytraps with their leaves that look like clam shells. Little hairs grow inside the structures. The insect has to actually walk and hit two triggers or hairs to make (the clam shell) close, said Steve, explaining that wind or something falling on the leaves wouldnt activate closure.

Further, you cant stick a piece of meat in a flytrap and expect it to close and commence digestion. A bit of hamburger, for instance, is too greasy for a flytrap. Theyre watching their figures, I suppose.

At this point, Steve shared that people arent supposed to collect carnivorous plants, such as Venus flytraps. Theyre protected, and there are fines for poachers. Interested parties can buy Venus flytraps that are grown from seeds or tissue cultures.

At the National Wildlife Federations website, I read this about Venus flytraps: The trap is made of two hinged lobes at the end of each leaf. On the inner surfaces of the lobes are hair-like projections called trichomes that cause the lobes to snap shut when prey comes in contact with them ... The hinged traps are edged with small bristles that interlock when the trap shuts to ensure the prey cant squirm out. There are other carnivorous plants in the wild, but the Venus flytrap is one of the very few that exhibits motion to actively trap its prey ... It can take a Venus flytrap three to five days to digest an organism, and it may go months between meals.

On Steves outdoor deck, he had plants of the genus Sarracenia, also known as trumpet pitchers. They are cold-hardy like the Venus flytrap, but have taller, slender pitchers that catch prey. You might have seen Sarracenia used in flower arrangements.

Another carnivore wintering on Steves deck was what he called Butterworts. Theyre more like a carnivorous flypaper, said Steve. The insect gets stuck, dies, and is absorbed by the plant.

Sitting near the Butterworts were plants from the genus Drosera. Nicknamed Sundews, they have little branches that appear to have dewdrops on them, Steve described.

I asked Steve how he came to be a carnivorous plant grower. Many years ago, he became interested in Venus flytraps and cared for some at his home. Eventually he constructed a greenhouse and in 1993 became acquainted with and joined the International Carnivorous Plant Society. For many years, Steve did the desktop publishing of the societys Carnivorous Plant Newsletter.

The hobby lost its appeal for a while, and then some years ago, Steve watched the video recording of a man giving a talk about carnivorous plants at the Newton Main Library. Folks who attended the talk or watched the video were eligible to receive a Venus flytrap. The talk and the plant sparked Steves original curiosity about carnivorous plants. Furthermore, hed found a woman in the Elkin area who sells carnivorous plants.

Today, he has around 150 plants. Hes seen insects and lizards get caught. Some can escape; some dont, he said.

As for Steves wife Cathy, his two sons, and his grandchildren, they dont get it. Carnivorous plants are rather unusual looking and maybe a little scary. But I get Steves interest. His plants are super cool. Weird, but cool. Plants that feed themselves.

Concluding, Steve said, Carnivorous plants can be found all over the world, including desert-dwelling ones. [They] are Gods way of taking care of something living in an area void of nutrients.

Like I said, super cool.

Steve doesnt sell his plants. If youd like to learn how to acquire carnivorous plants or just get more information about them, visit the International Carnivorous Plant Society at carnivorousplants.org.
The Nebraska track and field team wrapped up action at the Texas Tech Open this weekend with three Huskers setting all-time marks on Saturday.led four Huskers in the top-eight of the men's shot put with a personal-best toss of 67-0 (20.42m). He finished second behind the NCAA leader in the event. Wilson's mark is currently first in the Big Ten, second in the nation and third in school history.joined Wilson with a personal-best distance to place third. His 65-10 1/4 (20.07m) is currently tied for second in the Big Ten, tied for fifth nationally and tied for fourth in school history.had a mark of 60-4 (18.39m) to finish fourth andhad a distance of 55-0 (16.76m) to round out the Big Red throwers in the top-eight.clocked a 20.96 in the 200m to claim fourth in a field of over 100 runners, which moves him up one spot to fourth all-time in program history.had a personal-best mark of 51-1 3/4 (15.59m) to place third in the men's triple jump, whileleaped 48-0 (14.63m) to finish 10th.pitched in a runner-up finish in the shot put with a toss of 58-0 1/2 (17.69m), andplaced eighth with a distance of 50-3 1/2 (15.33m).In the men's high jump,tied his personal-best jump of 7-3 3/4 (2.23m) to grab the runner-up placement. On the women's side,cleared 5-7 3/4 (1.72m) to tie for seventh.In the men's pole vault,cleared 16-2 1/2 (4.94m) to finish 10th.andpitched in 10th and 12th-place finishes in the men's 800m with times of 1:53.27 and 1:54.22.was crowned triple jump champion of the "B" section with a personal-best mark of 42-5 1/2 (12.94m).In the "B" section of the women's shot put,finished fifth with a mark of 50-4 1/2 (15.35m).was the top finisher for the Big Red in the "B" section of the women's high jump, placing third with a clearance of 5-7 (1.70m).cleared a personal-best 7-0 1/4 (2.14m) in the "B" section of the men's jump to finish as runner-up, whiletook fourth with a 6-8 3/4 (2.05m).The Husker men (, Kaalund, Schultz, Bryant) finished sixth in the 4x400 relay with a time of 3:13.49.Nebraska is set to host the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational on Friday-Saturday, Feb. 3-4 at the Devaney Center Indoor Track. Events begin at 12 p.m. on Friday and at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday.
And now, please let me tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it shall be burned; and break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. (Isaiah 5:5)

One of my favorite pastors once told me, The Holy Spirit is a gentleman. He does not go where he is not wanted. I wonder if this statement could be applied to whats happening in our country today.

There is no doubt that God placed a hedge of protection around this country for many years. However, Im beginning to think its gone now. We have pushed him out of our schools, our county courthouses, and in some case, out of our churches. I fear what its loss may have in store for us, and what those of us who truly love him and want his protection can do about it.

Isaiah was not the only prophet to whom God spoke about losing his hedge of protection. Asaph  who put music to many of Davids psalms  wrote about it in Psalm 80 when Israel lost Gods hedge of protection. It happened hundreds of years before the birth of Christ:

O LORD God of hosts, how long will you be angry against the prayer of your people? You have fed them with the bread of tears and given them tears to drink in great measure. You have made us a strife to our neighbors, and our enemies laugh among themselves. Restore us, O God of hosts; cause your face to shine, and we shall be saved! (Psalm 80:4-7)

So here we sit, thousands of years after Asaph wrote Psalm 80. Yet when I read the above verses, I see my own country in his words. We ARE in many ways being laughed at by our enemies, and we ARE very much a strife to our neighbors.

Think about it. The extremist Muslim world celebrates when they succeed in blowing up our buildings and embassies, killing thousands of Americans. Also, we are so far in debt that other countries  who have loaned us trillions of dollars  are worried about the future of our nation, not to mention if they will ever get their money back.

So can we really do anything to convince God to remove his anger and restore us in a way that we can truly see his face shining upon us again? Of course we can. We must believe what he told us in 2 Chronicles 7:14: If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

Interestingly, weve had the answer for thousands of years. However, putting it into action is the problem. The plain truth is our country isnt turning from its wicked ways and admitting that absent Gods help, we dont have a chance. In short, we have not repented, and we certainly have not shown any humility.

The irony here is if we believe Scripture, we dont have to sit and wait for the leadership of our nation to wake up and do something. In fact, many who are running for political offices today do not serve the same God we serve, if any god at all. But take comfort because our God says that all it takes is for HIS people to humble themselves, pray, and seek his face and turn from their wicked ways.

Its tough to do. But if well do our part, he promises in his Word that he will do his part. I believe that is a promise on which we can rely!
Ive said it before and Ill say it again. People will steal anything.

And if there is one thing I cant abide, its a low-down, no-good thieving son of a motherless goat. If that sounds like a line from an old Western, I watch a lot of Starz Encore when I cant stomach anymore news from the talking heads.

Looking back over the years, Ive written about quite a few sticky-fingered sons of chicken pluckers who have done me and mine wrong. These incidents include:

The theft of my kids plastic sled from my mommas snowy yard;

The theft of my mommas 1999 Chevy Tracker off the street in front of her house and left crashed in a ravine;

The theft of my debit card, later used in a $159 transaction with one of Indias best known brands and the worlds largest matrimonial service;

The theft of Baby Jesus from the Nativity scene at First Baptist Church on Main Street during a joyous Christmas season; and

The theft of a 7-foot-tall Bigfoot silhouette from a readers yard.

I reckon I could turn a blind eye to all the evil-doings these days, sit by the fire and keep these old bones warm while the coyotes sing in the distance, but that wouldnt be the cowboy way, according to the last movie I watched on Starz Encore.

So, its time to saddle up and take another ride across the prairie of plunder and pilferage.

Our first stop is Park City, Utah, for some non-local larceny. There, police are looking for a bronze statue of a bear sitting on a bench drinking coffee  for the second time in five years.

We are asking for the publics help in finding a missing bear, Park City police said in a Facebook post. The bear is 3 to 4 feet tall, weighs about 60 pounds, likes to drink coffee and is loved by family and neighbors alike. This is the second time the bronze statue of a bear holding a coffee mug has been stolen. The first time was in October of 2018, but it was not recovered.

According to the post, after the first one disappeared, the owner paid a Utah artist $8,000 to make another one, which tells me I should consider moving to Utah and going into the bear-making business.

No one ever said to me, Hey, Scott, someone stole my newspaper. Can you make me another one for $8,000?

Now its time to mosey on home for this one: The theft of my common-law sister-in-laws mail sack.

She totes the mail as one of the elite members of the U.S. Postal Services carrier team, delivering cards and letters to shut-ins and bank notices to those who had their personal information stolen to purchase mail-order brides from foreign countries.

As she was preparing to load up her truck or saddlebags or however they do it nowadays, someone stole her mailbag off the dock.

It had not yet been filled up with valuable letters addressed to current occupant or pizza coupons, but she was nonetheless upset at the brazen nature of this crime on federal property. Like the Park City, Utah, police, she took to Facebook, assuring the culprit that a police report was in the works. Believe me, crossing that little lady is like poking a rabid bobcat with its tail on fire.

As of this writing, none of the no-account, yellow-bellied gizzard-lickers responsible for these crimes have been brought to justice. We just might have to round us up a posse.

But for now, all this talk of thievery has put a burr in my saddle. I wonder whats on Starz Encore.
MATTOON  A fire Saturday evening in a west Richmond Avenue apartment house displaced the four residents who live there.

Chief Jeff Hilligoss of the Mattoon Fire Department reported in a press release that crews were dispatched at 5:21 p.m. to this fire at 2417 Richmond Ave. They arrived on scene at 5:25 p.m. and found a 1-story residential structure, housing two apartments, with heavy smoke coming from the attic.

The crews deployed two hand lines and did a search of the two apartments. The occupants of both units had made it out of the structure before firefighters arrived.

"Crews found light smoke in both apartments, and determined that the fire was in the attic," Hilligoss said. "Crews then began cutting a hole in the roof, and pulling ceiling to get access to the fire."

The fire was brought under control in approximately 20 minutes. Crews then began the overhaul process to find any remaining hidden fire.

Both apartments received smoke and water damage. There were no injuries to occupants or firefighters at this incident.

Fire department investigators then began a cause and origin investigation. Hilligoss said this fire appears to be electrical in nature, originating in the attic. All units cleared the scene at 7:56 p.m.

Hilligoss said a total of four people were displaced due to this fire. The American Red Cross was contacted to help them.

Mattoon firefighters also were assisted at this scene by Coles-Moultrie 911, Charleston Fire Department, Mattoon Police Department, Mitchell-Jerdan Ambulance Service, and Ameren Illinois gas and electric.

The apartment house is across the street from the Life Academy school in the former Hawthorne Elementary School building.

5 most common causes of reported house fires 5 most common causes of reported house fires #5. Smoking materials #4. Intentional #3. Electrical distribution and lighting equipment #2. Heating equipment #1. Cooking
We've all been trained by decades of science fiction to think of artificial intelligence as a threat to our working futures. The idea is: If an AI robot can do a job as well as a human  cheaper and with less interpersonal unruliness  who needs the human?

The technology news site CNET tried to answer that question, quietly, even secretly. For months, the site employed an AI engine to write articles for its CNET Money personal finance page. The articles covered such topics as "What is compound interest?" and "What happens when you bounce a check?"

At first glance and to financial novices, the articles seemed cogent and informative. CNET continued the practice until early this month, when it was outed by the website Futurism.

But as Futurism determined, the bot-written articles have major limitations. For one thing, many are bristling with errors. For another, many are rife with plagiarism.

Futurism's Jon Christian put the error issue bluntly in an article stating that the problem with CNET's article-writing AI is that "it's kind of a moron." Christian followed up with an article finding numerous cases ranging "from verbatim copying to moderate edits to significant rephrasings, all without properly crediting the original."

This level of misbehavior would get a human student expelled or a journalist fired.

We've written before about the unappreciated limits of new technologies, especially those that look almost magical, such as artificial intelligence applications.

To quote Rodney Brooks, the robotics and AI scientist and entrepreneur I wrote about last week, "There is a veritable cottage industry on social media with two sides; one gushes over virtuoso performances of these systems, perhaps cherry picked, and the other shows how incompetent they are at very simple things, again cherry picked. The problem is that as a user you don't know in advance what you are going to get."

That brings us back to CNET's article-writing bot. CNET hasn't identified the specific AI application it was using, though the timing suggests that it isn't ChatGPT, the AI language generator that has created a major stir among technologists and concerns among teachers because of its apparent ability to produce written works that can be hard to distinguish as nonhuman.

CNET didn't make the AI contribution to its articles especially evident, appending only a small-print line reading, "This article was assisted by an AI engine and reviewed, fact-checked and edited by our editorial staff." The more than 70 articles were attributed to "CNET Money Staff." Since Futurism's disclosure, the byline has been changed to simply "CNET Money."

According to the Verge, CNET executives told staff members that the site would pause publication of the AI-generated material for the moment.

As Futurism's Christian established, the errors in the bot's articles ranged from fundamental misdefinitions of financial terms to unwarranted oversimplifications. In the article about compound interest, the CNET bot originally wrote, "if you deposit $10,000 into a savings account that earns 3% interest compounding annually, you'll earn $10,300 at the end of the first year."

That's wrong  the annual earnings would be only $300. The article has since been corrected to read that "you'll earn $300 which, added to the principal amount, you would have $10,300 at the end of the first year."

The bot also initially described interest payments on a $25,000 auto loan at 4% interest as "a flat $1,000 ... per year." But interest is charged only on outstanding balances, which shrink as payments are made. Even on a one-year auto loan at 4%, interest will come to only $937. For longer-term loans, the total interest paid falls every year.

CNET corrected that too, along with five other errors in the same article. Put it all together, and the website's assertion that its AI bot was being "fact-checked and edited by our editorial staff" begins to look a little thin.

The bot's plagiarism is more striking. Christian found that the bot appeared to have replicated text from sources including Forbes, the Balance and Investopedia, which all occupy the same field of personal financial advice as CNET Money.

In those cases, the bot utilized similar concealment techniques as human plagiarists, such as minor rephrasings and word swaps. In at least one case, the bot plagiarized from Bankrate, a sister publication of CNET.

None of this is especially surprising because one key to language bots' function is their access to a huge volume of human-generated prose and verse. They may be good at finding patterns in the source material that they can replicate, but at this stage of AI development they're still picking human brains.

The impressive coherence and cogency of the output of these programs, up to and including ChatGPT, appears to have more to do with their ability to select from human-generated raw material than any ability to develop new concepts and express them.

Indeed, "a close examination of the work produced by CNET's AI makes it seem less like a sophisticated text generator and more like an automated plagiarism machine, casually pumping out pilfered work," Christian wrote.

Where we stand on the continuum between robot-generated incoherence and genuinely creative expression is hard to determine. Jeff Schatten, a professor at Washington and Lee University, wrote in an article in September that the most sophisticated language bot at the time, known as GPT-3, had obvious limitations.

"It stumbles over complex writing tasks," he wrote. "It cannot craft a novel or even a decent short story. Its attempts at scholarly writing ... are laughable. But how long before the capability is there? Six months ago, GPT-3 struggled with rudimentary queries, and today it can write a reasonable blog post discussing 'ways an employee can get a promotion from a reluctant boss.'"

It's likely that those needing to judge written work, such as teachers, may find it ever-harder to distinguish AI-produced material from human outputs. One professor recently reported catching a student submitting a bot-written paper the old-fashioned way it was too good.

Over time, confusion about whether something is bot- or human-produced may depend not on the capabilities of the bot, but those of the humans in charge.
Achievers

AgVenture, a network of independently owned and managed seed companies, has announced a new state yield record in North Carolina. Russell Hedrick shattered the state yield record with his winning entry of 459.51 bushels per acre in the 2022 North Carolina Corn Growers Yield Contest. Hedrick, who registered his winning dryland yield with AV9916AM, is a customer of Sweetwater Creek Seeds, an independent seed company selling AgVenture corn and soybean products, owned and operated by Clif Hardison and based in Williamston.

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The North Carolina Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America recently announced its 2023 officers and directors. Olivia Schlabach, associate vice president, FINN Partners, is a director, sponsorship chairwoman.

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The North Carolina State Board of Certified Public Accountant Examiners approved 74 individuals, Robert Thomas Claiborne and Riley Blake Miller, both of Winston-Salem, for North Carolina CPA licensure on Jan. 23.

The board also announced that 44 North Carolina candidates passed the Uniform CPA Examination in December. Local candidates included: Allison Leigh Powell, of Belmont, and Christian Chadwick Lynch and Charles Frederick Seals, both of Winston-Salem.

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Truliant Federal Credit Union has added two new associate directors to its board: Regina O. Heyward and Beatriz Rodriguez. Heyward is currently senior vice president, client communities and sustainability at LPL Financial. Rodriguez is assistant vice president, senior human resources strategic business partner at Atrium Health. The board of directors is comprised of nine directors and three associate directors.

Activities

During the 2022 calendar year, 262 patients received kidney and/or pancreas transplants at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, which ties the highest annual total, first achieved in 2020.

Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist surgeons performed 249 kidney transplants (47 with living donors) and 13 kidney-pancreas transplants.

October 2022 was the busiest month in the history of the program, with 33 transplants performed.

In addition, the transplant team conducted more than 10,000 outpatient clinic visits and began twice-weekly transplant infectious disease clinics with Dr. Ryan Maves, professor of infectious diseases at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and Dr. Kevin High, professor of infectious diseases at the medical school and president of Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist.

On average, the team currently performs a transplant every 33 hours and adds a patient to the waiting list every 22 hours.

Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center performs more kidney and pancreas transplants than any other transplant center in North Carolina, and according to the United Network for Organ Sharing, is one of the largest transplant centers in a five-state region and one of the 25 most active in the United States.

Announcements

Novant Health-GoHealth Urgent Care has opened a new center in Greensboro. It is in the Lawndale Crossing Shopping Center located at 2635 Lawndale Drive, near Harris Teeter and next to Party City.

Greensboro is the second Novant Health-GoHealth center to open in 2023, following the opening of a center in Cotswold on Jan. 6. Additional centers recently opened in High Point on Dec. 5 and Salisbury on Nov. 28. The total number of Novant Health-GoHealth centers serving North Carolina is 25.

* * * *

The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation has selected Fourth Economy, an economic development consulting firm, to guide a comprehensive effort to improve and expand the regional impacts of the Blue Ridge Music Center. This work is made possible by a $50,000 Strong Parks Strong Communities grant from the National Park Foundation.

The Blue Ridge Music Center, located near Galax, Va., at milepost 213 on the Blue Ridge Parkway, is operated by the National Park Service and celebrates the music and musicians of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Since 2012, the foundation has coordinated the centers onsite and offsite musical programming, including Midday Mountain Music, an annual summer concert series, Milepost Music and concerts held in local communities.

Grants

Lilly Endowment has awarded Wake Forest University a $30.7 million grant to support the universitys Program for Leadership and Character and create a national higher education network devoted to educating character.

Also, the grant will dramatically extend the impact of that work nationwide by helping public and private colleges and universities across the country develop and strengthen their own character education initiatives.

On the Move

Accounting, tax and advisory firm RH CPAs has announced six promotions. Wajahat Mirza and Mufaddal Yousuf have both been promoted to assistant audit manager; Daniyal Khan has been promoted to supervisory senior audit associate; Waqqas Asghar has been promoted to senior audit manager; Caleb Cronce has been promoted to audit manager; and Velinda Scarlette has been promoted to senior associate. The company has announced three new hires as well: Robert Gaddy, incoming tax associate; Ghezelle Hynes, incoming audit associate; and Joel Schram, incoming senior tax associate.

The Korners Folly Foundation Board of Directors announced that Suzanna Ritz Malliett has been promoted to the position of executive director. She has served as operations and programs manager at Korners Folly since November 2018.

Truliant Federal Credit Union has named Marcus Thomas to the role of director of community engagement. Thomas, a UNCG graduate, has managed high-visibility projects at community organizations, led volunteers and fundraising efforts and overseen grant activities.

Katie Fogleman will join the staff of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation as the director of communications starting March 20.
KING  A 14-year-old boy died Saturday night after he was thrown from a bull during a rodeo held at American Legion Post 290 on South Main Street in King.

Rafter K Rodeo Co., based in Union Grove, identified the boy as Denim Bradshaw.

Brandon Gentry, the emergency management director in Stokes County, said his unit was called to the scene of the rodeo about 8:24 p.m. on a report of a cardiac arrest.

He was one of the participants when this happened, Gentry said. He was riding a bull and was thrown off.

Rafter K contracts with members of the King Fire Department to stand by at events, and those people were rendering aid to young Bradshaw when the Stokes EMS crew arrived and rendered help to the boy, Gentry said.

Gentry said the boy was lying in the ring of the rodeo and was not conscious when Stokes EMS workers arrived.

A big crowd was in the arena for the rodeo, which has been held for many years on Saturdays at the American Legion, Gentry said.

Action had stopped while aid was being given to the boy.

The Stokes EMS transferred the injured boy to Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist. Gentry said the boy died at the hospital.

Shannon Bowman, the boys mother, called Denim her lil cowboy, and in a Facebook post said she was heartbroken, but was so proud of your bravery and your courage.

Bowman said she had never seen her son as happy as he was before taking part in the rodeo.

The rodeo company posted a statement on its Facebook page that called the death a tragic event, and that words cannot describe the pain felt by this loss.

Our sport is truly a family and we are so thankful for everyone that was there to help, the statement read.
Winston-Salem police said a 29-year-old man lost his life and two other people were injured in a shooting that occurred early Sunday outside a building in a business block on North Liberty Street.

Police said they were called to 1254 N. Liberty St. at 5:18 a.m. and on arrival found Darryl Rice Jr., 29, suffering from a gunshot wound in front of the business location, which had been rented out for a party.

Despite life-saving measures, police said, Rice succumbed to his injuries and died on the scene.

Then, hospitals reported two other gunshot victims arriving: One victim, Rodney Lee Lindsay Jr., who is 23, was taken to a hospital in a private vehicle by friends.

The other victim is a 17-year-old male whose name is not being released. He was picked up at a private residence by Forsyth County Emergency Medical Services and taken to a hospital.

Lindsay and the teenager were both said to be in critical condition.

Authorities closed Liberty Street for about eight hours while they conducted their investigation. Police said their preliminary investigation showed that an argument started inside the business location and continued outside. Shortly afterward, police said, people began firing weapons and the three males were struck by gunfire.

Although Liberty Street was reopened, police said their investigation is continuing.

The homicide is the eighth that has occurred in Winston-Salem in 2023, compared with three during the same time in 2022.

Anyone with any information regarding this investigation is asked to call the Winston-Salem Police Department at 336-773-7700, Crime Stoppers at 336-727-2800, or En Espanol 336-728-3904. You can also view Crime Stoppers of Winston-Salem Forsyth County on Facebook. A Crime Stoppers Tip Form can also be located online at https://www.cityofws.org/FormCenter/Police-Department-19/Crimestoppers-Tip-Form-100. Information provided to Crime Stoppers may be provided anonymously.

The Text-A-Tip Program can be reached at 336-276-1717 and allows you to text tips, photos and videos to the Winston-Salem Police Department. Please note that such text tips may not be made anonymously.
Winston-Salem has experienced seven homicides so far this year as the killings happened over a 25-day period in January.

The citys tally surpasses the two homicides that happened in the city during same period in 2022. Winston-Salem police have solved four of these cases, making arrests in three killings and not seeking a suspect in a fourth case.

Police are seeking suspects in connection with three recent killings.

Detectives are dedicated to investigating these cases and all investigative leads, police Capt. Amy Gauldin said Friday. We have received some information from the community, which we are certainly grateful for.

We encourage anyone with information to contact the police department, Gauldin said. All information received is investigated to the fullest extent, and we will continue to do so with any additional information.

Seven homicides are not a record for a single month in Winston-Salem. The city also had seven homicides in January 2006, said Kira Boyd, a police spokeswoman.

The city also experienced seven homicides in March and April of 2022, in December 2021, in May and October of 2020 and in June 2016, Boyd said.

In addition, there were seven homicides in the city in June and July of 1994, in June and October of 1993, in February and July of 1989 and in September 1984, Boyd said.

Eight homicides happened in Winston-Salem in March 1996, August 1993 and June 1980, Boyd said. Nine homicides occurred in the city in May and October 2021.

Mayor Allen Joines said he is saddened by the citys rash of killings, especially since Winston-Salems overall number of homicides decreased 25% from 2021 to 2022.

These killings involved individuals who knew each other and were not random acts of violence, Joines said.

He added that social programs must be given a chance to work so young people know how to address conflict without resorting to the use of guns.

Despite the statistics, seven killings in any month in Winston-Salem are a lot of homicides, said Tiffany Zhang, an assistant professor of sociology and criminal studies at Salem College.

Its definitely is an accelerated pace, Zhang said of the city killings so far this year.

State Sen. Paul Lowe, D-Forsyth, said finding answers to reducing gun violence are elusive.

I dont claim to have a lot answers on what ought to be done or what can be done, Lowe said. Gun violence is a major, major problem locally, across the state and nationally.

Where there is conflict, we must impress upon people not to use firearms to settle it. Weve got to put our heads together and figure out how to solve this problem.

The Rev. Robert Leak III of Winston-Salem, the president of the Coalition of Neighborhood Association Presidents, said there are factors behind the citys homicides this year.

Gangs, unemployment and poverty, especially in the citys Black and brown communities, are factors behind the killings, Leak said.

The homicides in Winston-Salem are a pandemic of violence, Leak said. The community has to come together and speak up.

The latest homicide happened when Namir Miguel Seabrook, 20, died after being shot while standing in front of his house on Stockton Street, police said.

Officers responded at 11:37 p.m. Wednesday to the 2600 block of Stockton Street on a report of gunfire.

When officers arrived, they found evidence that a shooting had taken place in front of the house at 2605 Stockton St., but they found no victim, police said.

Moments later, officers learned that Seabrook had been taken to a local hospital by family members, police said. Seabrook had been shot and critically wounded.

Seabrook later died from his injuries at the hospital, police said. No arrests have been made.

Seabrooks death is the citys seventh homicide so far this year.

About 18 hours earlier on Wednesday, Archie Nash, 63, was found stabbed to death in his home on North Cameron Avenue, police said.

Investigators believe Nash was stabbed during a disturbance with an acquaintance.

Crystal Lakita Spencer James, 32, of East Devonshire Street, is charged with murder in Nashs death, police said. James is being held in the Forsyth County Jail with no bond allowed, police said.

Nashs death was the citys sixth homicide in 2023.

Rashaad Pitts, 32, of Legare Drive, was shot and killed Jan. 20 in the drive-thru lane of the Popeyes restaurant in 500 block of North Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, police said.

Pitts was shot while in his vehicle about 8:09 p.m. at the restaurant, police said.

Officers who responded to the scene found Pitts dead in the parking lot. No arrests have been made.

Pitts death was Winston-Salems fifth homicide this year.

On Jan. 19, Kane Jacob Bowen, 30, of Sallies Lane, was shot and killed inside Burke Street Pub in the 1100 block of Burke Street, police said.

Officers were called at 1:13 a.m. to the scene of a reported shooting. They found Bowen dead from a gunshot wound and Makenzie Dalton, 22, with non-life threatening injuries from a gunshot wound. Dalton declined medical treatment.

William Preston Drake, 74, of North Patterson Avenue, is charged with murder, discharging a firearm into an occupied property, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and assault with a deadly weapon, police said. He also is charged with misdemeanor assault by pointing a gun.

Drake is in the jail with no bond allowed.

Drake is accused of standing on Burke Street when he fired a handgun into Burke Street Pub, striking Bowen and Dalton. Bowen and Dalton were not the intended targets, according to police and arrest warrants.

Drake was trying to shoot at another person in the bar with whom he had an ongoing dispute, police said.

Bowens death was the citys fourth homicide in 2023.

Enedy Penaloza Morales, 12, was shot Jan. 13 in Weston Park during a fight between several people, police said. Morales later died at a local hospital.

Jonathan Quiterio Colon, 24, of Ferndale Avenue, sustained a non-life threatening gunshot wound in the incident, police said. No arrests have been made in this case.

Morales death was Winston-Salems third homicide this year.

On Jan. 7, Christopher Lewayne Salley Jr., 28, of Piedmont Circle, was stabbed in the 600 block of West 13th Street, police said.

Officers were dispatched at 2:29 a.m. on an unknown trouble call at that location, police said. When officers arrived, they found Salley suffering from a stab wound in his upper torso.

Salley was pronounced dead at the scene by Forsyth County emergency medical technicians. Investigators determined that Salley had been in a domestic disturbance with a woman.

Salley was then stabbed, police said. No other suspects are being sought. Salleys death was the citys second homicide of 2023.

Dasia Jenis Gentry, 25, was shot and killed on New Years Day at the Microtel Inn in the 100 block of Capitol Lodging Court, police said.

Officers were dispatched at 6:18 a.m. Jan. 1 to the Microtel Inn at 100 Capitol after they received a report of an unconscious woman in room 305, police said.

When they arrived, officers found Gentry suffering from a gunshot wound. Despite live-saving measures from first responders, Gentry was pronounced dead by emergency medical technicians, police said.

Rick Monroe Jr., 25, of Vineyard Brook Court, is charged with voluntary manslaughter and possession of a firearm by a felon, police said. He is being in the jail with his bond set at $1 million, the Forsyth County Sheriffs Office said.

Gentrys death was Winston-Salems first homicide of this year.

Pastor Keith Vereen, of Providence Baptist Church in Kernersville, said he also is concerned about Winston-Salems seven homicides so far this year.

For the most part, I do consider this community to be a safe place, Vereen said. It is susceptible to the problems and crime we see in similar local and national metropolitan areas right now.

Research shows that most homicide victims know their killers, said Keith Coleman, a senior lecturer in the Department of Criminal Justice at N.C. A&T State University in Greensboro.

Any homicide is a homicide too many, Coleman said. Its the beginning of the year, and I dont think it will stay on this rate. I dont think it will be this many per month.

Despite Winston-Salems seven homicides so far in 2023, Coleman believes that the city is a safe place for its residents to live, learn and work.

There is not a mass exodus of people leaving Winston-Salem, Coleman said.
The Presence of Absence by Simon Van Booy; David R. Godine, 184 pages, $24.95.

To call a writer prolific can be to damn them with faint praise, but Simon Van Booy is without a doubt prolific  prolific, though, in the positive sense of being marked by abundant inventiveness or productivity.

The author of 15 books, including 2021s Night Came With Many Stars, two novels for children, and three anthologies of philosophy, Van Booy was raised in rural Wales and the Oxfordshire countryside and currently lives in New York, where his latest book is set.

In The Presence of Absence, his fifth novel for adults, the main character, Max Little, is also an author and also a prolific one, still relatively young, lying in a Manhattan hospital and dying of an incurable disease, realizing painfully that everything Ive written was childs play  actually, not as wise, because children know theyre playing.

The book opens with a self-referential prologue in which Van Booy positions himself as the Little fan chosen by the dead writers widow, Hadley, to help arrange for the posthumous publication of the small journal of his last days that was too fragmented in its original form to make sense on its own. Instead, says Van Booys fictional version of himself, he, Hadley, and the late Littles publisher Sipsworth House decided that Van Booy would incorporate those fragments into a novel that I would write and publish under my own name with an introduction explaining the circumstances of our collaboration.

Brief, formally playful, and fable-esque, the subsequent highly self-aware text is divided into two sections. The first, In Vivo takes these fragments from 27  which opens, Most readers expect some crisis in a storys first pages  in reverse order down to 1, at which point the text disintegrates, just as the life of Little has been doing all along: Wait/I hear something/voices/shuffling/jst byond the dorr // ggadfley vaREN // WES hal // HA ?? ha.

The second, Ex Vivo, subtitled Sotto Voce, pushes the ludic possibilities of words and syntax even further, experimenting with white space and the field of the page, as well as point of view.

This unusual and relentlessly self-reflexive approach allows Van Booy to tell not only the story of the doomed Little, but also to tell the bigger story of how stories are told  their inherently incomplete yet collaborative nature. As Little explains, Through the act of reading this novel, its actually you telling the story because when you see words, whats imagined comes from your experience of life, not mine.

In addition to referring to itself, Littles text also refers to such literary figures as Shakespeare and Ibsen, as well as such pop culture artifacts as The A-Team and Knight Rider, as he reflects on both his literary career and his childhood.

If you dont just like reading, but reading about reading  how words are communal yet bring material order through spiritual separation  then this is the book for you.
Lots of dollars flying around inside the Capital last week.

What to do with them?

Send them off on spending or investment-in-the-future chores, or return them to sender?

Gov. Jim Pillen says return them to state taxpayers  and so will a majority of the members of the Legislature before this session adjourns.

Pillen scored an "A" with his State of the State address, the Legislature already was tilted favorably on his side, and legislative committees and their leadership appear to have been constructed in a manner that will move his priorities to the floor.

Conservatives are organized for success and this is going to be a very conservative year in state government.

Income tax rates are tumbling down; the state budget will be "hold the line."

However, in the Legislature it's not ever simply smooth sailing ahead.

Democrats have just enough votes to sustain a filibuster, and there would appear to be many filibusters ahead. They could force some compromises.

While you probably could safely bet on a successful and productive initial legislative session for the new governor, there always are some unexpected events or obstacles looming over the horizon.

Perhaps a few stormy days at sea.

But no icebergs.

* * *

Although Ben Sasse may be out of the Senate, he's moving into politically charged territory when he becomes the University of Florida's new president on Feb. 6.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appears ready to seek the 2024 Republican presidential nomination and his recent rejection of an advanced African American studies course proposed by the College Board stirred a sharp response from UF's student newspaper, the Independent Florida Alligator.

"DeSantis meddles in university politics  again," the headline read.

"Recent memos show attempt at ideological control.

"It's hard not to see UF these days as Gov. Ron DeSantis' political playground.

"DeSantis is attempting to turn higher education in Florida into political theater, prioritizing his own national profile as a culture warrior over the needs of students and Floridians in general."

* * *

Armed with seniority and now in the majority with Republican control of the House, Rep. Adrian Smith is the new chairman of the trade subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee.

A good place for a rural Nebraska congressman with 16 years of seniority to be.

"With trade vital to the health of America's economy, the subcommittee on trade led by Chairman Smith will put American farmers and manufacturers first by prioritizing opening up global markets to sell their products," Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith of Missouri said.

* * *

Finishing up:

* Democrats hold a voter registration advantage in only 11 of the state's 49 legislative districts. With 17 senators who are Democrats in the current Legislature, they're hitting above their weight.

* Apparently in Washington now, if you don't have classified documents in your closet or under your bed, you must be a nobody.

* A big-time trio of bills is lined up for public hearing in three legislative committees on Wednesday: a ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, specific voter photo ID requirements, a limitation on school district property tax increases. Big legislative day.

* The conservative 2% budget increase for the University of Nebraska recommended by Pillen lines up with what the university requested.

* Rep. Mike Flood has been named a member of the housing and insurance subcommittee and the digital assets, financial technology and inclusion subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee.

* Last week's legislative battle over the committee assignment for a big abortion bill was just the opening salvo. Trench warfare ahead.

* Part of me wishes I had stuck to my early decision to not watch the brutal beating murder of Tyre Nichols by police in Memphis. But perhaps we all should see it.

* Still awaiting U.S. Senate committee assignments for Sen. Pete Ricketts.

* Fifty days until spring.
A couple of simultaneous road projects are going to cause headaches over the next few months for southeast Lincoln drivers trying to reach the new South Beltway and those trying to drive into the city from rural areas of the county.

The Nebraska Department of Transportation announced recently that it plans to close the intersection of 84th Street and Saltillo Road on Feb. 6, as long as the weather cooperates, to begin prep work for construction of an interchange for the recently opened beltway.

The department said in a news release that the intersection will remain closed until sometime in the fall.

Jen Campana, spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation, said crews will be doing culvert work in preparation for paving and earthwork that will take place later during the normal construction season.

The 82nd Street interchange, as well as one at roughly 30th Street, will provide drivers additional ways to get on and off the beltway. Currently, the only way to enter and exit the road between U.S. 77 and 120th Street is an interchange at 68th Street.

However, 70th Street is currently closed north of Saltillo for roadwork related to the new Standing Bear High School thats set to open in the fall, and the road is not scheduled to open until spring.

That means drivers will be unable to cross Saltillo at either 70th or 84th streets and instead will have to detour miles out of their way and use either 56th Street or the Nebraska Parkway interchange with the South Beltway at 120th Street.

Complicating things further is that a portion of 40th Street is closed between Saltillo and Yankee Hill Road for a city improvement project, meaning three main north-south roads will be closed at the same time.

Those who have commented on social media dont seem happy about it.

Do you not want people from south of Lincoln to get into town? Ridiculous planning ... or lack thereof, a Twitter user commented on a Jan. 19 Department of Transportation post announcing the closure.

You are limiting access for several southern Lancaster Co communities to 1 one-lane road into Lincoln and/or taking them extremely out of their way, another Twitter user wrote.

Campana said state construction crews cannot wait to start work on the 84th Street project, because doing so would result in significant costs and increase in delays associated.

She said the state had planned for traffic to be detoured onto 70th Street during the 84th Street work but is unable to do so due to significant delays associated with the 70th Street project.

Erika Hill, manager of communications and public relations for Lincoln Transportation and Utilities, said the 70th Street project was originally supposed to be done in late October but got pushed back because of a water main that had to be relocated by the Lancaster County Rural Water District.

Hill said the expected completion date is now the end of April.

The contractor has been working as they can during winter conditions to meet this schedule, she said.

Hill said there is another city project in the area of the new school, a roundabout at 77th Street and Saltillo Road, that was originally scheduled to start in May but will now start next month so it can be done at the same time as the states 84th Street project.

The 77th Street roundabout is expected to be completed in September.

Hill said the city has increased funding in recent years for road projects, and the ones currently going on in southeast Lincoln are necessary to support the many new businesses and homes going up in the area, as well as the new high school.

We understand those improvements and detours will cause temporary inconvenience but ask the public for their patience as we work to deliver safer and faster travel for a growing part of Lincoln, she said.

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City Councilman Richard Meginnis, who represents District 2 in southeast Lincoln, does not plan to run for reelection to a second term.

Meginnis, a Republican who served two terms on the Lincoln Board of Education before running for the City Council, said he feels hes been a good civil servant, but the passion to serve just isnt there anymore.

Its not the No. 1 thing I want to do when I wake up in the morning, he said. I just dont enjoy it as much as I used to.

In 2019, after longtime councilman Jon Camp decided against running again, Meginnis  president of NAI/FMA Realty, a commercial real estate company  won election over Democrat Megan Stock to become the first new councilman representing the southeast district in nearly 20 years.

First-time council members Tammy Ward and James Michael Bowers both were elected that spring, along with Jane Raybould, who was elected to her second term.

Of the four district council members up for election this spring, three will not run again: Ward also announced she wont run for a second term, and Raybould, elected to the Nebraska Legislature, is already gone.

Bowers is running for reelection in District 1. The primary is April 4; the general election is May 2.

Meginnis is the lone Republican on what is officially a nonpartisan council, though the two parties recruit and support candidates.

Meginnis knew that, but, as he said during his campaign, he hoped to foster a spirit of camaraderie in city government he didnt think had existed in recent years, and to improve the relationship between the council and the administration.

But that was harder than he anticipated, Meginnis said, and he was frustrated that the partisanship and polarization seen on a statewide and national level seemed to have seeped into city politics.

Its the way politics is today, he said. I didnt realize it had gotten down to the level of city politics. I must have been pretty naive to think that people would work for the best of what citizens need and not (to further) one individuals goals.

Backing an issue based solely on party isnt the best way to govern, he said.

I dont like the idea that you have to be in one camp or another.

He said he was particularly frustrated by a bitter debate over floodplain regulations, a priority for Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird, which the council eventually passed over the objections of developers, as well as those in real estate and various organizations including the Chamber of Commerce.

He also spoke out against the mayors appointment of three members to the Lincoln Electric System board, which he saw as an attempt to further her climate resilience priorities rather than provide management oversight.

Those were the two kickers, he said.

Beyond those frustrations, the past three years were difficult.

Protests following the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police rocked the city in the summer of 2020. The councils attempt to pass a Fairness Ordinance was fraught. And the city and council had to navigate a pandemic. Meginnis was among four City Council members, along with the mayor, subject to a failed recall effort launched by those upset over the mask mandate and other health directives.

Ward mentioned similar challenges when she announced she wouldnt run for a second term.

Still, Meginnis said, hes happy he served.

He loved working with city staff, he said, and became friends with his fellow council members. He feels good about continued road improvements, and hes pleased the city put the brakes on a major roundabout project at the intersection of Warlick Boulevard, 14th Street and Old Cheney Road. Hes also pleased with some of the downtown developments underway, and the work to find a second water source for the city was important. He served on an advisory council appointed by the mayor that recommended that a second source come from new wellfields on the Missouri River.

Im glad I was there, he said of his time on the council. Im glad I was part of it, and I think I brought a different view and some common sense to it.

For now, though, he has other priorities, including one grandchild, and another on the way.

Ive run the full circle, he said. I was on the school board, raised kids through the school, then I tried to help the city grow by being on the city council.

Candidates have until March 3 to file as nonincumbents for the City Council.

Top Journal Star photos for January 2023
Editor's note: This story is part of 'Broken Defense,' an investigative series from Lee Enterprises. More details about this project can be found at the bottom of this article.

The Montana Office of the Public Defender has had one of its rockiest years since the agency was concentrated from county offices into a state obligation.

A dispute over a delay assigning attorneys in eastern Montana went up to the state Supreme Court last year, drawing attention to OPDs staff retention problem. Contract attorneys who take overflow cases in western Montana began refusing work until the $56 rate increased. Federal courts, for example, pay contract public defenders closer to $150.

Many woes, including double-digit vacancies, eased in 2021 after COVID-19 federal relief funds helped temporarily patch problems. Raises for contract and staff public defenders were negotiated in what the director called a historic investment.

In its second week, the Montana Legislature this month began digging into the materials that will eventually shape OPDs ability to carry out its obligation to provide effective representation to people who cant afford it.

The Governors Office backs the state public defenders office request for a $19 million budget increase, a 24% leap. That could add 20 attorneys, but would still leave the agency shorthanded. Since 2019, the Montana public defenders office needed an additional 63 attorneys on average to handle the caseload assigned to the agency and still meet its workload management limits, according to the agency's December budget request to the state Legislature.

This represents, in our opinion, not Band-Aid fixes, Schandelson told the budget subcommittee on public safety. We are attempting to actually address fundamental flaws in the way the agency has been funded.

The agencys obligation to provide representation on the taxpayers dime to people who cannot afford it causes tension.

Top state agency officials told Lee Newspapers over the past year that workloads assigned to attorneys have mostly disregarded the agencys own caseload limit by nearly 200%, according to Schandelson. For more than a decade OPD policy has stated that attorneys should take on no more than 125 new cases per month, but the agency never tracked attorney hours, and therefore never abided by that limit policy.

Caseload limit enforcement could prevent attorney burnout that drives turnover, which may translate to delays for a defendant waiting in jail to get a lawyer, Schandelson said.

You dont close the gap between reality and justice by feeding the system your own flesh and blood, Schandelson said in a November interview. We need a system that can sustain itself.

Yellowstone County in 2021 began enforcing workload limits and within months revealed a dire public defenders backlog. District Court Judge Donald Harris held the agency in contempt for delays in assigning attorneys to more than 660 defendants.

According to the most recent data following Harris order, more than 67% of OPDs unassigned cases in September 2021 were in Yellowstone County, OPD officials told lawmakers.

Harris held the agency in contempt again in February for continued attorney assignment delays. State law requires a public defender be assigned immediately, and Harris had ordered OPD to assign cases within three days to comply with his earlier order.

The state public defenders office petitioned to the Montana Supreme Court the second contempt order, arguing that understaffing made Harris deadline impossible. Some state and national legal organizations supported the contempt order, arguing those delays in representation violated defendants Sixth Amendment right to an attorney, while some of their peers opposed sanctioning the agency into compliance.

The state Supreme Court ruled that the judge could not create a three-day deadline that doesnt already exist in law, so Montanas immediate representation deadline remains undefined.

Cycles of solutions

Montana centralized its public defense system into a statewide agency in 2006 after the ACLU sued the state and seven counties alleging the county-run model provided constitutionally deficient services.

Counties still shared the public defense cost, but the state eventually covered more than its share. Attempts to realign that arrangement was killed by city and county lobbyists during the 2019 Legislature.

We baked in an underfunding because we did not recognize as a state that what we were doing as counties did not make sense, Schandelson told the Legislature this month. The gap in the work between what we have and what we do has existed going back for years.

The statewide system is better, said Montanas ACLU legal director Alex Rate, but only works if sufficiently funded.

We are lightyears beyond where we were, Rate told Lee Newspapers. Weve modernized our system and professionalized our workforce. We still have a ways to go and I think Yellowstone County is a good indicator that there is seriously weak links in the chain of public defense.

Though funding cant resolve lack of oversights in a rushed and overworked system.

Joseph Jefferson-Dust, a public defenders office former client, was for a year in and out of jail despite his accuser recanting her allegations.

An investigator with the office created a memo detailing the recantation, but Schandelson told Lee Newspapers its unclear what happened to the document. At the time, Yellowstone County Office was taking on twice as many cases as it could handle, and Jefferson-Dusts attorney was days from retirement.

More than a year has passed since Jefferson-Dusts accuser recanted, and hes currently on probation for the charge. The Montana Innocence Project uncovered the memo and now is handling the case to overturn his conviction.

I have respect for the law, I do, Jefferson-Dust said in October in Billings. But I was let down by the justice system.

Schandelson said the agencys failure to reveal the recantation sooner exposes systemic breakdowns that prevent rushing attorneys from seeing new information, like the Jefferson-Dust memo.

It seems like hes got the short end of every possible stick here for a while, and while that doesnt all rest with us, we are typically the only part in the system able to advocate, Schandelson said.

Montanas Legislature meets four months every two years, so the window is brief for lawmakers to decide policy and funding. Several public defender improvements had been suggested to committees by this sessions second week, including another local government cost share increase proposal.

Local prosecutors again opposed the idea, proposed by longtime Sen. Ryan Lynch, who admitted the bill is mostly meant to force a conversation about OPDs needs. Freshman legislator Sen. Daniel Emrich asked Lynch whether thats worth the Legislatures valuable time.

I've been in the Legislature 10 years, Lynch said. We've had this dialogue for 10 years, and this is the furthest the conversations ever gotten.

That bill emerged from committee and on Tuesday passed the Senate.

About Broken Defense: Across the West, public defense systems face crushing caseloads, historic underfunding, structural problems and severe staffing shortages, imperiling criminal defendants lives and in many cases denying them their constitutional right to counsel. Defendants have lost jobs and homes, been pressured to plead guilty and been denied the benefit of exonerating evidence. People accused in more than 100,000 misdemeanors each year go to jail without ever talking to a lawyer. Lee Enterprises West region Public Service Journalism team and local reporters attended more than a dozen court hearings and interviewed more than 25 defendants, 40 attorneys and 25 experts to reveal public defense in many western states is broken.
TIJUANA, Mexico  Hours before sunrise, migrants at one of Mexico's largest shelters wake up and go online, hoping to secure an appointment to try to seek asylum in the United States. The daily ritual resembles a race for concert tickets when online sales begin for a major act, as about 100 people glide their thumbs over phone screens.

New appointments are available each day at 6 a.m., but migrants find themselves stymied by error messages from the U.S. government's CBPOne mobile app that's been overloaded since the Biden administration introduced it Jan. 12.

Many can't log in; others are able to enter their information and select a date, only to have the screen freeze at final confirmation. Some get a message saying they must be near a U.S. crossing, despite being in Mexico's largest border city.

At Embajadores de Jesus in Tijuana, only two of more than 1,000 migrants got appointments in the first two weeks, director Gustavo Banda said.

"We're going to continue trying, but it's a failure for us," Erlin Rodriguez of Honduras said after another fruitless run at an appointment for him, his wife and their two children one Sunday before dawn. "There's no hope."

Mareni Montiel of Mexico was elated to select a date and time for her two children  then didn't get a confirmation code. "Now I'm back to zero," said Montiel, 32, who has been waiting four months at the shelter.

CBPOne replaced an opaque patchwork of exemptions to a COVID-19 public health order known as Title 42 under which the U.S. government has denied migrants' rights to claim asylum since March 2020. Migrants from other countries find themselves in Mexico waiting for an exemption or policy change  unless they try to cross illegally into the U.S.

If it succeeds, CBPOne could be used by asylum-seekers as a safe, orderly alternative to illegal entries, which reached the highest level ever recorded in the U.S. in December. It also could discourage large camps on Mexico's side of the border.

Complaints have surfaced:

Applications are available in English and Spanish only, languages many of the migrants don't speak. Guerline Jozef, executive director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance, said authorities failed to take "the most basic fact into account: the national language of Haiti is Haitian Creole." U.S. Customs and Border Protection says it plans a Creole version in February; it has not announced other languages.

 Some migrants, particularly with darker skin, say the app is rejecting required photos, blocking or delaying applications. CBP says it is aware of some technical issues, especially when new appointments are made available, but users' phones also may contribute. It says a live photo is required for each login as a security measure.

The issue has hit Haitians hardest, said Felicia Rangel-Samponaro, director of The Sidewalk School, which assists migrants in Reynosa and Matamoros, across from Texas' Rio Grande Valley. Previously, about 80% of migrants admitted to seek asylum in the area were Haitian, Rangel-Samponaro said. On Friday, she counted 10 Black people among 270 admitted in Matamoros.

"We brought construction lights pointed at your face," she said. "Those pictures were still not able to go through.  They can't get past the picture part."

 A requirement that migrants apply in northern and central Mexico doesn't always work. CBP notes the app won't work right if the locator function is switched off. It's also trying to determine if signals are bouncing off U.S. phone towers. Applicants outside the region have been able to circumvent the location requirement by using virtual private networks, but the agency said it has found a fix for that and is updating the system.

 Some advocates are disappointed that there is no explicit special consideration for LGBTQ applicants. Migrants are asked if they have a physical or mental illness, disability, pregnancy, lack housing, face a threat of harm, or are under 21 years old or over 70.

Still, LGBTQ migrants are not disqualified. At Casa de Luz, a Tijuana shelter for about 50 LGBTQ migrants, four quickly got appointments. A transgender woman from El Salvador said she didn't check any boxes when asked about specific vulnerabilities.

Starting in President Joe Biden's first year in office until last week, CBP arranged exemptions through advocates, churches, attorneys and migrant shelters, without publicly identifying them or saying how many slots were available. The arrangement prompted allegations of favoritism and corruption. In December, CBP severed ties with one group that was charging Russians.

For CBPOne to work, enough people must get appointments to discourage crossing the border illegally, said Leon Fresco, an immigration attorney and former aide to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a N.Y. Democrat.

"If these appointments start dragging out to two or three or four months, it's going to be much harder to keep it going," he said. "If people aren't getting through, they won't use the program."

CBP, which schedules appointments up to two weeks out, declines to say how many people are getting in.

Cities with the largest immigrant populations Cities With the Largest Immigrant Populations The US foreign born population share was at a near historic high before the pandemic Mexican immigrants account for nearly 25 percent of the foreign born population More than a quarter of the California population is foreign born Small and midsize metros with the most immigrants 15. Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA 14. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 13. Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL 12. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH 11. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 10. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA 9. Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV 8. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 7. San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA 6. Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 5. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 4. San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA 3. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 2. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 1. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL
RACINE  One 74 year-old man died and a husband-and-wife couple survived in a house fire Sunday morning along Woodland Avenue, according to a news release from the Racine Fire Department.

The RFD is withholding the name of the deceased, pending notification of family.

The structure is deemed a total loss, estimated at $71,000, with a $30,000 loss in contents.

At 4:10 a.m. Sunday, the RFD was dispatched to a house fire in the 1800 block of Woodland Avenue in Racine and were told there were people still in the home. Two truck companies, three engines, a med unit and a command car responded.

Engine 6 from the firehouse near 16th Street and Taylor Avenue arrived first on-scene in under four minutes. Fire and heavy smoke were observed venting from windows, the RFD said.

There was fire on the first floor and in the basement of the single-story, single-family residence. The fire was believed to have started in the basement.

Evidence from the initial investigation indicates this fire was not the result of foul play. The exact cause of the fire remains under investigation, the RFD said.

The three elderly adults living at this address were transported by RFD rescue to Ascension All Saints emergency room. A husband and wife in their 70s were outside when firefighters arrived.

As of Sunday afternoon, the husband is in stable condition and is expected to be discharged. The wife was transported to the Ascension Columbia St. Marys Regional Burn Center in Milwaukee as a precaution to receive specialized care for smoke inhalation sustained at the scene.

Despite high heat and zero visibility conditions inside, the third resident, a 74-year-old man, was found alive but unresponsive inside the back of the house. Firefighters from Quint 4 and paramedics from MED 1 found and rescued the man to the outside and then carried him a few houses down to where the rescue squad was waiting, officials said.

The same paramedics who rescued the man from the home and carried him down the street doffed their firefighting gear and began treatment using advanced life support interventions during transport to the emergency room.

The man succumbed to his injuries a short time later.

The Racine Police Department assisted at the scene, at the hospital and with the investigation. We Energies secured utilities. Racine Fire Bells responded just after 5 a.m. to provide rehab support to first responders.

5 most common causes of reported house fires 5 most common causes of reported house fires #5. Smoking materials #4. Intentional #3. Electrical distribution and lighting equipment #2. Heating equipment #1. Cooking
Since his election as mayor in 2019, Cory Mason is often quick to point the finger at others as to why Racine cant do more to combat crime in the city. He often lays the blame for the citys woes on his predecessors, state lawmakers, and Congress  all the while professing his steadfast support for the police. Following the recent shooting of two Racine officers, this approach was again on full display.

For many officers in Racine, Masons canned blame-game tactics have become a source of frustration, because they appear disingenuous and designed to shift the responsibility for public safety away from himself. While some of Masons assertions are true, in part, they nonetheless fall short of painting a complete picture of the impact that he has had on the city.

As Mason nears the end of his term and pursues another one, it might be helpful to examine his record through the eyes of the officers that serve this community.

After assuming office, Mason imposed a hiring freeze of new police officers, and his 2020 budget subsequently cut 12 officer positions.

Even after the freeze was lifted, the city was unable to undertake hiring new officers for months because the police and fire commission didnt have a sufficient number of commissioners  despite the fact that its the mayors responsibility to appoint commission members.

While Mason often holds himself out as a supporter of labor unions and collective bargaining, his actions stand in stark contrast to those assertions. Racines officers have gone without a contract  or a wage increase  for more than two years.

Not only has Mason demanded that the police union agree to terminate longstanding benefits, he initiated and continues to pursue costly litigation to strip officers of their right to negotiate over retiree health insurance  a benefit that the city has agreed to provide for decades in exchange for smaller wage increases.

Once a vocal critic of the anti-union laws instigated by former Gov. Scott Walker, Mason has proved himself uniquely adept at using the tools that Walkers laws created to become the only local government leader in Wisconsin to try and eliminate the right to bargain over retiree health insurance.

Since 2020, 69 officers have left the Racine Police Department, and it now faces an enormous staffing shortage of more than 30 officers, with at least 10 more projected to leave by July 1st.

Many of these officers are leaving Racine to work for other agencies. As Racines police chief publicly pointed out last week, the staffing shortage regularly forces officers to work overtime, which comes at a significant cost to them and the taxpayers pocketbooks.

While its true that Mason supported a referendum that would have added five more officers last year, the measure was little more than a Band-Aid effort to respond to a problem that he himself helped create.

In light of the foregoing, it comes as no surprise that, under Mayor Mason, Racine has endured an increase in the number of criminal homicides, aggravated assaults, and thefts of both personal property and motor vehicles.

When you consider these statistics along with last weeks shooting of two brave officers, its difficult to dispute the fact that Cory Masons leadership has hurt both public safety and officer safety in Racine.

As much as Mason might like to point the finger elsewhere when it comes to the challenges facing Racine, its clear that he has contributed to them.

Unless and until Mason accepts his share of the responsibility for public safety in this city, the community and its officers will continue to suffer.
Killeen, TX (76540)

Today

Cloudy skies early will become partly cloudy later in the day. High around 80F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Mainly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 67F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph.
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
KEARNEY  Tickets continue to be on sale for Paddington Gets in a Jam, a live stage show, designed for children, at 6:30 p.m. March 2 at the Merryman Performing Arts Center. Tickets start at $12 for ages 16 and younger.

The show is presented as part of the Morris Matinees series.

Based on the character created by Michael Bond in 1958, the story follows Paddington when he goes next door to borrow a cup of sugar from his neighbor, Mr. Curry. His neighbor is in a panic because hes expecting a visit from his great aunt Matilda. After Paddington offers to help, everything seems to go wrong.

Presented by Rockefeller Productions, the show features Paddington Bear, the main character in more than 20 books for children. The books have been translated into 30 languages across 70 titles and have sold more than 30 million copies worldwide.

The author based Paddington Bear on a lone teddy bear he found in a London shop near Paddington Station on Christmas Eve in 1956. Bond wrote his first story in 10 days, releasing A Bear Called Paddington less than two years later. The first stuffed bear resembling Paddington was created in 1972.

For more information or tickets, call 308-698-8297 or visit MerrymanCenter.org.
A 23-year-old Lincoln man is facing a felony charge after allegedly taking a video of himself sexually abusing a woman while she was unconscious.

The Lancaster County Attorney's Office charged Garrett Shaw with first-degree sexual assault in December and a warrant went out for his arrest.

He was picked up and made his first court appearance Wednesday, where Lancaster County Court Judge Timothy Phillips set his bond at $500,000.

In the affidavit for Shaw's arrest, Lincoln Police Officer Robert Martin said on Dec. 1 an 18-year-old told law enforcement that a month earlier she had found a video on her cellphone after Shaw allegedly dragged her into a bedroom and strangled her.

She woke and found a prompt on her phone asking if she wished to delete the selected files. She declined and watched the two videos, time-stamped the previous night.

Martin said they showed Shaw sexually assaulting her as she laid motionless. She told investigators she was not conscious and did not consent to the acts.

Lincoln City Libraries' most popular books of 2022 3. Sparring Partners by John Grisham 4. The 6:20 Man by David Baldacci 5. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens 6. Run, Rose, Run by Dolly Parton and James Patterson 7. The Hotel Nantucket by Elin Hilderbrand 8. Dream Town by David Baldacci 9. Shattered by James Patterson 10. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days by Jeff Kinney
Panelists attend a public hearing to explore solutions for the forced labor issue between South Korea and Seoul at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, Jan. 12. Korea Times photo by Choi Joo-yeon



Yoon's efforts to improve relations show signs of progress



By Nam Hyun-woo



Japan is considering expressing an apology to South Korea and other neighboring countries by upholding its past statements repenting its wartime atrocities if Seoul finalizes a plan to create a South Korean foundation to compensate forced labor victims here on behalf of Japanese companies, according to Kyodo News.



The news agency said, Saturday, that Tokyo is considering showing "deep remorse" and "feelings of apology" based on past statements, such as one made by Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama in 1995.



This will be carried out by releasing a statement or holding a press conference, if Seoul officially announces that a South Korean foundation will compensate forced labor victims on behalf of two Japanese companies.



Kyodo reported that this is aimed at supporting the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, which seeks to improve the two countries' frayed ties and strengthen trilateral security cooperation between South Korea, Japan and the United States to counter North Korea's increasing nuclear and missile threats.






A four-star U.S. Air Force general said in a memo that his gut told him the United States would fight China in the next two years, comments that Pentagon officials said were not consistent with American military assessments.







"I hope I am wrong," General

, who heads the Air Mobility Command, wrote to the leadership of its roughly 110,000 members. "My gut tells me will fight in 2025."







The letter was dated Feb. 1 but had been sent out on Friday.







The general's views do not represent the Pentagon but show concern at the highest levels of the U.S. military over a possible attempt by China to exert control over Taiwan, which China claims as a territory. Both the United States and Taiwan will hold presidential elections in 2024, potentially creating an opportunity for China to take military action, Minihan wrote.







"These comments are not representative of the department's view on China," a U.S. defense official said.







U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said earlier this month he seriously doubted that ramped up Chinese military activities near the Taiwan Strait were a sign of an imminent invasion of the island by Beijing.







China has stepped up its diplomatic, military and economic pressure in recent years on the self-governed island to accept Beijing's rule. Taiwan's government says it wants peace but will defend itself if attacked.







Reuters reviewed a copy of Minihan's memo, which was first reported by NBC News.







In response to a request for comment, Air Force Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said in a statement that military competition with China is a central challenge.







"Our focus remains on working alongside allies and partners to preserve a peaceful, free and open Indo-Pacific," he said. (Reuters)










NATO's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a session at the Congress center during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on Jan. 18. AFP-Yonhap



NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg arrived in Seoul on Sunday, the first stop on a trip aimed at strengthening the alliance's ties with U.S. allies in South Korea and Japan in the face of the war in Ukraine and rising competition with China.



In Seoul, Stoltenberg is due to meet with Foreign Minister Park Jin, Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-Sup, and other senior officials, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization said in a statement. He will also likely meet with President Yoon Suk Yeol, the presidential office has said.



Flying to Tokyo on Monday, the secretary general has meetings scheduled with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and other Japanese officials.



"I strongly believe that we need to strengthen the partnership between Korea and NATO because security becomes more and more interconnected," Stoltenberg told Yonhap News agency in an interview published on Sunday. "What happens in Asia, the Indo-Pacific, matters for Europe and NATO, and vice versa."






Even though TV tackled the Emmett Till story last year, theres something deeply touching in Till, the new film that could figure into Tuesdays Oscar nominations.

Danielle Deadwyler, an ideal choice for Best Actress, shows how truly strong the bonds between mother and son are.

When her boy (beautifully played by Jalyn Hall) is murdered by white supremacists in Mississippi, she doesnt want to mourn in private. She wants others to see what happened to that innocent 14-year-old.

The way Deadwyler makes it resonate for everyone is much of the strength of Chinonye Chukwus film.

Here, we see how Eisenhower-esque Mamie and Emmett are. Living in Chicago, theyre happy to be enjoying a middle-class life.

Emmett plans to visit relatives in the South. But before he does, mom buys him a wallet and, at the department store, we get a taste of the prejudice that will soon flow like a river. Chukwu gives other examples of racism and shows how life wasnt as normalized as some make think.

Emmett encounters a different world in Mississippi and becomes the target of those who dont appreciate integration. Kidnapped, tortured and murdered, hes thrown in a river and considered just another statistic.

Mamie, however, is determined to let others see what they did to her son. Insisting on an open casket, she points up the brutality her son faced.

Chukwu doesnt go for the sensational (avoiding scenes of the violence) or the hurt (we see the pain of Emmetts death of the faces of those who loved him). But she doesnt back away from confronting the problems that Mamie encountered. Till is history told in a way that people can understand. Remove the obvious and this is the story of a mother defending her son and looking for justice.

Thats where Deadwylers strength lies. She makes Mamie tower as a pillar of love. Even though others tried to undercut her actions, she stood as a mother unwilling to accept others actions.

Whoopi Goldberg slips in here as Mamies mother but even she cant pull the focus. When Chukwus camera pulls back at the visitation, you can feel the familys loss.

Hall, meanwhile, justifies why this mother was so determined to find justice. He embodies the life that was cut short.

While Till plays out like a TV movie (Women of the Movement was the name of the one that preceded this), It has its own power.

Look for Chukwus take to keep it at the front of conversations, particularly during Black History Month. And look for Deadwyler to be numbered among those who delivered the best performances of 2022.

Till hits the DVD market this week.
Rides on La Crosse buses are free from Monday to Saturday this week, part of Transit Equity Days, a celebration centered on Rosa Parks birthday, Feb. 4, emphasizing access to public transportation as a civil right.

Rides on Scenic Mississippi Regional Transit buses, which run to Prairie du Chien, Viroqua and Tomah, will be free on Wednesday.

A news conference with Mayor Mitch Reynolds and local transit advocates at 1 p.m. Monday at Grand River Station will kick off a week of events oriented around public transit and its connections to issues including socioeconomic inequality, climate change, accessibility and labor.

Susan Gaeddert, community program director with 1000 Friends of Wisconsin, an environmental and land use advocacy group, will lead a program titled Transit Equity and Climate Action on Tuesday online at 7 p.m.

MTU Transit Manager Adam Lorentz and La Crosse Area Planning Committee Executive Director Peter Fletcher will speak online Wednesday at 2 p.m. about the MTU and SMRT bus systems.

Throughout the week, local elected officials from La Crosse and Onalaska will ride the bus for one hour shifts to talk with drivers and riders.

A schedule for elected officials bus office hours and registration links for the online presentations can be found at LaCrosseTransitAdvocates.org.

The website also includes links for passengers to thank local transit employees and to share their experiences riding local public transportation.

A display at the public library will showcase information and books about transportation equity, climate change and the history of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus boycott. A display at the Grand River Station highlights La Crosse historian Terry Hicks history of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 519 and other labor organizations.

In addition to this weeks events, the La Crosse Area Transit Advocates regularly pairs new riders with experienced passenger through a buddy program. Interested residents can email LaCrosseTransitAdvocates@protonmail.com or call 608-315-2693 to participate.

Wed like to get people to try the bus if they havent, said Cathy Van Maren, member of La Crosse Area Transit Advocates. I think a compelling reason is to take climate action, but it could be youre interesting in taking the bus because of driving in the snow and slush and finding a parking space.

The La Crosse Area Transit Advocates also shared several statistics regarding access to cars, road safety and carbon emissions.

What do we subsidize? Parking for private cars or public transportation or bicycle infrastructure? said Van Maren. How do we expect people to get places, and how do we build our cities so they can get places?

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation estimates that 30 to 40 percent of the city of La Crosses population over the age of 15 are not drivers, meaning they do not hold a drivers license or do not own a vehicle per Department of Motor Vehicle records.

According to a White House fact sheet published in 2021, Wisconsin residents who rely on public transportation spend over 60 percent more time commuting, and non-White households in the state are nearly six times more likely to use public transportation.

The U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics estimates the average yearly cost to own a car in 2022 was nearly $11,000.

The La Crosse Municipal Transit Utility last year provided nearly 760,000 rides on fixed routes and over 18,000 rides through the paratransit service for passengers who cannot access regular bus routes due to disability.

The SMRT bus system provided over 18,000 rides and the Onalaska/Holmen/West Salem Public Transit Taxi provided over 48,000 rides last year.

All three systems saw increased use from last year.

COLLECTION: Good morning photos of the day Saturday ... in the park, definitely not the 4th of July Strolling swans Eagle watch First robin of spring? Opossum passing by Eagles at sundset Saturday ... in the park, definitely not the 4th of July Snowy skyline Towering Spring rain drop The end of ice fishing season Arcadia flyer Bridge sunset A foggy morning hello Spring rain drop End of ice fishing is a drag Spring snow HARBORMASTER CAPPED Hitting the open water Bikes for everyone Helping our neighbors HyVee work continues PICTURE OF THE DAY PICTURE OF THE DAY: Spring migration A tradition unlike any other... Feeling squirrelly Elm tree flowers Sitting on the dock of the bay A holiday hunt Colorful sunset A nice day for a walk A beautiful sunset Tulip blooms Sunrise in the neighborhood A great day for reflection Enjoying the breeze Right on the river Morning visitor Beautiful blossoms A patriotic pair A trip to the Capitol Misty Mississippi Mallard on the march A balancing act Apple blossoms Flowering Crab trees River overflow Flag Day next week Ready to go for a spin Riverside sunset Doggone beautiful The cat-bird seat La Crosse River at Veterans Memorial Park bike bridge in Riverside Park French Island fiery sunset Cass Street Bridge from Riverside Park End of the Day Holding it together A flower named Sue Hanging out at Goose Island Beautiful day Riding in style On parade at Catfish Days A sun-dappled cemetery lane Pecking away Bunny meets world Cranes by the creek River at Veterans Memorial Park The cat-bird seat Fingers in the fog Dragonfly on the line Breakfast at the birdhouse Spreading her wings Relaxing in the park A view from the stage The Quenten Brown Band Rocking out in Arcadia Viceroy butterfly Dog or lion? Pure Water Days, Chippewa Falls Visiting in style Pedaling is for the birds Working on the new Fire House Dockwork Hurling in the park Swimming swans Hibiscus bloom 'The Remainders' rock the stage Land of milk and honey? French Island dining Anything for a free meal A babbling creek Finches munch on cones Stunning sunset Pucker up Chowing down Hibiscus bloom
The city of La Crosse was awarded this Liberty Loan Honor Roll flag on June 16, 1918, during the Great War, today known as World War I.

Liberty Loans were bonds sold during the war in an effort to raise money for the governments war expenses to buy things such as medical supplies and food for the soldiers who were fighting. Citizens throughout the US purchased a Liberty Loan, and then after several years they sold it back to the US government for the original price including interest. The Third Liberty Loan allowed the US government to issue $3 billion worth of war bonds at a rate of 4.5% interest for up to 10 years.

This Liberty Loan Honor flag was a special award during the Third Liberty Loan campaign, which is why it has three blue stripes. The flag is pieced-together red, white and blue wool with metal grommets and measures 36 x 54 inches. Any town, city or business that met or exceeded their quota for war bond sales was awarded this flag of honor.

In addition to the flag, every citizen who purchased a Liberty Loan received a small poster proclaiming their status as a Third Liberty Loan subscriber to display in their home. These posters had pictures of the Third Liberty Loan Honor flag to encourage other people to buy Liberty Loans.

On June 16, 1918, Mayor Bentley, was presented this flag at city hall. After receiving it, he was quoted in the La Crosse Tribune the awarding of this honor flag was an historical event of importance in the city. La Crosses Third Liberty Loan Honor flag was flown at La Crosse City Hall for a while after being awarded, evidenced from the wear marks on the flag. This shows how much pride the city took in being awarded this honor flag, and how much it meant to them that they worked so hard to get it.

This flag was donated to the La Crosse County Historical Society in 1929.
Wisconsin doesnt have enough workers.

Wisconsin does have a lot of people in prison, most of whom will eventually get out.

Are you thinking what Sen. Mary Felzkowski is?

The Republican from Irma, about 175 miles north of Madison in Lincoln County, has been leading a bipartisan study group for the last year seeking a quicker path to paychecks for inmates after theyre released from prison. That doesnt mean going easy on violent criminals or letting the most heinous killers go free. But it does mean improving the odds of success for the many offenders who deserve a second chance.

Speeding their transition to jobs will be good for employers who have positions to fill. Wisconsin was struggling with a workforce shortage long before the pandemic hit, which only made chronic vacancies worse.

It will be good for offenders, who often struggle to find work because of their checkered pasts.

But mostly it will benefit Wisconsin communities and public safety. Thats because landing a job is one of the best ways to stay out of trouble, research suggests.

So far, Felzkowskis study group  the Legislative Council Study Committee on Increasing Offender Employment Opportunities  has been building momentum toward several promising proposals, including:

Creating a hotline for employers interested in hiring ex-offenders.

Teaching prisoners how to find apartments before they actually need one.

Allowing early release for nonviolent offenders who complete job training.

Protecting landlords from potential legal liability if they rent to ex-inmates.

Requiring the Department of Corrections to create a robust community reentry center.

Success will require a lot more than just good ideas, of course. To have a real impact, its going to demand money. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and the Republican-controlled Legislature should commit a significant amount to the cause in the next state budget, which is supposed to be approved by July 1.

So far, the governor has expressed general support for the study groups efforts, though a cost estimate is pending.

Investing in this noble cause should be easier than usual because the state is sitting on a $7 billion surplus. And unlike so many issues that trigger partisan disputes at the statehouse, the focus of Felzkowskis study group already has built-in consensus.

Among the Democrats on her committee is Rep. Shelia Stubbs, D-Madison, who has an impressive track record of bringing people together for tangible results. Stubbs, for example, partnered with former Rep. Jim Steineke, R-Kaukauna, last year to negotiate and pass a package of bills to improve policing in Wisconsin.

Felzkowskis study committee, which includes experts in employment and recidivism, is close to finalizing its package of ideas. Then the proposals will be sent to the Joint Legislative Council, which includes the top leaders from both political parties and houses. Those leaders should give the study groups recommendations the high priority they deserve this spring.

Wisconsin needs more workers, less recidivism and safer communities. Passing the committees package will help accomplish all three goals.
Gov. Tony Evers recently announced the launch of the Recovery Voucher Program in partnership with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) and the Wisconsin Department of Administration (DOA).

The effort will be supported by a portion of Wisconsins McKinsey & Co. opioid settlement funds, which provided the state with $31 million to address the effects of the opioid epidemic. An initial $2 million investment into the Recovery Voucher Program will help provide access to affordable, safe and stable housing for individuals who are experiencing homelessness and have been diagnosed with opioid use disorder (OUD).

Wisconsinites across our state have experienced the tragedy of the opioid epidemic firsthand, whether they are working to overcome opioid use disorder, they have a loved one, friend or neighbor who is, or theyve lost someone they love to this deadly epidemic, Evers said. These funds will be critically important in supporting those working through their recovery to find hope, healing, and help folks regain dignity and security through safe housing.

Basic needs, like housing or food, need to be met before anyone can overcome an illness, including opioid use disorder, said DHS Deputy Secretary Deb Standridge. Too often individuals in treatment and recovery for substance use disorder lack the safe and stable housing necessary to support them in their journey. We are grateful that Gov. Evers recognizes this and supports the Recovery Voucher Program to allow people with opioid use disorder to have a firm foundation on their journey toward recovery.

DOAs Division of Energy, Housing and Community Resources (DEHCR) will administer the program, leveraging supportive housing expertise and strong existing partnerships with the Continuum of Care (CoC) Program in Milwaukee, Dane and Racine counties, as well as local coalitions serving the other 69 counties across the state. Were proud to partner with DHS and local agencies to ensure that folks get their basic housing needs met through this important program, said DOA Secretary-designee Kathy Blumenfeld. Safe housing and shelter are critical for recovery, as they are for every Wisconsinite.

Housing agencies chosen through a competitive grant process will begin working with Recovery Residences starting Jan. 1, 2023. Wisconsin residents diagnosed with OUD who have been homeless or are at risk of homelessness will have the opportunity to continue their journey to sober living through access to Recovery Residences. More information on the program is available at energyandhousing.wi.gov.

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A 10-year-old Lake Geneva resident wants to make sure people have the proper swag when they visit the beach.

Chase Swanson started Geneva Lakes Kid about a year ago. As part of the business, Swanson sells T-shirts, beach towels and water bottles with a Geneva Lake-themed logo.

Swanson said the items are for people to wear and use during their trip to the beach.

Its meant for kids who love the lake, Swanson said. Its meant for swimming, tubing, everything about the lake.

Swanson also is offering knitted hats for the winter months.

Geneva Lakes Kid items can be purchased by visiting https://genevalakeskid.godaddysites.com.

They can email us and tell us what they want, and we will get that into a box and send it to them, Swanson said.

Swanson also has sold his items at the Geneva National Resort & Club, The Ridge Hotel and during the Venetian Festival in 2022.

He is set to sell his items Feb. 4 at Lake City Social, 111 Center St. in Lake Geneva, during Winterfest.

Selling through retailers is harder because we dont get that much made at once, Eric Swanson, Chases father, said. So he has to sell a lot by word of mouth.

Chase Swanson said his business has received a positive response during the past year. He said his friends are often amazed when he tells them that he operates his own business.

He said several of his friends have purchased some of his items.

They all love it and say, Its kind of neat, Chase Swanson said. They all like it.

Chase Swanson said he also has received a lot of support and assistance from his parents.

Its been good, Chase Swanson said. My parents help me a lot with ordering everything.

Chase Swanson received the Junior Entrepreneur Award from the Lake Geneva Jaycees, Jan. 11, for operating the Geneva Lakes Kid business. He said several of the Jaycees members purchased his items after he was presented with the award.

It was pretty cool, he said of receiving the Junior Entrepreneur Award.

Chase Swanson said he developed the idea for the business while he and his mother were shopping for a birthday gift for his cousin, Emma, that was related to the Lake Geneva area but were unsuccessful.

She had never been to Lake Geneva but she saw pictures and thought it was magical, Chase Swanson said. So we went out to look for something for her and we really couldnt find anything for her. So me and my dad came up with some ideas and came up with Geneva Lakes Kid.

During the start of the business, Chase Swanson and his parents drew Geneva Lake logos for the products and sent photographs of the drawings to Deanna Sortino of Chicago who produced graphic designs for the logos.

Several of the Geneva Lakes Kid items are printed by Jake Chanson of Walworth.

Jake makes the shirts and towels and water bottles, Eric Swanson said. So Deanna took his drawings and made the logos then our friend Jake prints all the goods that we sell. So Deanna was his graphic designer and Jake is his printer.

Chase Swanson plans to continue the business and offer more products in the future. He said he plans to operate his own business when he becomes an adult.

Eric Swanson said he is pleased with how his son has grown his business during the past year.

Hes done very well, Eric Swanson said. He puts a lot of time into it when he focuses on what needs to be done.

However, Eric Swanson said starting the business was not easy for Chase at first.

He had to believe in himself and get out there and talk to people, Eric Swanson said. At first, he was shy about it but I think hes doing a lot better.

Chase Swanson is a fifth-grade student at Eastview Elementary School. He said his favorite subjects are math, social studies and science.

I like a little bit of everything, he said.

Chase Swanson also is a member of the Geneva Lakes YMCA Ducks Swim Team and is a sailor for the Lake Geneva Yacht Club.

I love swimming and sailing, he said.

Watch now: Bonfires on the Beach at Riviera Beach in Lake Geneva A group of people relax by one of the bonfires on Riviera Beach Watch now: Bonfires on the Beach in Lake Geneva Bonfires on the Beach included bonfire pits where people could roast marshmallows Bonfires on the Beach offered heated snow globes and tents where people could stay warm and relax People enjoy some relaxation and company inside one of the heated snow globes A snow sculpture of a bonfire is featured on Riviera Beach as part of Bonfires on the Beach With the cold February temperatures people stay warm by one of the bonfires Jazz musicians perform in one of the heated tents Bonfires on the Beach featured two bonfire pits where people could get warm People gather inside a heated tent for an evening of relaxation
EIR LEAD EDITORIAL FOR SUNDAY JANUARY 29, 2023

Strategic Watchword of the Last Ten Days? Not Tanks (to Ukraine), But Sovereignty

Jan. 28, 2023, 2022 (EIRNS)The strategic watchword of international relations over the past ten days is not tanks for Ukraine, but sovereignty for all nations. There is no such thing as national sovereignty in the Wests vaunted rules-based order of democracy.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholzs capitulation Jan. 25 to approve German tanks to Ukraine, after his 2022 assertion that Germany would send no heavy weapons, because of its endangerment to all concerned, marks an historic moment of disgrace and call for international change. It was noted yesterday by Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, The day the decision was made in favor of supplying Leopard tanks was historic. It was all the more historic because it finally testified to, and cemented what we had been talking about for quite a long timeGermanys absolute loss of sovereignty.

A different kind of incident this past week underscores the loss of sovereignty. Boris Johnson popped up in Kiev Jan. 22, to declare all Global NATO would support Ukraine to the last, which signals his and the British Empires mad intent to override all national sovereignty anywhere. His exact words: Britain will stick by NATO as long as it takes.

But voices are speaking out against this deadly arrogance. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has ordered that no Brazilian-made tank ammunition will be supplied to Germany, because it is likely going on to Ukraine. Instead, he called for getting peace talks started. Argentina has done similarly.

Former Guyana President Donald Ramotar has released an article (to be posted by EIR News Service and others), in which he appeals to fellow leaders in the Americas to initiate action against the war. It is titled, Russia-Ukraine and CARICOM. (CARICOM is the 15-member Caribbean Community organization established in 1973, comprising 14 nation-states and one dependency.)

Ramotar writes, It is time that CARICOM as a whole and the countries that comprise it individually make their presence for peace felt. They should denounce the escalation that is presently happening by the sending of more weapons, new tanks, etc. to Ukraine.

He reviews the danger of nuclear war, and the history of NATOs action to prepare Ukraine to wage a war against Russia. He calls for signing the letter in support of the Popes offer of a venue for peace talks.

In Europe, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on state radio Jan. 27, that Germanys decision to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine was emblematic of the direct role in the war that the West is now taking, and instead, the West should seek a ceasefire and peace talks.

Institutionally, there are tectonic shifts toward a new order in the world, by alignments among sovereign nations, committed to promoting mutual development. There are notable diplomatic initiatives in this direction. Indiasoon to be the worlds most populous nationwill host the G20 Foreign Ministers March 1 and 2 in New Delhi, and in late May or June, host leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and guest nations in Goa.

Representing the Eurasian Economic Union, Sergei Glazyev was in Jakarta this week, visiting the leaders of ASEAN, and meeting with Indonesian leaders to further the free-trade agreement in the works between the EAEU and Indonesia.

The benefits of the fast-moving ascendency of the BRICS for the BRICS+ was discussed this week by Argentine Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero, host of the just-concluded Jan. 24 meeting of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), involving 33 nations, in an exclusive interview with Chinas CGTN Jan. 25, on the focus of CELAC and China. Cafiero pointed out that for Argentina, three BRICS nations already rank among the top four trade partners of Argentina, and that further collaboration is wide open to development. For example, China and Argentina are the worlds current two nations able to manufacture small nuclear reactors (SMR). Cafiero pointedly discussed how the Malvinas Islands have been occupied by the British for 190 years, and its high time this endedby diplomatic means.

The expected third Belt and Road Forum in China, some time in 2023, its 10th anniversary, is expected to be a kick-off for more development.

Helga Zepp-LaRouche, founder and leader of the international Schiller Institutes, made sovereignty the first point of her Ten Principles of a New International Security and Development Architecture, which she issued for world dialogue and consideration in November 2022.) The document states:

First: The new International Security and Development Architecture must be a partnership of perfectly sovereign nation states, which is based on the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and the UN Charter.

Plan to discuss this, attend the Feb. 4 international Schiller Institute Conference, and mobilize, each in their own way. This can make miracles.
Brazils New President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is putting environmental activists in top government positions.

For example, Joenia Wapichana is becoming the first indigenous woman to lead the countrys Indigenous Affairs office. She will start the job in February when Lula swears her in.

Lula won the last election over former President Jair Bolsonaro.

But Wapichana is already getting started. On a recent day, the Associated Press reported that she walked through all the agencys rooms shaking a traditional rattle, or noisemaker.

She was asking for help from her ancestors in a cleansing ceremony. As she walked through the offices, indigenous people working there followed her, saying: Yoohoo, Funai is ours. Funai is the name of the agency, the National Indigenous People Foundation.

Critics said the agencys past leaders did not do enough to protect the Amazon rain forest.

In 2022, a satellite image study showed that deforestation  the term for removing trees  increased during Bolsonaros presidency. Some environmental groups say deforestation was taking place at a slower rate in Brazil before he took office.

Lula is putting people like Wapichana into jobs where they can help grow protected areas for indigenous people and limit deforestation.

George Porto Ferreira is a researcher for Ibama, Brazils environmental law-enforcement agency. He said Lula added employees who can reverse all the environmental destruction during the Bolsonaro government.

Some are concerned, however, that Lula will not be able to do everything he wants. Lula did not do such a good job during his past presidential terms. In addition, some Bolsonaro supporters still govern large Amazon states, and they will not easily change their policies. Bolsonaros supporters think Lulas ideas will hurt the economy by restricting land development.

One of Lulas biggest moves so far was appointing Marina Silva to lead Brazils environmental ministry. Silva is a former rubber collector, or tapper, from Acre state. She led the ministry from 2003 to 2008 during Lulas former presidency. She resigned after a conflict with government and farm leaders who did not like her development restrictions.

Lula has made other moves to support the Amazons native people and the environment. The changes include restarting the Amazon Fund, ending a Bolsonaro action that permitted mining in indigenous and protected areas and creating an indigenous peoples ministry.

Sonia Guajajara will lead the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples. She is the first indigenous woman to hold such an important job in the government.

She said: It won't be easy to overcome 504 years in only four years. But we are willing to use this moment to promote a take-back of Brazil's spiritual force.

One of Lulas goals is to end deforestation by 2030. However, the new governments goals will not be easy to reach. Bolsonaro supporters govern six of the nine Amazon states.

One problem is illegal gold mining in the Amazon. It will be hard to end because it produces a lot of money and work. Mining employs thousands of people in Brazil, Peru and Venezuela. The mining has poisoned water with mercury. The unsafe water hurts people who drink it and catch fish in the rivers close to the mines.

Gustavo Geiser is a crime investigator who has worked with the Brazilian Federal Police for 15 years. He said a main reason for the problems is the states absence.

Supporters say the president can expand indigenous territories. Lula is being asked to create 13 new territories, a process that slowed under Bolsonaro, who said he would not give any more land to indigenous people.

The first step may be to expand the area of Uneiuxi, an area that is home to 23 indigenous groups. A signature by Lula will increase the area by 37 percent, finishing a process that started nearly 40 years ago.

Im Dan Friedell.

Dan Friedell adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on a report by the Associated Press.

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Words in This Story

indigenous adj. used to describe a native person

reverse v. to change to an opposite state or condition

promote v. to support action aiming to bring about a certain result

absence n. a state in which something is expected but missing

signature n. a persons written name on a document

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When Rylae-Ann Poulin was 1 year old, she did not crawl or make noises like other kids her age. A rare genetic disease prevented her from even lifting her head. Her parents took turns holding her all night to ease her breathing and help her sleep peacefully.

But months later, doctors in Taiwan treated the young patients brain directly, attacking the disease with genetic medicine. Now the 4-year-old is walking, running, swimming, reading and riding horses.

Rylae-Ann lives with her family in Bangkok, Thailand. She was accepted into a medical trial for a new method of gene therapy. Experts say the treatment holds great promise for treating several brain diseases.

The method was approved in Europe and the United Kingdom for a condition called AADC deficiency. The disorder damages communication systems among nervous system cells.

American drug company PTC Therapeutics plans to seek U.S. approval for the treatment this year.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) says there are about 30 studies underway in the United States right now to test gene therapy to the brain. The studies target a number of diseases.

Dr. Krystof Bankiewicz at Ohio State University leads one such study on AADC deficiency. Others test treatments for brain diseases like Alzheimers, Parkinsons and Huntingtons.

Difficulties remain, especially with diseases caused by more than a single gene. But scientists say evidence is growing in support of gene therapy to the brain.

Theres a lot of exciting times ahead of us, said Bankiewicz, a brain surgeon. Were seeing some breakthroughs.

The most amazing of those breakthroughs involve Rylae-Anns disease. It is caused by changes in a gene needed for an enzyme that helps make neurotransmitters, the bodys chemical messengers. The one-time treatment provides a working version of the gene.

At around 3 months old, Rylae-Ann began having what her parents thought were seizures. Fluid sometimes got into her lungs after she ate, a condition that required hospital treatment. Doctors thought she might have epilepsy or cerebral palsy, more common brain diseases.

Later, her parents found a doctor who correctly identified Rylae-Anns condition. Her parents entered her into a gene therapy trial in Taiwan. The treatment requires doctors to operate directly on the brain. The doctors injected the genetic material using an extremely narrow tube.

It gets put into the brain cells and then the brain cells make the (neurotransmitter) dopamine, said Stuart Peltz, leader of PTC Therapeutics.

Company officials said all patients in their trials showed movement and thinking improvements. Some of them, Peltz said, could stand and walk and continue getting better over time.

Bankiewicz of Ohio State University also reported success in his NIH-financed study. He said all 40 or so patients involved saw big improvements.

Barriers to widespread use

Scientists say there are difficulties to face before this treatment becomes common for more brain diseases.

For example, the timing of treatment is an issue. Generally, earlier in life is better because diseases can cause more problems over the years. Also, more complex disorders like Alzheimer's are harder to treat with gene therapy.

A more basic barrier is cost. The price of gene therapies, paid for mostly by insurers and governments, can be in the millions. The one-time PTC therapy costs more than $3 million in Europe, for example.

But drugmakers say they want people to get the treatments they need. And researchers are hopeful they can clear the remaining scientific barriers to this method.

So I would say gene therapy can be leveraged for many sorts of brain diseases and disorders, said Ryan Gilbert. He is a biomedical engineer at New York's Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. "In the future, youre going to see more technology doing these kinds of things, he added.

Im Dan Novak.

Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting by The Associated Press.

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Words in This Story

breakthrough  n. a sudden increase in knowledge, understanding, etc.

dopamine  n. a compound present in the body as a neurotransmitter

insurer  n. a company that provides insurance

leverage  v. influence or power used to achieve a desired result
Officials in New York City are using technology to cut down on noise on city streets. Cameras equipped with radar sound collectors identify loud vehicles in an effort to catch drivers violating noise rules.

New York officials say at least 71 people have received fines for operating cars or trucks that make too much noise. The citys Department of Environmental Protection now has plans to expand the use of technology to enforce noise rules.

City Council member Erik Bottcher told The Associated Press (AP) vehicles with illegally changed parts can produce extremely loud sounds. He said they have been a growing problem in recent years. Bottcher supports the use of radar to reduce noise in the city.

New York City already has some of the strongest rules in the country aimed at limiting noise on city streets. It has set permissible noise levels for building tools and vehicles.

The new devices record the vehicle numbers of offenders, who then receive a violation notice in the mail. Owners face fines of $800 for a first noise offense. Some could be required to pay up to $2,625 if they have three violations and ignore court hearings.

The AP says there is evidence to support the idea that noise affects not only hearing but also mood and mental health. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) even says there are possible links between noise and higher risks for heart disease and raised blood pressure.

You listen to the noise out there, it is nonstop  the horns, the trucks, the sirens, New York City Mayor Eric Adams recently told reporters at a press conference. Noise pollution makes it hard to sleep and increases the risk of chronic disease.

The word chronic describes something, like a disease, that lasts a long time.

Nearly 10 years ago, former Mayor Michael Bloomberg launched a campaign against noise. A 45-page document included a series of rules such as ringing ice cream trucks and dog barking.

Restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic reduced some noise in the city. But the number of noise complaints actually increased during the pandemic. Some experts say that was because people who were forced to stay home became more sensitive to noise.

Complaints over noisy neighbors nearly doubled in the first year of the pandemic. Other complaints about cars and motorcycles with loud engines also increased.

However, some people in the city say the government efforts to quiet loud vehicles have gone too far. One person opposed to the policy is Phillip Franklin, a 30-year-old car lover from the Bronx area of New York. He launched an online effort to protest noise rules.

The majority of us live here in New York City, where noise is a part of our daily lives, said a document explaining his effort. Franklin noted that quiet vehicles can also present dangers to inattentive individuals walking around New York City.

Fixing potholes is a lot more important than going after noisy cars, Franklin told the AP. A pothole is a hole in the road caused by weather or other environmental conditions.

The CDC has said loud noise  especially once it hits 120 decibels  can cause immediate harm to ones ears. Even listening to continual noise above 70 decibels can damage hearing over time, experts say. A motorcycle produces about 95 decibels of noise.

Even with sound barriers, close-fitting windows and noise-reducing materials, there is only so much that can be done to reduce sound levels in the city. Many New Yorkers have simply learned to live with the noise.

I think people developed an appreciation for the fact that its a messy, noisy city, said NYU researcher Bello. We like it to be active, and we like it to be lively. And we like it to be full of jobs and activity, and not this sort of scary, quite unnerving place.

Im Bryan Lynn.

The Associated Press reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for Learning English.

____________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

mood  n. the way someone feels at a particular time

siren  n. a piece of equipment that makes a loud noise as a warning

complaint  n. a statement that something is wrong or not satisfactory

appreciation  n. an understanding of the qualities of a person or a thing

scary  adj. frightening; causing fear

unnerve  v. to make someone feel nervous or frightened

______________________________________________________________

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U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby called on Turkiye, Sweden and Finland to continue to work together to settle disagreements on the Nordic countries NATO bid.

"We urge Turkey to continue to work with both Sweden and Finland to work through these concerns so that we can get to accession into NATO as soon as possible," Kirby told reporters in a news conference on Friday.

Noting that Washington is aware of Ankaras concerns regarding the countries NATO membership, Kirby said the U.S. strongly supports their membership, but on the other side, the three countries should solve disagreements among themselves.
State Rep. Shannon Zimmerman, the Republican Assembly member and software entrepreneur from western Wisconsin, tells a story that helps explain why hes interested in passing a state data privacy bill in this legislative session.

Zimmermans family owns a dog with the annoying habit of chewing up shoes, furniture and anything else within unwatched reach. After the dog recently tore into parts of the household, Zimmerman suggested to his wife it might be time to buy a dog crate for those unattended moments.

Her Facebook app was open at the time. The next thing to show up on Facebook was an advertisement for dog crates.

Coincidence? Perhaps, but its not the first time someone has reported ads showing up on devices only minutes after a product was mentioned.

The ever-evolving nature of the digital age has raised awareness of data privacy among consumers, industry leaders and policymakers, with the latter group engaged in debates that include legislatures in most states as well as the halls of Congress. It is not a black and white issue, however, which may help to explain why there is little action in the United States compared with other countries.

Congress edged closer to federal regulations on data privacy in late 2022, but movement stalled over provisions that would have pre-empted existing California law. The Golden State is one of five states to adopt a data privacy law so far, along with Utah, Colorado, Connecticut and Virginia.

The California law is generally viewed as the strictest of the bunch. It rests on principles of accountability, control and transparency, and is based on the European Unions General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR. However, some critics say it is intrusive in its own ways.

Why is data privacy important? In addition to the ability of some modern devices to listen in and offer opportunities to buy a dog crate for Fido, people surrender lots of personal data, and many worry about it. People routinely buy things online or sign up for services  telecom, medical, banking and social media, for example  or leave a trail of cookie crumbs simply by searching the internet.

The question is what happens when the information is collected for other uses, especially if its sold to others who may use it for legitimate market purposes ... or for shady marketing, online or telephone scams, or identity theft.

Zimmerman, who built and sold one software company and is helping lead another, is far from a tech Luddite. He has served on some key Assembly committees, such as Information and Technology. Hes also aware of problems that stem from misuse of consumer data.

Zimmerman took part in a Wisconsin Technology Council panel discussion that included Epic Systems director Ladd Wiley (Epic does not sell data) and entrepreneur Nick Myers of Red Fox AI, a conversational artificial intelligence platform with applications in health care and beyond. There was no disagreement about the need for better data privacy regulation, although there was some talk about how best to accomplish it.

The state-by-state approach is viewed by some experts as dangerous for many businesses, especially small businesses that dont have the time or money to navigate competing laws across state lines. Going back several decades, a driver of digital commerce was that it was relatively untethered by regulations. That lack of regulation spawned creativity and innovation. Few people want that spirit of entrepreneurism to fade.

Then again, many people dont want to wait for Congress to move beyond investigations and partisan gotchas to act on core issues. That is why lawmakers such as Zimmerman want to move on state legislation.

A bill he authored (AB-957) made it through the Assembly last session but must be reintroduced this year. It more resembles the Virginia law than the California regulations. Here is a link to the previous bills history: https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2021/proposals/ab957.

The bill provided consumers with rights about their data and imposed obligations on businesses. It gave the Wisconsin Attorney General exclusive authority to enforce the act (meaning no private rights of action) so long as the attorney general gave a 30-day written notice to cure.

Data privacy legislation is coming, one way or the other. The trick is finding a path that works for consumers without hurting businesses.
For being such a consequential race, the campaign for Wisconsin Supreme Court is off to a slow start.

Outside groups, which in recent years have raised enormous sums to fund campaigns, are largely waiting until after the Feb. 21 primary before backing a candidate. Only one candidate  liberal Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Janet Protasiewicz  has aired television ads so far.

But two themes are beginning to emerge, around abortion and electability.

Liberals have cast the April 4 election as a referendum on abortion rights, since the next justice will likely help determine the fate of Wisconsins near-total abortion ban. The issue is a prominent theme in both of Protasiewiczs ads. In one, she says, I believe in a womans freedom to make her own decision on abortion.

Dane County Circuit Court Judge Everett Mitchell, the other liberal in the race, said at a recent candidate forum that the U.S. Supreme Courts ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade threatened the concept of privacy.

The conservative candidates, former state Supreme Court Justice Dan Kelly and Waukesha County Circuit Judge Jennifer Dorow, have been endorsed by anti-abortion groups. One of the groups, Pro-Life Wisconsin, which endorsed only Kelly, says on its website that they support candidates who recognize the personhood of the preborn baby and hold the principled and compassionate no-exceptions pro-life position.

But the candidates and their backers have mostly limited their comments on abortion to criticizing their liberal opponents for speaking so freely about the issue.

When someone tells you what their values are in an answer to a legal question, theyre telling you how theyre likely to decide a case, Kelly said of Protasiewicz at this months forum.

Dorow did, however, say on the conservative Regular Joe Show this week that she agreed with the U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and return the issue to the states to decide.

Candidate Q&A: Wisconsin Supreme Court The four candidates will face off Feb. 21, with the top two vote-getters advancing to the April 4 general election.

Among conservatives, an emerging theme of the campaign has been who is more likely to win the general election and maintain the 4-3 conservative majority on the court. Some Dorow supporters have pointed to Kellys 2020 election loss to a liberal as an indication that he wouldnt be able to win this April. A victory by Protasiewicz or Mitchell would give the court a liberal majority.

But some Kelly supporters, like conservative state Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley, have said Dorow isnt prepared for the job.

In an op-ed, Bradley said Dorows consistent use of a binder to read prepared statements in response to questions during this months WisPolitics forum illustrated her lack of experience.

Whoever makes it out of the primary must be prepared to fight through the general election, she wrote in the Waukesha Freeman. A candidate using a binder to provide answers to questions is simply unprepared for the rigors of a statewide campaign, much less to do the job of a Supreme Court justice.

Responding to another prominent Kelly supporter saying she wasnt qualified for the job, Dorow, in audio obtained by 1130 WISN-AM, told the Kelly campaign to stop throwing mud at fellow conservatives, blaming the infighting for conservatives losing general election after general election.

She also went after Kelly directly, saying candidates like him attack fellow conservatives time after time, frankly to distract from their own deficiencies and because they know theyre not the frontrunner.
Responses to the Wisconsin State Journals candidate questionnaire. The four candidates will face off in the Feb. 21 primary, with the top two vote-getters advancing to the April 4 general election.

Jennifer Dorow

Age: 52

Hometown: Waukesha

Family: Husband Brian, three children

Current position: Circuit Court Judge Waukesha County and Chief Judge of the Third Judicial District

Other public service: Chair, Waukesha County Evidence Based Decision-Making Initiative (fully incorporated as CJCC); Secretary, Highlands of River Reserve Homeowners Association; Waukesha County Community Foundation Women of Distinction Event Committee; Past Member and Chair, Waukesha-Ozaukee-Washington Youth Council; Past Member, Waukesha-Ozaukee-Washington Workforce Development Board; Past Member, Waukesha County Preventing Alcohol Related Crashes Task Force and DS2 Committee; Board Member, Waukesha Noon Kiwanis

Education: Marquette University and Regent University School of Law

Daniel Kelly

Age: 58

Hometown: Ottawa

Family: Wife, five children

Current position: Consultant

Prior elected office: Justice, Wisconsin Supreme Court (by appointment)

Education: Bachelors degree in political science with a minor in Spanish from Carroll College; law degree from Regent University

Everett Mitchell

Age: 45

Hometown: Sun Prairie

Family: Married to Mankah Zama Mitchell; children Braylon, 10, Sydney, 17

Current position: Dane County Circuit Court judge; Adjunct professor, UW Madison Law School; senior pastor, Christ the Solid Rock Baptist Church

Education: Bachelors degrees in mathematics and religion from Morehouse College; masters of divinity and masters of theology from Princeton Theological Seminary; law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School

Janet Protasiewicz

Age: 60

Hometown: Franklin

Family: Married to Gregory Sell, stepchildren

Current position: Milwaukee County Circuit Court judge

Prior elected office: Milwaukee County Circuit Court

Other public service: Served on the boards of the Association of Marquette University Women, the American Red Cross-Wisconsin Chapter, the Polish Heritage Alliance and Marquette University Law School Alumni Association

Education: Bachelors degree from UW-Milwaukee; law degree from Marquette University

Q&A

Every Wisconsin Supreme Court justice claims to be independent, yet each falls into one of two ideological camps. Why should voters believe youll be any different?

Dorow: I believe judges must ascribe to neutral principles of judicial decision-making: The law means what it says, as understood when it was enacted, and judges dont get to red-pencil the text to avoid outcomes they dont like. Applying that principle, Ive reached plenty of outcomes in my 11 years as a trial judge that clashed with my personal views. Im sure thatll continue to happen when Im a justice.

Kelly: My service on the (Wisconsin Supreme Court) demonstrates I am committed to preserving and applying the original public meaning of our constitutions. I wrote my opinions in a manner designed to squeeze out all personal politics and preferences. I did this by using rigorous logic to move from the premises of the case (the law) to the conclusion. An unbroken chain of logic guarantees the conclusion is commanded by the law.

Mitchell: Just as religion must be separate from the state, partisanship should be separate from justice. Justice, fairness, and equity before the law are paramount.

Protasiewicz: Over the past several months Ive heard from people across Wisconsin who are tired of a Wisconsin Supreme Court that puts partisan politics ahead of the rule of law. Im committed to being an impartial, nonpartisan justice who believes in upholding our Constitution, protecting our rights and keeping Wisconsinites safe. As a judge and 25-year prosecutor, I know how important it is to return common sense to the court.

What one decision you either issued or joined in the majority best typifies your approach to the law?

Dorow: In the recent Waukesha parade tragedy case, citizens had the opportunity to witness my commitment to fairness and justice in the face of extreme disrespect and disruption. Through it all, I protected the rights of the person who engaged in this behavior, while also ensuring the rights of victims and witnesses were also protected. I remained impartial, enforced the rule of law and protected the rights of all involved.

Kelly: In Tetra Tech v. DOR, the court had to determine whether it would follow a long line of cases in which the court ceded part of its authority to the executive branch. My opinion describes how those cases conflict with the terms of our Constitution. My commitment to our Constitution is reflected in my conclusion that the Constitution must always take precedence over all else.

Mitchell: Most of my cases involve minors so I cannot speak to them specifically. What I can say is that I seek to apply justice whenever I can. And to treat everyone who comes before me with the dignity that they deserve.

Protasiewicz: Im proud of my record as a judge and prosecutor. My job is to uphold the Constitution. Sometimes there are laws that I disagree with, but my duty to the people of Wisconsin is to apply the law and common sense. Ive done this throughout my career and look forward to serving the state as the next Supreme Court justice.

What recent Wisconsin Supreme Court decision do you feel the court got wrong?

Dorow: In last years State v. Richey, a divided court held the police were wrong to pull over a motorcyclist on suspicion of drunken driving  what turned out to be his eighth offense  even though an officer had witnessed his erratic and reckless driving and had called it in. Justice Roggensack, joined by justices Ziegler and Hagedorn, dissented, explaining the stop was entirely reasonable given the articulable facts. I agree.

Kelly: Becker v. Dane County. The Supreme Court upheld a COVID-related public health order modeled on the order at issue in Wisconsin Legislature v. Palm. The court failed to acknowledge that local levels of government must respect the separation of powers just as much as the state government. Therefore, the court erred in upholding the Dane County order for the reasons outlined in my separate opinion in Palm.

Mitchell: I believe the least changes approach adopted by our Supreme Court for their ruling on gerrymandering is wrong. It is not supported by precedent. And it unfairly robs the voters of their voice in the process.

Protasiewicz: Ive been clear that I believe the courts decision last year regarding legislative maps was wrong. As the dissent noted, Wisconsins current maps fail to deliver representative government to the people of Wisconsin, and the process was not rooted in the law. This was a decision rooted in partisan extremism, not common sense. Ill always be an impartial justice who upholds our Constitution.

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story included incomplete information on Everett Mitchell's education. In addition to his bachelor's and master's degrees, he has a law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School.
I thought my mind was playing tricks on me when I first read that Kenneth Roth, who led Human Rights Watch for three decades, had been disinvited to a fellowship at Harvard Kennedy Schools Carr Center for Human Rights.

That cannot be right, I thought: A man who has spent his adult life crusading against human rights abuses was judged to be a bad match for an institution devoted to advancing human rights around the world?

But yes, as it turned out, after Roth had accepted an invitation to a yearlong fellowship at Harvard during which he planned to write a book, the Kennedy Schools dean, Doug Elmendorf, nixed the arrangement.

Why? Because, according to people who spoke with Elmendorf, Human Rights Watch has an anti-Israel bias. The Nation, which broke the story, said it was unclear who exactly had raised objections to Roths appointment. The speculation is that deep-pocketed, pro-Israel donors had their thumbs on the scale, and Elmendorf folded. That would be a shame.

Human Rights Watch turns out reams of reports about repressive regimes  Sudan, North Korea, Iraq. It has criticized China, Saudi Arabia and, at times, the United States. In a 2021 report, the group declared that Israel commits the crime of apartheid against Palestinians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza. A 2022 report by Amnesty International came to a similar conclusion.

Obviously, this angered some American pro-Israel groups, like the American Jewish Committee and the Anti-Defamation League, which have accused HRW of antisemitism. (Last summer in the New York Times, Peter Beinart explored how Jewish groups have conflated criticism of Israel with antisemitism, which thwarts conversation about Israels mistreatment of Palestinians.)

In any case, Human Rights Watch has also addressed abuses by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas.

And regardless of how you feel about criticism of Israel, or the painful roots of the worlds only Jewish state, repressing speech by withdrawing a fellowship offer is going to outrage those who value diverse views and academic freedom.

The ACLU was among the many groups calling for Harvard to reinstate Roths fellowship. Few people have done more to advance human rights than Kenneth Roth, its executive director, Anthony D. Romero, said. We urge Harvard to reverse its decision.

Indeed, the loud outcry (which included calls for Elmendorfs resignation) led Harvard to change its mind about Roth, a Jewish man whose father escaped Nazi Germany in 1938. He will be taking his talents to Harvard after all.

Its a happy outcome, I suppose, though as Roth and others wondered, what might the outcome have been for someone less connected, less celebrated?

Most academics, and certainly students, wouldnt be able to gather as much momentum behind their cause, noted the New Statesman.

Thats true. And thats why Im encouraged to think this disturbing tide of reflexive censure may be turning just a bit.

An obscure art history professor who was let go from Hamline University in Minnesota recently after showing her students images of the Prophet Muhammad has become something of a cause celebre after her case went public.

Adjunct professor Erika Lopez Prater was well aware that some Muslims object to seeing images of the prophet, so she warned students in her class syllabus and during the class just before she showed what she described as two reverential images made by Muslim artists for Muslim patrons.

I told my students if they didnt feel comfortable engaging visually, they were free to do what made most sense to them, she said in an interview that was broadcast on YouTube. I tried to empower them.

But one Muslim student, said Lopez Prater, thought that the warnings that I had provided to the class didnt even matter because she believed that images of the Prophet Muhammad should never been shown, full stop, even if those are pedagogically relevant images that are primary source documents from history.

After the student complained, the schools vice president of inclusive excellence declared that showing the image was undeniably inconsiderate, disrespectful and Islamophobic. He also said that respect for observant Muslim students in that classroom should have superseded academic freedom.

This generated a tremendous outcry both in academia and news outlets. The idea that Lopez Prater had violated her duty to respect her students was outlandish, given the many warnings she gave.

According to a discrimination and defamation lawsuit that Lopez Prater filed in Minnesota state court last week, an offer to teach another Hamline course next spring  which she had accepted  was revoked. (Shades of Harvards mistreatment of Roth.)

Just after Lopez Prater filed her lawsuit, the school emailed a statement to reporters saying that it had made a mistake.

Like all organizations, sometimes we misstep, said the email, signed by Ellen Watters, chair of the universitys board of trustees, and Hamline President Fayneese Miller. We have determined that our usage of the term Islamophobic was  flawed.

Just as in the case of Dean Elmendorf at Harvard, there have now been demands for Millers resignation. On Tuesday, the Sahan Journal reported, an overwhelming percentage of full-time Hamline faculty  86%  voted to ask her to resign. The reputation of Hamline was deeply tarnished, the president of the Hamline University Faculty Council told the newspaper, a nonprofit digital venture that reports on immigrants and communities of color in Minnesota.

Its sad that it took national outcries for Harvard and Hamline to reverse course on what were terrible decisions.

As far as I can tell from voluminous coverage of both the Harvard and Hamline controversies, neither institution has actually issued public apologies to the professionals who were harmed. They really should.

Among the many rules of common sense that these institutions of higher learning seem to have forgotten in the rush to placate critics: When you are in the wrong, apologize to those youve offended or hurt.
A passerby saw a woman in Terengganu removing the carcass of a dog from a road on Sunday (22 January). (PHOTO: FB/DuniaHaiwanMalaysia)

MALAYSIA  A woman in Terengganu who removed a dog's carcass from a road is being praised for her selfless act.

A passerby shared what they witnessed the woman doing on a Facebook page called Dunia Haiwan Malaysia on Sunday (22 January).

According to the Facebook post, the passerby was visiting a shop in the area when they saw the carcass of a dog in the middle of the road.

It was suspected that the dog had been involved in an accident earlier that day.

The passerby then saw a hijab-wearing woman exiting her car with a large plastic bag in her hands.

A few minutes later, she put on gloves and wrapped up the carcass in a black garbage bag before carrying it to her car trunk.

She carefully placed the garbage bag in her trunk and then drove off, presumably to bury the deceased animal.

Gesture won many hearts

Her actions touched the hearts of many netizens on social media platforms.

Facebook user Rachel Nelson thanked the woman for her help and praised her for being a good human.

Another Facebook user Valli Kanan called the woman an inspiration to others.

"Salute (to) you sis", he added.

Removing an animal carcass a "rare sight" in Malaysia

Various animal welfare groups in Malaysia also commended her for her efforts.

According to Joanne Low, coordinator of Homeless Paws of Manjung Strays, seeing someone remove an animal carcass is rare in Malaysia.

Malaysian news outlet The Star reported that Ms Low claimed that people typically avoid roadkill due to disgust, or believing it was not their job.

She said it was more common to see the carcasses remain for days until local council workers arrived to clear them.

Ms Low added that removing and burying or placing them in a safer area is a form of respect for the poor animals that died.

Sherrina Krishnan from the Pet Adoption Network said she hopes the woman's actions will inspire others.

She said: "An act done in the state of Terengganu reiterates the compassion of any religion  to be kind to all creatures, big and small."

Do you have a story tip? Email: malaysia.newsroom@yahooinc.com.

You can also follow us on Facebook, TikTok and Twitter. Also check out our Southeast Asia, Food, and Gaming channels on YouTube.
TODAYS WORD is ailurophile. Example: After visiting her new friend Lisas house for the first time, Janie deduced that Lisa was an ailurophile after seeing just how many cats she had.

FRIDAYS WORD was bibelot. It means a small, decorative ornament or trinket. Example: Henrys mother left him a box of bibelots when she passed and he cherished it more anything else she left for him.

Things preachers say

Sometimes when the congregation is sitting there too quietly or not amening enough, a preacher has to get everyone riled back up. Heres what people report as some of the common phrases of pastors to regain that attention:

Pastor Robby Benfield: Are you listening?

Can I get an Amen? from Mary Clark Dalton.

Ready for lunch, said Mel Rodriguez.

Melody Hubbard Reynolds: And the people said ...

Doug Stuart: Turn to your neighbor and say ...

Lanetta Byrd: I knew it would get quiet in here.

Tori Taylor: If youre really here, raise your hand.

Yall holding up your feet?Dawn Stultz Vaughn said, referring to the sermon stepping on some toes.

Beth Dodson: Hello??

Ann Wilson Gurney Crenshaw: Are you hearing what God is saying in His Word right here?

Jennifer Daughtry: The pastor makes a noise like rewinding a tape, then says Lets try that again.

Martha Compton: listen to me now.

Plant care

The following tips for plants came from Mary Ellens Best of Helpful Hints:

Stick your finger 1 inch deep into the soil and if you feel moisture, delay watering until you dont.

When watering houseplants use room temperature water, because cold water can injure a plant.

Letting water sit for one day before watering plants gets rid of chlorine and will help avoid brown tips on your plants.

If you boil eggs, use that water (once it has cooled) to water your plants. The water is filled with minerals which is a good meal for your plants. If you dont plan to boil eggs, drop eggshells into your water and let sit for a day before watering.

If you have a room full of plants, adding a portable vaporizer to the room will help keep your plants moisturized during the winter.

To keep indoor plants growing straight, rotate them frequently so they can absorb the sunlight evenly. Plants will lean towards the strongest light source.

To clean your plant leaves, gently dust with a feather duster.

For good drainage in plants, use broken clay pot, cracked walnut shells, fruit pits, marbles, charcoal or stones on the bottom of the pot.

FRIDAYS TRIVIA ANSWER: U.S. President Barack Obama attended Californias Occidental College before transferring to Columbia University in 1981 when he was a junior and just 21 years old.

TODAYS TRIVIA QUESTION: What are the two different names that are given to a horse depending on what gender they are?
Hundreds of quilts will make their way from Missoula across the Atlantic Ocean to Ukraine where theyll be parceled out to Ukrainians impacted by the current wars violence.

The Missoulas Quilters Guild will ferry donated quilts to a nonprofit based in Lehi, Utah. From there, the group, Wrap Ukraine With Quilts, sends them overseas to people living through the unyielding war in Ukraine.

We have well over 300 quilts, and more are coming in every day, organizer and quilter Joni Stormo said.

On Wednesday, about a dozen Missoula quilters gathered at the public library to sew Montana labels onto the quilts before theyre shipped out. The labels feature a simple design, a heart with an outline of the state and Montana written on it. The design was crafted by Stormos husband, Loren.

Stormo said they want Ukrainians to know where the blankets came from.

And maybe when the war is over, that will be a special thing for them, a keepsake, that somebody in Montana cared during the war to make something for them, she added.

The lion's share of the donations are from Missoula Quilters Guild members, but Stormo said theyve also come in from quilters in the Bitterroot and Flathead valleys, Thompson Falls, Helena and Bozeman.

The response has been overwhelming, she added. Its like quilters wanted to do something to help and all I did was offer them an opportunity and then the floodgates opened.

Theyve amassed roughly 400 blankets since Stormo opened up donations on Dec. 28. She will start shipping them to Utah in the coming days.

All we have to do is fill a box with 50 to 70 pounds of quilts, she explained. From there, theyll send them out via UPS.

The idea for the quilt drive came to Stormo when she was visiting Hungary in December. During the trip, she realized how close she was to the Ukraine border.

That made the war feel very close and very real, Stormo said. It got me thinking about what I could do as an individual to help Ukraine besides just send money to charities.

Stormo connected the dots on her skills as a quilter with how blankets help people with warmth, something thats especially an issue during wartime. She also wanted a personal, tangible item to send that a group in Missoula could come together and collaborate on.

When she got back to the U.S., she asked her fellow Missoula quilters if theyd be up for sending quilts to Ukraine.

The quilters ran with the idea, she said.

Rose Rademan has been part of the Missoula Quilters Guild for decades.

She was at the library on Wednesday, sitting alongside her fellow quilters sewing labels onto the Ukraine-bound blankets. Rademan said shes been thinking about how cold Missoula gets without the threat of power going off, something that people living in war zones have to face.

It just was kind of heartbreaking to think about how many people might not have power every now and then, she said.

A seasoned quilter, Rademan has a surplus of quilts at home that shes made over the years.

Why not just give away the ones I have? she said.

Wrap Ukraine in Quilts is run by Hello Cottons, a quilt shop. To date, theyve donated 21,262 blankets to Ukraine, Stormo said. Shes looking forward to getting the quilts in the mail. She hopes they arrive in Ukraine sometime in February.
15th Annual Missoula Writes continues

Missoula Writes 15th Annual Writing Contest  do you have the write stuff? Missoula Public Library's annual writing contest accepts fiction, non-fiction and poetry submissions through Feb. 19. Prizes will be awarded for the top three submissions in each category and in four age groups: 8-10, 11-14, 15-18 and 19+. This year you will have an opportunity to workshop your entry with local authors prior to submission. To submit your work visit missoulapubliclibrary.submittable.com/submit.

Lego Club

Join Missoula Public Library for a drop-in Lego Club in the Level Two Imaginarium. Stop by anytime between 2:30 to 5 p.m. every Monday and Friday to create fantastic Lego structures.

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 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 tinyurl.com/5f5h4jvw. Participants are welcome to bring their own yoga mats or use mats that are provided.

AUOR Family Passport Program

Take a trip downtown in February and get to know all five of the All Under One Roof partners at the Missoula Public Library. Explore any of the wonderful programs Families First Learning Lab, spectrUM Discovery Area, Missoulas Community Media Resource (MCAT), UM Living Lab, and your Missoula Public Library have to offer and get a special stamp in your passport. Take home a prize when you get five unique stamps in your passport during any of our upcoming programs occurring All Under One Roof. Stamps and passports never expire.

Tech Connect: iPhone/iPad Basics

If you have a new iOS mobile device (iPhone, iPad), or are considering getting one, and want to learn more about the basic functions, this Tech Connect class at Missoula Public Library is for you. It will support attendees to get connected, identify common apps, and build confidence in using their device safely. Meet with a library staff member on Feb. 2 from 10:30 to 11:45 a.m. in Cooper Room A on Level Four of the library for this class.

MakerSpace: Groundhog Day  Making with Light

Drop in during the Makerspace's walk-in hours on Feb. 2 from 2 to 6 p.m. to celebrate Groundhog Day with light-themed robotics and crafts.

Kids Cook with Chop Chop

Taking inspiration from the Missoula Public Library kids magazine ChopChop learn how to create tasty snacks and easy meal options you can make at home. Come to the Level Three Demo Kitchen on Feb. 2 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. for this fun- and food-filled program.

Teddy Bear Sleepover

Bring your fluffy best friend to Missoula Public Library on Feb. 3 for fun space activities with spectrUM, a Families First Learning Lab exhibit, and, weather-permitting, sky-gazing with the Western Montana Astronomical Association. Meet us in the Level Two Imaginarium from 4 to 5 p.m. for these activities and, if you want, leave your friend overnight for the Teddy Bear Sleepover. The next morning, Feb. 4, pick them from 9 to 11 a .m. We'll have a slideshow of our friends' sleepover shenanigans, and Families First will celebrate Ice Cream for Breakfast Day in the Level Two Art Box from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

National Library Lovers Month at MPL: No Mans Land: The Library with Artist Marcy James

February is National Library Lovers Month. Kick off a month of activities celebrating all that libraries have to offer with this first Friday reception at Missoula Public Library featuring artist Marcy James and her exhibit "No Mans Land: the Library." The Reception will be Feb. 3 from 5 to 7 p.m. on Level Four of the library. Audra Loyal, owner of the Vespiary Book Restoration & Bindery will provide drop-in book-making demos. Tours of the Worlds Best Public Library will also be available. A reception will be sponsored by the Friends of the Missoula Public Library  thank you! Marcys work has been exhibited nationally and is in numerous private and museum collections. Her work has been featured in a variety of publications including Fotofests bi-annual catalog as well as the Codex Foundations exhibition catalog for the international exhibit Extraction: Art of the Edge of The Abyss. Marcy owns Paper & Ink Printing Studio in Missoula and is also an instructor for Rocky Mountain School of Photography.

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. Come to the Level Three Ellingson Room on Feb. 4 from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. and bring your own device, or use a library laptop. No appointment required, first come, first served.
The Emirates Group and the Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy (AGDA) are set to collaborate in the launch of a training programme for the airlines Emirati Country Managers.



The innovative programme is designed to enhance the diplomatic skills of managers who are stationed around the world, and forms part of the Groups new Commercial Ambassador Leadership Programme.



A ceremony to celebrate the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was attended by Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group, Zaki Anwar Nusseibeh, Cultural Advisor to the President of the UAE, Chancellor of the United Arab Emirates University, and Member of the Board of Trustees at AGDA, along with senior executives and representatives of both organisations.



The MoU was signed by Amira Al Falasi, Emirates Groups Vice president, Human Resources, Learning and Talent, and Dr Mohammed Ibrahim Al Dhaheri, AGDAs Deputy Director General.



The AGDAs 5-day programme will provide Emirati Country Managers with a comprehensive understanding of the diplomatic skills needed to effectively represent the Emirates Group abroad, and to achieve their business and commercial objectives. The series of tailored and practical training courses will also serve as a platform for knowledge exchange to enrich Emirati managers capabilities in the aviation sector.



Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed said: The Emirates Group is a global company based in Dubai. We are proud to represent the UAEs aviation sector and we work to promote the UAE in all the markets in which we operate. In AGDA we have found a like-minded partner, and we believe our collaboration will further develop and empower our team of Emirati managers to represent our brand across the world. It will enable them to promote more effectively the values and opportunities of the UAE throughout our global network.



Zaki Anwar Nusseibeh said: The UAEs flourishing aviation sector reflects the success of the nations foreign policy. The AGDAs partnership with the Emirates Group provides a wonderful opportunity to highlight the important role of diplomacy in all domains. Through our collaboration we will equip Emirates Groups managers with the knowledge and skills they need to consolidate the UAEs global reputation and position in the aviation sector.



The innovative Commercial Ambassador Leadership Programme underlines Emirates Groups steadfast commitment to its Emirati talent. It has been developed in collaboration between the Groups in-house teams and several UAE organisations. It focuses on the development of UAE National Country Managers leadership skills and their effectiveness in four vital areas:



 International Protocol and Global Trends

 Media Skills

 People Engagement and Management

 Diplomacy



The Programme supports Emiratis who have joined Emirates Groups National Commercial Outstation Programme. This places ambitious and talented Emiratis in strategic roles across the Groups global markets so that they gain broader exposure, expand their network connections, and become accomplished leaders. In these roles they take responsibility for driving commercial objectives and enriching relationships with key local partners and regulators. They engage with communities, the public sector, and businesses to facilitate strategic ties that build trade, tourism, and commerce activities between the UAE and their local markets.



The Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy (AGDA) is a globally recognised diplomatic centre of excellence in Abu Dhabi, UAE. It delivers accredited academic programmes and high-impact executive training to develop future diplomats, as well as the government and business leaders of tomorrow.  TradeArabia News Service
Editor's note: This story is part of 'Broken Defense,' an investigative series from Lee Enterprises. More details about this project can be found at the bottom of this article.

Montana resident Joseph Jefferson-Dust often found himself staring into space sitting in jail four years ago, fantasizing about the day he might prove his innocence.

As he served his sentence partially on probation in 2021, Jefferson-Dust had no idea a memo that could clear his name was sitting in an overwhelmed public defenders office, delaying his exoneration fight for more than a year.

He was accused of sexual assault by a 9-year-old girl, prompted by her father, who detested Native Americans. Jefferson-Dust, a 38-year-old member of the Crow Tribe, pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, criminal endangerment, and was sentenced in 2017 to probation. Hes since been in and out of jail for probation violations.

His accuser recanted three years later at the public defenders office. It changed nothing for more than a year.

The appointed public defender was 10 days from retirement with a workload more than 25% beyond the agencys case management standard. The internal memo explaining the recantation went unseen for 13 months.

I dont even understand how that can work like that, Jefferson-Dust said of the delays in raising the recantation. Dont people feel an obligation to do the right thing?

Jefferson-Dust discovered the girls recantation in December 2021, yet again was jailed twice for probation violations: Two months for an unplanned detour to get gas on the way to work and four months after he and his probation officer failed to connect in person. He visited the probation office to check in on the day he was told, but his probation officer wasnt there, he said.

He remained on probation as of early January.

Across the West, public defense systems face crushing caseloads, historic underfunding, structural problems, and severe staffing shortages, imperiling criminal defendants lives and in many cases denying them their constitutional right to counsel. Defendants have lost jobs and homes while in jail waiting for attorneys to argue for a lower bail or for their release. Theyve had public defenders who were too busy to investigate their cases and felt pressured by their own attorneys to plead guilty when they said they were innocent, according to more than 15 people accused of crimes.

Public defenders have so many cases they struggle to provide effective representation, according to a Lee Enterprises investigation. Some regions have no attorneys at all. Failing public defense systems across the West routinely violate the Sixth Amendment right to effective counsel.

"The system is completely broken at this point," said Jared Hawkins of Oregon. "People like me are finding out how badly broken it is (while) sitting in jail with no lawyer."

Stephen Hanlon has practiced law for 55 years and leads a national public defense reform effort. The nations public defense systems are "systemically unconstitutional and unethical," he said. Judges and attorneys push defendants through the system as quickly as possible instead of investigating cases and seeking justice, Hanlon says, calling it a "criminal processing system."

This is a national disaster and has been for 50 years, Hanlon said. The pandemic has exacerbated the problem somewhat, but the pandemic will be over and this problem will be here regardless.

Variety of problems

Hundreds in Oregon currently are defenseless as the state faces a public defender shortage. Wyoming didnt have enough public defenders in 2019 to represent people charged with misdemeanors. Arizona attorneys might be unable to keep up with filed cases.

Were hitting a crisis point, Arizona public defender Megan Page said of Pima County. My concern is that if we continue to pursue low-level felony cases, we wont be able to have an attorney for everyone.

The American Civil Liberties Union has sued Nevada and California for failing to provide attorneys, and Idaho for having so many cases that attorneys can't effectively represent defendants.

Montanas public defenders office has historically been underfunded, but the pandemic sparked whats become known as the Great Resignation. Public defenders left the office to double their salaries in the private sector or move laterally in state government for a $13,000 pay hike. A recent analysis by the office shows it needed another 63 attorneys on average since 2019 to handle the caseload assigned to the agency and still meet its workload management limits.

A Montana judge in 2021 held the states public defender office in contempt when more than 650 Yellowstone County area defendants were unrepresented during historic turnover and vacancies.

The Yellowstone County regional office, which handled Jefferson-Dusts case, had double the cases it could handle when his accuser walked in to recant.

At the time, the office had developed a practice that masked the severity of the staff-caseload imbalance.

As cases were filed, regional deputy public defender Kris Copenhaver assigned herself incoming cases, then sought delays. A placeholder attorney would be on hand for the defendants initial appearance, but neither that attorney nor Copenhaver would follow the case. Clients were then unrepresented until workloads lightened, and a dedicated public defender could take it.

We had no idea how understaffed we were, said Brian Smith, division administrator at the state public defenders office.

Calls to Copenhaver seeking comment were not returned. She no longer works at the office.

Yellowstone Countys problems left cases in limbo with repeated delays waiting for counsel and let a potentially exonerating recantation fall through the cracks.

Montanas public defender office director Brett Schandelson said his agency had a moral obligation to alert Jefferson-Dust that his accuser admitted she lied.

"There is no dispute that what happened to (Jefferson-Dust) is unfortunate and should not have happened," Schandelson said. "Unfortunately, the information about the recantation came to OPD at a time when the office was understaffed and overburdened. ... And while we did ensure that information was documented in a memo, its not quite clear what happened with that memo."

Stuck in jail

Oregons ongoing public defense crisis shows how having no attorney can devastate lives.

More than 750 people daily from mid-August through December needed an attorney but couldnt get one, according to the Oregon Judicial Department. About 6 percent of them were in jail.

Richard Smith waited more than 40 days for an attorney last summer in the Coos County Jail, accused of burglary and unauthorized use of a vehicle. He lost his job, home and 10 pounds while in jail eating cereal with cockroaches in it.

He was released within two weeks once a public defender was appointed.

Jared Hawkins, also of Oregon, for more than six months had no attorney for non-violent offenses, including theft, possessing a stolen vehicle, identity theft, computer crimes and meth possession.

He lost his job and apartment waiting for a lawyer more than three months in the Douglas County Jail. His wife became homeless when she could no longer afford rent alone.

Hawkins also permanently lost feeling in his cheek after a jail dentist botched a tooth removal, slicing him about an inch.

Im losing more things every day in my life while Im sitting in here, Hawkins said from jail in August.

Hawkins got himself out of jail by filing bail reduction motions on his own. He began rehabilitation from opioid addiction. A day after completing the program in early November, he was arrested in Lane County for a probation violation from last January.

He was appointed a public defender for that, but not his other cases, keeping those stuck.

Right now Im just kind of in limbo, Hawkins said in early December while incarcerated in the Lane County Jail. I want to get my life back on track. I want to start working again.

His public defender was able to take over his ongoing Douglas County cases by mid-December. For the probation violation, he was sentenced Dec. 19 to another two years of probation and 30 days in jail. He was released the next day for time served.

Busy attorneys

Public defenders are stretched so thin, some barely provide representation  a violation of people's right to effective counsel.

Nona Wiley, 55, met her public defender for the first time after her court hearing began in Matagorda County, Texas last October. "He's late," she said.

"I called him, and he won't even answer the phone," Wiley said.

Her lawyer had her felony drug possession case for a month before reading it the day of Wileys court appearance, she said.

Wiley sobbed in court, devastated at the possibility of losing time with her grandchildren. Her case was delayed to give her attorney more time to prepare, she said.

Theresa Dugas, 63, estimates she spent a total of 30 minutes talking with her Oregon public defender throughout her case last year.

She said her public defender arrived about 10 minutes before a court date and told her to sign papers. Dugas had no idea it was a guilty plea agreement for probation.

She admitted to drunken driving, but wanted to fight allegations that she also hit her 72-year-old boyfriend with her car. Dugas is her boyfriends caregiver and didnt want to be labeled as an abuser.

I would never have plead guilty to that, Dugas said of the domestic violence assault charge. I didn't know what I was signing for.  Theyre supposed to be the ones telling me what its for. And she didnt.

Im sick

Idaho resident Chris Ellison was in the Twin Falls County Jail for most of 2022 pressing his lawyer to fight for his innocence or to get a new public defender.

Ellison was arrested Feb. 6 after police found $10 worth of meth and a pipe in his truck. Ellison has maintained the meth  possession of which resulted in a felony charge  was not his. He said friends had stayed at his house and left bags containing the drugs in his vehicle.

Public defenders have an ethical obligation to complete case investigations before recommending a plea, said Hanlon, the national public defense expert. Ellison said his first public defender, Douglas Emery, never questioned the friends, nor talked with witnesses who could have explained the bags werent his.

In August before court, Emery and Ellison discussed the prosecutors offer for Ellison to plead guilty and spend four to seven years in prison, Ellison said.

I dont want to take a deal and plead to a guilty charge for a crime that I didnt commit, Ellison remembers telling Emery that Friday. And (Emery) was like, Come on man, Im sick. I dont want to spend all weekend preparing for a trial that youre gonna lose.

Ellison wouldnt budge. Emery visited him in jail on Sunday, the eve of trial, Ellison said. Prosecutors could charge Ellison as a "persistent violator" and pursue a life sentence because he has prior felony convictions.

(Emery) was like, You have until I walk out of this building to take this deal otherwise its going to get really bad for you, Ellison said. He said, I have an email right here from the prosecutor saying  theyre going to go for 24 years in prison. So life in prison, if I dont plead guilty. I have three minutes to decide.

So I had no choice but to plead guilty to a charge that I didnt even commit.

Emery declined to comment on Ellisons claims because of attorney-client confidentiality, but in a written statement explained he handled well in excess of 200 Twin Falls felony cases in the last year. That's 50 cases more than the recommended maximum, according to national standards that experts say are already too high. Emery said he averages 42 to 65 work hours a week.

Ellison requested that Emery get kicked off his case, and a judge approved in October. Ellison and his new attorney had planned to withdraw his guilty plea in November, but by December the thought of more prison time changed his mind. He was sentenced Dec. 16 to three to seven years in prison.

Not justice

Six other men in the Twin Falls County Jail had similar complaints about their public defenders. They said they felt pressured to delay their cases, saw delays in getting discovery documents and couldnt reach their lawyers after dozens of calls. Scott Jaynes said his public defender, Emery, wouldnt order a retest of a powdery residue police said was drugs unless Jaynes paid for it.

Emery said theres no constitutional right per se to have evidence retested at the countys expense. The defense must demonstrate a good reason why existing test results are questionable before the county would foot the bill, he said.

The six men believe their public defenders were more interested in plea deals than defending them.

"They want us to take these deals so they can get us moving through the system already," Victor Salazar, one of the men, said. "Im not going to plead guilty to something that I didn't do. And then because of that, theyre going to punish me more by giving me a life sentence. Thats not justice."

Twin Falls County head public defender Ben Andersen declined to comment on the complaints. Twin Falls District Attorney Grant Loebs said his office and the public defenders office struggle with staffing shortages, despite pay increases. Staff attorneys in each office earn the same salaries.

"We put ads out, and nobody applies," Loebs said.

Structural problems

The ACLU of Idaho in 2015 filed a class action lawsuit alleging the states public defense system is unconstitutional and structurally flawed.

Defendants each in Bonner, Shoshone, Ada and Payette counties say their public defenders didnt investigate their cases or argue for lower bails and spent a total of 20 or 45 minutes with them.

Aadika Singh, ACLU of Idahos legal director, said the states public defense has improved, but "widespread, persistent structural problems" remain.

The Idaho Supreme Court is reviewing the class action lawsuit. The ACLU demands that the state develop a concrete plan for a new constitutionally acceptable system. Idaho plans to create a new, state-funded public defense system by October 2024, but the Legislature hasnt detailed what the new model will look like.

A recent ACLU filing states the annual $50 million planned so far will not even come close to adequately funding a constitutional public defense system. Rep. Jon Weber, R-Rexburg, said it's difficult to estimate the new system's cost since a model hasn't been chosen, but he welcomes discussion.

Over the summer, the ACLU added a fifth person to the lawsuit. The man, Billy Chappell, had to investigate his own case in 2021 because his public defender didn't have time. It took two months for Chappell to talk with his attorney initially, a delay that may have caused exonerating evidence to be lost, the lawsuit says.

That attorney is unnamed in the lawsuit. Singh said the ACLUs goal is to show public defenders lack resources.

Our case is not about individual public defenders, Singh said. Our case is about an underfunded and overloaded system that makes it impossible for public defenders to do the kind of job theyd want to do for their clients. Theres too many clients. Too little time. Too few resources.

About Broken Defense: Across the West, public defense systems face crushing caseloads, historic underfunding, structural problems and severe staffing shortages, imperiling criminal defendants lives and in many cases denying them their constitutional right to counsel. Defendants have lost jobs and homes, been pressured to plead guilty and been denied the benefit of exonerating evidence. People accused in more than 100,000 misdemeanors each year go to jail without ever talking to a lawyer. Lee Enterprises West region Public Service Journalism team and local reporters attended more than a dozen court hearings and interviewed more than 25 defendants, 40 attorneys and 25 experts to reveal public defense in many western states is broken. Lee Enterprises Public Service Journalism Reporter Emily Hamer may be reached at emily.hamer@lee.net.
A fundamental principle of Montana law is that people should have control over their own health care, including the ability to decide for themselves the kinds of medical treatment they want and do not want, who will provide it, and under what circumstances it should be given. Montanans understand that the government has no business inserting itself into the doctor-patient relationship and making these intensely personal decisions for us.

As one important example, when death is near and certain, the law recognizes that different people will have different ideas on how to best spend their final days, and the kinds of medical interventions they think worthwhile in seeking to minimize the suffering they experience as life ends.

Not everyone will die a tortured death, but some of us inevitably will, notwithstanding the best efforts of our doctors. Aid in dying, recognized by the Montana Supreme Courts Baxter decision, is the right each of us has to control  to the extent humanly possible  the manner and timing of how we die. That includes the right of terminally ill but mentally competent patients to seek a prescription for medication to hasten death by a small increment, in order to minimize suffering they find unbearable. Where death is both inevitable and imminent, they are, in essence, asking their doctors to help them die in peace rather than continued torment. This decision on whether to pursue aid in dying, the law holds, should rightfully be left to the individuals whose lives and deaths are directly involved, rather than the government.

Along with many of our sister states, weve had this personal right to aid in dying for a dozen years now, and a significant number of our fellow citizens have been able to achieve quiet and peaceful deaths as a result. But Sen. Carl Glimm is currently asking our Legislature to outlaw aid in dying under any and all circumstances, intending to transform it from a private humane act initiated and completed by the patient, with the cooperation of a trusted physician, into a criminal offense subjecting the doctor to prosecution for deliberate homicide, life in prison or even the death penalty itself. The strategy is to deter physicians from fulfilling their sworn duty to help alleviate suffering under these extreme conditions, with the result that patients seeking relief are left with no personal control or option but to suffer on, to no purpose, to a bitter end.

Senator Glimm is a member of the Legislatures Freedom Caucus, which says it supports individual rights, limited government, personal responsibility and medical freedom. But how can those goals possibly be consistent with Glimms bill, which imposes the states will on the most private and wrenching medical decisions that most Montanans will ever have to make?

Some may object to aid in dying on religious grounds, feeling that medical science should not be used to shorten the period of human suffering, even minimally, on the ground that only God should determine the length of a persons life. Those sharing this perspective are certainly entitled to their views. It should not be the states role, however, to impose religious beliefs on others who do not share them, and polls show that a strong majority of Montanans want aid in dying to remain as a legal option in our state.

If Sen. Glimms bill passes, Montana would become a place where an act thats entirely legal in much of the country is subject to criminal prosecution with the threat of capital punishment. Please contact your state senators and representatives and ask that they oppose Senate Bill 210.
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) was bipartisan legislation signed into law by President Richard Nixon in 1969 to ensure federal agencies consider the environmental impacts of their actions and decisions. With rivers on fire and smog blacking out urban skies the public demanded action. Described as sunshine in government, NEPAs purpose was not to protect the environment or wildlife like other bedrock environmental protection laws, rather it mandates that the environmental impacts of proposed federal actions must be analyzed and revealed to the public.

NEPA not only applies to management of public lands with which we are familiar, it is also about clean drinking water supplies, the location of major projects such as pipelines and cost/benefit analysis to reduce waste of taxpayer resources.

NEPAs public participation process ensures that the American public gets an opportunity for its say. This is vital to the management of federal public lands, which are owned by the people. Many successful lawsuits challenging government projects are decided on the procedural requirements of NEPA and the Administrative Procedure Act rather than the substantive provisions of other laws such as the Endangered Species Act. Why? Because the Courts recognize that NEPA is part of the bedrock of our participatory democracy and if the agencies shortcut NEPA they are shortcutting democracy.

For years NEPA has been the punching bag of industry lobbyists and their shills in Congress and the administrative branch who have rewarded them with the Categorical Exclusion from detailed NEPA analysis and public involvement. Montanas Senator Jon Tester wanted to cut red tape and get the timber out and he pushed Congress to allow some timber sales up to 3,000 acres under the roof of the CE. The CE is the track that the Flathead National Forest attempted to use for the Holland Lake Lodge expansion proposal.

Another NEPA shortcut is the release of blink and you missed it notices and comment periods around holidays when they are less likely to be noticed or acted upon. Some only have a 15-day comment period rather the 30-day standard under NEPA for big projects. Shortcutting the public comment process shortcuts democracy.

Oddly enough, NEPA is now a target of green energy proponents who want to shortcut NEPA to speed up the process. On the other end of the spectrum is Senator Joe Manchin who wants extractive non-renewable resource developments shielded from review.

Evading and streamlining NEPA promotes decision making in the dark without a proper weighing of risks and rewards or the need for the project in the first place. It is seriously eroding public trust in federal agencies. It used to be trust but verify but now its just verify. Any government agency that doesnt want you to see what they are doing is probably doing something wrong.

Haste also makes waste. Expert reviewers have found that full NEPA compliance encourages agencies to propose sound projects that are more likely to receive public approval, generate less controversy and face less court challenges where the land management agencies have a dismal win/loss record. Its a form of quality control and saves money in the long run by doing it right the first time.

Sunshine is the best disinfectant and the agencies must bask in its light. NEPA must be maintained, strengthened and enforced. A popular musical at the time of NEPAs passage included the hit song Let the Sunshine In. Sing it loud, sing it proud.
A British-American social media influencer is part of a group of people currently detained in Romania over allegations that they were part of an organized crime group that engaged in sex trafficking

Andrew Tate, his brother, Tristan Tate, and two unnamed Romanians were taken into custody and ordered held for 24 hours by the Romanian Directorate for the Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) on Thursday, the organization said in a press release.

Though the brothers weren't explicitly named in the release, a legal representative for the pair confirmed to NBC News that they were in custody and declined to comment further.

Romanian prosecutors asked a court in Bucharest on Friday to extend the suspects' detention for 30 days, Sky News reported.

The Tate brothers and the two Romanians were taken into custody when DIICOT investigators and officers from the Bucharest Police organized crime unit served five search warrants on properties in Ilfov County  a ring of suburbs around Bucharest  where Tate is known to maintain a residence and work. Video released by DIICOT from one of the raids shows police in a number of locations previously featured in Tate's videos and social media posts, the Daily Mail reported. The video also features a number of weapons found on the property  including two handguns, a sword, several knives and brass knuckles  what appears to be an extensive video surveillance system showing multiple rooms in the home and stacks of currency.

RELATED: Woman Kidnapped 51 Years Ago And Just Reunited With Birth Family Says She Had 'Bad Childhood'

The outlet also reported that one of the Romanians detained was a former police officer, and said her property was one of the places where a search warrant was served.

Officials with DIICOT allege that the four were part of an organized political group for the purpose of sex trafficking in Romania, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Story continues

The Tate brothers allegedly recruited female victims by "misrepresenting their intention to enter into a marriage/cohabitation relationship and the existence of genuine feelings of love." They then brought at least six victims to Romania, "where, by exercising acts of physical violence and mental coercion (through intimidation, constant surveillance, control and invoking alleged debts)" the four sexually exploited the victims by "by forcing them to perform pornographic demonstrations" and other "forced labor" they then disseminated on social media and to users for money, according to DIICOT.

Jose Guerrero Prince William County Pd

In addition, investigators allege that one of the suspects raped one victim twice in March 2022 by using "physical violence and psychological pressure."

Tate's property was previously searched in April as part of a sex trafficking investigation, and the brothers were detained and questioned for several hours before being released, the New York Post reported. The U.S. State Department confirmed to the Daily Beast at the time that an American woman had reported being held against her will in Tate's residence. A local newspaper reported that an American woman and a Romanian woman were both found at the villa, though Tate denied they were there against their will.

Andrew Tate, who claims the moniker "The King of Toxic Masculinity," and Tristan Tate reportedly operate a web cam site from the compound, where they charge users $4 a minute to speak to models, who are then encouraged to tell sob stories for bigger tips, according to a profile by The Mirror in which the brothers participated in March.

Oxy App

Andrew Tate, whose prior claim to fame was being kicked off the U.K. version of "Big Brother" in 2016 for allegedly beating a female contestant with a belt, is currently a conservative influencer who peddles get-rich-quick classes and markets himself as a lifestyle guru for young men. He elevated his profile by repeatedly promoting a retrograde version of gender relations, claiming that all men should dominate all women in all aspects of society and their social lives. He was recently removed from Instagram, cannot have a TikTok account and only recently returned to Twitter after its CEO, Elon Musk, restored his account, which had been suspended for five years. He and other men host a videotaped podcast, allegedly from the Romanian villa which was raided on Thursday.

He repeatedly refers to the world as "the matrix," though it's unclear whether he actually believes people are living in a computer-generated simulation of the modern world or whether it's a metaphor. In a Romanian news video of his detention, which shows him in handcuffs, he says, "The Matrix has attacked me," as reported by Sky News.
LINVILLE  Grandfather Mountain invites people to take their careers to new heights  literally.

The Linville-based nonprofit nature park and preserve, owned and operated by the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation, is hiring across its various departments for the 2023 season and beyond, offering mountains of opportunities for career-seekers.

The organization will hold a job fair from 2-5 p.m. Feb. 15 at Mildreds Grill, the nature parks restaurant located in the new Wilson Center for Nature Discovery. Nine departments from across the mountain will be represented at the job fair. Attendees will be able to chat with staff members from each department, learn about Grandfather and the open positions on the mountain and enter to win door prizes.

We welcome all folks who are looking for a job in the area and are curious about what it means to work at Grandfather Mountain to attend the Feb. 15 job fair, said Tommy Oakley, operations manager for the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation. This is a fun place to work, and we are planning a fun event. We look forward to meeting everyone and sharing all the employment opportunities the organization is offering this year.

The park continues to add learning spaces, programming and experiences for guests. In June 2022, the park opened the Wilson Center for Nature Discovery, a building with 10,000 square feet of education space, including state-of-the-art museum exhibits, three classrooms and an ADA-accessible auditorium, as well as enhanced food-service facilities to allow for catering and serving educational groups and expanded capacity for hosting conferences, seminars, receptions and community events.

Guests will have the opportunity to enjoy the parks new Williams Outdoor Learning Space, including an amphitheater with terraced seating and a pavilion, when it opens this spring.

The park is seeking staff to assist with its slate of expanded programming and experiences for guests, as well as the work it takes to operate the nature preserve on a daily basis. Grandfather Mountain is extending such opportunities for positions in many departments, most of them seasonal unless otherwise noted. Seasonal employment typically runs from March or April through October or early November, and applicants of all ages, including high school and college students, are welcome to apply.

Positions are currently available in the following departments:

Education

Entrance gate

Facilities

Food and beverage

Habitats

Maintenance (full-time)

Natural resource management

Park support/operations

Retail

Grandfather Mountain is unlike any other place Ive worked, said Jesse Pope, president and executive director of the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation. Whats fun is when you look around, you see co-workers whove been here for decades. Its apparent that this is a place that takes very good care of its employees, and it makes work fun  and meaningful. Being an employee at Grandfather Mountain, you really feel like youre striving to achieve a mission.

As a nonprofit, Grandfather Mountain strives to inspire conservation of the natural world by helping guests explore, understand and value the wonders of the mountain.

Aside from the powerful purpose of the organization and the park being one of the most scenic workplaces in the world, Grandfather Mountain has a mile-high list of employment perks: competitive pay; a friendly, family environment; free access to approximately 20 area attractions, including destinations in western North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia; employee discounts; and more.

Those with an interest in learning more about job opportunities at Grandfather Mountain for the 2023 season are invited to attend the Feb. 15 job fair. The event will run from 2-5 p.m., with 1:45 p.m. being the earliest that attendees will be able to enter the park. No advance registration is required to attend the event. Casual or business casual attire is welcome, and bringing resume copies to share is encouraged. Light refreshments will be provided.

To learn more and see the positions currently open, visit www.grandfather.com/jobs.
During the Burke County Commissioners Jan. 3 pre-agenda meeting, Commissioner Phil Smith speculated that words like equity and cultural competence sound a whole lot like critical race theory and social justice and are endemic in the beliefs and philosophies of Marxism and communism.

Im in a unique position to consider his concerns. Im a full-time public health graduate student, a clinical physician, a college professor, and a Burke County resident.

As a county commissioner, Smith is specifically tasked with oversight of our health department. Asking questions in that role is entirely appropriate.

What was jarring was his dismissal of social justice, equity and cultural competence as legitimate topics for public health training.

According to Smith, and despite assertions at the meeting from Burke County Health Department Director Danny Scalise that critical race theory, Marxism and communism were never a part of the training, the simple appearance of certain words sounded the alarm for him.

Smith speaks of doing his homework. As a physician, I enrolled in graduate training in public health because I needed to do homework of my own. The COVID-19 pandemic and pre-pandemic medical roles taught me I had much to learn about public health, despite graduation from medical school.

Im not alone in that recognition.

About one quarter of UNC medical students choose to take an additional year to earn a Masters in Public Health (MPH) along with their medical degree. In the last decade, the nationwide proportion of MPH students who are physicians has tripled. We need this training, for all the reasons Scalise eloquently laid out in response to Smiths questions. The fourth largest Hmong population and one of the fastest-growing Latino populations in the country live in Burke and surrounding counties. We take care of people from a wide range of cultures, many of whom are disinvested and underheard. Integrating equity and social justice do not inherently make something communist or Marxist (as Jane Cantwell, a naturalized American citizen raised in the USSR, so eloquently explained in her public comments at the Jan. 17 commissioners meeting). These concepts are, however, endemic to public health training, and appropriately so.

Taking a stand against equity and social justice is a curious take for a county politician and former Western Civilization educator. In terms of historic figures in Western Civilization, to me, Jesus Christ in Luke 4:18 speaks much more to equity and social justice than anything said by Karl Marx.

Moreover, Smith should consider the ways words out of context can be assigned inaccurate meaning. His still-active campaign Facebook page labels him as The Working Mans Candidate. Alleging to speak for the working man is a primary tenet of communism and Marxism. I would no more call Smith a communist or Marxist based on him using these words than I would have concluded that the our Health Departments equity training was Communist or Marxist because it contained the words social justice or equity. Taking words out of context and assigning them incorrect meaning is clearly unhelpful for dialogue and advancement.

Smith also inquires whether the Health Department showed any inclination of not treating every customer the same before we had this group come in. The implication here is that racism must somehow be identified before equity training is necessary. Again, this is a curious position for an educator.

As a physician I am required to get dozens of hours of continuing education every year, and willingly go further to get additional degrees and training to better serve our population. I dont do so because Im ignorant or racist (I hope)  I do so because I want to continually improve my performance. And during her report to the commissioners, Chae Moore, public health education supervisor for BCHD, enthusiastically described the training as doing just that  improving the departments internal and external performance.

Hearing Smith and Scalises exchange at the Jan. 3 pre-agenda meeting, I truly believe both want the best for Burke County citizens.

The conversation is productive: it calls attention to how we reach populations in Burke County whose health is less supported by conventional pathways. Health departments, emergency departments and public spaces are resources of last resort for those not being served by privatized and traditional healthcare pathways. While this mission might be considered socialized, it might also be considered fundamentally Christian, and Im sure we would all agree it is fundamentally American in its service to our neighbors.

Back to homework. I am in school right now to learn how to better serve all the populations in our community. As he does his homework, I would encourage Smith to consider studying contemporary public health, especially since he has shown a particular interest in oversight of this county function.

He might find its principles  including equity and social justice  align well with the values we all share in wanting the best health metrics for everyone in Burke County.
Since the demise of Herbergers in Butte, the town has been without a large department store, and officials, although making a concerted effort, have come up empty-handed.

Nearly five years have passed since the retailer closed, but the lack of a big-box store remains a concern for Butte residents.

Yes, online shopping has become increasingly popular, and nationwide many chains are still struggling, but that doesnt negate the need.

Butte-Silver Bow officials Kristen Rosa, administrator of the Tax-Increment Finance Industrial District that oversees Montana Connections Business Development Park, along with Community Development Director Karen Byrnes, are both well aware that a retail store is a hot topic among Butte residents.

We know its big, said Byrnes, and we are working on it.

Recently, commissioners asked Kelly Sullivan, executive director of the Butte Economic Development Corp., about the prospects for Butte landing larger shopping outlets or grocery stores, reiterating its a constant question among residents.

Sullivan, like past BLDC directors, acknowledged that more retail is a concern and said Target is among stores residents ask about.

Everyone would like to see Target and we would like to see it too, but I just think with Target, just for an example  we still dont have quite the demographics as far as dollars, household income, number of residents. But we do have some feelers out, she said during a Jan. 4 meeting of the councils Economic Development Committee.

Commissioner Eric Mankins suggested during the recent committee meeting that officials tell the public what those parameters are so they understand why we cant get this.

Tom Cronnelly, who has spent a career in business, has said theres a myth in Butte that if only county officials send a bunch of emails and make numerous phone calls to major retailers with emotional pleas and pitches to come here, they just might.

I can tell you from my experience  I did site selection, Ive looked at data  and retailers dont make emotional decisions, Cronnelly said during an unsuccessful campaign for county chief executive in 2020. Most of the decisions they make are based off of four or five data points.

They include population, household income, growth rates and poverty levels  all categories Butte lags in compared to Montanas other sizable cities. Butte also has a high percentage of jobs in retail, restaurants and accommodations, which typically pay lower wages, he said.

Despite all that, there have been a number of Butte inquiries.

Butte, on the whole, is doing real well, said Byrnes. I have never experienced so much interest in Butte.

Byrnes and Rosa, both of whom helped to create the Harrison Avenue Renewal District, have received inquiries from outside businesses, large and small, expressing interest in not only manufacturing, but distribution and retail.

This gives us the ability to offer development incentives to potential projects that might make developing in this area more attractive, said Rosa.

The TIFID administrator shared that more projects are expected to start soon, particularly at Montana Connections.

A California company that makes modular homes plans to build an $80 million, 450,000 square-foot facility at the Montana Connections Business Development Park in Butte that could employ up to 150 employees the first year and more after that.

Officials with San Diego-based Dvele (pronounced deh-VELL) told commissioners of their plans at a council meeting on Jan. 25, saying they chose Butte in large part because of its connecting interstates and its people, including county officials who helped with their project.

Last year, the 80,000 square foot Murdochs warehouse and distribution facility was completed and currently under construction is the National Guard Readiness Center, which will sit on 50 acres. The center is expected to be completed next year.

Even with the additions mentioned above, there is room for expansion at Montana Connections.

According to Rosa, there are currently two smaller lots of 7 to 10 acres available, along with two larger lots between 40 and 50 acres. There is also talk of creating a totally new district and expanding in the area.

As for that big-box store  well, work will continue on that front.

We want to see it happen, said Byrnes, who hopes a big announcement will be coming this year.
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The Augustana students in my Montana J-term class are now here and are loving every minute of their Montana experience.

The course they are taking is entitled Land, People, Culture. It relates to several of the Augustanas student learning outcomes, including the following two:

 The course contributes to intercultural competency by extensively drawing upon insights that can be gained by learning about Native American cultures and by interacting with members of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.

 The course contributes to ethical citizenship by (a) encouraging students to think about caring for creation, placing particular emphasis on caring for woodlands and lessening the environmental impact of our lifestyles by living simpler lifestyles, and (b) making students aware of the huge injustices to which the Salish, Kootenai and North Pend dOrielle (Kalispel) peoples have been subjected by government officials and entrepreneurs motivated by love of money.

This morning we attended a meeting of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Council. It was an opportunity to express our gratitude to them for their warm hospitality and for what we have gained from having the opportunity to meet with tribal members. These have included Tribal Council Chair Tom McDonald, who blocked out two hours to meet us to update us about conservation measures the tribe is taking to protect and preserve the land it controls.

There have been some big changes since I took a previous group of students to Montana in 2020. One of the most significant changes has been the transfer of the management of the National Bison Range from the federal government to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.

In 1908, the federal government established the National Bison Range in the middle of the Flathead Indian Reservation without securing the permission of the Salish, Kootenai and North Pend dOrielle (Kalispel) tribes, whose land it was. While the tribes strongly supported measures to save bison from extinction, the fact that the National Bison Range was established in the middle of their reservation without their permission was very offensive to them.

After years of negotiations that got nowhere, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes in 2016 drafted a proposed bill entitled the National Bison Range Restoration Act. The measure was incorporated in the Montana Water Rights Protection Act, which became part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. The U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate passed this bill on December 21, 2020. President Donald Trump signed it into law on December 27, 2020.

We visited the Bison Range (it is no longer called the National Bison Range.) The tribes have added a very informative museum to the Visitor Center. There is also a gift shop offering for sale a wide variety of merchandise created by Native American artisans.

After attending the Tribal Council meeting this morning, we met with Joe McDonald (Tom McDonalds father), who was the founder of Salish Kootenai College. Yesterday we met with Salish Kootenai College President Sandra Boham.

Salish Kootenai College (SKC) is the tribal college established to serve members of the Salish, Kootenai and North Pend dOrielle (Kalispel) tribes. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. Students from over 60 tribes from throughout the United States and Canada are enrolled at SKC.

Part of the mission of SKC is to preserve Native American cultural traditions, including the tribal languages. SKC offers intensive language courses in both the Salish and the Kootenai languages. (The North Pend dOrielle speak a dialect of the Salish language.)

The other part of the SKC mission is to prepare students for careers in the world as it exists today. The colleges website proclaims, Charge into your future at SKC.

Traditionally, the Salish, Kootenai and North Pend dOrielle (Kalispel) were semi-nomadic hunter-gatherers. Those days are gone forever. What SKC is dedicated to doing is preserving the languages and other cultural traditions while preparing tribal members to succeed in the world as it is today.

It is a daunting task, made more difficult by the face that college is not on the radar screens of many of the sons and daughters of tribal members. Yet it is a task that is enjoying a significant degree of success. When we met with SKC President Boham, she said that one of the problems the college is facing is finding housing for the growing number of students who wish to enroll at SKC.

It has been good to meet with tribal members. We have learned much from these experiences.
Deloitte, a leading professional services network, has hired over 3,000 professionals in 18 months, of which 50% are women, to address the growth needs of the Middle Easts ongoing socio-economic transformation.

The firm is driving forward some of the regions giga-projects and supporting national economic visions across the public and private sectors.

This was revealed at the firms annual partners meeting at the Museum of the Future in Dubai. The meeting brought together over 300 partners to engage in a series of keynotes, discussion panels and workshops focused on supporting the Middle Easts growth and national visions.

Fast-growing market

"The Museum of the Future is the perfect setting for our global and regional leaders to come together to exchange insights and perspectives on this fast growing market, said Mutasem Dajani, CEO of Deloitte Middle East. We are reinforcing our commitment to drive purpose-led growth, fostering a culture of innovation, excellence, diversity and inclusion. We will continue to bring the best of the Deloitte global network to the forefront of the ongoing socioeconomic transformation in the Middle East, he added.

The partners discussed Deloittes multi-disciplinary model, which seeks to provide clients a full range of end-to-end services, enabling them to navigate challenges and seize opportunities. This positions Deloitte as best placed to leverage emerging technologies and drive digital transformation, which plays a key role in the success of regional national agendas, supporting economic diversification and growth.

The discussions also covered a wide range of other topics, including the future of work, Deloittes unique employee value proposition to attract top talent, as well as Deloittes commitment to purpose-led growth. The partners meeting featured a highly engaging session titled Making the good future happen, conducted by the renowned futurist Gerd Leonhard who covered topics such as AI, Digital Cloud, Cyber, Sustainability and ESG.-- TradeArabia News Service
Lausanne, Switzerland will be the next stop in Napa Countys ongoing, globetrotting scoping mission to keep up with the international wine world.

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The county Board of Supervisors will send board chair Belia Ramos and Supervisor Alfredo Pedroza there from Oct. 22-27 to attend the Great Wine Capitals conference. The conference is held annually in one of the 11 designated wine capitals.

Pedroza said attending the annual conferences helps the county understand how other wine regions deal with such common issues as smoke taint from fires, wildfire response and the COVID-19 pandemic.

For us, its what can we learn from it, what can we bring back into our jurisdictions from these world-renowned regions to make it better for us locally, Pedroza said.

Lausanne is home to the International Olympic Committee. Along with views of the snow-clad Alps, the region also has vineyards and about 200 wineries.

Supervisors on Tuesday approved having Pedroza and Ramos, along with Agricultural Commissioner Tracy Cleveland, attend the Switzerland conference at a cost not to exceed $18,000. That includes Napa Countys share of the Great Wine Capitals membership fee, which is shared with Napa Valley Vintners and Visit Napa Valley.

The board also heard a report on last years conference.

The 2022 conference ran from Oct. 28 to Nov. 5 in Mendoza, Argentina. Supervisor Ryan Gregory and Cleveland traveled there at the countys expense. Pedroza attended virtually from Napa.

Two Napa County supervisors going on Argentina trip Two Napa County supervisors will travel to an Argentina wine conference using county money. County officials see community value.

Also in the Napa County contingent were Sarah Gillihan of Visit Napa Valley and Tom Davies, board chair for Visit Napa Valley and president of V. Sattui Winery. The county did not pay for their trips.

Cleveland said she went to wineries and vineyards, seeing different farming practices in an area that she described as a desert that brings in water in canals from the Andes.

It was really, really important and interesting to be able to interact with some of those folks, to talk about some of their winemaking practices, to see and to inquire about pest pressures and the issues they have with water, she said.

Gregory said Mendoza is a gigantic wine region compared to Napa. It can take two hours to travel from Mendoza to the outer areas.

One thing we realized is there isnt really any land use regulation in Mendoza, Gregory said. Theyre building hotels, restaurants, whatever they want toThats quite a difference.

In contrast, Napa County has land use laws in rural areas to protect agriculture that in most cases forbid wineries from adding hotels or restaurants. No supervisor suggested changing to the Mendoza model.

Gregory noted the growth in direct-to-consumer sales of wine at wineries in the various international wine regions.

I think sometimes we get stuck on the idea that Napa is the only one struggling with this, he said. But the whole world is converting to direct-to-consumer sales at this point to sustain themselves in this new sort of wine world.

Supervisor Anne Cottrell was elected to the Board of Supervisors in November. This was her first time as a supervisor hearing a report on the annual Great Wine Capitals trips.

From what she heard from the Mendoza contingent, it is valuable for Napa County officials to be attending and participating in the conferences, she said.

I think the challenge is its a big trip, Cottrell said. Its a far distance to go, so its expensive. Yet if we can continue in a dialogue and bring information back

Great Wine Capitals members are Napa Valley-San Francisco; Adelaide, South Australia; Bilbao-Rioja, Spain; Bordeaux, France; Cape Town-Cape Winelands, South Africa; Lausanne, Switzerland; Mainz Rheinhessen, Germany; Mendoza, Argentina; Porto, Portugal; Valparaiso-Casablanca Valley, Chile and Verona, Italy.

Napa Valley-San Francisco became a member of the Great Wine Capitals in 2006, a county report said.
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Years of training efforts culminated on Saturday morning, just after 10 a.m. as police, firefighters and paramedics from around the county gathered at the defunct Harvest Middle School for the first of two active shooter drills that would take place over the course of the day.

While similar simulations have played out in recent months in St. Helena and Vacaville, this weekends large-scale active-shooter drill, which involved more than a dozen local agencies, was the first of its size and complexity in the city of Napa.

California is reeling from a slew of mass shootings that have happened in the past few weeks, but yesterdays drills were not in response to the most recent violence.

There is no motive with our timing at all weve just been able to pull off the contracts and get everyone together and its just happened to be around this time. said city of Napa Fie Battalion Chief Ty Becerra.

The drill, spearheaded by Napa Fire and coordinated across agencies, welcomed volunteers who signed waivers, and were given green wristbands and safety glasses. Chaplains were at the scene to provide support to any volunteers who had strong emotional reactions to the simulated shootings.

Soon after coordinators and volunteers arrived at Harvest Middle School on Saturday morning, a fictitious crime scene was staged. Dummy casualties were positioned in corridors and doused with fake blood and at a moulage station, volunteers were dressed with fake bullet wounds and sprayed with the fake blood and given lanyards explaining each victims specific wound.

Also in preparation for the drill, desks were flipped, bullets were sprinkled in the hallway leading to the library where many victims hid among flipped desks and artwork make by children.

Conducting the simulation at middle school adds a realism that we cant produce anywhere besides a school, said Becerra. One of the goals and objectives with this drill was to provide as much realism as possible. And so having this venue to be able to do this at was great Seeing the books, seeing the desks, seeing the pencils, smelling the crayons  all those things add to the sense of realism and helps our first responders be better prepared if this were to happen in a school setting.

For Community Emergency Response Team volunteer Beth Marcus, 69, from American Canyon, this isn't the first active shooter drill she had participated in. The first one she volunteered at was in a single large room within the American Canyon Community Center. She believes this one, on a school campus will be especially informative for participating first responders, and hopes there will be more trainings in the future.

You cant be too prepared. I think of my grandchildren, you know, theyre in school and something like this was to happenI mean, were adults and we went through this (staged shooting), I cannot imagine what it would be like for children, and you cannot be too prepared for something like this, said Marcus who played a gunshot victim in the middle school library.

Minutes before the drill began, volunteer victims were given instructions.

Your job is to think of it this way... You have run from the bad guy, you cant get out of here. Youre hiding, youre panicked or upset. That is your room, there are injured people in thereyoure frantic, youre panicked. Make some noise, beg for help. Dont let them leave, do whatever you think is necessary, whatever you think you would do, Napa Fire Department Captain Brian Davis said to a handful of volunteers before instructing them into a dark classroom to seek refuge.

The first of the two drills for the day kicked off at 10:07 a.m. when dispatch reported a potential active shooter event. The alert was followed by sounds of gunshots  blanks fired by an officer  and soon after, a team of initial responders from Napa PD and the Napa Sheriffs Department arrived at the scene looking to neutralize the threat.

The initial law enforcement waked through hallways of victims calling for help and stepped over mannequin dummies that had been doused in blood in for possible assailants. The team neutralized the threat at the scene within 15 or so minutes, and by then, rescue task forces consisting of law enforcement officers and fire personnel who had made their way to the scene and provided rudimentary treatment on the dozens of victims, count the number of patients and casualties, and make extrication plans.

As more responders entered the warm zone, volunteer victims who could walk were escorted to the triage, treatment and transport area in one of the schools parking lots. Then while the scene was still being secured by law enforcement, rescue task force teams entered to extract victims with more severe injuries and carried them out in people-movers, to triage where EMS was waiting and the activated Multi Casualty Incident team came into play.

At triage, EMTs and paramedics were waiting to tend to their wounds. MCI coordinated with dispatch and Queen of the Valley, this drills base station to arrange transportation to nearby medical facilities  a task that proved challenging.

Early on during the drill, the team on the ground in charge of coordinating air transportation with St Helena emergency command center was informed that, given the low, dense layer of fog, any fictitious air ambulance landings on the campus and at Napa County Airport were not possible, and that the closest location for helicopters could land was Petaluma.

And then the MCI coordinating facility, Queen of the Valley in this drill, was identifying patient destinations.

One volunteer, active duty airman Angel Soto, 27, who had been assigned an upper arm gunshot wound, hid behind the library check-out desk, and was in attendance with colleagues from Travis Air Force Base.

I think the drill is an awesome opportunity for these guys to get some training init helps them gain the knowledgeso that this way when situations like this do happen, they know off the bat what could happen, what needs to be done and how they can address the situation in a timely manner, said Soto.

Soto hadnt been to a drill of this nature before and believes the experience will be valuable to him as well. It will give me some knowledge that I can learn from, especially from the first responders on the civilian side, and then I can share that experience with my co-workers.

While volunteer ages ranged the gamut, there were a few younger victims. Indie Stanic, 15, attends Novato High School in Marin. His dad, a firefighter at Napa Fire, signed him up for the volunteer drill.

Theres a lot of gang activity at my school, said Stanic. So I feel like there is a possibility there could be an active shooter at our school and just knowing about how I can protect myself during that kind of situation is really helpful.

Stanic was assigned a fictitious gunshot wound to the chest, which medics treated at triage by applying an occlusive dressing that allowed air to escape but not enter his wound, to prevent a pneumothorax and subsequently, a collapsed lung.

After the drill, he said knowing first responders are coordinating these drills to practice for real-life situations helps put his mind at ease.

Just before the school had been gridded out and secured, and the drill was called to an end at 11:25 a.m., EMS administrator Shaun Vincent said, I think its gone well.

These are always opportunities to learn for us, and so wed rather identify areas for improvement  because I think were all going to identify areas for improvement across the board  but I think for the most part, there are high-stress situations, even in a training environment, and so the more we get to practice these, the better-equipped we are to handle them in a real-life scenario."

He was not ready to point out specific areas for improvement as the drill was only just coming to an end and he hadnt been fully debriefed by different teams, but pointed out the purpose of the two drills were to find the flaws and work on improving skills in a simulated environment.

If we dont do it every so often, we get rusty, its a perishable skill, said Becerra.

While the hope is to never need to employ the skills practiced and tuned during Saturdays drill, Becerra does anticipate more large-scale active shooter drills to come that will involve different crews within the same agencies.
My cars warning system squawked as I pulled into the Starbucks lot in south Napa, letting me know the outside temperature was a balmy 36. Dawn had yet to break, but the folks I was meeting had already been working for hours.

Molly Rattigan, Brandee Freitas and Ashley Hacker  representing, respectively, the city, county and Abode Services  were taking part in the annual Point in Time count, a census of the countys unhoused population. Reporter Edward Booth had been with them since 5 a.m., and photographer Nick Otto and I joined them at 7 a.m.

We walked through the parking lot by the Home Depot that Wednesday morning, an area that until fairly recently were the overnight homes of Napans living in RVs. The property owner, though, pushed them off the lot, spreading them through the city and countys public streets.

As in recent years, the team did not interact with people living in RVs, tents or other precarious living situations  unless, of course, they wanted to talk. Before the change in procedures, volunteers for the count would wake people up for the count, a more time consuming and  as it turns out  less accurate process.

You wouldnt want to be waken up at 5 a.m., so why would anyone else? said Rattigan, as we all walked toward the Gasser Street bridge. Beneath, a man had a small fire going from collected underbrush, evoking an uncomfortable smell memory of wildfires. We waved, he waved back, and we moved on.

Throughout the morning, Rattigan and the others entered data about people they saw, tents and vehicles that appeared to be pulling double duty as a home. The trio, because of the work they do, could figure out about how many people lived where. Still, sometimes its a best guess.

After the count, she explained, another group of people would come back and get more detailed information about ages, genders, health conditions and the like to get a more complete picture. That data would all be published sometime in the spring.

Past the bridge, we walked toward the railroad tracks on a dirt path above where a family of ducks swam in a temporary lake created by the recent downpours. At the end of the path was an encampment of a handful of tents and makeshift living quarters. Smoke rose from a few campfires. Most people just waved, but one man  a lanky fellow with longish hair  claimed we were making him nervous with our presence.

And then he shouted: Anyone got some work? Like a real job, like a mechanic.

But after, he started jumping up and down, making the occasional grunt. We moved on.

Hes polluted, Hacker sighed.

Polluted? I asked. Like high?

She nodded.

We continued down the bike path toward the Imola Street bridge, waving to more and more people before doubling back on the tracks. We crossed into the parking lot near the In-and-Out, where a dog in a large RV barked at our arrival.

Oh wow, the dog is getting so old, said Hacker. Shes really sweet. Her owner paints her nails pink.

A year ago, as part of my work as the editor of a news startup, I oversaw a series of stories about homelessness in Santa Cruz, one that culminated with the 2022 count. The 2021 census had been skipped due to the pandemic, and people were anxious to see what the results showed.

Santa Cruz Countys unhoused issues are magnitudes worse than in Napa, but the base causes remain the same and elude easy solutions. Contrary to what many believe, the unhoused in our community are truly our neighbors  the vast majority have been locals for many years, some for their whole lives. Mental illness and drugs play a part, indeed, but so does a local economy that relies on low-paid workers who cant afford to pay the rent.

American individualism and exceptionalism has a dark side, and this is it. The ethos of a society that allows and celebrates billionaires creates an underclass. There is certainly enough money in this county to house everyone, but thats only part of the problem. Reducing pressure on the demand by building sufficient housing  thus lowering costs to reasonable levels  would potentially destroy what makes Napa, well, Napa. Or, at least, thats the argument.

As our little group returned to the Starbucks lot, to continue with our day with our warm coats and cars used solely for transportation, I felt a bit hopeful. This census puts an issue so many of us would rather ignore front-and-center, if only for a few days.

There are many rights and responsibilities to balance here. Environmental protection, keeping the quality of life high, property rights, capitalism itself and, of course, personal responsibility. But for a moment, were reminded of the people who have so little power, so little agency, and hopefully spurred to keep them more in mind.

PHOTOS: Napa County conducts point-in-time count of homeless population Point in Time Count 10 Point in Time Count 1 Point in Time Count 4 Point in Time Count 3 Point in Time Count 2 Point in Time Count 5 Point in Time Count 6 Point in Time Count 9 Point in Time Count 7 Point in Time Count 8 Point in Time Count 11 Point in Time Count 12 Point in Time Count 13 Point in Time Count 14
USD depreciating against several other major currencies

Armenia Security Council head: There were arrangements with Azerbaijan but most of them were broken

CIS FMs to hold meeting in Uzbekistan

Armenia Security Council chief: Azerbaijan is preparing for military escalation

Newspaper: Army General Staff chief admits that Tegh village incident was Armenian sides omission as well

Armenia MOD: Sanitary vehicle staff not hospitalized

shamshyan.com: Armenia MOD driver, 2 medical assistants hospitalized after truck, MOD sanitary vehicle collide

Brazil's president in China called for abandoning the dollar

Artsakh's Ombudsman expresses dissatisfaction to OSCE chairman for attitude of international community

Ararat Mirzoyan will go on a working visit to Uzbekistan

Police and demonstrators clash on the 12th day of demonstrations in France

Anahit Manasyan had a phone conversation with the Human Rights Ombudsman of Artsakh

he 12th protest against pension reform takes place in France

Russia MOD: No ceasefire violations recorded in Karabakh during last 24 hours

Lemkin Institute issues statement on Azerbaijan noncompliance with ICJ order to unblock Lachin corridor

MFA: Shushi is Artsakhs integral part in territorial, cultural, economic, historical aspects

An earthquake of magnitude 4.3 occurred in southeastern Turkey

Charles Michel explains his activeness in Armenia-Azerbaijan relations normalization process

Armenia PM to Bujar Osmani: This visit is good opportunity to get familiarized with complicated situation

South Korea bans its citizens from traveling to Armenia-Azerbaijan border region

Karabakh President convenes working consultation, security challenges discussed

OSCE Chairman-in-Office: I am here to find out if there is possibility to build bridges between Yerevan and Baku

Armenia PM chief of staff: Azerbaijanis are already in Yerevan, we have ensured their safety

Chairman-in-Office: OSCE toolkit provides mechanisms to assist peace process between Armenians and Azerbaijanis

Osmani: We are ready for any efforts to achieve positive dynamics between Azerbaijan and Armenia

Armenia FM: Replacing army with guards on Azerbaijan border should be part of final settlement

Armenia MFA: Rumors about OSCE Minsk Group activities termination are greatly exaggerated

168.am: Who is the Azerbaijani already rendered ineffective in Armenia? What does he say in video?

Armenia village youth tell how they caught Azerbaijani

Armenia Investigative Committee issues statement on murder of security guard, 56, in Syunik Province

Azerbaijani who crossed border into Armenia is caught by locals, found in Achanan village territory

2nd Azerbaijan soldier found, detained in Armenia

Armenian health minister: Wounded soldier in critical condition due to Azerbaijan provocation has stabilized

Which Armenia company is put on US sanctions list?

Premier: Armenia ready for reopening of transport links, delimitation of borders

Pashinyan: We are ready to withdraw troops to safe distance along Armenia-Azerbaijan 1991 border

Armenia to have trade attache in Germany

Azerbaijan MFA accuses France foreign ministry of smear campaign and unfair position

Armenia PM: It failed to deploy border guards without escalation of tension

Newly elected Armenia ombudsperson announces her priority objective in this capacity

Armenia deputy PM, US Deputy Secretary of Treasury acknowledge high level of cooperation between both countries

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
South Africa: Government approves 1 199 hectares of land for long standing restitution land claim

Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Patricia de Lille, has approved the release of 1 199 hectares of land, valued at approximately R7.4 million to assist in settling a land restitution claim by the Kaapsche Hoop Community in Mpumalanga.

Under the land reform programme, the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI), as the custodian of national state-owned land, is often requested to release land to settle land claims for restitution where claimants filed claims before the 31 December 1998 deadline.

In a statement on Sunday, the Minister said land reform is one of the key pillars of redressing the legacy of the apartheid regime, which saw people of colour dispossessed of land and forcibly removed from land.

Land redress is also one of the key drivers to towards achieving spatial and socio-economic justice and ensuring that public land is used for public good.

As a democratic government, our role is to reverse this legacy of the apartheid regime by returning land to dispossessed communities who lodged claims and have had these claims verified under the restitution process, which is under ambit of the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD), de Lille said.

DPWI has granted approval of the release of the land to DALRRD in terms of Section 2 of the State Land Disposal Act.

A restitution claim was lodged with the Mpumalanga Regional Land Claims Commission on behalf of the Kaapsche Hoop Community on 17 December 1998, before the 31 December 1998 cut-off date for claims to be lodged in line with the provisions of the Restitution of Land Rights Act of 1994. The land, which the claim was lodged for, was under the custodianship of DPWI.

The Kaapsche Hoop community occupied the farm and its surrounding areas around 1910 and their land rights were lost due to the establishment of an Asbestos Mine when they were relocated.

There was also an establishment of a forestry plantation by the South African Forestry Company Limited (SAFCOL).

The establishment of both the Asbestos mine and the plantation created employment for the community and only those community members who worked for both companies and their families were allowed to reside on the farm, the Minister said.

The community was removed from the houses built by SAFCOL in 1973 and when the Komati Land Company took over from SAFCOL, the houses of the community members not working for SAFCOL were demolished.

De Lille said notices for the demolition were not issued to the community and as a result, their livestock was left behind during their relocation.

The DPWI is often requested to release national land for the land reform programme, including releasing land for human settlements development, land restitution and land redistribution.

Since June 2019 to date, DPWI had made the following progress in this regard:

Land for Human Settlements Development: DPWI has released 2 560 hectares of land (44 parcels) to the Housing Development Agency (HDA).

In addition, DPWI has released 18 Land parcels measuring 533 hectares for the purposes of accommodating communities, including those displaced by floods in the KwaZulu-Natal Province.

Land for socio economic purposes: In support of infrastructure development, 15 hectares (11 land parcels) were approved for registration of servitude for roads, water, electricity and gas pipeline servitudes in this past financial year.

In addition, DPWI has released 28.0055 hectares (7 land parcels) which was approved for registration of Eskom servitudes in December 2022.

Land for Restitution: Since May 2019 to date, DPWI has released 218 land parcels measuring 31 439 hectares for restitution. Last years target for restitution was 10 000 hectares and this was exceeded.

In November 2022, 23 families in the Chris Hani District who had been forcibly removed by the apartheid regime, received title deeds to the land they were removed from in the area known as Thornhill in the Eastern Cape. Five properties were returned to the families who were all issued with title deeds for the properties with an estimated municipal value of R10million, the Minister said.

Since May 2019, DPWI has released 25 549 hectares of agricultural land (125 parcels) for the Redistribution Programme.

DPWI will continue accelerating the land reform work by working hard to finalise land release requests for land restitution, redistribution and land tenure so that we can bring closure to many communities waiting for their land claims to be finalised and achieve a greater level of land reform and spatial justice, the Minister said.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2023-01-29. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Renowned physicians from Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi will deliver thought-provoking presentations and insights on key healthcare topics during the four-day Arab Health Congress 2023 that will feature 9 CME-accredited conferences.

Due to be held from January 30 to February 2, 2023, at the Dubai World Trade Centre, the event will include diverse lectures covering a multitude of branches and subspecialties of medicine, from obesity and metabolic disorders, hands-on training in robotic surgeries and joint reconstruction, infectious disease and complex care, and the latest updates in the management of heart failure and bone marrow transplants.

Dr Jorge Guzman, CEO, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi said: Each year Arab Health serves as a platform where the larger healthcare community comes together with the shared goal of driving a more sustainable sector. This year, we are proud to see that our highly skilled caregivers will lead on many of these discussions, showcasing our strengths while sharing our learnings when it comes to the innovative solutions that weve introduced to the market.

Knowledge exchange

I look forward to joining the industry leaders at the US-UAE Business Councils panel on Sustainability in the Healthcare Sector as well as drive the 14th Quality Management Conference with other experts from Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi to share best practices that make healthcare delivery better. Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi will continue its leading role in unlocking the potential of the healthcare sector in the UAE, and the region at large, through knowledge exchange opportunities like Arab Health 2023.

The congress will host 250+ sessions including, 10 live, in-person conferences. Many of the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi speakers are Activity Directors for the CME-accredited conferences which will cover innovations in various branches of medicine, including orthopedics, internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology, anaesthesia and pain management, as well as associated technological research and clinical advancements. Some of the speakers include:

Dr Eric Vens, Institute Chair, Diagnostic Radiology, Imaging Institute, is the Activity Director and will kick off the congress at the 23rd Total Radiology Conference.

Dr Samer Ellahham, Staff Physician, Cardiology, Heart, Vascular  Thoracic Institute, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi is the Activity Director of the 14th Quality Management Conference.

Dr Stephanie Ricci, Staff Physician, Gynaecologic Oncology, Oncology Institute, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi is the Activity Director of the 15th Obs & Gyn Conference.

Dr Rahat Ghazanfar, Staff Physician, Executive Health, Medical Subspecialties Institute, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi is the Activity Director and will lead the Internal Medicine Conference.

The 22nd Surgery Conference will see a presentation by Activity Director, Dr John Rodriguez, Department Chair, General Surgery, Digestive Disease Institute, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi.

Dr Samah Nour, Department Chair, Occupational Medicine, Caregiver Wellbeing, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, is the Chair of the Public Health Conference.

Dr Timothy Souster, Institute Chair, Emergency Medicine, Emergency Medicine Institute, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi is the Activity Director of the Emergency Medicine & Critical Care Conference.

Anesthesia & Pain Management Conference is led by the Activity Director, Dr Arun Kumar, Staff Physician, Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology, Anesthesiology Institute, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, alongside Dr Amar Salti, Staff Physician, Pain Management, Anesthesiology Institute, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi.

Other Mubadala Health assets presenting at the conference include Healthpoint, Imperial College London Diabetes Centre, Danat Al Emarat Hospital for Women & Children and HealthPlus Network of Specialty Centres.-- TradeArabia News Service
Two and a half thousand people took part in another experiment by British scientists. It was devoted to finding out the human perception of such natural phenomena as sunrise and sunset, rainbows and clear sky.

Experiment participants were shown a few days imitation of such natural phenomena. Experts from the University of Exeter analyzed how this natural and cosmic beauty affects people. About results scientists told in the edition of Journal of Environmental Psychology.

As is often the case with Western experts, they expressed their evaluation algorithm in terms of money. The question formulated specifically: how much money they are willing to give in order to view a certain image.

The highest rating was the pictures that make it possible to witness the sunrise, sunset or rainbow. Respondents said that the sight of these natural phenomena could cause a wow effect, and sometimes awe.

The researchers conclude about the beneficial effect of such landscapes on the nervous system, psyche and mental apparatus of the viewers. It is no wonder that in psychotherapy and auto-training sessions they often use calming music, and such pastoral pictures of nature. They really contribute to relaxation, and, by the way, are available absolutely free of charge.




Iran and Azerbaijan will not allow the insinuations of evildoers to affect the relations between the two nations. This was announced by the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, during a phone talk with the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev.

He expressed his condolences on the death of the head of the security service of the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Tehran, who was killed in the morning of January 27, during the attack on the embassy.

Referring to the measures taken by relevant departments to investigate the attack on the embassy, the Iranian president expressed his sympathy to the people and government of Azerbaijan. He noted that the friendly and brotherly relations between the two peoples of Iran and Azerbaijan are based on inseparable cultural and historical ties, adding that the governments of Iran and Azerbaijan will not allow the insinuations of evildoers to affect those relations.

Aliyev, in turn, thanked the Iranian president for expressing sympathy to Azerbaijan, saying that it is an unexpected crime, but the cooperation of the two countries should be so strong that no one has the opportunity to violate friendly relations.

Earlier, Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian condemned the attack on the Azerbaijani embassy in Tehran, saying that the enemies should not be allowed to take advantage of this incident, while noting that the incident was not terrorism.
Mubadala Health and G42 Healthcare are jointly taking centre stage at Arab Health 2023 in Dubai to showcase their innovative solutions and patient care.

The partnership between the two leading healthcare entities is set to usher in a new era of accelerated transformation for the region and beyond, aimed at revolutionising the regional healthcare landscape and delivering a new approach to personalised, patient-centric care.

Mubadala Health and G42 Healthcare announced a merger in October 2022 to create a new, first-of-its-kind integrated healthcare company that combines G42 Healthcares unique medical and data-centric technologies with Mubadala Healths world-class provision of care.

Gold Sponsors

As Gold Sponsors, Mubadala Health and G42 Healthcare are presenting their AI-powered solutions in diagnostics, digital health, therapeutics, advanced omics, and patient care at Arab Health  the largest healthcare event in the Middle East to enable healthcare stakeholders, including policy drivers, thought leaders, professionals, and decision-makers, to stay ahead of the curve.

Through its participation under the theme of Arab Health 2023  How Are You Doing, Tomorrow?, G42 Healthcare is leveraging its strengths and expertise to showcase solutions that unlock healthcare intelligence and facilitate global expansion to help solve the worlds most critical healthcare challenges.

At the event, Mubadala Health is set to announce details on its continued geographic expansion through regional healthcare partnerships that will continue to build on the networks best-in-class integrated and multidisciplinary care. This includes facilities like Mubadala Health Dubai that brings together a western-board certified medical team from its existing network of world-class healthcare partners to provide an international standard and continuum of care at every stage of life for residents in the UAE and broader region, closer to home.

Health-tech solutions

Hasan Jasem Al Nowais, Chief Executive Officer of Mubadala Health and CEO of the new merged entity, said: Our participation with G42 Healthcare at Arab Health 2023 is an opportunity to showcase our unity and willingness to introduce to the market innovative solutions through collaboration. Together, we are looking to apply health-tech solutions to elevate our standards of accessible, patient-centered and specialised healthcare services, like never before. In line with the directives of the UAEs wise leadership, our merger is pioneering healthcare technologies and methods so that we can be better prepared and equipped to effectively manage healthcare challenges in the future, while continuing our wider efforts to reduce the prevalence of lifestyle diseases related to diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and cancer, amongst others.

Echoing this theme, Mubadala Health speakers will be participating on various panels including: The Growing Role of Technology in Healthcare: Abu Dhabis Healthcare Transformation, as well as Sustainability in the Healthcare Sector from an Environmental and Human Perspective with panelists from Emirates Health Services and Local/International Hospital.

Commenting on the participation, Ashish Koshy, Chief Executive Officer of G42 Healthcare, said: G42 Healthcare is pleased to be the Gold Sponsor at Arab Health, where we showcase our strengths to facilitate global healthcare growth. Our multi-omics, health-tech, CRO, diagnostics and biobanking services make us the partner of choice for countries and corporations to enable healthcare transformations. We are excited at the possibilities of shaping tomorrow with entities that share our values and vision, as we partner with governments, policymakers, scientists, academia, research organisations and the larger medical community to invent better healthcare every day.

G42 Healthcare is also the Platinum Sponsor of the Future Healthcare Summit to be held at the Museum of the Future, along the sidelines of Arab Health, where the team will be showcasing their pathbreaking solutions for healthcare transformation. During the Summit, Francesco Redivo, Senior Business Director, will make a presentation on The era of personalised, preventive care: How G42 Healthcare is shaping tomorrow.-- TradeArabia News Service
Efforts are underway in the United States and allied countries to identify, develop and exploit Ukraine's vast resources in the form of a key metal crucial to developing the West's most advanced military technologies that will form the basis of a future deterrent against Russia and China, Newsweek reported.

Titanium is a lightweight but strong metal widely used in modern military devices such as fighter jets, helicopters, naval vessels, tanks, long-range missiles and many others.

If Ukraine wins, the U.S. and its allies will be in a good position to create a new channel for titanium production. But if Russia succeeds in capturing the country's deposits and factories, Moscow will increase its global influence over increasingly strategic resources.

The U.S. Department of the Interior has classified titanium as one of 35 minerals vital to U.S. economic and national security. But the U.S. still imports more than 90 percent of titanium, and often not from friendly countries.

Ukraine is one of seven countries that produce titanium sponge, the basis of titanium metal. China and Russia, America's most prominent strategic rivals, are among this select group.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, China produced more than 231,000 tons of titanium sponge last year, 57 percent of global production. Japan followed with 17 percent and Russia with 13 percent. Kazakhstan produced almost 18,000 tons and Ukraine more than 4,000 tons.

Because of the West's dependence on Russian titanium, the metal has not yet been sanctioned.

Aerospace giant Boeing maintains its joint venture with Russia's VSMPO-Avisma, the world's largest titanium exporter, although it has frozen orders since the invasion. Others, such as the European commercial aircraft corporation Airbus, continue to buy titanium from VSMPO.

A source familiar with the U.S. defense industry told Newsweek that titanium represents a key vulnerability.

National security experts and supporters of Ukraine are increasingly urging politicians to look east. Last year's annual defense spending bill directed the State Department to study the possibility of titanium sources from Ukraine as a potential alternative to Chinese and Russian sources.

Ukraine has really significant reserves of rare earth minerals, and if we play our cards right, it could be a really attractive alternative to Russian and Chinese sources, on which there is a lot of dependence at present, said a congressional staffer.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, Russia has relatively low levels of titanium mineral reserves, and in 2021 Ukraine was actually the main source of titanium imports.

Much of the fighting has unfolded in eastern and southern Ukraine, where there are trillions of dollars worth of mineral deposits. In the first months of the invasion, Russian troops seized at least two titanium ore deposits...

Gaining access to Ukrainian titanium would help the U.S. in its simmering conflict with China, which politicians expect will dominate the 21st century.

A source familiar with the defense industry told Newsweek that titanium is needed to build weapons to help contain Beijing.
A group of military officials are quietly pushing the Pentagon to approve sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, Politico reported, citing sources.

According to a Defense Department spokesman and two other panelists, as Ukraine prepares to launch a new offensive in the spring, the campaign within the Defense Department for the fighter jets is gaining momentum.

Ukraine has yet to declare that fighter jets are its top priority, he noted, noting that the Pentagon is focused on sending Kyiv the assets it needs to fight directly.

A senior Ukrainian official said Saturday that Ukraine and its Western allies are holding accelerated talks about the possible shipment of both long-range missiles and military aircraft. One Ukrainian government adviser said the issue has been raised in Washington, but nothing too serious has been discussed yet. A third source said it could take weeks for the U.S. to decide whether to supply its own aircraft and approve the re-export of F-16s from other countries.

A White House spokesman declined to comment on the story, but pointed to remarks by Deputy National Security Adviser John Feiner, who said the U.S. would be very careful to discuss fighter jets with Kyiv and its allies.



Even if the U.S. decides not to send F-16s to the air force, other Western countries have U.S.-made fighters they could supply. For example,Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra told the country's parliament last week that his cabinet would consider supplying F-16s if Kiev requested them. But the U.S. must approve the transfer.

Senior Pentagon officials acknowledge that Ukraine needs the new planes in the long term. But for now, some argue that Ukraine needs more traditional air defense equipment, such as Patriots and NASAMs, supplied by the U.S. and other countries, because it could take months to deliver the planes.

Sending Ukraine F-16s does not solve the problem of cruise missiles or drones right now, said a senior Defense Ministry official.

According to the Ukrainian official, Ukraine insists that the U.S. begin training its fighter pilots to fly the F-16s now, before President Joe Biden approves the delivery of the planes. But the Pentagon has no interest in the proposal, U.S. officials said. One alternative, discussed at lower levels, is to begin training Ukrainian pilots in introductory fighter tactics on the training planes.

Ukraine has also considered contracting with private companies in the United States to begin training pilots, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Officials note that the F-16s were first built in the 1980s, and the Air Force is already decommissioning some of the fleet. Sending Ukraine low-key U.S. F-22s or F-35s would be considered escalation, they said, but sending F-16s would not.

Nevertheless, the F-16s are complex systems that also require massive infrastructure and highly trained specialists to operate and maintain. Training Ukrainian maintenance specialists will probably take longer than training pilots.
Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan called the visit of his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to Yerevan a historic event.

"This is a historic event. This is the first time the Egyptian President has arrived in Armenia on an official visit. We are proud to have you here. During our private conversation, we also told each other our concerns. Mr. President introduced some Egyptian and regional issues. I presented the problems of our region and the Republic of Armenia," Khachaturyan said during the enlarged talks.

He noted the need to fully use the potential of developing the Armenian-Egyptian trade and economic relations in the spheres of agriculture, high technologies and tourism.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah As-Sisi thanked for the warm reception and underlined the necessity to advance the Armenian-Egyptian multifaceted cooperation for the development of trade-economic and diplomatic relations. In his speech, he noted that Egypt has also been involved in regional conflicts and, in turn, is ready to make all possible efforts to peacefully resolve the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.

"Egypt continues to face various regional problems and conflicts, and one very important fact to note is that since the 1970s, Egypt has followed the path of peace and has encountered several obstacles along the way... In a private conversation with you, I noted that we have a neutral position on the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, and in that sense, if you accept our mediation and would like us to mediate or take on that role, we are ready," he said.

During the meeting the presidents discussed the exchange of best practices in agriculture and infrastructure, the implementation of various investment programs, as well as ways to overcome obstacles to the development of tourism between the two countries, in particular the possibility of regular direct flights between Yerevan and Cairo.
With the start-up culture expanding in UAE, business incubators play a significant role in supporting small businesses and start-ups including creating an ideal environment for them, Venture Capitals (VC) and Incubators Workshop, heard.

VCs and incubators support the sector with funding, going the extra mile to help start-ups and SMEs grow, be profitable, and withstand competition from bigger market players, noted the workshop organised by the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy, one of the three chambers operating under Dubai Chambers.

The event brought together leading entrepreneurs, VCs, and senior executives. The event is the third in the Chamber's interactive workshop series that address the role of the various economic sectors and digital industries in Dubai's digital economy.

Prominent role

Ahmad Bin Byat, Vice Chairman of Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy, noted: "The Chamber plays a prominent role in engaging members and key stakeholders from various digital sectors to ensure we identify challenges and opportunities together to promote an environment that is truly conducive to the growth of the digital economy and the role of advanced technology in society.

Dubai and the UAE have taken bold, swift steps to deliver frameworks, legislation, and guidelines in many areas of the nascent digital economy. Our digital industry workshop series allow for two-way feedback, helping us ensure we are working on behalf of our business community, and enabling our members to voice their concerns, challenges and exciting plans for the future."

The workshop discussed the challenges faced by VC firms and incubators, as well as ways Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy and industry leaders can ensure that government policies, initiatives and strategies promote innovation and business friendliness in this vital sector.

Growth areas

Participants discussed growth areas, the best ways to help each other and maintain positive growth in the sector, with deeper focus on regulations, funding, talent, and infrastructure as integral parts of the VC and incubator ecosystem.

Bin Byat added: "Dubai is known for its support for entrepreneurs and SMEs in various areas of innovation, technology, and the digital economy. At Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy, we believe what this important segment of our business community needs is solid, reliable, and trustworthy funding. Delivering capital to new projects and providing business incubation is vital for the growth of the start-ups and SMEs which are key to Dubai's digital transformation agenda."

According to a study that was published recently by the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy, Dubai hosts 39% of fast-growing start-ups in the Mena region. The emirate also attracted 57% of the total funding that these start-ups have received, which is estimated at $5.2 billion.-- TradeArabia News Service
Union Budget for 2023-24 is around the corner and citizens across the country are expected to closely monitors the announcements. The Union Budget 2023-24 is to be presented on February 1, 2023. Like the previous two Union Budgets, Union Budget 2023-24 will also be delivered in paperless form. ANI reached to few people in Kolkata to get some idea about what they expect from the Budget this year. "Prices of every items should fall, inclduing cooking gas. It is getting difficult to run family. Any decline in prices will make our home Budget stable," Moula Dey told ANI, speaking in Bangla. The formal exercise to prepare the annual Budget for the next financial year (2023-24) commenced on October 10. "Being a college going student, my only hope is that the prices should decline. We are even struggling to buy small things -- edible oil, gas, and so and so. This price rise issue is for all middle class section of the society," said Swagata Dey. Budget 2023 is likely to be the last full Budget of the Modi government in its second term with the next Lok Sabha election due in April-May of 2024. "We have seen several Budgets, but prices continue to rise...The government should keep us in mind while compiling the Budget," said Rekha Guin from Kolkata. The Budget documents will be available on the 'Union Budget Mobile App' on both the Android and Apple OS platforms after the completion of the Budget Speech by the Finance Minister in Parliament on February 1, 2023. (ANI)
Navin M Raheja, Chairman and Managing Director of Raheja Developers on Sunday put forward two major suggestions to the government for the upcoming Union Budget 2023, to be presented on February 1. Raheja said the mushrooming of slums in India due to rapid urbanisation needs urgent focus, thus suggesting the government to formulate policies to rehabilitate slum dwellers. "There should be a separate department/ministry for doing complete rehabilitation of the slum dwellers in the country. Illegal colonies which are devoid of facilities, devoid of life, devoid of human rights," he added. As part of the suggestion, he said let slum dwellers be allowed to come with their proposals to the government, which he feels will also reduce activism by various vested interest groups. "The government should look into this Budget to give a little fillip to this or for little handholding," he said, urging the government to give some advances for it to be kickstarted. In continuation, he said those advances will give a message to developers that the government is serious about it and is participating. In his second suggestion, he said the government should look at reviving all idle or defunct industries in order to push economic growth in the country. "Give them an opportunity to run so that they can create local employments...if we revive our closed units where tens of lakhs of crores are lying idle. I f we revive them there won't be much investments required to make this country grow in less than five years. There will be a complete transformation," he said. A little handholding by the government and doing away with overregulation is what is needed, he said. Like the previous two Union Budgets, Union Budget 2023-24 will also be delivered in paperless form. The Union Budget 2023-24 is to be presented on February 1, 2023. The Budget documents will be available on the 'Union Budget Mobile App' on both the Android and Apple OS platforms after the completion of the Budget Speech by the Finance Minister in Parliament on February 1, 2023. The formal exercise to prepare the annual Budget for the next financial year (2023-24) commenced on October 10. Budget 2023 is likely to be the last full Budget of the Modi government in its second term with the next Lok Sabha election due in April-May of 2024. (ANI)
The first two-day G20 International Financial Architecture Working Group meeting under India's G20 Presidency is set to be held from Monday in Chandigarh. The meeting will be inaugurated by Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar and food processing industries minister Pashupati Kumar Paras. The discussions during the two-day meeting will be jointly steered by the Ministry of Finance and the Reserve Bank of India along with France and Korea who are the co-chairs of the International Financial Architecture Working Group. The International Financial Architecture Working Group is one of the important workstreams under the G20 Finance Track with a focus on strengthening the international financial architecture. It also aims to address multiple challenges faced by vulnerable countries. About 100 delegates from across the G20 membership, Invitee Countries, and International Organizations will be arriving in Chandigarh to participate in the two-day meeting, an official statement said on Sunday. "The meeting will discuss ways to enhance the stability and cohesion of the international financial architecture and how to make it fit for addressing the global challenges of the 21st century," the statement said, adding that it will also focus on exploring ways to provide maximum support to poor and vulnerable countries. On the sidelines of this meeting, a G20 side event titled 'Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs): Opportunities and Challenges' will also be held on Monday. It would be aimed at sharing country experiences and developing a deeper understanding of the macroprudential implications of CBDCs. In the run-up to this meeting, a number of events have been held across the city of Chandigarh, for increasing 'Jan-Bhagidari' and generating interest in the G20 events under the Indian Presidency. A seminar on "Central Bank Digital Currencies: The Indian Story" was also held on January 25, 2023 in Chandigarh. During the course of India's G20 Presidency, this Working Group will meet again in March, June, and September to continue discussions on the priorities set under the Indian Presidency. "Discussions from the International Financial Architecture Working Group meeting will further inform the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) on the key deliberations on related priorities under India's G20 Finance Track. The first meeting of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors is scheduled to be held on 24-25 February 2023 in Bengaluru," the statement added. (ANI)
Adani Group on Sunday said the recent report by Hindenburg Research was not an attack on any specific company but a "calculated attack" on India, its growth story, and ambitions. "This is not merely an unwarranted attack on any specific company but a calculated attack on India, the independence, integrity and quality of Indian institutions, and the growth story and ambition of India," the Adani Group said in a 413-page response. In its response to the Hindenburg Research, the Adani Group has attacked Hindenburg as "an unethical short seller". It added the report was "nothing but a lie". A short seller in the securities market books gain from the subsequent reduction in prices of shares. The Adani Group states that by "holding short positions" in Adani stocks, it is betting on the stock falling. Hindenburg exposed its hand as it made huge money with the fall of Adani stocks immediately following the publication of the report on January 24. "The document is a malicious combination of selective misinformation and concealed facts relating to baseless and discredited allegations to drive an ulterior motive," the Adani Group's response said. It went on to say the report by the US-based firm was intended only to create a "false market in securities" to enable Hindenburg, an admitted short seller, to book massive financial gain through "wrongful means at the cost of countless investors". Adani Group, in its 413-page report on Sunday, has also responded to all 88 questions raised by Hindenburg in details. Earlier on Thursday, Adani Group said it was mulling legal options in the US and India against Hindenburg Research after its report accused firms owned by Gautam Adani of market manipulation and accounting fraud. Jatin Jalundhwala, Group Head - Legal, Adani Group, in a statement earlier this week, said, "We (the Group) are evaluating the relevant provisions under US and Indian laws for remedial and punitive action against Hindenburg Research." Reportedly, the research firm, in its report on Tuesday, raised concerns about shares of Adani group companies having a possibility of declining from their current levels, owing to high valuations. The timing of the report by Hindenburg Research, Adani Group had said is "clearly betrays a brazen, mala fide intention to undermine" the Adani Group's reputation with the "principal objective of damaging" the group's Follow-on Public Offering from Adani Enterprises, the biggest FPO ever in India. (ANI)
Now that the judgement that led to filmmaker Jafar Panahi's imprisonment last year has been overturned by Iran's highest court, a decision on his release from Tehran's Evin prison is expected soon. According to Variety, a US-based media house, Panahi is regarded as one of Iranian cinema's greatest living masters. Tahereh Saeedi, Tanahi's wife, posted an appeal on Instagram claiming that his attorneys were successful in getting the director's 2010 six-year sentence for "propaganda against the system" vacated. Due to the 10-year statute of limitations in the nation, that statement is now invalid. An Iranian court of appeals has now been given Panahi's case. "Last week we were informed that Jafar will be out in a week," Saeedi said in the appeal posted on Instagram this week. "A week passed by and Jafar is still not with us," she continued. "The liberation of Jafar is in total accordance of their own laws...But they (Iranian authorities) are above the law; without any respect for the law," Saeedi added. Panahi is well-known throughout the world for his award-winning films, including 'The Circle,' 'Offside,' 'This is Not a Film,' 'Taxi,' and most recently, 'No Bears,' which took home the Special Jury Prize at Venice last year. According to Variety, As a result of the country's conservative government crackdown, Panahi was detained in Tehran last July. Panahi had gone to the prosecutor's office in Tehran to inquire about the whereabouts of fellow dissident filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulov, who had been detained a few days prior after signing a petition against police brutality. Variety further reports that before the wave of protests that were ignited in September by the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, when she was being detained for reportedly donning a loose hijab, Rasoulov and Panahi were both imprisoned. More than 100 people in the Iranian film industry have been detained or Banned from making movies as a result of those protests, which have resulted in more than 500 citizens killed in the clashes that erupted with the government security forces. (ANI)
According to Dr Ajay Swaroop, Chairman (Board of Management, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital "Mr Annu Madan Lal Kapoor admitted to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital on 26th January early morning with complaints of chest discomfort has been discharged today." Kapoor underwent treatment by the Cardiology team comprising Dr JPS Sawhney, Dr Rajneeshjain, Dr Rajiv Passey, Dr BS Vivek and Dr Sushant Wattal.

Dr Rajneesh Jain, co-director of Cath lab and Head of the unit, under whom Kapoor was admitted, stated that "Mr Annu Kapoor has been discharged today in a stable condition."

Previously on Thursday, Dr Ajay Swaroop, Chairman (Board of Management) of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, stated that "Kapoor is currently stable and recovering, and is being treated."

The actor is known for outstanding performances in films such as 'Hum', 'Ek Ruka Hua Faisla', 'Ram Lakhan', 'Ghayal', 'Hum Kisise Kum Nahin', 'Aitraaz', '7 Khoon Maaf', 'Jolly LLB 2', and many more.

He received a National award for his performance in the comedy-drama 'Vicky Donor'.

He was last seen in the web show 'Crash Course', which premiered on the OTT platform Amazon Prime Video last year. (ANI)
The world's first international clinical guidelines for preventing and treating heart problems in cancer patients' children have been developed. The guidelines, published in JACC: Advances, address cardiovascular disease assessment, screening, and follow-up in pediatric cancer patients receiving novel molecular treatments, immunotherapy, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. The Murdoch Children's Research Institute-led expert consensus defined the high-risk group of cancer patients who should have a heart check-up, standardised a strategy for screening and surveillance during treatment, and provided recommendations to protect vulnerable young hearts. Murdoch Children's Associate Professor Rachel Conyers said while international guidelines to monitor poor heart side effects during therapy exist for adult patients, none were specific to children. Associate Professor Conyers said the success of new cancer drugs had increased the chances of cardiac side effects that occur early on during therapy, sometimes within days, which warranted closer heart health surveillance and earlier monitoring. "Recent advances in treating childhood cancer have resulted in survival rates of more than 80 per cent. However, improving serious health outcomes in survivors remains an important and essential focus and prevention is key," she said. "Heart complications are a leading cause of death for childhood cancer survivors, second only to cancer relapse. Modern treatments including precision medicine have broadened the agents that can cause heart problems," she said. Childhood cancer survivors are 15 times more likely to have heart failure and eight times more likely to have heart disease than the general population. Associate Professor Conyers said the guidelines would be an indispensable tool for clinicians to significantly reduce the harmful impact of cancer drugs on children's hearts. "The guidelines are a major advance for the cardio-oncology field as before this there was no defined approach for surveillance or follow up of paediatric patients during treatment despite new therapeutics having early heart complications such as high blood pressure, abnormal heart beats and heart failure," she said. The Australian and New Zealand expert group consisted of paediatric and adult cardiologists and paediatric oncologists who undertook a Delphi consensus approach across 11 areas of cardio-oncology care. The Australian New Zealand Children's Oncology Group endorsed the study with the guidelines useful for any tertiary institutes treating paediatric oncology patients or initiating cardio-oncology clinics. (ANI)
Adnec Group has announced Edge Group as the strategic partner for the 16th edition of the International Defence Exhibition (Idex) and the 7th edition of the Naval Defence Exhibition (Navdex) 2023

Organised in cooperation with the UAE Ministry of Defence, the events will be held from February 20 to 24, at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre.

Humaid Matar Al Dhaheri, Managing Director and Group CEO of Adnec Group, said: Edge Group is a regional and global leader. Its support to Idex and Navdex 2023 provides a platform for showcasing the latest technologies in the defence industry. Through this partnership, we aim to highlight the remarkable development of the national defence industries. We also look forward to working together to host an exceptional edition of the event, to make it one of the biggest defence events in history, and establish Abu Dhabis leading position in the field of defence and major global events.

Ideal platform

Mansour Al Mulla, Managing Director and CEO, Edge said: Idex is by far the most important event in our calendar and one of the largest international defence exhibitions. Idex offers industry stakeholders an ideal platform to display state-of-the-art solutions, generate new business, and discuss the latest industry technologies and trends.

With huge global participation, the event provides a unique opportunity for Edge, one of the worlds leading advanced technology and defence groups, to highlight the huge leaps that we have made in expanding our global footprint, strengthening the UAEs sovereign air, land, and maritime defence capabilities, and adopting 4IR technologies across all areas of our operations and manufacturing.

Edge will showcase its large portfolio of cutting-edge products and solutions at Idex 2023, with a strong focus on our diverse range of innovative Autonomous Systems. Idex is the perfect platform to highlight our integral role in positioning the UAE as a leading international player in line with the greater vision of the nations forward-looking leadership he added.

Idex and Navdex, the biggest events of their kind, will be attended by industry leaders, officials, decision-makers, ministers, and experts from around the globe. This years edition of Idex also marks the 30th anniversary of its launch.-- TradeArabia News Service
The Karnataka unit of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has posed several questions to the ruling BJP government in Karnataka about the investigation in power broker 'Santro Ravi's' case. K.S. Manjunath, also known as 'Santro Ravi', was nabbed by the Gujarat Police earlier this moth. The alleged human trafficker was on the run for the past 11 days. Ravi was in the eye of a political storm over his alleged role in police transfers and links to several politicians. He has at least 21 criminal cases lodged against him related to human trafficking, murder, fraud, and kidnapping. Speaking to the press at the party office here, AAP's communication in-charge for Karnataka, Brijesh Kalappa, said, "It has been over two weeks since the arrest of Santro Ravi, but the government has not goven any information about the investigation. Are they trying to shield him or do away with him?" Kalappa asked several pointed questions to the government, including why Ravi was apprehended in Gujarat and not in Karnataka, what was the reason for his visit to Gujarat, and who were the people with whom Ravi had business dealings. He also questioned the government's lack of action against those who may have helped Ravi amass a wealth of Rs 1000 crore, and asked why the ED, CBI, or the Income Tax department are not probing how Ravi acquired so much money. In response to a question about ADGP Alok Kumar's comment that the investigation only pertains to the harassment complaint filed by Ravi's wife, Kalappa said, "Why is the ADGP not investigating the links of this white-collar criminal with the politicians? Alok Kumar should not give in to political pressure. If he is working on the behest of politicians, he is incompetent to hold to his post." Kalappa also asked who helped Ravi stay in the Kumara Kurpa government guest house and questioned the reported overdose of drugs found in Ravi's system. He compared the lack of information about Ravi's case to that of Ajmal Kasab, pointing out that the public had more information about Kasab's whereabouts and daily activities. "Of the three political parties, both Congress and JD(S) have fallen silent on the issue of Santro Ravi, after Ravi himself said that he has provided his services to all the three political parties. They are hand-in-glove in both Santro Ravi and Shirki's case and are happy with the government's inaction against these criminals," the AAP leader said. --IANS mka/arm ( 422 Words) 2023-01-28-21:22:02 (IANS)
The banned BBC documentary 'India: The Modi Question' was screened at the prestigious Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), the students' association informed on Saturday. The FTII Students' Association (FTIISA) said the documentary was screened on January 26, coinciding with the 74th Republic Day celebrations. "On 26/01/23, we screened the banned BBC documentary 'India: The Modi Question' at FTII," said an FTIISA statement issued on social media on Saturday. "Throughout history, banning of literature, music, and in recent times, media, has been a sign of a crumbling society. The act of scrutiny should be welcomed by our elected representatives. Instead, they quickly tag it as false propaganda and try to shove it under the rug. They should know that the most sure-fire way for something to be watched is to ban it," the FTIISA said in the Instagram post. "However, the BBC documentary barely scratches the surface of the kind of violence that has been perpetuated throughout the country for a dedicated, singular, vicious purpose," the FTIISA added. "It would be startling to us if anyone in India is surprised by the happenings in this documentary. Communal violence has become a part and parcel of the ruling party's politics," it said. Meanwhile, it's learnt that the FTII management has initiated a probe into the screening of the documentary on the campus. Earlier on Saturday, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) in Mumbai had called off its planned screening of the BBC documentary, following protests by the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha. However, though the TISS management had warned against the screening and did not allow the use of projector, the Progressive Students Forum showed the documentary on students' mobile phones, laptops and tablets. --IANS qn/arm ( 299 Words) 2023-01-28-22:50:02 (IANS)
The February 27 bypoll to the Erode East Assembly constituency in Tamil Nadu, which has been necessitated following the demise of Congress MLA E. Thirumahan Everaa earlier this month, is heating up with Congress nominee and former Union minister E.V.K.S. Elangovan all set to file his nomination on February 3. Elangovan is the father of the deceased Congress MLA, Thirumahan Everaa. Elangovan has already stated that Chief Minister M.K. Stalin's popularity will be a major factor that help him sail through in the elections. The AIADMK has already announced that the party would be contesting the polls against the DMK front candidate, Elangovan. The party will announce its candidate in a couple of days, with former MLA and party leader Thenarasu being the front-runner. In the 2021 Assembly elections, Congress candidate Thirumahan Everaa had defeated M. Yuvaraj of the Tamil Manila Congress by a margin of 8,294 votes. While there are speculations of the O. Panneerselvam faction of the AIADMK contesting the polls from Erode East, the possibility seems slim. One of the founder leaders of AIADMK and presently the President of the National Justice Party, Shanmugham has called upon Panneerselvam not to contest the polls. He also told both Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS) and O. Panneerselvam (OPS) that he would mediate in their dispute and settle it at the earliest for the benefit of the party. With election scheduled on February 27 and the two major fronts taking on each other, it will be a prestige fight for EPS. The AIADMK is in the middle of a bitter power struggle between OPS, who is the deposed coordinator of the party, and EPS, the present interim general secretary of AIADMK. --IANS aal/arm ( 299 Words) 2023-01-28-23:04:01 (IANS)
The travails of once the "most powerful" bureaucrat in the Pinarayi Vijayan-government in Kerala, senior IAS officer M. Sivasankar, are likely to continue as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has asked him to appear before it on January 31 -- the day he retires from service -- in connection with the agency's probe in the 'Life Mission' project. The case relates to the alleged violation of the foreign contribution regulations in the Kerala government's flagship project, which intended to provide homes to the poor who lost their houses in the devastating floods of 2018. The project at Wadakancherry in Trissur district then came under a cloud. Meanwhile, Sivasankar has written to the ED that since he super-annuates on January 31, he should be given a fresh date . The ED has recently summoned Swapna Suresh, the prime accused in the gold smuggling case and questioned her along with two other accused who were also named in the case. In the Life Mission case, the CBI had earlier arrested Unitac builder Santhosh Eapen besides questioning top government officials, including Sivasankar. The case surfaced after the gold smuggling case came to light in June 2020 in which Sivasankar was jailed. Both Swapna Suresh and PS Sarith, who were employed in the UAE Consulate, were later found to have a role in Life Mission funds' misappropriation too. The state government had then approached the Kerala High Court to stop the probe, but it dismissed the pleas and said that an ongoing CBI probe should continue in the case involving senior government officers and contractors. The CBI had then taken a position that private company Unitac, carrying out construction on behalf of a Kerala government body, did not get the contract through a tender. The project entailed construction of 97 apartments and a health centre, and it was alleged that both the gold smuggling case accused held talks with Unitac and fixed a commission of 30 per cent of the project cost -- 20 per cent to a UAE official and 10 per cent to Swapna Suresh and other co-accused for approvals and other file movements. The CBI claimed that Sivasankar had met Unitac owner Santhosh Eapen at his chamber along with Swapna Suresh and assured full support. The then Life Mission Chief Executive Officer, U.V. Jose, was also allegedly present at this meeting. --IANS sg/pgh ( 406 Words) 2023-01-28-23:14:02 (IANS)
In a big success for Gaya Police, a huge quantity of arms and cartridges including an AK-47 were recovered from the hideout of Naxalites, and pressure ID was also found. The Gaya Police had information about the presence of Naxalites in the southern area of the Gaya district for the last few days. Based on the received information, intensive raids were conducted by Gaya police, CoBRA and CRPF soldiers. After intensive search operations at various hideouts, a huge quantity of arms and cartridges including AK-47 were recovered from the hideout of Naxalites, pressure ID was also found. A large quantity of state-of-the-art weapons, magazines, pressure IDs and dozens of live cartridges have been recovered from Ladunia Pahar, Karibadobha and Tikwathan areas of Chhakrabandha police station area. An AK47 rifle, SLR rifle, sprinkle rifle and magazine of AK 47 and SLR rifle have been recovered. Officers and jawans of Gaya Police, 159 and 47 Battalions of CRPF and Cobra 205 Battalion were involved in the raid. In this case, Gaya SSP Ashish Bharti said that for the past few days, continuous information had been received that there is Naxalite activity in Aurangabad and adjoining areas of the Chatra district of Jharkhand. SSP Bharti told that landmines have been laid on a large scale by the Naxalites in this area. However, the morale of the Naxalites has been broken due to continuous raids and many hideouts of the Naxalites have been busted. (ANI)
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav was received with black flags, when he participated in the Maa Pitambara 108 Mahayagya on the banks of the Gomti in Daliganj, to protest against his party leader Swami Prasad Maurya's statement on Ramcharitmanas. Yadav alleged that the ruling BJP considers Dalits and Backwards caste as Shudra and said that the BJP is setting a bad precedent by disturbing programmes. Yadav told the mediapersons, "BJP people consider Dalits as Shudra. They consider us backwards and Dalits as Shudras (untouchable)." "I respect all religions. But if in the name of religion, a community or caste is humiliated, then it is objectionable," Yadav said. Earlier this month, the SP leader sparked a major controversy after he demanded the deletion of "insulting comments and sarcasm" targeted at particular castes and sects in Ramcharitmanas, a poem based on the epic Ramayana. Speaking to ANI, the former BJP leader had said, "I don't have any issue with Ramcharitmanas but parts of it have insulting comments and sarcasm directed at particular castes and sects. Those should be removed." Maurya further claimed that in the Ramcharitmanas, which was composed by Tulsidas, there are words hurting the sentiments of the Dalit community. "The government should take effective action and show sensitivity. It should see that the sentiments of any community are not hurt," he added. While Maurya's remarks gave fresh ammunition to the BJP, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav distanced himself from the remark. An FIR was filed against the former Cabinet minister over his remark. The case against Maurya was filed at the Hazratganj police station for allegedly outraging religious feelings with his remark. (ANI)
The raid was carried out at Casa Danza club in Udyog Nagar, Phase 3. The police had received inputs received by the police regarding drugs being served in the club, based on which the police carried out the raid.

During the raid, the police recovered huge quantities of drugs, including Charas, Ganja, MDMA, heroin, cocaine, and other suspicious items from the spot.

The Gurugram ACP informed that blood samples of 288 persons have been collected on suspicion of drug consumption. These 288 persons have also been mentioned in the FIR.

ACP Udyog Vihar informed that the police recovered 10.67 grams of hashish, 6.30 grams of marijuana cigarettes, 6.30 grams of heroin, 6.30 grams of cocaine, 3.67 grams of MDMA and some tablets.

The case has also been registered against the three owners and three managers of the club, the police said.

The police said that they have been monitoring the activities of the Casa Danza pub bar for the past two months. The intelligence team visited the pub bar multiple times and submitted a report to the crime branch.

Based on the report, ACP Crime, ACP Udyog Vihar, ACP East and four Crime Branch teams carried out the raid.

Incidentally, the club was also in a controversy in August last year, when a bouncer molested a girl and assaulted her friend, the police said.

The police also said that they are awaiting the reports of the blood sample for further details. (ANI)
Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak suspended a Chief Medical Superintendent in Behat, Saharanpur on Saturday after receiving continuous complaints of bribery, the state government informed through a press note. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader also instructed to take action against the guilty departmental officers and employees in Mau and Auraiya. The Deputy Chief Minister has directed all the Chief Medical Officers (CMO) that negligence at work is not tolerable at all. Pathak stated that the bribery case in Behat had come to his notice in which the Chief Medical Superintendent was involved. In view of the seriousness of the matter, the said Medical Officer has been suspended with immediate effect. A detailed investigation report of the entire episode has also been called for. At the same time, taking very seriously the case of a doctor throwing a helmet at a journalist in Mau's Sadar Hospital, the CMO has been directed to investigate the said episode. Instructions are given that a committee should be formed to investigate the matter seriously and strict action should be taken against the guilty doctor. A bribery case by an alleged ward boy has also come to light in Bidhuna of Auraiya. Taking cognizance of this episode, the Deputy Chief Minister has directed CMO Auraiya to get the matter investigated. Instructions have been given to the medical departments to submit the inquiry report by February 2. In January, Pathak conducted several departmental investigations. During this investigation, the district hospital of Banda was checked in the alleged lack of facilities case. The government is taking appropriate in this matter. Pathak has also instructed the authorities to take necessary action against the guilty officials of the hospital in Nagal, Saharanpur where the patients were given medicines that were already expired. The Deputy Chief Minister has also directed the authorities to take strict action against the district hospital in Fatehpur where due to mismanagement, a newborn baby died. (ANI)
The victim had been identified as Harshit, a resident of Vishwas Park. He was stabbed by the juveniles over an old enmity. Harshit was later admitted to DDU hospital for treatment.

"A case under IPC section 307 (attempt to murder) and 34 (common intension) was registered at Bindapur police station in this regard," said a Delhi police official.

Two of the juveniles have been apprehended, while the other two juveniles are absconding, he said.

Further investigation is underway. (ANI)
The 97th edition of Mann Ki Baat, the PM's monthly radio programme, will be aired at 11 am today.

Earlier, on December 25, 2022, PM Modi addressed the 96th episode of Mann Ki Baat.

In his last Mann Ki Baat of 2022, PM Modi said the country had become the world's fifth-largest economy in 2022.

"The year 2022 was wonderful, India completed 75 years of Independence while 'Amrit Kaal' began. India progressed rapidly and became the world's fifth-largest economy, and achieved the unbelievable record of 220 crore vaccines and crossed the USD 400 billion mark in exports," he said.

He also talked about the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative of the government and lauded the launch of INS Vikrant.

Further in the address, he also underscored the country's responsibility for chairing the G20 summit this year.

"This year, India has also got the prestigious responsibility of chairing the G20 group. I had also discussed this in detail last time," he said.

He underlined that the great challenges of today like climate change, terrorism, and pandemics, cannot be solved by fighting each other but by acting together. "India's G20 agenda will be inclusive, ambitious, action-oriented, and decisive," he wrote.

Citing the theme - 'One Earth, One Family, One Future', PM Modi said India's G20 Presidency will work to promote this universal sense of one-ness. "This is not just a slogan. It takes into account recent changes in human circumstances, which we have collectively failed to appreciate," he said. (ANI)
Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, the ultra-low-fare national airline of the UAE, has reported a record-breaking 2022 by operating more than 6,000 flights and transporting more than 1.2 million passengers.



The joint venture established between ADQ and Wizz Air Holdings also doubled the size of its fleet and organisation during 2022 with 100 per cent growth from four to eight state-of-the-art brand-new A321-neo aircraft.



The average fleet age is one year, ensuring the airline meets its commitment to sustainability with the lowest environmental footprint in the region.



The national airline carried more than 600,000 point-to-point passengers to the UAE in 2022, supporting the sustainable growth of Abu Dhabis culture and tourism sectors and unlocking an eclectic mix of travel opportunities for travellers from all classes.



The airline supports Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabis (DCT) vision to welcome the world to Abu Dhabi, connecting cultures and inspiring generations to embark on journeys of creativity and discovery. Wizz Air Abu Dhabi is looking forward to future growth, in line with the UAE Tourism Strategy 2031, and further strengthen the position of the UAE as one of the best destinations in the world for tourism.



Wizz Air Abu Dhabi has introduced a new segment of travel in the UAE in line with the countrys socio-economic vision with recent exciting expansions into Central Asia, The Maldives and across the Gulf Region allowing for convenient, self-connecting travel across the wider Wizz Air network via the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.



Wizz Air Abu Dhabi is constantly developing the UAE network to share the love of travel with tourists and residents benefitting from hassle-free, point-to-point travel to culturally rich destinations including vibrant cities and natural paradises.



Michael Berlouis, Managing Director of Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, said: We are proud of all our achievements during this record-breaking year and are delighted to carry over one million passengers. We connect people to create great memories and we would like to thank all our customers that has given us the chance to welcome them on our aircraft. Our incredible growth during 2022 reflects our commitment to making affordable travel possible for everyone and continuing the growth of the burgeoning tourism sector in the UAE.



Our expanding fleet of state-of-the-art Airbus A321neo aircraft, serve an ever-growing number of must-see travel destinations and we are ambitious in continuing to deliver travel options that are more convenient and affordable for everyone. We are excited for 2023 and we look forward to seeing you on board our young and sustainable aircraft soon.



Wizz Air currently flies to 36 destinations in 25 different countries from Abu Dhabi and is ready to accelerate and expand operations further in 2023, providing cost-effective, unique experiences for travel lovers looking to explore. The airline is now the second largest carrier in Abu Dhabi by seat capacity and continues to deliver on its promise of making travel possible for everyone and contributing to the continued development of the tourism sector in the UAE.



Strategically located in the UAE, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi provides ultra-low fare, hassle-free and efficient travel options to Alexandria (Egypt), Almaty (Kazakhstan), Amman (Jordan), Ankara (Turkey), Aqaba (Jordan), Athens (Greece), Baku (Azerbaijan), Belgrade (Serbia), Dammam (Saudi Arabia), Kuwait City (Kuwait), Kutaisi (Georgia), Manama (Bahrain), Male (Maldives), Medina (Saudi Arabia), Muscat (Oman), Nur Sultan (Kazakhstan), Salalah (Oman), Santorini (Greece), Samarkand (Uzbekistan), Sarajevo (Bosnia), Tashkent (Uzbekistan), Tel-Aviv (Israel), Tirana (Albania) and Yerevan (Armenia) among others.  TradeArabia News Service
Parents of a group of students of a private school in Uttar Pradesh's Moradabad lodged a complaint against the school authorities after a teacher allegedly trimmed their children's hair without permission. The incident came to light on Saturday after a group of parents approached the District Inspector of Schools (DIOS), and complained against the school authorities. DIOS Arun Dubey said, "Some children of St. Mira's School in Moradabad and their parents had come with a complaint that the children's hair has been cut by the school without the consent of the parents," Arun Dubey told ANI. Parents alleged that over 50-60 students' hair was trimmed without their consent. "We have submitted a written complaint to DIOS and demanded justice for our kids," a parent told ANI. "My child was running high on fever and was scheduled to get his blood test done today. But the school administration made him stand the whole day and trimmed his hair without our consent," he complained. A student, studying in class 9th said, "I kept crying asking our teacher to stop but she did not listen. My hair was already short, but trimmed even more." The School's Director Akshi Prakash however refuted the parents' claims. "The complaint is a clear attempt to defame our school's image. A declaration of school discipline is signed by the parents every year and strict notice is being taken only after giving three notices," she said. Meanwhile, DIOS Arun Dubey added that further action will be taken after knowing the side of the school in the matter. (ANI)
Sonam Wangchuk, the social reformist from Ladakh whose life story inspired the Bollywood film 3 Idiots, has claimed that he was placed under house arrest and also asked by the union territory administration to "sign a bond" that he will not make any statement or participate in any public gatherings over recent happenings in Leh for one month. "That I undertake that I will not make any comment(s) or issue statements(s) or make a public speech(s)hold or participate in any public assembly(s)/any activity related to recent events in Leh district, at the present times, since it has the potential of endangering the peace and tranquility and law and order in the district or any part thereof for a period of one month (sic)," according to the bond he shared on his twitter handle. The bond further states that he shall not incite anti-government sloganeering/activity that will breach public peace and shall carry out his fast in the area in which he has been given permission. "Any violation will attract legal action," it added. The Ladakh-based innovator who is on 4th day of his five-day fast at 18,380 feet high at the top of Khardung La has also alleged that he is under house arrest as the administration is trying to prevent him from spreading his message and reaching out to people. Wangchuk had announced a five-day long hunger strike from January 26 to invite the attention of the Central government to the demands of the people of Ladakh including to ensure the safety and protection of Ladakh as studies suggested the extinction of nearly 2/3rd of the glaciers in the Union Territory. He has also asked the government to include the region in the 6th schedule of theConstitution, which allows the administration of some tribal areas as autonomous entities. "The administration has restricted my fast after 1st day of my protest here citing threats to my life," he tweeted on January 27. Earlier, while talking to ANI, Wangchuk had stressed that if the carelessness continued and the Ladakh is refrained from being provided protection from the industries, the glaciers here will extinct, thus creating enormous problems due to water scarcity in India and its neighbourhood. "If measures are not taken, the industries, tourism, and commerce will continue to flourish in Ladakh and will eventually finish it. Recent studies from Kashmir University and other research organizations have concluded that glaciers in Leh-Ladakh will finish nearly to its 2/3rd if they are not properly taken care of. A study by Kashmir Univesity has found that the glaciers surrounded by highways and human activities are melting at a comparatively faster rate," Wangchuk said. In a 13-minute long video shared by Wangchuk on his YouTube channel, he 'urgently' appealed to the people of the country and the world to help protect the "environmentally sensitive" region of Ladakh. He has also highlighted to PM Modi to intervene and safeguard the ecosystem under the sixth schedule of the Indian constitution. Born in 1966, Wangchuk, a mechanical engineer and Director of the Himalayan Institute of Alternatives, Ladakh (HIAL), was a recipient of the Magsaysay Award in the year 2018. Wangchuk's personality inspired the fictional character of Phunsukh Wangdu essayed by Aamir Khan in the 2009 film, 3 Ediots. The Ladakh-based engineer is known for setting up his innovative school, the Students' Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL), whose campus runs on solar energy and uses no fossil fuels for cooking, lighting, or heating. He set up the SECMOL in 1988 with the aim of supporting Ladakhi children and youth and training the students whom the system termed as failures. In 1994, Wangchuk launched Operation New Hope to bring reforms to the government school system. (ANI)
Security forces on Sunday morning recovered a large quantity of explosives in Arunachal Pradesh's Namsai district along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border. Officials said that police received a tip-off about the presence of anti-social elements in Krishnapur area and raided the area at around 7 am on Sunday. The raid was conducted by CRPF alongwith Mahadevpur Police who were on morning patrolling in the area. "CRPF sniffer dog with dog master was leading the patrolling team. On the way at a distance of around 800 meters from NH 52 Mpr towards Krishnapur village, 3 persons were sitting on a culvert. Seeing the sniffer dog they fled from the spot in a Scooty and Motor cycle leaving behind one black polythene packet containing suspected substance," a senior official said. "Accordingly, CRPF personnel and police checked and opened the polythene and found two bundles of gelatine sticks of 5 sticks each fitted with small flexible wire. Matter was intimated to higher authorities and army authorities of Assam." he said. He said that request has been made to the 19 Grenadiers battalion of the Indian Army located at Rupai, Assam to visit the spot with the bomb disposal team. Also BDDS of CRPF based in Dibrugarh has also been intimated and they are on the way," he added. He further said that the miscreants might have fled to Assam via Podumoni and Ekorani village. "Search operation is being conducted by CRPF and police. Also, a regular case under explosives Act is being registered in Mahdevpur police station. Matter has been shared with SP, Tinsukia too," said a high ranking official of Arunachal Pradesh Police. (ANI)
Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) of the Customs Department seized 795.71 grams of gold from the passenger identified as Muhammad, a native of Mallapuram, coming from Muscat.

"During the examination of the said passenger, 3 capsules of gold in compound form totally weighing 795.71 grams concealed inside his body were recovered and seized. The accused has been identified as Muhammad, a Malappuram native," the statement read.

Furher probe on, it said.

More details into the matter are awaited.

On Wednesday, the Customs department seized 1,062 grams of gold worth Rs 48.5 lakhs from a Dubai passenger who was going to Kochi. (ANI)
Das was later admitted to the Jharsuguda District Headquarters hospital.

An eyewitness, advocate Ram Mohan Rao said that the policeman fired at the Odisha minister from point-blank range.

"This incident occurred at about 12.30 afternoon at Gandhi chowk when Das was on his way to attend a programme. He sustained bullet injuries to his left chest, leaving him seriously injured," Rao said.

"At a public grievance office opening, Naba Das was the chief guest. When he arrived, crowd gathered to welcome him. Suddenly, a gunshot was heard. We saw a police personnel running away after shooting from close range. Minister to be air lifted to Bhubaneswar," he added.

The exact reason behind the firing is still unclear. (ANI)
An ambulance carrying State Health Minister Naba Das left for a private hospital from Bhubaneswar airport.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik visited Apollo hospital and held a discussion with Health Secretary and other officials.

Earlier, an eyewitness, advocate Ram Mohan Rao said that the policeman fired at the Odisha minister from point-blank range.

"This incident occurred at about 12.30 afternoon at Gandhi chowk when Das was on his way to attend a programme. He sustained bullet injuries to his left chest, leaving him seriously injured," Rao said.

"At a public grievance office opening, Naba Das was the chief guest. When he arrived, crowd gathered to welcome him. Suddenly, a gunshot was heard. We saw a police personnel running away after shooting from close range. Minister to be air lifted to Bhubaneswar," he added.

The exact reason behind the firing is still unclear. (ANI)
"This is an attempt demonise the Prime Minister. For the past 20 years, such attempts have been made against the PM. Every time such incidents happen, the Prime Minister's followers increase," Tejashwi Surya.

UK's British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) aired a two-part series attacking PM Modi's tenure as Gujarat Chief Minister during the Gujarat riots of 2002. The documentary sparked outrage and was removed from select platforms.

In a strong rebuttal to the BBC documentary on Modi, more than 300 eminent Indians, including retired judges, bureaucrats, and armed forces veterans signed a statement slamming the British national broadcaster for showing "unrelenting prejudice" towards India and its leader.

UK's National broadcaster British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) aired a two-part series attacking PM Modi's tenure as Gujarat Chief Minister during the Gujarat riots of 2002. The documentary sparked outrage and was removed from select platforms.

India denounced the controversial BBC documentary series on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and described it as a "propaganda piece" that is designed to push a discredited narrative.

However, Surya further hit out at the Congress party over its statement that there is no BJP leader in the state saying that there are "enough" party leaders to win the election.

"There are enough BJP leaders in every BJP booth, BJP wins on the strength of BJP karyakartha, this is BJP's secret," Surya said. (ANI)
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday assured the State people that the upcoming state budget will be according to the aspirations of 25 crore people and that the resolutions of Lokalyan Sankalp Patra will be fulfilled. "Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, along with MPs and MLAs, after a thorough review of the development projects being implemented in all the 18 divisions of the state, held meetings with Ministers and Additional Chief Secretary/Principal Secretary/Secretary level officers, said a press note issued by UP government. In the special meeting, the Chief Minister reviewed the department-wise utilization of the funds provided in the current financial budget and gave necessary guidelines to speed up the development works as per public expectations. After the programs of the Global Investors Summit and G-20 next month, the budget estimate for the next financial year is to be presented. Addressing the meeting, Yogi Adityanath said, "all the departments should prepare and send their proposals for the budget according to their future plans. The upcoming budget will be in line with the aspirations of 25 crore people. Include the points of the public welfare resolution letter in the budget proposal. Make sure your offer is realistic. Demand as much as you need." Now only two months are left for the end of the financial year 2022-23. Before the end of the current financial budget, it should be ensured that the funds provided in the current budget are properly spent by all the departments," Yogi added. During the meeting, it was also discussed to review the expenditure at the department level. The concerned ministers were directed to review their departmental status. "We are getting all possible help from the central government for the overall development of the state under the guidance of PM Modi. Get the balance amount by coordinating with the Centre. The departmental ministers themselves should communicate with the ministers of the Government of India. Don't keep the project interrupted due to a lack of a focal point. Work should be continued by releasing state shares as per the rules. All the departments should ensure to send a 100 per cent utilization certificate," CM Yogi said. Several departments like Home Guard, Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Cooperative, Public Works Department, Disabled People Empowerment, MSME, Urban Development, Forest, Vocational Education were directed to intensify their efforts in spending according to the allocation. "Many important projects are being implemented in these departments, get them completed on priority," Yogi said. He also instructed that the meeting of Udyog Bandhu should be conducted regularly. "Every District Magistrate, Police Captain, Trade and Industry Department should compulsorily hold a meeting with business organizations once a month. Most of the problems can be solved locally. Those matters which cannot be resolved at the local level should be referred to the government. Efforts should be made in this direction with positive thinking," Yogi said further. (ANI)
The Chief Minister also spoke to the family members of the health minister.

This comes after Das who critically injured after being shot at by one police personnel near Brajarajnagar in Jharsuguda district.

Patnaik visited Apollo hospital and held a discussion with Health Secretary and other officials.

Earlier, an eyewitness, advocate Ram Mohan Rao said that the policeman fired at the Odisha minister from point-blank range.

"This incident occurred at about 12.30 afternoon at Gandhi chowk when Das was on his way to attend a programme. He sustained bullet injuries to his left chest, leaving him seriously injured," Rao said.

"At a public grievance office opening, Naba Das was the chief guest. When he arrived, the crowd gathered to welcome him. Suddenly, a gunshot was heard. We saw police personnel running away after the shooting from a close range. Minister to be airlifted to Bhubaneswar," he added.

The exact reason behind the firing is still unclear. (ANI)
Security forces recovered one Chinese-made 7.62 mm rifle, two AK magazines, 490 rounds of ammunition of AK-47 rifle, one pistol with magazine, two rounds of pistol ammunition, 10-12 meters' safety fuse, one radio set, two mobile phones, two batteries from the jungle area of Old Longchong in Rima Putak circle in Changlang district.

Mihin Gambo, Superintendent of Police of Changlang district told ANI that, based on intelligence input regarding the presence of NSCN-K (YA) militants in the general area of Khamkai and Namgoi in Nampong circle, 19th Assam Rifles and Arunachal Pradesh police launched a joint operation in the area on January 28 night.

"During the operation, security personnel apprehended two NSCN-K(YA) militants from the area and they were identified as Nayan Kumar Chakma and Gangwang Wanglee," Mihin Gambo said.

The officials further said that, based on the revelation of Nayan Kumar Chakma, security personnel recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition from the jungle area of Old Longchong in Rima Putak circle.

On the other hand, one NSCN-K(YA) militant identified as Kamtim Rekhung on January 26 had surrendered before Changlang district police, Assam Rifles and CRPF. (ANI)
Four Seasons Hotel Riyadh at Kingdom Centre has partnered with Misk Skills to welcome 20 interns and aspiring managers for practical training and skill development toward rewarding careers in hospitality.



The hotel is acting as a conduit for furthering the non-profit Misk Foundations mission of encouraging learning and cultivating leadership in Saudi Arabian youth to ensure a bright future for the Kingdom.



Misk Foundation has many offerings for young Saudis on their way up, including leadership development, career development, and entrepreneurship.



As a leader of luxury hospitality in Saudi Arabia, Four Seasons Hotel Riyadh offers a superb setting for interns and managers-in-training arriving through the Misk Skills Traineeships Program to embrace Four Seasons art of anticipatory service by catering to guests who have travelled the world and experienced diverse cultures along the way.



The hotel is offering recruits from Misk Skills entree into an array of specialties, with three- to six-month placements in supervisory roles or higher in IT, finance, purchasing, customer experience, restaurants & cafe, and hospitality.



Meanwhile, Misk Skills ensures that Four Seasons is working only with the cream of the Saudi Arabias intern, handling all pre-interviews based on criteria selected by the property, and leaving it up to Hotel management to make the final calls.



Those who make the cut will be part of a smooth-running and rewarding operation, as the Hotel has long offered a strong internship program through partnerships with local organizations and international hospitality schools. The Hotels department of People & Culture oversees all onsite training, under leadership of the Director of Learning and Development.



Teaming with Misk Skills to staff interns and managers-in-training is an important opportunity that we are glad to be part of, said Guenter Gebhard, Regional Vice President and General Manager of Four Seasons Hotel Riyadh, reflecting excitedly on the quality of the recruits provided by the organization and training the Hotel provides them.



Ask any of our department heads, and they will tell you how rewarding it is to pass along skills they have acquired as part of the Four Seasons family. Whether our new interns and managers-in-training end up on our team or taking the skills they learn here to build hotel careers elsewhere, it is very gratifying for us to be a part of the growth of tourism and luxury hospitality here in Riyadh and throughout Saudi Arabia.  TradeArabia News Service
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Rajya Sabha MP Jugal Thakor Lokhandwala on Sunday hit out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and alleged that the grand old party is trying to toe the line of the BJP by unfurling the Tricolor in Srinagar. Speaking to ANI Jugal Thakor Lokhandwala said, "It is appearing farce. Rahul Gandhi should be aware that their grandfathers were running the government in the country and then had to unfurl the Tricolor in Sringar but now he is doing what is the meaning he is conveying? Now, Congress is trying to toe the line of BJP by unfurling Tricolor in Srinagar." The BJP leader further said that Rahul Gandhi and his party are indulging in propaganda. "The way Rahul Gandhi and his party are doing propaganda and the Yatra, people should join the yatra by themselves. The way Prime Minister Narendra Modi comes out and does a road show of 52 kilometers, lakhs of people join him automatically, similarly, people should also join with Rahul Gandhi automatically but this is not happening so he is just pretending," BJP MP told ANI. Taking a dig at Congress MP's foreign visit, the BJP MP said India now wants to know from Rahul Gandhi that when you are going abroad. "This is not a 'Bharat Jodo Yatra', it is a 'Bharat Todo Yatra'. The way Prime Minister had grown his beard during covid-19, in the same way, Rahul Gandhi is also roaming around with a beard, but his pulse is not going to melt. India now wants to know from Rahul Gandhi when you are going abroad," he added while giving examples of Rahul Gandhi imitating the style of PM Modi. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accompanied by his sister and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi, on Sunday unfurled the national flag at the clock tower of Lal Chowk in Srinagar as the Bharat Jodo Yatra entered its final day before concluding on Monday. The yatra will proceed to Nehru Park in the Boulevard area of the city and will culminate on Monday. Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra resumed on Friday morning from the National Highway-44, Banihal Railway station, in the UT's Ramban district. Security was tightened in the area in the wake of the recent twin blasts on the outskirts of Jammu city on January 22 which rocked a busy locality in Narwal leaving at least nine people injured. Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that the permission to unfurl the Tricolor at Srinagar's Lal Chowk on Sunday was given by the state administration. Congress had earlier planned to hoist the national flag at the PCC Office on Monday to mark the end of the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra in Jammu and Kashmir. "Rahul Gandhi was supposed to unfurl the national flag on January 30 at the PCC office, since permission to do so elsewhere was not given. Last evening, state administration allowed him to do so in Lal Chowk, but under the condition that it should be done today on 29th at end of Bharat Jodo Yatra," he tweeted. The Bharat Jodo Yatra, which started in Kanyakumari on September 7, will conclude on January 30 in Srinagar after covering 3,970 km, 12 states, and two Union territories. (ANI)
Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government has launched a campaign titled Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan to make daughters of the underprivileged classes capable and self-reliant. The government is already running several programmes including Mission Shakti to empower the daughters of the state. The campaign, 'Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan' will work in association with an NGO, under the Aarohini Initiative Training Program for the safety and security of girls in all 746 Kasturba Gandhi Residential Girls Schools in the state. The Campaign will be implemented in three phases. "The campaign aims at enabling daughters of the underprivileged sections to raise their voice for their rights along with creating an understanding of the happenings in their lives among them," the government said in a statement. "To make girls capable, training will be provided to full-time teachers of Kasturba Gandhi Residential Girls Schools, who will educate girls and be helpful to them. The training of teachers will start in Lucknow from February 1," the statement further added. Director General of School Education, Vijay Kiran Anand said that the main objective of the Aarohini programme, which will be implemented in three phases, is gender sensitization. "Teachers will be trained in the first phase, which will start on February 1. Two teachers of every Kasturba Gandhi Residential Girls' School will receive the training, who will then educate the girl students of the school. The institution will also groom the girls through debates and other activities along with the teachers. In the third phase, the campaign will be run at the community level, making people aware of the issue of gender sensitization," Anand said. "Under the Basic Education Department, there are 746 Kasturba Gandhi Residential Girls Schools in the entire state, out of which 56 have been upgraded up to class 12th. Aarohini tackles the problems of these young girls. Warden will select teachers for training. Apart from this, the officer of the Basic Education Department will review this entire program from time to time," he added. According to the government statement, "During the training, teachers will be told how this programme will work and how they have to make the children aware. The whole programme is based on Critical Feminist Pedagogy. The teachers will make children understand their problems and enable them to solve them independently." "With the help of this, girls will be able to face challenges like child marriage, domestic violence, not being able to complete education or any kind of problem in a planned manner and raise their voices for their rights. Apart from this, the annual 'Daughters Campaign' will also be run in these schools where a specific issue is raised by involving children, the community and the teachers," the statement said. (ANI)
DMK MP and former union minister TR Baalu courted controversy by saying he on many occasions compromised religious beliefs to complete development projects. Speaking at a public meeting in support of the Sethusamudram project in Madurai, the DMK leader spoke about his efforts for the project. TR Baalu said, "In my constituency, Sarasawathi Temple, Lakshmi temple and Parvathi temple on Grand Southern Truck Road (GST) were demolished. I only demolished all these three temples. I know I will not get votes but I also know how to get votes. My supporters even warned me that if temples were demolished, I will not get votes. But I told them there is no other way." "I told the need a temple. I constructed better temples with better facilities. Like this, in many places, I have convinced religious beliefs and completed projects," added the DMK MP The DMK MP criticized the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at the Centre for halting the Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project project. He said the Centre's decision to stop the project is like abruptly halting a train midway. Baalu alleged that the central government is halting the project without applying scientific or rational thinking and instead following religious lines. He claimed the project would have now brought a profit of Rs 750 crore per annum. Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai shared the video of TR Baalu's speech. Taking to Twitter, Annamalai said, "DMK men take pride in demolishing 100-year-old Hindu temples. The very reason we want the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department (HR&CE) dissolved and want the temple freed from the clutches of government." Earlier this month, the Tamil Nadu assembly passed a resolution urging the Centre to implement the Sethusamudram Project without further delay. The resolution moved by Chief Minister MK Stalin, requested the Union Government not to delay the project as it is important for Tamil Nadu and the country's economic growth. A grand waterway project straddling India and Sri Lanka, the Sethusamudram project proposes to connect the Palk Strait with the Gulf of Mannar. The project is seen as key to bringing economic prosperity to the state and the country. Commissioned in 2005, the project came to halt in light of protests by rightwing groups claiming that the project may harm the 'Ram Setu' bridge, which is believed to have been built by Lord Ram to reach Sri Lanka. The Sethasasamudram project included a proposal to minimize a ship's travel by almost 650 km, by making a canal in the Palk Strait. Environmentalists and activists, too, protested against the project claiming it might pose a potential threat to the environment in Rameswaram, the southernmost tip of the country. (ANI)
Launching the campaign for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in Haryana's Sonipat, Union Home Minister Amit Shah appealed people of the state to vote for the BJP to make Narendra Modi the Prime Minister for the third term on the basis of the development done by the Modi government in the last eight years. Shah's public rally in Gohana city in the Sonipat district of Haryana has been cancelled due to bad weather conditions as his chopper did not get permission to take off and land due to bad weather conditions following which his programme was cancelled. He, however, briefly addressed the gathering over the phone, appealing the people of Haryana to vote for the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections to again make Narendra Modi the Prime Minster of the country. "All of us together will work to make Narender Modi ji as Prime Minister again. I am confident that the lotus of BJP will bloom at every Lok Sabha seat." Taking dig at the previous Congress government, Shah said that in last eight years so much development has taken place in Haryana which could not have happened in 70 years. "You have witnessed so much development in Haryana during the past eight years. The corruption has reduced in every sector, law and order has improved and castism has ended. In eight years so much development has taken place in Haryana which could not have happened in 70 years. Now education sarpanches are taking Haryana forward." Speaking to the people at the rally, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar announced that Shah could not come as his helicopter was not given permission to take-off due to bad weather.Khattar said that Shah wanted to come by road but since it would have taken two hours, he suggested to the Union minister to address the gathering over the phone. "I wanted to meet you all in this rally, but due to bad weather, permission for helicopter take-off was not given," said Shah. The Union Home said he could not come to Gohana today but in near future, he will come to meet the Haryana people. "I wanted to come via road in a car, but the weather over there is also inclement with the possibility of more rain. Manohar ji requested that I should speak to you all over the phone," he added. Shah also promised people that he will soon visit Gohana. (ANI)
Enforcement Directorate will now take action in several recruitment scams in Uttarakhand, Special Task Force said on Sunday. "The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is going to crack down on the accused of recruitment scams in Uttarakhand," STF's SSP Ayush Aggarwal. He further said that the ED is considering it as money laundering as a large amount of money was transacted. "The federal agency has taken copies of cases related to the recruitment scam from the police. So far, seven cases have been registered in Uttarakhand regarding various recruitment scams. Another case has been filed against the accused of a recruitment scam, the ED has taken information from the police," Aggarwal added. At present, STF is investigating the joint graduate level, secretariat guard, forest inspector, and VPDO recruitment scam. In most of these cases, charge sheets have been filed in court. Recently, following the UKPSC paper leak which result in the Patwari Lekhpal exam being cancelled for around 1.4 lakh candidates, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami the state government will soon introduce a new law for recruitment exams conducted in the state for government jobs. The law will be known as the 'Anti-copying law' which will punish the candidates getting involved in cheating during recruitment examinations and a 'ban of 10 years' will be imposed on them. Uttarakhand recently faced a major paper leak case in December. The case pertains to a written exam conducted by the UKSSSC in December 2021. It was one of the major examinations conducted by the commission for 854 posts across 13 departments. However, there were widespread allegations of irregularities in the conduct of the test. Following these allegations, Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami called for a probe and strict action against those guilty. Following this, the secretary of the commission was removed from the post. A Special Task Force (STF) was also constituted to investigate the alleged irregularities. After the Uttarakhand State Subordinate Service Selection Commission was caught up in a paper leak case, the government asked the Uttarakhand Public Service Commission to conduct recruitment exams. However, UKPSC officials were also arrested for their alleged involvement in the UKPSC Paper leak for the Patwari Lekhpal exam, which was conducted on January 8, 2023. As of now, a total of four people have been arrested in the case. (ANI)
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai claimed on Sunday that the one-day visit of Union Minister Amit Shah has acted as a catalyst for the BJP workers, boosting their morale ahead of the upcoming state assembly elections. The Chief Minister stated that the state is witnessing pro-BJP wave which has been bolstered by Shah's visit. CM Bommai, while interacting with the press here, said that BJP, which already had a strong hold in Kittur has strengthened after the Union Minister's one-day visit. "The excitement of the public and party workers was reflected in the rally. Shah's visit to Kittur district has instilled strength of the party in the region and increased enthusiasm among the party workers," he said. Slamming the Congress of its confidence of winning the upcoming elections, Bommai said, "The Congress leaders are posing as if they have already come to power. Let them say anything, but the truth is different. Not only the big turnout but the spirit and enthusiasm in the public clearly indicate saffron party coming back to power. There is a pro-BJP wave across the state." Speaking on Congress' verbal attacks on him, Bommai said that the party is using cheap language which shows that they are scared of defeat in the upcoming Karnataka assembly elections. "I have never made allegations against anybody in the last one and a half years and have not made any harsh statements on anyone. The political culture of Karnataka is not individual-based or vengeance-based but issue-based and development-oriented," he said. "We are showing the achievements of the state and the union government without criticizing any party or politician. The Congress' language shows their desperation of winning the upcoming elections," he added. He dismissed finalisation of candidate list for the upcoming assembly elections and said that survey work is going on. The CM said Shah did not give any specific instructions to the state leaders in Belagavi meeting but told them to make the preparation for the Assembly polls. Speaking on 'Go Back Ashok' posters after appointment of Revenue Minister R Ashok as the district in-charge minister of Mandya, Bommai said that it is an act of three or four people and the media need not sensationalise it. (ANI)
In this meeting, BJP's state president Mahendra Bhatt, state in-charge Dushyant Gautam and all the office bearers of the party remained present.

In this meeting, the agenda of the State Working Committee meeting was decided.

Preparations are underway for the two-day State Working Committee meeting of BJP starting from Sunday in Raiwala of Uttarakhand's Dehradun.

State President Mahendra Bhatt told ANI that the strategy for the Lok Sabha and local body elections to be held this year will be discussed in the working committee meeting.

"In this two-day meeting of the BJP working committee, discussions were held on the formation of Shashakta Mandal, active booth and Panna Committee. Whether it is a municipal corporation, municipality of Lok Sabha elections, it is important that the enthusiasm of the party workers is boosted," he added.

He said that BJP Uttarakhand state in-charge Dushyant Gautam and Co state in-charge Rekha Verma will also remain present.

All ministers would also remain present in the Two-day state working committee meeting to be held in Uttarakhand's Dehradun beginning on Sunday, informed BJP Uttarakhand State President Mahesh Bhatt while speaking to ANI.

In the adjoining state of Uttar Pradesh also, the state working committee meeting was held last week on 22nd January, Sunday. The Working committee meeting was chaired by state president Bhupendra Chaudhary.

The party mainly discussed the proposals passed in the National Working Committee, the guidelines received regarding the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the central schemes being publicized and disseminated across the state. (ANI)
As the preparation for the Global Investors Summit has been geared up, the Uttar Pradesh government has directed all the districts of the state to join the main event of GIS, an official said. "All the districts will be connected with this main function. Invite local entrepreneurs/investors to the programs of the districts. This will be the first time that investment will be made in all 75 districts of the state simultaneously in one day. The doors of immense possibilities will open for all the districts,' an official statement from the UP Chief Minister's office said. Uttar Pradesh Global Investors Summit will be organized on 10-12 February in Lucknow. In the cabinet meeting held on Saturday, CM Yogi Adityanath discussed other plans regarding the summit. In the meeting, several others things were also discussed i.e. law and order of the state. "After the formation of the government, a positive message was sent to the people through the circle tour done by the group of ministers with the spirit of 'Sarkar Aap Ke Dwaar'. Now in-charge ministers are being nominated for all the districts. The respective minister will be in charge of the concerned district for the next one year," the statement further said. It also stated that UP CM also directed the ministers in charge to be updated about the situation in their district and visit the district at regular intervals. "This district tour program must be of at least 24 hours duration. Involve public representatives in the meetings to be held during the district tour. Review law and order and government schemes," CM directed. CM also asked the ministers to pay surprise inspections on any one development block and tehsil. According to the statement, CM also directs them to review law and order, review women's safety, the status of prosecution in SC-ST cases, police patrolling, child sexual abuse, problems of businessmen, action on gangsters, traffic management, efforts for revenue collection etc. "If there is an aspirational development block in the districts of the charge, then keep reviewing the situation continuously. Interact with the youth working under the Chief Minister's Fellowship Scheme posted in these development blocks during the visit,' CM said in the cabinet meeting. Asserting that monitoring is essential for the success of the work, Yogi asked all ministers to make sure that all officers posted in the field like Divisional Commissioner, District Magistrate, Police Commissioner/Captain, Chief Development Officer etc. review the development projects with the local public representatives at regular intervals. "Today, the whole country is celebrating Millet Year under the guidance of the Prime Minister. In this sequence, a dinner based on coarse grain dishes has been organized at the Chief Minister's residence today. Similarly, all ministers should organize such dinners for local public representatives and intellectuals in their respective areas. Make the general public aware of the importance of Millets," Yogi said in the cabinet meeting. (ANI)
Three persons died and seven others were injured after a family returning from a marriage ceremony met with an accident in the Gujarwas village of Haryana's Rewari on Saturday night. As per the information, injured persons including three children were taken to the Rewari Trauma Centre for treatment. "We received the information at around 1.30 am that an accident has taken place near the Gujarwas village between one Accent and Eco car. In the accident, the driver of both the cars and one of the passengers died on the spot while other injured persons have been admitted for treatment. We will soon send the bodies for the postmortem after recording the statement of the injured persons," Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Subhash Chand said addressing mediapersons. Meanwhile, one injured in the accident told ANI that they met with the head-on collision after the driver of their car tried evading any untoward incident as the other car was heading towards them speedily from the opposite direction. "After attending the programme, when we were returning form the function when an overspeeding Swift Dzire came from the opposite direction as it was moving towards us. When our driver tried changing the route to escape the accident, he too did the same and the accident took place," said injured Vikram. However, Dr Himanshu from Rewari Trauma Centre said three persons injured in the accident have turned LAMA (Leave Against Medical Advise) and four persons admitted with them are being treated and are currently stable. Further details on the matter are underway. (ANI)
Farmers staged a protest on the railway track at Batala railway station for three hours on Sunday against the "forcible acquisition of their land" and in support of their demand for an increase in the minimum support price of sugarcane. According to the farmers, train chakka jam was conducted in close to 12 districts in Punjab against the central and the state government. In a press note, the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) stated that the farmers are protesting against the construction of the Delhi-Katra expressway and the Batala highway. The farmers of Gurdaspur and Hoshiarpur are protesting for their sugarcane price and their land. A KMSC representative while speaking to ANI said, "We have a few demands with the central and the state government. One, the state government must pay us for our sugarcane. We have not been given anything till now and it has been more than 50 days." "The state government had announced fixed a rate of Rs 380 per quintal which has not been allocated to us till now," said the KMSC representative. The farmers in Batala railway station alleged that some of their lands are being forcefully acquired for the construction of a highway under the Bharatmala Yojana and they have not been compensated. Adding on to their demands, the farmers said, "We demand the cancellation of bail order by Supreme Court of the accused in Lakhimpur Kheri incident, Ashish Mishra Teni. We demand the arrest of Minister of State for Home Ajay Singh Teni who also represent the Kheri constituency" "The central government should do something about the Minimum Support Price (MSP). A law has not been made till now, but only a letter was given to us by the government," added the farmers. (ANI)
Hyatt, a global hospitality company, has announced further brand expansion across Western Europe, including the luxury brand debut of Destination by Hyatt in the U.K, with the opening of Schloss Roxburghe.



The company also recently announced the opening of FirstName Bordeaux in France, Hyatt Regency London Albert Embankment in the U.K capital, and the upcoming debut of Grand Hyatt La Manga Club and Resort, Spain, slated to open mid-2023.



Schloss Roxburghe, UK

Hyatt has announced the opening of Schloss Roxburghe, marking the debut of the Destination by Hyatt brand in the UK. The resort has recently gone through an extensive transformation including the addition of a state-of-the-art spa, and offers a total of 78 rooms and suites as well as 12 classically designed two-bedroom Scottish cottages, 20 guestrooms and suites within the historic manor house and 58 guestrooms within The Estate House.



Just a few miles from the scenic market town of Kelso, and an hour from Edinburgh and Newcastle, Schloss Roxburghe raises the bar on luxury for travelers seeking a tranquil, rural escape in Scotland. In keeping with the brands ambition to build a distinct portfolio of luxury properties that connect guests with people, cultures and places, the property capitalizes on the growing demand from travelers seeking to escape their daily routine in style.



Following the continued expansion of Hyatts luxury brands across Europe, the opening of Schloss Roxburghe represents a significant growth milestone for the Destination by Hyatt portfolio in Europe as it joins 7Pines Resort Ibiza and 7Pines Resort Sardinia.



FirstName Bordeaux, France

FirstName Bordeaux opened its doors this January, joining the JdV by Hyatt collection of independent hotels in France.



Located in the heart of the historic port city, the lifestyle hotel is a true reflection of its neighbourhood, encouraging guests to discover local delights at their own pace. Situated in an iconic building, the hotel is close to the Garonne River and moments away from cultural and notable landmarks such as the Quays of Bordeaux, the Water Mirror, La Cite du Vin, and the Darwin Ecosystem.



FirstName Bordeaux epitomizes the "joie de vivre" philosophy of the JdV by Hyatt brand and invites guests and locals alike to connect and live in the moment and celebrate the joy of life, whilst unwinding in spaces designed with a distinctive personality. The hotel was designed by architect Nicolas Adnet from Studio MHNA, whose creative and personalized approach has inspired a unique interpretation of French elegance and local sophistication.



FirstName Bordeaux offers 147 guestrooms and suites, divided into seven distinct categories for guests to choose from: Cocoon, Canopee, Carat, Collector Suites, and FirstRoom. Designed to be both functional and comfortable, each guestroom is beautifully decorated with graphic frescoes by a local artist and equipped with easy-to-use technology and intuitive finishes.



The hotels restaurant and bar, Le Bada, highlights Bordeaux's reputation as a world-renowned wine region and its revered provincial gastronomy. A supporter of locavore cuisine, consultant Chef Cedric Bechade has created a menu that is a passionate celebration of regional produce and advocates freshness and zero waste. Delicious plates are paired with a wine list that showcases the best vintages as well as a selection of up-and-coming wineries from Bordeaux, providing a sophisticated ambiance for guests to meet and connect.



Hyatt Regency London Albert Embankment, UK

Hyatt Regency London Albert Embankment also made its debut this January, representing the eighth Hyatt-branded property in the UK capital. The 142-room hotel occupies a prime riverside location and is in close proximity to the citys most notable attractions. Hyatt Regency London Albert Embankment caters to the many guests and World of Hyatt members looking for seamless stays in central London. The hotel is conveniently located a five-minute walk to the capitals political epicenter, Westminster, home to landmarks including the Houses of Parliament, Trafalgar Square and Big Ben.



The property boasts a selection of eclectic dining concepts, including the POTUS bar and restaurant which delivers a diverse and distinctive menu of North American classics alongside traditional British favourites. Meanwhile, the rooftop restaurant, cocktail bar, and shisha terrace Mezemiso serving authentic Lebanese and Japanese cuisine create an incomparable dining experience overlooking the memorable sky-high views of the city.



Hyatt Regency London Albert Embankment will be the thirteenth Hyatt-affiliated hotel in the U.K.



Grand Hyatt La Manga Club and Resort, Spain

Following significant renovation work, the iconic 192-room resort property is set to debut the Grand Hyatt brand in Spain in mid-2023. Situated in a secluded spot on the Mediterranean coast, Grand Hyatt La Manga Club and Resort sits at the heart of the renowned enclave of La Manga Club in Murcia, Spain, widely recognized as one of the most in-demand sports and leisure destinations in Southern Europe. As part of an extensive renovation, set to be completed in spring 2023, the hotels 192 guestrooms, including a 1,679 square foot Royal Suite and six additional suites, will be redesigned to reflect the vibrant design and bold architecture that the Grand Hyatt brand is known for. An array of renewed culinary offerings will also be added, such as a new sushi bar and a high-end gastronomic restaurant, focused on highlighting local produce through international cuisines.  TradeArabia News Service
After a 75-year-old French actress alleged that she is being held "hostage" in a house at Calangute in North Goa since earlier this week, the Goa police said there is a property dispute over the house which is being heard by a court. In a video released to the media on Thursday, actress Marianne Borgo claimed she is in a "scary and dangerous situation" at her residence in Calangute, a beach town in North Goa District. North Goa Superintendent of Police Nidhin Valsan told ANI that the issue is regarding a property in Calangute village of North Goa. "There are two parties claiming to be the owner of the property. One is the French lady and the other a lady who is a resident of Nepal. Both claim to be owners of this property," said the North Goa SP. The police said that the French lady had given an application in the honorable high court. But her application was dismissed by the court and he was directed to approach a civil court by the High Court. "The matter is pending in the civil court and Monday (Jan 30) is the next date. It is a sub judice matter," he added. Regarding the allegation of being kept as a hostage, the police said, "Our police inspector has visited the property. Our officers are in regular touch with the lady. It was found that both parties are claiming to be the owners of the disputed house. The French lady and her maid are staying inside a room in the house. The house is not locked from the outside. When the police officers knocked on the door, the French lady as well as her maid opened the door. And she has kept two private security persons." The SP said, "The other party which is from Nepal has also kept some security. But the people are moving without any restraint." The police dismissed allegations of anyone being held hostage. "Allegations of being kept captive or hostage cannot be substantiated," Nidhin Valsan, North Goa SP told ANI. The police said that some documents were found in which the French lady is claiming to have given money to a party for buying the disputed house, and the other party claims to be the wife of the original owner who has now expired. So the matter is pending in the court, which will decide, the police said. (ANI)
Odisha Health Minister Naba Das, who was shot at in Brajarajnagar in the Jharsuguda district, succumbed to his bullet injuries in Bhubaneswar hospital on Sunday, officials said. The Minister, who was said to be in a critical condition, was airlifted to the Apollo Hospital in Bhubaneswar where he breathed his last. Das was shot at by one police personnel near Brajarajnagar in Jharsuguda district earlier today, following which he was critically injured. A team of doctors led by Dr Debashish Nayak immediately attended to and operated on him. On operating was found that a single bullet had entered and exited the body, injuring the heart and left lung and causing massive internal bleeding and injury, the officials said. According to officials, the injuries were repaired, and steps were taken to improve the pumping of the heart. He was given urgent ICU care. But despite the best of efforts, he could not be revived and succumbed to his injuries. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik expressed deep shock and distress over the unfortunate death of Minister Naba Das. "He was an asset for both the Govt and the party. His death is a great loss to the State of Odisha," Odisha CMO said. Earlier, the Chief Minister reached the hospital and enquired about the health of the minister who was attended by the specialists. Patnaik condemned the attack on the minister. The Chief Minister also directed the Crime Branch to take up the investigation into the matter, following which a team of Odisha Crime Branch headed by a senior police official proceeded to Brajarajnagar where state Health Minister Naba Das was shot at. The team led by Additional Director General Arun Bothra left for the crime spot to inquire into the firing incident on Minister Naba Das. Earlier, an eyewitness, advocate Ram Mohan Rao said that the policeman fired at the Odisha minister from point-blank range. "This incident occurred at about 12.30 afternoon at Gandhi chowk when Das was on his way to attend a programme. He sustained bullet injuries to his left chest, leaving him seriously injured," Rao said. "At a public grievance office opening, Naba Das was the chief guest. When he arrived, the crowd gathered to welcome him. Suddenly, a gunshot was heard. We saw police personnel running away after shooting from close range. Minister to be airlifted to Bhubaneswar," he added. The exact reason behind the firing is still unclear. (ANI)
Expressing shock and distress over the demise of State Health Minister Naba Das when he succumbed to bullet injuries in Bhubaneswar hospital, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday said that Naba Das was an asset to both the Government and the party and his death is a great loss to Odisha. Das was shot at by one police personnel near Brajarajnagar in Jharsuguda district earlier today. Das, who was shot at in Brajarajnagar in the Jharsuguda district, succumbed to his injuries in Apollo Hospital in Bhubaneswar today. In a statement, the Chief Minister said, "I am shocked and distressed over the very unfortunate demise of Minister Sri Naba Das. The doctors made every possible effort to save his life. But unfortunately, he could not recover," the Chief Minister said. Describing the late minister an asset for the government and the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Patnaik said that Das carried out several initiatives to benefit the people. "As a leader, he was instrumental in strengthening Biju Janata Dal. He was a grass root person and was loved and respected by all, cutting across parties and sections of people," he said. "His death is a great loss to the State of Odisha," the Chief Minister added. Patnaik also prayed for peace and tranquility of the departed soul and expressed deep sympathy for the bereaved family members. The Health Minister, who was said to be in a critical condition, was airlifted to the Apollo Hospital in Bhubaneswar where he breathed his last. Das was shot at by one police personnel near Brajarajnagar in Jharsuguda district earlier today, following which he was critically injured. A team of doctors led by Dr Debashish Nayak immediately attended to and operated on him. On operating was found that a single bullet had entered and exited the body, injuring the heart and left lung and causing massive internal bleeding and injury, the officials said. According to officials, the injuries were repaired, and steps were taken to improve the pumping of the heart. He was given urgent ICU care. But despite best of efforts, he could not be revived and succumbed to his injuries. Following the shooting incident, the Chief Minister directed the Crime Branch to take up the investigation into the matter, following which a team of Odisha Crime Branch headed by a senior police official proceeded to Brajarajnagar where state Health Minister Naba Das was shot at. The team led by Additional Director General Arun Bothra left for the crime spot to inquire into the firing incident on Minister Naba Das. Earlier, an eyewitness, advocate Ram Mohan Rao said that the policeman fired at the Odisha minister from point-blank range. "This incident occurred at about 12.30 afternoon at Gandhi chowk when Das was on his way to attend a programme. He sustained bullet injuries to his left chest, leaving him seriously injured," Rao said. "At a public grievance office opening, Naba Das was the chief guest. When he arrived, the crowd gathered to welcome him. Suddenly, a gunshot was heard. We saw police personnel running away after shooting from close range. Minister to be airlifted to Bhubaneswar," he added. The exact reason behind the firing is still unclear. (ANI)
The Meghalaya Trinamool Congress Students' Union President Bansharailang Pyngrope on Sunday accused the National People's Party (NPP) and Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) of running a smear campaign against TMC's 10 pledges for the state and called on the parties to focus on their own manifestos. Pyngrope said that the 10 pledges by TMC are not just promises but reflect the objectives and goals for the next five years. "In the past few days, we have seen many political parties attacking TMC saying we are making 'empty promises'. But these are not just promises for us. The 10 pledges reflect our objectives and goals for the next five years," Pyngrope said on Sunday, as per a press note released by TMC. "If with the love and support of our people, we form the government, these are the things that we will work on," he added. The All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) launched its election manifesto on January 24 for the upcoming Meghalaya Assembly elections and has come up with a list of 10 new pledges for the state and its people. AITC National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee said the pledges will be implemented within 100 days of forming the government. "It is not an easy task to fulfil but we are here to work tirelessly because Meghalaya TMC is the only party that has formulated the schemes based on the needs of every citizen and every household. That is why the people of our beautiful state are putting faith in our party," the Students' Union leader said. He further added, "There are over 3.5 lakh registrations for the WE Card Scheme and 2.5 lakh enrolments for the MYE Card Scheme which shows that the people of Meghalaya are getting united and will place their faith in Meghalaya TMC," he said. He came down heavily on the pledges of Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) prior to 2018 elections and said that despite their promise of prioritising the education system, the rankings of the state has deteriorated. "It is disheartening to see that unemployment is at its highest and infrastructure is pathetic. This clearly shows that this current dispensation has fooled the people. But Meghalaya TMC is not like that and this is why I request my friends and fellow citizens to place their trust in TMC." The Assembly elections in Meghalaya are slated for February 27. The Trinamool, which is attempting to expand its political footprint beyond West Bengal, may be in a dilemma regarding the Tripura election but the party claims it is optimistic about a better performance in Meghalaya, as Mamata Banerjee has visited Meghalaya twice and Abhishek Banerjee is the party in-charge of Meghalaya. The National People's Party (NPP), the only political party from the northeast that is recognised as a national party, runs the government in Meghalaya. (ANI)
The vehicle loaded with consignment was intercepted by the troops of BSF in the village area of Pyrdiwah village located in the Pynursla subdivision of East Khasi Hills district in Meghalaya.

The BSF had signalled the vehicle to stop. As soon as the driver noticed that he was being asked to stop by the BSF, the driver fled towards the forest area leaving the vehicle in the middle of the road.

Upon checking, the BSF found sarees worth Rs. 22 Lakhs which were meant for smuggling to Bangladesh.

For further action, the BSF handed over seized items and vehicle to the Customs Department in Pynursla village of East Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya.

Earlier this month on January 8, officials of the Border Security Force (BSF) and Meghalaya police in a joint operation foiled a trans-border smuggling bid and seized over 11,000 kg of dry betel nuts and three heavy-duty trucks in Meghalaya's South Garo Hills, worth Rs. 24 lakhs.

By the end of 2022, the troops of the Border Security Force (BSF) rescued buffaloes brutally crammed in trucks at the International Border of Meghalaya's East Khasi Hills on December 31.

In 2022, BSF Meghalaya seized clothing items worth more than Rs 1.2 crores along the International border. (ANI)
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said that the BBC documentary which has been prepared by distorting the truth must be opposed by former CM Siddaramaiah also. Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said that whatever might be the difference of opinion internally, but they must unite when it comes to the honour of the nation. Asked about Leader of the Opposition in the State Legislative Assembly Siddaramaiah's tweet on the restriction imposed on the BBC documentary, he told reporters here on Sunday that this is the question of the nation's honour. Former CM Siddaramaiah made a series of tweets on Friday against the ban imposed on the BBC documentary on PM Modi. "Due to the BBC documentary, India's honour at the international level has been threatened, BJP Leaders are saying. Won't the honour of India be threatened when these same BJP leaders drag the opposition leaders across the country like this?" he tweeted. He further tweeted," Prime Minister and the central government has imposed a ban on the media from broadcasting a documentary produced by the BBC on him. Similarly, shouldn't the media be banned from defaming the opposition leaders?" "For the past eight years BJP Leaders have spread false allegations against me, spread false news on BJP's official social media, twisted my name and made fun of me. Isn't this an insult to Karnataka and Kannadigas," he tweeted further. "Someone anonymous writes a book of false accusations against me, organizes a ceremony to release the book presided over by a minister. What morals do those who support such shenanigans have in opposing the BBC, a media organization with a credible background," he said in a consecutive fourth tweet. Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai said that history has been distorted purposefully to instigate people in a certain matter. The documentary had been prepared by distorting the truths. "Siddaramaiah must oppose this documentary. Whatever may the political differences but they must unite in the interest of the nation," he added. UK's British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) aired a two-part series said to be based PM Modi's tenure as Gujarat Chief Minister during the Gujarat riots of 2002. The documentary sparked outrage and was removed from select platforms. In a strong rebuttal to the BBC documentary on Modi, more than 300 eminent Indians, including retired judges, bureaucrats, and armed forces veterans signed a statement slamming the British national broadcaster for showing "unrelenting prejudice" towards India and its leader. UK's National Broadcaster British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) aired a two-part series attacking PM Modi's tenure as Gujarat Chief Minister during the Gujarat riots of 2002. The documentary sparked outrage and was removed from select platforms. India denounced the controversial BBC documentary series on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and described it as a "propaganda piece" that is designed to push a discredited narrative. (ANI)
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Sunday stated that the government plans to construct 50 thousand poly houses in Uttarakhand in the next two years. The Uttarakhand Chief Minister confirmed that the state government would construct these poly houses with the help of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). While expressing his confidence in the plan, the Chief Minister stated that the construction of poly houses will benefit the farmers of Uttarakhand on a large scale. Dhami was inspecting the vegetables grown in the poly house in his official residence on Sunday when he stated about the government's plan to build poly houses for farmers. He also informed that the vegetables in the poly house in his residence were grown in organic agriculture. "Its specialty is that no pesticides are used in growing these vegetables," added Dhami. Organic farming is a technique-based farming that avoids the use of any pesticides but only uses manure, compost manure and some tools to cultivate different types of crops. This type of farming often uses techniques like mixed cropping and crop rotation for better yield. Stressing thie importance of organic and natural farming, Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on December 6, 2022 stated that India has brought 4.78 lakh hectare land under natural farming last year. While addressing the National Conference on Soil Health Management for Sustainable Farming he said, "To promote natural farming, the central government has approved the National Mission on Natural Farming as a separate scheme with an expenditure of Rs 1,584 crore." Speaking at the Conference on the importance of organic farming, Tomar said that due to chemical farming, soil fertility is getting eroded and climate change in days to come is going to be a big concern for the country and the world across. The lack of organic carbon in the soil is a serious concern. (ANI)
A woman impersonating a lawyer was arrested, after being caught filming a court hearing in the Indore district court, on Saturday. Anil Naidu, the lawyer who caught the girl making the video told ANI on Saturday, "Today, the bail hearing of Bajrang Dal leader Tannu Sharma was going on, which was being filmed by the accused woman. On being asked, she said that she is a lawyer." The lawyer alleged that the accused was making a video on the instructions of a lawyer named Noorjahan, and was asked to send the video to the banned outfit Popular Front of India (PFI). "She has often been seen with lawyer Noorjahan and Delhi SC lawyer Hashmi, the latter of whom put objection against the bail to Bajrang Dal leader Tannu Sharma. No identity card or lawyer's certificate was found on her. The Bar Association has handed over the girl to MG Road Police," he said. Informing about the matter, Additional DCP Rajesh Raghuvanshi said on Sunday, "A young woman had reached the District Court dressed as a lawyer and was caught by the lawyers while making a video during the hearing on the bail application of Bajrang Dal workers who were arrested and sent to jail for raising objectionable slogans." He said that the police had registered a case against the girl after the lawyers handed over to her. "On the District Bar Association application, the police have registered a case under sections 419, 420, 120 (B) of IPC. Rs 1.5 lakh was also recovered from her possession," he said. The Additional DCP said that the girl has been identified as Sonu Mansuri, who is a resident of district Khargone and is studying law at a college in Dewas. "The police are verifying her details and investigating her connections with lawyer Noorjahan. We are also investigating to whom the video was being sent, from where she got the money and what she was going to do with it," he further said. Further investigation is underway in the case. (ANI)
The All India Trinamool Congress on Sunday released the Didir Suraksha Kawach (Mamata's shield for people's safety) music video celebrating Trinamool supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's dream for Bengal. The song celebrates the achievements of the West Bengal government along with praising the schemes and policies undertaken by the West Bengal Government led by Banerjee. According to the party, the song has been created as part of her party's campaign to generate awareness about the state government's social welfare projects. The TMC, in a tweet, has claimed that the party is certain that the song will become an anthem of the Bengal model in the near future. 'Didir Suraksha Kawach' is an initiative by the ruling Trinamool Congress in the state to reach out to people ahead of the Panchayat elections slated this year. As part of this campaign, the party's top brass has directed leaders to spend a day in local areas in order to hear about the grievances of the people and build up connections with the common people. It will also ensure that the common people get the benefits of the welfare schemes of the state government. The programme will continue for 60 days starting January 11 and the Trinamool workers will reach out to people, party leaders, said TMC during the launch of the programme earlier this month. According to the party, nearly 3.5 lakh Trinamool Congress workers are taking part in the campaign and the volunteers would visit the houses of common people in the villages and enquire about the benefits of the government schemes received by them. (ANI)
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Sunday launched a scathing attack on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, saying the Trinamool supremo is a "tout". Adhir Ranjan was in Srinagar to join Congres leader Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra. Notably, Congress invited leaders of 21 political parties to the closing ceremony of the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Srinagar on January 30. Asked about if Congress would reach out to Mamata Banerjee for opposition unity, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said, "Our party has invited everyone (at the end of Bharat Jodo Yatra). All those who want to fight against Modi ji should be mobilized. Ask Mamta ji why Mamta ji is not coming. They are doing Dalali. We do not know what is the nexus between Mamata Banerjee and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government. She has been working as a tout." Chowdhury's remarks came at a time when political parties, in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, are formulating strategies for the upcoming polls. The Opposition, which is looking to oust Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, seems to be running on diverging tracks with the Congress launching its own campaigns to reach out to the people and various other leaders speculated as the aspirants of prime ministerial contest holding their separate rallies. The latest in this episode was evident which suggests disunity in the Opposition was a mega rally by Telangana Chief Minister Chandrashekar Rao-led Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) which was attended by several political parties at Khammam earlier this month followed by Trinamool Congress state general secretary Kunal Ghosh's allegation on Congress. The prominent names who were missing from the stage of KCR's mega rally were Mamata Banerjee who is advocating for a united Opposition, and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who though has denied having any Prime Ministerial ambitions on several occasions, is also being seen as part of the aspiring flock. Ghosh alleged that TMC chief Mamata Banerjee batted for a coordination team between Opposition parties and a joint program in other states, however, Congress "did not respond to it" in its attempt to "move alone". "WB CM proposed that there should be a coordination team between Opposition parties and a joint program in other states, especially in BJP-ruled states, but Congress did not respond (to it). They're trying to move alone," he alleged while remarking on the party's follow-up campaign to Bharat Jodo Yatra, named as 'Haath se Haath jodo'. "Congress has failed in many state polls and in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls. So the scientific methodological Opposition mechanism should be made according to WB CM Mamata Banerjee's proposal. Hope Congress understands this," he added. (ANI)
Reacting sharply to Swami Prasad Maurya's remarks on 'Ramcharitmanas', Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Sunday alleged that the Samajwadi Party leader is speaking on behest of his party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Yadav who sent the Ram bhakts to jail. Notably, Maurya stirred controversy by demanding the deletion of "insulting comments and sarcasm" targeted at particular castes and sects in Ramcharitmanas, a poem based on the epic Ramayana. "I believe that this is not his language (Swami Prasad Maurya), Akhilesh Yadav who sent the Ram bhakts to jail is behind such language and rhetoric which is inappropriate. The country is moving ahead free from corruption, terrorism, casteism and is progressing. Akhilesh Yadav and Rahul Gandhi are compelled to visit temples," said Maurya. BJP leader Mohsin Raza said that Samajwadi Party is trying to spread instability and separatism in the country by including people like Swami Prasad Maurya, who made remarks against 'Ramcharitmanas', in the national executive council of the party. The BJP leader said that the inclusion of Maurya in the national executive council of the Samajwadi Party proves that the party prefers people with such an ideology. "Swami Prasad Maurya who made remarks against 'Ramcharitmanas' being included in the national executive council of the Samajwadi Party proves that the party prefers people with such an ideology. SP trying to spread instability and separatism in the country by appointing such people," said Raza. Uttar Pradesh Minister Danish Azad Ansari said that Samajwadi Party leaders have always tried to confuse and provoke society. "Politics should be to serve the society and should be to unite the country. The opposition is disturbed that the Yogi government is doing good work in this country. Every action of the opposition is just a political stunt. The opposition has nothing to do with public issues or society. Uniting and moving the society forward should be the target of the public and everyone," he added. UP Minister Dharam Pal Singh said commenting on Ramcharitmanas shows narrow-mindedness. Singh said that everyone knows the history of the Samajwadi Party, the children of mothers and sisters have never been safe under the government of the Samajwadi Party. "Public will also teach a lesson to Swami Prasad Maurya ji on time. People working in any field must get respect. The public's mind has become stable about Modi ji, now the government of PM Narendra Modi ji will only be formed in the country. PM Narendra Modi will again form the government of the country with the majority. Commenting on Ramcharitmanas shows a small-mindedness," he added. Earlier in the day Akhil Bharatiya OBC Mahasabha members burnt copies of Ramcharitmanas in Uttar Pradesh's Lucknow in support of the Samajwadi Party (SP) Swami Prasad Maurya. The protesting OBC Mahasabha member alleged, "In the Ramcharitmanas there are several offensive verses and that we want to be deleted. We are against these verses. This contains several verses against women and the lower castes (Shudras). We are burning those verses and we demand the deletion of those verses. This is a protest by burning it. Right now we are just burning the pages and if these verses are not deleted then this fire will spread across the country." Another OBC Mahasabha member said that Ramcharitmanas, which is considered the biggest religious book of Sanatan Dharma, has humiliated and fooled the whole society and has also used abusive language for women. Earlier this month, the SP leader sparked a major controversy after he demanded the deletion of "insulting comments and sarcasm" targeted at particular castes and sects in Ramcharitmanas, a poem based on the epic Ramayana. Speaking to ANI, the former BJP leader had said, "I don't have any issue with Ramcharitmanas but parts of it have insulting comments and sarcasm directed at particular castes and sects. Those should be removed." Maurya further claimed that in the Ramcharitmanas, which was composed by Tulsidas, there are words hurting the sentiments of the Dalit community. "The government should take effective action and show sensitivity. It should see that the sentiments of any community are not hurt," he added. While Maurya's remarks gave fresh ammunition to the BJP, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav distanced himself from the remark. An FIR was filed against the former Cabinet minister over his remark. The case against Maurya was filed at the Hazratganj police station for allegedly outraging religious feelings with his remark. Maurya on January 27 triggered a fresh row, calling Hindu seers 'terrorists' and 'devils'. Speaking to ANI on Friday, Maurya said, "Those who threatened to slit my neck and tongue were seers or were from a particular caste. Had the same threat been made by a person belonging to some other religion, he would have been called a terrorist. Are the seers threatening to slit my tongue and neck not terrorists, devils, and executioners? If they had, indeed, believed in the religion that they claim to espouse, they couldn't have said such things." (ANI)
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government has created such a situation in Kashmir that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi could unfurl the Tricolour at Lal Chowk in Srinagar. Speaking to ANI, BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad said Rahul Gandhi could unfurl the Tricolour because PM Modi abrogated Art 370 in Jammu and Kashmir adding that during the Congress government, terrorism and fear prevailed in Kashmir. "How did Rahul Gandhi peacefully unfurl the Tricolour at Srinagar's Lal Chowk today? It happened because PM Modi abrogated Art 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir received a high number of tourists. During the Congress government, there was terrorism and fear in Kashmir," said Prasad. BJP MP Rajyavardhan Rathore said that today the Modi government has created such a situation in Kashmir that now any Indian citizen can hoist the Tricolour at Lal Chowk in Kashmir "Rahul Gandhi proudly hoisted the Tricolour at Lal Chowk in Srinagar. Today the Modi government has created such a situation in Kashmir that now any Indian citizen can hoist the Tricolour at Lal Chowk in Kashmir," he said. Jammu and Kashmir BJP President Ravinder Raina said that PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah get the credit for the fact that Rahul Gandhi could hoist the national flag there amid peace and brotherhood. "After 70 years, a member of the Nehru-Gandhi family has remembered to hoist the Tricolour at Srinagar's Lal Chowk. PM Modi and HM Shah get the credit for the fact that Rahul Gandhi could hoist the national flag there amid peace and brotherhood," said Raina. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accompanied by his sister and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi, on Sunday unfurled the national flag at the clock tower of Lal Chowk in Srinagar as the Bharat Jodo Yatra entered its final day before concluding on Monday. The yatra will proceed to Nehru Park in the Boulevard area of the city and will culminate on Monday. Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra resumed on Friday morning from the National Highway-44, Banihal Railway station, in the UT's Ramban district. Security was tightened in the area in the wake of the recent twin blasts on the outskirts of Jammu city on January 22 which rocked a busy locality in Narwal leaving at least nine people injured. Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that the permission to unfurl the tricolour at Srinagar's Lal Chowk on Sunday was given by the state administration. Congress had earlier planned to hoist the national flag at the PCC Office on Monday to mark the end of the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra in Jammu and Kashmir. "Rahul Gandhi was supposed to unfurl the national flag on January 30 at the PCC office, since permission to do so elsewhere was not given. Last evening, state administration allowed him to do so in Lal Chowk, but under the condition that it should be done today on 29th at end of Bharat Jodo Yatra," he tweeted. The Bharat Jodo Yatra, which started in Kanyakumari on September 7, will conclude on January 30 in Srinagar after covering 3,970 km, 12 states, and two Union territories. (ANI)
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot expressed his despair over the paper leak scam in Gujarat after Panchayat Service Selection Board cancelled the Junior Clerk recruitment exam owing to paper leak. CM Gehlot claimed that this is the 17th paper leak case in the state over the past few years and said that the matter has become a serious problem across the country. Taking to Twitter, CM Gehlot said, "Today the Panchayat Service Selection Board in Gujarat has cancelled the recruitment exam of Junior Clerk due to paper leak. This shows that paper leak has become a critical problem across the country. This is the 17th paper leak in Gujarat in the last few years." Slamming the Gujarat government, Gehlot gave the example of Rajasthan where his government has taken strict action including arrests, sacking jobs, bulldozing illegal properties against the people involved in paper leak. He also highlighted the complaints of irregularities in various government exams in the state, terming it a serious problem. "There have been complaints of paper leaks and irregularities in Army Recruitment, High Court Recruitment, even DRDO Recruitment, which shows how serious this problem is. In Rajasthan, strict action has been taken regarding paper leak seriously. People involved in paper leak were sent to jail, sacked from their jobs and illegal properties of mafias were demolished," he tweeted. Earlier today, the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) arrested 15 accused from Vadodara with question papers after the Panchayat Junior Clerk recruitment exam which was scheduled for 11 am today was postponed due to a paper leak in Jamnagar. Students and their parents who had reached the Jamnagar centre for the exam expressed disappointment and anger while demanding strict action by the government against the culprits. Notably, a total of 26,882 students were registered for the exam in Jamnagar, while more than 7,00,000 people were expected to sit in the examination across the state. (ANI)
Throwing a challenge to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said that if the situation is so good in J&K, then he should walk to Srinagar's Lal Chowk from Jammu. Responding to questions on the BJP's claims that there is peace in J&K, he said: "There are targeted killings in the state, bomb blasts happening, what security personnel are talking indicates that the situation is not good... if the BJP thinks so, why doesn't Amit Shah walk to Lal Chowk from Jammu." Gandhi said people are in pain in the state and the Congress is of the view that restoration of statehood and democratic process is the first step. He said his ancestors moved from Kashmir to Allahabad and he was moving towards Kashmir with love and affection. Gandhi said that he looking forward with an open mind, and asserted that on Article 370, he stands by the Congress Working Committee resolution. The Congress leader, along with many fellow marchers started the Bharat Jodo Yatra from Tamil Nadu's Kanniyakumari on September 7 and hoisted the national flag at Srinagar's Lal Chowk on Sunday after completing a 3,970 km walk. --IANS miz/vd ( 213 Words) 2023-01-29-19:10:04 (IANS)
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said that despite some differences, the opposition camp is united against the "politics of hate of the RSS and the BJP". Addressing a press conference here, he said "the Opposition is not allowed to raise the issues in Parliament and the media is not giving space to those issues". Asked about his next step, the former Congress president said: "Bharat Jodo Yatra was from south to north but it had a national effect. The Yatra has got a tremendous response and it gave an alternative vision to the BJP-RSS narrative of hate and arrogance, and it will have an impact on Indian politics. "Bharat Jodo Yatra was the most beautiful experience of my life," he added. Responding to questions on the BJP's claims that there is peace in Jammu and Kashmir, he said: "There are targeted killings in the state, bomb blasts happening, what security personnel are talking indicates that the situation is not good... if the BJP thinks so, why doesn't Amit Shah walk to Lal Chowk from Jammu." Gandhi said people are in pain in the state and the Congress is of the view that restoration of statehood and a democratic process is the first step. The Congress leader along with many fellow marchers started the Bharat Jodo Yatra on September 7 last year and hoisted the National Flag on Sunday at Lal Chowk here after completing the 3,970-km walk. --IANS miz/pgh ( 253 Words) 2023-01-29-20:16:03 (IANS)
The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) will work together with other opposition parties to expose the "anti-people" policies of the BJP-led Union government and also raise the issue of "misuse" of the office of Governor during the ensuing Budget session of the Parliament. The decision was taken at the BRS Parliamentary Party meeting here on Sunday, which was presided over by party President and Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao. KCR, as the Chief Minister is popularly called, made it clear that the "undemocratic" politics of the Centre should be brought to light in all the possible parliamentary democratic ways. In this direction, he made it clear that the BRS should join other parties which come together and expose the Centre in both houses of Parliament. The BRS chief alleged that the BJPA governmentA at the Centre is undermining the federal spirit and causing trouble to the states in many ways. "This issue should also be raised in the parliament. The Centre should be forced to tell the nation what is the reason behind creating financial and other obstacles to Telangana which is running on the path of progress. The Central government is also misusing the Governors' system," he said. "It is undemocratic that the Centre is using the governors as their henchmen to weaken the states. The BRS MPs should strongly oppose in both Houses the evil policies of using the system of Governors, who are supposed to be negotiators between the Centre and States while performing their Constitutional duties, for their own political interests. The Governors are deliberately delaying the decisions taken by the state Cabinet, the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council as well. BRS MPs should expose the Centre's attitude and undemocratic policies of the Governors, who are trying to obstruct state governance and development, in the Parliament," he said. The party expressed serious concern that the situation in the country is deteriorating day by day due to the unfortunate policies adopted by the Modi government. KCR directed the party MPs to expose the Centre which is pursuing "anti-people" policies. He told the MPs that the mistakes committed by the Centre should be brought to the attention of the country by acting strategically and raising the voice on the issues relating to people of the state as well as the country during the Parliament session. The meeting, which lasted for more than four hours and discussed several issues, expressed concern that the negligent and perilous policies followed by the Centre are causing immense damage to the future of the country. "The policies pursued by the BJP led Union government have become obstacles to the development of the country's integrity. This is unfortunate. The Centre is giving arbitrarily the hard earned people's money to their corporate friends. The Central government is showing special affection towards its friendly corporate forces and waived off loans worth lakhs of crores of rupees. In public sector companies like LIC, shares are being transferred to big businessmen like Adani aimlessly," said KCR. "The country is watching the hollowness of the companies which are losing lakhs of crores of rupees on a daily basis as the value of their shares plunged suddenly. It is clear that their profits are not all wealth. The Centre is making irreparable loss by privatising all the country's assets to contribute to such financial irregularities. Both the houses of Parliament should raise their voices against the dangerous economic policies followed by the Central government which is helping the private sector to gain profits and people bear the brunt of losses. BRS MPs should strongly condemn the attitude of the BJP-led Central government which is harming the interests of the people of the country," he added. KCR told MPs that for the future of the country, BRS MPs should come together with MPs from every party to fight against the BJP government at the Centre in Parliament on public issues. "The prices of petrol, diesel, cooking gas and other essential goods are increasing abnormally.The Center is not serious on the common man's life which is burdened day by day by rising prices," he said, directing the MPs that the sufferings and hardships of the common people across the country should be brought to the attention of the people of the country through both houses of the Parliament. The BRS chief also asked the MPs to raise the issue of unemployment which is increasing by the day. He also alleged that the Central government is not serious on the promises made to Telangana under the AP Reorganisation Act and the MPs should raise their voice in this regard. Parliamentary party leaders K. Keshavrao (Rajya Sabha), Nama Nageshwar Rao (Lok Sabha), MPs Joginapalli Santosh Kumar, K.R.A Suresh Reddy, Badugula Lingaya Yadav, Vadiraju Ravichandra, Bandi Parthasarathy, Deevakonda Damodar Rao, Kotha Prabhakar Reddy, BB Patil, Manne Srinivas Reddy, Maloth Kavita Naik, Pasunuri Dayakar, Borlakunta Venkatesh and Potuganti Ramulu participated in the meeting. --IANS ms/vd ( 832 Words) 2023-01-29-20:22:02 (IANS)
According to Sahjanwa's station officer, the Prisons minister was travelling from Lucknow to Deoria when he met with the accident.

However, Rahi escaped unhurt in the accident, informed the officers further.

Further details are awaited. (ANI)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday in a statement extended condolences to the families of those killed in the Jerusalem synagogue attack that took place on Friday and claimed at least 8 lives. He said that Israel's response to the heinous attack will be will be strong, fast and accurate. In a tweet, Netanyahu wrote, "On behalf of all the citizens of Israel, I would like to send my heartfelt condolences to the families of those murdered in the heinous and terrible attack in our capital, Jerusalem. This is a criminal attack at the entrance of a synagogue on International Holocaust Day." He also thanked US President Joe Biden who expressed his shock and condolences at the horrifying act of terror that shook people in Israel. Netanyahu, regarding the brutal attack also said the country has already started carrying out extensive arrests of terrorists supporters and instigators of violence in order to ensure an additional price from those who supported terrorism. He said that the process already started on Friday and is in progress. "Our response will be strong, fast and accurate. Whoever tries to hurt us - we will hurt him, and anyone who helps him. We have already carried out extensive arrests of terrorist supporters, aides and instigators. We deploy forces, we increase forces and we do it in different arenas," Netanyahu tweeted. The Israeli PM also praised the police and the security forces for their quick action. Netanyahu stated that he will present to the cabinet the denial of rights in National Insurance to families who support terrorism, and that his administration will take a firm, decisive, and powerful stance against terrorism. We are not looking for an escalation, but we are prepared for any scenario, he tweeted further. In a statement, the police confirmed that the shooting suspect was killed after police personnel reached the site. According to the preliminary report issued by Jerusalem police, the incident is being treated as a suspected terror attack, CNN reported. Police has identified the shooter as a 21-year-old resident of East Jerusalem. "As a result of the shooting attack, the death of 7 civilians was determined and 3 others were injured with additional degrees of injury," CNN quoted police as saying. India has "strongly" condemned the terror attack that took place in Israel's Jerusalem on Friday night, Ministry of External Affairs official spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in a tweet. He also offered condolences to the families of the victims. Bagchi in the tweet stated, "We strongly condemn last night's terror attack in Jerusalem. We extend heartfelt condolences to the families of those who lost their lives and wish the injured a speedy recovery." The statement of Bagchi comes after Israeli police said at least seven people were killed and three were injured in a shooting near a synagogue in Jerusalem on Friday. Earlier, Israel's Ambassador to India Naor Gilon said they are humbled by India's "wide support" after the terrorist attack in Jerusalem. The attack took place around 8:15 pm (local time) near a synagogue on Neve Yaakov Street, CNN cited a police statement. The incident followed the deadly clashes in the refugee camp of Jenin on Thursday in which nine Palestinians, including an elderly woman, were killed by Israeli forces. The raid that took place in the West Bank city took the overall toll of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces to 29 this year, according to CNN. (ANI)
The Memphis Police Department announced on Saturday the deactivation of the 'Scorpion Unit' to which the police officers belonged who reportedly were involved in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old black man earlier this month, who later died due to injuries. In a release, the Memphis Police Department announced that it is in the best interest of people for the unit to be dissolved as it is important to restore peace in neighbourhoods, according to The Hill. "In the process of listening intently to the family of Tyre Nichols, community leaders, and the uninvolved officers who have done quality work in their assignments, it is in the best interest of all to permanently deactivate the SCORPION Unit," the department wrote in a release. It was stated that all officers currently assigned to the unit agreed with the decision. The announcement came at a time when the department released the body camera footage showing the traffic stop that led to Tyre Nichols' death in Memphis. Protesters marched and rallied across the United States on Saturday, showcasing rage one day after the video of Tyre Nichols' horrific police beating in Memphis was released. The city of Memphis on Friday (local time) released four videos that show police officers kicking and beating Nichols, a 29-year-old black man, The New York Times reported. Memphis civic leaders and the family of Nichols have asked people to protest peacefully, as per The New York Times report. US President Joe Biden joined their call in a statement on Thursday afternoon. The police department in New York City in a statement said that officials were preparing for the possibility of protests. Calling for "justice" for her son, RowVaughn Wells, Nichols's mother, said Friday that the five officers had "disgraced" their families, but that she would also pray for them, the New York Times reported. Nichols, who was pulled out of his car by officers, can be heard saying, "I'm just trying to go home," and at one point he repeatedly screams, "Mom, Mom, Mom." Nichols was hospitalized after the arrest on January 7 and died three days later due to injuries, according to police. Five officers have been charged with murder in the death of Tyre Nichols, according to The New York Times. (ANI)
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called China an 'unusual neighbour' as he discussed ways to tackle the country, which according to him if it becomes a superpower, may have its own challenges. Speaking at an event in Pune for the release of his English book "The India Way: Strategies for an Uncertain World," which has been translated into Marathi as 'Bharat Marg', he said, "China is an unusual neighbour. We have many neighbours but China may become global power or superpower. Living next to global power has own challenges." He said that there are political, economic and technological ways to manage China in the book. Further, as he talked about national security, Jaishankar underlined how India has suffered due to terrorism as compared to other countries. "At times there're challenges to national security requiring decisive steps. An obvious example of it is terrorism, we all know how much India has suffered due to terrorism as compared to other countries because other countries don't have a neighbour like the one we have," Jaishankar said during the event, as he took a sharp dig at Pakistan. Jaishankar lamented over the geographical limitations of India to choose its neighbours. "It is a reality to us....Pandavas could not choose relatives, we can't choose our neighbours. Naturally, we hope good sense prevails" said EAM Jaishankar when asked if "rogue nation (Pakistan), who happens to be nuclear power, the neighbour will be assets or a liability." Pakistan has received backlash from the global community for its inefficiency in combatting terrorism. It needs to mend its ways in order to have other countries aid it in times of distress. Pakistan now has very few allies, out of which Turkey is not in a position to help Pakistan, and China never gives grants but only loans. Speaking about rules-based order, he said, "Karan and Duryodhan are violating rules-based order." Karan and Duryodhan's friendship did not benefit either of them or their families. It didn't make any positive impact on society. Moreover, it devoured their lives and caused massive destruction, irreversible damage and abysmal suffering to their kith and kin. China's efforts to reclaim and militarize disputed outposts in the South China Sea, its willingness to use coercion and intimidation along with other provocative actions undertaken to enforce its expansive and unlawful South China Sea maritime claims, undermine the peace and security of the region. Beijing has offered no coherent legal basis for its expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea. A rules-based order may generally be understood as a shared commitment by States to conduct their activities in accordance with an existing set of rules. The rules-based order is underpinned by a system of global governance that has developed since the Second World War. Jaishankar also explained "tactical adjustment" by giving examples of Yudhisthira lying about Ashwathama's death. He also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for making him the External Affairs Minister. "Being the foreign secretary was the limit of my ambition, never even dreamt of becoming a minister" says EAM Jaishankar. Thanking PM Modi, points, "not sure any PM, other than Narendra Modi would have made me minister." (ANI)
European Parliament Addresses Christian Persecution

Dabrina Bet-Tamraz, an Assyrian from Iran. The persecution of Christians in Iran was the focus of the presentation of the 2023 World Watch List of the Protestant NGO Open Doors yesterday, Thursday 25 January, at the European Parliament (EP). According to their report, 360 million Christians around the world suffer high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith, 5621 Christians were murdered and 2110 church buildings were attacked last year.

The event was hosted by MEP Peter Van Dalen and MEP Miriam Lexmann (EPP group).

Peter Van Dalen commented on the damning Open Doors report as follows:

"It is highly concerning to see that persecution of Christians is still increasing in the world. It is therefore very important that in all its work on human rights, the European Parliament does not overlook the right to freedom or religion or belief! I am grateful for organisations like Open Doors who keep reminding us of the urgency and importance of these matters."

MEP Nicola Beer (Renew Europe Group), one of the EP Vice-presidents, had a special address focusing on the positive and constructive role of religious communities in democratic societies and consequently the necessity to defend freedom of religion or belief.

Ms Dabrina Bet-Tamraz, a Protestant from the Assyrian ethnic minority in Iran, who is now living in Switzerland, had been invited to testify about the persecution of Christians in Iran, through the example of her own family.

When I was a teenager we were constantly under surveillance; we were bugged and there were spies in the church. We didn't know who we could trust. We were ready for anyone in the family to be killed at any time as it had happened in many other Christian communities. At school, I was discriminated against by the teachers and the principal. I was stigmatized both as a Christian and as an Assyrian by the other students. After the Shahrara Assyrian Church of my father was closed in 2009, I was arrested many times to be interrogated about the activities of the members of our church. I was kept in custody with no legal permit, with no female officer present but just in male surroundings, which is stressing for a teenager. I was threatened of being raped. I now feel safe in Switzerland but when Iranian Ministry of Intelligence officers published an article on social media with my pictures and home address -- encouraging Iranian men living in Switzerland to 'pay me a visit' -- I had to move to another house. Even outside Iran, we remain under threat for our life if we reveal the human rights violations of the regime.

For many years, Dabrina's father, Pastor Victor Bet-Tamraz, and her mother, Shamiran Issavi Khabizeh were sharing their faith with Farsi-speaking Muslims, which is forbidden in Iran, and were training converts.

Pastor Victor Bet-Tamraz was officially recognised as a minister by the Iranian government and led the Shahrara Assyrian Pentecostal Church in Tehran for many years until the Interior Ministry closed it down in March 2009 for holding services in Farsi -- it was then the last church in Iran to hold services in the language of the Iranian Muslims. The church was later allowed to reopen under a new leadership, with services conducted in Assyrian only. Pastor Victor Bet-Tamraz and his wife then moved into house church ministry, hosting meetings in their home.

Dabrina's parents were arrested in 2014 but were released on bail. In 2016, they were sentenced to ten years in prison. Their appeal hearing was postponed several times until 2020. When it was obvious that the prison term would be maintained, they decided to leave Iran. They now live with their daughter who had fled to Switzerland in 2010.

In the meantime, she had studied Evangelical theology in the UK and she is now a pastor in a German-speaking church in Switzerland. Her campaign for religious freedom in Iran has taken her to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, to the second annual Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom in Washington DC and to a UN General Assembly, apart from many other events.

At the European Parliament in Brussels, she called on the Iranian authorities to "order the immediate and unconditional release of Christians detained on spurious charges related to the practice of their faith and religious activities; and uphold the right to freedom of religion or belief for every citizen, regardless of their ethnic or linguistic group, including converts from other religions."

She asked the international community, including the European Union, to hold Iran accountable for its mistreatment of religious minorities. She urged the Iranian authorities to uphold their obligation to ensure freedom of religion and belief for all their citizens in conformity with the international instruments they have signed and ratified.

MEP Miriam Lexmann, from Slovakia, a former Communist country, pointed at the anti-religious nature of the Marxist ideology imposed on her country for decades after WWII. She made a vibrant plea for freedom of conscience and belief, saying:

Freedom of religion or belief is the cornerstone of all human rights. When religious freedom is attacked, all human rights are under threat. Fighting for religious freedom is fighting for all human rights and for democracy. A number of countries such as China, another Communist country, have developed some very sophisticated methods to amputate parts of the religious freedom of their populations. I try to share my concerns with my colleagues of other political groups in the Parliament but for various reasons it is difficult to open their minds.

MEP Nicola Beer, from Germany, stressed that religious communities play a major role in our democratic countries, contribute to the stability of our societies and provide assistance to the most vulnerable persons through their caritative organizations:

Fighting for freedom of religion or belief contributes to the defence of all human rights but quite often my colleagues at the Parliament forget religious freedom when they prioritize the human rights that should be defended," she said. "The situation is getting worse and worse around the globe and it is important that people like Dabrina Bet-Tamraz testify about this deterioration. We have the privilege to freely decide and choose which religious or non-religious beliefs we want to adhere to. It is a privilege and a treasure that we should fully appreciate because in many countries thinking differently is perceived as a threat.

During the debate with the numerous audience, MEP Peter Van Dalen was challenged about the efficiency of sanctions taken by the European Union. His answer was very convincing:

Last year in April, the lawyer of a Christian couple in Pakistan called me for help because they had been on the death row for years on so-called blasphemy charges and they might be sentenced to death. It was decided to table an emergency resolution about their situation. The motion got a huge support and two weeks later, they were released, officially 'for lack of evidence'. It shows that resolutions of the European Parliament do not remain unnoticed and can be very effective. Those two Christians could leave Pakistan and now live in a Western democratic country. Based on this success, I have just taken the initiative to send a letter to the EEAS and to Josep Borrell signed by eight MEPs to question the legitimacy of the commercial advantages attached to the GSP+ status, too generously granted to Pakistan and maintained despite the recurrent violations of religious freedom and human rights in Pakistan. Indeed, on 17 January, the National Assembly of Pakistan increased the punishment of insulting pious personalities of Islam, specifically family members of the prophet Muhammad, from three to ten years imprisonment.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has slammed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan for leveling "baseless" allegations against former President Asif Ali Zardari. Sharif's reaction came after Khan claimed on Friday claimed that a new plan was hatched for his assassination, accusing Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman Zardari of being a key conspirator. "Imran Niazi's baseless & dangerous allegations against former President Asif Ali Zardari are not only irresponsible but also conform to a pattern of conspiracy theories meant to spread venom against his political opponents," Shehbaz Sharif said in a tweet. He further said that Imran Khan's "nonsensical rhetoric" is an attempt to remain politically relevant. In another tweet, Sharif stated, "Such nonsensical rhetoric is an attempt to remain politically relevant. The whole nation knows how he has used politics of hatred to divide the society for the sake of power." Imran Khan on Friday accused Asif Ali Zardari of being involved in a plan to assassinate him by giving a contract to a terrorist outfit, The Express Tribune newspaper reported. Speaking at a news conference, Imran Khan termed the alleged conspiracy 'Plan C' for which he accused Zardari of paying a terrorist outfit to carry out the assassination attempt. "Now they have made a Plan C, and Asif Zardari is behind this. He has loads of corruption money, which he loots from the Sindh government and spends on winning elections. He [Zardari] has given money to a terrorist outfit and people from powerful agencies are facilitating him," The Express Tribune quoted Imran Khan as saying. "This has been decided on three fronts and they will act soon," he added. According to The Express Tribune, former Pakistan PM Khan further said, "I am telling you this because if something happens to me the nation should know the people, who were behind this, so that the nation never forgives them." Khan, while referring to the gun attack on him in Wazirabad in November last year, said that there was a plot to kill him under 'Plan B' in the name of religious extremism. According to PTI Chairman, earlier there were four people, who conspired to kill him in a closed room. "When I came to know about the plot, I made a video and sent it abroad and announced in a public meeting that if anything happens, the video will be released," The Express Tribune quoted Khan as saying. "Now they are going to commit the next attack on me, which I am informing the nation today. Life and death are in the hands of Allah and I fear no one. I will go on the campaign trail anyway," Imran said, referring to the upcoming provincial assembly elections in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. (ANI)
Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Chairman and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto on Saturday said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan's allegations against former president Asif Ali Zardari have increased threats against his father (Zardari), his family and the party, Pakistan based The News International newspaper reported. Khan on Friday accused former Pakistan president and the PPP co-Chairman Zardari of hatching a conspiracy to assassinate him by giving a contract to a terrorist outfit. Bhutto said that after terrorist outfits called him and his party out by name in direct threats, the PTI chairman had now made false accusations against his father Asif Zardari. "We take them (threats) seriously given our history," Bilawal said in a tweet, adding that the PPP will explore legal options against Imran Khan. "We are exploring legal response to Imran latest defamatory and dangerous accusations. In the past, he threatened my father that he was 'in the crosshairs of his gun'. His [Imran's] and his associates' history as both sympathisers and facilitators of terrorists are well documented," Bhutto, as quoted by The News International newspaper, said. "We will not tolerate being victims of terrorists and put up with propaganda from their political frontmen," he further tweeted. According to Bhutto, when Imran was in power, he released terrorists and arrested democrats, handed over Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to terrorist organisations, and that his party funds terrorist groups to this day. "All of this will be taken into account if any attack takes place against me, my father or my party," he said. "His [Imran's] latest accusation that my family has any association with a terrorist organisation or that we would employ them to cause harm not only defies logic but exposes all of us to an increased threat," Bilawal Bhutto added, as quoted by The News International newspaper. Last Friday, Khan while holding a news conference from his Zaman Park residence in Lahore via a video link, termed the alleged conspiracy 'Plan-C' for which he accused Zardari of paying money to a terrorist outfit to carry out the assassination attempt, the Pakistan-based newspaper reported. "Now they have made a Plan C, and Asif Zardari is behind this. He has loads of corruption money, which he loots from the Sindh government and spends on winning elections. He [Zardari] has given money to a terrorist outfit and people from powerful agencies are facilitating him," Imran Khan said, according to The Express Tribune Newspaper. "This has been decided on three fronts and they will act soon," he added. "I am telling you this because if something happens to me the nation should know the people who were behind this so that the nation never forgives them," Khan said. Khan, while referring to the gun attack on him in Wazirabad in November last year, said that there was a plot to kill him under 'Plan-B' in the name of religious extremism. "They almost succeeded in their plan to kill me but now they are moving towards Plan-C," he alleged. (ANI)
Tibetans hesitate to settle in Nepal due to the discrimination they face from the state. Tibetan refugees in Nepal are caught between China and the Nepali state, both of which are determined to prevent them from crossing the border, EPardafas reported. It also has implications for refugees wanting to come to India. According to the EPardafas report, there has been a considerable drop in the arrival of Tibetans in Nepal. It used to average 2,000 annually till 2008. Since then, the figure has gone down to 200 a year. An estimated 4,000 to 9,000 Tibetan refugees in Nepal, up to 75 per cent of the population, today lack identification cards. Tibetans therefore cannot apply for professional jobs or travel freely due to the absence of proper documentation. This leaves the already vulnerable population even more susceptible to exploitation, EPardafas reported. Nepal's Tibetan refugees are essentially stateless people. It is as if they do not exist legally, precisely what China wants. China's top priority in its relationship with Nepal is the control and repression of the Tibetan refugee community as Nepal, after India, hosts the largest community of Tibetan refugees in the world, EPardafas reported. Amish Raj Mulmi's in her recently published book 'All Roads Lead North', said that, as early as 2002, Nepal had begun to face Chinese pressure regarding the Tibetans. For the first time, Nepal cancelled celebrations of the Dalai Lama's birthday. Mulmi also documents incidents from 2003, when Chinese military officials actually crossed into Nepali territory to shoot at American climbers, who they believed were Tibetans escaping Tibet, as well as in 2006, when Chinese guards shot and killed a 17-year-old Tibetan, who was part of a group of 76 attempting to cross across the border, according to the EPardafas report. The Epardafas report says that, over the years, China has penetrated Nepali society to such an extent that the Chinese know details about Tibetans' activities even before the Nepalese police do. China instructs Nepal's authorities on how to handle Tibetan events and gatherings, informing them of the number of officers to be deployed and the policing techniques to be employed. Under China's pressure, various Nepal governments have cracked down on the Tibetan refugee population in several ways. This includes suppressing peaceful demonstrations and restricting or banning celebrations of Tibetan culture and holidays. Police officers in Nepal are trained to prevent Tibetans from congregating. Recently, Tibet Press reported that the COVID-19 pandemic has made life tough for Tibetans. The Chinese government's Covid policy has led to harsh, unjustified measures which seriously endanger the lives of the Tibetan people. The Covid outbreak in Tibet started on August 7, 2022, and it was followed by sudden lockdowns. Chinese authorities in Tibet are clamping down on taking of photos or video recordings at local cemeteries in a bid to keep news of rising Covid deaths in the region from reaching the outside world, Radio Free Asia has learned, according to Tibet Press. Between 15 to 20 bodies are now transported daily to a cemetery in the Tibetan Autonomous Region's Drigung and to other cemeteries in the city of Lhasa, according to local sources. (ANI)
China's offer to Sri Lanka of a two-year moratorium on its debt is not adequate to clear the way for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to allow a funding program, Daily Mirror reported citing diplomatic sources. Citing sources, the news report said that the IMF needs more assurances from China to secure IMF board approval for the bailout package for Sri Lanka. Earlier, China's Foreign Ministry said that Export-import Bank of China (EXIM) has extended debt to Sri Lanka. EXIM has reportedly offered a two-year moratorium to Sri Lanka on its debt. EXIM said that it will help Sri Lanka in its efforts to secure a USD 2.9 billion loan from the IMF, as per the Daily Mirror report. However, the IMF is not satisfied with the offer, Daily Mirror cited a top diplomatic source. Meanwhile, the Paris Club is expected to make an announcement regarding Sri Lanka's debt, as per the Daily Mirror report. Last month, the Paris Club of creditor nations announced that it will recommend a 10-year moratorium for Sri Lanka, along with another 15 years of debt restructuring, in order to save the island nation from further economic and financial collapse. Meanwhile, India has extended the financing assurances to the International Monetary Fund to clear the way for Sri Lanka to move forward. Notably, India, Japan and China are among main creditor nations of Sri Lanka. During his visit to Sri Lanka, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar announced that India has given the IMF financing assurances to clear the path for the island nation, according to the statement released by the Ministry of External Affairs. "This year, in a developing situation that was beginning to cause concern, the same sentiment reasserted itself. We felt strongly that Sri Lanka's creditors must take proactive steps to facilitate its recovery," Jaishankar said in a press statement. "India decided not to wait on others but to do what we believe is right. We extended financing assurances to the IMF to clear the way for Sri Lanka to move forward. Our expectation is that this will not only strengthen Sri Lanka's position but ensure that all bilateral creditors are dealt with equally," he added. In a press statement, EAM S Jaishankar said that his visit to Colombo is to express India's solidarity with Sri Lanka during these difficult moments. He said that India extended about USD 4 billion in terms of credits and rollovers to help Sri Lanka amid its economic crisis. He stated that India will encourage greater investments in the Sri Lankan economy, especially in energy, tourism and infrastructure sectors. "My primary purpose of coming to Colombo at this time is to express India's solidarity with Sri Lanka during these difficult moments. As you all know, last year, India extended about USD 4 billion in terms of credits and rollovers to help Sri Lanka get through an economic crisis. For us, it was an issue of 'Neighbourhood First' and not leaving a partner to fend for themselves," Jaishankar said in a press statement. (ANI)
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is scrutinizing imports from China's Xinjiang region under a recent law that aims to block goods made with Uyghur forced labour. Shipments of solar panels and related components have been the most commonly flagged product to date, Fox Business reported. "Between June 2022 and January 2023, 2,692 shipments were identified as potentially violating the terms of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act," a spokesperson for CBP told FOX Business. "These shipments were valued at USD 817,466,574," the spokesperson added. The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), after passing by both chambers of Congress with bipartisan support, was signed into law by President Biden in December 2021. The Act took effect in June 2022. Under the UFLPA, there is a rebuttable presumption that any goods made in Xinjiang, including supply chain components sent elsewhere for further assembly, are the product of forced labour and subject to import restrictions, according to a Fox Business report. The Fox Business report says that nearly half of the shipments held for inspection by CBP since the UFLPA came into effect were solar panels or related components that are used by the solar energy industry. About one-sixth of the goods held for inspection were categorized as apparel products. Roughly one-third of shipments flagged for inspection were released after inspection. The US-based magazine Foreign Affairs recently reported that many of the Uyghur camps in China's Xinjiang have been converted into formal prisons and the detainees have been given lengthy prison sentences. According to Foreign Affairs, many detainees have been transferred from camps to factories in Xinjiang or elsewhere in the country. Some Uyghur families abroad report that their relatives are back home but under house arrest. Under the guise of a poverty alleviation campaign, Beijing has been forcing tens of thousands of rural Uyghurs out of their villages and into factories. The Communist Party of China (CCP) criticised and restricted the use of the Uyghur language, prohibited Islamic practices; razed mosques, shrines, and cemeteries; rewrote history to deny the longevity of Uyghur culture and its distinctiveness from Chinese culture; and excised Indigenous literature from textbooks. (ANI)
The World Health Organization has urged countries in the South East Asia region and globally to address gaps in leprosy services disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In a press release on Sunday, the WHO called on nations to accelerate efforts towards zero leprosy infection and disease, zero leprosy disability and zero leprosy stigma. "The World Health Organization today called on countries in the South-East Asia Region and globally to urgently address gaps in leprosy services disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic and to accelerate efforts towards zero leprosy infection and disease, zero leprosy disability, and zero leprosy stigma and discrimination -the vision of the WHO Global Leprosy Strategy 2021-2030," WHO said in a press release. Dr Poonam Kheterpal Singh, Regional Director, WHO South-East Asia, in the press release said that leprosy is 100 per cent curable if it is detected early. She stressed that countries must work to restore leprosy services, with a focus on enhancing single-dose rifampicin chemoprophylaxis, intensifying active case finding and ensuring prompt diagnosis and treatment. "Leprosy is 100 per cent curable when detected early, yet today in addition to COVID-19 related challenges, stigma and discrimination- both institutionalized and informal, continue to impede prompt diagnosis and treatment and facilitate onward spread. This has to change," said Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh said in the press release. She further added, "Countries must continue to urgently restore leprosy services, with a focus on expanding single dose rifampicin chemoprophylaxis, intensifying active case finding, and ensuring prompt diagnosis and treatment with multidrug therapy." In order to end suffering and achieve zero leprosy, Dr Poonam Kheterpal Singh called for focusing on vulnerable people, including women, children, the elderly and refugees and those living in areas which are geographically inaccessible. The regional director said that people affected by leprosy must be empowered and involved in decision-making, including in service design and delivery. She stated that "Act Now. End Leprosy" is this year's theme for World Leprosy Day. "Persons affected by leprosy must be engaged, empowered and involved in all aspects of decision-making, including in service design and delivery, and in social and economic activities," Dr Poonam Kheterpal Singh said. "For this, community-based organizations and networks should be supported, nurtured and included in decision-making processes while expanding services that strengthen livelihoods," she added. She stressed that WHO reiterates its "steadfast support" to leprosy-affected countries in the South-East Asia Region and around the world to drive rapid, equitable and sustained progress towards targets and achieving zero leprosy infection and disease, zero leprosy disability, zero leprosy stigma and discrimination by 2030. At least 115 discriminatory laws have been reported to be in place in seven nations, according to the press release. The WHO has urged all countries to immediately and unequivocally revoke discriminatory laws and implement United Nations principles and guidelines for the elimination of discrimination against people affected by leprosy and their families. According to the press release, 140,000 new leprosy cases have been reported in 2021, with 95 per cent of new cases reported in the 23 global priority countries. Of these, 6 per cent were diagnosed with visible deformities or grade-2 disabilities (G2D). More than 6 per cent of new cases were children under the age of 15. A 10 per cent rise in new cases was witnessed from 2020 to 2021. (ANI)
United Nations General Assembly President Csaba Korosi on Sunday arrived in India for a three-day visit. Ministry of External Affairs Official spokesperson Arindam Bagchi in a tweet on Sunday said that Korosi's visit is an opportunity to exchange views on global challenges that the United Nations is currently seized with. "A warm welcome to @UN_PGA Csaba Korosi to India. This is his first bilateral visit to any country. An opportunity to exchange views on global challenges that the United Nations is currently seized with," Bagchi tweeted on Sunday. Bagchi also shared an image of Korosi with India's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ruchira Kamboj and Joint Secretary (UNP), Ministry of External Affairs, Prakash Gupta. Korosi upon his arrival to India, tweeted: "Namaste, India. Glad to be in New Delhi, to commence my first bilateral visit as PGA. Heartened by the very warm welcome by PR @ruchirakamboj, UNRC @ShombiSharp, @MEAIndia Joint Secretary UNP @PrakashMEA." A press release issued by the Ministry of External Affairs on Saturday said that Korosi at the invitation of the External Affairs Minister, will visit India from January 29-31, 2023 and the visit will be Korosi's first bilateral visit to any country since he assumed UNGA Presidency in September 2022. The release said that the PGA during the visit, will hold talks with EAM on key multilateral and regional issues of mutual interest. PGA has outlined five priorities for his UNGA Presidency: i) Standing firm on basic principles of the United Nations Charter; ii) Making significant and measurable progress in sustainability transformation; iii) Aiming at integrated, systemic solutions; iv) Enhancing role of science in decision-making; and v) Increasing solidarity to better endure new chapters of crises facing the world. According to the ministry release, given PGA's strong interest in India's expertise in water management and experience in SDG's, he would also be interacting with senior officials of NITI Aayog and India's G20 Presidency team to explore the scaling up of India's best practices. On 30 January, PGA will deliver a public address at the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) on his Presidency theme of "Solutions through Solidarity, Sustainability and Science in the UN". Korosi will pay floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat on January 30, the occasion of Martyrs Day. He will travel to Bengaluru on January 31, where he will interact with scientists at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc). He will pay a field visit to an IISc-led water conservation project. PGA is expected to visit development projects in/around Bengaluru and interact with the UN- India country team. The Governor of Karnataka would be hosting a dinner in his honour. According to the ministry press release, PGA's visit to India would help reinforce India's abiding commitment to multilateralism, including through its ongoing G20 Presidency. (ANI)
The Indian diaspora on Saturday held a protest against the BBC documentary series "India: The Modi Question" at Fremont in the San Francisco Bay area of California. About 50 members, under the banner of "Indian Diaspora", chanted slogans and marched through the streets of Fremont in San Francisco area of United States stating that they "reject BBC's sinister and biased documentary." While marching in Fremont, people were shouting slogans like "Biased BBC" and "racist BBC." While protesting at Fremont, people carried banners which said, "BBC IS A BOGUS Broadcasting Corporation" and "Indian Diaspora rejects BBC's Sinister and Biased Documentary against Prime Minister Narendra Modi," "BBC Documentary spreading fake propaganda," "BBC is a fake news peddler." UK's national broadcaster BBC aired a two-part series attacking PM Narendra Modi's tenure as Gujarat Chief Minister during the Gujarat riots of 2002. Prominent Indian-origin UK citizens condemned the series. Prominent UK Citizen Lord Rami Ranger said the "BBC caused a great deal of hurt to over a billion Indians." On January 19, India denounced the controversial BBC documentary series on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and described it as a "propaganda piece" that is designed to push a discredited narrative. Addressing a weekly media briefing External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson, Arindam Bagchi said this documentary show, based on some internal UK report, shows the colonial mindset. The documentary sparked outrage and was removed from select platforms. "We think this is a propaganda piece designed to push a particular discredited narrative. The bias and the lack of objectivity and frankly continuing colonial mindset are blatantly visible," Bagchi said in response to the question on the PM documentary series. The MEA spokesperson said the documentary is a reflection of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and individuals that are peddling this narrative again. He even raised questions on "the purpose of the exercise and the agenda behind it." "The documentary is a reflection of the agency and individuals that are peddling this narrative again. It makes us wonder about the purpose of the exercise and the agenda behind it; frankly, we do wish to dignify these efforts," he added. (ANI)
China's state-owned tobacco company, China National Tobacco Corporation (CNTC), is spreading its tentacles across the globe via illicit activities, reported Geopolitica.info. CNTC, the world's largest producer of cigarettes and tobacco leaves, is working collectively with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to expand its global reach since the 1990s by establishing subsidiaries, tobacco farms, and retail markets worldwide. Initially, CNTC expansion took place through joint ventures with other transnational tobacco companies, advancing independent operations as a supply chain as part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). CNTC's recent expansionism strategy was flagged 'ethically dubious' by multiple independent think tanks and governments, which also accused the company's activities to be outright illegal, reported Geopolitica.info. CNTC is also accused of smuggling tobacco to avoid the international tax drain and has flooded international markets with illegal Chinese cigarette brands to increase its customer base. Ongoing research and investigation reports have outlined a map of CNTC's illegal activities since 2013. China tobacco has exported millions of illegal cigarette brands to Ukraine from its European factory, reported Geopolitica.info. The shipment contained 'Regina Blue', and 'Regina Red' brand cigarettes and had no tax stamps on them. These specific brands are manufactured by CNTC. A bust of smuggled tobacco products in Naples revealed a network of Italian and Moldovan smugglers, some linked to organised crime, who were exclusively working with CNTC. The cigarettes were ostensibly sold to an Iraqi firm called "Devmak Company", one of China Tobacco's top buyers, and the company was paid by smugglers, reported Geopolitica.info China Tobacco's European branch export records show CNTC was shipping large numbers of cigarettes to this company. China Tobacco International Europe Company (CTIEC) has been accused of smuggling cigarettes into conflict zones including Libya, Syria, and Iraq. The Chinese cigarettes have also ended up in a free trade zone at the mouth of the Panama Canal also popularly known as "The Disneyland of smuggling." After tracing the origins of these contrabands found in Colombia led to a trail of shell companies leading all the way back to CNTC, reported Geopolitica.info. CNTC's illegal smuggling of its cigarette brands by flooding the international markets in a bold attempt to have them legalised and tax the brand. In an infamous case in Colombia during the 1990s, when Marlboro cigarettes illegally flooded the markets, the government was somewhat forced to legalise its legitimacy since stopping the smuggling completely was not a comprehensive approach back then. Apart from bold attempts of smuggling tobacco, CNTC is shifting production overseas. Brazil has become a major supplier, with farmers trapped in debt working under difficult conditions to grow tobacco for Chinese cigarettes, reported Geopolitica.info Moving production abroad is just another stepping stone towards implementing its Belt and Road Initiative Strategy. China, which is the world's largest tobacco producer, is trying to take over markets in Brazil, the second-biggest tobacco producer. Brazil is an important country for CNTC's global expansion. CNTC's expansion doesn't stop at Latin America but it further expands towards Africa, looping in its Belt and Road Initiative Strategy. Despite being under multiple scrutiny and battling accusations of engaging in illicit trade activities, CNTC continues to grow rather quickly, reported Geopolitica.info. (ANI)
Chinese President Xi Jinping's crackdown on big tech industries, real estate and education, and his push for "common prosperity" over the past two years have terrified China's wealthy community, The Singapore Post reported. A massive surge has been reported in Chinese seeking to immigrate to North American countries and wealthy Chinese are desperate to move at the earliest, The Singapore Post reported citing a US-based news agency. The worries of rich people have worsened since Xi Jinping secured his third term at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party in October last year. A large number of wealthy Chinese have already moved to other nations since last year. About 10,800 wealthy Chinese have immigrated overseas in 2022, the most since 2019 and second only to Russia, The Singapore Post reported citing New World Wealth. New World Wealth is a global data intelligence partner of investment immigration consultancy Henley and Partners. Rich businessmen are accelerating immigration, and they are investing cash in real estate and assets overseas after China lifted travel restrictions, as per the The Singapore Post report. The consultancy firm found that inquiries from Chinese clients, most of them from the business community, about immigration have increased after China lifted travel restrictions. Immigration numbers were low in the early days of the COVID pandemic. However, the inquiries have doubled by 2022. Juwai IQI, a real estate firm that helps sell international properties to Asian clients, said the number of inquiries from mainland Chinese buyers reduced by 26 per cent in 2021, as per the news report. However, it rose 55 per cent so far in 2023 and remained at this level. Wealthy Chinese have expressed worry about Xi Jinping's so-called "common prosperity" slogan and they are exploring overseas private equity, and real estate investment opportunities in places, including the United States and Japan, The Singapore Post reported citing asset management companies. On January 11, the online edition of Foreign Affairs magazine published an article on January 11 that said that emigrating to a "greener" place is no longer the only wish of the rich in China. In recent weeks, violent protests and unrest have targeted Chinese police and party-state representatives, as per the news report. At the 20th National Congress opening ceremony held in October last year, "Common prosperity" appeared many times in Xi's speeches as a major principle and policy, as per the news report. He considers "common prosperity" as part of "Chinese-style modernisation" and is committed to standardising the wealth accumulation mechanism and "regulate excessively high income." (ANI)
The Indian diaspora on Sunday held a protest against the release of the BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi at their Headquarters in Portland Place. "It has been said in the documentary that there is a discrimination against the Muslim community in India under PM Modi which is completely false. PM Modi has done so much for Muslims which no other leader has done," said a member of the Indian diaspora. He said that the propaganda against PM Modi is based on a "total lie" and gave examples of various programmes and schemes of the government which benefitted the Muslims. "Triple Talaq was ended for Muslim women, free LPG cylinders were given under the Ujjwala scheme, bank accounts were opened under the Jan Dhan scheme and provided with the ownership of their houses. There is no discrimination against any community under PM Modi's rule," he said. He also talked about Prof Tariq Mansoor, Vice-Chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University, who recently wrote an opinion column criticizing the BBC series "The Modi Question" as an attempt to create "false and illogical discourse." "Indians Muslims want to move out from the past. We don't live there anymore. The BBC has assembled 20 years of biased reportage, peppered with outdated condiments and garnished it with lots of misplaced victimhood. The BBC will be wiser if they control their urge to perpetuate victimhood among Muslims. Our community under false pretense were merely used to build their brand," he added. Another Indian protestor said, "The BBC documentary on PM Modi is totally false and untrue." Notably, the Indian diaspora also protested against the BBC documentary series at Fremont in the San Francisco Bay area of California. About 50 members, under the banner of "Indian Diaspora", chanted slogans and marched through the streets of Fremont in the San Francisco area of the United States stating that they "reject BBC's sinister and biased documentary." While marching in Fremont, people were shouting slogans like "Biased BBC" and "racist BBC." While protesting at Fremont, people carried banners which said, "BBC IS A BOGUS Broadcasting Corporation" and "Indian Diaspora rejects BBC's Sinister and Biased Documentary against Prime Minister Narendra Modi," "BBC Documentary spreading fake propaganda," "BBC is a fake news peddler." UK's national broadcaster BBC aired a two-part series attacking PM Narendra Modi's tenure as Gujarat Chief Minister during the Gujarat riots of 2002. Prominent Indian-origin UK citizens condemned the series. Prominent UK Citizen Lord Rami Ranger said the "BBC caused a great deal of hurt to over a billion Indians." On January 19, India denounced the controversial BBC documentary series on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and described it as a "propaganda piece" designed to push a discredited narrative. Addressing a weekly media briefing External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson, Arindam Bagchi said this documentary show, based on some internal UK report, shows the colonial mindset. The documentary sparked outrage and was removed from select platforms. "We think this is a propaganda piece designed to push a particular discredited narrative. The bias and the lack of objectivity and frankly continuing colonial mindset are blatantly visible," Bagchi said in response to the question on the PM documentary series. The MEA spokesperson said the documentary is a reflection of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and individuals that are peddling this narrative again. He even raised questions on "the purpose of the exercise and the agenda behind it." "The documentary is a reflection of the agency and individuals that are peddling this narrative again. It makes us wonder about the purpose of the exercise and the agenda behind it; frankly, we do wish to dignify these efforts," he added. (ANI)
Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakashi Lekhi will be on a two-day visit to Greece starting from January 30, according to an official press release from the Ministry of External Affairs. The press release by MEA said the Lekhi will hold discussions with Greek Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Culture. Lekhi will also be interacting with a cross-section of Indian community, friends of India, academicians and Indologists. This visit will be to further strengthen the long-standing, warm and friendly relations between the two countries and provide an opportunity to further explore new avenues of cooperation. Additionally, she will participate in a special Yoga event as part of the 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' celebrations, and will pay floral tributes at the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Athens, according to the same release. Prior to this Lekhi had concluded her latest four-nation official visit to the Latin America and Caribbean region with a bilateral visit to Bolivia on January 20. This was her first visit to the country and came nearly four years after a State Visit by the President of India to Bolivia in March 2019. In the visit to Bolivia she met with Bolivia's Foreign Affairs Minister Rogelio Mayta and held comprehensive discussions covering the entire gamut of relations in bilateral, regional and multilateral spheres. During the meeting, discussions focused on several areas of importance including long-term partnerships in the lithium and battery sector, cooperation in metals and minerals, health, and pharmaceuticals. She also interacted with Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Erwin Freddy Mamani Machaca and Vice Minister of Foreign Trade and Integration Benjamin Juan Carlos Blanco Ferri. The discussions on the bilateral front focused on all areas of importance including long term partnership in lithium and battery sector, cooperation in metals and minerals, health & pharmaceuticals, traditional systems of medicine, Space, development cooperation & capacity building, promotion of trade and business, energy, infrastructure development in railways, cultural and people to people exchanges and ease of business travel. It was agreed to take action on various matters to further enhance bilateral engagement and achieve desired results. MOS invited Bolivian nationals to make use of capacity building support extended by India through ITEC, ICCR, SSIFS and other Specialised Centres of Excellence. In addition to this both sides discussed regional issues and opportunities for cooperation. Views were exchanged on global issues and developments of mutual interest, including reformed multilateralism, climate change. (ANI)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to India in early March and the details of his visit are being worked out, sources familiar with the deliberations told ANI. An official said the State Department is eyeing the first week of March for Blinken's meetings in New Delhi, which would be a run-up to President Joe Biden's meeting with Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) leaders. "Secretary Blinken will be meeting his Indian counterpart and other officials to lay the groundwork for the upcoming Quad leaders summit in May 2023," the source added. This will be the third annual leaders' summit of Quad members India, Australia, Japan and the US. Tokyo played host to the last summit in May 2022. "The summit is expected to be held in Sydney and for now, most likely all four leaders will be present in person for the summit. President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will travel to Sydney to meet Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to further cement the Quad cooperation," another person familiar with the developments told ANI. While in India, Secretary Blinken will also be attending the Raisina Dialogue, a multilateral conference held in New Delhi on March 2-4. Blinken is expected to address the Raisina dialogue, a conference held annually on geopolitics and geo-economics that the Observer Research Foundation, an independent think tank, in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs of India hosts. Earlier in November, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of the ASEAN-India summit in Cambodia. Jaishankar and Blinken discussed the conflict in Ukraine, the Indo-Pacific region and bilateral ties between India and US. US Secretary is also expected to travel to China in early February for continued discussions related to one of America's most complicated and consequential relationships, however, no official announcements have been made as yet. (ANI)
After Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Ankara may accept Helsinki into NATO without Stockholm, according to Anadolu Agency. "We may respond differently to Finland if necessary. Sweden would be shocked when we respond differently to Finland. But Finland should not make the same mistake," Erdogan said while addressing the youth in the country's Bilecik province. Earlier, Sweden and Finland jointly applied to join NATO, but Turkey has so far blocked the expansion, citing concerns that Sweden needs to crack down on exiled Kurdish militants and their sympathisers and extradite critics of Turkish President Erdogan, reported Euronews. In the meeting, Ankara gave a list of 120 people to Sweden for extradition to Turkey, President Erdogan said, "You need to extradite these terrorists so that you can enter NATO," according to the Anadolu Agency. Meanwhile, in the US, talking about the candidacies of Sweden and Finland for NATO, the US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said America has been very clear about its views on Finland and Sweden's candidacies for NATO membership in public, as well as in private. "The issue between Sweden and Finland is not a bilateral issue. We have been very clear in public, and we have been very clear in private about our views on Finland and Sweden's candidacies for NATO membership. We believe they are ready, we believe they should be added to the world's strongest defense alliance at the earliest possible opportunity," he said. Responding to a media query on Finland and Sweden returning to functional dialogue on NATO membership, the US State Department spokesperson said that the US will continue to voice its support for the candidature of the two Nordic countries. "We can continue to voice our support for their candidacies. We can continue to engage in a public and in private with Turkey and make it clear that we believe that these two countries are ready. That they are prepared, that they should be admitted to the alliance at any possible opportunity," Price added. On Tuesday, Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto indicated that Finland may have to join NATO without Sweden after Ankara cast doubts on the expansion of the alliance over anti-Turkey protests in Stockholm. The joint bid by Sweden and Finland to join NATO requires the approval of all existing members, including Turkey. Until now, the two countries have been committed to joining the alliance together, but Haavisto's comment suggests that this may no longer be the case. (ANI)
Hazel McCallion, the longest-serving mayor in Canada, passed away on Sunday. She was 101, Toronto Sun reported. As the mayor of Mississauga for 36 years, McCallion turned the city from an area of small towns and farmland into the sixth-largest city in Canada. She was given the nickname 'Hurricane Hazel' for her political style. McCallion was born in 1921 in a small town on Quebec's Gaspe Peninsula and was the youngest of five children. She was elected mayor of Mississauga in 1978, envisioning it as a livable city and not just a suburb of Toronto. But as Mississauga expanded the city became emblematic of urban sprawl -- low-density, car-dependent residential development, according to Toronto Sun. She was acclaimed back into office in 1980, re-elected in 1982 and 1985, acclaimed in 1988, and re-elected in 1991, 1994, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2006, and 2010. McCallion handled the world's largest peacetime evacuation in November 1979 when a Canadian Pacific freight train loaded with explosive materials derailed in the city, reported Toronto Sun. Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed condolences in a statement and added that he remembered the 'unstoppable' McCallion. "My dear friend Hazel was an extraordinary woman who wore many hats: a businessperson, an athlete, a politician, and one of Canada's - and the world's - longest-serving mayors. Nicknamed 'Hurricane Hazel' for her bold political style, she was unstoppable," he said in a statement. "'I want to assure you that the people will come first during my term' she told a cheering crowd when she won her first term as mayor almost 45 years ago. And that was how she served: by putting people first. She inspired countless others, including myself, in her decades of tireless and selfless service. I will miss her as a friend, and I'll always cherish the conversations we had, and the wisdom she shared over the years," he added. Canadian PM further stated that Hazel McCallion led the transformation of Mississauga from a bedroom community to the sixth-largest city in Canada under her guidance as mayor from 1978 to 2014. McCallion believed in the growth of her community and its potential to become a city where people could both live and work, and led the charge to do just that. Through her leadership, the city was known for its strong economy, thriving multiculturalism, and excellent public services. "After serving as mayor for 36 years, Hazel McCallion was appointed Chancellor of Sheridan College and special advisor at the University of Toronto Mississauga. She also served as the chair of the World Health Organization's Symposiums on Healthy Cities and was a strong advocate for ending discrimination toward seniors," he said. Trudeau added, "On behalf of all Canadians, Sophie and I offer our condolences to Hazel's family, friends, and the people of Mississauga. We will remember her as a trailblazer whose career in politics and service to her community will remain an inspiration to all of us. But mostly, we will remember her as a dear friend." (ANI)
Rescue 1122 spokesperson Bilal Faizi told Dawn that six bodies have been recovered so far, while 17 children and a teacher were rescued.

"Four children are in critical condition. They have been moved to the District Headquarters Hospital Kohat," Faizi was quoted as saying by Dawn.

The rescue officials further stated that the children were aged between 12 and 20 years. "They were all madrassah students out on a day trip to the dam," he added.

Faizi added that seven ambulances, four boats, two recovery vehicles, and more than 40 personnel of Rescue 1122 were participating in the search operation, which is underway, Dawn reported.

Caretaker KP Chief Minister Azam Khan, in a statement issued on Sunday, expressed grief over the incident.

He directed the district administration and rescue organisations to start a rescue operation on an emergency basis. "All available resources should be utilized for the safe recovery of the persons who drowned in the incident," he said.

Khan also instructed the commissioner and deputy commissioner of Kohat to personally supervise the rescue operations.

Mass drownings are common in Pakistan when aged and overloaded vessels lose their stability and pitch passengers into the water.

In July, 19 women drowned when an overcrowded boat carrying a wedding party across the Indus river in Rahim Yar Khan capsized.

Rahim Yar Khan Deputy Commissioner Syed Musa Raza said as word on the incident was received, 30 rescuers, five ambulances, and a water rescue van arrived at the spot, as per the Dawn report.

"Nineteen bodies, all women, have been pulled from the water while a search operation is underway for the remaining passengers," Khan added. (ANI)
Trust is key to building healthy relationship (Alamy)

Raising teenagers can be challenging, whichever country you live in. But if you follow the parenting pillars used in one of the happiest countries in the world, you have the building blocks for a less stressful family life.

Thats the claim of Danish psychotherapist Iben Sandahl, who points out her homeland has been voted the happiest country in the world, by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD, oecd.org), almost every year since 1973. So, if parents want to raise happy, well-adjusted teenagers, parenting like the Danes seems to be the way to go.

And to show us exactly how to do this, shes outlined 10 key parenting principles in her new book, The Danish Way Of Raising Teens.

The focus should be on raising confident, healthy teenagers with character, just like the Danes aim to do, she explains.

However difficult it may sound, the focus must be on remaining calm when teens are raging. The Danish Way Of Raising Teens is for those who want to get through the teenage years without endless arguments. It will help parents and carers guide teens with trust and calmness, even when there will be challenges.

Here, Sandahl, who has two daughters aged 19 and 22, explains the core principles of raising teenagers the Danish way

1. Trust them

Sandahl says trust is something that should be practised from the early years of parenthood  although she stresses its never too late to show trust in your child. Its like the glue between teenager and parent that makes you close to each other, in a shared, deep commitment, she says, pointing out that trust helps build wellbeing, security, and trusting relationships. Trust is a conscious choice; if your teen respects the agreements made jointly and feels their parents trust them unconditionally, theyll live up to that, she promises.

2. Value togetherness

Togetherness means maintaining a close and meaningful relationship with your teen, with awareness about whats under construction for them. Sandahl says teens still need parents close by to reassure them, no matter how insecure they feel. In a world of much insecurity, teenagers need a safe place found in the togetherness of home, she stresses. Otherwise, theyll fly away and find other places outside the home that wont always be positive and safe.

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3. Empathise with them

Empathy, which makes it easier for people to connect with others, is developed in infancy through a childs relationships with parents, and continues into adolescence, explains Sandahl. She says, as well as showing empathy to your teenager, parents need to try to connect with their own feelings, too.

The more open parents are to their feelings, the better teenagers will be at reading their own and others emotions. This has a significant impact on how they learn to understand themselves.

4. Play  but not like a child

You might think teenagers are too old to play, but in this case it means building independence and character, and the liberation of doing things themselves, rather than having help from their parents. Sandahl says that for teenagers, free play is a metaphor for their independence phase, explaining: For teenagers, play is no longer free play as we know it, from kids jumping in puddles or climbing trees. Its now expressed as liberation  I can do it myself, and I dont need your help, and critical thinking  I dont think so. Why does it have to be that way, mum?

It also involves spontaneity  I feel ready for alcohol. Or sex. And forming an independent self, or character-building  Im the fun one, the smart one, the pretty one. All of this is quite natural and an essential process towards wellbeing and maturity. Your teenager will, with your support, take small new steps towards becoming a whole individual.

5. Teach them to listen properly

Sandahl says parents should teach their teens to listen to others with curiosity and respect, and take a critical view of what they hear. She explains: Its reading books that provide historical perspectives and cultural dimensions, as well as being kind to strangers and helping others without expecting anything in return. The benefits, she says, are that teens become self-aware and will risk standing up for themselves.

6. Make sure they feel heard

Although teenagers rarely do anything deliberately to hurt their parents, they will challenge you when theyre not included in decisions or dont feel listened to, Sandahl points out. The way to avoid this is to talk openly with them, and find a middle ground, while encouraging them to take responsibility for their actions. Such an approach can help when dealing with typical teen issues, such as drinking alcohol, and Sandahl says: Expectations and knowledge of cultural norms, such as alcohol and partying, are crucial to how teenagers embrace situations. Both sides need to feel heard.

7. Embrace their uniqueness

Parents need to recognise that its stressful for most teens to get to know themselves, and mums and dads need to support their childs growth without putting them in a defining box, stresses Sandahl. That means, she explains, that parents need to be careful about the things they say. The way parents view their teenagers enables them to better understand their thoughts, feelings, desires and boundaries, and this greatly impacts their self-esteem, she explains.

8. Talk openly and honestly

Learn parenting from the Danish: The happiest people on earth.



Prioritize:

Play

Feelings

Family time



Avoid:

Power struggles

Overpraisinghttps://t.co/p9uxfCXMaM @BarbaraRoblesMD @DrEmilyEdlynn @OParenting  Miranda van Tilburg (@DrvanTilburg) May 16, 2022

Parents should talk about feelings, bodies and boundaries with their teen, as this can help reduce doubts and insecurities, says Sandahl. It boosts teenagers self-esteem, letting them see what authentic contact can feel like. It normalises what the imagination runs wild about.

9. No ultimatums

Dont give teens an ultimatum, warns Sandahl. She says these often create confusion and fear, and this can lead to rebellion. Avoiding ultimatums is about communicating values and norms through behaviour, she explains. Speak respectfully to your teenager, and they will speak respectfully to you. Stay calm when storms are raging  see beneath the surface and understand why teens behave as they do.

10. Try to look at flashpoints differently

Sandahl suggests trying to reframe situations to see them in a more favourable light. It may be that your teenager comes home late, but called ahead to let you know, she says. As a parent, the focus can be on the trust thats been given and emphasising the positive, instead of scolding because the times been exceeded.

Reframing can heal and change negativity and distrust into something positive and sustainable, which fosters self-esteem and greater happiness within your teenager.

The Danish Way of Raising Teens by Iben Dissing Sandahl is published by Piatkus, priced 14.99. Available now.
Two women were taken into custody after allegedly acting disorderly toward mall employees and police at the Dayton Mall Saturday.

Miami Township Police Department was called to the Dayton Mall to reports of two women cursing and acting disorderly toward employees.

The women were identified by police as Roganae Newman and Monique Littlejohn.

>> Man dead following single-vehicle crash in New Carlisle

When officers arrived on scene Newman continued to yell profanities at them and failed to follow officers instructions, police said.

She was taken into custody.

Littlejohn was found to have a warrant for her arrest through Huber Heights and was also taken into custody.

Both were booked into Montgomery County Jail, where Littlejohn is still in custody.




Four white men with white supremacist ties were sentenced in federal court in Seattle Friday for a 2018 assault on a Black DJ at a bar in the suburb of Lynnwood.

Judge Richard Jones sentenced the men to varying prison terms, the Daily Herald reported.

Jason Stanley, of Boise, will serve four years. Under a plea agreement, prosecutors and the defense recommended just over three years. Jason DeSimas, of Tacoma, Washington, had the same plea deal. Jones sentenced him to four years, as well.

Randy Smith, of Eugene, Oregon, got 3 years in prison. And Daniel Dorson, of Corvallis Oregon, got 2 years.

All four were previously convicted of committing a hate crime and making false statements. The man they attacked, Tyrone Smith, said outside the courthouse Friday that his life is forever changed.

The judge also ordered the defendants to pay nearly $171,000 in restitution to cover lost wages and medical bills. He called the attack that of a modern day unhooded KKK.

Smith said the defendants actions changed him from an outgoing person who DJed for his friends for fun, to someone who struggles with anxiety and uses a cane.

As we can all see, its been a long road for me, Smith said. But I had enough courage to come down and make sure this process was handled and justice was actually served.

On Dec. 7, 2018, DeSimas and others traveled to Lynnwood on the way to visiting the site of a Whidbey Island cabin where Robert Jay Mathews, the neo-Nazi leader of the violent hate group The Order, died in a gunfight with federal agents on Dec. 8, 1984. It has become a far-right holiday, known as Martyrs Day.

That night, DeSimas attended a gathering with other white supremacist sympathizers, prosecutors said. Shortly after midnight, about a dozen of them went to the Rec Room Bar and Grill. Some wore jackets with patches indicating their white supremacist beliefs and some had similar tattoos, including some depicting swastikas, prosecutors said.

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At some point, Stanley messed with Smiths DJ equipment. Smith pushed him away. In response, DeSimas and others surrounded Smith, using racist slurs while kicking, punching and stomping on Smith, prosecutors said. Witnesses who tried to intervene were also attacked.

The men then left the bar and went to Whidbey Island, where they attended the Martyrs Day event.

Federal prosecutors indicted the men in December 2020. Citing insufficient evidence, Snohomish County prosecutors declined to charge six other men who were at the tavern the night of the attack.

DeSimas wrote in a letter to the judge that he was ashamed of his actions, saying he no longer shared the views he previously held.

Dorson wrote in a similar letter that he was disgusted by the fear I took part in creating.

Nick Brown, the U.S. Attorney for Western Washington, said seeking consequences for the attack was a high priority for the Justice Department and the FBI.

Rick Collodi, the FBIs special agent in charge of Seattles field office, said the defendants tried to conceal their actions, but the truth came out.

The four defendants admitted to being members of a white supremacist group, Collodi said. While they have the right to believe what they want, they do not have the right to commit a crime.
Jan. 28The Aiken County Board of Education has named its top five budget priorities for the upcoming year.

The top priorities board members would like to see funded if the budget allows are a cap of pupil-to-teacher ratios in the classroom, math intervention support in elementary schools, an elementary in-school suspension aide, pay increase for classified staff and a security officer at every school.

For most of the school board members, capping the pupil-to-teacher ratio in kindergarten through third grade classes was a top priority. Board member Dr. John Bradley said early childhood education is important because that's when kids start their education career. To help with that learning, he would like to see kindergarten, first and second grade classes capped.

"When it says 1 to 25, it means 1 to 25, it doesn't mean one class has 1 to 10 and another class had 1 to 30," Bradley said. "Every kindergarten should be 25 or less, that's part A. Part B is I would like to see second grade pupil/teacher ratio reduced to 1 to 16 just like first grade. Again the idea here is kindergarten, I would like to see those pupil/teacher ratios reduced also, but they've got an aide there."

The current pupil-to-teacher ratio is 20 to 1 (plus aide) for the 4K program, 25 to 1 (plus aide) for kindergarten, 16 to 1 for first grade, 23 to 1 for second, third, fourth and fifth grade, and 25 to 1 for middle and high school grades (for planning), according to Tray Traxler, the chief officer of finance for Aiken County Public School District.

Board member Brian Silas said his No. 1 item was math intervention support in elementary schools. He said he would like to see direct, one-on-one student engagement that would help students who struggle in math overcome a learning gap and also help with test scores.

Board chair Cameron Nuessle said he believes there is a need for an ISS aide at every elementary school.

"We've got about 20 elementary schools and maybe about eight of them fund it with local funding at the school level and that's their choice," Nuessle said. I would say something like that, when you look at an elementary school that has one principal, one assistant principal and that never gets bigger based on how big the school is, sometimes it would be helpful to have a behavior resource like ISS if it's done correctly for a lot of different reasons. That's just an idea."

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Board member Patrice Rhinehart-Jackson asked board members to consider a pay increase for classified staff, which would include cafeteria staff, janitorial staff and maintenance.

Jim Broome, school board member, said he would like to see a security officer at every elementary school.

"Every middle and high school, we are committed to providing one," Superintendent King Laurence said. "That doesn't mean the officers are available through the various law enforcement divisions, but we're committed to getting those filled."

During the Jan. 17 meeting, Traxler told board members the must items for the 2023-24 budget are step increases for teachers and all eligible employees, any increase required by the state minimum teacher scale, increases to state minimum bus driver scale, increases in employer contributions for state retirement and increases in health insurance.

Highland Springs Middle School is scheduled to open for the 2023-24 school year with some additional costs. Traxler said that while a lot of the teaching staff would follow a redistribution of students, several positions will be added including principal, assistant principal, nurse, secretary/bookkeeper and more.

Starting in the 2023-24 school year, schools will be required to follow S. 946, a state bill requiring 30 minutes of unencumbered time for full-time teachers kindergarten through fifth grade and for elementary, middle and high school special education teachers, Traxler said. Unencumbered time means that the teacher will not have any assigned duties during that time. To assist with that time, the school district is estimating a need of two aide-level FTE per elementary school, for a total of 42 aides for an estimated cost of $1.3 million. There are talks of using aides in other aspects at the school, including having them work as safety monitors by checking that doors are locked and helping with the weapons detectors.

Other potential priorities discussed included an update to internet/network at schools, change head counselors to 12-month contracts, competitive salaries based on salary study, school level 504 coordinator, retention incentives, contract days added to attendance clerks, increase virtual learning options, mental health resources, accurate GPS bus tracking and adding a 28th step to the teacher salary schedule.

The next budget workshop is scheduled for April 11, with the first reading of the budget scheduled for April 18. A budget hearing is scheduled for May 9 and the second budget reading is set for May 23. The latest date for budget approval is June 13.
Alan Cumming announced he has returned an award that was given to him by Queen Elizabeth II more than 10 years ago.

Cumming shared the news on Instagram in a post for his birthday on Jan. 27. In the caption, the actor wrote in part, Today is my 58th birthday and I want to tell you about something I recently did for myself. I returned my OBE.

The actor was referring to the Officer of the Order of the British Empire award, which, according to the Honors System of the United Kingdom, is given to an individual for their "distinguished" role through achievement or service to the community. Cumming was awarded the honor in July 2009 for his activism.

Fourteen years ago, I was incredibly grateful to receive it in the 2009 Queens birthday honours list, for it was awarded not just for my job as an actor but for activism for equal rights for the gay and lesbian community, USA, he wrote in the caption. Back then the Defence of Marriage Act ensured that same sex couples couldnt get married or enjoy the same basic legal rights as straight people, and Dont Ask, Dont Tell ensured that openly gay, lesbian or bisexual people were barred from serving in the military.

Cumming also included the statement that he made at the time the honor was bestowed upon him, reading in part, I am especially happy to be honoured for my activism as much as for my work. The fight for equality for the LGBT community in the US is something I am very passionate about, and I see this honour as encouragement to go on fighting for what I believe is right and for what I take for granted as a UK citizen.

Thank you to the Queen and those who make up her Birthday honours list for bringing attention to the inaction of the US government on this issue, the statement continued. It makes me very proud to be British, and galvanised as an American.

However, in the months since the death of Queen Elizabeth II on Sept. 8, 2022, Cumming said that he has come to understand certain details about the monarchy which drove his decision to return the award.

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The Queens death and the ensuing conversations about the role of monarchy and especially the way the British Empire profited at the expense (and death) of indigenous peoples across the world really opened my eyes, he wrote. Also, thankfully, times and laws in the US have changed, and the great good the award brought to the LGBTQ+ cause back in 2009 is now less potent than the misgivings I have being associated with the toxicity of empire.

He continued, adding, So I returned my award, explained my reasons and reiterated my great gratitude for being given it in the first place. Im now back to being plain old Alan Cumming again."

While the queens death was mourned by world leaders, it was also met with renewed public criticism of the monarchy and royal family.

The reactions indicate the complicated and mixed relationship that people have had with the British monarchy, people in the Commonwealth and particularly in the Caribbean, Matthew Smith, a professor at University College London and director of the Center for the Study of the Legacies of British Slave-ownership, told NBC News in a phone interview in September.

Smith continued, adding, I think when people voice those views, theyre not thinking specifically about Queen Elizabeth. Theyre thinking about the British monarchy as an institution and the relationship of the monarchy to systems of oppression, repression and forced extraction of labor, and particularly African labor, and exploitation of natural resources and forcing systems of control in these places.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
The man accused of brutally attacking former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosis husband, Paul Pelosi, with a hammer last year expressed regret on Friday that he didnt do more, according to a jailhouse call that he reportedly had with a California news station.

David DePape shared a stunning lack of remorse for the violence during what was described as an unexpected phone call to KTVU, the San Francisco TV station reported. The call followed the public release of police body camera footage capturing the incident.

I want to apologize to everyone. I messed up. What I did was really bad. Im so sorry I didnt get more of them. Its my own fault. No one else is to blame. I should have come better prepared, he told KTVU reporter Amber Lee, according to audio of the call posted online.

His defense attorneys did not immediately respond to HuffPosts request for comment Sunday.

David DePape, charged in last year's violent attack on former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband, Paul Pelosi, said he regrets that he didn't come

David DePape, charged in last year's violent attack on former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband, Paul Pelosi, said he regrets that he didn't come "better prepared."

DePape, who is behind bars on charges of attempted murder, elder abuse and kidnapping, which hes pleaded not guilty to, reportedly refused questions from Lee reasoning that it could jeopardize his criminal case. Regardless, in the calls recording he appears to admit to plotting and carrying out the Oct. 28 attack while defending it as taking a stand for Americans freedom.

Youre welcome, he says after acknowledging the video footage capturing the early morning home invasion that hospitalized 82-year-old Paul Pelosi.

Freedom and liberty isnt dying, its being killed systemically and deliberately, he says in the recording. The people killing it have names and addresses so I got their names and addresses so I could pay them a little visit. Have a heart-to-heart chat about their bad behavior.

He goes on to say that hes in the process of setting up a website to spout his conspiracy theories that will be out of the reach of tyrannical global fascists and their internet censors. His defense team on Friday requested that he be permitted to use a computer while behind bars so he can review material related to his criminal case, according to a court filing.

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One of DePapes public defenders expressed concern Friday that he may not receive a fair trial following the release of the police body camera footage that shows him wrestling with Pelosi over control of the hammer. He then appears to strike Pelosi over the head with the tool, knocking him unconscious.

The footage is inflammatory and could feed unfounded theories about this case, and we are extremely concerned about Mr. DePapes ability to get a fair trial, San Francisco Deputy Public Defender Adam Lipson told The Associated Press while calling the footages release a terrible mistake.

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(Getty Images)

Runaways and 24 star Annie Wersching has died aged 45.

Wersching, who played FBI agent Renee Walker in Fox drama 24, died on Sunday (29 January) from cancer, her publicist told The Associated Press. The type of cancer was not specified.

Her husband, actor Stephen Full, said in a statement to Deadline that there is a cavernous hole in the soul of this family today.

He continued: But [Wersching] left us the tools to fill it. She found wonder in the simplest moment. She didnt require music to dance. She taught us not to wait for adventure to find you. Go find it. Its everywhere. And find it we shall.

As I drove our boys, the true loves of her life, down the winding driveway and street, she would yell BYE! until we were out of earshot and into the world. I can still hear it ringing. Bye my Buddie. I love you little family

Born and raised in St Louis, Missouri, Wersching appeared on dozens of television shows over the course of her two-decade career.

Her first credit was in Star Trek: Enterprise in 2002, with subsequent recurring roles in 24, Bosch, The Vampire Diaries, Marvels Runaways and The Rookie.

She was diagnosed with cancer in the summer of 2020, but continued working. Her final role came last year in the second season of Star Trek: Picard, two decades after she first appeared in the Star Trek franchise.

Wersching in September 2021 (Getty Images)

Away from television, Wersching provided the voice and motion capture performance for the character of Tess in critically acclaimed video game The Last of Us.

The Last of Us creator Neil Druckmann wrote on Twitter: We just lost a beautiful artist and human being. My heart is shattered. Thoughts are with her loved ones.

Director and producer of 24, John Cassar, told Deadline: My heart is broken in more pieces than I can count. Annie came into my world with an open heart and a contagious smile. Brandishing such talent, she took my breath away.

Just found out my dear friend, Annie Wersching, passed away. We just lost a beautiful artist and human being. My heart is shattered. Thoughts are with her loved ones.



Theres a go fund me set up for her family: https://t.co/dhvk6uOvZV  Neil Druckmann (@Neil_Druckmann) January 29, 2023

Annie became more than a workmate, she became a real friend to me, my family and every cast and crew member that worked with her. Shell be truly missed by them and the fans she always found time to interact with. Annie youll be missed, you left your mark, and were all the better for it.

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Abigail Spencer, who appeared with Wersching on the sci-fi series Timeless, tweeted: We love you Annie Wersching. You will be deeply missed.

She is survived by her husband and three sons: Freddie, 12, Ozzie, nine, and Archie, four. A GoFundMe has been set up for the family here.

Additional reporting by Associated Press
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP)  Competing priorities, outsized demands and the federal government's retreat from a threatened deadline stymied a deal last summer on how to drastically reduce water use from the parched Colorado River, emails obtained by The Associated Press show.

The documents span the June-to-August window the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation gave states to reach consensus on water cuts for a system that supplies 40 million people annually  or have the federal government force them. They largely include communication among water officials in Arizona and California, the major users in the river's Lower Basin.

Reclamation wanted the seven U.S. states that rely on the river to decide how to cut 2 million to 4 million acre-feet of water  or up to roughly one-third  on top of already anticipated reductions. The emails, obtained through a public records request, depict a desire to reach a consensus but persistent disagreement over how much each state could or should give.

As the deadline approached without meaningful progress, one water manager warned: We're all headed to a very dark place.

The challenges we had this summer were significant challenges, they truly were, Chris Harris, executive director of the Colorado River Board of California, said in an interview about the early negotiations. I dont know that anybody was to blame, I genuinely dont. There were an awful lot of different interpretations of what was being asked and what we were trying to do.

Scientists say the megadrought gripping the southwestern U.S. is the worst in 1,200 years, putting a deep strain on the Colorado River as key reservoirs dip to historically low levels. If states don't begin taking less out of the river, the major reservoirs threaten to fall so low they can't produce hydropower or supply any water at all to farms that grow crops for the rest of the nation and cities like Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Phoenix.

The future of the river seemed so precarious last summer that some water managers felt attempting to reach a voluntary deal was futile  only mandated cuts would stave off crisis.

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We are out of time and out of any cushion to allow for a voluntary plan, Tom Buschatzke, director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources, told a Bureau of Reclamation official in a July 18 email.

As 2023 begins, fresh incentives make the states more likely to give up water. The federal government has put up $4 billion for drought relief, and Colorado River users have submitted proposals to get some of that money through actions like leaving fields unplanted. Some cities are ripping up thirsty decorative grass, and tribes and major water agencies have left some water in key reservoirs  either voluntarily or by mandate.

Reclamation also has agreed to spend $250 million mitigating hazards at a drying California lake bed, a condition of the state's water users agreeing to cut their use by 400,000 acre feet in a proposal released in October.

The Interior Department is still evaluating proposals for a slice of the $4 billion and can't say how much savings it will generate, Deputy Secretary Tommy Beaudreau said in an interview.

The states are again trying to reach a grand bargain  with a deadline of Tuesday  so that Reclamation can factor it into a larger plan to modify operations at Hoover Dam and Glen Canyon Dam, behemoth power producers on the Colorado River. Failure to do so would set up the possibility of the federal government imposing cuts  a move that could invite litigation.

Figuring out who absorbs additional water cuts has been contentious, with allegations of drought profiteering, reneging on commitments, too many negotiators in the room and an unsteady hand from the federal government, the emails and follow-up interviews showed.

California says it's a partner willing to sacrifice, but other states see it as a reluctant participant clinging to a water priority system where it ranks near the top. Arizona and Nevada have long felt they're unfairly forced to bear the brunt of cuts because of a water rights system developed long ago, a simmering frustration that reared its head during talks.

Reclamation Commissioner Camille Touton's call for a massive water cut in testimony to Congress on June 14 was a public bombshell of sorts. A week earlier, with a heads-up from the federal government, the Lower Basin states talked about collectively, with Mexico, cutting up to 2 million acre-feet during a meeting in Salt Lake City, the emails and interviews showed.

But as the weeks passed and proposals were exchanged, the Lower Basin states barely reached half that amount, and the commitment was nowhere near firm, the emails showed. Adding to the difficulty was not knowing what Mexico, which also has a share of the river, might contribute.

In a series of exchanges through July, Arizona and California each proposed multiple ways to achieve cuts, building on existing agreements tied to the levels of Lake Mead, factoring in the water lost to evaporation or inefficient infrastructure, and fiercely protecting a priority system, though it was clear negotiators were becoming weary.

The states shared disdain for a proposal from farmers near Yuma and southern California to be paid $1,500 an acre foot for water they conserved. Former Central Arizona Project general manager Ted Cooke responded by suggesting the farmers make it work at one-third of the price, which still was higher but closer to going rates.

In late July, Harris, of California, emailed a proposal to the Bureau of Reclamation outlining scenarios in the range of 1 million acre feet in cuts, saying it was imperative negotiators be able to declare some level of victory."

Otherwise, he wrote, I genuinely believe that we are at an impasse, and we're all headed to a very dark place.

But ultimately, Arizona and Nevada never felt that California was willing to give enough.

It was futile, it wasn't enough. We did not trust that California was going to come through on their piece of it, Cooke said in an interview.

By then, Reclamation privately told the states  but didn't acknowledge publicly  that it backed away from the supposed mid-August deadline, officials involved in the talks said. Beaudreau, the deputy Interior secretary, said in an interview the deadline was never meant to create an ultimatum between reaching a deal and forced cuts.

But state officials said when it became clear the federal government wouldn't act unilaterally, it created a chilling effect" that removed the urgency from the talks because water users with higher-priority water rights were no longer at risk of harsh cuts, Arizona's Buschatzke said in an interview.

Without that hammer, there was a different tone of negotiations, he said.

Today, the Interior Department's priority remains ensuring Hoover Dam and Glen Canyon Dam have enough water in them to maintain hydropower, and the department will do whatever is necessary to ensure that, Beaudreau said.

The Upper Basin states of New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming and Colorado  which historically haven't used their full supplies  are looking toward the Lower Basin states to do much of the work.

Reclamation is now focused on weighing the latest round of comments from states on how to save the river. Nevada wants to count water lost to evaporation and transportation in water allocations  a move that could mean the biggest volume of cuts for California  and some Arizona water managers agree, comment letters obtained by the AP show.

But disputes remain over how to determine what level of cuts are fair and legal. California's goal remains protecting its status while other states and tribes want more than old water rights taken into account  such as whether users have access to other water sources, and the effects of cuts on disadvantaged communities and food security.

Reclamation's goal is to get a draft of proposed cuts out by early March, then a final decision before mid-August, when Reclamation regularly announces how much  or how little  river water is available for the next year.

___

Fonseca reported from Flagstaff, Arizona. Follow her on Twitter: @FonsecaAP. Associated Press writer Michael Phillis in St. Louis contributed.
The decision by prosecutors to pursue domestic terrorism charges against opponents of a police training center outside Atlanta is drawing criticism, with some legal experts saying its a potentially dangerous overreach that could be viewed as politically motivated.

More than a dozen people have been charged with domestic terrorism in connection with the protests, including seven people after a Jan. 18 confrontation with police who were trying to clear the proposed site of the center, dubbed "Cop City" by critics.

One man was fatally shot by police in the confrontation after he opened fire and wounded a state trooper, authorities said. In protests that followed the killing and the police sweeps, six people were arrested and charged with domestic terrorism.

In December, the same charges were filed against five people after law enforcement moved in to clear barricades and confront protesters.

Critics of domestic terrorism laws, including some civil rights groups, oppose them because of the risk of politicization, because they can be used against politically disfavored groups by the government, Patrick Keenan, a professor of law at the University of Illinois, said.

A 2017 Georgia law defines domestic terrorism as a felony intended to kill or harm people; disable or destroy critical infrastructure, a state or government facility, or a public transportation system"; intimidate the civil population or any of its political subdivisions; and change or coerce state policy or affect the conduct of government by use of destructive devices, assassination, or kidnapping. Conviction carries a maximum sentence of 35 years in prison.

The allegations against the protesters include trespassing, resisting arrest, throwing rocks and glass bottles and damaging property, including setting fire to a police car. Authorities have also said they found explosive devices, gasoline, and road flares in an area in the forest where protesters had makeshift treehouses.

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Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, has called the protesters militant activists and said we will bring the full force of state and local law enforcement down on those trying to bring about a radical agenda through violent means.

A protester holds up a sign that says

Although domestic terrorism is defined in the Patriot Act of 2001, there is no specific federal crime covering acts of terrorism inside the U.S. that are not connected to al Qaeda, the Islamic State, other officially designated international terrorism groups or their sympathizers  even though the U.S. has said in recent years that white supremacist and militia groups are a top domestic terrorism threat.

Last year's mass shooting at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York, fit that category, said Javed Ali, an associate professor at the University of Michigans Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.

The 19-year-old white supremacist who shot and killed 10 Black people last May was the first person in New York state convicted of domestic terrorism motivated by hate; he also pleaded guilty to first-degree murder. The terrorism charge carries an automatic sentence of life in prison.

But in a number of states, including Georgia, domestic terrorism laws include a wide variety of offenses outside those motivated by hate.

Because the Georgia statute focuses on conduct that is intended to intimidate the government or to affect the government in any way, Keenan, the law professor, said, it is especially vulnerable to politicized use.

Keenan said he believes attaching the domestic terrorism label to protesters could have some really dangerous effects.

I dont think its mostly protesters who are the biggest domestic terrorism threats. Domestic terrorism threats are coming from other places, and so to use this statute really publicly and prominently to try to squash this protest seems to me, kind of the politicized use of the law that a lot of people were worried about, he said.

Keenan said that while he does not condone violence or attacks on law enforcement, he believes there are other ways to address those things under Georgia law that do not include a domestic terrorism charge.

As someone who handled capital murder cases in Georgia, I can tell you Georgia law has a lot of ways to deal with violence against law enforcement or against anyone, he said. So this domestic terrorism statute is not necessary and it can lead to this politicized use that I think doesnt do anybody any good.

Joshua Schiffer, an attorney who represents one of the protesters, said he believes that as the investigation moves forward, the charges wont be justified, calling them particularly concerning given Georgias rich history of civil rights and civil disobedience.

The use by the state of such an aggressive statute indicates the states position when it comes to protesters and how the state intends to deal with protesters, he said. This state action is meant to impact and chill this protest issue nationally.

Ali, a former senior U.S. government counterterrorism official, said such cases highlight what could be a new development at the state and local level where authorities will begin to bring more domestic terrorism charges.

He said that prosecutors typically bring such charges when they believe there is enough evidence to support them, because why would you bring a charge forward on something thats fairly unusual and controversial if youre going to lose the case in court?

In the months leading up to the most recent arrests, critics have raised environmental concerns about building a $90 million law enforcement training center on 85 acres just outside Atlanta. Opponents say it would devastate forest, and they also object to making such a huge investment in policing after the national 2020 protests against police violence and systemic racism following the murder of George Floyd.

Officials have defended the center, saying that the forested land was the only viable location and law enforcement needs modern training facilities.

On Thursday, Kemp declared a state of emergency in Georgia, the result, he said, of unlawful assemblage, violence, overt threats of violence, disruption of peace and tranquility of this state and danger existing to persons and property. The order gives Kemp the ability to call in the Georgia National Guard.

Marlon Kautz, an activist with the Atlanta Solidarity Fund, which provides resources to people arrested during protests, said the group was extremely alarmed at the use of this domestic terrorism statute.

Its clear that its being used in an overly broad way to maliciously prosecute people, he said.

The Atlanta Solidarity Fund said that the state of Georgia was trying to set an alarming precedent with the charges.

If they are successful, protesters across the country could be facing similar speech-chilling domestic terrorism charges,' it said in a statement this week. We must strongly reject this extreme level of repression here and now, before it becomes the norm for activists in every movement.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Attorney General Chris Carr is joining 21 other attorneys general in urging Congressional leaders to pass legislation that would allow states to use a cell phone jamming system in prisons.

Currently, federal law prohibits the use of jamming technology.

As of Jan. 1, 2023, the Georgia Department of Corrections has conducted 126 full facility shakedowns, resulting in the removal of more than 23,000 contraband items. This includes 8,074 contraband cell phones confiscated last year alone.

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

The 22 attorneys general sent a letter on Jan. 25 outlining the national challenges associated with contraband cell phones.

The letter reads, in part: Inmate use of contraband cell phones is one of the most serious issues facing prison administrators today. Inmates use contraband cell phones to organize murders, riots, drug deals, fraud, and much more. By utilizing contraband cell phones, inmates are easily able to continue their criminal activities from inside prison.

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IN OTHER NEWS:
ACTON  Authorities have released the identity of a woman who was struck and killed by a vehicle late Monday morning outside her home.

In a press release, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan and interim Police Chief James Cogan said Friday that the victim was Irene Durand-Bryan, 66.

Authorities said that at about 11:45 a.m. Monday, police and firefighters responded to a report of a pedestrian being struck by a vehicle outside her home in the area of Concord Road near Alcott Street. First responders transported Durand-Bryan to Emerson Hospital in Concord, where she was pronounced dead.

Through an initial investigation at the scene, officers determined that Durand-Bryan was struck by a vehicle, later determined to be a Ford van, that initially fled the scene. But while investigators were still at the scene, the operator, identified only as a 60-year-old Acton man, returned and made contact with police.

WCVB-TV reported that sources told reporter Peter Eliopoulos on the day of the crash that Durand-Bryan was collecting mail when she was struck by the hit-and-run driver.

An obituary posted online by Dee Funeral Home & Cremation Service indicated that Durand-Bryan was a licensed psychologist and Core Energetics therapist, with offices in Concord and Lowell.

Authorities stressed that the investigation is ongoing, and that no charges have been filed. The Middlesex District Attorney's Office, Acton Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section are the investigating parties.

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Authorities identify Acton woman struck and killed outside her home
BAKU (Reuters) - Azerbaijan will evacuate embassy staff and family members from Iran on Sunday, the foreign ministry said, two days after a gunman shot dead a security guard and wounded two other people in an attack Baku branded an "act of terrorism".

Police in Tehran have said they had arrested a suspect and Iranian authorities condemned Friday's incident, but said the gunman appeared to have had a personal, not a political, motive.

The incident came amid increased tensions between the neighbouring countries over Iran's treatment of its large ethnic Azeri minority and over Azerbaijan's decision this month to appoint its first ever ambassador to Israel.

After the attack, the Azeri foreign ministry said it summoned Iran's ambassador in Baku to demand justice and would evacuate embassy staff from Tehran. It gave no further details, including whether the embassy would continue to function.

Earlier, the ministry said the shooting was the result of Tehran failing to heed its calls for better security.

CCTV footage obtained by Reuters showed the attacker forcing his way into the embassy building and shooting at two men before a third embassy employee grapples him away.

A grey-haired man identified as the attacker was later shown on Iranian state TV saying he had acted to secure the release of his Azeri wife who he believed was being held at the embassy.

A young woman identified as the man's daughter said her mother was in Azerbaijan.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi called for "a comprehensive investigation" of the incident and sent his condolences to Azerbaijan and the dead man's family, state media said.

(Reporting by Nailia Bagirova; writing by Vladimir Soldatkin; editing by Mark Heinrich)
Three Democratic House members targeted by Speaker Kevin McCarthy for removal from their committee assignments defended themselves on Sunday from claims that they are unfit to serve on the congressional panels, with one blasting the California Republicans efforts as Bakersfield BS.

The only real explanation is he needs [Rep.] Marjorie Taylor Greenes [R-Ga.] vote. He needs [Rep.] Paul Gosars [R-Ariz.] vote. He wants to retaliate for their removal from the committee, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said on CNNs State of the Union, referring to McCarthy. And apparently he believes I was very effective in exposing his misconduct, Donald Trumps misconduct, and thats what theyre trying to stop.

Schiff and Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) have been booted from the House Intelligence Committee. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) is under threat of being kicked off the House Foreign Affairs Committee, which, unlike the Intelligence panel, requires a vote by the full chamber.

Republicans have argued that Schiff used his position on the Intelligence Committee to lie about the connections between the campaign of former President Trump and the Russian government despite an investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller that found no such coordination.

Republicans also say Swalwell is unfit for the committee because of allegations that he became involved with a suspected Chinese spy as far back as 2012. He was not accused of any wrongdoing by investigators. He said he cooperated with the FBI in the investigation, but that hasnt stopped Republicans from saying Swalwell put himself in a compromising position with a foreign agent.

This is some Bakersfield BS, Swalwell said on CNN, referring to the city in California where McCarthy is from. Its Kevin McCarthy weaponizing his ability to commit this political abuse because he perceives me, just like Mr. Schiff and Ms. Omar, as an effective political opponent.

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Omar, the first Somali American and one of the first two Muslim women in Congress, is accused of using antisemitic tropes in the past when addressing American support for Israel. She has apologized for such rhetoric, saying she was unaware at the time of how her words would be perceived.

I mightve used words at the time that I didnt understand were trafficking in antisemitism, Omar said on Sunday. When that was brought to my attention, I apologized.I owned up to it.

While McCarthy was able to dispatch Schiff and Swalwell unilaterally, he needs a majority vote of the House to boot Omar from her panel. It is unclear if the Speaker would have enough votes to do so.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A collection of civil servants convened by the Biden administration to rethink racial categories in the United States Census has proposed changes to how the census asks questions about race.

As reported by Forbes, most notably, the committee has suggested creating a new racial classification for Middle Eastern and North African individuals. The experts also recommended recategorizing Latino and Hispanic identity as a racial category.

These changes are among the recommendations recently given by a working group tasked by the Office of Management and Budget with rethinking the racial and ethnic categories that exist on the US census. The group also recommended additional changes for he 2030 census, including dropping the term Negro as an alternative to Black, as well as removing terms such as minority and majority to describe different racial groups.

The current census lists a handful of broad racial categories, including American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian American, Black, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander and White. Many of these categories allow for alternative labels, such as African American or Negro for Black. Others break down the categories into various nationalities or sub-groups; for instance, the Asian category includes options such as Asian Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese and more. However, various scholars and advocates have argued that these categories are inadequate, inadequate or needlessly confusing.

Currently, no separate category exists for individuals whose origins lie in the Middle East or North Africa, also known as the MENA region. Many of these individuals are technically considered white by the rules of the census and other government classifications. For years, however, Arab American activists have objected to the white labeling, arguing that it does not reflect their actual experiences in the United States and that it makes it difficult to gather data about their communities. Activists have welcomed the proposed addition of a MENA category as a way to make their communities more visible.

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Similarly, Hispanic and Latino activists have taken issue with the way their identities have been classified.

The current census lists Hispanic or Latino identity as an ethnicity, which is considered a separate category from race, giving individuals the option to identify as Hispanic or Latino and to choose from among the various racial categories.

While this allows for the recognition of multifaceted identities, such as Afro-Latino, many people have argued that this system is needlessly confusing and causes people to accidentally misidentify themselves when filling out the census.

This confusion may contribute to undercounting of Hispanic Americans on the census; Black Americans also tend to be undercounted according to recent research. It is also contradictory to the definition of both race, the group or groups that you may identify with as having similar physical traits that are regarded as common among people of a shared ancestry, and ethnicity, which is something you acquire based on where your family is from and the group which you share cultural, traditional, and familial bonds and experiences with.

This is per Merriam-Webster, which states, people may have racial similarity but ethnic dissimilarity.

The recommendations giving by the working group will now be evaluated. The OMB will spend several months gathering opinions from the public about the proposed changes. Any new or changed racial categories will be implemented beginning with the next census in 2030.
The final Boeing 747 during its rollout. David Ryder/Bloomberg via Getty Images

For decades, the Boeing 747 has been a paragon of aviation. It was the world's first jumbo jet, and helped usher in the modern era of air travel. But its reign as "Queen of the Skies" will officially come to an end this week as Boeing prepares to roll out its very last of the iconic aircraft.

The 747-8 freighter will be delivered to cargo airline Atlas Air on Tuesday, more than 50 years after the model was first pulled out of the hangar, Reuters reported.

First manufactured in 1968, the 747 became instantly recognizable for its wide body and trademark hump that made up part of a second deck. Through the decades, it remained a notable symbol of luxury in the skies.

Its numbers are dwindling, though, thanks to dated technology and competition from companies like Airbus. Only 44 passenger versions of the 747 remain in use, CNN reported, citing aviation analytics firm Cirium. However, there are still over 300 freighter 747s in the skies.

Numerous governments also use the 747, including the U.S. presidential aircraft, Air Force One. But in the era of ever-changing transportation technologies, the 747 has seen its dominance eclipsed by "more efficient twinjet planes," per Reuters.

Workers at the Boeing factory in Everett, Washington, told The Seattle Times of their memories working on the legendary plane. Darrell Marmion, a top engineer at Boeing who retired last November, said, "I'm retiring with my airplane. I'm actually glad at the timing, because I do care so much for the airplane."

"One of my earliest memories in life was about 5 years old and my dad taking me on a tour of the mock-up of the first 747," Marmion added. "You just look at the shape of it and you know what it is. It's timeless and classic."

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Following fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, Memphis police disband SCORPION Unit
Cuyahoga Falls resident Laura Freeman has taken a sharp turn from historical romance with Raining Tears, a detective story that incorporates modern themes like the opioid crisis and police-involved shootings.

The main characters are Claire Batton, a nurse, Sydney Harrison, a police detective, and Beth Moreno, a rookie officer in a fictional town near Cleveland. Claire became addicted to opioids after a car accident and began stealing pills from the stock in the pain management department at the hospital where she worked, but the thefts were noticed and she transferred to the emergency room, which forced her to look elsewhere. Now shes going through her co-workers lockers.

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One rainy day, Claire sees a pain management patient sitting at a bus stop. Knowing that the woman takes oxycodone for arthritis, she uses a rain poncho to disguise herself, sticks a gun in the womans face and steals her purse. The plan seems to be going well and Claire is on her way home to change for work when she has an unexpected opportunity: A young father on his way home from the pharmacy with antibiotics for his infant son. In her attempt to rob him, Claire ends up injured and the man ends up dead, shot by Officer Moreno.

Claire escapes, having hurriedly identified herself as one of her co-workers, using a drivers license she had stolen months before. Because she had made it appear as if the dead man had been robbing her, the case seems simple enough. Then Detective Harrison starts seeing discrepancies.

Claire becomes increasingly concerned with avoiding detection and securing drugs, while Beths notoriety as the shooter is turning into a frenzy: In one scene, she is trying to buy groceries and a crowd surrounds her, throwing canned goods. Meanwhile, Sydney closes in.

Raining Tears (286 pages, softcover) costs $17.99 from Wild Rose Press. Laura Freeman also is the author of the solid 2014 Civil War-era romance Impending Love and War, set in a town that resembles Hudson, and its four sequels.

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The Dug-Up Gun Museum

A boxed-set replica of the Derringer used to assassinate Abraham Lincoln, up for auction on eBay. A weekend D-Day reenactment in Pennsylvania with 5,000 paintball-wielding combatants, some with visible swastikas. Poet Matt Donovan, who grew up in Hudson, addresses Americas gun culture in his devastating collection The Dug-Up Gun Museum.

Donovan says in his notes that he began traveling around America and speaking to people about guns ... [with] little idea what shape this book would ultimately take. He meets the father of a survivor of the Sandy Hook school shooting whose life would be ruined by harassments and conspiracy theorists, and writes about the fate of the Cleveland gazebo in which 12-year-old Tamir Rice was killed in 2014.

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Donovan watches the video of an unarmed Black man shot to death while walking in a West Virginia street and views a memorial wall of photos dedicated to victims of gun violence in Chicago.

There are no solutions offered, only suffering and sorrow.

The Dug-Up Gun Museum (94 pages, softcover) costs $17 from BOA Editions. Matt Donovan is a professor at Smith College, where he directs the Boutelle-Day Poetry Center. There is a real Dug-Up Gun Museum, in Cody, Wyoming, with displays of rusted artifacts; the website promises fun for the whole family.

Award nominees

The 2023 Edgar Allan Poe Award nominees include American Demon: Eliot Ness and the Hunt for Americas Jack the Ripper by Cleveland native Daniel Stashower, in the Best Fact Crime category. Its about the Torso Murderer, who may have claimed more than a dozen victims in the 1930s. Stashower has won in this category once before, and twice in the Best Critical/Biographical Work category. Nominated for the Simon & Schuster Mary Higgins Clark Award is Because I Could Not Stop for Death by Tallmadge author Amanda Flower, about Emily Dickinsons crime-solving maid. The winners will be announced April 27.

Events

Loganberry Books (13015 Larchmere Blvd., Shaker Heights): Kathy Schulz discusses The Underground Railroad in Ohio, 1 p.m. Sunday.

Hudson Library & Historical Society: Washington Post writer Mary Beth Albright talks about Eat & Flourish: How Food Supports Emotional Well-Being in a Zoom event at 7 p.m. Monday. At 7 p.m. Tuesday, nutritionist Daniella Chase talks about Home Detox: Make Your Home a Healthier Place for Everyone Who Lives There. Register at hudsonlibrary.org.

Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library: Randall Munroe, creator of the webcomic xkcd and author of What If? Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems, joins the Online Author Talk Series at 2 p.m. Tuesday. Register at smfpl.org.

Medina County District Library: Chuck Wendig, author of Star Wars: Aftermath and the Miriam Black fantasy series, makes a Zoom appearance at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. Register at mcdl.info.

Visible Voice Books (2258 Professor Ave., Cleveland): Poets Austin Davis (Celestial Night Light), Damian Rucci (The Former Lives of Saints and John Burroughs, U.S. Beat Poet Laureate (Dogging Catastrophe) read from their work, 7 p.m. Friday.

B-Side (2785 Euclid Heights Blvd., Cleveland Heights): Poet Danny Caine launches Picture Window, with readings from Raechel Anne Jolie, Philip Metres and Aumaine Rose Smith, 6:30 to 9 p.m. Saturday.

Email information about books of local interest, and event notices at least two weeks in advance to BeaconBookTalk@gmail.com and bjnews@thebeaconjournal.com. Barbara McIntyre tweets at @BarbaraMcI.

Book Talk:The Book Spy is covert tale of Europe during World War II

Book Talk:Original Sins is top-notch crime novel

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Raining Tears by Laura Freeman is detective tale with modern themes
Just six months ago, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and his administration were boasting a budget surplus of $97.5 billion. Today, thanks to a falling stock market and a weakened tech sector, California has an apparently unforeseen budget deficit of $22.5 billion. Cuts must be made.

But Newsoms proposed cuts seemingly come at the expense of climate-related projects, a curious decision from a governor who often speaks about how confronting climate change is one of his key priorities. Unsurprisingly, his actions do not meet the weight of his words.

Newsoms budget proposal, ironically released on the heels of an atmospheric river that unleashed catastrophic flooding across the state, suggests slashing approximately $6 billion dollars from climate-related projects, including $40 million that had been promised to floodplain restoration projects in the San Joaquin Valley.

Opinion

In fact, most of Newsoms proposed budget cuts involve scaling back key climate initiatives.

For example, the governors new budget plan proposes to reduce local rail projects budgets by $2.2 billion. Zero-emission vehicle credits and programs would also receive approximately $2.5 billion less, a reduction Newsom suggests could be offset by as much as $1.4 billion via cap-and-trade credit fees from the states biggest greenhouse gas emitters  a program once hailed as revolutionary but is tainted by recent research that claims to prove the credits do little to actually counteract climate change.

Just last year, the governor pushed a five-year, $54 billion climate package through the legislature that he said proved his commitment to being a global climate leader; he now proposes to reduce it to $48 billion.

More than half of that decrease in funding, or approximately $3 billion, directly concerns the states clean transportation initiatives, which are necessary to cutting vehicle emissions that are the states largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, as well as smog and air pollution.

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In the proposed budget, Newsom suggested using federal funds to meet these goals instead. It is unclear where the state will find the money in time to meet the historic mandate his administration laid out just last year. In 2020, Newsom announced the state would begin the process of electrifying Californias cars and would phase out all sales of gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035. Now, the state is considering another difficult initiative, this time to phase out the sale of diesel trucks by 2040 and possibly help subsidize trucking companies to electrify their large fleets.

Meanwhile, California still proposes to spend $108.8 billion for K-12 schools and community colleges in Proposition 98 funding; while the University of California and the California State University system would each receive 5% more than last years budget, fulfilling the governors promise to increase the systems budgets over a period of five years if the schools met certain graduation rates. The UC system is still set to receive an additional $30 million to enroll fewer non-resident students.

Newsom has said he will not cut into the states $22.4 billion in reserve funds, but neither will he publicly admit to expecting a recession where those funds might be needed, preferring instead to take a wait and see approach.

There is no denying that Newsoms administration has proposed historic climate and energy goals, and championed funding for much-needed projects to reverse the effects of climate change in California. We are not suggesting he doesnt care about climate change, but that our states investments in combating climate change must increase, not decrease, to meet this historic threat.

It is so like Newsom to first propose these goals and then backpedal when a reduced budget materializes. California cannot seek to be known as a leader in climate change and reducing emissions, but put key climate initiatives first in line to the financial guillotine. We do not have time to wait and see.

Californias budget wont be finished for months, and it will undergo numerous revisions in the meantime. We still have time to renew these funding streams for these projects. No sector will be grateful to have their budget cut, but climate change is an existential threat to every Californian and, we would argue, the most important.

What kind of Earth will our youngest residents inherit if California  whose government so wishes to be known as a world leader in reversing climate change  doesnt first meet the dire threat climate change poses?
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.
LAS VEGAS (AP)  Former two-time MVP Candace Parker announced on social media Saturday that she would sign with the defending champion Las Vegas Aces.

Parker spent the past two seasons playing for her hometown Sky, leading Chicago to the WNBA championship in 2021. She also won the 2016 title playing for the Los Angeles Sparks.

She posted on Instagram that Chicago would always be her home, but "my familys home is on the west coast.

To play for a championship close to home is the perfect situation for us. Im looking forward to continuing the journey this summer in Las Vegas.

The free-agent signing period begins Wednesday, and the Aces can't comment until then.

Parker, a 6-foot-4 forward/center, adds to an already loaded lineup that includes reigning MVP A'ja Wilson, who also won the league's top award in 2020. Wilson also was last season's Defensive Player of the Year.

Chelsea Gray was MVP of the WNBA Finals and Kelsey Plum MVP of the All-Star Game. Wilson, Plum and Jackie Young were All-Star starters.

Parker and Gray were teammates on Los Angeles' 2016 title team.

The Aces traded one of their key pieces, two-time Sixth Woman of the Year Dearica Hamby, to the Sparks on Jan. 21, creating speculation Las Vegas was creating salary cap room to sign a big-name player.

Parker, the 2020 Defensive Player of the Year and the 2016 Finals MVP, certainly fits that bill. Even at 36 last season, she averaged 13.2 points, 8.6 rebounds and 4.5 assists for the Sky.

Candace has done so much for our franchise in her time here, Chicago coach and general manager James Wade said in a statement. I understand her reasons for wanting to be closer with her immediate family. We wish her nothing but the best. She will always be a part of the Sky family. We will celebrate her time here as she deserves.

Losing her is a big blow to the Sky, who made the semifinals in last season's playoffs before losing in five games to the Connecticut Sun. Kahleah Copper is the only starter under contract for next season, so the Sky could head into a rebuild.

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I am beyond grateful for the opportunity to win a championship in my hometown and parade down the same streets I watched the Bulls parade down as a young girl first falling in love with the game of basketball, Parker posted.

Parker joins the Aces at a time the Womens National Basketball Players Association said it wanted that organization investigated regarding allegations that Hamby made after being traded. She posted on Instagram she was "lied to, bullied, manipulated, and discriminated against because she is pregnant with her second child.

The Aces still have not commented on Hamby's allegations.

___

AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Malo Gusto has signed for Chelsea but will finish the season on loan at Lyon (Adam Davy/PA) (PA Archive)

Chelsea have continued their winter shopping spree with the signing of France under-21 right-back Malo Gusto from Lyon.

The 19-year-old will finish the season on loan at the Ligue 1 club where he has established himself as an attacking full-back since coming through the youth ranks.

Gusto has made 54 appearances for his hometown club and Chelsea view him as long-term competition for Reece James.

Gusto described himself as a box-to-box player in a short video on Chelseas website.

I choose Chelsea because its a big club and I like the project, he said. Im very happy to be here.

The reported 26.3million fee Chelsea will pay for Gusto adds to an already expensive January at Stamford Bridge.

With Graham Potters side still struggling with an extensive injury list, Chelsea have already signed Mykhaylo Mudryk, David Datro Fofana, Benoit Badiashile, Noni Madueke and Andrey Santos on permanent deals and brought in Joao Felix on loan from Atletico Madrid this month.

They are also expected to announce a deal for RB Leipzig forward Christopher Nkunku to join in a 50million plus move in the summer.

In line with the recent pattern at Chelsea, Gusto has agreed a long-term contract which runs until the summer of 2030.

After Mudryk signed an eight-and-a-half year deal, questions have been raised about Chelseas use of long-term contracts to spread the cost of their extensive rebuild.

Gusto is the 16th first-team signing since Todd Boehly bought the club last year, with spending now over the 400million mark.
BEIJING (Reuters) - China has resumed the issuance of ordinary visas for Japanese citizens travelling to the country, the Chinese embassy in Japan said on Sunday, in a move that could ease a diplomatic row.

Effective on Sunday, the embassy and Chinese consulates in Japan will resume the examination and issuance of ordinary visas for Japanese citizens to China, the embassy said in a statement.

China this month stopped issuing visas for Japanese nationals after Japan toughened COVID-19 border control rules for travellers coming directly from China.

Japan lodged a protest to China over the suspension of visas for Japanese citizens, asking Beijing to reverse the action.

(Reporting by Kevin Yao; Editing by William Mallard)
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP)  Henry Coleman III scored 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting, Tyrece Radford and Wade Taylor IV added 14 points apiece and Texas A&M blew a 13-point second-half lead Saturday night before rallying to beat Vanderbilt 72-66.

Andersson Garcia made a layup to give Texas A&M a two-point lead with a minute to play before Taylor stole the ball, was fouled and hit two free throws to make it 70-66 with 43 seconds left.

Taylor scored the final five points in a 12-0 run that gave the Aggies a 64-51 lead with 8:29 to play. Vanderbilt scored 15 of the next 16  including eight points from Jordan Wright  to take a one-point lead after Tyrin Lawrence hit two free throws with 2:59 to go. The Commodores went scoreless the rest of the way.

The Aggies made just 2 of 6 from the free-throw line in the final 29 seconds, but Vanderbilt went 0 for 5 from the field and committed two turnovers in the last three minutes.

Texas A&M (15-6, 7-1 SEC), which rebounded from a 76-67 loss to Kentucky last Saturday with a 79-63 win at No. 15 Auburn on Wednesday, has won nine of its last 10 games.

Myles Stute scored a career-high 22 points for Vanderbilt (10-10, 3-4), Wright added 15 points and Trey Thomas scored 13. Stute matched his career-best by hitting seven of the Commodores 12 3-pointers.

The Aggies made just 64% of their 34 free-throw attempts but outscored Vanderbilt, which was called for 24 personal fouls, 23-8 from the charity stripe.

UP NEXT

Vanderbilt plays Tuesday at No. 2 Alabama

Texas A&M visits Arkansas on Tuesday

___

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
Image via Getty/Brian Lawless/PA Images

Conor McGregor nearly suffered a serious injury after the MMA fighter was struck by a car while riding his bike in Ireland.

McGregor took to Instagram on Friday to shed light on the incident, posting a video shortly after the incident in which he could be heard telling the driver of the car that almost hit him, I couldve been dead there.

At the beginning of the clip, the driver apologized to McGregor, before the MMA legend reassures the man that hes OK. All good, mate, all good, Conor said. Dont worry about it.

Im still here, McGregor concluded the short video. Thank God. Thats all that matters.

The news arrives days after McGregor was accused of physically assaulting a woman last summer in Ibiza. ESPN reports the 34-year-old fighter has denied the allegations.

Mr. McGregor is steadfast in his denial of all the accusations made by a guest on his boat, McGregor spokesperson Karen Kessler told the outlet on Tuesday in a statement.

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Space is a treasure chest waiting to be plundered. Asteroids made of iron, nickel, cobalt, and even precious metals like gold and platinum constantly zoom around our solar systemoften tantalizingly close to Earth. In fact, a 2021 study published in The Planetary Science Journal found that there could be as much as $11.65 trillion worth of metal-rich near-Earth asteroids. Beyond our backyard, in the growing expanse of the universe, there floats a seemingly infinite amount of money.

If only it were easy to grab hold of. In the past, weve seen the rise and fall of asteroid mining startups like Planetary Resources and Deep Space Industries. These companies were founded in the 2010s and were funded to the tune of tens of millions of dollars. They had sky-high ambitions to extract precious resources from space rocks for use on Earth, and also to fuel rockets for future interplanetary explorations. They were buoyed in 2015 when Congress passed the U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act, which gave companies all rights to any materials they extracted from space rocks and helped fuel even more interest and investments in these companies.

But, in the end, these dreams crashed down to terra firma once venture capitalistsanxious to turn a profit on their investmentsstopped funding them. Planetary Resources failed to close a round of funding in 2018 and was eventually acquired by a blockchain company, which has yet to do anything with these space technology assets. Deep Space Industries was acquired by a separate aerospace venture dubbed Bradford Space that has likewise failed to do anything useful with the companys intellectual property.

Of course, that was years ago. The landscape for the aerospace industry is vastly different than what it was even in 2018. Not only has technology advanced to the point where flying to and returning from an asteroid is now at least feasible, but launching yourself into low- or near-Earth orbit is as simple as booking a ride on a rocket thats already on its way into space.

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Since the first wave of companies back in 2012, launch costs have dropped and its a lot easier to get a cheap rideshare on a [SpaceX] Falcon 9 [rocket], Kevin Cannon, professor of space resources and geology at the Colorado School of Mines, told The Daily Beast. Other technologies have improved and raising capital for these kinds of ventures is a bit easier.

Due to this, asteroid mining companiesand investor interestare starting to pick up steam once more. But questions about their viability, and ability to achieve their space-plundering goals, remain. Some of the challenges that faced Planetary Resources and Deep Space Industries are still there. After all, this isnt just rocket scienceits much more difficult.

This is really, really fucking hard, Matt Gialich, co-founder and CEO of asteroid mining company AstroForge, told The Daily Beast. Weve only done this as government agencies before. We need to take what governments have done and make it into a commercial company. Thats very tricky.

AstroForge co-founders Jose Acain (left) and Matt Gialich. Edward Carreon/AstroForge

AstroForge is one of the newest space rock mining companies to emerge in the wake of the collapse of Planetary Resources and Deep Space Industries. In 2022, AstroForge secured $13 million in seed funding, suggesting investors have a renewed confidence in these ventures.

The company announced on Jan. 24 that it would launch two missions in 2023: The first is in April and will take place aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in order to demonstrate metal refining technology in zero gravity. The second is an October launch with a SpaceX lunar rideshare thatll take them to deep space in order to observe their target asteroid. Gialich said that each mission is bringing them closer to the eventual goal of bringing their first refined load of platinum back on Earth by the end of this decade.

By 2030, Gialich added, we should be in business making who knows how much money.

If anyone knows how difficult asteroid mining is, its Chris Lewicki. Hes previously worked with NASA to send exploration rovers like Spirit and Opportunity to Mars, and was even the surface mission manager for the Phoenix Mars Lander. But perhaps the best reason he has a more reliable perspective on the challenges of asteroid mining is due to the fact that he was also the former president and co-founder of Planetary Resources before it was shuttered in 2018.

The way he tells it, one of the biggest hurdles that any asteroid mining company faces isnt necessarily technological or scientificits financial.

Planetary Resources, in many ways, failed because we were not able to raise the required amount of money to get to that next step, Lewicki told The Daily Beast. Part of the reason why we werent able to raise the amount of money was because it wasnt clear how the business was going to make money.

AstroForge will be launching two missions this year. Both will utilize rideshares on SpaceXs Falcon 9 rocket. Mark Bias via Getty

Nearly every company thats entering this nascent industry is a startup, reliant on funding from outside investors. While venture capitalists with deep pockets might be willing to dole out millions for a stake in an asteroid mining company initially, even the most gung ho of them, like Planetary Resources, will run out of interest eventually if theres no profit coming in.

Asteroid mining takes time. Even with SpaceX rideshares and new advanced telescopes to help you prospect the most platinum-rich asteroid, you still need to develop a tech stack capable of going out to the asteroid, mining it, refining the metal, and then bringing it back. The missions that make up the backbone of the business plan have to be planned on a scale of decades, rather than years.

Some asteroid mining ventures try to find other ways to generate income in the meantime. Initially, Planetary Resources planned to sell satellites capable of surveying for near-Earth asteroids and also analyzing the Earth itself. While they were able to successfully launch two test satellites into orbit, they failed to close a round of funding shortly after the second launchresulting in layoffs and its eventual acquisition.

AstroForges refinery operating in the simulated vacuum of space. Edward Carreon/AstroForge

Deep Space Industries and Planetary Resources taught us some important lessons, Joel Sercel, the co-founder and CEO of asteroid mining company Trans Astronautica, told The Daily Beast. That is, its less important to build spacecraft to get into space quickly, and more important to really understand the business model and the tech stack, and have the ability to deliver on industrial scale processes.

Sercel said that TransAstra, which was founded in 2015, is focused on playing the long game on asteroid mining. To that end, the company offers a variety of services like their rideshare compatible vehicle dubbed Worker Bee that can ferry satellites into low-Earth orbit. They also have proprietary propulsion technology, as well as the Sutter Telescope System (named after the birthplace of the California Gold Rush) that allows users to find and track new asteroids for minerals. All told, their business model helps them maintain stability while working on their long-term goal of mining asteroids.

Sercel is quick to say that hes completely supportive of AstroForge and other up-and-coming asteroid mining ventures. In his mind, the more talented engineers and entrepreneurs who are working on solving these big unwieldy problems, the better it is for the industry and society as a whole.

To test its mining process, AstroForge must make its own asteroids. Here the AstroForge team is creating an asteroid-like surface for testing. Edward Carreon/AstroForge

However, he also explained that sometimes the urge to move fast results in misplaced priorities.

We try to avoid the obsession some people in the space industry have with getting into space quickly, Sercel said. Weve seen any number of new startup companies get into space quickly, and then go out of business. So its a cool demonstration. But it really doesnt solve the fundamental problems.

AstroForge, on the other hand, seems very focused on one goal: getting space metal. It is working on the metal refining tech that is supposed to be demoed in orbit in April.

Our mission as a company is to go mine asteroids for platinum group metals, Gialich said. Theres no other mission of the company. We have no off-ramps. That is all we are trying to do. And the company is buoyed by the fact that the access to space is just so much cheaper than it ever was for anybody else. That gives us a huge advantage going forward.

Yet its still unclear whether there is enough of a market for space metals now to allow AstroForge to find success quickly enoughand if there isnt, their future might come crashing back down much sooner than expected.

Is Space Becoming a Gold Mine?

Despite the financial hurdles, AstroForge is dead-set on mining platinum from space and bringing it back to Earth before the decade is over. Thats an extremely ambitious goaland according to most space mining experts, a tad overly ambitious.

I think it'll take longer than the next few years for them to complete the whole thing, but what they're planning is good and the plan gets them moving, Chris Dreyer, the director of engineering in the Center for Space Resources at the Colorado School of Mines, told The Daily Beast. I think because AstroForge is gonna start flying missions very soon, you'll start seeing some results that build some confidence and hopefully be successful with those individual missions that develop some of their capabilities they need to do the complete mining process.

[What] theyre trying to pull off is very difficult, Cannon added. Deep space missions are usually run by huge teams of NASA and aerospace veterans so the chance of failure at first is quite high.

Lewicki was even more blunt about his predictions for AstroForges long-term success. Theoretically, I guess it could happen. But realistically, no, I dont think so, he said. However, he added that it might be possible to bring back a commercially small sample of platinum from an asteroidbut it wouldnt be enough to generate a meaningful revenue stream by any means.

We Are Shockingly Unprepared for a World-Ending Asteroid

Investors might not want to wait too long for results either. Ellen Chang, vice president of ventures at innovation and space consultancy BMNT, told The Daily Beast in an email that the asteroid mining market is a ways out, likely 10+ years, so only certain investorsthose who may have strategic needswould be interested.

They would value any company building an astroid mining company also making revenues from projects servicing needs today, Chang explained. In my view, the traditional venture capitalist would not be interested because their fund lifecycle is too short.

Regardless if theyre right or not theyll actually succeed, Sercell said that its important to want AstroForges team to succeed. Rising tides raise all ships. If an asteroid mining company finally brings back a payload of refined platinum, gold, or whatever else, it proves that its possible.

The consequences would be hugesimilar to the effect SpaceX had when it proved out the reusability of its first stage Falcon 9 booster. All of a sudden, well be able to mine for resources in space instead of ravaging the Earth for them. Deep space exploration and colonization becomes a whole lot closer to becoming a reality if were able to get resources from asteroids. Human population could grow exponentially and spread through the cosmos with less worry about depleting vital resources. It would change the future of humanity as we know it.

The asteroids enable us to build worlds in space to support a population with a thousand Einsteinsand thats pretty cool, Sercel said. Its the ultimate sustainable solution for humanity.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Petr Pavel

Pavel is also expected to talk to President Zelenskyy by phone on Jan. 29, the publication wrote.

The new Czech president will reportedly discuss his upcoming visit to Ukraine with Zelenskyy during the conversation.

Read also: Czechia denies reports of intent to supply Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine

Caputova, who met with the president-elect of the Czech Republic at his campaign headquarters, welcomed the proposed trip, Pravda.sk reported.

Pavel is a 61-year-old retired general who during his election campaign actively supported Ukraine in its resistance to the Russian invasion. He won 57.6% of the vote in the presidential elections, according to initial results released by the Czech state statistics office, the BBC reported.

Pavel will officially assume office in March, replacing Milos Zemen, the previously pro-Russian Czech president.

Read also: Ukraine needs more money than expected, says Czech minister

Zemen, who downplayed the likelihood of a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, quickly changed his tune after Feb. 24, 2022  the day Russian tanks started to roll across the border.

He immediately called for Russian banks to be banned from the SWIFT international banking payments systems, and called the full-scale invasion a crime against peace.

Hes also described Russian dictator Vladimir Putin as a madman, according to Euronews.

Lunatics need to be isolated, and we must protect against them not only by words but by concrete measures, Zeman said.

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Emilia Sykes received a standing ovation Saturday afternoon in the auditorium of the Firestone Community Learning Center.

U.S. Rep. Sykes had just taken her oath of office, administered by Ohio Supreme Court Justice Melody Stewart, making Sykes the first woman of color to represent Ohio's 13th Congressional District. It also marked the first time in nearly half a century that the entirety of Akron's population of nearly 200,000 people has been represented by one member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

All of Summit County falls inside the boundaries of the 13th District, along with the Stark County's northern half and a sliver of Portage County.

U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes acknowledges the crowd before being sworn in Saturday at Firestone Community Learning Center in Akron. At left is Kevin Rushing, senior pastor of United Baptist Church.

In her inaugural address to the crowd, Sykes  a graduate of the Akron Public Schools system  thanked the people of her district for putting their faith in her by choosing her to represent them. The seat she now occupies, she said, really belongs to the people of Ohio's 13th Congressional District.

"I am merely a temporary occupant," Sykes said, "and this is our celebration, and there is no way that I was going to celebrate without you."

Emilia Sykes speaks:U.S. Rep. Sykes to talk at Akron Roundtable in early February

More:Local leaders say opportunities open with Emilia Sykes' election to Congress

Sykes reaffirmed her commitment to making sure Akron's schoolchildren succeed and her commitment to serving her constituency.

"We have a unique opportunity before us, one that requires laser focus and hard work and also compassion," said Sykes. "And that's why I'm committed to increasing opportunity for every child, every senior, every family in Northeast Ohio, no matter where you live, who you love, what your ZIP code is, what your race is, what your sex or gender identity is."

Bringing manufacturing jobs offering well-paying, sustainable, union employment back to the region is her priority, Sykes said, as is keeping people safe. She pointed to combating the rising cost of health care and providing a high-quality educational experience for children as cornerstones of her agenda.

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"I am committed to identifying all of the tools that are available to keep us safe in our homes and our communities, while also ensuring that those who are sworn to protect and serve do so honorably and equitably," Sykes said.

Sykes urged her gathered constituents to work with her throughout her term by reaching out to her office anytime, and to feel free to approach her.

She is optimistic, she said, about what is possible with the 118th United States Congress.

"I look forward to delivering on all the promises that I made to you on the campaign trail and the ones I made to you today," said Sykes. "So in closing, let me end where I began and say the two most powerful words in the English language: Thank you. Thank you for trusting me to represent you in Congress, thank you for this incredible opportunity. I'm going to make you proud."

Emilia Sykes is sworn in by Ohio Supreme Court Justice Melody Stewart to serve the 13 U.S. Congressional District of Ohio as her parents, Vernon and Barbara Sykes, look on Saturday in Akron.

Local officials praise Emilia Sykes at swearing-in

The ceremony, officiated by Linda Omobien, at-large Akron City Council member, featured a number of speakers.

Massillon Mayor Kathy Catazaro-Perry spoke first, giving the audience a rundown of Sykes' education and work history, as well as a brief history on her parents' political careers. Vernon and Barbara Sykes have spent considerable time in the political arena.

"The people of the 13th District  Summit, Stark and Portage counties  are fortunate to have Emilia as their representative, as she has the experience and knowledge to do great things for her district," Catazaro-Perry said.

Twinsburg school district board of education member Mark Curtis stepped up to the microphone to acknowledge some of the other elected officials present, among them state Rep. Casey Weinstein of Hudson and Stow Mayor John Pribonic.

U.S. Rep. Sykes votes:Akron native Emilia Sykes casts first votes as 13th Congressional District representative

Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro issued a proclamation that Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023, be known as Congresswoman Emilia Sykes Day in Summit County.

"From my home to your home, and from my office to your office, I look forward to wherever the world takes us with your leadership," Shapiro said.

Betty Sutton, the presiding judge of Ohio's 9th District Court of Appeals, took the stage next.

"To the clergy, the distinguished officials, leaders and friends who are here today, this is a day of joy and promise," Sutton said. "What a joy it is to see this determined daughter of the heart of the heartland, Emilia Strong Sykes, achieve this high office and make history with her election as the first Black person to serve as U.S. representative for Ohio's 13th Congressional District.

Last up was Melissa Cropper, president of the Ohio Federation of Teachers and secretary-treasurer of the Ohio AFL-CIO. She thanked the voters of the 13th for choosing Sykes to represent them, as Cropper doesn't live in the district and wasn't able to cast a vote for Sykes. Still, she was rooting for her to win.

"You voted in a champion, not only for Ohio's District 13, not only for all of us across the state of Ohio, but a champion for working people all across our great nation," said Cropper.

Emilia Sykes' parents, Barbara and Vernon Sykes, and her husband, Kevin Boyce, watch as the new U.S. congresswoman addresses a gathering at Firestone CLC in Akron.

Community members encouraged by Emilia Sykes' words

After the ceremony, the crowd milled about in the foyer among tables of refreshments. They were taking pictures of each other and chatting, the mood buoyant.

Kim Sims and Rhonda Hawkins, residents of Akron's Ward 3 and Stark County, respectively, both cast their vote for Sykes in the election.

Sims was enthusiastic about what she heard from Sykes, particularly about the representative's open attitude about talking to her constituents.

"It's a wonderful thing to have someone you can be in touch with, versus feeling like there's no one to access," Sims said.

Hawkins appreciated Sykes' commitment to making sure everyone's voice is heard, commitment to children, and her willingness interact with the people in her district.

Both hope Sykes will take steps to address all of the issues she mentioned in her speech in a bipartisan way.

Support local journalism:6 reasons why you should subscribe to the Akron Beacon Journal

One of Akron's at-large council candidates, Eric Garrett, attended the ceremony as well. Sykes helped Garrett secure funds for Beyond Expectations Barber College, which Garrett founded and owns.

"She's a strong fighter for the people of this community," Garrett said.

He hopes to see Sykes continue her advocacy and work on behalf of the community during her time in Congress.

Tyffani Dent of Cuyhaoga County was, like Cropper, unable to vote for Sykes but still rooting for her to win.

She was impressed that Sykes said she will focus on all aspects of her district and that she stressed bringing good jobs back to the area.

"I firmly believe that we need great representation in all parts of Ohio if we're going to make a difference in Congress," Dent said.

Contact reporter Derek Kreider at DKreider@Gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: 13th Congressional District Rep. Emilia Sykes of Akron sworn in
MEMPHIS, Tenn.  Demonstrators outside a Memphis Police Department precinct demanded charges against an officer who's seen firing what appears to be a Taser in the video that shows five other officers fatally beating a Black man.

Protests and vigils were scheduled across the nation Sunday, two days after the release of footage showing members of the Memphis police mercilessly kicking and punching Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old father, skateboarder and FedEx worker.

The officer with the Taser appears to be white  the five charged with murder in Nichols' death are Black  and is heard saying, "I hope they stomp his ass." The small group protesting outside the police precinct called for his identity to be revealed.

"They are charging the black officers" activist Casio Montez said. "We want that white officer's name. We want him charged."

The Memphis protesters held moments of silence lasting three minutes, the amount of time Nichols was beaten during a Jan. 7 traffic stop. He died three days later.

"That was the longest three minutes of silence in my life" said activist Jennifer Cain, whose group organized the protest attended by about 30 demonstrators. "That's three minutes of beating. Three minutes of screaming and yelling for his mom."

Protests in cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Portland, Oregon, have been scattered and non-violent. In Milwaukee, Peace Action Wisconsin was among groups sponsoring a march from Red Arrow Park to a local police precinct.

"The body cam footage is horrific and unwatchable," the group says on its website. "We are demanding justice for Nichols and all victims of police violence. We are demanding accountability and transparency from the police."

Hundreds of protestors gathered in Oakland, California, on Sunday night to rally for the end of police brutality and march for Nichols. Numerous community members and advocates spoke during the rally, which was organized by the Anti Police-Terror Project.

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"I still havent seen the video. All I needed to know was who was involved, and that was it," said Dieudonne Brou, a youth advocacy and program coordinator for Urban Peace Movement, during the protest. "Its the same thing over and over and over. Then we sit in our homes, thinking to ourselves, 'Is this going to be our fate?'"

Protesters rally in Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C., after Memphis officials released police body camera footage of the arrest of Tyre Nichols.

VIDEO SHOWS VIOLENT BEATING OF TYRE NICHOLS: He died three days later

Other developments:

Other vigils and protests include events in New Haven, Connecticut; West Chester, Pennsylvania; Springfield, Missouri; Stockton, California; and Anchorage, Alaska.

The University of Memphis resumed normal hours Sunday after shutting down "until further notice" in response to the release of the video.

The funeral for Nichols will be held Wednesday at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis.

BEN CRUMP APPLAUDS 'SWIFE JUSTICE': Experts say the speed was 'unusual.'

'We can't sit this one out:' Mississippi church holds Sunday service

When the Rev. J. Lawrence Turner asked for anyone in his church Sunday morning who desired prayer to come forward or stand up, nearly the entire congregation at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church rose to their feet.

Turner's Sunday sermon honed in on the brutality Jesus faced from Roman soldiers and the brutality Nichols faced from Memphis officers, but it also looked forward.

"We can't sit this one out," Turner said. "We can't just be onlookers, we've got to get into the struggle, we've got to get into the fight. And what does that mean? That don't mean you take to the streets and tear up the city. That means we've got to have some brave conversations with those who are in leadership. You don't have to have hate in your heart to hold somebody accountable."

Turner challenged the congregation to call leadership, even if it means calling people across the aisle, and referenced the partisan deadlock that has stopped the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act from becoming law.

 Gina Butkovich, Memphis Commercial Appeal

What happened to Tyre Nichols?

Memphis police officers pulled over Nichols, 29, for suspected reckless driving on Jan. 7. The initial police report said only that a "confrontation" occurred, that Nichols fled on foot, and that another confrontation then occurred. The report said Nichols then complained of shortness of breath.

Nichols was hospitalized in critical condition that night. Three days later he died, having suffered extensive bleeding caused by a severe beating, according to an autopsy commissioned by his family. Federal investigators opened a civil rights investigation Jan. 18. The officers were fired Jan. 20 and charged with murder and other related crimes.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump applauded the Memphis police chief and county prosecutors for the quick response, calling their efforts a "blueprint going forward."

Video released of brutal beating

Video released from body-worn and utility pole cameras showed officers pepper-spraying, kicking, punching, and hitting Nichols while he was restrained, bashing him with a baton, and shooting him with a Taser. Nichols cried out for his mother and to be allowed to go to his nearby home. Finally, he lay propped up against the side of a police car motionless while officers milled around him. More than 20 minutes later, an ambulance arrived.

"This is not just a professional failing, this is a failing of basic humanity toward another individual," Memphis Police Chief C.J. Davis said in a statement. She described the behavior of the officers as "heinous, reckless and inhumane."

5 officers charged with second-degree murder, free on bond

The five officers, all Black, charged in Nichols' death are members of SCORPION, or Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods, the department confirmed. Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith each face charges of second-degree murder; aggravated assault, act in concert; two counts of aggravated kidnapping; two counts of official misconduct; and official oppression. All were released on bail ranging from $250,000 to $350,000. Arraignment was set for Feb. 17.

No one out there that night intended for Tyre Nichols to die, said William Massey, Martins attorney.

Memphis disbands SCORPION police unit

The 50-person SCORPION unit was established in 2021. Its goal was to reduce crime 5% by concentrating officers in areas with high crime, a saturation patrolling tactic used by other urban police forces. City and police officials praised the units statistics for arrests and guns recovered. But Antonio Romanucci, lawyer for the Nichols family, said SCORPION and other specialized police units target the "most vulnerable" and should be disbanded.

"These are suppression units," he said. "And what they do is they wind up oppressing the people that we care about the most  our children, our young sons and daughters who are Black and brown."

The Rev. Al Sharpton argued that if the units were set up to combat egregious crimes, "why are you dealing with an alleged traffic violation in the first place?"

On Saturday, the unit was disbanded.

Two sheriff's deputies relieved of duties pending probe

Sheriff Floyd Bonner said he launched an internal investigation after watching the videotape to determine whether deputies violated his department's policies.

"I have concerns about two deputies who appeared on the scene following the physical confrontation between police and Tyre Nichols," Bonner said in a statement. "Both of these deputies have been relieved of duty pending the outcome of this administrative investigation.

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY NETWORK: Tyre Nichols updates: Vigils, protests, Scorpion police unit disbanded
Piers Morgan has lashed out at Alan Cumming following the actors OBE announcement.

The Scottish actor, who was handed the title as part of the Queens birthday honours in 2009, revealed on Friday (27 January) that he recently returned the award.

Cumming, who has US as well as British citizenship, said that while receiving the OBE for services to the arts and LGBTQ+ activism made him very proud to be British, and galvanised as an American, recent public conversations regarding the monarchy and British empire have changed his perception.

The Queens death and the ensuing conversations about the role of monarchy and especially the way the British empire profited at the expense (and death) of indigenous peoples across the world really opened my eyes, he wrote on Instagram.

The 58-year-old continued: Also, thankfully, times and laws in the US have changed, and the great good the award brought to the LGBTQ+ cause back in 2009 is now less potent than the misgivings I have being associated with the toxicity of empire (OBE stands for Officer of the British Empire).

So I returned my award, explained my reasons and reiterated my great gratitude for being given it in the first place. Im now back to being plain old Alan Cumming again.

Broadcaster Morgan hit out at Cummings decision, writing on Twitter: What a pathetic, disingenuous, disloyal, attention-seeking little twerp.

Piers Morgan wasnt impressed with Alan Cummings OBE decision (Twitter)

However, Cummings fans have heaped praised on the actor, who recently hosted The Traitors US, which is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

He is not the first performer to return his OBE. In December 2020, Welsh actor Michael Sheen shared a statement revealing that he too had handed back his honour.

Sheen explained that hed undertaken extensive research into Welsh history after he was asked to speak at the Learning and Work Institutes annual Raymond William Memorial Lecture in November 2017.

I remember sitting there going, Well I have a choice: I either dont give this lecture and hold on to my OBE or I give this lecture and I have to give my OBE back, he said.

Story continues

Alan Cumming has handed back his OBE (Getty Images)

Sheen said that hed quietly given the award back as he realised he would have been a hypocrite were he to keep it and still give the lecture about the nature of the relationship between Wales and the British state, and the history of it.

Find a full ist of celebrites who rejected OBEs here.
Every investor in MaxCyte, Inc. (LON:MXCT) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 70% to be precise, is institutions. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

And things are looking up for institutional investors after the company gained UK43m in market cap last week. The gains from last week would have further boosted the one-year return to shareholders which currently stand at 5.0%.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about MaxCyte.

Check out our latest analysis for MaxCyte

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About MaxCyte?

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.

We can see that MaxCyte does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see MaxCyte's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Institutional investors own over 50% of the company, so together than can probably strongly influence board decisions. MaxCyte is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Casdin Capital, LLC with 9.0% of shares outstanding. BlackRock, Inc. is the second largest shareholder owning 7.0% of common stock, and Vitruvian Partners LLP holds about 4.9% of the company stock.

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After doing some more digging, we found that the top 14 have the combined ownership of 51% in the company, suggesting that no single shareholder has significant control over the company.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.

Insider Ownership Of MaxCyte

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves.

Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.

Shareholders would probably be interested to learn that insiders own shares in MaxCyte, Inc.. It has a market capitalization of just UK470m, and insiders have UK6.4m worth of shares, in their own names. Some would say this shows alignment of interests between shareholders and the board. But it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 19% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

Private Equity Ownership

With an ownership of 9.0%, private equity firms are in a position to play a role in shaping corporate strategy with a focus on value creation. 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:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for MaxCyte (1 is a bit concerning) that you should be aware of.

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.

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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Federal prosecutors are likely looking into Republican Congressman George Santos campaign finances after the Justice Department asked the Federal Election Commission to postpone any enforcement action, sources told the Washington Post.

The development coincided with a Mother Jones investigation, which looked into donors to Mr Santoss 2020 campaign, and discovered contact details for many people were incorrect, with addresses and names not only seeming not to match but often not to exist at all.

The Post reported that the DOJs Public Integrity Section asked the FEC to hold off on action as well as provide any relevant documents, according to knowledgeable sources speaking on condition of anonymity.

A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment to the Post while an FEC spokeswoman said the regulator cannot comment on enforcement; neither Santos nor his attorney responded to requests for comment, the newspaper reported.

The FEC ordinarily complies with DOJ requests to hold off on enforcement, the Post reported. Those requests arise from a 1977 memorandum of understanding between the agencies that addresses their overlapping law enforcement responsibilities.

Mother Jones, meanwhile, had been attempting to contact donors to Mr Santos, whose various claims about everything from his education to his mothers death have been proven as lies.

The outlet found more than a dozen major donations to the 2020 Santos campaign for which the name or the address of the donor cannot be confirmed ... These questionable donations, which account for more than $30,000 of the $338,000 the Santos campaign raised from individual donors in 2020, have not been previously cited in media reports. Mother Jones identified them by contacting (or trying to contact) dozens of the most generous donors to Santos 2020 campaign, which he ended up losing by 12 points.

Campaign funds have been a key issue among the swirling and ever-growing mysteries surrounding Mr Santos career. The DOJ-to-FEC request indicates theres an active criminal investigation at the DOJ that could overlap with complaints before the FEC, Brett Kappel, a campaign finance lawyer at D.C.-based Harmon, Curran, Spielberg & Eisenberg, told the Post.

Mr Santos, 34, has admitted to embellishment of his past and achievements but has resisted all calls for his resignation.
The Siuslaw River Bridge in Florence.

The Florence Area Chamber of Commerce will receive $30,500 from Travel Oregon to partner with Wheel the World, an international organization focused on advancing access to travel for those with limited ability, according to the chamber.

The chamber said it plans to use the money to conduct a study to assess the accessibility of local tourism businesses and to receive accessibility training through Wheel the World Academy. It will also allow for viable local businesses to be included on WheeltheWorld.com, a website where people can search accessible travel opportunities across the world.

The end result, after we receive the studys findings, will be a more accessible Florence for visitors, said Bettina Hannigan, president and CEO of the Florence Area Chamber of Commerce. Tourism is our largest economic activity providing more than 1,400 jobs (about 40% of our local employment) and roughly $200 million in economic impact to our community. Eventually, this will boost tourism capacity and our local economy, and help more people to enjoy Oregons Coastal Playground who couldnt before.

The grant is part of more than $1.4 million Travel Oregon has awarded through its Capacity and Small Project grant program. The program is designed to to help travel management and marketing organizations and federally-recognized tribes enhance and expand economic impact through travel and tourism.

Makenzie Elliott covers breaking news and public safety for The Register-Guard. Reach her at MElliott@gannett.com. Find her on Twitter at @makenzielliott.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Florence to receive grant focused on accessible travel experiences
Andriy Melnyk

A submarine, in the hands of the Ukrainian navy, which lost most of its main surface vessels to capture by Russia in 2014, could help expel the Russian Navy from the Black Sea, Melnyk, who has a history of making controversial and undiplomatic statements, wrote.

Read also: U.S. defense officials have not ruled out transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine

Germany (ThyssenKrupp) produces one of the worlds best submarines HDW Class 212A, he wrote.

The Bundeswehr has 6 such U-boats. Why not to send one to Ukraine? Then well kick the Russian fleet out of the Black Sea.

Earlier, Melnyk called on the German government to stop the tank show and agree to supply Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.

Melnyk, who was Ukraines ambassador in Berlin until October 2022, has a history of ruffling German politicians feathers with his outspokenness. He called German Chancellor Olaf Scholz an offended liver sausage in the wake of the German leader cancelling a visit to Kyiv because the German president had not been invited  a German phrase implying the chancellor was thin-skinned and easily offended.

Melnyk has also had a brush with Twitter owner Elon Musk, writing Fuck off is my very diplomatic reply to you, to Musk on Oct. 3, 2022 after the billionaire businessman offered up a peace-plan heavily biased towards Russia and containing elements of Kremlin false propaganda claims.

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates endorses retired Marine Gen. John F. Kelly during the Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing on Kelly's confirmation to be Secretary of Homeland Security on Capitol Hill on January 10, 2017. AP Photo/Cliff Owen

Putin sees Ukraine as part of his "destiny" to "recreate the Russian Empire," said ex-Defense Secretary Gates.

"He is obsessed with retaking Ukraine. He will hang in there," Gates said on Sunday on NBC News.

The US and other military allies are sending tanks to Ukraine to aid the country against Russia's advances.

Russian President Vladimir Putin believes it's his "destiny" to recreate the Russian Empire, according to former US Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

During a Sunday interview on NBC's "Meet the Press," Gates said that Putin had made it part of his vision to retake old territories to recreate Russia's former geographic sphere of influence.

"Putin believes it's his destiny to recreate the Russian Empire. And as my old mentor, Zbig Brzezinski, used to say, 'Without Ukraine, there can be no Russian Empire,'" Gates said. "So he is obsessed with retaking Ukraine. He will hang in there."

"I think that he does believe that time is on his side, that support in the US, support in Europe, and so on, will fray. And he's doing what Russian armies have always done, and that is sending large numbers of relatively poorly equipped, poorly trained conscripts to the frontlines, in the belief that mass will overcome," he added.

Ukraine will soon receive a set of critical tanks from military allies  including the United States and the United Kingdom  in the country's continued efforts in warding off Russian forces.

Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine last February, and in the coming weeks, it will mark a full year since the beginning of the conflict.

Read the original article on Business Insider
PARIS (AP)  Frances prime minister insisted Sunday that the governments plan to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 is no longer negotiable, further angering parliamentary opponents and unions who plan new mass protests and disruptive strikes this week.

Raising the pension age is one part of a broad bill that is the flagship measure of President Emmanuel Macrons second term. The bill is meeting widespread popular resistance  more than 1 million people marched against it earlier this month  and misunderstanding about what it will mean for todays French workers.

In an interview with France-Info radio broadcast Sunday, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said the age is no longer negotiable.

Retirement at 64 and a lengthening of the number of years needed to earn a full pension is the compromise that we proposed after having heard employers organizations and unions, she said.

A union-led online petition against the retirement plan saw a surge in new signatures after Bornes comments. Frances eight leading unions are in discussions Sunday about a joint response to her remarks, according to officials with the FO and CFDT unions.

Lawmaker Manuel Bompard, whose France Unbowed party is leading the parliamentary push against the reform, called for the biggest possible turnout for upcoming strikes and protests.

We have to be in the streets Tuesday, he said on BFM television Sunday.

The government says the reform is necessary to keep the pension system solvent as Frances life expectancy has grown and birth rates have declined.

Our aim is to ensure that in 2030 we have a system thats financially balanced, Borne said.

Unions and left-wing parties want big companies or wealthier households to pitch in more to balance the pension budget instead.

Borne suggested openness to adjustments on how the reform addresses time that people take out of their careers to bear children or pursue education. The plan's critics say women are unfairly targeted; Borne disagreed, but said, We are in the process of analyzing the situation.

The bill goes to a parliamentary commission on Monday, and to a full debate in the National Assembly on Feb. 6. Opponents have submitted 7,000 proposed amendments that will further complicate the debate.
KYIV, Ukraine (AP)  Friends and volunteers gathered Sunday at Kyiv's St Sophias Cathedral to say goodbye to Andrew Bagshaw, a New Zealand scientist who was killed in Ukraine with another volunteer while they were trying to evacuate people from a front-line town.

Bagshaw, 48, a dual New Zealand-British citizen, and British volunteer Christopher Parry, 28, went missing this month while heading to the town of Soledar, in the eastern Donetsk region, where heavy fighting was taking place.

Volunteers spoke of their memories of Bagshaw and read tributes from his family.

Nikolletta Stoyanova, a friend in Ukraine, shared memories of his bravery.

Even if no one wanted to go to Soledar, they can do that. Because if he understood that someone needs help, they need to do this help for these people, Stoyanova said, speaking in English.

Bagshaw's father, Phil, told reporters in New Zealand that his son wanted to do something to help.

He was a very intelligent man, and a very independent thinker, he said. And he thought a long time about the situation in Ukraine, and he believed it to be immoral. He felt the only thing he could do of a constructive nature was to go there and help people.

Ukrainian police said Jan. 9 that they lost contact with Bagshaw and Parry after the two headed for Soledar. Their bodies were later recovered. A Ukrainian official reported Wednesday that the defending forces made an organized retreat from the salt-mining town.

In a Jan. 24 statement, Parrys family said he was drawn to Ukraine in March in its darkest hour. They said hed helped those most in need, saving over 400 lives plus many abandoned animals.

Friends said the men's bodies would be handed over to relatives in the U.K.

In the south of Ukraine, Russian forces on Sunday heavily shelled the city of Kherson, killing three people and wounding six others, the regional administration said. It said the shelling damaged a hospital, school, bus station, post office, bank and residential buildings.

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Among those reported injured were two women in the hospital at the time: a nurse and a cafeteria worker. Russian forces retreated across the Dnieper River from Kherson in November, but still hold much of the province of the same name.

On Sunday, Russia's Foreign Ministry accused Ukraine and its Western allies of war crimes in connection with the shelling of two hospitals in Russian-held parts of Ukraine.

Russian officials said 14 people died on Saturday when a hospital in the eastern Luhansk province settlement of Novoaidar was struck. They said shells also fell on the territory of a hospital in Nova Kakhovka, a Russian-occupied city in Kherson province where a strategically vital bridge across the lower reaches of the Dnieper is located.

The deliberate shelling of active civilian medical facilities and the targeted killing of civilians are grave war crimes of the Kyiv regime and its Western masters, the Foreign Ministry said. The lack of reaction from the United States and other NATO countries to this, yet another monstrous trampling of international humanitarian law by Kyiv, once again confirms their direct involvement in the conflict and involvement in the crimes being committed.

Russian forces have shelled hundreds of hospitals and other medical facilities in Ukraine since the war began, reducing more than 100 of them to rubble, according to the Ukrainian Health Ministry.

Russian state TV aired footage of what it said was the damaged hospital in Novoaidar. It said rockets hit the pediatric department of the two-story building.

There are no military factories here. There are no military vehicles, no tanks. Who did you shoot at?" Olga Ryasnaya said in an interview on Russian TV, which identified her as a pediatric nurse.

Luhansk province, where Novoaidar is located, is almost entirely under the control of Russian forces or Russian-backed separatists. Russian and separatist officials alleged the hospital was deliberately targeted. The movements of journalists are restricted in areas of Ukraine under Russian control.

The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said Ukrainian forces were likely increasing strikes on Russian positions deep inside Luhansk province, closer to the Russian border, in an effort to disrupt Russian logistics and ground lines of communication." It said the strikes could be part of preparations for a future counteroffensive.

In other developments:

 A Russian missile hit an apartment building in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, late Sunday, killing at least one person and injuring three others, officials said.

 The British Defense Ministry said Sunday that Ukrainian tank crews have arrived in the U.K. to begin training on the Challenger 2 battle tank. The U.K. government has said it would send 14 of the tanks to Ukraine, which also was promised advanced battle tanks from the U.S., Germany and other European allies.

___

Follow APs coverage of the war in Ukraine: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
A Georgia man will spend the next 25 years behind bars after deputies say he robbed a Henry County gas station at gunpoint.

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

On Thursday, a Henry County jury found Corey Criswell, 33, of Pike County, guilty on one count of armed robbery, three counts of aggravated assault, criminal attempt to commit a felony, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

The robbery happened on March 9, 2020 at the Texaco gas station on Highway 42 in Locust Grove.

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According to the release, a cashier was reportedly closing up the store for the evening, when Criswell stormed inside the business.

Criswell was allegedly wearing a black bandana over his face while carrying a gun. The cashier and the cashiers friend tried to block Criswell from coming inside the store, before he fired a gun.

Criswell then rushed into the store, and reportedly demanded the cashier to give him money. He then fired a second shot into the wall behind the cash register, the release states.

Henry County officials say Criswell also pistol- whipped the cashier in the face, before running away with an unknown amount of cash.

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Authorities was able to arrest Criswell, after identifying him through surveillance video at a nearby gas station, where he was seen shortly before the robbery at the Texaco station.

He was sentenced to 35 years with the first 25 years to be served in prison.

IN OTHER NEWS:
Rep. George Santos in the House chamber. Andrew Harnik/ AP Photo

Pedro Vilarva, who met Santos in 2014, said he lived with Santos' wife unaware that the pair were married.

Vilarva said that he had no proof of whether or not the marriage between Santos and his wife was real.

Vilarva also agreed with the statement that Santos was a pathological liar.

An ex-boyfriend of Republican Rep. George Santos said he had no idea the congressman was married when they first started dating  even after moving in together with Santos and his then-wife in her apartment.

Pedro Vilarva, who was 18 in 2014 when he met Santos, described the living situation in an interview with Insider on Friday. Santos, who is now openly gay, was 26 at the time and married to a woman.

"When I moved to New York, I was living in her apartment. I lived for a whole month in her apartment. For me, they were friends. They knew each other, we all used to go party together, we went to events together," Vilarva said.

Vilarva said that he eventually discovered the pair were married, but Santos told him that he was planning to divorce his wife.

"I was a little bit shocked, but when he told me he was getting a divorce, I was waiting... But then he never got the divorce until a couple years back," Vilarva said.

Vilarva said he had no proof whether or not the marriage between Santos and his wife was genuine. He also said that while Santos and he were dating, his wife was dating another man as well.

Between 2012 and 2019, records obtained from the Daily Beast revealed Santos was married to Uadla Santos. Santos divorced her weeks before his first run for Congress in 2020.

Vilarva and Santos met in 2014, and Santos announced an engagement party with Vilarva that same year. Vilarva, however, told the Daily Beast that the engagement party did not happen and that he had rejected Santos' proposals. "He asked me 3x but I didn't accept it," Vilarva told the Beast via text. "There was never a party [or] anything in regards to it."

Vilarva eventually left Santos in early 2015 after uncovering multiple false statements that Santos had told him and discovering that Santos had been investigated by Brazilian authorities for fraud.

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Santos, newly elected to New York's 3rd congressional district, has spent weeks in the spotlight after dozens of his lies have come to light. He lied about his education and work experience, once performed as a drag queen, which he has denied, and obscured the truth about his religious beliefs by claiming to be "Jew-ish."

When asked by Insider if Santos was a pathological liar, Vilarva said yes, stating that Santos would lie to "cover up" his other lies.

"One lie leads to another, Vilarva said. "He does that intentionally."

Vilarva has previously accused Santos of lying about purchasing plane tickets to Hawaii for him while they were dating and believes that Santos may have pawned off his phone.

Vilarva also questioned Santos' claim that his mother survived the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center.

"I was born on 9/11, in 1995; they knew that I was born on the day," Vilarva said. "We spent my birthday together. If they knew my birthday was on that day, wouldn't you reference that or say something about it? Like, 'By the way, I was a 9/11 survivor.' No, they never said anything, not him and not his mom."

As more of Santos' lies have been revealed, pressure is mounting on him to resign from his position in Congress. Vilarva agrees that he should resign, but doesn't think that will happen anytime soon.

"His ego is too high," Vilarva said. "He always wanted power and fame, so he's not going to resign. He will not resign until they find something to get him out. But he should definitely resign."

A representative for Santos did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Russian forces had shelled a hospital in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, injuring a nurse, the Health Ministry reported on Jan. 29.

According to Kherson Oblast Military Administration, Russian troops also "heavily shelled" residential areas in liberated Kherson, killing and injuring many civilians. The administration didn't specify the number of casualties, saying it would provide details later.

The administration's press service later told Suspilne media outlet that at least three people were killed due to the Russian shelling of Kherson on Jan. 29.

Ukrainian military liberated Kherson, as well as surrounding areas on the western bank of the Dnipro River, in November, after eight months of Russian occupation. Since then, Russian forces have been relentlessly shelling the Ukrainian-held territories.


A longtime Hickory Police Department Deputy Chief is moving up and taking over as Chief of Police.

In a release, the department announced that after 25 years of service, Major Reed Baer will take over as chief on Wednesday, following the retirement announcement of standing Police Chief Thurman Whisnant.

ALSO READ: Local leaders hold Day of Unity after release of Tyre Nichols video

Hickory City Manager Warren Wood quoted Baers ability to lead and a strong set of skills as major factors in his promotion.

Reed began his career with HPD as a patrol officer, said Wood. He has worked his way through multiple positions, including Special Investigations Sergeant, Patrol Sergeant, Support Services Lieutenant, Support Services Commander, Criminal Investigations Commander, and most recently as Deputy Chief of Police. Not only do his years of experience within HPD uniquely qualify him for Chief of Police, but he has also established respect and credibility with his fellow officers, attesting to his leadership ability.

Baer earned his undergraduate degree from East Carolina University in sociology and criminology. He then graduated from the FBI National Academy in Quantico, VA.

In addition to his education, Baer holds many different certificates and licenses, including an advanced law enforcement certificate from the North Carolina Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission.

Hickory Mayor Hank Guess said Baers knowledge of police protocol and relationships with his fellow officers will make for an easy transfer of power.

Reed understands the policing model we have followed successfully for many years. He has the respect of his fellow officers, and I am confident this will be a seamless transition, said Guess.

(WATCH BELOW: The Political Beat: Democratic leader emphasizes rural gains for party growth in NC)












A race for a Supreme Court seat in Wisconsin could determine the future of abortion rights in a state likely to play a crucial role in the 2024 presidential election.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has a 4-3 conservative majority, but conservative Justice Patience Roggensack is opting not to seek another term, evenly splitting the court along ideological lines. Voters will head to the polls for a February primary, which will determine which two justices from a group of two conservative candidates and two liberal candidates will move on to the April general election.

Whoever wins that state Supreme Court seat is likely to weigh in on a consequential lawsuit over a contested 1849 abortion law, which offers no exceptions except for the life of the pregnant person, and the outcome of which could have major implications for one of the countrys few remaining swing states.

Wisconsin-based Democratic strategist Joe Zepecki said that anger following the U.S. Supreme Courts overturning of Roe v. Wade last year is still motivating voters and will play a crucial role in this years state judicial race.

The midterms did not go the way Republicans thought they would, and I really believe that one of the main reasons behind that was the Dobbs decision. Nothing has fundamentally changed in the landscape, Zepecki said. That means that all of a sudden the voters who are passionate about abortion in November of last year arent gonna go, Oh, well, we did what we could. Oh, well, well just live with this.

State Attorney General Josh Kaul (D) filed a lawsuit last year arguing that legislation passed following the Supreme Courts Roe v. Wade decision, which allows abortions up until a fetuss viability with limited exceptions afterward, created a conflict with the 1849 abortion law. Depending on how the court rules, it could keep abortion restrictions in place or offer broader exceptions to pregnant people.

Mark Jefferson, executive director of the Wisconsin GOP, argued the focus on abortion was a dodge and said the party is trying desperately to get away from discussions about other issues in which the liberals are horribly out of touch. He listed school choice, voting changes and Second Amendment rights as other issues that could likely come up.

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Two liberal judges  Milwaukee County Judge Janet Protasiewicz and Dane County Judge Everett Mitchell  and two conservative judges  Waukesha County Judge Jennifer Dorow and former state Supreme Court Judge Daniel Kelly  are vying for the open state Supreme Court justice seat in the Feb. 21 primary.

The top two vote-getters will move on to the general election on April 4, meaning two candidates from the same party or one from each could proceed to the final round.

There are other issues besides abortion at play in the race: Democrats see redistricting and the states legislative maps as critical issues. And Barry Burden, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the director of the universitys Elections Research Center, says Republicans are likely hoping several ballot measures they added to the spring election  one on work requirements for welfare recipients and another on bail  will excite their base.

But most of the candidates have made a point of speaking out on abortion. Groups on either side of the issue have also waded into the race, suggesting that its likely to play a major role.

Mitchell, one of the liberal justices, issued a statement in the wake of the Supreme Courts decision last summer to overturn Roe v. Wade, saying that the reality of a reproductive right being taken from women, is both heart-wrenching and disappointing and that as an ally, I will always use my male privilege to stand with and to stand up for womens reproductive rights.

Protasiewicz, the other liberal justice running, issued a 15-minute ad through her campaign in which she said, I believe in a womans freedom to make her own decision on abortion.

Jim Dick, a campaign spokesperson for Kelly, one of the conservative candidates, gave a statement to The Hill touting endorsements by all three major pro-life groups in the state. One of those, Wisconsin Right to Life PAC, has also endorsed the other conservative candidate, Dorow.

Though some of the candidates have fielded criticism for sharing opinions on the issue, Mitchell and Protasiewiczs campaigns argued in separate interviews with The Hill that the candidates are allowed to express their own beliefs and have not said how they would rule on a case if it came before them.

We are judges and we are lawyers, more specifically, so we can have an opinion as to the law thats already been written and decided on, and both sides can do that, Mitchell told The Hill, while an official said with Protasiewiczs campaign said that theres nothing that prevents a candidate [from] saying what their beliefs are.

Meanwhile, outside groups on both sides of the issue have started previewing their involvement in the race.

Stephen Billy, vice president of state affairs at Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, an anti-abortion group, said that the organization will be making a six-figure investment in the race.

Were not going to let the abortion advocates spend money to lie and to fearmonger, and were going to fight back against that with a six-figure investment to make sure that the truth about the pro-life laws in Wisconsin are known and that the voters understand the other side is seeking to make sure that abortion on-demand is the permanent law in Wisconsin, Billy said.

Steven Webb, executive director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin, declined to offer a dollar amount on potential spending in the race but said the organization would be involved.

Weve prioritized this election and [are] committed to do the on-the-ground organizing and outreach to inform people about the importance of the race. We will be mobilizing young people, women and people of color to make sure that their voices [are] heard in this election. The investments that we will be making will be around  for education, GOTV campaigns and digital advertisement, direct mail, he said.

The stakes of the race are also high because Wisconsin is one of the few remaining battleground states, and Democrats are likely to use the abortion issue as one key turnout mechanism in 2024. Should a more a conservative-leaning state Supreme Court rule in favor of more restrictive abortion rules ahead of the presidential election, Democrats will almost certainly seize on any upswell of anger among voters, just as they did in 2022.

At the same time, the Supreme Courts decision last year has created a patchwork of state laws that have regulated differently on the medical procedure. While Illinois has abortion protections and Michigan, with its newly Democratic-controlled legislature, will likely pass abortion protections, Wisconsin represents a different reality to patients and medical students.

Right now, Wisconsin is losing OB-GYN practices. Students who want to become OB-GYN doctors have to leave the state to complete their training because you cant teach the standard care for cases of ectopic pregnancy or miscarriage without fearing that a reverend prosecutor is going to try to throw you in jail, said Ben Wikler, chairman of the Wisconsin Democratic Party.

This situation is totally unacceptable to most Wisconsinites, and the Supreme Court election [on] April 4 is the closest thing Wisconsin will have to Kansass abortion referendum, he added.

Retired GOP strategist Brandon Scholz, who called the upcoming election the single most important race for the Supreme Court that Wisconsin has ever seen, says this much is clear: Money will continue to pour into the race on the Democratic side, and Republicans will need to compete in terms of fundraising if they want to win.

If this isnt a $20 million dollar race, I dont know what it is, he said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Rep. Jim Jordan, the head of the Judiciary Committee, argued Sunday that federal agencies were handling President Joe Biden's and former President Donald Trump's classified documents cases differently.

In an interview with Chuck Todd on NBC News Meet the Press, Jordan, R-Ohio, suggested that there was a double standard between the discovery of classified documents held by Trump at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida and the vice presidential papers found at Bidens Delaware home and a Washington office.

Jordan accused the FBI and other agencies of being "weaponized": "The FBI raided the home of a former president 91 days before an election, took the phone of a sitting member of Congress and on and on."

Todd pushed back, saying: "There was nine months between the initial action. ... the [National] Archives requested documents before they even turned it over to the Justice Department. The subpoena was issued 60 days before they actually executed a subpoena.

And more importantly, the only time the public found out about it is because Donald Trump told the public about it. This was not some sort of new painted as a picture of the FBI did this, this and this within hours of each other, when it was actually a year and a half of Donald Trump not complying with any of the requests from National Archives," Todd said. This is not some sort of proof that somehow theyve been weaponized and playing politics."

Jordan said: They raided Trumps home. They havent raided Bidens home.

Because Biden didnt defy a subpoena, congressman, Todd said, adding that Trump had 60 days to comply before the FBI executed a search warrant.

The National Archives contacted Trump officials soon after he left office in 2021 to inform them that the agency believed some documents were missing and needed to be returned. Following months of back and forth, the former president sent 15 boxes of files, some containing classified documents, from Mar-a-Lago to the archives in January of last year. More classified documents were found later after the FBI learned that Trump had not fully complied with a subpoena.

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Jordans remarks come in the wake of the new GOP majority in the House. He now also chairs the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, which could serve as a one-stop shop for investigating perceived wrongdoing by the federal government against conservatives, including Trump.

Biden has come under scrutiny for documents with classified markings found at his Delaware home and a Washington office. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois, a top Biden ally, said last week: To think that any of them ended up in boxes in storage one place or the other is just unacceptable.

Republicans, meanwhile, have seized on the revelations, with some arguing that it shows the FBI unfairly targeted Trump when it raided his Mar-a-Lago home to retrieve classified documents.

Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed special counsel Robert Hur, a former federal prosecutor who has worked with many Republicans throughout his law enforcement career, to oversee the Biden investigation.

Jordan this month announced the Judiciary Committee had opened an investigation into the Obama-era classified documents found at Bidens home and former Washington office. In a letter to Garland, Jordan demanded all documents and communications between the Justice Department, FBI and the White House about the discovery, as well as information about Garlands appointment of Hur.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., asked the White House to release visitor logs from Bidens home in Delaware after more classified documents from the Obama administration were found at the presidents Delaware residence.

The White House Counsels Office said last week that it was reviewing recent requests from Comer related to Bidens handling of classified documents and signaled it planned to cooperate to an extent.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
A Lunar New Year event kicked off Saturday in Seattles Chinatown International District.

The Wing Luke Museum welcomed anyone to join in their annual event, and hundreds of families came together for a day of performances, music, and tradition.

As KIRO 7s Gwen Baumgardner explains, the recent tragedy within the Asian-American community made the celebration bittersweet.

What they can expect is an experience that will help bring them back to what New Years is all about, which is ushering in whats not working and calling in what we want. And that is more love, more joy, said Joel Barraquiel Tan with the Wing Luke Museum.

Love and joy in 2023 are a stark contrast from the scenes out of Monterey Park, California, following a Lunar New Year celebration only a week ago. A gunman opened fire, killing 11 people and injuring nine more.

Fear within the community remains, said Devin Cabenella, but so does bravery. Just showing up is a form of being brave.

This is an event Cabenella looks forward to each year, but he said there was a significance to Saturday; a chance to display solidarity after a rise in violence against Asian Americans in recent years.

They do take an emotional toll. I cant be part of those incidents directly or go to California, but I can show up here and be a part of my community, said Cabenella.

Tan agrees. He said the museum never considered canceling this years event, even after the tragedies in California.

No! We dont hide. We dont cower in fear, said Tan. We celebrate.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP)  Police are refusing to release body camera video of three Des Moines officers fatally shooting a 16-year-old boy during a domestic disturbance last month because of state law preventing footage that shows a minor committing a delinquent act.

The Des Moines Register reports that the police department was preparing to release the video from all four officers that were involved in the Dec. 26 confrontation before the city's legal department intervened. The state Attorney General's office already ruled that the officers were legally justified in the shooting because the boy raised a gun at them several times.

The boy's name has not been released.

Des Moines Police spokesperson Sgt. Paul Parizek said the city lawyers told police that the video's couldn't be released under state law. Parizek said the law states that police can't release records or video about a juvenile allegedly committing a crime before a complaint is filed. He said the law still applies in this case even though the boy was killed and won't be charged.

The Register said it will continue to pursue the release of the videos in court.

All three officers who opened fire on the boy  Noah Bollinger, Zachary Duitscher and Thomas Garcie  remain on administrative leave while the department reviews the shooting.

Police have said that the officers tried to de-escalate the situation as they negotiated with the boy for 4 minutes, 20 seconds. The officers and family members who were also at the apartment near the Blank Park Zoo urged the boy to put down the gun and surrender more than 70 times, but he didn't comply.

A report on the shooting said the boy told the officers that his older brother had just died and I want to be with my brother. The boy's brother had been fatally shot in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale on Nov. 5.

When the boy raised his gun toward the officers, three of them shot him 14 times in the abdomen, chest and head.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)  Bomb-carrying drones targeted an Iranian defense factory in the central city of Isfahan overnight, authorities said Sunday, causing some damage at the plant amid heightened regional and international tensions engulfing the Islamic Republic.

The Iranian Defense Ministry offered no information on who it suspected carried out the attack, which came as a refinery fire separately broke out in the country's northwest and a 5.9 magnitude earthquake struck nearby, killing three people.

However, Tehran has been targeted in suspected Israeli drone strikes amid a shadow war with its Mideast rival as its nuclear deal with world powers collapsed. Meanwhile, tensions also remain high with neighboring Azerbaijan after a gunman attacked that country's embassy in Tehran, killing its security chief and wounding two others.

Details on the Isfahan attack, which happened around 11:30 p.m. Saturday, remained scarce. A Defense Ministry statement described three drones being launched at the facility, with two of them successfully shot down. A third apparently made it through to strike the building, causing minor damage to its roof and wounding no one, the ministry said.

The state-run IRNA news agency later described the drones as quadcopters equipped with bomblets. Quadcopters, which get their name from having four rotors, typically operate from short ranges by remote control. Iranian state television later aired footage of debris from the drones, which resembled commercially available quadcopters.

State TV aired mobile phone video apparently showing the moment that drone struck along the busy Imam Khomeini Expressway that heads northwest out of Isfahan, one of several ways for drivers to go to the holy city of Qom and Tehran, Iran's capital. A small crowd stood gathered, drawn by anti-aircraft fire, watching as an explosion and sparks struck a dark building.

Oh my God! That was a drone, wasnt it?" the man filming shouts. "Yeah, it was a drone.

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Those there fled after the strike.

That footage of the strike, as well as footage of the aftermath analyzed by The Associated Press, corresponded to a site near Minoo Street in northwestern Isfahan that's near a shopping center that includes a carpet and an electronics store. Later state TV footage confirmed the location and showed two points of damage at the facility's roof, likely from the explosion.

The Defense Ministry only called the site a workshop," without elaborating. Isfahan, some 350 kilometers (215 miles) south of Tehran, is home to both a large air base built for its fleet of American-made F-14 fighter jets and its Nuclear Fuel Research and Production Center.

The attack comes after Iran's Intelligence Ministry in July claimed to have broken up a plot to target sensitive sites around Isfahan. A segment aired on Iranian state TV in October included purported confessions by alleged members of Komala, a Kurdish opposition party that is exiled from Iran and now lives in Iraq, that they planned to target a military aerospace facility in Isfahan after being trained by Israel's Mossad intelligence service.

Activists say Iranian state TV has aired hundreds of coerced confessions over the last decade. Israeli officials declined to comment on the attack.

Meeting later alongside his Qatari counterpart, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian criticized the cowardly attack when asked if it would affect the country's nuclear program.

"Such moves cant impact our nuclear scientists will and intentions to achieve peaceful nuclear energy, Amirabdollahian said.

Qatar's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said he passed a message from the Americans to Iran that related to its nuclear program, without offering specifics.

Separately, Irans state TV said a fire broke out at an oil refinery in an industrial zone near the northwestern city of Tabriz. An IRNA report later blamed the fire on wear and tear of the site's piping. Tabriz is some 520 kilometers (325 miles) northwest of Tehran.

State TV also said the magnitude 5.9 earthquake killed three people and injured 816 others in rural areas in West Azerbaijan province, damaging buildings in many villages.

Iran's theocratic government faces challenges both at home and abroad as its nuclear program rapidly enriches uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels since the collapse of its atomic accord with world powers.

Nationwide protests have shaken the country since the September death of Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish-Iranian woman detained by the country's morality police. Its rial currency has plummeted to new lows against the U.S. dollar. Meanwhile, Iran continues to arm Russia with the bomb-carrying drone that Moscow uses in attacks in Ukraine on power plants and civilian targets.

Israel is suspected of launching a series of attacks on Iran, including an April 2021 assault on its underground Natanz nuclear facility that damaged its centrifuges. In 2020, Iran blamed Israel for a sophisticated attack that killed its top military nuclear scientist.

Israeli officials rarely acknowledge operations carried out by the countrys secret military units or its Mossad intelligence agency. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who recently re-entered the premiership, long has considered Iran to be the biggest threat his nation faces.

The U.S. and Israel also just held their largest-ever military exercise amid the tensions with Iran. However, a U.S. military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity citing the sensitivity of the situation given regional tensions, told the AP on Sunday night that no U.S. military forces have conducted strikes or operations inside Iran.

Meanwhile, tensions remain high between Azerbaijan and Iran as Azerbaijan and Armenia have fought over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Iran in October launched a military exercise near the Azerbaijan border. Azerbaijan also maintains close ties to Israel, which has infuriated Iranian hard-liners, and has purchased Israeli-made drones for its military.

Anwar Gargash, a senior Emirati diplomat, warned online that the Isfahan attack represented one more event in the dangerous escalation the region is witnessing. The United Arab Emirates was targeted in missile and drone attacks last year claimed by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

It is not in the interest of the region and its future, Gargash wrote on Twitter. Although the problems of the region are complex, there is no alternative to dialogue.

___

Associated Press writer Joseph Krauss contributed to this report.
JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israeli police sealed off the Jerusalem family home of a Palestinian gunman on Sunday, two days after he killed seven people outside a synagogue, as fears grew of escalation in the deadliest unrest for years in Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced plans to make it easier for Israelis to carry guns after the synagogue attack, the deadliest against Jews in the Jerusalem area since 2008. It came a day after the deadliest Israeli military raid for years in the West Bank city of Jenin.

On Saturday, a 13-year-old Palestinian boy shot at a group of Israeli civilians in Jerusalem, wounding two before one of them shot and wounded him. On Sunday, residents of a Palestinian village outside Ramallah in the West Bank said a group from a nearby Israeli settlement had burned one house and smashed doors and windows of another.

Netanyahu said making it easier for Israelis to get permits to carry guns would reduce violence: "We have seen, time and again ... that heroic, armed and trained civilians save lives."

Israeli authorities welded shut the doors and sealed the windows of the family home of Friday's synagogue shooter, whose grandfather, the family said, was killed by an Israeli 25 years ago.

Netanyahu's government also allowed the family house of Saturday's 13-year-old shooter to be sealed even though no one had been killed, changing a standing policy.

Further steps were announced to strengthen settlements in the occupied West Bank, and to revoke the residency rights of relatives of Palestinians who carry out attacks.

"While we will not hesitate to act against terrorism, we wish to regain calm and stability on the ground," said Defence Minister Yoav Gallant after a security assessment in the West Bank.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is due in Jerusalem and the West Bank this week for his first visit since Netanyahu returned to power at the helm of a coalition that includes the far right. Blinken's visit looks set to be dominated by efforts to prevent the violence spinning out of control.

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A Palestinian gunman died on Sunday of wounds from Thursday's raid in Jenin, raising the death toll from that raid to 10, including two civilians. At least 34 Palestinian fighters and civilians have been killed this month in West Bank clashes with Israeli security forces.

Last year was the deadliest in more than a decade for West Bank Palestinian civilians and militants, with violence steadily escalating following a spate of lethal Palestinian attacks in Israel.

The rise in violence, together with investor jitters over the government's plans to change the judicial system, sent stocks in Tel Aviv falling on Sunday, analysts said.

CHALLENGE

Friday's synagogue shooting presents a challenge to Netanyahu, who returned to power in December at the head of the most right-wing government in Israeli history, promising to make Israelis safer after Palestinian street attacks last year.

Sworn in a month ago, Netanyahu's government has prioritised settlement-building on lands the Palestinians seek for a state, though it has not yet taken major steps on the ground. Most world powers consider as illegal Israel's settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, land it captured in the 1967 war.

Awad Abu Samra, whose brother's house in the village of Turmus Ayya was damaged on Sunday, said Israeli settlers were now attacking local farmers "almost every week or so".

"They attack anything that belongs to the Palestinians."

The Israeli military said on Saturday it was sending additional troops into the West Bank, although there was no sign Israel was preparing for a large-scale military operation.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has not commented on Friday's attack and on Saturday blamed Israel for the violence. Police said the gunman, who was shot dead by officers as he tried to flee the scene, had apparently acted alone.

(Reporting by Maayan Lubell, Nidal al-Mughrabi, Ali Sawafta and Henriette Chacar; Editing by William Mallard, Peter Graff, Ros Russell and Kevin Liffey)
JERUSALEM (AP)  Israel on Sunday sealed the home of an east Jerusalem man who killed seven people outside a synagogue, in a preliminary step ahead of the expected demolition of the building, as two Palestinian men died from Israeli fire.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Cabinet approved an order to seal the home of a second Palestinian shooter  a 13-year-old boy who wounded two Israeli men in east Jerusalem on Saturday. His Cabinet also took steps toward approving other punitive measures against the families of Palestinian attackers, including potentially stripping them of citizenship rights and deporting them.

The moves by Israel, along with escalating violence, further raised tensions as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed in the region. Blinken's high-wire diplomatic act, focused largely on restoring calm, begins Monday after he completes a brief visit to Egypt.

Earlier on Sunday, Israeli police sealed up the east Jerusalem home of a 21-year-old Palestinian attacker who killed seven people and wounded three outside a synagogue on Friday night during the Jewish sabbath. The attacker was shot and killed by police.

We sealed the home of the terrorist who carried out the horrendous attack in Jerusalem, and his home will be demolished, Netanyahu told his Cabinet.

We are not seeking an escalation, but we are prepared for any scenario. Our answer to terrorism is a heavy hand and a strong, swift and precise response, he said.

The planned home demolition is among a series of punitive steps, including plans to strengthen its West Bank settlements, announced by Israel in the wake of the twin shootings.

Palestinians, meanwhile, reported dozens of attacks by Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank. The most serious took place in the Palestinian town of Turmus Ayya, where the official Wafa news agency quoted residents as saying that settlers torched a car and set a home on fire.

Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, a military spokesman, called the incident disgraceful and said the military was taking it very seriously as it investigated.

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Later Sunday, Netanyahu's office said the Cabinet would seal the family home of the 13-year-old shooter as well. Israel typically demolishes attackers' homes only in deadly attacks. The boy's victims were both badly wounded but survived Saturday's shooting.

His office also said the Cabinet was pushing ahead with plans that could strip residency and citizenship rights of the families of Palestinian attackers, and potentially deport them to the occupied West Bank. Such moves have been condemned by human rights groups as collective punishment.

Israeli police released footage of Israeli army engineers welding metal plates over the windows of the home of the first shooter and welding the front door shut.

Police said the attacker, identified as 21-year-old Khairy Alqam, was killed in a shootout with officers Friday night after fleeing the scene in the predominantly ultra-Orthodox east Jerusalem settlement of Neve Yaakov.

Relatives said Alqam's grandfather was killed in a 1998 stabbing in Jerusalem. The killing remains unsolved, but a Jewish extremist was arrested in 2010 in connection with a string of attacks on Palestinians. He was released and charges were not pressed.

Musa Alqam, the gunmans father, said he had no idea if his son had been motivated by revenge. I dont know how he planned what he did, he said.

The suspect in the 2010 arrest was assisted by Itamar Ben-Gvir, who is now Israels national security minister. At the time, Ben-Gvir was a far-right activist who accompanied the suspect to court.

More funerals for the victims in Friday's shooting, the deadliest attack on Israelis since 2008, were scheduled to take place Sunday.

Israeli media identified one of the dead as a Ukrainian healthcare worker, Irina Korlova. The Ukrainian Embassy confirmed that one of the victims of the shooting was a Ukrainian citizen.

The weekend shootings followed a deadly Israeli raid in the West Bank on Thursday that killed 10 Palestinians, most of them militants. In response, Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired a barrage of rockets into Israel, triggering a series of Israeli airstrikes in response.

The deaths of two more Palestinians on Sunday raised the Palestinian death toll from fighting this month to 34.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said an 18-year-old Palestinian man who was shot by a security guard next to the West Bank settlement of Kedumim died Sunday. The Israeli military said that a settlement security guard had identified a man armed with a pistol outside the settlement and shot him.

The ministry also confirmed the death of a 24-year-old Palestinian man who was wounded in last week's military raid in the West Bank town of Jenin. There was no immediate claim of his affiliation with a militant group.

Netanyahu on Sunday repeated his vow to strengthen the settlements in the occupied West Bank. He said that doing so was aimed at sending a message to the terrorists that seek to uproot us from our land that we are here to stay.

Israel captured the West Bank, along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war. It has built dozens of settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, now home to more than 700,000 Jewish settlers, in the decades since.

Most of the international community, including the United States, considers the settlements an obstacle to peace with the Palestinians, who seek the West Bank as the heartland of a future independent state. A settlement announcement could lead to a tense visit with Blinken.

In Cairo, Blinken opened his Mideast tour, speaking with students at the American University in the city before holding talks with Egyptian officials on Monday. He was then scheduled to travel to Israel for the most critical leg of the visit for talks with Israeli and Palestinian officials.
This Sunday at 3 p.m., the Jacksonville Community Action Committee (JCAC) will be at the Duval County Courthouse to show support and join the nationwide call to demand justice for Tyre Nichols.

JCAC wants justice for Tyre Nichols, Keenan Anderson and for all other victims of state-sanctioned violence.

Other families affected by police violence in Jacksonville will be attending as well.

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The JCAC will also be pushing for a Public Safety Oversight Committee (PSOC), a means of civilian oversight over JSO.

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Sheriff T.K Waters and the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office provided the following statements:

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Photo: The Canadian Press This photo provided by the Nichols family shows Tyre Nichols, who had a passion for photography and was described by friends as joyful and lovable. Nichols was just minutes from his home in Memphis, Tenn., on Jan. 7, 2023, when he was pulled over by police and fatally beaten. Five Memphis police officers have since been charged with second-degree murder and other offenses. (Courtesy of the Nichols family via AP)

The Memphis police chief on Saturday disbanded the city's so-called Scorpion unit, citing a cloud of dishonor from newly released video that showed some of its officers beating Tyre Nichols to death after stopping the Black motorist.

Police Director Cerelyn CJ Davis acted a day after the harrowing video emerged, saying she listened to Nichols' relatives, community leaders and uninvolved officers in making the decision. Her announcement came as the nation and the city struggled to come to grips with the violence of the officers, who are also Black. The video renewed doubts about why fatal encounters with law enforcement keep happening despite repeated calls for change.

Protestors marching though downtown Memphis cheered when they heard the unit had been dissolved. One protestor said over a bullhorn that the unit that killed Tyre has been permanently disbanded.

Referring to the heinous actions of a few" that dishonored the unit, Davis contradicted an earlier statement that she would keep the unit. She said it was imperative that the department "take proactive steps in the healing process.

It is in the best interest of all to permanently deactivate the Scorpion unit, she said in a statement. She said the officers currently assigned to it agreed "unreservedly."

The unit is composed of three teams of about 30 officers who target violent offenders in areas beset by high crime. It had been inactive since Nichols' Jan. 7 arrest.

Scorpion stands for Street Crimes Operations to Restore Peace in our Neighborhoods.

In an interview Friday with The Associated Press, Davis had said she would not shut down a unit if a few officers commit some egregious act and because she needed it to continue to work.

The whole idea that the Scorpion unit is a bad unit, I just have a problem with that, Davis said then.

She became the first Black female chief in Memphis one year after George Floyd was killed at the hands of Minneapolis police. At the time she was chief in Durham, North Carolina, and responded by calling for sweeping police reform.

Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, lawyers for the Nichols family, said the move was "a decent and just decision.

We must keep in mind that this is just the next step on this journey for justice and accountability, as clearly this misconduct is not restricted to these specialty units. It extends so much further, they said.

The five disgraced officers  Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith  have been fired and charged with murder and other crimes in Nichols death, which came three days after the arrest. They face up to 60 years in prison if convicted of second-degree murder.

The video images released Friday show police savagely beating the 29-year-old FedEx worker for three minutes while screaming profanities at him in an assault that the Nichols family legal team has likened to the infamous 1991 police beating of Los Angeles motorist Rodney King. Nichols calls out for his mother before his limp body is propped against a squad car and the officers exchange fist-bumps.

The video also left many unanswered questions about the traffic stop and about other law enforcement officers who stood by as Nichols lay motionless on the pavement.

Nobody tried to stop anything. They have a duty to intervene, a duty to render care, Brenda Goss Andrews, president of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, said in an interview after viewing the video.

She also was struck by the immediate aggression from officers as soon as they got out of the car: It just went to 100. ... This was never a matter of de-escalation, Goss Andrews said, adding, The young man never had a chance from the moment that he was stopped.

Davis has said other officers are under investigation, and Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner said two deputies were relieved of duty without pay while their conduct is investigated.

Rodney Wells, Nichols stepfather, said the family would continue to seek justice" and those who failed to render aid are just as culpable as the officers who threw the blows.

A Memphis police spokeswoman declined to comment on the other officers' conduct.

Cities nationwide had braced for demonstrations after the video emerged, but protests were scattered and nonviolent. Several dozen demonstrators in Memphis blocked the Interstate 55 bridge that carries traffic over the Mississippi River toward Arkansas. Protesters also blocked traffic in New York City, Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon.

Blake Ballin, the lawyer for Mills, told AP in a statement Saturday that the videos produced as many questions as they have answers.

Some of those will focus on what Mills knew and what he was able to see" and whether his actions "crossed the lines that were crossed by other officers during this incident, Ballin said.

Davis acknowledged that the police department has a supervisor shortage and said the lack of a supervisor in the arrest was a major problem." City officials have pledged to provide more of them.

It's not clear why the traffic stop happened in the first place. One officer can be heard on video saying that Nichols wouldnt stop and then swerved as though he intended to hit the officers car. The officer says that when Nichols pulled up to a red light, the officers jumped out.

But Davis said the department cannot substantiate the reason for the stop.

We dont know what happened, she said, adding, All we know is the amount of force that was applied in this situation was over the top.

After the first officer roughly pulls Nichols out of the car, Nichols can be heard saying, I didn't do anything, as a group of officers begin to wrestle him to the ground.

One is heard yelling, Tase him! Tase him!

Nichols calmly says, OK, Im on the ground," and that he was just trying to go home. Moments later, he yells at them to stop."

Nichols is then seen running as an officer fires a Taser. The officers start chasing Nichols.

Others are called, and a search ensues before Nichols is caught at another intersection. His mothers home, where he lived, was only a few houses away, and his family said he was trying to get there.

The officers beat him with a baton, and kick and punch him. The attack continues even after he collapses.

It takes more than 20 minutes afterward before any sort of medical attention is provided.

During the wait for an ambulance, officers joke and air grievances. They complain that a handheld radio was ruined, that someone lost a flashlight, that multiple officers were caught in the pepper spray used against Nichols.

Throughout the videos, they make claims about Nichols behavior that are not supported by the footage or that the district attorney and other officials say did not happen. In one, an officer claims that during the initial traffic stop Nichols reached for the officer's gun and almost had his hand on the handle, something not shown in the video.

After Nichols is in handcuffs and leaning against a police car, several officers say he must have been high. Later one says no drugs were found in Nichols' car, and another immediately counters that he must have ditched something while running away.

During a speech Saturday in Harlem, the Rev. Al Sharpton said the beating was particularly egregious because the officers were Black, too.

Your Blackness will not stop us from fighting you. These five cops not only disgraced their names, they disgraced our race, Sharpton said.
Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters addressed the video released on Friday of Memphis police officers beating Tyre Nichols. Waters says the officers involved abandoned their fundamental oaths to protect and serve.

Speaking live during Jacksonvilles Morning News on Monday, Waters rejected calls for a citizens review board, saying there are multiple layers of outside agency investigation currently in place.

LISTEN: Sheriff T.K. Waters on Jacksonvilles Morning News

The Jacksonville Sheriffs Office Sheriff T.K. Waters released a statement Saturday night on the death of Tyre Nichols.

The statement from Sheriff T.K. Waters:

Like so many Americans, I am shocked and horrified by the images and reports regarding the actions that led to the tragic death of Tyre Nichols in Memphis. I have spent over half my life in law enforcement, and the actions of those officers are reprehensible and inexcusable. There is no policy in the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office or any law enforcement agency in this country that permits such brutality. Law enforcement officers are, first and foremost, public servants. Through their actions, those officers have abandoned their fundamental oaths to serve and protect.

I stand with our community in condemning this behavior. Those officers actions do not reflect the culture of law enforcement in our agency or in this country. We are a society of laws, and no one is above the law.

I along with the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office send my deepest condolences to the family members and loved ones of Tyree Nichols. They will remain in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.

This statement follows released videos showing the deadly police beating of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols, who died on Jan. 10, three days after he was stopped by police a short distance from his home in Memphis.

On the topic of a citizen review board:

Sheriff Waters spoke to our news partners at WOKV Monday morning.

When it comes to a civilian review board or anything of that nature, no the door is not open for that, Waters said. What my door is open for is discussions with community leaders about concerns when things happen. My number is available and my office is open. These things have to be investigated factually, not emotionally.

Story continues

This comes as on Sunday, the Jacksonville Community Action Committee gathered in Downtown Jacksonville to demand change to local policing, following the release of video footage in the Tyre Nichols case.

The committee talked about a 2024 ballot initiative for a citizen review board, which would oversee JSO use of force cases.

Were trying to get a public safety oversight committee, said Christina Kittle with JCAC. Were calling it a PSOC. Every other major metro in the state of Florida has a civilian review of some sort. Jacksonville, we dont have anything

When Waters was asked by WOKV if he would re-consider a citizens review board:

That is a non-starter, Waters said. I think those are really, really emotionally driven and I think they have to be factually driven.

THE LATEST COVERAGE OF TYRE NICHOLS DEATH:

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Retired Editorial Page Editor Michael Douglas.

The 11th District Ohio Court of Appeals took an extraordinary step last month. In a brief judgment entry, Judge Mary Jane Trapp essentially asked Judge Becky Doherty of the Portage County Common Pleas Court: Do you really want to proceed in this way?

The Dec. 15 entry prodded: Might you think again?

At hand is a matter involving Tyrone Noling, who has been a resident of death row for nearly three decades, wrongly convicted in the killings of Cora and Bearnhardt Hartig in Atwater Township. Noling and his attorneys seek access to the files of the prosecution. They have good reason to ask whether officials shared key evidence favorable to Noling at his trial.

The evidence goes to alternative suspects, including a man who confessed to the killings, according to his foster brother. This man lived near the Hartigs. He later murdered a woman, the state eventually executing him.

Tyrone Noling was convicted in 1996 of murdering an elderly couple in their home.

If the jury heard this evidence, might justice have been served?

Noling and his attorneys, led by the Ohio Innocence Project, have been pursuing access for more than a decade. In 2014, the 11th District appeals court held that further proceedings are necessary to see whether the evidence was part of the files. Yet here we are, nine years later, and still no access.

Part of the delay stems from Noling and his attorneys fighting a worthy and frustrated battle for additional DNA testing. Of late, the obstacle has been Judge Doherty, siding with the resistant prosecutors office.

Which gets to the question posed by the appeals court.

In September, Judge Doherty again failed to grant access. She did so in defiance of a March decision by the appeals court that restated, emphatically, the need to examine the files. In that ruling, the unanimous three-judge panel delivered a scathing assessment of Dohertys decision-making, finding her conclusion without substantive justification, stating plainly that the appellant and his expert must be granted access to the files at issue.

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The appeals court stressed that Doherty had approved funding for the expert. Yet she balks at the next logical step, the court finding her action both strange and unintelligible, and fundamentally inconsistent with its order.

Doherty did not take the cue. In her September ruling, she went beyond the bounds of the appeals court decision, raising new obstacles that promote delay. She argued for an additional hearing concerning the expert, overlooking that such a proceeding weighs the admissibility of evidence, not its discovery, which the appeals court already has established.

The judge cited problems with the course of the examination sought by Noling and his attorneys. Actually, they want a nondestructive look adhering to the professional standards and procedures typically followed in such situations.

Not surprisingly, Noling and his attorneys appealed the Doherty ruling. They also asked the judge to reconsider. That is the context for the December entry by the appeals court. It included a pointed reminder about how an appellate mandate works in two ways. First, it vests the lower court on remand with jurisdiction. Second, it gives the lower court the authority to render judgment consistent with the appellate courts judgment.

In other words, no raising issues outside the mandate, no ignoring the clear directive of the appeals court, no showing what amounts to contempt for a higher court.

Will Judge Doherty think again? Or must another appeal proceed, lawyers filing arguments and responses, precious time sliding by?

Earlier coverage: Tyrone Noling's case would benefit from a justice system that recognizes it makes mistakes

Lets recall the narrative of the Noling case, an innocent man under a death sentence. His conviction turned on the testimony of his co-defendants. Yet they long ago recanted. The evidence now shows their confessions were the product of corrupt interrogation techniques used by the prosecutions investigator.

No physical evidence links Noling to the killings, including the absence of fingerprints, though investigators claim a robbery went bad. The handgun Noling possessed wasnt the murder weapon. From the start, he has insisted on his innocence. He passed a polygraph exam.

This case has collapsed. It deserves no less than the attention of Mike DeWine, the governor with the power of commutations, pardons and reprieves, a last chance to see that justice prevails. Unfortunately, the justice system itself appears ill-equipped to redress this horrendous error.

Tyrone Noling: Justice system moves slowly in acting on claims by death row inmate from Northeast Ohio

To its credit, the 11th District appeals court is trying. In its March ruling, the court dismissed prosecution claims that the issue of access already had been explored and decided. The court concluded that following the thinking of the prosecution would be fundamentally wrong and unjust.

Perhaps there is nothing relevant in the files. Or maybe the evidence truly was not turned over, amounting to another grievous error by the state in this prosecution gone way wrong. Whatever unfolds, Tyrone Noling deserves the access he long has sought.

Douglas was the Beacon Journal editorial page editor from 1999 to 2019. He can be reached at mddouglasmm@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Portage judge, prosecutors delaying justice for Tyrone Noling
Jan. 28PORTLAND  Julian Strawther's first 3-pointer in a Gonzaga uniform came as a freshman at Portland's Chiles Center.

The junior wing's first 3-pointer Saturday came with 16 minutes, 40 seconds left in the first half, and Pilots coach Shantay Legans later lamented "it went downhill from there" and "you can't let good players like that get rolling."

Gonzaga floated in and out of offensive and defensive rhythm, but Strawther was in sync throughout, scoring 40 points to guide the 14th-ranked Zags past the Pilots 82-67.

Strawther was well aware he was approaching the 40-point mark late in the game. GU players on the bench did, too, and they were pulling for the Las Vegas native to hit the milestone. And so was Drew Timme, who had a chance at a 40-point night against Pacific on Jan. 21 but misfired on two late free throws.

Strawther made a pair of foul shots with 2:10 remaining. He sported a big smile when he hit a putback to reach 40 with 1:30 left.

"He (Timme) just told me in the locker room, 'Thank you for not pulling a me and missing the free throws at the end,' " Strawther said.

Strawther finished with eight 3-pointers  one shy of the school record held by Dan Dickau, Kevin Pangos and Corey Kispert  6-of -9 shots inside the arc and all four of his free throws.

He registered Gonzaga's 21st 40-point game and the first since Kyle Wiltjer scored 45 points against Pacific in 2015. Timme finished with 38 points against Pacific on Jan. 21.

"We always talk about Portland being a shooters' gym," said Strawther, whose previous career high was 23 points against Xavier. "I used to get 40 every now and then in high school, but I never thought I'd get one in college.

"All the guys on the bench were yelling at me to get one more bucket. I had a similar moment in high school. I was one basket off 50. It's a crazy feeling once those last points go in."

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By then, Gonzaga was well on its way to pulling away from the pesky Pilots, who had cut the Zags' lead to 56-54 with 8:53 left on Juanse Gorosito's 3-pointer. GU's 21-7 run over the next 6:40 started, appropriately, with a Strawther 3, generated by Ben Gregg's offensive rebound and assist.

Strawther and Malachi Smith added 3s, and Gonzaga had its best defensive stretch of the contest to build a 77-61 lead with 2:10 left.

The Zags (18-4, 7-1 West Coast Conference) were far from perfect on defense, but they came up with 17 turnovers  Anton Watson snagged three of the team's 11 steals  and converted those into 29 points.

Portland's 67 points were 10 below its season average and the lowest by a GU opponent in eight conference games.

"We were more alert, more dialed in," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. "They hit some 3s in that second half ... some of the actions they do and shots they take are interesting, to say the least, and they had it going, but by and large our energy was better and our connectivity was better. We didn't have as many assignment errors."

Moses Wood scored 19 points, and Gorosito added a season-high 17, but Watson limited Tyler Robertson to 10 points, including 2-of-10 shooting from the field.

"They put us in tough spots," Legans said. "They switched up their defensive principles in the second half and switched everything. It kind of put us in a bad spot. Guys started questioning themselves on simple passes. We have to play much better than that to beat a top-20 team."

Portland's defensive strategy against GU centers on crowding Timme in the paint. The senior forward scored a season-low eight points, but he contributed five boards and five assists  two on Strawther 3s in the first half and another to Smith for a three-point play in GU's decisive second-half run.

The Zags have connected on 18, 17 and 11 3-pointers in their past three wins over Legans' Pilots.

"We've seen that a lot this season where they all collapse on Drew and it's tough for him to make plays," said Watson, who finished with 17 points, five boards and four assists. "But he still does."
Dr. Rigoberto Hernandez

A leading scientist from Johns Hopkins University will speak at MSU Texas in February in Bolin Science Hall, according to a media release.

The public is invited to hear Dr. Rigoberto Hernandez speak at 7 p.m. Feb. 15 on "Microscale Models, Microscale Impacts" in room 100 of Bolin Science Hall.

He will also give a more community-centered talk at 7 p.m. Feb. 16 on "Managing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging in STEM Departments" in the same location.

Hernandez has been the director of the Open Chemistry Collaborative in Diversity Equity since 2011. In addition, he has been the Gompf Family Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Johns Hopkins University since July 1, 2016.

He has been recognized with many honors such as a National Science Foundation Career Award and the ACS Stanley C. Israel Regional Award for Advancing Diversity in the Chemical Sciences.

Hernandez is also a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Chemical Society, the American Physical Society and the Royal Society of Chemistry.

He has a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering and mathematics from Princeton University and a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of California, Berkley.

He was born in Guinez, Havana, Cuba. But he was raised and educated in the United States since he was in primary school, and he is a U.S. citizen by birthright, according to his bio.

This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Leading scientist to speak at MSU
ZURICH (Reuters) - Voters in Liechtenstein on Sunday roundly rejected a proposed ban on casinos in a referendum that has polarized the tiny principality and its 40,000 citizens.

With six casinos dotted across the country that is a tenth of the size of London, the microstate has been dubbed the "Las Vegas of the Alps" among punters.

Pro-ban arguments on issues like gambling addiction and potential damage to the wealthy nation's reputation were, however, resoundingly swept aside since 73% of those who voted rejected the ban and 27% backed it, with a turnout of 70%, according to the official count published online.

The referendum, and the signatures needed to trigger it, were brought about by pressure group IG Volksmeinung, formed to fight the "casino flood".

They argue that the fledgling industry risks tarnishing a national image that the state has worked hard to repair. The country was on an international blacklist of tax havens until it began easing bank secrecy laws more than a decade ago.

Prior to the vote, the country's prince spoke out against the ban, as did the government, which said the gambling industry is an important source of income and argued that a ban was too drastic a measure to address problems like gambling addiction.

(Reporting by Noele Illien; Additional reporting by Francois Murphy in Vienna; Editing by Toby Chopra)
TAMPA, Fla. (AP)  Brayden Point had a goal and an assist, and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Los Angeles Kings 5-2 on Saturday night for a franchise-record 12th consecutive home win.

Victor Hedman, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Corey Perry and Ross Colton also scored for Tampa Bay, which has won three in a row overall. Rookie defenseman Nick Perbix had three assists, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 26 saves.

The Lightning surpassed the franchise mark of 11 straight home wins set in 2019-20 and defeated the Kings for the seventh straight time at Amalie Arena. The Lightning havent lost at home since Dec. 6 against Detroit.

We get so motivated to play at home, Colton said after the Lightning improved to 20-4-1 at Amalie Arena. We have great fans and a great atmosphere."

Tampa Bay swept a three-game homestand against Wild, Bruins and Kings to enter the All-Star break on an upswing.

We played three tough teams  big, strong, fast playoff teams  and our guys handled it well, Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. The only question was after the big win against the Bruins and the break coming up, how we would handle it. We did, and we got the points we needed. It makes for a better break.

Los Angeles had won three in a row. Jaret Anderson-Dolan and Phillip Danault scored for the Kings, and Jonathan Quick made 20 saves.

We havent been able to put a game together for Quickie, Kings captain Anze Kopitar. Hes been very solid back there. Its frustrating.

Tampa Bay went ahead to stay with two goals in a 79-second span in the first period.

Point scored at 5:02 on a quick shot from Quicks doorstep. Nikita Kucherov set up Points 29th goal when he picked up a bad pass behind the net and made a quick centering feed.

Bellemare made it 2-0 at 6:21 with a wrist shot from the high slot after a giveaway by Kings defenseman Sean Durzi.

Communication in the (defensive) zone, giving up a lot of chances down the pipe. We had to take away chances through the middle, and we didnt at the start, Kings forward Al Iafallo said. When you dont communicate, it leads to individual (mistakes). As a whole, we didnt get it done defensively.

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The Kings got one back at 10:12 when Anderson-Dolans shot from the top of the left circle hit Vasilevskiys glove and snuck between his pads. But Perry made it 3-1 at 15:57, beating Quick from the lower left circle.

Colton scored on a rebound of Perbixs shot at 15:20 of the second.

He was rewarded tonight, Cooper said of Perbix, a sixth-round pick in the 2017 NHL draft. He put pucks on the net in the right spot. His game keeps improving.

Danault got credit for his 14th at 19:08 when his pass from the right corner was deflected into the net by Lightning defenseman Ian Cole.

The Lightning went more than 16 minutes without a shot in the third period before Hedmans one-timer from the left point beat Quick.

STREAKING

Steven Stamkos had an assist on Hedmans goal to extend his point streak to 11 games. ... Kucherovs assist was his league-leading 53rd. He has 10 points (two goals, eight assists) during a six-game point streak. ... The Lightning are 20-0-0 when leading after the first period.

STAT SHOTS

Perry, who spent most of his career with the Anaheim Ducks, has 25 career goals against his longtime Southern California rival, including 11 against Quick.  The Kings last win at Amalie Arena was a 4-2 victory on Feb. 7, 2015.

UP NEXT

Kings: Complete a six-game trip at Carolina on Tuesday.

Lightning: Off until they visit Florida on Feb. 6.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
MACEDONIA  City Council adopted a resolution of appreciation Jan. 26 for Police Chief Jon Golden, who is retiring after nearly 33 years of employment with the city.

Goldens official retirement date is Feb. 3. He began his career with the city on April 30, 1990, as a full-time patrolman, was promoted to sergeant in mid-1998 and has served as chief since Feb. 1, 2002.

Macedonia Police Chief Jon Golden is retiring after serving more than three decades on the police department.

During his tenure, he has worked closely with the mayors office, department heads and various city staff to ensure that the department provides the professional and courteous policing services that residents and businesses have come to expect, rely on and appreciate, said the resolution.

It goes on to say that Golden plans to spend time enjoying his favorite hobbies of fishing and traveling around the country with his family.

Councilwoman Jan Tulley credited Golden with instituting 12-hour shifts and community policing, updating equipment and computers and being instrumental in bringing the Nixle alert system to the city.

We are going to miss him, added Fire Chief Brian Riley.

Thirty-three years is a long time, Golden said. Its been an adventure, and there were so many people who got me here. I owe a lot of people a lot of things. Im very lucky. Our dispatchers especially have done a great job.

And speaking of dispatchers, council ratified a collective bargaining agreement for those represented by the Ohio Patrolmens Benevolent Association. It is effective through Dec. 31, 2025.

The contract provides for pay hikes of 4% in 2023 and 3% each in 2024 and 2025, with hourly rates ranging from $23.16 to $28.82 in the first year and $24.57 to $30.37 in the third year.

One-time payments of between $500 and $1,000 are offered for dispatchers who complete a college degree, and longevity payments of between $400 and $2,000 are offered for those who have worked between three years and 30-plus years, respectively.

Each member of the bargaining unit is entitled to an annual allowance of $900 for necessary uniforms or parts thereof. Other parts of agreement cover insurance, sick and bereavement leave, overtime, vacations, grievances, seniority and pensions.

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Other business

The following were appointed to the charter review commission: Councilman Jeff Garvas, Vincent Milianta, Paul Bender, Luis Gonzalez, Julie Nicholson, Linda Biber and Tom Dirmyer. The citys charter calls for such a body to be convened every five years.

Council also added Independence Bank to be a public depository for city funds, with active and interim deposit limits of $25 million each.

Heading to second reading is an ordinance to accept the donation of 5.8 acres at 9150 Valley View Road from 9150 Group LLC for future public purposes.

It was noted the former Aerosol Systems property has sat largely dormant for an extended period with little to no beneficial use made of it. Aerosol Systems, which made degreasers and cleaners, closed in 2002.

Law Director Mark Guidetti said the city would assume some continuing obligations with the Ohio EPA. Most site cleanup work has been done. Additional work may be necessary, and Guidetti said he will try to provide an estimated cost before council acts on the donation.

Sent to third reading was an ordinance to purchase a 2023 Endurance CC1L electric pickup truck for the service department from Lordstown EV Corp. The cost would be $65,235. Residents can provide input about the purchase by emailing clerk Jon Hoover at jhoover@macedona,oh.us.

Council President Jessica Brandt reported that former Councilman Mike Menhart died recently. He served in the 1990s and early 2000s and also was on the civil service commission. He will be missed; our thoughts are with his family, said Brandt.

Finance Director John Veres announced July 17 will be the deadline for residents to apply for 2022 city income tax refunds.

Contact the newspaper at newsleader@recordpub.com.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Macedonia council resolution honors retiring Police Chief Jon Golden
Russia provides training and equipment to Malis military

UNITED NATIONS (AP)  Malis foreign minister defended the military governments cooperation with Russia on Friday and rejected three options proposed by the U.N. chief to reconfigure the U.N. peacekeeping force in the west African country where Al-Qaida and Islamic State extremist groups are driving insecurity.

Abdoulaye Diop told the U.N. Security Council that security is the countrys top priority and Mali will not continue to justify its partnership with Russia, which is providing training and equipment to the military. He did not mention Russias Wagner Group, the private military contractor with ties to the Kremlin.

But Secretary-General Antonio Guterres internal review released this week of the 17,500-strong U.N. mission, known as MINUSMA, noted that Malis longstanding security partnership with France and others deteriorated over concerns about Wagner Group personnel operating in support of the Malian armed forces, which he said Russian officials have publicly acknowledged.

Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop attends a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, on May 20, 2022. (Yuri Kadobnov/Pool Photo via AP, File)

U.S. deputy ambassador Richard Mills said the United States welcomes the U.N.s acknowledgement in the internal review of the Wagner Groups presence in Mali.

He called Wagner a criminal organization that is committing widespread atrocities and human rights abuses in Mali and elsewhere. The U.S. has slapped several waves of sanctions on Wagner and its owner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, a rogue millionaire with longtime links to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Last year, France pulled its troops out of Mali, where they had been helping drive Islamic extremists from the country for nine years, following tensions with the ruling junta and the arrival of Wagner mercenaries.

Their presence is equated to regular abuse against Malian civilians and increasing obstruction of MINUSMA, Frances deputy U.N. ambassador Nathalie Broadhurst told the Security Council on Friday. This is not acceptable.

Mali has struggled to contain an Islamic extremist insurgency since 2012. Extremist rebels were forced from power in Malis northern cities with the help of a French-led military operation, but they regrouped in the desert and began launching attacks on the Malian army and its allies. Insecurity has worsened with attacks on civilians and U.N. peacekeepers in central Mali as well.

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In August 2020, Malis president was overthrown in a coup that included Assimi Goita, then an army colonel. In June 2021, Goita was sworn in as president of a transitional government after carrying out his second coup in nine months.

Foreign minister Diop told the council that Goita is resolutely committed to holding a referendum on a draft constitution in March, electing deputies to the National Assembly in October and November, and holding presidential elections in February 2024.

He said the government remains committed to defending its territory, protecting its people and implementing a 2015 peace agreement.

The peace agreement was signed by three parties  the government, a coalition of groups called the Coordination of Movements of Azawad that includes ethnic Arabs and Tuaregs who seek autonomy in northern Mali, and a pro-government militia known as the Platform  but the movements suspended participation in December.

Diop called their decision regrettable but said we hope soon to reach a common understanding with our brothers from the signatory movements.

Secretary-General Guterres internal review of MINUSMA called Mali one of the most difficult operating environments for peacekeeping, citing significant air and ground restrictions imposed by Malian security authorities. The restrictions have exposed peacekeeping personnel to security risks in an already dangerous environment in which 165 peacekeepers have been killed and 687 injured by hostile action since July 2013, he said.

The secretary-general said the missions operations will come under additional pressure because four countries that have contributed troops are pulling them out, which will mean a loss of over 2,250 troops.

Guterres said MINUSMAs ability to deliver on its mandate  protecting civilians, supporting improvement of the security and political situation and monitoring human rights  will hinge on advances in the political transition, progress in implementing the peace agreement and freedom of movement for peacekeeper and their intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets.

The secretary-general said expansion of MINUSMAs mandate in 2019 without additional manpower overstretched the mission and the current situation is unsustainable.

He proposed three options: increasing the force by either 3,680 or 2,000 uniformed personnel; reconfiguring the force to support its existing priorities or to focus primarily on supporting the peace agreement; or ending the peacekeeping mission and transforming it into a political mission.

Malis Diop said the U.N. chiefs proposals dont meet Malis aspirations for a more robust security operation which would include engaging in offensive actions and patrols, especially as part of its mandate to protect civilians.

On human rights, he said, the government will staunchly oppose any and all instrumentalization and politicization of this issue, but will strive to protect rights.

Diop said the government participated in the internal review in the hope it would respond to the deep aspirations of the Malian people.

That has not come to pass, the foreign minister said. However, the government of Mali remains open to dialogue with the United Nations in the coming months to ultimately identify the way ahead.

Russias U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia called security the overriding priority during Malis transition owing to the security vacuum resulting from a hasty withdrawal of French and European military units.

Nonetheless, he said, Malian forces over the last few months have demonstrated that they can indeed achieve results in the fight against terrorism, adding that the Russian training is bearing fruit.

When it comes to the options for reconfiguring MINUSMA, Nebenzia said, Malis needs and opinion are an overriding priority.

By contrast, U.S. envoy Mills expressed serious concern at the transitional governments restrictions on MINUSMA which make its extremely volatile operating environment more dangerous for peacekeepers and civilians.

He demanded that the government lift all restrictions, reiterating the internal reviews conclusion that MINUSMAs success will hinge on the support it gets from the transitional authorities.

Mills said continued obstructions should force this council to seriously reconsider its support for MINUSMA in its current form.

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The post Mali defends Russian ties and opposes options for UN force appeared first on TheGrio.
Photo: The Canadian Press In this courtroom sketch is Elon Musk, left, with shareholder attorney Nicholas Porritt during redirect examination in federal court as U.S. District Judge Edward Chen, right, looks on in San Francisco, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023. Musk returned to the stand for a third day Tuesday in a class-action lawsuit brought by Tesla investors who allege he misled them with a tweet about a deal that never happened, testifying that his intent had been to let his shareholders know he was considering a buyout. (Vicki Behringer via AP)

Elon Musks enigmatic personality and unconventional tactics are emerging as key exhibits in a trial revolving around one of his most polarizing pursuits  tweeting.

The trial, centered on a pair of tweets announcing Musk had obtained the money to take Tesla private in 2018, reeled the 51-year-old billionaire into a federal courtroom in San Francisco for three days of testimony that opened a peephole into his often inscrutable mind.

Musk, who now owns the Twitter service that he deploys as his megaphone, was often a study in contrasts during his roughly eight hours on the stand. The CEO of the electric carmaker is facing a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of Tesla shareholders after Musk tweeted about a company buyout that didnt happen.

Through both his testimony and the evidence submitted around it, Musk came across as impetuous, brash, combative and contemptuous of anyone who questioned his motives as a game-changing entrepreneur who has inspired comparisons to Apple's late co-founder, Steve Jobs.

At other times, Musk sounded like the savvy visionary that his supporters hail him to be  an intrepid rebel who by his own estimates has raised more than $100 billion from investors. They have been richly rewarded from his leadership of pioneering companies that include PayPal in digital payments, Tesla in electric vehicles and SpaceX in rocket ships.

It is relatively easy for me to get investment support because my track record is extremely good, Musk wryly observed.

But his confidence in his ability to get the money he wants to pursue his plans is one reason he found himself in court. The three-week trial is set to resume Tuesday and head for jury deliberations by Friday.

Here's what to know so far:

PLANTING THE SEEDS

Evidence and testimony have shown Musk had started to mull taking Tesla private in 2017 so he wouldn't have to hassle with the headaches and distractions that accompany running a publicly traded company.

After a July 31, 2018, meeting with a top representative from Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, Musk sent a letter to Tesla's board outlining why he wanted to take the automaker private at a price of $420 per share  about 20% above its stock price at the time.

Musk was serious enough that he had already discussed the pros and cons with Michael Dell, who had gone through the public-to-private transition in 2013 when he led a $25 billion buyout of the personal computer company bearing his name, according to trial evidence.

THE TROUBLESOME TWEETS

The crux of the case hinges on an Aug. 7, 2018, tweet in which Musk declared funding secured" to take Tesla private. Musk abruptly posted the tweet minutes before boarding his private jet after being alerted that the Financial Times was about to publish a story that Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund had spent about $2 billion buying a 5% stake in Tesla to diversify its interests beyond oil, according to his testimony.

Amid widespread confusion about whether Musk's Twitter account had been hacked or he was joking, Musk followed up a few hours later with another tweet suggesting a deal was imminent.

Musk defended the initial tweet as a well-intentioned move to ensure all Tesla investors knew the automaker might be on its way to ending its then-eight-year run as a publicly held company.

I had no ill motive, Musk testified. My intent was to do the right thing for all shareholders.

Guhan Subramanian, a Harvard University business and law professor hired as an expert for shareholder lawyers, derided Musk's method for announcing a potential buyout as an extreme outlier" fraught with potential conflicts.

The risk is that Mr. Musk timed his announcement of his (management buyout) proposal to serve his own interests rather then the interests of the company," Subramanian testified.

WHERE'S THE MONEY?

There's another issue threatening to undermine Musk's defense. He hadn't locked up the financing for his proposed deal or even pinned down down how much would be needed to pull it off, based on testimony from Musk, other witnesses and other evidence.

That is one reason U.S. District Judge Edward Chen had decided last year that Musk's 2018 tweets were false and has instructed the jury to view them that way.

It also prompted regulators to allege Musk misled investors with the tweets, resulting in a $40 million settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that also required Musk to step down as Tesla's chairman.

Chen ruled that the 2018 settlement, in which Musk didn't acknowledge wrongdoing and has since lamented making, can't be mentioned to the jury.

Musk testified that he believed he had secured an oral commitment to provide wherever money was needed for a Tesla buyout during a July 31, 2018, face-to-face meeting with Yasir al-Rumayyan, governor of Saudi Arabia's wealth fund.

That was reinforced in testimony from Tesla's former chief financial officer, Deepak Ahuja, who was at the discussions and took al-Rumayyan on a half-hour tour of a Tesla factory.

But a text message al-Rumayyan sent to Musk after the funding secured" tweets made it appear that the discussions about the Saudi fund financing a private buyout were preliminary.

I would like to listen to your plan Elon and what are the financial calculations to take it," al-Rumayyan wrote to Musk, according to a copy submitted as evidence in the trial.

Musk framed al-Rumayyan's text as an attempt to backpedal from his previous commitment. He also insisted the Saudi fund had given an unequivocal commitment" to financing the buyout.

MONEY MANEUVERING

After his 2018 tweets, Musk tried to get the money needed for the Tesla buyout with the help of Egon Durban, co-CEO of the private equity firm Silver Lake, which helped finance the Dell buyout in 2013. Musk also enlisted Dan Dees, a top executive with Goldman Sachs, an investment banking firm that had worked closely with Tesla.

In testimony, both Durban and Dees discussed efforts to raise money for a Tesla buyout for a wide range of potential investors that included two Chinese companies, Alibaba and Tencent, as well as Google in documents initially code-named Project Turbo," then Project Titanium."

The buyout would have required anywhere from $20 billion to $70 billion, according to the documents  funding that never came close to getting raised, Durban and Dees both testified, largely because Musk scrapped the proposal to take Tesla private on Aug. 24, 2018, after consulting with shareholders.

Tesla's shares are now worth eight times what they were then, after adjusting for two stock splits.

Musk still contends he could have gotten the money had he wanted and, even if there was a shortfall, he could have covered any gap by selling some of his stock in privately held SpaceX. That is a strategy Musk used in his $44 billion purchase of Twitter, except he sold about $23 billion of his stock in Tesla.

Durban and Dees both testified that they had no doubt the money for a buyout could have been raised  echoed by former Tesla director Antonio Gracias.

He is the Michael Jordan of fundraising," Gracias testified.
Police said the suspect threw a Molotov cocktail at the temple in Bloomfield, New Jersey, around 3:19 a.m. Sunday.

Police said the suspect threw a Molotov cocktail at the temple in Bloomfield, New Jersey, around 3:19 a.m. Sunday.

Authorities in New Jersey are beefing up security around places of worship after they say a masked man was seen throwing a Molotov cocktail at a synagogue early Sunday.

The suspect was filmed hurling the lit bottle at the Bloomfield buildings entrance in Essex County just after 3 a.m. before fleeing on foot. The bottle extinguished upon impact and did not cause any damage to the Temple Ner Tamid, authorities said.

New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin said his office is helping local, county, state and federal law enforcement agencies identify and apprehend the suspect, who in photos released by police was seen wearing a black ski mask, black pants and a black sweater that appears to feature a white skull and crossbones. The man is believed to be white.

Platkin cited recent acts of violence in Israel for amplifying concerns about copycat attacks. A gunman went on a shooting spree near an east Jerusalem synagogue on Friday night, killing seven people and wounding three others. That attack came a day after nine people were killed in an Israeli military raid in the West Bank. Two more people were shot in Jerusalem on Saturday, police said.

Platkin added that his office is also aware of an earlier attack Saturday on members of a church in Monmouth County, New Jersey, which he said is being investigated as being potentially bias-motivated. He did not identify the church or offer more detail.

I want to reassure all New Jerseyans  especially our friends and neighbors of the Black community and the Jewish faith  that law enforcement continues to take the appropriate steps to increase our presence around sensitive places so that everyone in our state can worship, love, and live without fear of violence or threats, he said in a statement.

The Anti-Defamation League of New York and New Jersey asked anyone with information to come forward.

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We urge our leaders and community partners to speak out against this outrageous act and ask that all communities remain vigilant, though we have not been informed of any particular additional threats to Jewish institutions in New Jersey at this time, the nonprofit said in a statement.

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(Bloomberg) -- President Joe Biden agreed to meet House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Feb. 1 to discuss raising the debt ceiling and avoiding a US default as Republicans seek a deal that includes government spending cuts.

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The meeting will pit Bidens refusal to negotiate over the US debt limit against McCarthys call for reductions in federal spending as a condition of any deal.

I want to find a reasonable and a responsible way that we can lift the debt ceiling, but take control of this runaway spending, McCarthy said Sunday on CBSs Face the Nation, where he announced the meeting. Now I know his staff tries to say something different, but I think the president is going to be willing to make an agreement together.

Biden will make the case that McCarthy has a constitutional obligation to prevent a national default and will ask whether he intends to meet it, a White House spokesperson said later Sunday. The president will argue that Americans economic security cant be held hostage to cuts that would hit working families, according to the spokesperson, who said Biden looks forward to strengthening his working relationship with McCarthy.

Republicans are seeking to extract spending cuts, including on Social Security and Medicare benefits, in exchange for raising the borrowing cap. Biden has urged McCarthy to raise it without conditions.

I will not let anyone use the full faith and credit of the United States as a bargaining chip, Biden said at an event in Virginia on Jan. 26.

McCarthy said that while reductions in Social Security and Medicare should be off the table, all discretionary spending, including the US defense budget, should be reviewed for waste. The California Republican declined to speculate on the chances of a short-term extension of the federal debt ceiling, a stopgap that House Republican leaders are considering proposing.

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Were not going to default, he said.

The White House took aim at McCarthys comment on CBS that strengthening Medicare and Social Security is a Republican policy goal, though he said he wasnt calling for lifting the US retirement age.

Its the latest giveaway that House Republicans want to cut both programs, White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said in a statement.

Without congressional action, the Social Security trust funds will be insolvent by 2035 and the Medicare hospital fund will reach that point by 2028. Democrats have proposed raising the payroll tax cap for Social Security, a measure most Republicans have rejected.

While the US has never defaulted on its debt, a 2011 crisis rattled financial markets and led to the first-ever downgrade of the US sovereign debt rating by Standard & Poors. It ended when President Barack Obama agreed to about $2 trillion in spending cuts over a decade.

After a hard-fought battle to win the House speakership, McCarthy is under pressure from his caucus to win spending cuts. And two dozen Republican senators warned Biden last week they wont support a debt-ceiling increase without structural changes to US spending.

The US cant continue just to spend more money and leverage the debt and the future of America, McCarthy said Sunday. Weve got to get to a balanced budget.

By law, the federal governments debt cannot exceed $31.4 trillion, a cap that was reached on Jan. 19. The US Treasury has said it can hold out at least through early June by using special accounting maneuvers, but may default on payment obligations any time after that if the limit isnt raised.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a Bloomberg interview last week that failing to raise the ceiling would be a calamity.

--With assistance from Justin Sink, Erik Wasson and Josh Wingrove.

(Updates with White House preview of meeting in fourth paragraph. An earlier version corrected McCarthys title.)

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Ashlyn DeLong, 28, and her fiance Josh, 33, are set to tie the knot on February 4 at an event hall across the street from the trial of Alex Murdaugh. Ashlyn DeLong/Facebook

The Alex Murdaugh murder trial is underway at a South Carolina courthouse across the street from a wedding venue.

Three events were set to take place during the trial, and another wedding was held on Thursday.

One bride told The Daily Beast she's stressed about her wedding being so close to the trial.

A South Carolina bride said she fears her wedding day will be interrupted by the swarm of journalists covering what some have called the trial of the century in the state.

Last January, 28-year-old Ashlyn DeLong and 33-year-old her fiance Josh booked a space in the Walterboro Wildlife Center for their 205-person wedding. Last week, she discovered the Colleton County Courthouse  located across the street from the venue would be holding the highly publicized double homicide trial of former lawyer Alex Murdaugh, The Daily Beast reported.

"I did know about the courthouse being across the street but we have never had a trial like this before," DeLong told The Daily Beast. "It's been a mess trying to figure out what to do."

DeLong said she later found out the venue for her upcoming romantic day is also being used by journalists from across country as a media center while covering the high-profile trial, per The Daily Beast.

"It was one of my top choices. It was more convenient due to the weather and location in town," she told The Daily Beast.

Murdaugh is accused of brutally murdering his wife Maggie and son Paul at their South Carolina residence in June 2021. Prosecutors have also charged the 54-year-old with 99 counts of fraud.

DeLong isn't the only one who's had her big day disrupted by the media frenzy. The trial kicked off Wednesday, and its coverage overlapped with another couple's wedding at the event hall on Thursday. One reporter captured the moment the bride and groom walked into their makeshift media room.

City of Walterboro Tourism Director Scott Grooms told the The Daily Beast that the three events scheduled at the center during the trial wouldn't be impacted by the press.

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Grooms further added that "nobody attending any of these events should see reporters at all." The journalists were reportedly moved to a separate part of the building with a different entrance than the event hall spaces.

According to a local photojournalist, the newlyweds gave the leftovers from their Thursday ceremony to reporters at the center.

DeLong told The Daily Beast she felt additional stress after seeing a Facebook post asking for food trucks for media and trial attendees to park outside the Colleton County Courthouse  the parking lot she expects her guests to use.

"I had been super excited and now I am pretty stressed out," DeLong said, according to The Daily Beast. "Everything has been surprisingly smooth planning-wise until this. This has been my trying moment throughout the entire process."

Grooms said the Colleton County Parks and Recreation Department should have the area clean prior to DeLong's wedding rehearsal on February 3, noting there is no court on the day of her ceremony on February 4.

"We are trying to make this as nice for her as possible under the bad situation that we are under," Grooms told The Daily Beast.

Read the original article on Business Insider
By Maria Cardona and Diane Bartz

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (Reuters) -The specialized police unit that included the five Memphis officers charged with the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols was disbanded on Saturday as more protests took place in U.S. cities a day after harrowing video of the attack was released.

The police department said in a statement it was permanently deactivating the SCORPION unit after the police chief spoke with members of Nichols' family, community leaders and other officers. A police spokesperson confirmed all five officers were members of the unit.

Video recordings from police body-worn cameras and a camera mounted on a utility pole showed Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, repeatedly screaming "Mom!" as officers kicked, punched and struck him with a baton in his mother's neighborhood after a Jan. 7 traffic stop. He was hospitalized and died of his injuries three days later.

Five officers involved in the beating, all Black, were charged on Thursday with murder, assault, kidnapping and other charges. All have been dismissed from the department.

Nichols' family and officials expressed outrage and sorrow but urged protesters to remain peaceful. That request was largely heeded on Friday when scattered protests broke out in Memphis - where marchers briefly blocked an interstate highway - and elsewhere.

Cities across the United States saw renewed nonviolent demonstrations on Saturday. In Memphis, protesters chanting, "Whose streets? Our streets!" angrily catcalled a police car that was monitoring the march, with several making obscene gestures. Some cheered loudly when they learned of the disbandment of SCORPION.

Hundreds of protesters gathered in New York's Washington Square Park before marching through Manhattan, as columns of police officers walked alongside them.

Taken together, the four video clips released Friday showed police pummeling Nichols even though he appeared to pose no threat. The initial traffic stop was for reckless driving, though the police chief has said the cause for the stop has not been substantiated.

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The SCORPION unit, short for the Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in our Neighborhoods, was formed in October 2021 to concentrate on crime hot spots. Critics say such specialized teams can be prone to abusive tactics.

Friends and family say Nichols was an affable, talented skateboarder who grew up in Sacramento, California, and moved to Memphis before the coronavirus pandemic. The father of a 4-year-old child, Nichols worked at FedEx and had recently enrolled in a photography class.

Nate Spates Jr., 42, was part of a circle of friends, including Nichols, who met up at a Starbucks in the area.

"He liked what he liked, and he marched to the beat of his own drum," Spates said, remembering that Nichols would go to a park called Shelby Farms to watch the sunset when he wasn't working a late shift.

Nichols' death is the latest high-profile instance of police using excessive force against Black people and other minorities. The 2020 murder of George Floyd, a Black man who died after a white Minneapolis officer knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes, galvanized worldwide protests over racial injustice.

(Reporting by Maria Cardona in Memphis, Tennessee, and Diane Bartz in Washington; Writing by Joseph Ax; Editing by Cynthia Osterman, Robert Birsel)
Jan. 29Colorado no longer ranks as the worst state in the nation for the prevalence of mental illness and access to treatment for adults, a spot it held in the 2022 State of Mental Health in America report.

The recently released 2023 report from Mental Health America places Colorado at 45th of 50 states and the District of Columbia for prevalence and access among adults.

The improvement is negligible, said Vincent Atchity, president and CEO at Mental Health Colorado, an affiliate of Mental Health America.

"The numbers jigger up and down for both adults and children  it's the nature of this data," he said. "Colorado reliably ranks down in the bottom third of the country."

The data provides a snapshot in time and lags real time, Atchity said, noting that the 2023 report uses statistics from 2019 and 2020, which accounts for just the first nine months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The effects of the pandemic on mental health are only now fully manifesting, he said, and entering the new year, the mental health of Coloradans continues to be concerning.

"There's still a generalized, intensified increase in levels of anxiety and depression across the board," said Dr. Eric French, D.O., who owns Mind Spa Denver in Greenwood Village, an outpatient psychiatric and psychology clinic.

"People are still cleaning up after what happened between 2020 and 2022," he said. "Many people hunkered down in survival mode and pressed through and are now realizing how deeply this is impacting them. It's becoming more of a trauma situation."

And people seem uncertain about how to move forward, French said, which raises increases unease and creates a sense of hopelessness.

Anyone who's recently sought the services of a psychiatrist, psychologist, therapist or counselor knows there's an ongoing shortage of providers, said Lori Jarvis, executive director of the Colorado Springs office of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, or NAMI.

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"Wait times are long, and many are not accepting new patients," Jarvis said.

Many people are waiting 30 to 60 days for an appointment, Atchity said.

Even then, "You may get your foot in the door, but what are the odds of connecting with a provider who understands your circumstances and can provide you the support you need?" he asked.

That's particularly the case for LGBTQ+ people, Black, Hispanic and other people of color, rural residents and asylum seekers, Atchity said.

Coloradans also are more isolated than residents of states with denser populations, Atchity said, and access to treatment in rural areas can be nonexistent, forcing people to travel to larger cities to receive care.

Despite the state's strong economy, according to indicators such as employment, and the state's high national rankings for the education levels of adults, "we can't seem to close the gaps for mental health access," he said.

"It's imperative that we create a pipeline of care," Atchity said. "The state of mental health in Colorado is distressing."

'Grateful for the trend'

Youth have fared better in recent years on the State of Mental Health rankings, moving from 13th best in 2022 to 11th best in the 2023 version.

The report studied numbers of people with any mental illness, as well as those with serious thoughts of suicide, and substance use disorder in the past year. Also figured into the rankings were people who did not receive treatment for mental problems, or uninsured or had other cost-prohibitive factors and unmet needs.

Colorado's overall ranking, which takes the status of children and adults into account, shows improvement over the past few years, moving up from 47th worst nationwide in the 2021 report to 37th in 2022 to 30th in 2023.

While Colorado's numbers are "still not great, we're grateful for the trend," Jarvis said.

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New methods being employed to address the lack of providers and workforce shortage, such as using peer specialists and nurse practitioners, are helping expand services to meet the demand for treatment, she said.

Her organization's peer support programs that are run by people who have a mental disorder or who have an afflicted family member, "are being recognized as a good way to support mental health needs when someone is struggling," Jarvis said.

Other help is on the horizon, but some will take years to materialize.

The state is applying for a planning grant from the Safer Communities bipartisan gun-control legislation Congress passed last year to develop more certified community behavioral health centers, Jarvis mentioned.

And the six-month-old Colorado Behavioral Health Administration is working furiously to meet the requirements of new legislation intended to overhaul and reform what's been identified as a broken and fragmented system, staff members said at the agency's first monthly virtual town hall on Jan. 25.

With an overall goal of meeting the behavioral health needs of all Colorado residents, the new system of governance at the cabinet level  meaning its commissioner is a direct report to Gov. Jared Polis  is tasked with creating better access, affordability, workforce support, whole-person care, accountability, and local and consumer guidance, said Stacey Davis, a licensed clinical social worker with the BHA.

Progress has been made, officials said. State lawmakers allocated $450 million from federal pandemic relief funding to add beds, crisis response, care coordination, justice diversion, community gaps, workforce and youth programs. COVID-relief money also helped build capacity for the new national 988 crisis hotline and increase responders.

The Behavioral Health Administration will release next week a strategic plan that will cover the next three years, staff members said. The document will outline where the administration is and where it's heading.

A frequent complaint is that people are being turned away for services, said Tom Miller, director for the administration's quality and standards division.

Regulatory restructuring and revisions will stop that from happening, he said, by developing a "safety net system," in which people are not rejected for lack of ability to pay or because of the level of their acuity. Also, a new "cafeteria style" format of licensing is in the works, in which providers will be able to pick and choose endorsement areas of specialty on top of baseline services they offer.

New legislatively driven rules, which number 300 pages now, should be completed by June 30, Miller said.

Behavioral Health Administration Service Organizations need to be set up by July 2024 in regions statewide to help with patient care coordination, reduce confusion for patients, manage services and ensure families can initiate and access the kind of behavioral health care they need, speakers said.

A plan for establishing a statewide grievance and performance monitoring system also must be submitted by July 2024.

Virtual public town halls will happen monthly throughout this year, with the next one scheduled for 3-4 p.m. on Feb. 22. Registration is at https://bha.colorado.gov.

Some problems seem nearly impossible to fix.

Insurance companies not reimbursing mental health providers as a rate that can sustain their practices and not covering patients' care  even though mental health benefits are part of their insurance, are ongoing challenges, French, the doctor, said.

"The cost of care has to come down," he said. "Most outpatient practices have had to increase their rate of seeing patients in the course of an hour, so you're in and out and the patient doesn't feel heard."

At that point, "You find the quality suffers or you may not want to pursue mental health care" at all, he said.

He encourages people to remain strong, adopt a clean diet, regular exercise, optimization of sleep and mindfulness practices that focus on the here and now.

Such activities decrease stress, French said, recommending that people intentionally make time in their schedules for such practices.

"If people are beginning to experience feelings of hopelessness or thinking things would be easier if they weren't here anymore or having active suicidal thoughts, please reach out to someone," he said. "Let someone know things are getting to that point. We need to find ways to get patients access  their lives depend on it."

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Christoph Heusgen, former advisor to Angela Merkel on foreign policy and current chairman of the Munich Security Conference, supports the provision of fighter jets to Ukraine to protect it against Russian attacks.

Source: Heusgen on air of ARD; European Pravda

Details: "I believe that the supply of fighter jets is sufficient for better protection of Ukraine against Russian attacks," he said.

Heusgen states that it would be possible to discuss the provision of American F-16 fighters or Soviet-made fighters from the old stocks of the German Democratic Republic to Kyiv.

In addition, the chairman of the Munich Conference also reminded that, according to international law, foreign forces are allowed to supply Ukraine with weapons, in particular combat tanks, as well as combat aircraft.

As reported, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz claims that the question of a possible provision of fighter jets to Ukraine is not even in question at the moment.

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius previously also spoke out against the provision of German fighter jets to Ukraine. "This is out of the question," he said.

However, Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra said last week that there was "no taboo" in the Netherlands about discussing the F-16 request if it came from Ukraine, and the Slovak government has openly talked about plans to give Soviet MiG-29s to Ukraine.

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A Woodstock police officer is receiving recognition for helping a neighbor during a time of need.

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The Woodstock Police Department was tagged in a social media post where Officer B. Keane was identified for going above and beyond the call of duty.

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I want to give a HUGE shoutout to a Woodstock police officer. I stupidly did not get his name. My mom was pulling into the Sams shopping center and ran out of gas. He allowed her to wait there until I brought gas. I thought I brought enough gas but it wasnt enough to get her started. He graciously volunteered to push her car with his patrol car into the gas station. When it didnt make it all the way he got out of his car and physically pushed it the rest of the way. He acted like it was no big deal. However, to us it was a big deal. He choose to be kind and help when he didnt have to. So thank you Woodstock PD for having such amazing officers!

The department was also impressed with Officer Keane saying, We think hes pretty amazing too!

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A Midlands woman was arrested on a charge that she stole more than $10,000 from a local church where she worked, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division said.

Sherry Rodgers Kirkland was charged with breach of trust with fraudulent intent (more than $10,000), SLED said. Information on the exact amount of money the 61-year-old Saluda resident is accused of stealing from the church was not available.

Kirkland was an employee of the Amick Grove Pentecostal Holiness Church, according to an affidavit shared by SLED. There was no word on her exact title, but the affidavit said Kirkland held a position of trust at the church in Batesburg.

The fraud happened between Jan. 1, 2011, and Dec. 12, 2018, according to the affidavit. Information about how Kirkland took the money was not available, but she did knowingly, willingly and without the lawful authority to do so, take steal or convert to ownership more than $10,000, the affidavit said.

There was no word what Kirkland did with the money.

Kirkland was arrested on Jan. 12 and booked at the Saluda County Detention Center, according to SLED. She was released the same day after posting a $10,000 personal recognizance bond, Saluda County court records show.

Kirklands case is being prosecuted by the 11th Circuit Solicitors Office.

If convicted on the felony charge, she faces a maximum punishment of 10 years in prison, according to South Carolina law.
Annie Wersching, known for playing FBI agent Renee Walker in the series 24 and providing the voice for Tess in the video game The Last of Us, has died following a battle with cancer at age 45. She passed away Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023, in Los Angeles, her publicist told The Associated Press. (Chris Pizzello/AP)

Actor Annie Wersching, best known for playing FBI agent Renee Walker in the series 24 and providing the voice for Tess in the video game The Last of Us, has died. She was 45.

Wersching passed away Sunday morning in Los Angeles following a battle with cancer, her publicist told The Associated Press. The type of cancer was not specified.

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Neil Druckmann, who created The Last of Us, wrote on Twitter that We just lost a beautiful artist and human being. My heart is shattered. Thoughts are with her loved ones.

Actor Abigail Spencer, who appeared with Wersching on the sci-fi series Timeless, tweeted, We love you Annie Wersching. You will be deeply missed.

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Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, Wersching appeared on dozens of television shows over the course of her two-decade career.

Her first credit was in Star Trek: Enterprise, and she would go on to have recurring roles in the seventh and eighth seasons of 24, Bosch, The Vampire Diaries, Marvels Runaways, The Rookie and, most recently, the second season of Star Trek: Picard as the Borg Queen.

She also provided the voice and motion capture performance for Tess for the popular video game The Last of Us.

Wershing was diagnosed with cancer in 2020, according to Deadline, and continued working. Shes survived by her husband, actor Stephen Full, and three sons. A GoFundMe page was set up Sunday to support the family.
Russian military

The training will be akin to that which students in the totalitarian Soviet Union, of which Russia was the dominant state, had to undergo, UK intelligence said.

Read also: Air defense systems in Moscow part of information operations, says ISW

UK Defense Intelligence wrote in its update on the situation in Ukraine posted on Twitter on Jan. 29 that Russias Ministry of Education and Science of Russia has recently provided more detailed information on previously announced plans to introduce basic military training in secondary schools.

The ministry says the training should be a module within the current Basic of Life Safety" classes, during which children will be taught to use automatic rifles, hand grenades and personal protective equipment.

Read also: Russia will struggle to change its army, says UK intelligence

This program will become mandatory from the next school year  Sept. 1, 2023. The ministry also announced in December a basic military training course for universities.

"These initiatives highlight the increasingly militarized atmosphere in wartime Russia, as well as being a (likely deliberate) evocation of the Soviet Union: similar training was mandatory in schools up to 1993," the message reads.

Since launching its failed attempt to effect regime change in Ukraine by military means in February last year, the Kremlin has been moving to put the whole of Russia on a war footing.

A partial mobilization was announced on Sept. 21, following the Russian militarys loss of control of almost the whole of Ukraines Kharkiv Oblast in a lightning counter-offensive by Ukrainian forces.

Read also: Gerasimov fires key general in attempt to bolster his personal authority  UK intelligence

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin had been leery of calling a mobilization in Russia, fearing a political backlash. In fact, there was little civil unrest following the announcement of the mobilization in Russia.

Instead, around 700,000 Russian men of mobilization age were estimated to have fled Russia to other countries following the announcement of the call-up.

The mobilization itself has complicated the Kremlins plans to put the economy of the country on a war footing, as many of the men who were mobilized worked at Russian defense companies, according to experts on Russias economy.



Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Two people were arrested after a police chase in Allegheny County.

Pennsylvania State Police said the chase started on I-376 Eastbound near the Swissvale on-ramp at around 4:00 p.m.

PHOTOS: Minivan crashes in Edgewood during police chase, 2 people arrested after fleeing on foot

Troopers say they pursued a Chrysler minivan on I-376 east toward Monroeville before it switched onto I-376 westbound.

The chase ended on the Swissvale off-ramp after the van crashed but troopers say two males quickly exited the vehicle and took off on foot.

Troopers caught up with the driver and took him into custody near the crash scene but the passenger briefly escaped after getting picked up by a Nissan Altima.

The chase began again as troopers followed the Nissan Altima towards the West End and stopped it on West Carson Street. The second man was then taken into custody.

Details on the suspects are limited at this time.

Pittsburgh Police said they assisted at the scene of the crash.

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Over 2 dozen demonstrators gather in Pittsburgh in response to Tyre Nichols death Tyre Nichols death: Videos show multiple angles of deadly beating Local man facing homicide charges after fatal wrong-way crash in Indiana County VIDEO: School district passes resolution aimed at preventing school violence DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts
Montgomery police are investigating the homicide of Jaedan Davis, 18.

A Montgomery teenager died and an adult male was wounded after an early Sunday morning shooting, police say.

Montgomery police and fire medics responded to the 2900 block of Canterbury Drive, which is near Montgomery Academy, at about 1:40 a.m. Sunday after receiving a call that someone was shot. There, police found Jaedan Davis, 18, with a fatal gunshot wound. Davis was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police and fire medics located the adult male victim in the 1700 block of Tolvert Street, which is near Jerusalem Baptist Church. The victim, who police did not name, sustained a non-life threatening gunshot wound and was taken to an area hospital for treatment. Police say the adult male was shot in the 2900 block of Canterbury Drive.

The Montgomery Police Department is investigating the shooting and asks for anyone with information related to the homicide to contact CrimeStoppers at 334-215-7867, MPD at 334-625-2831 or MPDs secret witness line at 334-625-4000.

Evan Mealins is the justice reporter for the Montgomery Advertiser. Contact him at emealins@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanMealins.

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This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Montgomery teenager killed in shooting early Sunday morning
Jan. 28CANTON  John A. Clark had a dream  a "Journey to Daybreak." On bike, in boat and on foot, he arrived there, with a concluding vision of a new day ascending  a gift that matched his newfound sense of wonder on life, the power of nature and how he embraced that power through solitude.

In September 2012, when he sat on the shores of Cape Spear, a headland on Canada's Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland, near St. John's, and a place where one can witness the first sunrise in North America, he reflected on his journey across Canada, the challenges he embraced and the "angels" of on high and of Earth who aided him on his three separate odysseys.

"It's a lot of hard work to row that boat or to ride the bike over mountains," Mr. Clark said earlier this month. "The physical exertion, the stress physically coupled with being solo in your mind opens up spiritual things that you don't learn in church. It's spiritual in a more grand way."

Mr. Clark, retired St. Lawrence University wrestling coach and athletic director, has chronicled his travels in the book, "Journey to Daybreak: Ocean to Ocean Solo by Bike, Boat and Boots," published by Glover Publishing, Canton.

Mr. Clark took to the road, the waters and the trails with no experience and with epic failures at the beginning of each. But a jaw-dropping sense of audacity triggered each trek.

"What I did was a combination of mind and body," Mr. Clark said.

The sport of wrestling, in which he was a champion and coached an SLU team in the 1980s to an NCAA championship, helped to forge his approach to life.

"As a wrestling coach, you are working with the body and the mind," Mr. Clark said. "Believe it or not, 60% of success in wrestling is the mind. You just train the body, technically. You get in shape and give it good technique. But for real champions, it's the mind."

Mr. Clark didn't put his mind to doing the three-activity journey across Canada as a total one-trip package. The journeys happened years apart, and in a serendipitous manner.

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"None of this was designed," he said. "This was all serendipity. I had no idea what this trip was going to bring me. Everything that happened to me were treasures in secret places."

Bradley the bike

Mr. Clark gave names to each of his implements that were used to power his cross-Canada trek, using that sense of anthropomorphism to talk to each, sharing fears and silently, in return, receiving encouragement.

Bradley is a 27-gear touring bike made to fit Mr. Clark. At the beginning, they were strangers. "I was later to understand the importance of being one with my bike," Mr. Clark writes in the chapter that introduces Bradley.

Mr. Clark and Bradley, which still resides at the author's home, met in 2001. Mr. Clark was 55 at the time. In early September 2001, they flew to Vancouver, British Columbia, to begin the journey east, back to Canton 3,000 miles away, where they arrived in mid-October of 2001. Mr. Clark did no training for the trip, but had years of cycling experience. He grew up in Fulton, Oswego County, where "the bike was king" and where he developed a love of the sport.

Bradley arrived equipped with clipless pedals, in which cycling-specific shoes are held tightly in place by pedal mechanisms. For those not used to the equipment, it may take a while to adjust to them, which Mr. Clark discovered in the first few miles of his trip in downtown Vancouver.

At a traffic light, Mr. Clark slowed Bradley, forgetting he was clipped into his pedals. To unclip when stopping, it requires a slight maneuver of at least one foot, which he forgot to do, and he lost balance.

"I went crashing to the pavement, rolling the bike on top of me," Mr. Clark writes in his book. "I was thoroughly embarrassed, and all the cars honked their horns to celebrate my calamity." But the humility, he wrote, was a "fitting start to a life-changing experience."

Riding the Canadian Rockies challenged the "inexperienced, overweight and out-of-shape" cyclist and his mind became a "fog of delirium" as he climbed. Mr. Clark had to find a coping mechanism. He set goals by looking ahead  a tree or a landmark became a target to get to.

"You never think about the grand picture," he said. "You just keep breaking it down. On the bike, it was, 'I've got to get to the next tree.' Eventually, your body changes and you get better at it. Then I could go 90 miles up and down mountains. You don't think about the top of the mountain. Break it down to what you can envision."

That mindset also helped him beat the boredom of the prairie plains of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. From miles away, he could see grain elevators  "apparitions" to his now "telescopic eyes."

At Deux Rivieres, Ontario, about 350 miles from home, Mr. Clark gained a new perspective on his trip, and on life when he stopped into a small country store. The co-owner of the establishment, "Mikey," joined Mr. Clark at a table. A planned short break turned into a few hours, and Mickey became pensive.

"Her message to me was to live in the moment; tomorrow may never come," Mr. Clark wrote. "I resolved to change my perspective  to experience life's series of moments, to see the positive in each day, all the while continuing to hold the dream that was placed in my heart."

A new dream would soon surface.

Le Bouchon (The cork)

A few months after his cycling trip, Mr. Clark found himself in a Syracuse bookstore, where he said his hand fatefully landed on the 2002 book, "Rowing to Latitude: Journeys Along the Arctic's Edge" by Jill Fredston. The book documents how every summer for years, Jill and her husband, Doug Fesler, in separate ocean-going rowing shells, explored the rugged shorelines of Alaska, Canada, Greenland and Norway.

Soon, Mr. Clark was planning his own boating adventure: an arduous and risky journey to Canada's Arctic region in a specially made sea kayak outfitted with rowing oars. In the winter of 2002-03, at the urging of his wife, Donna, he had a physical exam in preparation for the trip. One test led to another and then a biopsy, which showed he had prostate cancer, in its early middle stage.

After persistent lobbying on his own behalf, he was taken on as a patient by Dr. William J. Catalona, then, and still the medical director of the Urological Research Foundation in St. Louis, Missouri. He was one of the first surgeons to perform and perfect nerve-sparing surgery in radical prostatectomy operations.

"I had a very fast-growing cancer and I would have died in four months," Mr. Clark said. "But I had the best (prostate) cancer guy in the country."

In late May 2004, he embarked on his St. Lawrence River rowing journey from an Ogdensburg wharf. After six weeks and nearly 900 miles, he reached sparsely populated Anticosti Island, located near Havre-Saint-Pierre at the outlet of the St. Lawrence River into the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

But like his bike trip, it was an inauspicious beginning. The first time he was in his boat, which he named Le Bouchon due to its penchant of acting like a cork, was on day one of the journey. He had never rowed before. His first efforts resulted in an unintended circle as he maneuvered the 9-foot, 7-inch oars. But finally, with the help of the current, he was on his way. A while later after entering Canadian waters and stopping to register at Canadian Customs, he fell overboard while trying to get out of his boat.

The boat was laden with 500-plus pounds of gear, which he said helped it to track better. However, putting Le Bouchon on shore each night became a wrestling match, sometimes 200 yards across shoreline.

But Mr. Clark was buoyed by a sense of aloneness in his "Journey to Daybreak."

"This is an important thing for people to know," he said. "What happens when you go solo is, it's you. You're in charge. Things change. The way you think, all of your senses get really sharp. You hear better. You can smell cedar trees, taste the wheat fields of Saskatchewan. When I was rowing, the St. Lawrence River is loaded with reefs and rocks. I could actually hear water lapping on a rock and know that I had to be careful in that area. Or I could smell certain kinds of flowers on islands."

In some passages of his book, Mr. Clark used the word angels, "for lack of a better word," he said.

"But angels appeared to me in time of need. If I wasn't going solo, I might not have recognized that. But when you go solo, your heart and mind are opened up. You just didn't recognize them because you weren't attuned to them. The thing about angels is that you have to be receptive to the fact that they're there and they do show up. They show up unexpectedly, they do their task, don't ask for money or payment in any way, and then they disappear. That's one of the great things I learned on that trip  they leave quickly."

An angel came in the form of a voice he heard as his boat was being drawn into the path of a freighter as he was forced to navigate in the shipping lane of the St. Lawrence.

"Their enormous size had the power of sucking me toward their hulls," Mr. Clark writes in the book. "They were like mountains moving and drawing me into their path."

One day, he could not escape the approaching mountain. The harder he pulled, the more he was pulled into its wake. "I was panicked," he wrote. "There was no escape."

But then he heard a voice, telling him to row into the ship's path. He reluctantly, and against instinct, rowed toward the oncoming vessel.

"Miraculously, the boat zoomed in front of the bow, missing a collision by 30 feet and then the wake propelled my boat away from the ship," Mr. Clark wrote. The freighter's bow had acted like a snowplow, creating a mound of waves that lifted his boat.

He then thanked the voice.

"I use the word voice," Mr. Clark said. "I have no idea whether it was an actual voice or it was my brain's voice. But I was given guidance. There's no question about it. I don't know, but I tell you, it exists. Angels exist. The voice exists. Part of going solo revealed that to me. Part of being exhausted and having your heart and mind open is to be open to influences like that."

An angel of a different sort appeared after Mr. Clark and Le Bouchon got caught in a storm, which led to, Mr. Clark wrote, "perhaps the most incredible experience of my life."

In the storm, Le Bouchon slashed through nasty waves on the way to the shelter of a shore. Near the shoreline, Mr. Clark had to jump overboard in chest-deep water in an attempt to stabilize the boat. A cross-current then put Le Bouchon in a spinning-like motion along the shoreline, pulling Mr. Clark along with it.

"I struggled to hang on, but we were headed back to sea, being pulled by powerful rip currents" he wrote in the book. He then highlights how a man ran out of the woods, lunged into the water and grabbed the stern of the craft, which was brought safely to shore. When he regained his breath, Mr. Clark asked the man where he came from.

"His words, in his native accent, echo in my mind today," he wrote. "We've been watching you ... For the last 10 days our people have been following your progress. We respect what you are doing. We are concerned for your safety. Today was my turn."

Mr. Clark doesn't think the rescue was a coincidence.

"I don't think anything is a coincidence," he said. "We just don't see who is pulling the levers."

He said most of the people who came to his aid were natives. "They respected what I was doing and I would sit and talk with them for hours sometimes. It wasn't coincidence that I met all those people."

After approximately 900 miles, Mr. Clark reached, and concluded his boat trip at Anticosti Island, a large and sparsely populated island in the heart of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. His original goal, to Quebec's easternmost community of Blanc-Sablon, was another 300 miles away. An acquaintance picked him up.

A few months after arriving home in 2004, Mr. Clark told the Times, "I accepted that I had six weeks to enjoy what I was doing. I wouldn't say conditions broke me. It transformed the way I look at things."

WILSON

On bike and in boat, Mr. Clark had traversed three-quarters of a continent. The idea to continue on and hike across Newfoundland came in 2012 during a dream at the cottage he and Donna own on Trout Lake, Warren County. His wife urged him on. "It's part of your dream," she told him. It was July, and he wanted to leave by early September. Mr. Clark ordered "boxes" of books to learn about hiking and Newfoundland.

With his newfound knowledge of Newfoundland, Mr. Clark and his trusty walking stick, Wilson, boarded a train in Canada and headed east to his beginning point. On the train, he had some eclectic company, and shared the episode in the book:

"I want to paint this picture for you," he wrote. "I'm on a train to Halifax, sitting next to a man from the prairies who has just revealed to me that he climbed Mount Kilimanjaro at age 80. All the while a harpist plays 'Danny Boy' and we enjoy French wine with Quebec cheese." As Mr. Clark reflects on the emotions he felt at that time, he is brought to tears.

It took Mr. Clark seven hours on a ferry, crossing the Cabot Strait, the passage between Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia and southwest Newfoundland Island, to reach his trek's starting point.

But like his beginnings on his bike and with his boat, Mr. Clark's hike across Newfoundland began with a hiccup. He strained under the weight of his backpack. He found a Canadian post office so he could send some of the gear back home.

Mr. Clark documents other difficulties on his hike in Newfoundland, which he called a "land of enigmas." But the greatest challenge occurred when he faced the wrath of Hurricane Leslie. He first met up with her at an unfortunate spot. The geographic location on Newfoundland known as Wreckhouse, at the southern end of the Long Range Mountains at the western mouth of the Codroy Valley, is known for its extremely high winds.

"Winds up to 120k (74 mph) slammed me and my forty-pound backpack," Mr. Clark wrote. "The storm was draining every ounce of energy I had."

But the experience also tapped new energy.

"I was driven by the remembrance of all I had over come with Bradley and Le Bouchon. I was not going to be defeated by Leslie."

As he walked east, he gained a new appreciation of angels.

"One of the dangerous things was that by the time I got to walking in Newfoundland, I'd get in trouble and go, OK, where are the angels?' It's a little bit dangerous when you expect them. Where are the angels going to come from?"

In a few weeks after 500 miles, he would make it to Cape Spear, where Mr. Clark and Wilson hopped into the Atlantic Ocean, and later awaited sunrise.

Documenting his 'journey'

It took Mr. Clark, 76, a couple of years, with about eight months of actual writing time, to complete "Journey to Daybreak."

"I would write for a while, put it down and come back to it," he said.

The Clarks own and operate White Pillars, a bed and breakfast in Canton. Mr. Clark credited his wife Donna for helping him stay on track while writing. Both are SLU graduates.

"My wife of 53 years kept me on the storyline," he said. "There was a lot more that I wrote, but she said, 'John  each chapter has to be like a miniature story.' She kept me focused, corrected my grammar. I was always a C English student. But I can tell a good story."

Each short chapter is preceded by a quote, from Dr. Seuss to Ernest Hemingway, to help set the scenes.

When he signs copies of his book, Mr. Clark has a phrase he favors to inscribe in them: "Whatever your dream, follow it."

"My thing was to cross a continent, under my own power, solo," he said. "But maybe for others it's time to be an artist. Maybe it's time to quilt a blanket, learn a new skill or write a book. My motivation was to talk to my grandchildren through my words. You can do things you've never done before. That's a strong motivation."

The Clarks have 17 grandchildren.

"I didn't want to leave this Earth without them knowing they had a grandfather that did this, and the story of it, but more importantly, what I thought and what my thinking is and to encourage them to do the same thing," Mr. Clark said.

"It changed my outlook on everything," he said of his "Journey to Daybreak." "I don't think there's anything, if I put my mind to it, that I can't do. But that could be the wrestling coach in me talking."

The details

WHAT: "Journey to Daybreak: Ocean to Ocean Solo by Bike, Boat and Boots" by John A. Clark

SYNOPSIS: "John Clark's chronicle of crossing Canada over rugged terrain and challenging waters. Along the way, he was inspired by the wonders of the natural world and spurred on by the generosity of strangers. He writes of action-packed adventures and solitary moments of quiet reflection."

PUBLISHED BY: Glover Publishing, Canton. Retired St. Lawrence University English professor Albert Glover is the book's publisher and Rick Austin, formerly of Rensselaer Falls, is designer of the 173-page book, which has 21 pages of photographs.

COST: $24.95, hardcover.

WHERE AVAILABLE: SLU Brewer Bookstore; Traditional Arts in Upstate New York, 53 Main St., Canton; Nature's Storehouse, 21 Main St., Canton; Bookstore Plus, 2491 Main St., Lake Placid; and at online retailers.
By Josh Smith

SEOUL (Reuters) -NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg arrived in South Korea on Sunday, the first stop on a trip that will include Japan and is aimed at strengthening ties with the U.S. allies in the face of the war in Ukraine and rising competition with China.

In the South Korean capital, Seoul, Stoltenberg met Foreign Minister Park Jin, and was expected to meet President Yoon Suk-yeol and Minister of National Defence Lee Jong-Sup.

NATO is concerned about North Korea's "reckless" missile tests and nuclear weapon programme, while the war in Ukraine had ramifications for Asia, Stoltenberg told Park in remarks at the beginning of their meeting, citing suspicion that North Korea is providing military support to the Russian war effort.

"This just highlights how we are interconnected," he said.

Both officials cited "shared values" between NATO countries and South Korea.

"Given todays unprecedented global challenges, we believe that solidarity among countries that share values of freedom, democracy, and rule of law is more important than ever," Park said.

Flying to Tokyo on Monday, the secretary general has meetings scheduled with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and other Japanese officials.

While NATO will remain focussed on Europe and North America, its members are affected by issues around the world, Stoltenberg told South Korea's Yonhap News agency in an interview.

"We need to address these global threats and challenges, including the challenges coming from China, and one way of doing that is, of course, to work more closely with partners in the region," he said.

Yoon and Kishida became the first leaders from their countries to attend a NATO summit, joining alliance leaders as observers last year.

Following the summit, South Korea opened its first diplomatic mission to NATO, vowing to deepen cooperation on non-proliferation, cyber defence, counter-terrorism, disaster response and other security areas.

Story continues

Chinese state media had warned against South Korea and Japan attending the NATO summit and criticised the alliance's broadening partnerships in Asia.

North Korea has said NATO involvement in the Asia-Pacific region would import the conflict raging in Europe.

Both North Korea and Russia have denied U.S. accusations that North Korea is supplying weapons for the war in Ukraine.

North Korea on Sunday criticised for a second day a U.S. decision to send tanks to Ukraine, calling it an "unethical crime" aimed at perpetuating an unstable international situation.

(Reporting by Josh Smith; Additional reporting by Hyun Young Yi; Editing by William Mallard, Robert Birsel)
SEATTLE (AP)  That looked a little more how No. 6 Arizona wants to play with the combo of Azuolas Tubelis and Oumar Ballo dominating on the interior and Kerr Kriisa knocking down shots from the perimeter.

Tubelis had 25 points and 10 rebounds, Ballo added 21 points and 12 rebounds, and Arizona used a big second-half run to pull away for a 95-72 win over Washington on Saturday.

The Wildcats (19-3, 8-3 Pac-12) won their fourth straight and picked up their first road sweep in conference play this season. Arizona also won for the eighth time in its last nine trips to Seattle, each of the past three victories by 20 points or more.

We havent had many games like this this year, so it felt good to come out and do it," Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said. But Washington as a team, I have a ton of respect for. I was expecting this game to go down to the last four minutes, but fortunately, we kind of made a little run and threw some haymakers at them and kind of staggered them a little bit.

Tubelis topped 20 points for the first time in five games and his rebound putback while being fouled with 4:29 remaining gave the Wildcats a 78-63 lead and sent Washington fans headed for the exits.

Kriisa added 18 points, hitting six 3-pointers, and Courtney Ramey scored 14. And for at least one day, the Wildcats showed flashes of their potent offensive punch from earlier in the season.

Arizona topped 80 points in 11 of its first 13 games, but had reached that mark just twice since starting the bulk of conference play around the first of the year.

It shows that we can win in different ways and it shows our team, I don't know if (it's) grittiness, but it kind of shows we can throw us some kind of game and we have to find our way how to win, Kriisa said.

Keion Brooks Jr. led Washington with 25 points and Keyon Menifield added 21. But the Huskies (13-10, 5-7) suffered from too many scoring droughts and didnt have an answer for Arizonas 19-1 run in the early stages of the second half.

Story continues

Washington led by nine early in the first half, but was overmatched at the defensive end during Arizona's second-half surge, whether the Huskies were going zone or man-to-man.

We couldnt stop them. In the second half they scored 57 points. Thats not the recipe, Washington coach Mike Hopkins said.

Arizonas scoring run was a wave of contributions, but was punctuated by key 3-pointers. Tubelis and Ballo scored baskets on the interior, and it was a pair of 3s from Kriisa and Rameys first made basket of the game  also a 3  that helped the Wildcats push the lead to 53-44 with 13:33 remaining.

After a Washington timeout, the Huskies committed a turnover and Kriisa and Ramey again connected from deep. Tubelis finally capped the run with a layup, giving the Wildcats a 61-45 lead with 11:25 remaining.

Arizona led by as many as 26 points in the closing minutes after escaping with a 70-67 win over the Huskies in Tucson earlier this month.

I think our guys settled in offensively a little bit today, Lloyd said. Last game we played these guys, we didnt really do a good job attacking the zone and we turned the ball over, so you shore up those two things you give yourself a better chance.

BIG PICTURE

Arizona: The Wildcats rediscovered their offensive potency after being held under 65 points in its past two games. Both of those were close victories over UCLA and Washington State, but the Wildcats shot 52% for the game and the 95 points were a season-high in conference play.

Washington: The Huskies lost their 15th straight to ranked opponents and have not knocked off a team ranked in the AP Top 25 since defeating Baylor early in the 2019-20 season.

UP NEXT

Arizona: Hosts Oregon next Thursday.

Washington: At UCLA next Thursday.

___

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
No one applied to open a charter school in Louisville, despite last years mandate by the legislature that Jefferson County Public Schools approve a pilot charter by July 1 of this year.

Monday was the deadline for charter school applicants in Jefferson County.

JCPS spokesman Mark Hebert confirmed that no sponsor stepped up to open the urban academy envisioned by state lawmakers for Kentuckys largest city.

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We did everything that was required to make the opportunity available to anyone who was interested in starting a charter school. They just didnt respond for whatever reason, Hebert said.

Under legal challenge by Kentucky school districts, the charter school law narrowly passed over Gov. Andy Beshears veto last year. It created a funding stream for charter schools in Kentucky and laid out plans for charters in Louisville and Northern Kentucky to serve as pilots.

The law gave Northern Kentucky University the option of becoming the other charter-school authorizer. But the NKU Board of Regents decided last month not to assume that responsibility, shifting the authorizing duty to a collective of metropolitan local school boards which the law gives until July 2024 to approve a pilot charter school.

School-choice advocate Gary Houchens, a professor of education administration at Western Kentucky University and a former state school board member, said hes not surprised no one has applied to open a public charter school under last years law. He predicted that Kentucky will have no charter schools as long as the law makes local school districts responsible for authorizing them.

The way the bill was crafted sets up districts for a lot of headaches and charter school sponsors for a lot of unnecessary challenges, Houchens told the Lantern, adding he does not blame local districts or charter school sponsors.

It puts both in a difficult spot. The district is responsible for overseeing a school it doesnt really want and that will be competing for students. And the charter school should be independent of the district. If Kentucky is serious about charter schools it will have to come back to the drawing board and develop a different authorizing mechanism, Houchens said.

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The Kentucky legislature passed a charter school law in 2017 that was signed by Republican Gov. Matt Bevin. One charter school application, in Madison County, is pending under the earlier law.

Last years law is being challenged in a lawsuit filed earlier this month by the Council for Better Education, made up of 168 of Kentuckys 173 school districts. JCPCS and the Dayton Independent Board of Education are also plaintiffs in the challenge. The lawsuit contends funding would be siphoned from public schools to benefit unaccountable private entities in violation of Kentuckys Constitution.

In Louisville, a notice of intent to open a charter school was filed by education consultant Veda Pendleton but not an application.

What happens next is unclear. The statute does not provide an outcome in the case there are no applications, said Toni Konz Tatman of the Kentucky Department of Education.

Kentucky Lantern is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kentucky Lantern maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jamie Lucke for questions: info@kentuckylantern.com. Follow Kentucky Lantern on Facebook and Twitter.
By Josh Smith

SEOUL (Reuters) -North Korea on Sunday criticized for a second day a U.S. decision to send tanks to Ukraine, calling it an "unethical crime" aimed at perpetuating an unstable international situation.

Washington's allegations that North Korea has provided arms to Russia are a "groundless rumor" to justify its own military aid to Ukraine, Kwon Chung-keun, director of U.S. affairs at North Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a statement carried by state news agency KCNA.

"The U.S. is working hard to supply such offensive weapons as (main battle tanks) to Ukraine at any cost in disregard of the just concern and criticism of the international community," the statement said. "This is an unethical crime aimed at keeping the international situation unstable."

The baseless claims of North Korea-Russia arms deals are a "grave provocation that can never be allowed" and perpetuating them will bring a "really undesirable result", Kwon added.

On Saturday North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's powerful sister, Kim Yo Jong, denounced U.S. pledges of battle tanks to Ukraine, claiming Washington was "further crossing the red line" to win hegemony by proxy war, KCNA reported.

Nuclear-armed North Korea launched an unprecedented number of missiles last year, including intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) capable of reaching the U.S. mainland. U.S. and South Korean officials have also warned the North could be preparing for its first test of a nuclear device since 2017.

The White House said in December that North Korea completed an initial arms delivery of infantry rockets and missiles to a private Russian military company, the Wagner Group, to shore up Russian forces in Ukraine.

(Reporting by Josh Smith; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush poses for photographs next to a statue of gospel singer Mahalia Jackson at the opening ceremony of Mahalia Jackson Court on West 79th Street, Sept. 2, 2022, in Chicago. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)

Considering his political zigzagging, assigning longtime congressman Bobby Rush his final grade is no mean trick.

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A self-proclaimed revolutionary, he worked as a financial planner and insurance salesman. As defense minister of the Black Panthers, he said African Americans needed arms to defend themselves from rogue cops. In Congress, he championed gun control.

Fortunately, the 15-term congressmans contradictions arent impenetrable.Rushs measure can be taken by comparison with another revolutionary politician. In 1848, Alexandre August Ledru-Rollin, the leader of a revolution in France, was asked why he was chasing after an infuriated Parisian crowd.

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There go the people, he replied. I must follow them, for I am their leader. 

Black Panther Defense Minister Bobby Rush, seated center, talks about the judge who sentenced Panther Chairman Fred Hampton in 1969. Flanking Rush are members of sympathetic organizations, including the white Appalachians, the Young Patriots. (Steve Kipp / Chicago Today)

Rush has similarly kept pace with an African American community that is far different from what it was when he stepped into the political spotlight.

Sixty years ago, Black leaders didnt dare question the Democratic machine. They quietly accepted the white political bosses crumbs.

Today, Chicago is led by its third Black mayor. The U.S. has had a Black president.

Rush probably couldnt guess who that would be when he first crossed paths with Barack Obama in 2000, as the young political upstart made a bid for Rushs seat in a largely African American and working-class congressional district.

Leon Finney, from left, Bobby Rush, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Rush's wife Carolyn, celebrate Rush defeating Obama in a primary election win on March 21, 2000. (Phil Velasquez/Chicago Tribune)

Barack Obama went to Harvard and became an educated fool, said Rush during that years Democratic primary campaign, before soundly defeating Obama with more than 60% of the vote.

Obama spoke like the University of Chicago professor that he was. Rush spoke the language of the streets where he was raised, just west of the citys glitzy Gold Coast neighborhood. He attended an integrated grade school and was a Boy Scout.

Money being scarce in his mothers household, he dropped out of high school and joined the Army. He was motivated by President John F. Kennedys call for young people to devote themselves to public service.

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Assigned to an anti-aircraft base in Chicago, he encountered a vocally racist commanding officer from Alabama, then went AWOL when the Rev. Martin Luther King was assassinated in 1968. As the West Side erupted in rioting, he found his way into the Black Panthers. He saw it as an opportunity to do something for desperately poor people abandoned by the citys establishment.

He was responsible for the partys breakfast program for black school children, a medical program, and a food giveaway plan, the Tribune reported in 1984.

Harold Bell, seated from left, Bobby Rush and Ron Satchel speak at a Black Panther news conference on Oct. 26, 1972. (Jerry Tomaselli / Chicago Tribune)

But in 1969, police, under orders from States Attorney Edward Hanrahan, shot their way into a West Side apartment where Black Panther leader Fred Hampton and another Panther were sleeping, killing both men. The assassination of Hampton, founder of the Panthers Illinois chapter, left Rush its chairman.

Attempting to cover up the crime, Hanrahan said the occupants shot first. The Tribune bought into the lie, printing a photo of supposed bullet-exit holes in the door. In reality, they were nail heads.

The gruesome affair infuriated the Black community, which came out in mass to defeat Hanrahans bid for reelection. That demonstrated a potential for reform via the electoral process.

Black Panther Bobby Rush, center, watches as the crime lab checks the house where Fred Hampton was shot and killed at 2337 Monroe St. in Chicago on Dec. 17, 1969. (Frank Berger / Chicago Today)

Initially Rush didnt take that route. In 1972, he served six months in prison on a weapons charge, having carried a gun into a police station. But shortly thereafter, he left the Panthers.

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We started glorifying thuggery and drugs. he told People magazine. I dont repudiate any of my involvement in the Panther party  it was part of my maturing.

When Harold Washington, until then a machine loyalist, mounted an independent campaign for mayor in 1983, Rush ran for 2nd Ward alderman. Both won, shocking the citys political establishment.

A lot of people expected me to walk into the City Council wearing a leather jacket, dark glasses and a bandoleer of shotgun shells on both sides, Rush said. Im not like that. 

Bobby Rush, former Black Panther Party leader, and his wife Carolyn, celebrate his win over Ald. William Barnett, 2nd, on April 12, 1983. (Quentin Dodt / Chicago Tribune)

But thats how he appeared in the imaginations of machine aldermen facing their worst nightmare: a Black mayor with a reform agenda. Rush was a sitting target during the Council Wars, the guerrilla resistance of Washingtons opponents that stymied his administration.

When Washington died shortly after being reelected to a second term, the machine regained City Hall, and Rush was earmarked for political limbo. He also mounted a quixotic campaign to preserve the late mayors heritage. It was provoked by a School of the Art Institute student who painted a portrait of Washington wearing womens underwear.

With two other Black aldermen and accompanied by police officers, Rush took the painting off the museums wall in 1988. Mirth & Girth, as the painting was titled, suffered a small tear during the fracas.

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A judge found the action a crude display of government censorship that violated the students First Amendment rights and the city settled with the student $95,000 in damages.

For Ald. Bobby Rush, 2nd Ward, a pinstriped suit has replaced his "radical chic" garb of the 1960s, shown here circa 1984. Im not like that, he says of the militant image he projected as a Black Panther. (James Mayo / Chicago Tribune)

By 1992, Rush had his eye on the congressional seat held by Charles Hayes, a Black union official and civil rights activist. Saying Hayes had been close to a nonentity in Congress, the Tribune endorsed Rush. On the eve of the primary, a breaking news story revealed that Hayes had bounced 716 checks at the House of Representatives bank.

Hayes counterpunched, alleging that Rush had stiffed his ex-wife the child support due her. Not one child has gone hungry because of what we did in the House on these bank overdrafts as you call them.

Rush won the argument at the polls.

Being sworn into Congress after almost being murdered by police officers, thats a giant step, Rush said in January 1993, noting that, 25 years ago he thought he would be dead by now. 

Black Panther Bobby Rush, left, and Panther attorney Kermit Coleman at a news conference, circa May 1970. (Carl Hugare / Chicago Tribune)

For the next three decades, Rush did the steady stream of grunt work that comes with the job: Serving on committees, drafting prospective legislation, making you-scratch-my-back, I-scratch-yours deals.

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Yet he occasionally drew upon theatrical skills honed in his Black Panther days. In 1995, he led a march down Clark Street demanding that Gregory Becker, an off-duty cop who killed a homeless man, not be let off with a slap on the wrist.

Then Rush hurried back to Washington and flipped a switch to register his vote on an issue of the day, as the Tribune noted. Becker was indicted and served prison time.

When Trayvon Martin was killed in Florida, Rush noted that the self-appointed security guard who shot the 17-year-old African American assumed he was a thief because of the cut of his clothes.

Racial profiling has to stop, Rush, dressed in a hoodie, said in the House of Representatives on March 28, 2012. Just because someone wears a hoodie does not make them a hoodlum. 

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 >

He was gaveled out of order for violating the rule against wearing a hat in the House.

By the time Rush announced he wouldnt run for a 16th term, some of his most cherished projects had been realized, such as the first federal legislation against lynching. Others were languishing, including an inquiry into FBI surveillance that he and other dissidents were subject to in the 1960s, without a judges authorization.

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Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., during a news conference about the "Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act" on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Feb. 26, 2020. Emmett Till, pictured at right, was a 14-year-old African American who was lynched in Mississippi in 1955, after being accused of offending a white woman in her family's grocery store. (J. Scott Applewhite / AP)

He explained his taking leave of Washington variously. Having belated taken a doctoral degree, he was pastoring at a Chicago church, thus returning to community organizing.

But he also offered a highly personal riff on the well-worn mantra of retiring politicians: wanting to spend more time with family.

I dont want to be an historical figure to my grandchildren, he told the Sun-Times. Someone theyd learn about in school, or maybe see in a televised biography.

I want them to know me on an intimate level, know something about me, and I want to know something about them. 

Have an idea for Vintage Chicago Tribune? Share it with Ron Grossman and Marianne Mather at rgrossman@chicagotribune.com and mmather@chicagotribune.com.
Novak Djokovic celebrated with his support camp (Asanka Brendon Ratnayake/AP) (AP)

An emotional Novak Djokovic described his record-equalling 22nd grand slam title as the biggest victory of his life.

A year after seeing Rafael Nadal pull ahead in the all-time mens standings while he tried to process the fall-out from his deportation from Australia, Djokovic has been determined to show that Rod Laver Arena is his stage.

He dropped just one set all tournament  despite saying he feared a left hamstring problem might force him to withdraw  and finished with a 6-3 7-6 (4) 7-6 (5) victory over first-time Australian Open finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas to claim a 10th title in Melbourne.

Novak Djokovic - 22

Rafael Nadal - 22

Roger Federer - 20

Pete Sampras - 14

Roy Emerson - 12

Djokovic also reclaims the world number one ranking from Carlos Alcaraz and it would be very difficult to argue that he does not justify that position having once again put the younger generations in their place.

His status in Australia, meanwhile, is unmatched, with the 35-year-old winning a 28thconsecutive Australian Open match and a 41st in a row in the country as a whole.

After sealing victory, Djokovic climbed into the stands to celebrate with his team and family and was overcome with emotion, lying on the ground and sobbing uncontrollably.

Speaking on court in a jacket bearing the number 22, Djokovic said: This has been one of the most challenging tournaments Ive ever played in my life.

Djokovic was visibly emotional after winning the 2023 Australian Open (Getty Images)

Not playing last year, coming back this year. I want to thank all the people that made me feel welcome, made me feel comfortable to be in Melbourne, to be in Australia.

Theres a reason Ive played my best tennis on this court. Only my team and my family know what weve been through in the last four, five weeks. This probably is the biggest victory in my life considering the circumstances.

There are large Greek and Serbian communities in Melbourne and the atmosphere was reminiscent of a football match, with fans decked in their countrys colours and umpire Louise Azemar Engzell constantly appealing for quiet during points.

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Both men received raucous welcomes, but the reception for Djokovic was just a little bit louder and his fans soon had plenty to cheer.

For the first time all tournament, there was no heavy strapping on his left thigh, although a couple of strips of tape were a reminder that Djokovic had cruised through to the final while not 100 per cent fit.

If the Serbian has been vulnerable in slam finals over the past couple of years, it has tended to be early on, with Djokovic losing the first set on four-consecutive occasions, including against Tsitsipas in the Greeks only previous final at the French Open in 2021.

There Djokovic went two sets down but still came back to win. He was in no mood for a repeat here, though, looking supremely sharp from the start, forcing Tsitsipas to save two break points in his opening service game and then breaking to lead 3-1.

The 24-year-old barely landed a glove on his opponent during Djokovics service games, with the first set whizzing by, but Tsitsipas, who has carried himself with an air of great confidence all fortnight, got a foothold in the match early in the second set.

Djokovic was gracious to his opponent Tsitsipas after victory (Getty Images)

He was serving with more authority and finding greater depth and penetration on his groundstrokes, although he was still reluctant to venture to the net.

Djokovic no longer looked quite so sure of himself, gesticulating frequently to his box, which was again without father Srdjan, who opted to stay away from Melbourne Park for another match after being filmed with pro-Russia activists last week  inadvertently, the family insisted.

The Serbian took a heavy tumble in the seventh game and at 4-5 he missed a routine backhand to give Tsitsipas a set point.

The Greek was unable to seize his opportunity, though, and soon he was two sets down after an error-strewn tie-break.

Chances will always be at a premium against Djokovic and taking them is paramount but Tsitsipas was again too charitable at the start of the third set, finally breaking serve only to hand the advantage straight back.

He was at least able to repel Djokovics pressure to force a second tie-break only to find himself 5-0 down. He battled back with some of his best tennis of the match but a forehand that just caught the line was enough for Djokovic to clinch his second match point.
Former President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama ramped up their calls for police reform following the release of the video showing the vicious beating of Tyre Nichols.

The vicious, unjustified beating of Tyre Nichols and his ultimate death at the hands of five Memphis police officers is just the latest, painful reminder of how far America still has to go in fixing how we police our streets, they tweeted Saturday.

They said responsibility falls on all people to mobilize to create change and included a link to a webpage for the Obama Foundation for people to learn about how communities can reimagine public safety to prevent crime and injustice.

They also posted a photo of Nichols along with the tweet.

The Obamas reaction came after Memphis police released the body camera and surveillance video of five officers beating Nichols, a 29-year-old Black motorist who was pulled over for alleged reckless driving.

The police department originally said the officers had a confrontation with Nichols after they stopped him and he ran away from them, but the footage shows officers pulled Nichols out of the car after stopping him and wrestled him to the ground.

He ran away from them, but the officers caught up with him and beat him for three minutes. The footage also shows that more than 20 minutes passed between when the officers stopped beating him and when Nichols received any medical attention.

He was hospitalized and died three days later.

The video has sparked outrage from many political leaders, such as President Biden and Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.).

Former President Obama repeatedly called for police reform both during his time in the White House and since the end of his term.

The Memphis Police Department disbanded the Scorpion Unit, which the five officers were members of and patrolled high-crime areas, on Saturday in response to the release of the video.

The officers were fired and have been charged with multiple crimes, including second-degree murder.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Douglas Sacha/Getty Images

Ky'Air Thomas, one of the twins who were abducted last month, has died, police said.

Officers responded to a report of an unresponsive baby on Saturday.

An investigation is ongoing, authorities said.

One of the twin Ohio infants whose abduction last month prompted a public outpouring of support was pronounced dead this weekend, local news reported.

Officers on Saturday night responded to a call at around 11 p.m. of an unresponsive 6-month-old baby, identified as Ky'Air Thomas, a spokesperson for the Columbus Division of Police told Insider.

The baby was transported to a local children's hospital "in life-threatening condition" where he was pronounced dead just before midnight, the spokesperson said.

An investigation is underway and an autopsy is set for Monday to determine the cause of death, according to police and local news reports.

The child's mother, Wilhelmina Barnett, released a brief statement on her Instagram story, stating that Ky'Air "had a seizure," The Columbus Dispatch reported.

"We don't know what caused it. Please let me grieve," the post said. "Ky'Air, we are nothing without you."

Ky'Air and his brother Kason were kidnapped last month after Barnett left them in her black 2010 Honda while she picked up a Door Dash order from a pizzeria in Columbus, Ohio. Ky'Air was located hours later, about 70 miles away, at the Dayton International Airport.

Police said his twin, Kason, was found days later inside the vehicle near a Papa John's in Indianapolis, Insider previously reported. Two women, Mecka Curry and Shyann Delmar were instrumental in helping law enforcement track down the baby and suspect, Nalah Jackson. She was taken into custody and was charged with charged her with two counts of kidnapping.

Speaking to WSYX, Wilma Booker, the aunt of Barnett, said that Ky'Air's death has been devastating for the family and emphasized that Barnett is "a really good mom."

"She loves her babies. I don't want people to judge her like they did last time. I just want that to be known. I'm like in a state of shock for real, I'm devastated, I'm hurt for Momo. I'm hurt for Chaz the father, I'm hurt for Kason his twin brother because he is a twin, but I'm mostly, mostly, mostly, mostly, worried about Wilhelmina," Booker told the news station. " She's been through so much in the way of social media and everybody has been treating her. I just don't want her to take a toll on her and want her to keep being the great mom that she is."

Read the original article on Business Insider
A student walks on the campus of Los Angeles City College. Many low-income students avoid loans by attending community colleges. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

A conspicuous economic divide in the U.S. has persisted between workers with college degrees and workers without them. Social policy since World War II has been built on the idea that people from disadvantaged backgrounds can cross that divide by completing college. Though this once seemed possible, for many it now feels more like a myth.

Using a college degree to earn a higher salary and climb ladders of economic mobility is not as easy as it once was. Instead of alleviating inequality, higher education too often deepens it. We need to admit that, on its own, higher education is not an adequate solution to poverty.

Historically America has relied on higher education as an engine of opportunity, and it has been an important driver of social progress and wealth creation. While equal outcomes have never been guaranteed, equal opportunity has been a crucial underpinning of the American dream.

Our policies, however, have too often diverged from these aims. An early law that provided subsidized higher education was the Servicemens Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the GI Bill. The people it helped were primarily white, male veterans being rewarded for their service to the country. After the U.S.S.R.s launch of Sputnik in 1957, a worrying move in the developing Cold War, the U.S. broadened educational aid specifically for the purposes of national competitiveness and defense, through the National Defense Education Act.

During the civil rights movement, new attention was paid to equity concerns around aid and opportunity in higher education, culminating in the establishment of the federal Pell grant program in 1972. Its purpose was to alleviate the need to borrow among poor students, so as not to discourage them from investing in a college education. But as legislative efforts turned to maintaining college affordability for the middle class in 1978, and Pell grants not increasing with the cost of living, federal policymakers began putting an emphasis on loans instead of grant aid as a method of boosting college enrollment and graduation.

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Subsequent administrations, beginning with President Clinton, established tax credits for tuition savings. This disproportionately benefited families with the highest incomes and tax rates.

Higher educations promised ladder of economic mobility has become a downward slide for most without wealth. As it becomes even more unaffordable and unattainable, it can reinforce class divisions and reproduce existing inequality trends.

Most low-income students who enroll in college avoid taking out loans by attending community and for-profit colleges, which have much lower completion rates than nonprofit colleges and universities.

Community colleges earn two-fifths the revenue compared with public four-year colleges that bring in higher tuition, fees and receive more from state appropriations. From there, though more than 80% of incoming students state an intention to achieve a bachelors degree, only 15% ultimately do. At for-profit colleges, an even larger proportion of disadvantaged students attend, paying more to become less likely to graduate, earning credits that do not transfer, using up limited federal financial aid and growing more likely to default on debt.

Meanwhile, wealthier students who graduate from high schools with better means feel more comfortable on college campuses and attend well-resourced institutions where more students graduate within four years.

Only students who finish degrees realize income gains from attending college. However, only about half the students who enter college graduate within six years, a particularly low figure when one considers the weight our society extends to education as a panacea for social and economic ills.

Students who take out loans to cover the cost of education and then default face ongoing financial devastation with particularly limited ability to discharge the debt, even through bankruptcy. Nearly half of African American students default on their student debt within 12 years of leaving college.

Our culture, meanwhile, is laden with fairy tale accounts of the against-all-odds success student, who was fueled by good words, devoted teachers and ample scholarships. These stories often elide race, secondary schooling and broader family dynamics. Low-income students who matriculate at elite institutions can indeed earn almost as much after graduation as wealthy students, but very few low-income students attend elite institutions.

By admitting that the current system of higher education does not function as a solution to poverty, we could begin to call for more direct and effective anti-poverty policies, such as President Bidens American Rescue Plan, which temporarily expanded the child tax credit and very quickly and substantially reduced child poverty and child hunger.

Additionally, the government should do more to fix inequities that stem from citizens attempts to get a college education and should make higher education more accessible to all. The Biden administrations efforts to grant up to $20,000 in loan forgiveness to millions of Americans focuses exclusively on the issue of runaway debt. While a positive step, it masks the complex economic challenges the current generation of young people face when considering higher education. Programs such as AmeriCorps, for example, operate more proactively by awarding education funds to students up front in exchange for a year of service.

The government must recognize that the higher education system now is not a cure-all for inequality and commit to providing better policies to help those in poverty in addition to offering more solutions to making college affordable. Only then will those in poverty have the assistance they need to find their way out.

Jodie Adams Kirshner is an author and a research professor at New York Universitys Marron Institute. Her forthcoming book is After a Generation of Dreams.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Paul Clark

What a difference a mentor makes. A caring adult can change a childs life, which is why Big Brothers Big Sisters of Western North Carolina is celebrating its Bigs in January during National Mentoring Month.

Ninety boys, girls and youth are awaiting a Big Brother or Big Sister in Buncombe and Henderson counties. Many of the 543 young people BBBSWNC served last year, ages 6-15, waited as long as a year to be matched with their Big. Thats a long time wishing there was an adult outside your family to take you places, to provide experiences you might not otherwise have. To help you with your schoolwork. To listen to you and to tell you about their own experiences. To have someone like the members of your family who want to bring out the best in you.

Throughout the 18 North Carolina mountain counties that Big Brothers Big Sisters WNC serves, there are 235 young people hoping that someone will step up and be there for them once every week or so, for as little as an hour each time. BBBSWNC, based in Asheville, vets each prospective Big and introduces them to the Little Brother or Little Sister whose interests are in line with their own.

BBBSWNC supports the matches with suggested activities and regular check-ins, ensuring a childs experiences align with the parents or guardians expectations and the organizations mission to nurture relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth. The childs safety is top of mind in everything BBBSWNC does, as is the professional support and supervision it gives to all matches.

More:When words wound: Children who are victims of bullying need adults' support

More:Teaching confidence allows kids to find their own way to shine

BBBSWNC, started in Asheville 41 years ago, has achieved verifiable results. According to its 2022 local youth outcome surveys, its "Littles" said they became more confident (97% of those who responded to the survey) and were more motivated to learn (90%). They participated more actively in school (93%) and improved their academic performance (88%). They exhibited better problem-solving skills (92%) and attended school more often (87%).

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As a branch of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, the largest and most experienced one-to-one mentoring organization in the nation, BBBSWNC supports critical social and emotional development that local children need to help build resilience and promote mental health and well-being.

And it happens while everyone is having fun. Site-based matches, which pair adults or high schoolers with elementary school students, happen during or after school, where the matches chat, hang out, and work on schoolwork. Community-based matches often go out for ice cream, walk around the park, and visit places theyd like to learn more about. Because of its corporate, foundation and individual supporters, BBBSWNC organizes and pays for many of these outings.

More:Asheville Council appoints retired Marine, ROTC instructor Jesse Warren to school board

These experiences are enlightening and exhilarating for the Littles, but theyre also rewarding for the mentors. Bigs often say they get more out of the experience than their Littles. Many matches remain friends long after the Littles have graduated from the program at the end of high school. Many former Bigs have attended their Littles weddings, graduations and family gatherings. Many of our former Littles are now Bigs themselves, mentoring children who benefit from their experience, knowledge and understanding of their lives.

Year-round, but especially in January, BBBSWNC celebrates its volunteers and recruits adults ages 16 and older to become Bigs.

National Mentoring Month was created in 2002 by Mentoring.org, a mentoring advocacy organization created more than 30 years ago, and the Harvard T.H. School of Public Health to amplify, encourage, and strengthen mentorship for young people, Mentoring.org states on its website.

Among national officials who have supported the creation of National Mentoring Month, according to the website, are former President Barack Obama and members of Congress, including the late Sen. John McCain. Additional support has come from Maya Angelou, Clint Eastwood, Quincy Jones, Gen. Colin L. Powell, Cal Ripken Jr., Bill Russell and Usher.

To learn more about becoming a Big and about Big Brothers Big Sisters of Western North Carolina, visit bbbswnc.org or visit its Facebook page at facebook.com/bbbswnc.org.

Paul Clark is communications coordinator for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Western North Carolina.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Opinion: Big Brothers Big Sisters celebrates mentors in Asheville
Antisemitic material found in a Palm Beach driveway this weekend.

Palm Beach Police issued littering citations to four men Saturday for distributing antisemitic flyers to private residences on the island, a department spokesman said Sunday.

The citations to the out-of-state individuals came at 5 p.m., shortly after police sent out an alert to residents to report any antisemitic material they may have received.

Police identified the men as David Y. Kim, 60, of Pennsylvania; Jonathan K. Baldwin, 27, of Indiana; Jon E. Minadeo II, 40, of California; and Nicholas A. Bysheim, 33, of Maryland.

Jon Eugene Minadeo II was cited for littering by Palm Beach Police after antisemitic material was distributed Saturday in town.

Minadeo is a well-known antisemitic agitator from Sonoma County, Calif., who boasted on social media last year that he had been handcuffed and arrested for hate speech outside the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland. He leads an extremist group called the Goyim Defense League and its platform Goyim TV, which has distributed antisemitic flyers in cities across the country, according to national hate-group monitors.

In December, Minadeo announced he had moved the Bay Area-founded group to Florida.

Bysheim was arrested by Atlantis Police on Jan. 21 for obstructing a law enforcement officer without violence after receiving a littering citation for throwing antisemitic hate speech flyers on residents lawns, police said.

The Palm Beach island littering citations came after police say the men distributed flyers to residences.

More:Antisemitic, extremist-group activity rose across Florida during 2021, ADL report finds

More:Discovery of anti-Semitic flyers outside homes across Florida leads to call for federal probe

Contained in weighted, zipped plastic bags, the flyers decry nationally elected and appointed Jewish officials in relation to gun control, the COVID agenda, allegations that U.S. media are controlled by Jewish interests and the Biden Administration in general.

Palm Beach Town Council President Margaret Zeidman found one of the antisemitic packages on her doorstep. When she walked around her neighborhood later, she says she spotted others in about two-thirds of the homes near hers.

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Hate crime charges unlikely

Its unfortunate that ignorance and hatred are not a crime. Littering and trespassing are, Zeidman said Sunday. At this point in time, there isnt any other legal or law enforcement action that can be taken by the town, though I find it very frustrating.

Hate crime charges in this case are unlikely, according to a Palm Beach Police spokesman.

We do not anticipate that at this time, due to the non-criminal infraction status of the littering citations and the current state statutes regarding hate crimes, Capt. Will Rothrock said in an email.

New law in the works:Projecting antisemitic images onto buildings would be a felony

Last week, Palm Beach County leaders held a closed-door meeting to push forward and expand plans to combat recent antisemitism displays in the area.

Under a bill that was introduced Jan. 19 by State Rep. Mike Caruso, R-Delray Beach, anyone who projects antisemitic images onto buildings could be charged with a felony.

Following the alleged incidents on Palm Beach, Palm Beach County Mayor Gregg Weiss said Sunday that antisemitic provocateurs, banking on the First Amendment, have found a way to spread their hate that just tries to skirt the law.

Well continue to look for legal avenues available to combat what theyre doing and new laws to address their latest techniques, he said. I will continue to work with other folks in our community to do everything in our power to not allow these people to spread their hate and divisiveness in Palm Beach County.

The Palm Beach packages incident follows similar antisemitic occurrences in West Palm Beach and Boca Raton, in addition to Atlantis.

New law in the works: Projecting antisemitic images onto buildings would be a felony

Officials: Boca Raton, West Palm Beach antisemitic displays during weekend are related

On Jan. 14, West Palm Beach police learned about antisemitic messages projected onto the side of a building. Police say they discovered two masked men with a rental truck, projector and generator. No arrests have been made in that incident.

Also in January, Boca Raton residents discovered antisemitic flyers on their front yards and driveways. Like the Palm Beach flyers, these were in zipped plastic bags.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach cites 4 with littering for distributing antisemitic flyers
Pamela Anderson on 'The Howard Stern Show' at SiriusXM Studios on January 25, 2023, in Los Angeles, California. Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for SiriusXM

Pamela Anderson's ex-husband, Jon Peters, told Variety that he left her $10 million in his will.

The actress and film producer were married for 12 days before splitting in 2020.

Peters also told Variety the money is there "whether she needs it or not."

Pamela Anderson's ex-husband of 12 days, film producer Jon Peters, said he's leaving her $10 million in his will "whether she needs it or not."

Anderson and Peters spoke with Variety's Tatiana Siegel for a cover story published Thursday about their brief nuptials. According to the outlet, Anderson first met Peters at the Playboy mansion in 1989 and began living at his estate in Los Angeles, California, where he showered her with lavish gifts.

The pair reunited decades later and wed in a private ceremony on January 20, 2020, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The couple split on February 1 of the same year, with Anderson telling CNN that the union was never technically formalized.

Peters told Variety this week that even though he and Anderson aren't together anymore, he still loves her and left her a large sum of money in his will.

"I will always love Pamela, always in my heart. As a matter of fact, I left her $10 million in my will. And she doesn't even know that. Nobody knows that. I'm just saying it for the first time with you. I probably shouldn't be saying it," he said. "So that's for her, whether she needs it or not."

Anderson also spoke of her love for Peters, noting that he's been "a huge influence" in her life.

Jon Peters and Pamela Anderson at the Cineplex Odeon in Century City, California, on December 11, 1989. Jim Smeal/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

Variety also shared excerpts of Anderson's upcoming memoir "Love, Pamela," which is slated for release on January 31. The "Baywatch" star's Netflix documentary, titled "Pamela, a Love Story," will be available on the streaming service the same day.

In one selection from the memoir, Anderson said she saw Jack Nicholson having a threesome at the Playboy mansion, recalling the moment she accidentally walked in on the actor with two women.

"They were all giggling and kissing up against the wall, sliding all over each other. I walked by to use the mirror, bending over the sink to fix my lip gloss. Trying not to look, but I couldn't help myself and caught his eye in the reflection," she wrote. "I guess that got him to the finish line, because he made a funny noise, smiled and said, 'Thanks, dear.'"

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Anderson said the moment was part of an era of "complete freedom" in Hollywood.

"It was full of artists, philanthropists, intellectuals, chivalry, beautiful women," she said. "It was really an experience."

Read the original article on Insider
Ettson Arreola was arrested on Friday after police discovered he had recorded videos of students fighting and posted them on social media, Yellow Dog Productions / Getty Images

Police say an Idaho middle school substitute teacher encouraged students to fight and filmed it.

They allege the teacher set a timer for students to fight and then shared videos of it to social media.

Ettson Arreola was arrested on Friday and charged with four counts of injury to a child, among other things.

A middle school substitute teacher in Idaho is accused of encouraging students to fight during class and filming it.

Police said in a Facebook statement that Ettson Arreola, who was teaching at Syringa Middle School, set a timer and encouraged students to fight for ten seconds while he recorded videos.

Two physical fights took place in his classroom on Thursday, police said, one between two male students and another between two female students.

Arreola was arrested on Friday after police discovered he had recorded videos of students fighting and shared them on social media, according to the Caldwell Police Department.

He has been charged with four counts of injury to a child, one count of inciting a riot, and four counts of violation of the juvenile corrections act, encouraging a minor to fight.

Rex Ingram, the Caldwell Chief of Police, said that the teacher's actions "tear at the fabric of our community and are reprehensible."

"The video(s) is appalling, disturbing, and unimaginable. This man was entrusted by his community to keep our children safe and provide academic education, but he chose to facilitate a fight club in his classroom," he said.

The Superintendent of the Caldwell School District, Dr. French, said: "The Caldwell School District has zero tolerance for this type of behavior. The personal safety and welfare of each child is of paramount concern. The District has taken immediate steps to ensure the safety of all students. We are providing support for the students involved and are actively cooperating with law enforcement."

Read the original article on Business Insider
BRUSSELS, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese New Year, or Year of the Rabbit according to the Chinese lunar calendar, was celebrated on Saturday in the central Belgian city of Namur.

Nearly 3,000 people participated in the festivities, which included traditional dances and other cultural performances.

Organized by the Federation of Chinese Communities in Belgium, the celebration allowed visitors to experience a wide range of Chinese culture and folklore, including gastronomy, Chinese liquor, painting and calligraphy, porcelain, Tai Chi, traditional Chinese medicine, lion dances and lanterns.

For Elise Boucher, a 23-year-old Belgian student at the University of Mons, the idea of celebrating Chinese New Year in Namur is incredible. "I discovered the gastronomy, the Chinese liquor and there is something for everyone. What I liked most about these visits was the food tasting," she said.

"It's really interesting to be able to share this culture. I liked the artist's calligraphy lessons. I found it impressive to see how in a few strokes he can express so many things in his painting," said Veronica Dakpui, an architecture student at the University of Liege, who is also taking Chinese classes at the Confucius Institute in Liege.

For 63-year-old Jean Michel Paulin who teaches Tai Chi in Jambes, not far from Namur, the celebration is "an additional discovery of Chinese culture."

"I have already been to China several times. I practice Tai Chi, I teach it. It's great to see so many people and so many Chinese," said the Tai Chi practitioner.

In his opening speech, Chinese Ambassador to Belgium Cao Zhongming hailed the relations between China and Belgium.

These relations, he said, "have maintained a good momentum of development," and the people of the two countries benefited from the cooperation in economic, commercial and cultural fields.

China is also working to make the whole world benefit from its development, the ambassador said. "This will inject a new dynamic into Sino-Belgian relations and bring new opportunities for Belgium's development."

Denis Mathen, governor of the province of Namur, noted that this occasion of the Chinese Spring Fair was an opportunity to "participate in the reestablishment of ties with China, your immense country that geographers call the 'Middle Kingdom'." 
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried leaves Manhattan federal court on Jan. 3, 2023, in New York, after he pleaded not guilty to charges that he cheated investors and looted customer deposits on his cryptocurrency trading platform. Federal prosecutors on Friday, Jan. 27, are trying to prohibit FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried from privately contacting current and former employees of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange to prevent potential witness tampering in a criminal case accusing him of bilking investors and customers. (Seth Wenig/AP)

Federal prosecutors are trying to prohibit FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried from privately contacting current and former employees of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange to prevent potential witness tampering in a criminal case accusing him of bilking investors and customers.

The request, made in a letter filed late Friday by U.S. Justice Department lawyers, prompted an indignant response from Bankman-Frieds lawyer, who accused prosecutors of twisting the facts to cast the FTX founder in a sinister light ahead of his trial scheduled later this year.

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The testy exchange prompted U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in New York to issue a Saturday order that included admonishment for the opposing lawyers in the case to refrain from pejorative characterizations of each others actions and motives.

Bankman-Fried, 30, has been under confinement at his parents home in Palo Alto, California, since pleading not guilty earlier this month to charges against him. He is accused of diverting massive sums of FTX customer funds to buy property, donate to politicians and finance risky trades at Alameda Research, his cryptocurrency hedge fund trading firm.

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Federal prosecutors raised their concerns about Bankman-Frieds attempts to connect with potential witnesses in the case after discovering he sent an encrypted message over the Signal texting app on Jan. 15 to the general counsel of FTX US, according to their letter to Kaplan.

I would really love to reconnect and see if theres a way for us to have a constructive relationship, use each other as resources when possible, or at least vet things with each other, Bankman-Fried wrote to the FTX general counsel, dubbed Witness 1, in the prosecutors letter.

Federal prosecutors told Kaplan that Bankman-Frieds communications are a sign that he may be trying in influence a witness with incriminating evidence against him. As a safeguard, the prosecutors want Kaplan to revise the conditions of Bankman-Frieds bail so he cant communicate with current or former employees of FTX and Alameda Research outside the presence of a lawyer without a waiver from the Justice Department.

But Bankman-Frieds attorney, Mark Cohen, painted a much different picture in his fiery retort to the prosecutors. Cohen described Bankman-Frieds effort to reach the FTX general counsel as an innocuous attempt to offer assistance in FTXs bankruptcy process.

In his Saturday order, Kaplan demanded complete copies of Bankman-Frieds electronic communications to be provided by Monday.

Federal prosecutors also want Kaplan to change the conditions of Bankman-Frieds bail to prevent him from communicating through Signal, which has an auto-delete option to make messages quickly disappear in addition encryption technology to help shield the contents from outsiders.

Using Signal to contact potential witnesses increases the likelihood that detection of any attempt to obstruct justice by influencing a witness will itself be obstructed, the prosecutors told Kaplan.

But Cohen wrote that the message sent to the FTX general counsel didnt have an auto-delete feature. Cohen also assured the judge that Bankman-Fried has turned off the disappearing messages option in his Signal account.

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The government cannot justify a bail condition based on an unfounded concern about what Mr. Bankman-Fried might do, when there is no evidence that he is, in fact, doing it, Cohen said.

Before prosecutors asked the judge to impose broad restrictions that would prevent Bankman-Fried from privately communicating with any current or former FTX employees, Cohen said the two sides had already been in negotiations to reach a reasonable compromise before prosecutors sandbagged the talks with their late Friday letter to Kaplan.

By Cohens estimate, FTX and Alameda Research have about 350 current and former employees who would be blocked off from Bankman-Fried by a blanket ban, including some that might have crucial information for his defense during a trial tentatively scheduled to begin in October.

Bankman-Fried was willing to voluntarily agree to a prohibition against him communicating with several top FTX executives in exchange for being allowed to remain in contact with others such as his father, his therapist still employed by the cryptocurrency exchange and a range of other unidentified workers who directly reach out to him.

Kaplan told federal prosecutors to respond to Cohens claims in his seven-page letter by Monday.
The Jacksonville Sheriffs Office reported that a small child drowned near a Jacksonville Heights neighborhood at 8500 Noroad Saturday afternoon.

According to JSO, at around 4:45 p.m., patrol officers were dispatched to the 8500 block of Norad to assist the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department on a possible drowning that was called in for the location.

After some investigation, JSO reported that a small child between the ages of 2 to 3 was found unresponsive inside the familys pool.

The small child was transported to a nearby hospital, where lifesaving measures were unsuccessful.

Currently, JSO Homicide and Crime Scene Detectives are on the scene conducting our investigation. They will be coordinating their efforts with the Department of Children and Families.

At this time JSO reports there is nothing to suggest that the incident is not accidental.

The family is cooperating with JSO in the investigation.

This is an ongoing investigation and will be updated when details arrive.

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Pittsburgh police are still investigating after shots were fired downtown early Sunday morning.

Surveillance video shows the chaotic moments gunshots were fired at the intersection of 6th Avenue and Smithfield Street around 1 a.m.

Video shows three people round the corner of Smithfield as a car speeds down 6th Avenue. Two people jump in between cars, ducking for cover. Moments later, cars reverse down Smithfield Street, trying to get out of the area as police nearby rush to the scene.

Bullets shattered a window at the Terrace restaurant at the Omni William Penn Hotel, pierced a traffic control box and struck a police cruiser. On 11 News at 5 and 6, well show you the surveillance footage showing the chaotic moments early Sunday morning. @WPXI pic.twitter.com/xMy6KTKQDr  Amy Hudak (@amy_hudak) January 30, 2023

Police found a traffic control box pierced by a bullet, a police cruiser was also hit by the gunfire and a window to the Terrace restaurant at the Omni William Penn Hotel was shattered. Fortunately, nobody was inside at the time. The Omni said theyre saddened this happened, but nobody was hurt. They added the safety of their guests and staff is their top priority.

I know people want to deny it, but its a tough reality that people are just not accepting, Tyler Shoemaker told Channel 11. He says the violence is one of the reasons why hes considering not renewing his lease downtown.

People who live and work downtown say something needs to change before more people and businesses feel forced out of the city.

I feel like its pretty wrong of the local government to just act like its not a problem, Shoemaker added. It also makes me kind of sad for people visiting Pittsburgh. There are really nice hotels and attractions in downtown, but with the emptiness of it, and the rising crime...

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Hopefully our Mayor can take more action in making this a better place for people to want to come and be and spend their money, Camilla Botto shared. Those things can enhance our city and its sad those things arent being respected as much as they should be.

Nobody is in custody and police are continuing their investigation.

Fortunately, nobody was hurt.

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UPDATE: Bloomfield police release surveillance video of synagogue arson attempt

The rabbi of a Bloomfield synagogue targeted in an arson attack early Sunday said recent security upgrades, including a shatterproof barrier over glass, may have saved the house of worship from a worse fate after a man in a ski mask threw a Molotov cocktail at its front door.

The masked man approached Temple Ner Tamid, lit the glass bottle and tossed it at the temple at 3:19 a.m., surveillance video from the temple revealed. The bottle broke but didnt cause damage, and the suspect then fled down the driveway.

The temples head of religious education arrived in the morning and found the broken glass and spilled gasoline, said Rabbi Marc Katz. The temple staff alerted police, who responded at 9:30 a.m. and reviewed surveillance video.

The Bloomfield Police Department is looking for a man who threw a Molotov cocktail at the front door of the Temple Ner Tamid in Bloomfield at 3:19 a.m. on Sunday

People have been on heightened alert because of this and are feeling rightfully worried about the state of antisemitism because of how prevalent it has been lately, Katz said in an interview Sunday. Still, I dont think anybody ever expects their congregation is going to be attacked.

Temple Ner Tamid, a Reform congregation on Broad Street, has received grants from the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness to improve security. Among the measures, it added shatterproof barriers over the glass of the windows and doors, Katz said.

We were able to avert the worst because the device the person was throwing didnt make it through the front glass doors, Katz said.

The temple, which serves 540 families, canceled Sunday activities including religious education. Around 200 children in kindergarten through grade six were expected to arrive at the school for classes. Katz was focused on helping members of the congregation process their feelings and concerns after the attack.

Theres a new level of anxiety among my congregation because this hits closer to home than anything theyve experienced, the rabbi said. My job is also to take care of them and help process this and help them talk to their kids about this and to emphasize that we remain proudly Jewish in light of rising hatred.

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If events like this erode our religious identity, then those who seek to hurt us win, he said.

In the wake of this incident, Katz said, he celebrated that he was able to host a traditional naming ceremony for a young girl.

I remind my congregation that every day, despite what is happening, in Jewish communities around the world, babies are named, children are educated, people are married. Our religious traditions continue. No act of hate can stop the power of religious freedom," Katz said.

The Bloomfield Police Department released a photo of the suspect taken from surveillance footage. He wore black clothing including a long sleeved shirt that appeared to have a skull and crossbones design on the front. Police said they are working with Essex County prosecutors, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to investigate the incident. Anyone with information is asked to call the detectives at 973-680-4084 or email detectives@bloomfieldnjpd.com.

If events like this erode our religious identity, then those who seek to hurt us win. Rabbi Marc Katz

New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said his office was also working with local, county, state and federal law enforcement agencies to find the suspect.

Platkin said his office is also investigating an attack on members of a predominantly Black church in Monmouth County that took place Saturday, although no further details were provided.

We are cognizant of the fact that these attacks have occurred while violence continues to erupt in Israel, and while our own nation reckons with violence at home, Platkin said. I want to reassure all New Jerseyans  especially our friends and neighbors of the Black community and the Jewish faith  that law enforcement continues to take the appropriate steps to increase our presence around sensitive places so that everyone in our state can worship, love, and live without fear of violence or threat."

Dov Ben-Shimon, CEO at the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest of New Jersey, said in a statement that the incident targeting Temple Ner Tamid comes amidst a climate of intimidation and intolerance, and a rising tide of anti-Jewish hate crimes and hate speech against Jews.

"Our Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ will continue to work with all partners in the community to stand up to hate, build our resilience, and promote safety and security," the statement said.

Elected officials also issued statements of support. Gov. Phil Murphy tweeted that he had been briefed on the attacks and wrote: "Let me be clear: there is no place for violence or hate in New Jersey and I strongly condemn these acts."

U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez also wrote on Twitter that he was "horrified to hear of the attempted attack" in Bloomfield.

"I will continue working to ensure New Jerseys synagogues and Jewish community centers have all of the resources they need to protect themselves, but to truly prevent these hateful attacks we must all work together to address the root causes of antisemitism," Menendez wrote.

Meanwhile, police are stepping up patrols, including in Livingston, which issued an alert on social media about the incident.

We are aware of an attempted arson attack on a temple in Bloomfield NJ earlier this morning, authorities wrote. As a result, we have increased our patrols of our temples and will continue to do so until more information is obtained. If you see anything suspicious, please call us immediately.

My statement on the attempted attack on Temple Ner Tamid in Bloomfield. pic.twitter.com/Bbm6q7UyqZ  Rep. Mikie Sherrill (@RepSherrill) January 29, 2023

Katz said his temple had been ramping up security since white supremacists marched in the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017. The temple has security guards and panic buttons and had boulders placed outside to prevent vehicular attacks, he said. The mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018, where a gunman killed seven people, underscored the need for added security, he said.

Local incidents have also caused concern. In November, an 18-year-old man from Sayreville was charged with threatening to attack a synagogue and Jews in an online manifesto. The incident that prompted the FBI to issue a warning of "credible information" regarding a "broad threat" to temples in the state.

"We live in a society where religious institutions are under attacks and Jewish institutions all the more so," Katz said.

He is encouraging his congregation "to reflect on what brings them joy about Judaism, rather than what makes them afraid."

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Police search for man who threw Molotov cocktail at Bloomfield synagogue
(Reuters) - Pope Francis on Sunday called on Israel and the Palestinians to engage in dialogue in pursuit of peace, deploring the recent violence in the region.

Speaking after the Angelus prayer in Rome, the Pope said he had been greatly saddened by news of the Palestinians killed during Israeli counter-terrorism operations, as well as by the deaths of Israeli Jews in a synagogue shooting attack on Friday.

"It is with great pain that I hear of the news coming from the Holy Land... The spiral of death which is growing every day does nothing but kill the little trust that there is between these two peoples," he said.

"I appeal to the two governments and the international community, and I ask them to find immediately, without wasting any time, other paths which include dialogue and the sincere search for peace," he added.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday pledged a "strong, swift and precise" response to the synagogue attack on the outskirts of Jerusalem, as its military sent more troops into the occupied West Bank.

The Jerusalem attack followed an Israeli raid on Thursday in the West Bank city of Jenin that killed nine Palestinians, including seven gunmen, and cross-border fire on Friday between Israel and Gaza.

At least 30 Palestinians - militants and civilians - have been killed in the West Bank since the start of the month.

(Reporting by Valentina Za; Editing by Toby Chopra)
South Mountain Park and Preserve in Phoenix.

Portions of South Mountain Park and Preserve were shut down as Phoenix police investigators searched for evidence in a homicide.

Detectives were investigating a human skull that was found at South Mountain Preserve by a hiker on Jan. 14.

Phoenix officers were called to South Mountain Park near South Central Avenue and West Las Ramadas Drive about 1:50 p.m. after a hiker reported finding a skull.

Due to signs of trauma appearing on the skull, police said the death was being investigated as a homicide.

Phoenix police said detectives were actively following up on all leads and would continue to work with the Maricopa County Medical Examiners Office to identify the victim and any suspect responsible.

This was the third set of human remains to be discovered in a remote area in the Valley this month. On Jan. 7, someone off-roading in a desert area near Buckeye discovered a skull and skeletal remains. On the same day, Phoenix police said a hiker found human remains at Phoenix Mountain Preserve.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Phoenix Police Department at 602-262-6151, or Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS or 480-TESTIGO for Spanish speakers.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Skull discovery closes portions of South Mountain Park in Phoenix
Prigozhin does not directly manage the staff of Wagner's PMC

The Russian oligarch, who is said to be the founder of the Wagner Group private military company, mostly plays the role of a media personality, Andriy Usov, a spokesman for Ukraine's military intelligence directorate, Andriy Usov, said on Ukrainian national television on Jan. 29.

Read also: Wagner financier Prigozhin launches campaign aimed at portraying himself anti-corruption crusader

"Prigozhin primary plays media and political roles. He doesn't run (Wagners) combat units or the general staff," Usov said.

Yusov also stressed that Prigozhin is mainly responsible for funding Russian mercenaries.

Prigozhin, nicknamed Putins chef because his companies are said to have provided catering services to the Kremlin regime of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, has been openly critical of the Russian regular armys poor performance during its invasion of Ukraine.

Read also: US declares Wagner PMC criminal organization

This is said to have brought him into conflict with the Russian regular army, and its leadership  Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu and Chief of the Russian General Staff and First Deputy Defense Minister General Valery Gerasimov.

Videos have also emerged of Prigozhin touring Russian prisons, offering convicts contracts as mercenaries  and their freedom if they see out six months of service.

Ukraines military says the Wagner mercenaries have suffered huge casualties during their assaults on the Ukrainian towns of Soledar and Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast, with waves of poorly trained and equipped convicts being sent to assault Ukrainian defenses.

U.S. newspaper the New York Times reported on Jan. 24 that of 50,000 Wagner mercenaries sent to Ukraine, only 10,000 remain  the rest having either been killed, wounded, captured or gone missing.



Read also: 10,000 Wagner Group mercenaries remain at the front out of 50,000 recruited  mass media

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Nataliya Korolevska, a pro-Russian People's Deputy, submitted a mandate

Referring to its own sources, Ukrainska Pravda said journalists had established that both MPs moved to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates after the beginning of Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Read also: Several Ukrainian ex-MPs left Ukraine for UAE after Russian invasion, investigation shows

According to the Ukrainian political movement Chesno, Korolevska, 47, missed all the government sessions after Feb. 24. She was an MP of the 5th, 6th (from the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc), 8th (from Opposition Bloc) and 9th (from OPZZh) convocations of parliament.

She took the post of Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine (20122014) in the government of runaway former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. She also ran for the presidency in 2014.

The Chesno movement wrote that Korolevska has also be the subject of several anti-corruption investigations.

Korolevska is known for her pro-Russian views  in particular she spread false Russian propaganda narratives about Ukraine's lack of political willingness to solve the "Donbas' conflict," and blamed Ukraine in the war in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts that had lasted since 2014.

Korolevskas husband, Yuriy Solod, and her son, Rostyslav Solod, both are politicians. The second became a regional lawmaker in Kramatorsk in Donetsk Oblast at the age of 19.

Read also: Ukraine bans 12 pro-Russian parties, members helped Russians hold sham referendums

The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine back in March suspended the activities of political forces associated with Russia for the war time, in particular the OPZZh, Opposition Bloc, Party of Shariy, and the Nashi Party.

In March, the pro-Russian Opposition Platform  For Life (OPZZh) party announced the suspension of its activities, declaring that "the war changes everything."

On April 14, the National Security and Defense Council also suspended the activities of the OPZZh faction in the current Ukrainian parliament. However, its MPs remained, and created a new group named Platform for Life and Peace headed by Yuriy Boyko. Other former MPs of the OPZZh faction formed a parliamentary group named Restoration of Ukraine.

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Some former members of the OPZZh faction have been deprived from their mandates and Ukrainian citizenship as well, including Viktor Medvedchuk, a close friend of the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, Medvedchuks friend Taras Kozak, and MPs Renat Kuzmin and Andriy Derkach.

However, the majority of MPs from the banned OPZZh party are still Ukrainian parliamentarians.

Ukrainian parliament speaker Ruslan Stefanchuck has said that these MPs have not been deprived of the MP mandates yet because there are no legal grounds for this.

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Elon Musk leaves the Phillip Burton Federal Building and United States Court House in San Francisco, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023. Musk returned to federal court to defend himself against a class-action lawsuit that alleges he misled Tesla shareholders with a tweet about an aborted buyout that the billionaire defiantly insisted Tuesday he could have pulled off, had he wanted. (Benjamin Fanjoy/AP)

Elon Musks enigmatic personality and unconventional tactics are emerging as key exhibits in a trial revolving around one of his most polarizing pursuits  tweeting.

The trial, centered on a pair of tweets announcing Musk had obtained the money to take Tesla private in 2018, reeled the 51-year-old billionaire into a federal courtroom in San Francisco for three days of testimony that opened a peephole into his often inscrutable mind.

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Musk, who now owns the Twitter service that he deploys as his megaphone, was often a study in contrasts during his roughly eight hours on the stand. The CEO of the electric carmaker is facing a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of Tesla shareholders after Musk tweeted about a company buyout that didnt happen.

Through both his testimony and the evidence submitted around it, Musk came across as impetuous, brash, combative and contemptuous of anyone who questioned his motives as a game-changing entrepreneur who has inspired comparisons to Apples late co-founder, Steve Jobs.

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At other times, Musk sounded like the savvy visionary that his supporters hail him to be  an intrepid rebel who by his own estimates has raised more than $100 billion from investors. They have been richly rewarded from his leadership of pioneering companies that include PayPal in digital payments, Tesla in electric vehicles and SpaceX in rocket ships.

It is relatively easy for me to get investment support because my track record is extremely good, Musk wryly observed.

But his confidence in his ability to get the money he wants to pursue his plans is one reason he found himself in court. The three-week trial is set to resume Tuesday and head for jury deliberations by Friday.

Heres what to know so far:

PLANTING THE SEEDS

Evidence and testimony have shown Musk had started to mull taking Tesla private in 2017 so he wouldnt have to hassle with the headaches and distractions that accompany running a publicly traded company.

After a July 31, 2018, meeting with a top representative from Saudi Arabias sovereign wealth fund, Musk sent a letter to Teslas board outlining why he wanted to take the automaker private at a price of $420 per share  about 20% above its stock price at the time.

Musk was serious enough that he had already discussed the pros and cons with Michael Dell, who had gone through the public-to-private transition in 2013 when he led a $25 billion buyout of the personal computer company bearing his name, according to trial evidence.

THE TROUBLESOME TWEETS

The crux of the case hinges on an Aug. 7, 2018, tweet in which Musk declared funding secured to take Tesla private. Musk abruptly posted the tweet minutes before boarding his private jet after being alerted that the Financial Times was about to publish a story that Saudi Arabias Public Investment Fund had spent about $2 billion buying a 5% stake in Tesla to diversify its interests beyond oil, according to his testimony.

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Amid widespread confusion about whether Musks Twitter account had been hacked or he was joking, Musk followed up a few hours later with another tweet suggesting a deal was imminent.

Musk defended the initial tweet as a well-intentioned move to ensure all Tesla investors knew the automaker might be on its way to ending its then-eight-year run as a publicly held company.

I had no ill motive, Musk testified. My intent was to do the right thing for all shareholders.

Guhan Subramanian, a Harvard University business and law professor hired as an expert for shareholder lawyers, derided Musks method for announcing a potential buyout as an extreme outlier fraught with potential conflicts.

The risk is that Mr. Musk timed his announcement of his (management buyout) proposal to serve his own interests rather then the interests of the company, Subramanian testified.

WHERES THE MONEY?

Theres another issue threatening to undermine Musks defense. He hadnt locked up the financing for his proposed deal or even pinned down down how much would be needed to pull it off, based on testimony from Musk, other witnesses and other evidence.

That is one reason U.S. District Judge Edward Chen had decided last year that Musks 2018 tweets were false and has instructed the jury to view them that way.

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It also prompted regulators to allege Musk misled investors with the tweets, resulting in a $40 million settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that also required Musk to step down as Teslas chairman.

Chen ruled that the 2018 settlement, in which Musk didnt acknowledge wrongdoing and has since lamented making, cant be mentioned to the jury.

Musk testified that he believed he had secured an oral commitment to provide wherever money was needed for a Tesla buyout during a July 31, 2018, face-to-face meeting with Yasir al-Rumayyan, governor of Saudi Arabias wealth fund.

That was reinforced in testimony from Teslas former chief financial officer, Deepak Ahuja, who was at the discussions and took al-Rumayyan on a half-hour tour of a Tesla factory.

But a text message al-Rumayyan sent to Musk after the funding secured tweets made it appear that the discussions about the Saudi fund financing a private buyout were preliminary.

I would like to listen to your plan Elon and what are the financial calculations to take it, al-Rumayyan wrote to Musk, according to a copy submitted as evidence in the trial.

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Musk framed al-Rumayyans text as an attempt to backpedal from his previous commitment. He also insisted the Saudi fund had given an unequivocal commitment to financing the buyout.

MONEY MANEUVERING

After his 2018 tweets, Musk tried to get the money needed for the Tesla buyout with the help of Egon Durban, co-CEO of the private equity firm Silver Lake, which helped finance the Dell buyout in 2013. Musk also enlisted Dan Dees, a top executive with Goldman Sachs, an investment banking firm that had worked closely with Tesla.

In testimony, both Durban and Dees discussed efforts to raise money for a Tesla buyout for a wide range of potential investors that included two Chinese companies, Alibaba and Tencent, as well as Google in documents initially code-named Project Turbo, then Project Titanium.

The buyout would have required anywhere from $20 billion to $70 billion, according to the documents  funding that never came close to getting raised, Durban and Dees both testified, largely because Musk scrapped the proposal to take Tesla private on Aug. 24, 2018, after consulting with shareholders.

Teslas shares are now worth eight times what they were then, after adjusting for two stock splits.

Musk still contends he could have gotten the money had he wanted and, even if there was a shortfall, he could have covered any gap by selling some of his stock in privately held SpaceX. That is a strategy Musk used in his $44 billion purchase of Twitter, except he sold about $23 billion of his stock in Tesla.

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Durban and Dees both testified that they had no doubt the money for a buyout could have been raised  echoed by former Tesla director Antonio Gracias.

He is the Michael Jordan of fundraising, Gracias testified.
On Tuesday, Ruja Ignatova was placed on the FBI's most wanted list, making her the 11th woman to ever appear on the list. FBI

Wanted fugitive Ruja Ignatova hasn't been seen since October 2017.

The "crypto-queen" allegedly scammed billions out of investors before disappearing for years.

A recent property listing hints that Ignatova is alive and still on the run, reports say.

Listings for a property in the UK may have just located the "crypto-queen" Ruja Ignatova years after her disappearance in 2017.

Bulgarian-born Ignatova, 42, is wanted by the FBI for allegedly scamming investors out of $4 billion between 2014 and 2016 in a Ponzi scheme using her now-defunct company OneCoin. She was charged in absentia in 2019 for wire fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering.

In October 2017, she vanished until documents related to a penthouse apartment in London seemingly pointed to her whereabouts, the New York Post reported. Previously, it was unclear if Ignatova was still alive and on the run.

The lead was discovered by investigative reporter and host of "The Missing Cryptoqueen" podcast Jamie Bartlett. He alleges that Ignatova initially purchased the property under a company name, but was forced to be named as the company's beneficiary under a new rule, per the New York Post.

Earlier this month, Ignatova's lawyers filed a formal claim on the property with financial regulators and Ignatova was listed as the apartment's "beneficial owner," the report reads. The penthouse was originally listed for over $15 million before being dropped to around $13 million.

The posting was reportedly taken down after the property agent learned of its connection to the fugitive. It remains unclear whether or not the apartment has been sold.

Ignatova is currently the only woman on the FBI's most wanted list, and she's the 11th woman to appear on the list in its 72-year history, Insider's Sarah Al-Arshani reported Tuesday.

Bartlett told UK-based digital publication iNews that the move was "one of the most interesting developments in the story."

"It suggests she is still alive, and there are documents out there somewhere which contain vital clues as to her recent whereabouts," Bartlett said.

He added: "If nothing else it should make it easier for the authorities to freeze that asset  and maybe even start getting money back to victims."

Read the original article on Business Insider
LIMA, Peru (AP)  A protester has been killed in Lima during brutal clashes between police and demonstrators demanding the resignation of President Dina Boluarte.

It was the first such death in Peru's capital. Victor Santisteban Yacsavilca, 55, suffered a severe head injury during clashes with law enforcement in downtown Lima on Saturday, Perus ombudsman said.

A total of 58 people, including one police officer, have now died amid the unrest across Peru that began after then-President Pedro Castillo was impeached and later arrested for trying to dissolve Congress on Dec. 7. Boluarte, who was then vice president, took over.

Protesters descended on Perus capital earlier this month to expand demonstrations that had earlier largely been focused in the countrys south and exposed deep divisions between residents of the capital and the long-neglected countryside.

Large protests also took place Saturday in Perus southern Cusco region.

The demonstrations demanding Boluartes resignation as well as the dissolution of Congress and early elections had been turning increasingly violent as frustrated protesters became angry at the way the government ignored their demands and staunchly defended the work of the police that met them with volleys of tear gas and pellets.

Groups of protesters remained in downtown Lima until late in the night but were often dispersed by police using tear gas.

Theyre bastards, but we wont get tired, Julian Martinez said as he wore a Peruvian flag on his back that had the words, Dina murderer.

Earlier, Boluarte had expressed regret that Congress failed to approve a measure that could have moved presidential elections forward to later this year.

We regret that Congress was not able to come to an agreement to set a date for general elections, the presidency said in a message posted on social media.

Lawmakers shot down a bill late Friday that would have moved elections to the end of the year, although the measure could be reconsidered.

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Boluarte, who had already expressed support for holding elections in 2024 rather than the previously scheduled 2026, called on Congress earlier this week to approve a schedule that could lead to a national vote later this year.

Almost two-thirds of Peruvians agree elections should be held later this year, according to a poll published by local newspaper La Republica Sunday.

There were 80 road blockades across the country Saturday as part of the protests, according to Perus ombudsman.
Dozens of demonstrators gathered outside the Cambridge Police station on Sunday, calling for change following the death of a 20-year-old college student who was shot by police earlier this month.

Sayed Faisal, a student at the University of Massachusetts Boston, was shot and killed on Jan. 4 while advancing on officers with what police described as a kukri knife. Police reportedly tried to subdue Faisal with a less lethal form of ammunition before shooting and killing him.

Protestors lofted signs reading Justice for Faisal and Justice for all victims before heading inside Cambridge Police headquarters. The crowd sang songs and called for new police protocol when dealing with emotionally disturbed individuals.

Right now they are on paid vacation they are on paid administrative leave. What we really need is for them to be fired right away just like the officers that murdered Tyre Nichols are and for them to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, one protestor told Boston 25.

An independent judicial inquest into the shooting has been initiated. The findings of that inquest will be forwarded to the Middlesex district attorneys office to decide whether charges are warranted, a process that could take a year or more.

Faisal, who was known as Prince by his family, was an only child who was never violent and had never been involved with law enforcement before, his parents said in a statement released by the Council on American-Islamic Relations earlier this month.

Authorities have not released the name of the officer who opened fire. The officer, who is on paid administrative leave, is a seven-year department veteran who has never been the subject of a citizens complaint, according to Cambridge Police.

According to the preliminary investigation, police received a 911 call early January 4 from a resident who reported seeing a man jumping out of an apartment window with a machete which he appeared to be using to cut himself.

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Officers and paramedics found the man, identified as Faisal, bleeding in an alley.

Faisal saw police, who requested that he drop the weapon, and ran for several blocks.

He then reportedly moved toward the police while still holding the weapon, even when they fired a less-than-lethal round at him. He continued to advance and one officer fired a gun, striking Faisal, who later died at a hospital, authorities said.

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

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

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SALINAS, Puerto Rico (AP)  Shuttered windows are a permanent fixture in Salinas, an industrial town on Puerto Ricos southeast coast that is considered one of the U.S. territorys most contaminated regions.

For years, toxic ash and noxious chemicals from coal-fired and thermoelectric power plants have enveloped this community, and residents have complained about health problems ranging from cancer to Alzheimers.

Then last year, a bombshell: Officials with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency traveled to Salinas to announce that the town also has one of the highest concentrations of ethylene oxide, a cancer-causing gas, in a U.S. jurisdiction.

Were fighting a lot of battles, said Jose Santiago, a 74-year-old retiree.

Emboldened by the attention that the federal government has put on Salinas, Santiago and others are demanding a huge clean-up and penalties for those contaminating the region.

I will keep fighting until I die, said Elsa Modesto, a 77-year-old retiree who has not missed a single EPA meeting since last years announcement. I want to know whats in the environment.

Puerto Rico ranks 22nd out of 56 U.S. states and territories based on total managed waste released per square mile, at 4.2 million pounds. Six of the top 10 municipalities in that category are in Puerto Ricos southern region, with Salinas ranked sixth, according to data obtained from the EPAs Toxics Release Inventory.

Salinas also has one of the highest incidence rates of cancer in Puerto Rico, with 140 cases reported in 2019, the newest figures available from the island's Central Registry of Cancer. Salinas has a higher rate than the neighboring town of Guayama, where cases of cancer and other diseases have increased since the coal-fired power plant began operating there in 2002, said Dr. Gerson Jimenez, director of the Menonite Hospital who has testified in public hearings and called for the closure of the plant.

"Medical doctors who work in the southeast area of Puerto Rico have noticed that since the AES Corporation began operating in Guayama, there has been a significant increase in diseases of the respiratory tract, urinary tract, as well as a significant increase in diagnoses of various types of cancer," he testified at one hearing.

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The level of contamination has prompted the EPA for the first time to test air and groundwater in Puerto Ricos southeast region, with Administrator Michael Regan saying that low-income communities and communities of color have suffered unjustly for decades.

Salinas is a town of nearly 26,000 people  of which 28% identify as Black  with a median household income of $18,000 a year. More than half of its population is poor, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The town is nestled between the coal-burning power plant, two of the islands largest thermoelectric plants and other industries, including a company that produces thermoset composites, a material used in major appliances like refrigerators. That company, IDI Caribe Inc., is the facility that releases the most emissions in Salinas, according to the EPA.

Overall, styrene and ethylene oxide, a carcinogenic gas, are the top two chemicals released into the air and water in Salinas, officials say. Salinas and Guayama also have sulfur dioxide levels that exceed new standards.

Meanwhile, a study by Puerto Ricos Chemistry Association published in late 2021 found the presence of heavy metals linked to coal in potable water in Salinas. The amounts found did not exceed regulatory limits.

Scientists doing that study were forced to collect samples from individual homes because the government's water and sewer company at the time blocked access to aquifers that residents in the southeast rely on, environmental activist Victor Alvarado said. Since then, legislators have approved a law that requires the company to provide access for testing.

Salinas also is home to Steri-Tech, the company that uses ethylene oxide to sterilize medical equipment. It is a colorless, flammable gas that has a slightly sweet odor and is used to clean about 20 billion sterile medical devices a year. The EPA says short-term exposure to the gas does not appear to pose risks, but long-term or lifetime exposure can cause lymphoma, breast cancer and other illnesses.

Steri-Tech reported two explosions  one in October and the other earlier this month  that frightened residents and raised concerns about whether any toxic chemicals were released.

My house shook! said Lillian Melero, a 60-year-old retiree who recalled that the explosion broke a neighbor's windows.

Meleroe said she wants answers from federal officials about the contamination in her town. They write down a lot of things, but I haven't seen any changes, she said.

Hoping to lessen his exposure, Santiago, the retiree who lives a few blocks from Steri-Tech, not only closes his windows but also has planted avocado trees, small palm trees and a bougainvillea with bright orange and fuchsia flowers seeking to prevent ethylene oxide and other contaminants from seeping into his home.

Those measures have a limited effect, however, and residents continue frustrated that their complaints about contamination have been ignored for years.

Tired of fighting pollution at a local level and getting no response, community leader Wanda Rios sought help from higher up.

I stop this at a federal level, she said. I dont waste my time here in Puerto Rico.

She said that several people in La Margarita, a neighborhood of some 100 people sitting next to Steri-Tech, have died of cancer, including a married couple and others who formed part of the association of residents she founded in recent years. Rios added that Steri-Tech has organized recent health workshops for residents.

On Wednesday evening, some two dozen residents of Salinas gathered to hear the results from air samples that the EPA took last year, announcing that it found extremely high concentrations of ethylene oxide in some areas. One area had 121 micrograms per cubic meter of air  more than 400 times higher than the U.S. national average of .30 micrograms.

Richard Ruvo, an EPA air and radiation director, said Steri-Techs equipment filters 99% of its emissions, but that its not enough: We know more has to be done to reduce those emissions.

Officials said the company is working on installing equipment that will filter 99.9% of emissions, but its not clear when that will occur. Ruvo added that other measures to reduce emissions are part of confidential discussions with the company.

Andres Vivoni, a representative with Steri-Tech, did not return a message seeing comment.

As the conversations behind closed doors continue, the EPA has pledged stricter regulations of toxic air emissions nationwide by the end of the year. That has been hailed by many in Puerto Rico, which has one of the highest asthma rates in a U.S. jurisdiction and whose power generation system is 97% based on fossil fuels.

Karilyn Bonilla, who is from the La Margarita community and has been mayor of Salinas for a decade, said she understands the concerns over pollution. Although she has been the target of protests organized by frustrated residents, she said she is pushing for corrective measures.

Its been a struggle of many years, she said.
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra artistic director and trumpeter Wynton Marsalis

Its been close to two years since jazz icon Wynton Marsalis last performed in Greater Columbus.

Much has changed in the interim.

In March 2021, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, led by trumpeter Marsalis, gave a pandemic-era performance in the Lincoln Theatre. The show, which took place without a live audience, was streamed on JAG TV, the digital performance platform of the Jazz Arts Group.

These days, live crowds again fill area theaters  and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra is back in central Ohio to greet them.

As part of its current national tour, the acclaimed ensemble will give a concert at 8 p.m. Feb. 7 in the Midland Theatre in Newark.

Concerts:American Idol alums Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken to perform at Midland Theatre on May 2

In a recent phone interview with the Dispatch, Marsalis, a 61-year-old native of New Orleans, discussed the upcoming concert, how he first came to play the trumpet and the connection between democracy and jazz.

Do you remember the concert two years ago at the Lincoln Theatre, without a live audience?

We were playing throughout COVID. Its always important to keep things going, no matter the circumstance, so I was proud and happy to be there to be a part of the community.

It must be nourishing to have live feedback from audiences again.

Its nourishing. It was nourishing then, too. It was nourishing playing online. Its communicating with people in either case.

When you put a program together, is there a certain amount of picking and choosing of what youll play on a given night?

Exactly, and what we think well play well. We go with what will sound the best. And sometimes we have themes. (In this concert), we have a lot of original music from the Rock Chalk Suite to give you a diversity of music. Stuff from different eras, contemporary music that were writing, stuff that was written not that long ago  a few weeks ago.

What is the Rock Chalk Suite?

It was commissioned by the Lied Center at the University of Kansas. We did a suite of pieces for the legends of Kansas basketball. We played it live. We even had the (basketball) announcer come announce the band at the gig. And then we recorded it in our hall, and some of the basketball players who were part of the commission came to the recording. (Basketball player and University of Kansas alum) Lynette Woodard came. I love her. She was the first female professional basketball player (to play with) the Harlem Globetrotters. How we knew in New Orleans about somebody playing in Kansas, dont ask me. She was known. Her game was on such a high level.

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Talking about your youth in New Orleans, Ive always wondered how you ended up playing the trumpet.

My father (jazz pianist Ellis Marsalis Jr.) played with Al Hirt, who was a great New Orleans trumpet player. He had some national hits; he actually played on the first Super Bowl. Al gave me a trumpet for my sixth birthday, and because I was able to get a free instrument, I played trumpet.

The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra

But it was some years later until you devoted yourself to the instrument, right?

I didnt want to play trumpet because I didnt want to get a scar on my lips. All of those New Orleans trumpet players had ugly lips, man. A girl would definitely not like me if Im looking like that.

You lost your father in April 2020. Has that affected your playing?

Im 61. Im grandfather age. I dont know  probably. I loved my father. My father didnt make a big deal out of stuff. He was very cycle-oriented, just the cycle of life. He accepted stuff. You know, youre playing and your life changes. I think the pandemic changed all of us, so Im sure all of our play changed.

When (the orchestra) sits down together as a band, were all trying to play, and we try to impress each other. We work with each other, and we have a very close bond. Its very unusual. Weve been together that long, and now we have some younger members who are slowly going to come in.

Columbus Winter Fun 2023: Area groups to perform classical music, jazz concert and ballet

How do you keep jazz relevant to younger audiences?

Its like, how do you keep democracy relevant? If youre a democracy and you cant figure out how to make your form of government relevant to your younger people, shame on you. I always think of Abraham Lincoln deciding to hold an election in the middle of the Civil War, even though everybody told him he would lose that election. I think, Damn, you had to believe in this idea. A national art form (jazz) is not a thing that has to be constantly assessed every decade. Sometimes you get decades where people are not educated in what their national identity is. What do you do then to make your art relevant? You become more connected to what makes it actually relevant.

In other words, like democracy, jazz has an intrinsic value.

When things have intrinsic value, you accept that they have value.

When youre not performing, do you only listen to jazz? And if not, what else do you listen to?

I like all kinds of music. For me, the only thing is electronic music is challenging for me, only because when I hear electronics playing, theres not really a consciousness in the sound that I can relate to. I put on a thing of all bebop the other day. I was just listening to bebop language. Theres so much music to listen to. I was listening last night to old versions of John Henry, the folk song. One of them is by Aaron Copland.

After this tour, whats coming up for you and the orchestra?

Well have an album called The Jungle, which is a piece that was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic. Its going to come out with us and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra  a great job they did over in Australia. We also have a series of portraits of America. We each wrote music for Crystal Bridges (Museum of American Art). We each chose artwork that related to us, and we wrote a joint piece.

tonguetteauthor2@aol.com

At a glance

The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis will perform at 8 p.m. Feb. 7 in the Midland Theatre, 36 N. Park Place, Newark. Tickets start at $35. For more information, visit midlandtheatre.org.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Wynton Marsalis and Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra to play Newark
Photo Illustration by Erin O'Flynn/The Daily Beast/Getty Images

Shocking news about secret arms-for-hostage deals rocked Washington in late 1986. The first hint came with a White House announcement on November 2, that David Jacobsen, an American held hostage in Lebanon by Iranian-directed Islamic forces, had been released. As Secretary of State George Shultz read a draft White House statement about the development, he noted that it referred to freed hostages, with the s crossed out. That told him that the White House had expected Jacobsen would not be alone. Shultz suspected that the news meant that clandestine White House efforts to free captive Americans in the Middle East by sending arms via Israel to Iran might be responsible. He had first heard about the possibility in mid-1985.

Within a few weeks, the dimensions of the story expanded exponentially with word that some Iranian payments for American arms had been secretly diverted to the rebel Contra forces in Nicaragua that Washington hoped would topple the leftist Sandinista regime. The funding was in clear violation of a congressional cutoff of aid to the Contras. Overnight, the affair, quickly dubbed the Iran-Contra scandal, engulfed the White House.

Shultz realized that President Ronald Reagan faced an explosive crisis similar to Watergate that might upend his presidency. The fiasco staggered Shultz. It exposed his own failure to stop the arms-for-hostage dealing at several critical moments when he heard about pieces of it, objected to it but stopped short of forcefully intervening. He had deliberately kept his distance, telling the White House officials who managed the arms shipments to Iran that he did not want to know the details.

Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan: The Ultimate 80s Power Couple

The scandal also forced Shultz to face up to Reagans weaknesses as president, for the affair, at its core, was a colossal blunder. As Shultz confronted the issue, he struggled mightily to remain loyal to Reagan while simultaneously protecting his own reputation and legacy. In doing so, he barely escaped indictment for obstruction of justice.

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The sudden crisis had been a long time in the making, born of two international flashpoints that the Reagan administration struggled to manage: the Middle East and Central America. The U.S.-Iran skirmish opened on November 4, 1979, when a mob of young Iranians overran the American embassy in Teheran and seized fifty-two Americans as hostages. On January 20, 1981, after 444 days in captivity, the hostages were freed moments before Reagan was sworn in as president. In the years that followed, the Khomeini regime supported Shiite proxy groups in Lebanon and elsewhere in the Middle East that killed or kidnapped Americans.

Although Reagan administration policy clearly barred making concessions to hostage takers, Reagan yearned to free them. He also bought the untenable proposition that by selling arms to Iran he could establish a less adversarial relationship with the ayatollahs and turn Iran into a moderating Shiite influence in the region. Israel, for its part, offered to sell American arms in its arsenal to Iran to secure the release of hostages.

While the Middle Eastern plot was taking shape, the American officials who favored itincluding CIA Director William Casey, National Security Adviser Bud McFarlane, and marine lieutenant colonel Oliver North, a National Security Council staff membergrew increasingly concerned about Soviet and Cuban inroads in Central America. When congressional Democrats cut off American support to paramilitary forces trying to overthrow the Nicaraguan government, these men first looked to Israel and South Africa as potential sources of money for the Contras. Over time, the Middle East and Central America vectors converged. The result was an elaborate plot in which Israel sold American weapons to Iran in exchange for hostages, and profits from the arms sales were funneled to the Contras. Reagan enthusiastically endorsed the arms sales but was not informed about the diversion of money to the Contras.

Shultzs first inkling about irregular activity came in mid-April 1984 during administration debates about Central America policy and possible third-country aid to the Contras. Shultz wanted to maintain American assistance to the guerrilla forces, but not by funneling foreign money to them. He preferred to persuade Congress to extend American aid, if possible. When Casey suggested enlisting South Africas help in April 1984, Shultz was appalled, fearing covert foreign funding might lead to the impeachment of Reagan.

The arms-for-hostages operation came up formally in a July 13, 1985, McFarlane memo to Shultz. The national security adviser described an Israeli proposal to ship American arms to Iran to encourage a political dialogue and dislodge hostages from captivity. To get the dialogue started, Iran wanted one hundred American antitank missiles. Shultz told McFarlane to make a tentative show of interest without commitment. Shultz neither opposed nor supported the missile transferhe did not address the question. He advised McFarlane to manage the initiative personally. Reflecting later on his response to McFarlane, Shultz said, I was uneasy about my response, but I well knew the pressures from the president to follow up on any possibility of gaining the release of our hostages. I felt that Bud would in fact go ahead no matter what I said and that I was better off to stay in close touch with him and thereby retain some influence over what happened.

Eight days later, McFarlane outlined the Israeli proposal at a White House meeting. Shultz, apparently reluctant to reiterate his earlier equivocation, objected to the arms transfer, arguing that it brazenly violated the administrations firm stance against trading guns for hostages or making any concessions to terrorists. Defense Secretary Casper Weinberger agreed. The meeting ended inconclusively, but two days later Reagan told McFarlane to move ahead with the plan. On August 20, Israel shipped 96 antitank missiles to Iran, followed by another 408 two weeks later. One American hostage, Benjamin Weir, was soon freed. Upping the ante, Iran requested a shipment of more powerful weapons, medium-range surface-to-air HAWK missiles. When Israel could not deliver the larger weapons directly to Iran and efforts to ship them via a third country failed, Oliver North enlisted the help of the CIA.

Reagan enthusiastically supported the effort, acting on a humanitarian conviction that the United States should do everything possible to gain the release of the hostages. In doing so, he persuaded himself that the United States was not trading arms for hostages but instead was engaged in a noble attempt to save the lives of his countrymen..

Once news of the deal broke into the open in November 1986, Shultzs attempts to dent the Reagan illusion grew franticand perilous for him. His challenge was threefold: convince Reagan that McFarlane, Vice Admiral John Poindexter (who had succeeded McFarlane as national security adviser), Casey, and North had misled him; end the arms-for-hostage strategy; and help Reagan survive the firestorm. Reagan did not want to hear that he had approved an arms-for-hostage strategy. On November 6, three days after the Lebanese newspaper report about the McFarlane mission to Teheran, Reagan declared that news coverage of the trip had no foundation and denied that the U.S. was exchanging arms with Iran for the release of hostages.

Shultz tried repeatedly to convince Reagan that his administration was trading arms for hostages and brazenly violating its own policies for dealing with terrorists. Reagan repeatedly rejected his appeals and grew increasingly impatient with Shultz. As the tension escalated, Shultz ruminated about his own failure to act more decisively in 1985 and 1986 as evidence of the operation caught his attention. I felt I should have asked more, demanded more, done more, but I did not see how, he recalled. Did I have myself to blame for the aggrandizement of the NSC staff? I agonized. Ever since my first days as secretary of state, I had sought to make the national security adviser my channel to the White House and, on day-to-day matters, to the president.

On one level, he was right. Secretaries of state cannot operate independent of the White House and the national security adviser. But on another level, Shultz was wrong. His willingness to rely on the White House national security staff after repeated setbacks caused by the incompetence and ideological rigidity of the staff does not make for a persuasive defense of his failure to act more decisively to stop the Iran-Contra affair before it reached critical mass.

Shultzs assertion at the time that he was unaware of many incremental developments in the arms-for-hostage operation, a defense repeated in his memoirs, does not conform with detailed notes kept by Charles Hill, Shultzs executive assistant. The memory lapse can be explained by the dizzying demands that descend daily on a secretary of state and Hills failure to capture all the relevant information about Shultzs awareness of the Iran-Contra activities when he reviewed his notes for Shultz to help prepare Shultzs congressional testimony. But Shultzs selective memory also evoked Richard Nixons years-earlier warning to Reagan that Shultz had a wonderful ability to, when things look iffy or are going wrong, hell contend he never heard about the issue and was never briefed and was not a part.

Shultzs defective memory, compounded by Hills handling of his notes, nearly proved disastrous when Independent Counsel Lawrence Walsh discovered that Shultz had withheld relevant information about the Iran-Contra affair in his 1987 congressional testimony, delivered under oath. Walsh weighed charging Shultz with obstruction of justice but ultimately found that Shultzs testimony was incorrect, but it could not be proven that it was willfully false.

Shultzs faith in Reagan was shaken by the scandal. The presidents refusal to acknowledge the reality of exchanging arms for hostages was dumbfounding. In a nationally televised address on November 13, 1986, Reagan said he had authorized a small shipment of arms to Iran but was not bartering arms for hostages. We did notrepeatdid not trade weapons or anything else for hostages, nor will we. After the speech, Shultz tried to make sense of Reagans blind spot. The presidents speech convinced me that Ronald Reagan still truly did not believe that what had happened had, in fact, happened. To him the reality was different. I had seen him like this before on other issues. He would go over the script of an event, past or present, in his mind, and once the script was mastered, that was the truthno fact, no argument, no plea for reconsideration, could change his mind.

On November 16, Shultz made a fateful appearance on the CBS News Sunday-morning interview program Face the Nation. When host Lesley Stahl repeatedly pressed Shultz to state whether any further arms shipments would be made to Iran, he replied, Under the circumstances of Irans war with Iraq, its pursuit of terrorism, its association with those holding our hostages, I would certainly say, as far as Im concerned, no. Stahl then asked if Shultz was speaking for the entire administration. No, he answered. It was a stunning momentthe secretary of state acknowledging that he could not speak for the U.S. government.

He barely survived his candid answer. The White House announced that Shultz did speak for the administration and that Reagan had no desire and no plans to send further arms to Iran. Yet Reagan continued to defend the operation privately. Meanwhile, Poindexter and North kept working on plans for new arms shipments. Sensing that Shultzs persistence was annoying Reagan, Casey urged the president to select a new secretary of state.

The same day Casey urged the president in writing to do so, he joined Bush, Shultz, Weinberger, Poindexter and others at the White House for a National Security Planning Group meeting with Reagan to hear from Attorney General Edwin Meese. Reagan had commissioned Meese to investigate the arms-for-hostage operation. Reagan brushed aside Shultzs objections.

That evening, as Shultz lamented the latest developments, Poindexter, who had strongly defended the operation earlier in the day, called from the White House. His tone was entirely differentmild, even meek. The change in tone pleased but puzzled Shultz. Two days later he learned the reason behind the turnabout: Meese aides had discovered the secret payments to the Contras. When top officials gathered again at the White House, Meese told the group that between $10-30 million dollars had been sent to the Contras. Reagan had not approved the diversion or even known about it. As a result, Poindexter was out and North reassigned. On November 26, three weeks after the first news reports about the deals broke, Shultz and Reagan stilled the rancor that had agitated their relationship and agreed Shultz should stay on as secretary of state through the end of the Reagan presidency.

Excerpted from In the Nations Service: The Life and Times of George P. Shultz by Philip Taubman, published by Stanford University Press, 2022 by Philip Taubman. All Rights Reserved.

Philip Taubman is a lecturer at Stanford Universitys Center for International Security and Cooperation. Before joining CISAC, Taubman worked at the New York Times as a reporter and editor for nearly 30 years. He is the author of The Partnership: Five Cold Warriors and Their Quest to Ban the Bomb (2012); Secret Empire: Eisenhower, the CIA, and the Hidden Story of Americas Space Espionage (2003); and In The Nations Service: The Life and Times of George P. Shultz (2023).

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Supporters of former President Donald Trump wait outside Salem High School for his arrival at the New Hampshire Republican State Committee 2023 Annual Meeting, in Salem, N.H. on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. More than two months after formally opening his White House comeback bid, the 76-year-old former president will hold his first two public events on Saturday. Both are the type of textbook campaign stops he mostly skipped in his first two runs for office. (John Tully/The New York Times)

Former President Donald Trump kicked off his 2024 White House bid with a stop Saturday in New Hampshire before heading to South Carolina, appearances in early-voting states marking the first campaign events since announcing his latest run more than two months ago.

Were starting. Were starting right here as a candidate for president, he told party leaders at the New Hampshire GOPs annual meeting in Salem before a late afternoon stop in Columbia to introduce his South Carolina leadership team. Im more angry now and Im more committed now than I ever was.

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Those states hold two of the partys first three nominating contests, giving them enormous power in selecting the nominee.

Trump and his allies hope the events will offer a show of force behind the former president after a sluggish start to his campaign that left many questioning his commitment to running again. In recent weeks, his backers have reached out to political operatives and elected officials to secure support for Trump at a critical point when other Republicans are preparing their own expected challenges.

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The gun is fired, and the campaign season has started, said Stephen Stepanek, outgoing chair of the New Hampshire Republican Party. Trump announced that Stepanek will serve as senior adviser for his campaign in the state.

While Trump remains the only declared 2024 presidential candidate, potential challengers, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who was Trumps ambassador to the United Nations, are expected to get their campaign underway in the coming months.

In South Carolina, Gov. Henry McMaster, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham and several members of the states congressional delegation plan to attend Saturdays event at the Statehouse. But Trumps team has struggled to line up support from state lawmakers, even some who eagerly backed him during previous runs.

Some have said that more than a year out from primary balloting is too early to make endorsements or that they are waiting to see who else enters the race. Others have said it is time for the party to move past Trump to a new generation of leadership.

Republican state Rep. RJ May, vice chair of South Carolinas state House Freedom Caucus, said he wasnt going to attend Trumps event because he was focused on that groups legislative fight with the GOP caucus. He indicated that he was open to other candidates in the 2024 race.

I think were going to have a very strong slate of candidates here in South Carolina, said May, who voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020. He added, I would 100% take a Donald Trump over Joe Biden.

Dave Wilson, president of conservative Christian nonprofit Palmetto Family, said some conservative voters may have concerns about Trumps recent comments that Republicans who opposed abortion without exceptions had cost the party in the November elections.

It gives pause to some folks within the conservative ranks of the Republican Party as to whether or not we need the process to work itself out, said Wilson, whose group hosted Pence for a speech in 2021. He added: You continue to have to earn your vote. Nothing is taken for granted.

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Acknowledging that Trump did some phenomenal things when he was president, like securing a conservative U.S. Supreme Court majority, Wilson said South Carolinas GOP voters may be seeking a candidate who can be the standard-bearer not only for now but to build ongoing momentum across America for conservatism for the next few decades.

But Gerri McDaniel, who worked on Trumps 2016 campaign and will be attending Saturdays event, rejected the idea that voters were ready to move on from the former president.

Some of the media keep saying hes losing his support. No, hes not, she said. Its only going to be greater than it was before because there are so many people who are angry about whats happening in Washington.

The South Carolina event, at a government building, surrounded by elected officials, is in some ways off-brand for a former reality television star who typically favors big rallies and has tried to cultivate an outsider image. But the reality is that Trump is a former president who is seeking to reclaim the White House by contrasting his time in office with the current administration.

Rallies are also expensive, and Trump, who is notoriously frugal, added new financial challenges when he deciding to begin his campaign in November  far earlier than many allies had urged. That leaves him subject to strict fundraising regulations and bars him from using his well-funded leadership PAC to pay for such events, which can cost several million dollars.

Officials expect Trump to speak in the second-floor lobby of the Statehouse, an opulent ceremonial area between the House and Senate chambers.

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The venue has played host to some of South Carolinas most notable political news moments, including Haleys 2015 signing of a bill to remove the Confederate battle flag from the Statehouse grounds and McMasters 2021 signing of legislation banning abortions in the state after around six weeks of pregnancy. The state Supreme Court recently ruled the abortion law unconstitutional, and McMaster has pledged to seek a rehearing.

Trumps nascent campaign has already sparked controversy, most particularly when he had dinner with Holocaust-denying white nationalist Nick Fuentes and the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, who had made a series of antisemitic comments. Trump also was widely mocked for selling a series of digital trading cards that pictured him as a superhero, a cowboy and an astronaut, among others.

At the same time, he is the subject of a series of criminal investigations, including one into the discovery of hundreds of documents with classified markings at his Florida club and whether he obstructed justice by refusing to return them, as well as state and federal examinations of his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

Still, Trump remains the only announced 2024 candidate, and early polling shows hes a favorite to win his partys nomination.

Stepanek, who was required to remain neutral until his term as New Hampshire party chair ends at Saturdays party meeting, dismissed the significance of Trumps slow start, which campaign officials say accounts for time spent putting infrastructure in place for a national campaign.

In New Hampshire, he said, theres been a lot of anticipation, a lot of excitement for Trumps reelection. He said Trumps most loyal supporters continue to stand behind him.

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You have a lot of people who werent with him in 15, 16, then became Trumpers, then became never-Trumpers, Stepanek said. But the people who supported him in New Hampshire, who propelled him to his win in 2016 in the New Hampshire primary, theyre all still there, waiting for the president.
Wagnerites

The Wagner Groups assault on Bakhmut has likely culminated with its surge on Soledar, the publication said.

Read also: Ukrainian military says fighting continues near Soledar

Wagner Group forces in Bakhmut have not made significant gains since capturing Soledar around Jan. 12. Conventional Russian units are now participating in fighting in Bakhmut to reinvigorate the Russian offensive there, ISW wrote.

Read also: Russia losses as many soldiers near Soledar as in two wars in Chechnya

According to analysts, combat footage released on Jan. 20 indicates that Russian Airborne Forces or VDV are operating around Bakhmut, as they show a Russian BMD-4M, a niche mechanized vehicle used exclusively by the VDV.

The Russian Ministry of Defense has been increasingly reporting that Russian VDV are operating in the Bakhmut area since early January 2023, indicating conventional Russian forces are augmenting if not replacing likely culminated Wagner forces in the area, ISW experts noted.

According to the U.S. analysts, after the transfer of additional forces, the Russians have probably yet to exhaust their offensive potential in the Bakhmut area.

Read also: Russia sends tens of thousands poorly trained soldiers to assault Bakhmut, Pentagon says

Previously, the Ukrainian military said it would not leave Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast as long as there was an opportunity to hold and defend the city, media reported.

Russia has been attacking Bakhmut for several months, with very limited success and at the same time sustaining very large numbers of casualties, according to Ukrainian military sources.

Military analysts believe that Russia is investing so many forces in battle for Bakhmut not so much as to capture the city, which is of limited strategic significance, but in an attempt to wear down Ukrainian forces ahead of expected offensives by both sides in spring.

Previously, Ukraine held an advantage in manpower, but was short of artillery, while Russia faced the opposite problem, having mass artillery but not enough troops to hold an extensive front line in Ukraine.

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Read also: Azov Regiment becomes assault brigade and already fighting in Bakhmut

That has since changed with the Russian mobilization in October, and the shorting of the front line following Russias retreat from the western bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson Oblast in early November.

However, Ukraine has also received more artillery  western weapons that are longer-range and more accurate than the Russias Soviet-era weapons, and its soldiers are undergoing training at several sites abroad.

Meanwhile, Russia may be suffering shortfalls in artillery ammunition, having expended large amounts in the initial stage of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine: Military analysts have observed a decrease in the amount of artillery fire from the Russian side in recent weeks.

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
BEIRUT (AP)  Drones attacked a convoy of trucks in eastern Syria Sunday night shortly after it crossed into the country from Iraq, Syrian opposition activists and a pro-government radio station said. There was no immediate word on casualties.

The strike comes amid heightening tension between Iran and its rivals in the region.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack on the convoy in the Syrian border region of Boukamal, which is a stronghold of Iran-backed militias.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said the drones appear to have been from the U.S.-led coalition, adding that they targeted six refrigerated trucks. The group said there were casualties and ambulances rushed to the area.

Another activist said the strike hit a convoy of trucks of Iran-backed militiamen. Omar Abu Layla, a Europe-based activist from Deir el-Zour who runs a group that monitors developments, tweeted that there was no immediate word on casualties.

The pro-government Sham FM radio station also reported that six refrigerated trucks were hit.

In Baghdad, an official with an Iran-backed militia confirmed there was a strike saying it only targeted one truck. He gave no word on casualties.

The attack in eastern Syria came hours after bomb-carrying drones targeted an Iranian defense factory in the central city of Isfahan causing some damage at the plant.

Last month, Israels military chief of staff strongly suggested that Israel was behind a strike on a truck convoy in Syria in November, giving a rare glimpse of Israels shadow war against Iran and its proxies across the region.

Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, who finished his military service earlier this month, said Israeli military and intelligence capabilities made it possible to strike specific targets that pose a threat.

Israeli leaders have in the past acknowledged striking hundreds of targets in Syria and elsewhere in what it says is a campaign to thwart Iranian attempts to smuggle weapons to proxies like Lebanons Hezbollah militant group or to destroy weapons caches.

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The November strike hit tanker trucks carrying fuel and other trucks carrying weapons for the militias in Syrias eastern province of Deir el-Zour, the Observatory reported at the time. It said at least 14 people, most of them militiamen, were killed in the strike.

The strike, along the border with Iraq, targeted Iran-backed militiamen, Syrian opposition activists said at the time. Some of those killed in the attack were Iranian nationals, according to two paramilitary officers in Iraq.

At the time, Israel declined to comment on the strike.

Iran is a main backer of Syrian President Bashar Assad and has sent thousands of Iran-backed fighters to help Syrian troops during the countrys 11-year civil war. Both Iran and Assads government are also allied with Hezbollah, which has fought alongside Assads forces in the war.

Israel consider Iran to be its chief enemy and has warned against what it views as its hostile activities in the region.

____

Abdul-Zahra reported from Baghdad.
Democratic Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth speaks following the end of New Mexico's annual legislative session on Saturday, March 20, 2021, in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

This week, were talking to New Mexico Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth. Well be talking about how he is approaching this years 60-day session of the New Mexico Legislature. Well take a look at many of the big-ticket items lawmakers are discussing as lawmakers set about crafting an historically large budget  one Wirth described as larger than any New Mexico lawmaker, living or dead, has ever seen.

Totaling $9.4 billion in recurring spending  an 11.9% increase from the last fiscal year  there is no shortage of ideas on how to best spend that money. And that doesnt include the one-time, nonrecurring funds that will be doled out this year.

Unlike 30-day sessions, which happen in even-numbered years and are focused nearly exclusively on the states budget, 60-day sessions allow any legislator in the House or Senate to introduce any bill theyd like. As a result, many are pitching their ideas to address some of the states most pressing issues  education, public safety, early childhood development, bail reform, water conservation and energy, just to name a few. Well talk to Majority Leader Wirth about all of those things and more.

Well also talk about the states Land Grant Permanent Fund  sometimes referred to as the rainy day fund  which has long been closely guarded by legislators, though that may be changing. Well, maybe a little, anyway.

Wirth, who has served in the legislature for 19 years, and in the Senate since 2009, currently serves as the vice chair of the Senate Committees Committee and is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Tax, Business and Transportation Committee.

This week, we're grateful to have Senate Majority Leader Wirth joining us.

Damien Willis is a Lead Reporter for the Las Cruces Sun-News. He can be reached at 575-541-5443, dwillis@lcsun-news.com or @DamienWillis on Twitter.

Others are reading:

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: The Reporter's Notebook Podcast, Ep. 53: Senate Majority Leader Wirth
Prospective GOP candidates for president are leaning heavily into education amid concerns over issues like parental rights and the politicization of school curriculums.

Underscoring how critical an issue it is for Republicans, former President Trump unveiled his education platform on Thursday, calling for cutting federal funds to any education program that involves critical race theory, gender ideology, or other inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content onto our children.

The move comes after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), both seen as top potential challengers to Trump for the Republican presidential nomination, have made headlines in recent weeks with a series of education-related actions.

DeSantis sparked controversy most recently by rejecting an Advance Placement African American studies course earlier this month, while Youngkin launched an investigation into multiple northern Virginia schools for not giving students the news that they had qualified for National Merit Scholarships in a timely fashion.

Their actions come as potential GOP candidates search for winning issues after a disappointing midterm election. They also suggest that Republicans will take a page out of Youngkins playbook, after he made school issues a winning platform in Virginias gubernatorial race in 2021.

You can look at the way Glenn Youngkin became governor of Virginia, said Republican strategist Alex Stroman. I would say it was largely because of out-of-control school districts and kind of the climate that was born out of what was happening with COVID and some of the responses and parents starting to pay attention to education because they were forced to.

Youngkins gubernatorial campaign had nine different education models to target nine different types of education voters.

It was a very sophisticated, deliberate goal to make education the forefront, said Kristin Davison, a political adviser to Youngkin. We made a decision very early on in 2021 that we were going to go on offense on education because Republicans always played defense, and it wasnt an easy decision and all of these people said we were crazy, but it ended up working out.

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Youngkin notably zeroed in on his opponent, former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe, for saying that he did not believe parents should be telling schools what they should teach.

The Virginia governors supporters credit him for writing the GOP playbook on education after the party had struggled for years to go on offense on the issue.

Gov. Youngkin put education on the map for Republicans, said one GOP strategist. He was the first Republican candidate to have education be a central part of his campaign platform and win.

All 2024 potential candidates saw what Glenn did in 2021, the strategist said.

Education has also catapulted DeSantis, who is viewed as a potential replacement for Trump, into the spotlight.

Like Youngkin, DeSantis used his coronavirus response as a way to mold his own policy on education in the Sunshine State.

If you look at Ron DeSantiss meteoric rise among Republican base voters, itd be the same thing, Stroman said. It was COVID policies, but really with a focus on school districts.

But DeSantiss policies related to education have also sparked controversy, drawing condemnation from his critics.

Last year, the Florida governor signed the Parental Rights in Education Act, which prohibiting instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade and limited it to age appropriate material for grades above third.

More recently, DeSantis made headlines for his defense of his administrations decision to reject the AP African American studies course, arguing it has a political agenda and leaves large, ambiguous gaps that can be filled with additional ideological material.

Many strategists say the backlash will only play into DeSantiss hands.

This is starting to take the form of the media Democratic pile-on that occurred during the alleged Dont Say Gay bill, said Ford OConnell, a Florida-based Republican strategist.

When KJP stands up there and pretends that hes George Wallace at a school door, the Democrats are jumping the shark, he added, referring to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. When the dust settles, whether its this or Disney or the parental rights bill, he knows that hes most likely going to prove victorious.

The actions also throw red meat to the Republican base.

Its flashy newsmaking that appeals here because he knows that that is going to make news in conservative media, whether thats Fox or Newsmax, said another GOP strategist.

While education-related issues will likely play well with the partys tried-and-true primary voters, it remains to be seen which candidate will be able to successfully message on the issue on the national stage.

Insiders point out that candidates like DeSantis and Youngkin differ stylistically on the issue, not only because of their different personalities, but because of their states unique political landscapes.

DeSantis has catered toward an increasingly red electorate in the Sunshine State, while Youngkin has had to walk a fine line in Virginia, which is a purple state with an arguably blue lean.

I think that right now were up against such fierce forces that really will destroy, so you kind of got to answer back just as forcefully as they do. But Glenn Youngkins strategy has been really working in Virginia, said Terry Schilling, president of the conservative American Principles Project.

I prefer DeSantis, noted Schilling. I think that his very direct style is whats needed right now in politics, but there is something to say about Glenn Youngkins style as well. Hes in a blue state and hes governing pretty successfully.

Strategists say that for the governors that decide to jump into the presidential fray, their records on the issue will be put to the test on education in the primary.

Thats going to be a key point to see which people just put out a tweet, put out a press release, and give it lip service and which people show up with action to fight the fight, Davison said

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Even when a business is losing money, it's possible for shareholders to make money if they buy a good business at the right price. For example, although Amazon.com made losses for many years after listing, if you had bought and held the shares since 1999, you would have made a fortune. Having said that, unprofitable companies are risky because they could potentially burn through all their cash and become distressed.

So, the natural question for Rex Minerals (ASX:RXM) shareholders is whether they should be concerned by its rate of cash burn. In this article, we define cash burn as its annual (negative) free cash flow, which is the amount of money a company spends each year to fund its growth. We'll start by comparing its cash burn with its cash reserves in order to calculate its cash runway.

View our latest analysis for Rex Minerals

When Might Rex Minerals Run Out Of Money?

A company's cash runway is the amount of time it would take to burn through its cash reserves at its current cash burn rate. As at June 2022, Rex Minerals had cash of AU$44m and no debt. Looking at the last year, the company burnt through AU$13m. That means it had a cash runway of about 3.4 years as of June 2022. A runway of this length affords the company the time and space it needs to develop the business. The image below shows how its cash balance has been changing over the last few years.

How Is Rex Minerals' Cash Burn Changing Over Time?

Rex Minerals didn't record any revenue over the last year, indicating that it's an early stage company still developing its 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 80%. While this spending increase is no doubt intended to drive growth, if the trend continues the company's cash runway will shrink very quickly. Admittedly, we're a bit cautious of Rex Minerals due to its lack of significant operating revenues. We prefer most of the stocks on this list of stocks that analysts expect to grow.

How Easily Can Rex Minerals Raise Cash?

Given its cash burn trajectory, Rex Minerals shareholders may wish to consider how easily it could raise more cash, despite its solid cash runway. Issuing new shares, or taking on debt, are the most common ways for a listed company to raise more money for its business. 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).

Rex Minerals has a market capitalisation of AU$166m and burnt through AU$13m last year, which is 7.9% of the company's market value. Given that is a rather small percentage, it would probably be really easy for the company to fund another year's growth by issuing some new shares to investors, or even by taking out a loan.

So, Should We Worry About Rex Minerals' Cash Burn?

As you can probably tell by now, we're not too worried about Rex Minerals' cash burn. In particular, we think its cash runway stands out as evidence that the company is well on top of its spending. Although we do find its increasing cash burn to be a bit of a negative, once we consider the other metrics mentioned in this article together, the overall picture is one we are comfortable with. After taking into account the various metrics mentioned in this report, we're pretty comfortable with how the company is spending its cash, as it seems on track to meet its needs over the medium term. Taking a deeper dive, we've spotted 3 warning signs for Rex Minerals you should be aware of, and 2 of them don't sit too well with us.

Of course Rex Minerals may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of companies boasting high return on equity, or this list of stocks that insiders are buying.

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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STORY: There was no response to the allegations from Ukraine. Reuters was not able to independently verify the report.

The alleged strike had been carried carried out using a U.S.-supplied HIMARS rocket launch system, the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.

"The deliberate shelling of active civilian medical facilities and the targeted killing of civilians are grave war crimes of the Kyiv regime and its Western masters," the ministry said in a statement.

Ukraine and its Western allies have also accused Russian forces of frequent war crimes in the conflict in which thousands of civilians have been killed and cities and towns pounded by artillery and air strikes. Russia denies targeting civilians.
(Reuters) -Russia said on Sunday it will not hold annual talks with Japan on renewing a pact that allows Japanese fishermen to operate near disputed islands, saying Japan has taken anti-Russian measures.

The islands, off the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, are known in Russia as the Kurils and in Japan as the Northern Territories and have been at the core of decades of tension between the neighbours.

"In the context of the anti-Russian measures taken by the Japanese government ... the Russian side informed Tokyo that it could not agree on the holding of intergovernmental consultations on the implementation of this agreement," the RIA state news agency reported, citing Russia's foreign ministry.

Japan, a major U.S. ally, imposed sanctions on dozens of Russian individuals and organisations soon after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 last year.

On Friday, it tightened sanctions on Russia in response to Russian air attacks on Ukrainian cities.

Russia in June suspended the 1998 agreement that allowed Japanese boats to fish near the islands and Japan's chief cabinet secretary on Monday told a news conference that Japan would demand that Russia engages in the annual talks so this year's fishing operations could begin.

But the Russian ministry said there would be no improvement in ties unless Japan showed "respect".

"To return to a normal dialogue, the Japanese neighbours should show elementary respect for our country, a desire to improve bilateral relations," the ministry said, according to the RIA news agency.

Reuters could not reach Japanese foreign ministry officials for comment outside regular business hours.

Russia and Japan have not formally ended World War Two hostilities because of their standoff over the islands, seized by the Soviet Union at the end of the war.

(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne, Kaori Kaneko in Tokyo; Editing by Robert Birsel)
Russians continue to put pressure on ZNPP employees

The Russian invaders are doing this to continue to exert moral, psychological and physical pressure on local residents, the General Staff said.

Furthermore, the workers who did sign the contract were given a pay cut, with the Russian invaders citing the fact that the plant  the biggest nuclear power plant in Europe  was not working.

All six of the plants nuclear reactors have been shut down since Russia seized and occupied it on March 3 last year. The Russians have used the plant as a firing base to attack Ukrainian positions across the Dnipro River, Ukraine alleges.

Read also: Wagnerites "in power" in Enerhodar: What is happening at the ZNPP?

Video has also emerged of Russian military equipment being stored in one of the reactors turbine halls  the fact of this later being verified by a mission from the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency.

A recent report from the IAEA mission at the plant also says that team members almost daily hear the sounds of explosions, likely military activity, close to their office in the plant, with blasts rattling the windows.

As previously reported, the Russian invasion forces have also compelled 3,000 workers of the Zaporizhzhya NPP to obtain Russian passports.

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Russian invaders

Eight hits were recorded in the vicinity of the village of Khrinivka, a village about 3.6 kilometers from the Ukrainian-Russian border, in the north of Chernihiv Oblast, close to the point where the borders of Ukraine, Russia and Belarus meet.

Read also: Russian forces launch big artillery attack on Kherson, killing, wounding civilians

The shells that hit in the vicinity of Khrinivka were probably fired from a 120mm mortar, the Ukrainian military said.

With Russian 120mm mortars having effective firing ranges of from 5.7 kilometers to 7.1 kilometers, the shells were most probably fired across the border from Russia, as Russian forces were expelled from Chernihiv oblast by Ukrainian forces in early April last year.

Read also: Russians attack 4 Kharkiv Oblast districts in 24 hours, injure woman, damage buildings

There were three more hits in the area of the village of Krasnyi Khutir  probably from a self-propelled artillery gun. Krasnyi Khutir is also in the north of Chernihiv Oblast, further east then Khrinivka and even closer to a heavily wooded section of the Russian border, which is only 1.3 kilometers away.

The military noted that there were no casualties among Ukrainian military personnel and equipment.

Neither were there reports of casualties among the local population or damage to civil infrastructure.

The Russian invasion forces also shelled Chernihiv and Sumy oblasts with mortars on Jan. 28.

Read also: Russian troops wont reach Chernihiv in another invasion, Ukrainian military says

A total of 27 hits were recorded.



Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
The person whose remains were found in Libertyville in November has been identified as a 54-year-old Chicago woman, according to the Lake County coroners office.

The woman was identified as Marina Jimenez-Hernandez, who also had an alias of Ofelia Oseguera-Barajas, the coroners office said. She was originally from Mexico before coming to Chicago.

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Her remains were discovered by Libertyville police in November, and authorities worked to identify her, including releasing images of tattoos in December with the hopes of someone recognizing them.

Autopsy results found that the woman died from asphyxia, the coroners office said. Her death was not a result of foul play, the coroners office said, citing an intensive police investigation by Libertyville police.
Russian forces launched new attacks on the city of Kharkiv on the evening of Sunday, 29 January. A Russian missile hit a residential building located in the city centre.

Source: Oleh Syniehubov, Head of the Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration, on Telegram; Ukraines air-raid alert system; Suspilne Kharkiv, a public broadcaster; Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutors office on Youtube

Quote from Syniehubov: "Residents of Kharkiv and Kharkiv Oblast, occupation forces are carrying out new strikes! Remain in shelters!"

Details: Syniehubov later reported that a Russian missile (an S-300 missile, according to early reports) has struck a residential building in the Kyiv district of central Kharkiv.

"Emergency services are working on the scene. Initial data on casualties and damage has yet to be confirmed," he added.

Suspilne Kharkiv has reported that the fourth storey of a section in a residential building was completely destroyed as a result of the Russian missile strike. Local residents said that at least two injured persons have been carried out of the building.

As of 23:05 (Kyiv time), air-raid sirens have been sounding in Kharkiv, Sumy, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, as well as in Russian-occupied Crimea. All-clear has since been sounded in most oblasts.

As of 23:50, air-raid sirens have once again been sounded in Kharkiv.

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Updated at 00:30. Syniehubov reported that three people are known to have been injured in the strike. Rescue operations are ongoing at the scene of the tragedy.

Updated at 00:40. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov reported on Telegram that "one person was killed and three injured in the attack on a residential building".

Updated at 01:10. Oleh Syniehubov reported new details about the consequences of the attack:

"Three victims sustained minor injuries. Unfortunately, an elderly woman was killed. Her husband was by her side at the time of the impact and miraculously was not seriously injured.

The building is partially destroyed. Residents have been evacuated. All emergency services continue to work on site."

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Roman Starovoit, Governor of Kursk Oblast, has stated that power lines in the oblast have been damaged due to alleged mortar fire by the Ukrainian side.

Source: Starovoit on Telegram

Quote: "The settlement of Krasnooktyabrskoye in the Glushkovsky district of Kursk Oblast came under mortar shelling by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

12 strikes were recorded. There are no casualties. Power lines have been damaged, causing power outages in the settlements of Krasnooktyabrskoye and neighbouring Volfino."

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
In the afternoon of 29 January, the Kherson Oblast Military Administration reported that Russians carried out a massive shelling of the city of Kherson. There is information that many people were killed and injured.

Source: Ministry of Health of Ukraine; [Ukraine's public broadcaster] Kherson Oblast Military Administration

Quote from the Ministry of Health: "The Oblast clinical hospital was targeted in Kherson. A nurse was injured."

Details: Later, Yurii Sobolevskyi, First Deputy Head of Kherson Oblast Council, posted a photo from the site of the attack.

The Kherson Oblast Military Administration reported that a massive attack occurred, causing many injuries and deaths.

As of 14:00,seven attacks took place in the city.

Later, the Administration reported that three people were killed in the Subday attacks on Kherson, and six were wounded. All those injured were taken to hospitals; one of them is in critical condition.

A number of civilian targets were damaged in the selling, including Kherson regional clinical hospital, a school, a bus station, a post office, abank and residential houses.

Among those wounded is a nurse who stayed in the regional hospital when the Russians attacked. Shw underwent a surgery, suffering from a moderately serious wound.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov urged senior Palestinian and Israeli diplomats by phone on Sunday to do their utmost to avoid escalating a surge in violence in Jerusalem and the West Bank, his ministry said.

"Sergey Lavrov called on the Israeli and Palestinian partners to show maximum responsibility and refrain from any actions that could provoke further degradation of the situation," it said in a statement.

Lavrov also said there was an "acute" need for the "Quartet" of international mediators to restart peace talks between Israeli and Palestinian representatives, according to the statement.

Israeli police sealed off the Jerusalem family home of a Palestinian gunman on Sunday. He had killed seven people outside a synagogue the day after Israeli forces killed seven militants and two civilians in a raid on the West Bank.

(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
A camera in a school SPmemory/Getty Images

Elementary and high schools are spending billions of dollars to prevent shootings. Are students any safer? Here's everything you need to know:

What's being done?

School districts nationwide are spending more than $3 billion per year to "harden" buildings. Many schools increasingly resemble fortresses, with metal detectors, surveillance cameras, bulletproof windows, panic buttons, and armed guards. Nevertheless, more than 330 people were shot on school grounds last year, and 44 percent of parents with a child in kindergarten through 12th grade say they fear for their oldest child's safety at school  the highest percentage Gallup has registered since the 1999 Columbine High School shooting. Since that harrowing massacre of 12 students and a teacher, more than 331,000 children at 350-plus schools have experienced gun violence during school hours. Nearly all students today are frequently reminded of the possibility of being murdered by a crazed gunman: 98 percent of public schools conduct an annual lockdown drill, and a third of them conduct nine or more such drills every year. After a first-grader in Newport News, Virginia, shot his teacher during class earlier this month, the elementary school announced plans to install metal detectors. Superintendent George Parker III said he was reluctant to make schools "look anything like a prison," but added, "if we can't maintain safety, kids won't learn anyway."

How are buildings being modified?

The first step is making it harder for visitors to enter. Among public K-12 schools, 98 percent require visitors to sign in or wear a badge, and many schools have adopted a single point of entry. Following the 2012 massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, the $50 million rebuild of Sandy Hook Elementary includes floor-to-ceiling bulletproof windows to help observe visitors, along with automatically dead-bolting doors. A district in Hemet, California, installed electronic door locks in classrooms to mitigate the risk of teachers fumbling with keys during a crisis. In Lakeville, Minnesota, classrooms now have a red button that alerts emergency dispatchers and locks the door with 1,200 pounds of magnetic force. Other schools have added "ballistic shelters" where students can hide and curved hallways to limit a shooter's line of sight. Still, just 6 percent of public schools make students walk through a metal detector.

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Do many have armed guards?

As of 2020, about half of public schools were protected by at least one law enforcement officer who carried a firearm  twice the rate from a decade earlier. A district in Madison County, North Carolina, now stores AR-15 assault rifles and door-breaching equipment at schools for police to use in the event of a shooting. Although support for armed guards at schools is growing, they failed to stop the mass shootings at Columbine and last year in Uvalde, Texas. After the 2018 slaughter of 17 people in Parkland, Florida, the high school's armed guard faced charges for hiding outdoors with his handgun while gunshots from a semi-automatic rifle rang out inside. That shooting led Florida's legislature to push for more armed teachers, and at least 32 states now allow school faculty and staff to carry firearms under certain conditions. Ohio last year authorized teachers to carry guns after just 24 hours of training, down from 700 hours previously.

Does hardening work?

Although metal detectors, locked doors, and other precautions may serve as obstacles for shooters, whether they actually prevent shootings is hotly debated. Researchers from the University of Toledo and Ball State University examined data from 2000 to 2018 and found no evidence that hardening schools reduces gun violence. Many precautions have proved fallible: The Uvalde shooter entered a door that failed to automatically lock as designed, and other attackers have entered buildings by shooting out windows. Even armed security officers and armed teachers create "a false sense of security," the study said, because someone armed with a semiautomatic weapon can kill 10 or more kids in seconds, before anyone can respond by shooting back. Texas spent $100 million on school-hardening measures before Uvalde. After that massacre of 19 children and two teachers, Guy Bliesner, a school safety official in Idaho, said his district received dozens of solicitations for security products. "Sometimes we just buy something and hang it out there so people say you did it," he said. "It's security theater."

What are the drawbacks?

Studies have shown, perhaps counter-intuitively, that metal detectors and security cameras in schools result in students feeling less safe. Campus lockdowns have resulted from prank phone calls and hacked alert systems, terrifying students who thought a real shooter was roaming the halls. Constant drilling comes at its own cost in trauma. "Whenever the drills were over, you could see it in everyone's faces," Florida high school teacher Nympha Girard said. "We were all silently crying, because we were scared to death."

Flagging potential shooters

Many criminal-justice experts and psychologists say the best way to avert school shootings is to identify and help potential perpetrators beforehand. Nearly all shooters strongly hint at their plans of violence in online forums or to other students, said former FBI special agent Mary Ellen O'Toole, who has studied school shootings for 20 years. "I've seen it in nearly every case," she said. Federal legislation passed after Uvalde included $1 billion to boost the number of mental health professionals, counselors, and social workers in schools. About two-thirds of schools provide some sort of threat-reporting system. In Hemet, California, schools implemented software that flags when a student types words such as "suicide" or "shooting" on a district-issued device. Flagging, of course, is only effective if it leads to meaningful action. Florida investigators declined to act on guidance counselors' concerns about the Parkland shooter, who'd made numerous violent threats to other students. And in 2021, a high school student fatally shot four peers in Oxford, Michigan, after a teacher observed the 15-year-old's drawings of guns with captions like "Blood everywhere" and "The thoughts won't stop. Help me." His parents refused to take him home, and he remained in school without a search of his belongings. Hours later, he withdrew a semi-automatic handgun from his backpack and began firing in a crowded hallway.

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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SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia's defence and foreign ministers on Sunday said they aimed to deepen security ties with France and Britain during visits to Europe this week, flagging the Indo-Pacific as a key area of focus.

The ministers' trip from Jan. 30 to Feb. 2 will comprise Australia-France Foreign and Defence Ministerial Consultations in Paris, and Australia-United Kingdom Ministerial Consultations in London and Portsmouth, the ministers said in a statement.

Australia has moved to bolster relations in the Pacific as China's influence grows, including a security pact between China and Solomon Islands struck last year.

In France, discussions will focus on "the increasingly challenging strategic environment in the Indo-Pacific and in Europe", while meetings in Britain would cover modernising the bilateral relationship, tackling climate change, building economic resilience and global peace and security.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong will also meet with European Union officials in Brussels, while Defence Minister Richard Marles will afterwards travel to the United States to meet with Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin, according to the statement.

Deepening practical cooperation with France in the Indo-Pacific, reflecting the priorities of our partners, is critical to our vision of regional stability," Wong said of the visit.

Marles said he looked forward to talks in France and Britain on Indo-Pacific security and continued support for Ukraine, and with his British counterpart on AUKUS - the deal between the United States, Britain and Australia to provide Australia with technology for conventionally armed nuclear-powered submarines.

The visit to the United Kingdom also provides an important opportunity to discuss AUKUS, Marles said.

This month, Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the government remained on a "very positive" footing on the AUKUS security pact, despite reports of U.S. concerns that the deal would damage America's industrial base.

(Reporting by Sam McKeith; Editing by Josie Kao)
NEW YORK  The Rev. Al Sharpton called Saturday for more protests over Tyre Nichols death  and urged that they be peaceful, saying that violent protests will only help the police get away with what they did.

What (the police) want to do is see violence and say, This is why the police have to do what they did. You see how out of control they are? Sharpton said at his House of Justice in Harlem.

Dont play into the narrative and see how that would help them defend what they did, Sharpton urged protesters.

Instead, Sharpton encouraged protesters to abide by the wishes of Nichols mother, RowVaughn Wells. She called for peace. She showed a mercy that was not extended to her, he said. We are going to continue protesting, but we are going to do it non-violently.

Sharpton spoke the morning after three people were arrested and two cops were assaulted in Times Square during marches Friday night. The protests were held as Memphis, Tennessee, officials released video showing how cops beat Nichols during a traffic stop on Jan. 7 and let him go crucial minutes without medical care.

Nichols, who is also Black, died three days after the beating that Memphis police Chief Cerelyn Davis said showed acts that defy humanity.

Police prepared for another round of protests in New York over the weekend. A protest that began at 5 p.m. Saturday in Washington Square Park initially drew more than 100 people.

It was a brutal attack and Im here to show support for the family and show the world and the country that there are people that still feel the things need to change, said Ryan Clark, 38, a Brooklyn resident who said Saturdays protest was the first he attended over the Nichols case.

You always want to have hope things will change. As a country were still evolving, but were not there yet, Clark said.

On Friday, three people were arrested in Midtown amid protests after one person, identified 33-year-old Argenis Rivera, jumped onto the hood of a parked New York Police Department cruiser and then kicked in its windshield, officials said.

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All three arrests came during a on Seventh Avenue and 43rd Street in Midtown around 8:15 p.m. after Rivera jumped on the hood of a parked NYPD police cruiser and stomped in its windshield, officials said.

Rivera was standing on top of the cruiser for several minutes before he began taunting the cop behind the wheel and kicking at the windshield, causing it to spiderweb. He then bent down and began punching the windshield when cops grabbed his legs and pulled him off the car.

Cops charged Rivera with criminal mischief. Rivera has priors for assault and robbery and was recently arrested for choking someone in October, said law enforcement sources.

Riveras mother had no idea he was in police custody Saturday. I come home. I was waiting, waiting. He wasnt here, she said. Hes very quiet. Hes nonviolent.

He defends the police every time, said the suspects 59-year-old mom, who did not give her name. He never talks about police, no.

As cops went in to arrest Rivera, protester Candy Nicole, 25, tried to shove them away, striking two cops in the face as she tried to stop the arrest, cops said.

Police arrested her for assault as a hate crime for making anti-cop statements as she socked one of the cops in the nose. Neither cop was seriously injured. The arrest was Nicoles first in New York, said police.

A third protester, Katherine Stone, 34, was also grabbed for trying to graffiti the same cruiser.

Arraignments for Rivera and Nicole at Manhattan Criminal Court were pending Saturday. Stone was given a desk appearance ticket and is expected to answer the charges in court next month.

The three arrested were among the Union Square protesters who began marching north along Seventh Avenue, cops said. Another protest that started in Times Square shut down traffic along Broadway as its participants marched to Penn Station.

Both protests appeared to have broken up before 11 p.m.

Sharpton on Saturday called for a new vote on the federal George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which will end qualified immunity for cops being sued for using excessive force.

When police feel they have no skin in the game, they act any kind of way they want, he said, disgusted that Nichols was killed by five Black police officers.

We fought to get Blacks in the department. We thought that if we got you in, you would stand up and treat us as you treat others, but youre imitating the worst in policing and now youre going to pay the price that others pay, Sharpton said. You may be my color but youre not my kind.


The former James Wadsworth Elementary School in Woodlawn on Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023, where the city plans to host migrants. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

About 250 migrants could begin moving into a former school-turned-shelter in the Woodlawn neighborhood in the next week despite continued resistance from some nearby residents.

Representatives of the city, including Brandie Knazze, commissioner of the Department of Family and Support Services, shared plans for the former Wadsworth Elementary School with about 50 residents and stakeholders during a community meeting Saturday at Hyde Park Academy High School.

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The Wadsworth shelter is part of the citys response to the thousands of migrants who have arrived in Chicago on more than 100 buses from Texas and Colorado since August. The city still sees an average of 10 new arrivals per day, according to the Department of Family and Support Services. The shelter was set to open earlier this month but was delayed after pushback from Woodlawn residents.

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[ Migrants arriving in Chicago sleeping in bus shelters and police stations as community steps in to help ]

City officials at Saturdays meeting did not have an exact date but said the migrants are set to move into the shelter as early as the coming week. The shelter will remain open 24/7, and the city plans to use the old school as a shelter for up to two years.

The shelter will have 24/7 security at all entrances provided by the city, and the Chicago Police Department is implementing a community safety plan, which includes regular visits to the shelter. Chicago police 3rd district Commander Roderick Watson said Saturday police, including the departments community safety team, will be ready to respond to emergencies at the shelter or if additional security is needed.

Residents of the shelter will receive and sign a copy of the shelters rules and expectations upon moving in, the city said. Rules include signing in and out when entering or exiting the shelter, abiding by an 11 p.m. curfew, not allowing visitors and no use of drugs or alcohol on the property.

Residents gather at Apostolic Church of God in Chicagos Woodlawn neighborhood before the start of a community meeting to discuss the planned sheltering of migrants in the empty Wadsworth elementary school building on Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)

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Several people shared frustrations Saturday about plans for the shelter, saying they were brought to the table too late in the conversation. Some said they felt cheated out of resources that could have been reinvested into those struggling in the Woodlawn community.

Carol Waitse, a 22-year homeowner in Woodlawn who lives across the street from the shelter, said she signed up to speak at the meeting Saturday to reiterate the significance of the opposition and emphasize our disappointment.

Weve had a lot of conversations but honestly it feels like our concerns are still falling on deaf ears, she said. The office of community engagement is really feeling like the office of community enforcement, because were not getting feedback on some very important issues.

Knazze said no resources were diverted from the community or other programs to help those who need it locally, as the work being done for local residents is separate from what is being done to help migrants.

This is a state of emergency, she said. Were trying to make sure that residents are treated with dignity and respect and that they have a safe place to stay while they figure out their next destination.

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Knazze said her department funds several programs and services, including early learning, youth homelessness and senior support as well as human services and workforce programs.

Knazze said at a town hall-style meeting earlier in January at the Apostolic Church of God in Woodlawn that the city plans to share biweekly updates with Ald. Jeanette Taylor on matters such as capacity at the shelter, challenges or successes and upcoming plans. There are also plans for monthly community meetings for the first three months the shelter is open followed by bimonthly meetings thereafter.
A newborn baby was found, wrapped in a blanket, on a small hill in Polk County, deputies said.

According to a news release, early Saturday morning, the Polk County Sheriffs Office was called to Mulberry after someone reported hearing a baby crying outside.

At about 1:47 am, deputies found the girl, wrapped in a blanket, on a small hill near the Regal Loop Mobile Home Park, just off Bailey Road. She was still attached to the placenta, deputies said.

>>> STREAM CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS LIVE <<<

Based on the infants body temperature, Polk County Fire Rescue medics estimated that the girl had been born approximately one hour before she was found.

Temperatures on Saturday night were in the lower 50s.

The newborn baby girl was transported to the hospital and appears to be healthy and in stable condition.

Read: Memphis police disband special unit whose officers beat Tyre Nichols to death

It was by the Grace of God that we found the abandoned baby girl when we did before exposure to the cold or any animals caused her any harm. She was left in an extremely vulnerable condition, but shes a strong little girl, and it looks like shes doing great, said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd.

Deputies searched for the mother using K-9s, drones and went door-to-door, but were unable to locate the mother.

Read: Florida animal rescue group seeks donations to treat abandoned, burned 4-week-old puppy

According to a news release, The Polk County Sheriffs Office would like to remind mothers about Floridas Safe Haven Law, enacted in 2000, which allows for parents to leave their unharmed newborn child (under a week old) at any Safe Haven facility (hospitals or properly staffed EMS/Fire Station) anonymously, and without fear of prosecution.

If anyone has any information about the mother of this baby, call the Polk County Sheriffs Office at 863-298-6200.

Read: Students learn about aviation at Orlando Sanford International Airport

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.
In April of 2021, oddly beautiful images of vineyards in France, the rows illuminated by fire pots, bounced around the internet. From Chablis to the Jura and beyond, the mercury unseasonably plunged, frost moved in and widespread damage to vines threatened the vintage before it had even begun. Those fire pots were an attempt to heat the air surrounding the vines and prevent ice from forming and hardening.

As a Texan wine producer told me, the problem is not so much global warming as it is global weirding.

More from Robb Report

She couldnt have been more right. In October of 2022, my first book, Crushed: How a Changing Climate Is Altering the Way We Drink, was published. It explores how climate changethat global weirdingis impacting not just wines and spirits but also the livelihoods of the people who grow the grapes and grains, craft the wines and distill the spirits.

For wine collectors, climate change presents plenty of problems but also opportunities. To guide you through this weird new world, Ive devised three strategies to help you navigate a dramatically shifting landscape.

Dont Get Caught Up in the Hype

In 2003, an extreme heatwave hit France and its neighbors, resulting in a vintage of extreme ripeness, particularly in Bordeaux, with wines that, even early on, were generally opulent, powerful and dramatic.

Most critics, at least on the American side of the Atlantic, lauded the wines decadence and generosity. Demand was high, and many ordinary collectors were priced out of the market. The following year was a return to the norm, with Left Bank reds that were particularly classicsavory, subtle and quieter but no less enjoyable. Coming on the heels of the blockbuster 2003, however, demand was generally lower, and buyers could be forgiven for assuming that these were somehow lesser wines.

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As a young collector, I couldnt afford the 2003s, but many of the 04s were within reachso I bought them. Fast-forward 20 years, and those 04s are giving me more pleasure than I ever could have imagined: They are terroir-specific and elegant and have taken on haunting undercurrents of spice and earth. Many of the 03s are deliciousa recently opened bottle of 2003 Chateau Lagrange was stellar, though that one was harvested on the early sideand have evolved beautifully, but the quality to price ratio (QPR), it turns out, was very much in favor of the 2004s.

The lesson is clear: Dont buy into the hype machine and maintain a collection that includes a range of vintages and wine styles. You never know what will turn out to be a real gem in a decade or three.

Stay Open to New and Upcoming Regions and Grape Varieties

As climate change picks up steam, the map of the wine world is bound to be revised. In fact, its happening now. Sure, Napa Valley is still home to world-class Cabernet Sauvignon, and Bordeaux is the source of benchmark blends, but if you look beneath the surface even in those regions, the ground is already shifting.

In Napa Valley, for example, wildfires have altered the calculus of what happens, and when, each year. If the fires are violent enough toward the end of the growing season, then harvesting decisions are just as likely to be based on when the fruit can be safely brought in devoid of smoke taint as they are on perfect phenolic and sugar ripeness. And whereas a generation or two ago it was the warmer valley-floor parcels that were the most lauded, today theres an increasing focus on mountain and hillside sites: Altitude brings cooler temperatures, which often means longer hang time and therefore greater complexity.

In Bordeaux, the Big Five grape varietiesCabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbecare now legally allowed to be joined by a handful of more warm-weather-resistant grapes for wines labeled as Bordeaux AOC and Bordeaux Superieur. Theyre not yet approved for use in the more prestigious appellations, but that day may come.

Yet a changing climate is also bringing to our attention parts of the wine world that until now had been largely overlooked. The sparkling wines of south and southeastern England are wildly exciting, leveraging the inherently favorable terroir with warming temperatures to ripen grapes in a way that would have been unimaginable 25 years ago. And Israel, which has been producing reds and whites for over 5,000 years, is one of the most compelling wine-producing countries in the world right now, home to a passionately forward-thinking community of grape growers and winemakers and a stunning range of terroirsfrom the Mediterranean in the west to the mountains in the east, with deserts, forests and more dotting the landscape in betweenwhich is all resulting in bottles that are ready for the global stage.

Thrilling wines are being produced farther south in Patagonia and farther north in Europe than ever before. Shrewd collectors will take advantage of this, building cellars of not just classic regions but up-and-comers, too.

Support Producers Who Are Doing the Right Thing

People can argue about the causes of climate change all they want, but the men and women who grow the grapes and make the wine dont have the luxury of getting drawn into that debate: Theyre living with the very real impacts of it every vintage. Many of the wine professionals I spoke to while reporting and writing Crushed told me that the vineyards that are farmed sustainably, organically or biodynamically are the ones that seem to be able to best withstand the increasingly dangerous effects of climate change. The generally deeper root systems of vines that are grown on land that is worked in an environmentally respectful manner are more resilient, it seems. And vineyards that are subjected to fewer chemical treatments are healthier for the people who work there, exposing them to fewer potentially toxic substances.

Plus, the wines grown in these vineyards simply reflect the land in a more accurate way. Wine, in my opinion, is the single greatest lens through which to understand a particular patch of the planet. This is why collectors clamor for bottles from different parts of the world, or from specific parts of particular countries or regions, even if theyre made from the same grape varieties: A Pinot Noir, for example, thats grown in one region will taste different from one thats come from another. In Burgundy, the contrast is even more dramatic, and the stylistic differences between two neighboring vineyards have, in many cases, been understood for the better part of a millennium. The fewer synthetic herbicides, pesticides and the rest that are dumped into those vineyards, the more the resulting wines will express the essence of that land.

In the end, supporting producers who work in an environmentally responsible manner is better for the earth, better for the people who work it and better for the liquid in the bottle. And that can be only good for all of us.

Brian Freedman writes about wine, spirits, travel and food. In addition to being the author of Crushed, hes a frequent event host and speaker.

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A skydiver survived an uncontrolled fall over Oceanside when his parachute failed to fully open, California firefighters told news outlets.

The man, in his 30s or 40s, hit the roof of a two-story house and fell to the ground between two homes at about 5 p.m. Friday, Jan. 27, firefighters told KSWB.

He suffered serious but not life-threatening injuries, The San Diego Union Tribune reported.

Firefighters from Oceanside and Carlsbad responded to 911 calls and airlifted the skydiver to a hospital, KGTV reported.

The man had jumped from a GoJump skydiving plane based at Oceanside Airport, but his parachute failed to deploy property, firefighters told KFMB. The partially open chute prevented a complete freefall, but the landing was uncontrolled and at an accelerated pace, firefighters told the station.

Oceanside is a city of 173,000 about 40 miles north of San Diego.

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58-year-old man dies in skydiving accident at airport, Hawaii police say

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Zechariah Trevinos mother hugged family members and friends as they walked to the casket at the front of the church in Waurika, Oklahoma, to say goodbye to the 17-year old, who was shot and killed in Fort Worth.

On a screen above the congregation of about 70 people, a slideshow cycled through Zechariahs life: Middle-school Zechariah posing on bleachers with family. Zechariah as a baby, staring seriously at the camera from a hay bale. Teenage Zechariah, touching his forehead to his pet chickens beak.

He was a teddy bear, his mother, Erica Trevino, said. He wanted to be hugged and loved on, even though he was bigger than me.

After the service, funeral-goers released green, red and white balloons in Zechariahs honor. Volunteers provided homemade lunch at the church across the street from the funeral home, and everyone seemed to have a story about Zech that made them laugh.

Zechariahs mom, aunt, grandmother and cousin talked to the Star-Telegram about the impact the Paschal High School student had on countless lives.

When you meet people, you dont possess them, you experience them, Erica Trevino said. And Im so honored and blessed that I got to experience my son. And be his mom.

Erica Trevino comforts her sons friend during his funeral in Waurika, Oklahoma, on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. Zechariah Trevino, a 17-year-old Paschal High School junior, was killed in a shooting that injured his cousin outside Whataburger near the Fort Worth school on Jan. 20.

Zechariahs death

Waurika, with its approximately 2,000 residents, gave Zechariah and his family a peaceful, tight-knit community after the family left Fort Worth for Oklahoma. Zechariah loved to fish and could often be found at the creek near his home. He attended church each Sunday and Wednesday with his family, and he was known to carry a Bible with him.

But Zechariah was drawn to the city and wanted to make his own way, his mother said. At 17, he moved back to Fort Worth to stay with his grandma and cousin and enrolled at R.L. Paschal High School. He came home often, and he saw his mother every Thursday.

Zechariah started working at Whataburger on West Berry Street, across from the school. At times he worked up to 40 hours a week while maintaining As and Bs in his junior year at Paschal.

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When he got the job originally at Whataburger, he called me and said, Mom, you dont gotta work no more. Im going to take care of you, Erica said, laughing. I said, I dont know how well be making it on Whataburger income but OK, sure.

A photo of Zechariah Trevino is displayed Monday, Jan. 23, 2023, at a prayer vigil after the Paschal High School student was fatally shot outside a Whataburger restaurant near the school.

His grandma usually picked him up from the Whataburger after his shifts and after school, and on Jan. 20 at 4 p.m., Zech and his female cousin, also a Paschal student, waited outside the restaurant for her.

According to police, a group of five teens pulled into the parking lot in two cars and some of them started to yell at Zechs cousin. She knew the group  her sister used to hang out with them. In March 2022, her sister died of an overdose, and the girl told police she believes the group may have been involved. The group was upset about something the girl had written about them on Instagram, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

One of the teens, later identified as 17-year-old Daniel Reed, got out of a car and pulled out a pistol, according to his arrest warrant. The two started to argue, and Reed shot the girl in the stomach. She fell to the ground in pain as Reed jumped back into the car and closed the door.

After his cousin was shot, Zech had the chance to run away. But he didnt.

I dont think Zech would do it any different, Erica said. If we did this all over again, he would say, Mama, I cant leave her there. Mama, I love you.

Erica Trevino stands beside her sons casket during his funeral in Waurika, Oklahoma, on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. Zechariah Trevino, killed by gun violence on Jan. 20, was remembered as a loving, funny person throughout the service.

A second shooter, identified by police as 17-year-old Isaiah Nunez, walked toward Zech and his cousin with a handgun, according to police. Nunez fired another shot at the girl, which missed. He turned toward Zech and shot at him at least eight times, the arrest warrant says.

Nunez turned to the girl, who was lying helpless on the ground, and shot her again in the leg, the warrant says. He got into a car and the group sped away. Within the next few days, Nunez and Reed were arrested on suspicion of murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The two suspected shooters are former Paschal students. A 16-year-old boy accused of driving one of the cars was also arrested  police did not release his name because of his age.

In the face of tremendous loss, Erica has chosen compassion and forgiveness. She said she only wishes the best for the teens accused of killing her son, and she is praying for their mothers.

Its not OK to do that, she said about the shooting. Thats somebodys son, thats somebodys brother, thats somebodys uncle and father... Thats the one thing we got blessed with  this baby.

Zechariahs girlfriend is two months pregnant with their child.

Zechariahs own biological father died from gun violence at 17 years old when Erica was pregnant.

Zechariah was my rock because that was all I had when (his father) passed. And now Ive lost Zech and he has a baby on the way, she said. But I dont want it to be a vicious cycle. Because their stories are two different things.

Pews are filled grieving family members and friends during a funeral for Zechariah Trevino in Waurika, Oklahoma, on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. Trevino, killed by gun violence in Fort Worth on Jan. 20, was remembered as a loving, funny person throughout the service.

Gun violence epidemic

The Rev. Rodney McIntosh, head of VIP FW, is all too familiar with the cycle of violence.

As the program leader of VIP Fort Worth, he and his colleagues try to help young people at risk of being drawn into violence. The core team at VIP FW is made up of men who have been involved in gangs and violence in their past. Their mission, he said, is to stop cyclic retaliatory gun violence.

We are losing so many teenagers some of them dont even have mustaches yet, McIntosh said. Were losing men who havent seen puberty yet.

From 2016 to May 2022, at least 101 young people of middle- or high-school age died from gun violence in Tarrant County, a Fort Worth Star-Telegram analysis found. At least 19 of the 100 homicide victims in Fort Worth last year were 18 or younger. In interviews with law enforcement, criminal justice officials, defense lawyers, intervention groups and others, several sources said feuds among teens or cliques on social media are too often leading to real-life violence.

Young people are being lost to gun violence on the other side of the gun as well  for teenagers who shoot and kill someone else, their lives are irrevocably changed. For some young people in Fort Worth, violence is a part of life  and they do not know what a future looks like without it. When talking to kids at a school recently, McIntosh said, he asked one 15- or 16-year-old boy what he wanted to be when he grew up.

He said, To be honest, Pastor Mac, I aint even thought about that. Im just trying to survive every day.

The VIP group started in 2019. In 2020, its members talked with more than 739 people in their communities, including 189 who are at high risk to be involved in shootings. Theyve interrupted at least 74 shootings, meaning they were able to work out issues that would have likely exploded into violence.

But when a young person dies, like Zechariah, the mission can feel bleak.

Thats a life that was snatched away, McIntosh said about Zechariah. We will never know the full potential of what that life could have been.

Erica Trevino is comforted by a family member during her sons funeral in Waurika, Oklahoma, on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. Zechariah Trevino, killed by gun violence on Jan. 20, was remembered as a loving, funny person throughout the service.

Commitment to change

The day after her son died, Erica contacted a Fort Worth group to immediately get involved in raising awareness about gun violence.

She has experience with morphing her grief into action. In 2008, she lost her young son to sudden infant death syndrome. After his death, she connected with A Memory that Grows, a Texas nonprofit that helps parents who lose a child. In honor of Zechariah, she now hopes to connect with mothers who lose their children to gun violence and fight for solutions.

I refuse to let them die in vain, she said about her two sons. If I stop and give up, thats me giving up on them. I want them to be able to know that My mom is still fighting.

Fort Worth police and city officials have faced mounting pressure to take actions against teen gun violence.

On Tuesday, representatives at a Fort Worth City Council meeting said they were accelerating the timeline of an initiative to combat gun violence because of Zechariahs death. The One-Second Collaborative, pushed by the United Way of Tarrant County and Fort Worth City Council member Jared Williams, is a proposed partnership to support community groups working to end teen gun violence.

At Tuesdays meeting, Williams said the group plans to establish a committee made up of representatives from the city, police, county, Fort Worth school district and United Way by summer, NBC DFW reported.

However, combating gun violence among young people requires the effort of the entire community, McIntosh said. Rather than allowing each shooting to fade from memory, he said, it will take sacrifice, consistency and becoming uncomfortable to truly create change.

When these families grieve, we have to continue to grieve as a community, he said. Because I think that as we continue to grieve as a community, we will continue to fight together as a community to bring change. As much as it hurts, stay in this moment. Remember the hurt this has caused as a community.

Coordination of local laws, intervention in schools and community advocacy can help identify at-risk kids before they pull the trigger. For example, McIntosh said, kids can easily get ahold of guns, such as by breaking into cars or through private sales. VIP FW has also not been able to work with many Fort Worth schools to talk directly with kids, McIntosh said, which he hopes will change.

For Erica, she is determined to not let her sons death be another statistic and to turn her grief into action.

I want to be able to help the next mother who is not as fortunate as we were here, she said. We have a lot of love and a lot of support. And you give that back.
(YouTube)

Saturday Night Live addressed the killing of Tyre Nichols in a rare serious moment for the sketch show.

Earlier this week, the unarmed 29-year-old died after being beaten by five Memphis police officers, who have all been charged with second-degree murder.

In the footage, Nichols is pursued, punched and pepper-sprayed by the officers, who are later seen bragging about the arrest.

You can follow live updates following the videos release here.

On Saturday (29 January), SNL kicked off with a sketch showing cast member Mikey Day playing American lawyer Merrick Garland to discuss a matter of subjects.

These included the classified papers that were found in Joe Bidens personal possession as well as the house of ex-Vice President Mike Pence.

However, the sketch took a serious turn when Kenan Thompson, who was playing an FBI Special Agent, returned at the end.

He said: Hey boss, when we done playing with your little papers, we gonna head down to Memphis and make sure justice is served down there too, right?

Day, as Garland, replied: I sincerely hope so, to which Thompson said: Yeah, you damn right  just making sure.

The studio audience gathered in New York applauded Thompsons comment.

Kenan Thompson and Mikey Day address the Memphis killing of Tyre Nichols on SNL (YouTube)

The shocking footage of Nichols arrest has led to widespread protests across Memphis and beyond.

An independent autopsy released by his family shows he suffered extensive bleeding before his death.
Four white men with white supremacist ties were sentenced in federal court in Seattle Friday for a 2018 assault on a Black DJ at a bar in the suburb of Lynnwood.

Judge Richard Jones sentenced the men to varying prison terms, the Daily Herald reported.

Jason DeSimas, of Tacoma, will serve four years. Under a plea agreement, prosecutors and the defense recommended just over three years. Jason Stanley, of Boise, Idaho, had the same plea deal. Jones sentenced him to four years, as well.

Randy Smith, of Eugene, Oregon, got 3 years in prison. And Daniel Dorson, of Corvallis Oregon, got 2 years.

All four were previously convicted of committing a hate crime and making false statements. The man they attacked, Tyrone Smith, said outside the courthouse Friday that his life is forever changed.

The judge also ordered the defendants to pay nearly $171,000 in restitution to cover lost wages and medical bills. He called the attack that of a modern day unhooded KKK.

Smith said the defendants actions changed him from an outgoing person who DJed for his friends for fun, to someone who struggles with anxiety and uses a cane.

As we can all see, its been a long road for me, Smith said. But I had enough courage to come down and make sure this process was handled and justice was actually served.

On Dec. 7, 2018, DeSimas and others traveled to Lynnwood on the way to visiting the site of a Whidbey Island cabin where Robert Jay Mathews, the neo-Nazi leader of the violent hate group The Order, died in a gunfight with federal agents on Dec. 8, 1984. It has become a far-right holiday, known as Martyrs Day.

That night, DeSimas attended a gathering with other white supremacist sympathizers, prosecutors said. Shortly after midnight, about a dozen of them went to the Rec Room Bar and Grill. Some wore jackets with patches indicating their white supremacist beliefs and some had similar tattoos, including some depicting swastikas, prosecutors said.

At some point, Stanley messed with Smiths DJ equipment. Smith pushed him away. In response, DeSimas and others surrounded Smith, using racist slurs while kicking, punching and stomping on Smith, prosecutors said. Witnesses who tried to intervene were also attacked.

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The men then left the bar and went to Whidbey Island, where they attended the Martyrs Day event.

Federal prosecutors indicted the men in December 2020. Citing insufficient evidence, Snohomish County prosecutors declined to charge six other men who were at the tavern the night of the attack.

DeSimas wrote in a letter to the judge that he was ashamed of his actions, saying he no longer shared the views he previously held.

Dorson wrote in a similar letter that he was disgusted by the fear I took part in creating.

Nick Brown, the U.S. Attorney for Western Washington, said seeking consequences for the attack was a high priority for the Justice Department and the FBI.

Rick Collodi, the FBIs special agent in charge of Seattles field office, said the defendants tried to conceal their actions, but the truth came out.

The four defendants admitted to being members of a white supremacist group, Collodi said. While they have the right to believe what they want, they do not have the right to commit a crime.
One person was seriously injured in a shooting early Saturday in Fort Collins, while two others suffered minor injuries in a crash between a police vehicle and a sedan hours later.

Fort Collins police announced on Twitter Saturday that an unidentified adult male was shot shortly after 1 a.m. in an altercation that happened during a large party in the 200 block of Cordova Road in northeast Fort Collins. Police said the group involved in the shooting left the scene in a vehicle and were later stopped by Larimer County sheriff's deputies.

Deputies arrested an unidentified juvenile on suspicion of shooting the man, who was hospitalized with serious injuries. Police say they don't believe there's an ongoing threat to public safety, but anyone with information on the shooting who hasn't already spoken to police is asked to call Det. Dustin Wier at 970-221-6895.

No further information was available on the shooting Saturday evening.

Fort Collins police SUV, sedan crash during emergent response

Also Saturday, at 9 a.m., a Fort Collins police SUV responding to a high-risk stop with its lights and sirens on collided with a 2009 Honda Accord at the intersection of Lemay Avenue and Mulberry Street. The crash caused the police SUV to roll onto its roof, and the ensuing investigation closed the intersection for more than four hours.

Police said both the corporal driving the SUV and the driver of the Accord suffered minor injuries in the crash. No further information on the crash was made available Saturday.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Three injured in separate shooting, Fort Collins police vehicle crash
Three juveniles held in a Kentucky detention center allegedly attacked a youth worker Saturday, marking the second incident this week against staff at the facility.

According to the state Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, around 6:30 p.m. Saturday, three incarcerated juveniles at the Warren Juvenile Detention Center attacked a youth worker and then barricaded themselves inside an office by blocking the door with a filing cabinet.

The Department of Juvenile Justice immediately contacted the Kentucky State Police (KSP) and the Warren County Regional Jails Critical Emergency Response Team for assistance, according to the cabinet.

Both agencies responded to the facility and quickly resolved the situation without any use of force, the department said in a release.

No injuries were reported.

The juveniles involved in the incident are 16 years old and committed on charges of murder, first degree robbery and trafficking.

This comes six days after a previous attack in the facility where three others planned an attack on staff. According to the release, these individuals were not involved in the previous attack.

The Justice Cabinet said the facility is operating under controlled confinement, which means movement among the facility is limited.

The investigation is ongoing and criminal charges are being sought by the department.
Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin said Sunday that the brutal footage of Memphis police beating Tyre Nichols demonstrated the need for "a national conversation" on law enforcement.

Speaking on ABC's "This Week," the Illinois Democrat said, "We need a national conversation about policing in a responsible, constitutional and humane way. These men and women with badges put them on each day and risk their lives for us. I know that, but we also see from these videos horrible conduct by these same officers in unacceptable situations."

Durbin told host Martha Raddatz "that law enforcement, by and large, is a state and local responsibility," but added that Congress can insert itself into the conversation, noting a package of police reforms that Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) had been working on after George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police in May 2020.



That legislation stalled. One factor was a debate over the question of whether to retain "qualified immunity" for police officers.

"I think," Durbin said of Booker, "he and Senator Scott should sit down again quickly to see if we can revive that effort."

Nichols died Jan. 10, three days after being beaten repeatedly after a police stop by five Memphis officers, who have since been fired and charged in his death.



As for his own reaction to the footage of the beating of Nichols, Durbin said he was aghast.

"It was horrible. Inhumane. My heart goes out to the Tyre Nichols family to think that their son went through this," he said, adding later: "What we saw on the streets of Memphis was just inhumane and horrible."

First-term Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) said she found Nichols' death horrifying but not surprising, saying it was not the first time the nation has seen an African American mother grieve in response to her child's death.

"There are so many Black cities across the country that have re-lived this," she said on CNN's "State of the Union." "But it's painful every single time and never gets any easier."
Jan. 28The Salvation Army Corps has until the end of January to meet its 2023 fundraising goal of $450,000 and preserve the full slate of programs planned to help residents in need in Jasper and Newton counties.

Nathan Hicks, volunteer coordinator for the Salvation Army, said a substantial number of donations have come in since the end of the annual Red Kettle drive, but the overall campaign remains at 72% of its 2023 goal, leaving a shortfall of $126,000.

"Our headquarters every year gives all corps offices until the end of January to meet their fundraising efforts," Hicks said. "That is their budgetary cycle for the next year. That is what we're working on now, so if we don't meet that budgetary cycle, we'll have to make adjustments to our budget in Jasper and Newton counties for the next year. That does affect programming for what we're able to do in this incoming year."

Snow, rain and cold weather reduced the number of days the bell ringers could staff the Red Kettles at businesses across the area in the five weeks between the mid-November 2022 kickoff and the last day of the campaign on Christmas Eve, leaving the drive $203,000 short of its goal after Christmas.

A fundraising plea in the week after Christmas brought in another $77,000, leaving $126,000 of the goal remaining to be raised between now and Jan. 31 in order to avoid program cutbacks.

The Red Kettle campaign provides the local Salvation Army Corps with about three-quarters of its annual budget.

"We're trying one final PSA (public service announcement) just to see what the community is able to support," Hicks said. "We know these are tight times, but we just want to make sure we're able to keep everything running at full capacity for our community. If we're still shy at the end of the month there are certain things that we'll have to adjust for the incoming year."

Hicks said people can donate online through a button on the group's website http://salvationarmyjaspernewton.org. Look for the "Donate" button at the top of the page. People can also donate in person at the local offices at 2307 Missouri Ave. in Carthage, and at 320 E. Eighth St. in Joplin.

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Hicks said donations made locally will stay to help pay for programs in Jasper and Newton counties.

"Those don't go out anywhere, they stay to help make sure programs stay here locally and support people here locally," Hicks said. "I know when individuals are looking at donating, they fear it's going to a main corporation and we want to make sure they know they're supporting people here locally. They're helping their local community. If people want to volunteer or help out in any way they can contact me as well. Whether it's in emergency disaster services or in any of our meal programs or helping at our thrift store or anything like that, they can always contact me, and I can help them with volunteer opportunities as well."

Hicks can be contacted by phone at 417-624-4528, ext. 108, or by email at Nathan.Hicks@usc.salvationarmy.org.
Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates joins faculty members at a strike rally at the University of Illinois at Chicago campus on Jan. 17, 2023. Cook County Commissioner, mayoral candidate and former CTU organizer Brandon Johnson stands behind her. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)

The auto shop in West Rogers Park resembled a classroom preparing for the first day of school when mayoral hopeful Brandon Johnson joined educators there recently to discuss the future of Chicago schools.

Fresh pastries on a table welcomed the crowd, nearly all Chicago Teachers Union members, and the walls were adorned with long, bright scrolls of paper for a brainstorming activity. In a corner, children played on iPads and rode bikes.

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Johnson, a longtime leader with the powerful union who won its endorsement and financial backing, used the gathering to hail CTUs work, while also referencing its battles with Mayor Lori Lightfoot and her predecessor, Rahm Emanuel.

We really wished that the people who were sworn to support and to represent the interests of working people, that they wouldnt have so much animus and disdain towards things as simple as a library, a librarian, social workers and counselors and housing that was affordable, Johnson said.

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While Johnson casts the unions role as an underdog fighting for better schools, Lightfoot sees CTUs advocacy in starker terms, accusing the union of politicizing education, wielding undue influence and playing a part in Chicago Public Schools enrollment loss.

[ Gov. Pritzker has vowed to bring universal preschool to Illinois. But big hurdles remain for that to happen. ]

Conflict with the teachers union has been a hallmark of Lightfoots term, starting with a bitter teachers strike months after she took office. Since then, shes repeatedly clashed with CTU over COVID-19 restrictions, spending priorities and an elected school board, which she supported as a candidate, then balked at.

In a vivid display of the deeply held mutual acrimony, Lightfoot recently pointed a finger at Johnson during a meeting with the Tribune Editorial Board and accused the CTU of bringing chaos to Chicago schools.

Whoever becomes mayor for the next four years will face enormous challenges and a daunting transition from a school board selected by City Hall to one elected by voters.

As a result of action by state lawmakers in 2021, the Chicago Board of Education will become a 21-member hybrid panel in two years, with 10 members elected to four-year terms in the 2024 general election and 11 members, including the board president, appointed by the mayor. It would transition to a fully elected board by 2027.

Other issues include what to do with expensive, underused or vacant buildings, how to reverse years of enrollment decline, and ensuring stability for a system with deeply strained finances. Then theres the matter of the unions contract, which expires in 2024 and whose renewal risks another protracted fight.

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It all could add up to one of CPS biggest inflection points. Daniel Anello, CEO of the advocacy group Kids First Chicago, said the next mayor will have power to steer the city in ways that can help or hurt its public schools, even with less direct control over CPS policy.

Weve had declining enrollment for almost 20 years and theres no sign of it really slowing, and the root causes of it are the Black exodus, a slowing of Latinx immigration into the city, and declining birthrates. There just arent enough kids for the schools, Anello said. You have school buildings that are massive with too few students in them to fill the whole building, and yet some of those schools are functional educationally. How does the city solve that? How does the city think about changing the exodus of people leaving? And how does the city get more people to come to Chicago?

Financial woes

As the district approved its $9.4 billion budget, leaders were urged to think ahead to when federal COVID-19 relief funds expire in 2024.

Placing added pressure: The city has started shifting costs off its books and onto CPS, a move Lightfoot adopted as a way to balance her budgets. An October report prepared for the district noted that the necessary untangling of the two entities ahead of the school board transition creates additional uncertainties and risks, both for CPS operating budget and for the finances of its students and their families.

CPS was already weighed down by a heavy debt burden. The costs now on the districts balance sheet include $175 million for nonteacher pensions in 2022 and nearly $30 million per year for crossing guards and school police.

Students walk the hallways Nov. 2, 2022, at Corliss Early College STEM High School. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

Every mayoral candidate has said securing more funding from Springfield would be a top priority. CPS is more than $1 billion per year below a state-set funding target based on student need. Candidates Paul Vallas, a former CEO of CPS, and JaMal Green, a community activist, have called for an audit to determine how much money is being spent in the classroom.

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If the money really follows the kids to the classroom, and we know for a fact that only 60% of the money does, then were gonna get more social workers, were gonna get more mental health counselors, were gonna get smaller class sizes, Vallas said at a January forum.

State Rep. Kambium Kam Buckner, another mayoral candidate, has said hes uniquely positioned to get money out of state lawmakers and would shift the citys public school funding model from being solely student enrollment-based and would install a nurse, social worker and librarian at each campus.

Most candidates have also said funding should be based on need, not enrollment.

U.S. Rep. Jesus Chuy Garcia, another candidate, has called the CPS budget allocation from Springfield to be doubled. He backs another attempt to establish a fairer tax system in Illinois to support schools, an allusion to Gov. J.B. Pritzkers failed 2020 graduated income tax bid.

I truly understand how urgent it is to properly fund our schools, Garcia said at a recent forum. We need to move away from our overreliance on property taxes, which is causing so much great harm, including in Chicago displacement of people who live in or near gentrifying areas. How do we do this? We can work with the General Assembly.

Lightfoot echoed Garcia during a recent forum, saying, Im not going to rest until the state ups its contribution to CPS.

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Weve got to get more money from Springfield, bottom line, Lightfoot said. Their obligation is to make sure that our public school system is fully funded, and they dont get it. They think that the work that was done in the prior administration is good enough. Its not.

School closings

In September, Buckner stood before columns of boarded-up windows at the former Laura S. Ward Elementary School, which was shut during the districts mass school closings in 2013. The West Side campus was quiet, with few cars and pedestrians passing by as he spoke from a makeshift lectern.

Nearly a decade later, it remains vacant and closed. Nothing could be a stronger example of failed leadership, failed policy and failing our children, Buckner said. Though he noted the schools were closed under Emanuel, Buckner said Lightfoot let them fester and criticized her for an apathy-laden administration.

Buckner pushed a bill through the legislature that placed a moratorium on school closings until 2025. The provision was meant to give officials time to work out plans for low-enrollment buildings. Buckner argued the city hasnt taken advantage of that time to address a major challenge. Shuttering buildings is controversial, and so is choosing a replacement.

Asked how she would prepare for that deadline, Lightfoot sidestepped the question.

Im not going to skip ahead years from now on a process that I dont know what the result will be, Lightfoot said. But what I can tell you is, we will never do anything when it comes to an individual school ... where we are not deeply engaged with the residents of those communities.

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The mayors answer reflects the deep sensitivities around the issue of closing schools and then reusing the buildings. The mayor once proposed using closed schools as a training ground for police officers and is working on a plan to house migrants in a South Side school, two proposals that generated fierce pushback.

Challenger Willie Wilson, a business owner, blamed crime and high taxes for enrollment decline and empty buildings, saying that reducing both would welcome back families. Hes said he would close some of those schools down that have 10% or 25% capacity and sell them or open some up as trade schools.

Ald. Roderick Sawyer, 6th, also on the Feb. 28 ballot for mayor, has said the district needs to make tough choices on empty schools, though he didnt commit to closing any. Other candidates have been less open about their plans.

Elected school board

Lightfoot campaigned on an elected board but then dropped the idea, with legislators enacting the change over her objections. She has not detailed how she might engage the future board, and instead continues to argue its not too late to change the law to shrink the boards size from the planned 21 members. Shes said repeatedly that number is unwieldy.

Im not giving up, she told reporters in mid-January. The largest elected school board is Miami-Dade and it has nine. The largest appointed school board is New York City. It has 13. This makes no sense.

Whether reduce the boards size is a winnable goal is another question. Aside from winning the Chicago casino in Springfield, Lightfoot has not had significant success with state legislators. She also has a famously strained relationship with Senate President Don Harmon and tensions with Pritzker.

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Even though its well on its way to fruition, much about the elected school board remains to be sorted out, including the shape of its districts and any campaign finance limits or curbs on the influence of labor or other interest groups.

If he becomes mayor, Vallas said he would not hesitate to get involved in school board elections to support and oppose candidates.

Im not afraid of more democracy, and if youre going to have an elected school board, then its important for the mayor to get engaged in school board elections if they want to have influence, he said at a forum this month.

Enrollment

Pre-COVID, CPS reported more than half of district-run schools tracked for capacity were considered underutilized. Enrollment has declined from about 400,000 students a decade ago to just over 320,000 for this school year.

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At a January forum, candidate Sophia King, the 4th Ward alderman, floated the idea of expanding Chicagos opportunity zones, a term for a federal program that offers tax incentives for investors in low-income neighborhoods. It primarily operates on the citys South and West sides.

We have to grow the city, King said. And if were not a safe community, or have good schools, were not going to do that.

She also wants to expand selective enrollment schools, install after-school programs to reengage students at every school and bring back the trades, she said. King is a former teacher and CPS administrator who helped launch the Ariel Community Academy in Kenwood.

Other than safety  I think education is our next top priority, King said in response to a lightning-round question on her most important campaign issue outside of crime. If we dont have a safe city, and we dont have schools that people can go to, our city is going to continue to decline.

Vallas has one of the deepest histories in education of the mayoral candidates: He was CPS CEO during Mayor Richard M. Daleys turnaround process between 1995 and 2001, when charter and selective enrollment schools began to take off. Hes argued that he left the district on solid financial footing and never had a work stoppage.

Hes also been superintendent of schools in Philadelphia and in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and of the state-run Recovery School District in New Orleans as the city rebuilt after Hurricane Katrina. He also worked in post-earthquake school systems in Haiti and Chile.

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In recent years, Vallas has also been a consultant for the charter school industry, including the Alternative Schools Network, where his work focused on expanding education to students who have dropped out, according to his campaign, and with Charter School Renewal, now called the School Improvement Partnership. There, he helped locate and find strong leaders in the education sector for potential jobs as principals, teachers, directors and administrators, his campaign said.

Vallas has called for Chicago families to have 100% choice in where they send their children to school, saying in a campaign video that the issue is the unfinished business of the American Civil Rights Movement.

In a guest blog post on former Tribune columnist John Kass website, Vallas supported providing direct funding via vouchers for parents to use at the school of their choice. It also means empowering the community to choose local school models that best suits their needs.

His stance has led to Johnson accusing Vallas of being the privatizer-in-chief and saying it was morally bankrupt for Vallas to speak on public education. Vallas has scoffed at that attack.

We have children who are prisoners in their own community because of lack of school choice, Vallas said.

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Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez attend an event at Wendell Phillips Academy High School on Sept. 7, 2022. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)

Labor troubles

Under Lightfoot, Chicago schools have seen three teacher work stoppages amid disputes over the union contract and COVID reopening. Since Stacy Davis Gates was elected union president last year, the relationship between the union and city leaders has shown so signs of thawing.

While Lightfoot and the union blame each other for the conflict, Buckner recently said, It doesnt seem that both entities came to the table with good faith. If elected, Buckner said he would begin negotiations over the unions next contract almost immediately.

I wont do it by proxy, I wont do it by tweet. Ill do it myself if I have to from my kitchen table, because we have not provided any stability or any cadence that is helpful to teachers, parents and students in this district, Buckner said.

The district could be on the verge of another strike in 2024, a point some candidates may seize on. Vallas, for instance, recently responded to criticism from Johnson by arguing that he should be called three-strike Johnson, in reference to recent work stoppages by the teachers union.

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King had her own bundle of incentives for new educators like interest-free home loans.

Teachers are leaving now faster than we can keep them, King said at a forum. Theyre the one profession where we throw everything at their feet that were unable to resolve and ask them to do that. They need that incentive.

Green said addressing teacher shortages is key to making sure students get a good education. He said he would do so by making community college free as well as offering new teachers help with the down payment and closing costs if they want to buy a home. He also has promised to expand universal prekindergarten to 3-year-olds, a costly proposition.

You should be very mad

Although Johnson has a long history as a teacher unions leader, he has yet to release a full plan for the citys schools.

CTU has focused on broader social issues for more than a decade, and that emphasis was underscored at the recent event in West Rogers Park.

Rami Faraj, a CPS teacher and organizer with United Working Families, a group allied closely with CTU, instructed the room to divide into groups and prioritize a set of school-related issues.

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From one group, priorities included more social services, affordable housing, student-based budgeting, bilingual education, fewer standardized tests and protection of teacher pensions. The demands were met with nods and snaps from others in the room, including Johnson.

Why do we have to fight for these things? Faraj asked. Why dont we already have these things in place?

One woman, Celeste Esquivel, answered decisively: Capitalism and white supremacy.

Another CPS teacher, Praise Lee, followed up by blaming policies stretching back to Republican President George W. Bushs No Child Left Behind Act placing outsize importance on testing instead of student enrichment.

I think its a long history of priorities that have happened via politics, but for many reasons, right? Lee said. The priorities just have not been there, but we know because were on the ground, right? Were doing the work.

As the conversation progressed that evening, CPS teacher Nora Flanagan remarked, Sorry, Im getting really mad.

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Faraj responded, You should be very mad.

Johnson stood and observed. He would not go on to speak again, but when the topic returned to the election, an earlier message of his was evoked by an organizer, Isaac Krantz-Perlman, to great applause: Who better to run for mayor than a teacher?
When 44-year-old Amanda Perrault died from a gunshot wound to the head, her husband Seth Perrault, an officer with the Eatonton, Georgia, Police Department, told investigators that she had committed suicide. But when the Putnam County Sheriff saw the way her body was lying in the couple's bed, he says he didn't see a suicide, he saw a murder.

Fall 2011: A whirlwind romance

Amanda and Seth Perrault / Credit: Amanda Perrault/Facebook

A recently divorced Amanda Johnson met Seth Perrault online. At the time, Perrault was battling cancer and living with his parents, who were paying his bills.

The couple quickly fell in love and within six months, Johnson moved in with Perrault and became his caregiver. In 2017, Seth's cancer went into remission.

Amanda Johnson begins to drift away from family

Amanda, left, with her sisters. / Credit: Alesha Johnson/Facebook

As Perrault and Johnson grew closer, two of Amanda's sisters claim that they lost touch with her. "She didn't come to, like, any of our Christmas events or, like, any of our events because she had to host for his family and cook for all of them," Alesha Johnson told "48 Hours."

Angie Johnson also claims that for years, Perrault would not allow Amanda to get a job or, at times, have a cell phone of her own. They say he was controlling and mistreated their sister.

June 23, 2017: Seth and Amanda tie the knot

Amanda and Seth Perrault on their wedding day. / Credit: Alesha Johnson

After five years together, Seth Perrault and Amanda Johnson quietly got married at the local courthouse, with just their children in attendance.

Alesha and Angie Johnson believe that Seth only asked their sister to marry him because he wanted custody of his daughter from a previous relationship. For over a year, Seth had been in a custody dispute with the girl's mother and, as his lawyer told "48 Hours" contributor Anne-Marie Green, "If Amanda was gonna be present in his daughter's life  they had to get married."

A few months after the couple were married, Seth was awarded full custody of his daughter.

Nov. 1, 2018: Amanda Perrault's dream home

The Perrault's Eatonton, Georgia, home / Credit: Zillow

In 2018, Seth Perrault's father bought his son a beautiful home near Lake Oconee in Eatonton, Georgia. Alesha Johnson told "48 Hours" that Amanda loved their new home and being a stepmother to Seth's daughter, but her marriage was becoming more and more contentious.

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Nov. 19, 2018: Seth Perrault becomes Officer Perrault

Amanda and Seth Perrault / Credit: Amanda Perrault/Facebook

About a year after they moved into their new home, Seth Perrault was hired by the Eatonton Police department. He had previously applied to the Putnam County Sheriff's office, but was rejected for lack of experience.

Jan. 28, 2020: Amanda Perrault calls 911

Amanda Perrault's statement to the Putnam County, Georgia, Sheriff's Department. / Credit: Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit District Attorney's Office

Amanda Perrault called 911 from a neighbor's house, and told a Putnam County Sheriff's dispatcher that her husband an officer with the Eatonton Police Department  had assaulted her. Deputies responded to the call and saw red marks across Amanda's chest.

Seth Perrault's 8-year-old daughter witnessed the incident and told the deputies that she heard the couple arguing and saw her father push Amanda out the door. She also said she was afraid and hid in her closet -- but was ordered out by her father.

Jan. 28, 2020: Seth Perrault is arrested

/ Credit: Union Recorder/Billy Hobbs

Deputies subsequently arrested Seth Perrault and charged him with simple battery, family violence, and cruelty to children in the third degree. That night, Amanda Perrault called her sister, Angie Johnson, and asked to be picked up in the morning.

Jan. 29, 2020: Seth Perrault is released from jail on bond

Seth and Amanda Perrault / Credit: Amanda Perrault/Facebook

The day after Seth Perrault's arrest, Amanda Perrault told her sister Angie not to come pick her up. Instead, she decided to attend Seth's bond hearing. When the judge asked Amanda if she wanted a stay away order added to Seth's bond conditions, she said no. Seth was then released on a $1,500 bond, and Amanda allowed him to return home.

Feb. 3, 2020: Seth Perrault reports his wife's death

The position of Amanda Perrault's body  depicted in a

Five days after Seth Perrault's release from jail, Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills was called about an alleged suicide at the Perrault house. Sheriff Howard Sills told "48 Hours" that Seth Perrault told him he and Amanda were in bed arguing, "And then all of a sudden she just produced the gun outta thin air and executed herself."

After briefly inspecting the house, Sheriff Sills called in the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to collect the evidence. Perrault was taken to the Putnam County Sheriff's Department for more questioning. Seth said Amanda felt bad about his arrest after their fight and that she wanted to "recant her statement".

Seth said, Amanda, "looked at me and said, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I put you through this." "Boom."

Feb. 4, 2020: Sheriff's deputies canvas the Perrault's neighborhood

The Perrault's lakeside neighborhood. / Credit: CBS News

The day after Amanda's death, sheriff's deputies questioned the Perrault's neighbors and learned that Seth and Amanda had a history of domestic violence. Neighbors said the couple could be heard fighting often and that Seth Perrault seemed to be the aggressor. A neighbor also recounted seeing Seth drag Amanda down the driveway by her hair. Another neighbor said he would often stand in his yard listening to the couple arguing in case he needed to call for help. No one ever called the police because, as they told sheriff's deputies, Seth was the police.

Feb. 5, 2020: Seth Perrault is arrested a second time

Seth Perrault / Credit: Putnam County Sheriff's Office

Two days after Amanda Perrault's death, Sheriff Sills felt he had enough evidence to obtain a warrant for Seth Perrault's arrest.

Feb. 11, 2020: An Interview with Seth's Perrault's daughter

Seth Perrault's daughter being questioned by a forensic child psychologist about what the 8-year-old witnessed the day Amanda Perrault called 911. / Credit: Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit District Attorney's Office

Days after Seth Perrault's arrest, his then-8-year-old daughter was interviewed by a forensic child psychologist about what she witnessed the day Seth was arrested on charges of domestic abuse. That interview would later be used as evidence at trial.

July 31, 2020: A jailhouse informant

Jack Faulk / Credit: Putnam County Sheriff's Department

Jack Faulk and Seth Perrault were on the same dorm block at the Jones County Jail when Faulk reached out to Sheriff Sills. In two handwritten letters to the sheriff, Faulk detailed what he claimed Perrault told him about Amanda's death, including that Seth said, "He had been giving [Amanda] pain killers all day" and that "she was passed out" at the time of her death.

Aug. 21, 2020: Autopsy report is released

Amanda Perrault's death was declared a suicide by the state medical examiner. / Credit: Georgia Bureau of Investigation

Nearly seven months after Amanda Perrault's death, Georgia Bureau of Investigation forensic pathologist Dr. Lora Darrisaw released her autopsy report declaring the manner of death suicide. Sheriff Sills says he was shocked, but undeterred by that report.

Nov. 3, 2020: A grand jury Indicts Seth Perrault

After spending nearly 9 months in jail, a grand jury decided that despite the coroner's report, there was enough evidence for Seth Perrault to stand trial in the murder of his wife, Amanda.

Feb. 25, 2022: Seth Perrault is found guilty

Seth Perrault stands to hear the verdict in his murder trial on Feb. 25, 2022. / Credit: Eatonton Messenger

After deliberating for just under two-and-a-half hours, a jury of eight women and four men found Seth Perrault guilty of murder. He was immediately sentenced to life in prison without parole.

After his sentencing, Perrault's new legal team filed his first appeal, which was rejected.

Amanda's legacy

Alesha, left, and Angie Johnson remember their sister Amanda on her birthday. / Credit: CBS News

Every August, on Amanda's birthday, her sisters honor her memory by releasing love letters tied to purple balloons. This year, they included the number for the National Domestic Violence Hotline. Their hope is that the notes will find the people who need them most.

Angie and Alesha Johnson remember their sister as a free spirit, a beloved best friend, and a dedicated mother.

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Canton Mayor Thomas Bernabei, left, speaks with Michael E. Hanke, Aultman Health Foundation board member, after a tour of Aultman's Timken Family Cancer Center in Canton in June 2022.

Editor's note: This column has been corrected to note that Thomas Bernabei has been mayor of Canton for eight years.

Thomas Bernabei has been Canton mayor for eight years, and there is a horde of individuals who want to succeed him.

Do they know what it would take to be a mayor? Or, do they merely think they could just waltz into the office and mayor stuff just gets done?

I first met Bernabei years ago when I was NAACP president, and we had just sued the city because of the lack of minorities and females in the safety forces.

He was representing Canton as prime attorney in Judge Robert Krupansky's federal courtroom as he argued the citys case. I at first mistook him as a special high paid lawyer from New York or Chicago, as his demeanor seemed to indicate.

Ron Ponder

He did well with his arguments of a case that was obviously doomed on its merits.

As we negotiated a final settlement (who needs $6 million?) that called for an increase in the amount of minorities and females in the police and fire departments, he impressed both my attorney, Ed Gilbert and me. When I subsequently found out that he was a city attorney, I knew then that his future was whatever he wanted it to be.

Since that time, he has indeed made his mark on the city. Bernabei has held many public positions, both appointed and elected, and he brought all of those experiences, all of that talent that was honed by all of those positions he has held to the eventual position of Canton mayor.

He is a product of Cantons public school system, graduating from Lehman, attended the University of Akron, then Brown University Law School. He then served four years in the Army as a captain, with his last deployment being in Vietnam.

One of his chief lessons that he learned was a lesson of leadership.

Upon graduation from law school, he came back home and was hired to be an assistant law director for the Massillon Law Department, a job he remembers fondly as a good job, fun job and one that taught him more aspects of leadership.

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From that job in Massillon, Harry Klide, law director of Canton at the time, hired him as assistant law director on the civil side. Soon after, Klide was elected judge, and Scott Gwin became law director, replacing Klide, and Gwin soon went on to become a court of appeals judge.

When Gwin left, Bernabei was appointed law director by the Stark County Democratic Party, and subsequently, he ran for the position and was elected law director.

After 11 years there, he retired from the law directors position and became a private citizen.

For a short while.

Being a private citizen was not enough for Bernabei, so he ran for council at large in Canton andwas elected, where he served one term.

After that term ended, he was appointed interim executive director at SARTA, which at thetime, was facing a levy request of the citizens, and had a host of managerial issues that he doveinto.

After his successful tenure there, he was appointed service director for Canton under Mayor BillHealy, then he ran for Stark County commissioner and won. Then, he was elected mayor of Canton and started his administration in January 2016.

Whew!

A true Renaissance Man?

With all those experiences, what primary lesson did he learn as mayor that those vying for the position should know?

He said his successor should always place the good of the community ahead of their personal gain  create trustful relationships  make promises and keep them, but always in the best interest of people. When you do that, tough decisions become much easier to make."

His biggest challenge as mayor?

There are different challenges at different times," he began. Initially, when I came in as mayor, financial issues were the biggest challenge. We had to make those tough decisions, including having to enact layoffs, to bring fiscal stability and responsibility back to the city of Canton."

A second biggest challenge, according to the mayor, and a recent one, has been COVID.

It was important to us that we maintain our continuity of services," he said. "We did not shut down the government. All departments, such as sanitation, administration, police and fire, and health were still providing services, and I'm proud of the way our city employees responded and helped through the challenge of the pandemic."

A third challenge were the racial protests stemming out of the George Floyd/Black Lives Matters national protests. Out of the process, Canton police adopted better use of force policies and protesters were respectful of the community, without problems seen in other communities.

Approaching challenges include managing the opiate settlement money and PPV money.

I asked the soon to be ex-mayor what his biggest success was.

He responded, running government in an efficient manner throughout all the departments on a daily basis. It takes a team, from cabinet officers to department heads to employees, and it doesnt happen withoutall of them. I thank them!

And what are some of his successes?

We are proud of Centennial Plaza, the Hilton DoubleTree hotel, Amazon, the continuing development of downtown, HOF/HOFV, programming for the poor and disadvantaged," he said. "Upcoming, a Marriott Hotel at the Renkert Building site, Nationwide development, a fiber backbone network, a medical facility and food store in the Southeast quadrant.

When he first ran for mayor, he emphasized his focus on leadership. In his major campaign correspondence, he said, Leadership requires experience, proven job performance, intelligence, common sense, business acumen, work ethic, credibility and honesty."

He has proven that to be true, simply with his outstanding career performances. Will, or can, the next mayor, the one out of the horde who bests everyone else, do the same?

Voters will make that decision.

Now, he looks forward to whatever his next passion will be. Bebe will tire of seeing me at home after the first day  so there will be something, or lots of things! I will be here in Canton.

We will wait and see!

Ron Ponder can be emailed at ronponder1@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Tom Bernabei is about to ride off into the sunset. For the moment.
Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), the top Democrat on the House Armed Services committee, said U.S. military readiness is a huge problem as global tensions heighten and the war in Ukraine rages on.

This is a huge problem. And we dont have the industrial base. And we dont have the ability to ramp up that industrial base, Smith told host Shannon Bream on FOX News Sunday.

Concern is growing among experts that U.S. support for Ukraines war against Russia could hinder U.S. military readiness should another conflict arise with China in the near future.

Smith warned that without a demand signal, manufacturers dont want to make a major investment in increasing production, and American taxpayers dont want to spend a ton of money on weapons that we dont need.

But the Armed Services ranking member said he and committee chairman Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) share the huge priority to up the countrys weapon production capacity as conflict simmers on the global stage.

We need to increase that ability to surge when we need it, which means we desperately need to increase our manufacturing base for key weapons systems, Smith said.

Russias war on Ukraine is nearing its one-year mark next month, and a U.S. general reportedly said Friday that the U.S. could be at war with China by 2025.

Anything is possible. Im really worried, though, when anyone starts talking about war with China being inevitable. And I want to be completely clear: its not only not inevitable, it is highly unlikely I dont think we should be out there telling the world that were going to war with China, most importantly because were not, Smith said.

War is not inevitable. Thats a very dangerous situation that we need to be prepared for, but Im fully confident that we can avoid that conflict if we take the right approach.

President Biden announced last week that the U.S. will join Germany and other Western nations in equipping Ukraine with battle tanks as it continues its counteroffensive against Russia, a move Moscow has painted as direct involvement in the war.

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Smith underscored that the aid was not equivalent to engaging in the conflict.

We are not going to have the U.S. or NATO get in direct conflict with Russia. And that is going to continue to be the case. Were going to provide these tanks to Ukraine. Ukraine is going to operate them. We are not, repeat, not going to war with Russia, Smith said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Police officers followed a trail of blood to an unlocked apartment door and found a man inside who had been fatally shot, Texas authorities said.

Houston police were dispatched to a shooting at an apartment complex just before 3 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 29, a spokesperson for the Houston Police Department said at a news conference recorded by KHOU 11.

When the officers arrived at the apartment, they found a trail of blood leading to the street, officials said in the news conference. Officers also noticed a man who was acting suspiciously before he fled the scene on foot.

Officers tried to locate the man but could not, the department spokesperson said.

Officers then located the apartment where the shooting took place and found the door unlocked, the spokesperson said.

Police officers entered the apartment to conduct a welfare check, they said. Inside, they found a man in his twenties who appeared to be deceased lying on the floor, per the news conference.

The Houston Fire Department confirmed the man died from several gunshot wounds to the chest, police said.

Police say there is evidence another person was shot in the apartment, but they dont know the persons identity or condition.

The mans death is being investigated as a homicide, but the circumstances surrounding the shooting remain unclear, police said. Officers are searching for suspects.

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Former President Donald Trump hit the campaign trail on Saturday for the first time since announcing his 2024 presidential bid, saying he is "more angry" and "more committed" to winning the presidency as his former political allies weigh bids to potentially challenge him for the GOP nomination.

"The 2024 election is our one shot to save our country, and we need a leader who is ready to do that on day one," Trump said to his supporters at the South Carolina State House in Columbia, before suggesting that he was the GOP candidate best suited to win in 2024.

Trump delivered similar speeches at both stops in New Hampshire and South Carolina, mostly focused on the Biden administration's handling of foreign policy issues such as the war in Ukraine, the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan and immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border.

"Through weakness and incompetence, Joe Biden has brought us to the brink of world war three," Trump said in South Carolina, claiming that he could end Russia's invasion of Ukraine within the first 24 hours of his presidency. He also echoed his infamous 2015 speech  when he first announced his candidacy  in which he called immigrants coming into the country via Mexico "killers," "murderers," "rapists" and "terrorists."

Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event at the South Carolina State House in Columbia, South Carolina, on Jan. 28, 2023. / Credit: Bloomberg via Getty Images

The twice-impeached former president repeated many of the same falsehoods and misinformation about the 2020 election that he has since he lost to Mr. Biden in November of 2020.

Trump falsely claimed that he "won two general elections" and alleged that Democrats are "great at stealing elections," lines which evoked applause from his audience at the New Hampshire Republican State Committee in Salem. There has been no credible evidence of widespread voter fraud in 2020.

The former president's campaign events took place as some of his former political allies consider their own campaigns for the GOP nomination in 2024, like former Vice President Mike Pence, former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

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Trump also spoke with reporters on his way from New Hampshire to South Carolina, telling reporters that he spoke with Haley  South Carolina's former governor. He said she called him this week to tell him she was considering running against him. Trump said he told Haley that she "should do it."

On the plane press gaggle, Trump took aim at the potential candidate who may pose the largest threat to his third White House bid: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

"I got him elected," Trump said of DeSantis, whose anti-COVID-19 policies, and hardline conservative stance on social issues, has made him a favorite in primary states like New Hampshire.

"Ron would have not been governor if it wasn't for me," Trump said.

During the South Carolina invitation-only event, Trump unveiled his state campaign leadership team, which includes Gov. Henry McMaster and Sen. Lindsey Graham  both of whom had already expressed that they would endorse Trump for reelection.

During his nearly 50-minute long speech, Trump addressed about 200 conservatives and reinforced that Republicans were going to take back the White House in 2024.

"With your vote next year. We will do it again and I will do it again. This will not be my campaign  this is going to be our campaign," Trump said.

Many of the attendees at the South Carolina event were Trump supporters who say they'll vote for him again i 2024.

"He has the personality. He has morals. He has the business stand. He is down to earth. He takes care of the people," Robin Holley told CBS News.

Holley is a South Carolina Trump supporter who is part of an online group called the Trump Girls.

"We just need Trump back in there to straighten us out again, and get us back on the right track, and then put Santos back in the office," she said.

Others were less bullish and said they were there to listen to what Trump had to say and would weigh whether he is really the right candidate for them.

"My voice needs to be heard and that's who I'm gonna go with," Ross F. Ward told CBS News.

Ward said he has supported Trump in the past but acknowledged that the former president has made mistakes.

"He needs to humble himself," Ward said. "If you want to lead the free world, Donald Trump, you need to humble yourself and admit when you made a mistake."

Trump was first impeached by the House in 2019 on allegations he betrayed the country for his own political benefit and obstructed a congressional investigation into his actions.

In January of 2021, he was impeached again, this time for his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection.

Attorney General Merrick Garland has appointed a special counsel to oversee the investigation into documents marked classified which were seized at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate last August by the FBI. A special grand jury in Georgia has also been investigating efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn his 2020 election loss in that state.

Law enforcement veteran weighs in on Memphis police disbanding SCORPION team

Tyre Nichols' arrest video reignites call for police reform

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Fox News host Tucker Carlson. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Tucker Carlson called for the US to send an armed force to "liberate" Canada from Justin Trudeau.

He compared Trudeau to Fidel Castro and said he was "completely in favor of a Bay of Pigs operation."

Carlson said "I mean it" after making the outlandish statements.

Fox News Host Tucker Carlson suggested that the US should send troops to "liberate" Canada from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

While interviewing Canadian college professor David Azerrad on his Fox Nation show, Carlson compared Trudeau to Cuban communist leader Fidel Castro and referenced the trucker protests against COVID-19 restrictions last year.

"I mean, why should we stand back and watch our biggest trading partner, the country with which we share the longest border  and actually a great country, I love Canada. I've always loved Canada because of its natural beauty  Why should we let it become Cuba?" Carlson said.

"Why don't we liberate it? We're spending all this money to liberate Ukraine from the Russians, why are we not sending an armed force to liberate Canada from Trudeau? And I mean it."

Carlson said he was "completely in favor of a Bay of Pigs operation" in Canada, not acknowledging that the operation to overthrow Castro's government was a failure.

Carlson's guest responds, "I don't know that I'm there yet with you," prompting Carlson to laugh and admit that he was "talking himself into a frenzy."

Although he has previously been known for his antiwar stances, the Fox host has at times made controversial comments about global conflicts.

Carlson has previously said he was rooting for Russia in the conflict in Ukraine, which he later claimed was a joke following widespread condemnation.

He has also previously suggested military action against another of the United States' neighbors when in 2019, he advocated for the US to "strike back" at Mexico.

Read the original article on Business Insider
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP)  An unarmed Black man dies after a videotaped beating by police. The officers involved are fired. After a thorough review of the evidence, criminal charges are swiftly filed against the offending officers.

Investigation, accountability and charges.

This is often the most Black citizens can hope for as the deaths continue. Nationwide, police have killed roughly three people per day consistently since 2020, according to academics and advocates for police reform who track such deaths.

Tyre Nichols' fatal encounter with police officers in Memphis, Tennessee, recorded in video made public Friday night, is a glaring reminder that efforts to reform policing have failed to prevent more flashpoints in an intractable epidemic of brutality.

Nearly 32 years ago, Rodney Kings savage beating by police in Los Angeles prompted heartfelt calls for change. Theyve been repeated in a ceaseless rhythm ever since, punctuated by the deaths of Amadou Diallo in New York, Oscar Grant in Oakland, California, Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and so many others.

George Floyds murder in Minneapolis in 2020 was so agonizing to watch, it summoned a national reckoning that featured federal legislation proposed in his name and shows of solidarity by corporations and sports leagues. All fell short of the shift in law enforcement culture Black people in America have called for  a culture that promotes freedom from fear, trust in police and mutual respect.

We need public safety, right? We need law enforcement to combat pervasive crime, said Jason Turner, senior pastor of Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis. Also, we dont want the people who are sworn to protect and serve us brutalizing us for a simple traffic stop, or any offense.

The five Black officers are now fired and charged with murder and other crimes in the Jan. 10 death of Nichols, a 29-year-old skateboarder, FedEx worker and father to a 4-year-old boy.

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From police brass and the district attorneys office to the White House, officials said Nichols killing points to a need for bolder reforms that go beyond simply diversifying the ranks, changing use-of-force rules and encouraging citizens to file complaints.

The world is watching us, Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy said. If there is any silver lining to be drawn from this very dark cloud, its that perhaps this incident can open a broader conversation about the need for police reform.

President Joe Biden joined national civil rights leaders in similar calls to action.

To deliver real change, we must have accountability when law enforcement officers violate their oaths, and we need to build lasting trust between law enforcement, the vast majority of whom wear the badge honorably, and the communities they are sworn to serve and protect, the president said.

But Memphis, whose 628,000 residents celebrate barbecue and blues music and lament being the place where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, has seen this before. The city took steps advocates called for in a Reimagine Policing initiative in 2021, and mirrored a set of policy changes reformers want all departments to implement immediately, known as 8 Cant Wait.

De-escalation training is now required. Officers are told to limit uses of force, exhaust all alternatives before resorting to deadly force and report all uses of force. Tennessee also took action: State law now requires officers to intervene to stop abuse and report excessive force by their colleagues.

Showing unusual transparency for a police department, the MPD now publishes accountability reports that include the race of people subjected to use of force each year. They show Black men and women were overwhelmingly targeted for rougher treatment in 2019, 2020 and 2021. They were subject to nearly 86% of the recorded uses of guns, batons, pepper spray, physical beatings and other force in 2021, the total nearly doubling that year to 1,700 cases.

Seven uses of force by Memphis police ended in death during these three years.

I dont know how much more cumulative Black death our community should have to pay to convince elected officials that the policing system isnt broken  its working exactly as it was designed to, at the expense of Black life, said Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson, co-executive director of the Highlander Research and Education Center, a Tennessee-based civil rights leadership training school.

The Nichols case  just one of the brutality cases to make national news this month  exposes an uncomfortable truth: More than two years since the deaths of Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Rayshard Brooks touched off protests, policing reforms have not significantly reduced such killings.

States approved nearly 300 police reform bills after Floyds murder, creating civilian oversight of police, more anti-bias training, stricter use-of-force limits and alternatives to arrests in cases involving people with mental illnesses, according to a recent analysis by the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at the University of Maryland.

Despite calls to defund the police, an Associated Press review of police funding nationwide found only modest cuts, driven largely by shrinking revenue related to the coronavirus pandemic. Budgets increased and more officers were hired for some large departments, including New York Citys.

Still stuck in Congress is the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which would prohibit racial profiling, ban chokeholds and no-knock warrants, limit the transfer of military equipment to police departments, and make it easier to bring charges against offending officers. Biden said he told Nichols mother that he would be making a case to Congress to pass the Floyd Act to get this under control.

The Rev. Al Sharpton said his eulogy at Nichols funeral on Wednesday will include a call for new laws. NAACP President Derrick Johnson also took Congress to task.

By failing to write a piece of legislation, youre writing another obituary, Johnson said. Tell us what youre going to do to honor Tyre Nichols.  We can name all the victims of police violence, but we cant name a single law you have passed to address it.

Advocates want state and federal legislation because local changes vary widely in scope and effect and can be undone by a single election after years of grassroots activism. But some say strict regulations are just the start  and the video of Nichols agony proves it.

Changing a rule doesnt change a behavior, said Katie Ryan, chief of staff for Campaign Zero, a group of academics, policing experts and activists working to end police violence. The culture of a police department has to shift into actually implementing the policies, not just saying theres a rule in place.

The five officers charged  Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith  were part of the so-called Scorpion unit. Scorpion stands for Street Crimes Operations to Restore Peace in our Neighborhoods.

The Memphis police chief, Cerelyn CJ Davis, disbanded the unit on Saturday.

It is in the best interest of all to permanently deactivate the Scorpion unit, she said in a statement.

Prior to the move by Davis, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland said it was clear that the officers involved in the attack on Nichols violated the departments policies and training.

I want to assure you we are doing everything we can to prevent this from happening again, Strickland said in a statement. We are initiating an outside, independent review of the training, policies and operations of our specialized units.

The Memphis police union extended condolences to Nichols family, saying it is committed to the administration of justice and NEVER condones the mistreatment of ANY citizen nor ANY abuse of power. The statement also expressed faith that the justice system would reveal the totality of circumstances in the case.

Patrick Yoes, national president of the Fraternal Order of Police, pushed back against the conclusion that policing must change. This was not legitimate police work or a traffic stop gone wrong, Yoes said. This is a criminal assault under the pretext of law.

Protesters turned out again Friday night after the city released the video footage. Turner, the Memphis pastor, called the images further proof that our citys and our nations criminal justice systems are in dire need of change.

Its not like were short on concrete, reasonable recommendations, said the Rev. Earle Fisher, senior pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist Church. What were short on is the political will and the commitment to making the structural changes.

___

Associated Press reporter Noreen Nasir contributed from Memphis, Tennessee. Adrian Sainz also reported from Memphis. Aaron Morrison reported from New York, and Claudia Lauer from Philadelphia.
Paul and Bilin Bancherau are ready to officially open their doughnut shop Petit Three at 3015 E. New York St. in Aurora on Sunday. (David Sharos / The Beacon-News)

A new doughnut shop is opening in Aurora that its owners say will feature unique creations inspired by flavors from around the world.

The mom and pop venture known as Petit Three at 3015 E. New York St. is set to have a soft opening for friends and family on Friday. On Sunday, the shop will open to the public.

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Owners Paul and Bilin Bancherau of Naperville are excited about their venture which they promise will bring a unique experience not found at corporate chain doughnut shops.

Paul Bancherau, 40, said the new shop represents a dream in the making after having worked the past 19 years as a sales professional who started right out of college.

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I started working in industrial distribution and currently work for a Japanese bearing manufacturer as a sales manager, said Bancherau, who graduated from Monmouth College with a degree in international business and economics. The goal, for me, is to exit corporate America within a few years time once we get our shop and concept going with at least three locations.

The business name Petit Three, he said, is based on a French confection called petit fours  small cakes that were baked during the fourth stage of a conventional old school outdoor oven.

The first of the day was the hottest  youd bake the bread, and then your pies, and before the night was over at the lowest temperature the French would put in pastries to bake and those are called petit fours, he said. Our family  there are three of us including our son - and were making fresh doughnuts in small batches with real ingredients. It fits that kind of French vibe, and we landed on the name.

The idea to offer doughnuts versus another product, he said, was born out of my traveling for years.

I call myself a coffee snob and I enjoy a great cup of Joe and traveling all the states that Ive been to, he said. I seek out the coffee shops. There is a place in Seattle where I came across a small doughnut that was made fresh and warm with different flavors and it kind of planted a seed in my head. My wife has always tinkered in the kitchen baking different things and I told her I came across this mini-doughnut concept with great coffee.

Months passed and the pandemic then hit, which gave Bilin Bancherau, 39, more time to tinker in the kitchen. She asked her husband a lot of questions about the doughnuts and flavor profiles and from there it kind of spurred the idea that we could really do this.

Friends and neighbors became taste-testers for the doughnuts, she said.

I have the passion for baking, she said. I thought a lot about being in a bakery as a college graduate and kept that in the back of my mind. When COVID hit, I had a lot of time and was making bread. Paul proposed the doughnut idea and I said lets give it a try.

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She said she visited plenty of doughnut shops and was amazed at how beautiful doughnuts could be.

That research opened my eyes. Im a person if Im interested in something Ill do everything to pursue it, and I started to experiment every day in the kitchen for 18 months, she said.

The shop plans to offer 12 types of doughnuts including 10 signature items with the other two being tabbed as featured doughnuts that will include flavors like Campfire Party  a deconstructed Smore.

For us, those featured doughnuts are slightly elevated from what our signature doughnuts already are, Paul Bancherau said.

Gluten-free doughnuts will also be available.

Bilin Bancherau said she has tried to make flavors that everybody knows but because of her Asian roots and traveling, is looking to make things a little more unique.

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I have a flavor called olive pistachio that I really love, she said of doughnut flavors. We also have a blueberry basil that is very refreshing and a jalapeno cornbread.

While the owners say that the star of the party will always be the doughnut, Paul Bancheraus coffee fix figures to be met by an Italian super-automatic espresso machine procured from a company they are partnering with from Minnesota.

We are largely making espresso-based drinks and this machine will allow us to make a perfect, consistent shot each time, he said. This machine and the recipes weve developed, its two concepts in one - a doughnut shop and a coffee shop.

The couple recognizes there are larger corporate doughnut makers in the marketplace but are hoping to create an experience that delights each of our customers.

When you come into our space, we understand that the product you are going to receive is far more elevated than the commercial doughnut that people buy, thats what were promising to deliver to our customer, Paul Bancherau said. That and a warmth and friendliness. Everyone weve hired smiled at us when we interviewed them. You cant teach that.

David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
If there's one thing about Tyre Nichols that says a lot about who he was as a man, it was the relationship he had with his mother, RowVaughn Wells. "He has a tattoo of my name on his arm," she said. "My son loved me to death, and I love him to death."

Tyre Nichols with his mother, RowVaughn Wells. / Credit: Family Photo

Nichols was a Sacramento, Calif., native. At 150 pounds he was a rail of a man. He was a father, too. He came to Memphis just before the pandemic locked the world down. He moved in with his mom and stepfather, and got a job at FedEx.

When the 29-year-old wasn't working, he kept up with his passions. Skateboarding was one of them, and so was photography. He had a talent for capturing sunsets, especially.

His friends say he was a free spirit who always wanted to be famous  but clearly not for the reason that made him so.

At a press conference Friday, Wells said, "No mother, no mother, no mother, should go through what I'm going though right now, no mother, lo lose their child to the violent way I lost my child."

RowVaughn Wells said she didn't watch the video of her son's beating, but the nation did.

It all started on January 7, when body cam video shows Nichols being yanked from his car.

Police Officer: "I'm fixin to taze you. Get on the ground!"

Nichols: "Stop, okay, stop, alright, okay, dude, there it is."

The reason, say police? Reckless driving.

Nichols: "Okay, you guys are really doing a lot right now, I'm just trying to go home!"

Police: "Get on your stomach!"

We don't see what led up to the confrontation, but the responding officers are clearly angry. After the tussle, pepper spray, and more threats of tasing, Nichols got away.

Police found him not long after, about 100 yards from his mother's home, where he cried out to her for help.

Nichols: "Mom!! Mom!!"

"I was telling someone that I had this really bad pain in my stomach earlier, not knowing what had happened," Wells said. "But once I found out what happened, that was my son's pain that I was feeling. And I didn't even know."

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A remotely-controlled camera mounted on a pole in the neighborhood captured perhaps the most violent moments...

Officer: "I'm gonna baton the f*** out you."

There are plenty of places you can go to see what happened next: officers seem to take turns kicking, punching and beating Nichols with a baton. It's unrelenting. When they're done, he's dragged and propped up against a car. And then, they do nothing. Nothing to render aid to Nichols, and certainly don't offer him comfort.

The video shows one officer stopping to tie his shoe; another is trying to get his radio to work. There was laughing and cussing, all while Nichols was suffering life threatening injuries.

It was a least 20 minutes before the ambulance even arrived.

Nichols died in the hospital three days later.

The last picture his mother has of him, is this:

Tyre Nichols died in the hospital three days after being beaten by police. / Credit: CBS News

Less than three weeks later, five officers, all of them Black, all of them part of a now-disbanded specialized street crimes unit called Scorpion, were fired and indicted for crimes, including second degree murder.

Officials later announced two Memphis Fire Department employees and two sheriff's deputies were also relieved of their duties.

That swift action, said civil rights attorney Ben Crump, was crucial. "This is the blueprint going forward for any time any officers, whether they be Black or white, will be held accountable," Crump said Friday.

The quick action against the officers may have also helped quell violent protests that so many feared would erupt in the wake of the video's release. There was outrage, to be sure, but it was mostly calm  just what Tyre Nichols' mom had asked for, and so did the president.

"It has a lot to say and do with the image of America," President Biden said Friday. "It has a lot to do with whether or not we are the country that we say we are."

Are we the same country we were in 1991, when Rodney King was savagely beaten?

Lora Dene King, his daughter, was only seven at the time. For her, Nichols' beating and death brought tears all over again. "That's sick to me, that's sick," said King. "That man was begging from jump, when they pulled him over he was begging. I can hear it in his voice; he knew he was going to die."

Federal investigators announced they're opening a civil rights case, focusing even more attention on police reform nationwide.

What we know about Tyre Nichols' death and the officers charged with his murderIndependent autopsy finds Tyre Nichols suffered "excessive bleeding" after encounter with police, family lawyers sayTyre Nichols' "creative soul" honored in wake of his violent deathMemphis police shut down SCORPION unit whose officers are charged in death of Tyre Nichols

In the wake of George Floyd's murder in 2020, many departments changed their procedures, including banning chokeholds and increased training on de-escalation tactics.

And yet, according to one recent data analysis, police killed more people last year than any other year in the past decade.

Crump said, "It is the culture. And we have to call out this culture every time we get a chance."

For Memphis, the death of a Black man at the hands of Black police officers is a new kind of pain. This was, after all, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated after a life of preaching against man's inhumanity to man.

Fifty-five years later, it seems we've still failed to heed his warning.



Story produced by Mary Raffalli. Editor: Steven Tyler.



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Protestors are calling for justice more than 24 hours after Memphis Police released graphic body camera video of officers beating Tyre Nichols. He died three days after Memphis officers pulled him over on Jan. 7.

All five of those officers have been fired and charged with second degree murder and other crimes in connection to Nichols death.

>>PHOTOS: Tyre Nichols: People gather in Dayton

Black Lives Matter Dayton organized a protest at the Dayton Federal Building in Downtown Dayton Saturday afternoon.

News Center 7s Kayla McDermott said more than a dozen protesters were chanting with signs and multiple speakers were calling change.

All were outraged over the body camera video released by the Memphis Police Department that shows five officers beating Tyre Nichols during a traffic stop.

We got a right to fight no just for civil rights, but for human rights, one speaker said.

>>Tyre Nichols death: Memphis SCORPION police unit permanently deactivated

Tania Hudson was also protesting and told News Center 7 she knows what it is like to lose a son at the hands of a police officer.

My son Deonte Bell was shot and killed by Columbus Police seven years ago, said Hudson.

She said she knows the pain Nichols mother must be in.

I was devastated by the pain that the mother is going to experience by the rest of her life, Hudson told News Center 7.

Especially with people with all over the country watching the body cam video.

To look and see what they done to her son is unbearable, said Hudson. It set me to ground zero. It made me even angrier that our own color that violated another brother.

>>Tyre Nichols: Inhumane act of violence; President of Dayton NAACP speaks on Memphis Police video

McDermott says the officers who killed Nichols have been fired from the Memphis Police Department and are facing second degree murder charges. But Hudson believes there needs to be more accountability across the country.

Holding everyone accountable for our actions is what we all need to do, she told News Center 7.

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Hudson does not call the gathering Saturday a protest but rather a movement.

Our lives matter, yours, mine, she said. Our lives matter. I pray in my lifetime that I get an opportunity to see change for my grandchildren.

Hudson said she felt honored people came together Saturday for this movement but thought more people should have been out there standing together.

Photos from: Taylor Robertson/Staff

Photos from: Taylor Robertson/Staff

Photos from: Taylor Robertson/Staff

Photos from: Taylor Robertson/Staff

Photos from: Taylor Robertson/Staff

Photos from: Taylor Robertson/Staff

Photos from: Taylor Robertson/Staff

Photos from: Taylor Robertson/Staff

Photos from: Taylor Robertson/Staff
Ukraine hits concentration of Russian troops at railway station in occupied Ilovaysk when the occupiers were unloading personnel and equipment there

Local Telegram channels also published a video showing a strong explosion at the station.

Read also: Armed Forces repel enemy attacks near 15 settlements, hit 8 areas of troop concentration

The invaders authorities claimed the station was attacked with multiple rocket launchers by the Ukrainian side. They also confirmed that the railway infrastructure was damaged, but they gave no information about the number of casualties in the attack.

Ukrainian officer and blogger, Anatoliy Shtefan, shared on Telegram the Russian reports about the strike. In particular, they wrote that military equipment and personnel were being unloaded at the moment of attack.

Russian propaganda and local pro-Russian media also posted video showing the debris being cleaned at the railway station, but the scale of damage isn't clear on the video.

Read also: Humanitarian crisis unfolding in occupied Donetsk Oblast, reports National Resistance Center

Illovaysk was the site of a massacre of Ukrainian troops in August 2014, when Ukrainian forces, having become encircled in the town and attempting to withdraw, were attacked by Russian forces, who inflicted heavy casualties on the Ukrainians.



Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
(Reuters) - Ukraine imposed sanctions against 182 Russian and Belarusian companies, and three individuals, in the latest of a series of steps by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to block Moscow's and Minsk's connections to his country.

"Their assets in Ukraine are blocked, their properties will be used for our defence," Zelenskiy said in a video address.

The sanctioned companies chiefly engage in the transportation of goods, vehicle leasing and chemical production, according to the list published by the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine.

The list includes Russian potash fertiliser producer and exporter Uralkali, Belarus state-owned potash producer Belaruskali, Belarusian Railways, as well as Russia's VTB-Leasing and Gazprombank Leasing both dealing with transport leasing.

Ukraine has sanctioned hundreds of Russian and Belarusian individuals and firms since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February last year.

(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
(Reuters) - Ukraine's military said on Sunday its forces repelled an attack in the area of Blahodatne in the eastern part of the Donetsk region, while Russia's Wagner private military group said it took control of the village.

"Units of Ukraine's Defence Forces repelled the attacks of the occupiers in the areas of ... Blahodatne ... in the Donetsk region," the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said in its daily morning report, referring to fighting on Saturday.

It added that its forces repelled Russian attacks in the areas of 13 other settlements in the Donetsk region.

The Wagner Group, designated by the United States as transnational criminal organisation, said on the Telegram messaging app on Saturday that its units had taken control of Blahodatne.

Reuters was not able to independently verify the reports.

With fighting heating up in the Donetsk region, the exact line of contact has been unclear, especially around the town Bakhmut where some of the heaviest fighting of the war has been taking place in recent weeks. The Wagner Group has made premature success claims before.

Ukraine has said that the Russian offensive on Bakhmut has not culminated, but the situation along the front line there has been growingly difficult. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday that it was acute.

Four civilians were killed, one in Bakhmut, and 17 wounded in Russian attacks on the region on Saturday, Pavlo Kyrylenko, governor of the Donetsk region said on the Telegram messaging app.

Ukraine has won promises of Western battle tanks and is seeking fighter jets to push back against Russian and pro-Moscow forces, which are slowly advancing along part of the front line.

On Saturday, Zelenskiy's top aide said that expedited talks were under way between Ukraine and its allies about its requests for long-range missiles to prevent Russia from destroying Ukrainian cities.

(This story has been refiled to fix erroneous word "were" in the sixth paragraph)

(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Robert Birsel)
The soldiers of the Ukrainian State Border Guard Service shot down a Russian UAV in Luhansk Oblast.

Source: State Border Guard Service of Ukraine

Details: It is noted that the servicemen have detected the Russian drone that was collecting intelligence on the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Luhansk Oblast.

The operator shot the UAV with an anti-drone gun, damaging its control channel, causing the drone to lose its controllability and fall to the ground.

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The Aurora City Council Tuesday night adopted 51 pages of new language for its ordinance covering special events in the city, a day after the city filed its response to the federal lawsuit brought by Aurora Pride against Auroras rules for events.

As the changes to the ordinance came through the council process - through committees until eventual adoption by the City Council Tuesday night - Corporation Counsel Richard Veenstra described most of the changes as being technical.

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At the same time, Aurora Pride, the organization that puts on the Pride Parade in the city, is continuing its lawsuit against the city and its special events ordinance, which attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union has called unconstitutional.

Despite the changes to the ordinance, lawyers for Aurora Pride said they consider the ordinance still burdensome and overly broad in the discretion it allows local government officials.

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Aurora Pride filed its federal lawsuit earlier this month, saying the citys ordinance led to the Pride Parade permit being revoked last summer before the parade was eventually held.

The lawsuit seeks, among other things, an injunction preventing the city of Aurora from using the special events ordinance that was applied to Aurora Pride, and an assurance that what happened in 2022 will not be repeated in the future.

The parade was scheduled last year for Sunday, June 12, but on the Wednesday before, the city revoked the special event permit for the Aurora Pride group to hold the parade. City officials said they were unable to get enough Aurora police officers to work overtime or extra-duty shifts to provide adequate security for the event.

Earlier in the month, Aurora Pride had requested that if police officers wanted to march in the Pride Parade, they do so not in full uniform, particularly not with weapons. They said police could wear a soft uniform identifying them as police officers, but not a full uniform with weaponry and handcuffs.

This was enough to cause some city officials, including Mayor Richard Irvin, to announce they would not participate in the parade.

Late in the afternoon Thursday, the city announced it had reinstated Aurora Prides permit for the parade after offering a triple-time financial incentive to its police officers to take overtime to provide security for the event.

Aurora Pride officials said that ended up doubling their costs for security for the parade.

The city has not issued a public statement on Aurora Prides lawsuit, but did on Monday file a response in federal court.

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The city requested a jury trial and stated its revised ordinance is a content-neutral, reasonable time, place and manner regulation.

Since August 2022, the city said it has met with Aurora Pride and its attorneys, including the ACLU, to review what occurred last year. City officials said that during the discussions they said they would not take action to collect any outstanding amounts owed by Aurora Pride.

The city said it gave Aurora Prides attorneys data regarding how it calculates the police costs to provide security for a parade. In October, the ACLU offered its thoughts on the citys existing ordinance and identified areas it believed created constitutional problems, attorney John Murphey wrote in the citys response.

In November, the city said it told Aurora Pride about changes being drafted for the special events ordinance with the intent of passing the revisions in January.

On Dec. 21, 2022, the city gave the ACLU a draft of the ordinance changes that clarified several of the citys special event processes and was designed to address the constitutional concerns the ACLU perceived, according to the citys response.

The changes did not contain language compelling off-duty employees to work special events, but it did provide additional options for when an event host is unable to retain sufficient personnel to staff an event of its desired size and scope, officials wrote.

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Aurora Pride and city attorneys met on Jan. 11, where according to the city the ACLU legal team said the planned ordinance changes were insufficient and were in effect, counterproductive.

After the city filed its response to the lawsuit, attorneys for Aurora Pride filed a response on Tuesday. The response said theyd like to have a hearing on their request for an injunction March 15 and disagreed with the citys argument that the case is not ripe because Aurora Pride already submitted a permit application for the 2023 Pride Parade.

Aurora Pride argued theyd like a ruling on the injunction because the citys current review process imposes an unreasonable burden on applicants, grants overly broad discretion to government officials and involves content-based considerations, according to the response.

The city said an event of the magnitude of the Pride Parade presents extraordinary challenges, especially concerning security, with the 2022 event coming just six months after a man killed six people and injured many others when he drove his SUV through a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin.

Aurora Pride recently applied for its 2023 parade permit and the citys Special Events Division is processing the application, the city said.

The city said it is working through the logistical issues of the size of the 2023 event and the potential need for extra security in the wake of the Waukesha event and the mass shooting at the Fourth of July parade in Highland Park last summer.

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Both parties are due back in court on Feb. 1 for a status hearing on the lawsuit.

mejones@chicagotribune.com

slord@tribpub.com
A soldier of Ukraine's National Guard with the call sign Vesna (Spring) has told about the battles in Luhansk Oblast and how the Russians captured a boarding house and took elderly people hostage.

Source: Ukraine's National Guard on Facebook

Details: A National Guardsman with the call sign Vesna is a contract military of the 3rd Operational Brigade who started his service as a conscript. Currently, he is a gunner in an artillery unit.

At the beginning of February 2022, the man went on a rotation to Luhansk Oblast as part of a battalion group in the settlement of Shtormove.

A soldier of the National Guard of Ukraine with the call sign Vesna

"On 23 February, we had a test evacuation of a strongpoint; we gathered all our belongings in two and a half hours and moved to a safer position. We were stationing for a day, and then the command was given to return to our facilities before going to rest. A soldier who was on duty at the post ran into the dugout and said that the war had started," the guardsman says.

A National Guardsman with the call sign Vesna is a contract military of the 3rd Operational Brigade

At first, no one believed the soldier who brought the bad news, but in half an hour, the senior officer of the platoon base came running and told the servicemen to go down into the concrete shelter.

A soldier of the National Guard went outside, saw the shooting from the side of the settlement of Stanytsia Luhanska, and heard explosions.

Vesna describes the battles in Luhansk Oblast

"We spent some time in a shelter, then a KrAZ (heavy truck) came after us, and we first went to a checkpoint, then regrouped and headed in two columns towards the city of Rubizhne," Vesna says.

The position of the guardsmen in Shtormove was three kilometres from the Russian border; the group was small, so they would not have been able to hold the position against larger Russian forces.

Soon, the guardsmen were taken to Rubizhne. There, they received a new combat mission: together with another military unit, they had to repel the Russian column. Guardsmen were on duty in Rubizhne at observation posts and positions on the outskirts.

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After being wounded and contused, Vesna serves again as part of his unit

"On the way out of Rubizhne, we set up a checkpoint in the direction of Kreminna, checking cars that were entering and leaving. Our checkpoint was shelled, and the senior soldier on the position gave the order to retreat," Vesna recalls.

The fighters went into the forest and waited until the shelling ended before returning to the checkpoint.

There was a boarding house near them; the checkpoints commander and two fighters went to check the building.

"In 10 minutes, bullets started flying overhead, and we again retreated to the forest strip. At the entrance to the building, there was a group of soldiers with red armbands [one of the Russian identification marks], who started shooting at us. At the same time, our checkpoint was bombarded with mortars. We got into an armoured capsule and retreated under fire to the battalion group to regroup," the National Guardsman notes.

In the evening of the same day, the guardsmen came back to the checkpoint, where there were already other Ukrainian military personnel who had arrived as reinforcements for the assault on the boarding house.

The military expected that there were only occupiers in the boarding house.However, when tanks and assault teams were already on the spot, the guards were ordered by the radio station not to open fire because there were civilians in the building.

"There were about a hundred elderly and disabled people who could not get out of there on their own. The Russian troops held the civilian population hostage; we had no choice but to launch a phased assault; during the assault, the invaders partially retreated into the forest," says the soldier.

The soldiers, who came to reinforce, went to catch up with the Russians, and the National Guardsmen were engaged in evacuating people.

"After that, we moved towards the village of Zolote and served at strongpoints there. We were shelled by heavy artillery, and we also fired in response; then a Russian tank approached our position at a distance of about 600 metres, started attacking our position, and withdrew. One of our servicemen was wounded, and one had been killed," the guardsman says.

The next day, the Russians approached our troops from a distance of nearly 10 metres, and there was mortar shelling and a direct hit from a mine in the dugout. Fortunately, everyone survived, but one guardsman was hit in the temple by shrapnel.

The soldiers got out of the dugout, but it was difficult; the wounded man lost consciousness on the way. The guards retreated after a fight, and the man carried the wounded one to the evacuation point.

"The enemy did not shoot precisely; they just shot a hail of bullets, and we were shooting back and retreated to a nearby position of the Armed Forces and requested artillery support; they opened fire on our position; later aerial reconnaissance confirmed the enemy's losses. After that, I was transferred to another position. It was the most unfortunate one, near Katerynivka," says the National Guardsman.

There was a clearing between the forest and the field, from which the tank drove out and began attacking the position of the Ukrainians, the ground and the trees.

The Russians knew that there were dugouts in the forest belt and fired as intensively as possible to break through.

The next morning there was another heavy shelling, and Vesna was also hit and was thrown back by the explosion wave. The man received a severe concussion; he was evacuated and taken to the hospital.

"I found out from the next battalion group that karma still exists, because this tank blew up on a mine there," said the guardsman.

Today, Vesna serves again as part of his unit.

After the start of Russias full-scale invasion, a professional bodyguard spent about a month and a half "storming" the military enlistment office to get into the combat unit of the National Guard.

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Ukrainian tankers have arrived in Britain for training

Read also: UK to begin training Ukrainian crews on Challnger-2 tanks next week

The ministry's press office wrote that the Ukrainian tank crews will be "training for their continued fight against Russia."

The UK is providing Ukraine with modern main battle tanks alongside other nations. The UK Ministry of Defense said the provision of the tanks "demonstrates the strength of support for Ukraine, internationally."

In the middle of January, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged 14 Challenger 2 battle tanks for Ukraine. The UK was the first Western country that announced a positive response on the Kyiv's request for main battle tanks.

Poland then offered 14 of its Leopard 2 tanks, but because they are German-made, Warsaw needed to obtain permission from Berlin to export the tanks to Ukraine.

Read also: Six advantages. What will Leopard 2, Abrams, and Challenger 2 change for Ukraine?

German Chancellor Scholz, however, was slow to provide such permission, and even as late as the eighth meeting of Ukraines military allies at the Ramstein U.S. airbase in Germany on Jan. 20 Germany was still insisting the no decision had been made on the provision of tanks to Ukraine.

However, the United States then announced on Jan. 25 that it would send 31 Abrams main battle tanks to Ukraine, leaving Scholz little choice politically to acquiesce to Ukraine and its other allies request that Germany allow Leopard 2 tanks to be sent to Ukraine.

Several other countries have since confirmed that they plan to send Leopard 2 tanks to aid Ukraine in its fight to repel the Russian invasion.

Read also: UK support of Ukraine will continue and evolve, foreign secretary says

The British Armys Challenger 2 battle tanks are expected to arrive in Ukraine at the end of March.



Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Sturgeon - Andy Buchanan/PA Wire

Trans prisoners with a history of violence against women will no longer be moved to female jails in Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon's Government has said in a dramatic U-turn aimed at stopping more scandals.

Keith Brown, the SNP's justice secretary, announced a temporary ban affecting newly convicted trans criminals with "any history" of violence against women, or those wanting to move from a male to female prison.

He said the measures had been introduced to ensure the "ongoing" safety of women prisoners while the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) conducts a review of the management of trans inmates.

His announcement came only hours after a UN expert on torture piled pressure on Ms Sturgeon to stop violent trans sex criminals being jailed in women's prisons, asking: "Where is the common sense?"

Current SPS guidance states that trans criminals should be sent to the prison that matches the self-identified gender that they were living in prior to their conviction.

Although the new ban does not cover trans offenders already serving their sentences in female prisons, the Scottish Government confirmed it meant that one of Scotland's violent prisoners would no longer be moved to a women's jail.

It emerged on Saturday that Tiffany Scott who, when she was known as Andrew Burns, stalked a 13-year-old girl, had been approved for transfer to a jail that aligns with the serial criminal's chosen gender.

Andrew Burns - Central Scotland News Agency

The ban would also cover Isla Bryson, who was sent to Cornton Vale women's prison last week after being convicted of two rapes. Court chiefs had wanted to send Bryson to Glasgow's men-only Barlinnie prison. Bryson was was named Adam Graham when committing the rapes and has not legally changed gender.

But the SPS guidance allowing criminals to self-identify their gender meant the rapist was initially sent to Cornton Vale. Following a huge public outcry, Bryson was moved to a men's cell in Edinburgh's Saughton prison.

Ms Sturgeon said last week that "as a general principle" rapists should not be housed in women's prisons. However, she raised the prospect of exceptions being made and gave no guarantee about trans criminals convicted of other sexual offences.

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Isla Bryson - Andrew Milligan/PA

Unveiling the ban, Mr Brown said no transgender criminal already in custody with "any history of violence against women" would be moved from the male to the female estate.

In addition, he said newly convicted or remanded transgender prisoners in this category would not be placed in a female prison, including those found guilty of sexual offences. They will instead be kept segregated in a male prison.

He said: "I understand that the issue of any trans woman being convicted of violent and sexual offences is a highly emotive subject and that the public concern is understandable.

As the First Minister pointed out last week, we must not allow any suggestion to take root that trans women pose an inherent threat to women. Predatory men are the risk to women.

"However, as with any group in society, a small number of trans women will offend and be sent to prison. Therefore, I hope that the measures I am about to highlight will offer reassurance in the ongoing ability of the prison service to manage trans individuals and ensure the safety of all prisoners."

He said the SPS review was "nearing completion" and a separate "urgent lessons review" would be carried out in relation to the Bryson case, "with any learning to be applied immediately."

Mr Brown emphasised that SPS policies "have in no way been changed or impacted" by Ms Sturgeon's Gender Recognition Reform Bill, which would allow people to self-identify their legal gender simply by signing a statutory declaration.

However, the ban clashed with the legislation as the criminals affected self-identify as female but will serve their sentences in male prisons. The Bill has been blocked by the UK Government for damaging nationwide protections for women.

Russell Findlay, the Scottish Tories' shadow community safety minister, said: "After much dithering and flip-flopping, the SNP Government has finally been shamed into doing the right thing.

"Just days ago, the Justice Secretary tried to pass the buck, saying decisions on trans prisoners were for the Scottish Prison Service. But as public anger escalated, Nicola Sturgeon was forced to intervene by ordering the removal of a double rapist from a women's prison.

"It should not have taken a second shocking case for them to ban all transfers. The long overdue SPS policy review must now be completed as a matter of urgency."

The announcement came shortly after Dr Alice Edwards, a UN special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, said female inmates "have a right to be protected from violent sex offenders".

Tweeting in response to the Tiffany Scott case, she wrote: "#Scotland: Female prisoners have a right to be protected from violent sex offenders no matter how they identify. Where is the common sense? Clearer guidelines are needed."

JK Rowling tweeted:

The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment has something to say to @NicolaSturgeon about locking women in with convicted rapists and other male-bodied sex offenders. https://t.co/wbcHdx41Ia  J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) January 29, 2023

Julie Bindel, a prominent feminist and author, told Camilla Tominey on GB News: "Nicola Sturgeon is anything but a feminist.

"She's a betrayer of women. She's a disgrace, and I do hope that this ends her political career, and that it serves as a warning to all the other posturers that come after her."

Ash Regan, a former SNP minister who resigned in protest at Ms Sturgeon's gender reforms, argued that Mr Brown should go even further, saying: "We need a new system where no male prisoners are allocated to the womens prison estate."

An SPS spokesman said: "We have very robust risk assessment processes, and a track record of keeping people safe, in often challenging circumstances. We have therefore paused the movement of all transgender individuals, until the review has been completed.

This review will consider any history of violence or sexual offending against women, and associated risk, with a view to determining the most appropriate location for the individual to be accommodated."

He said the review would be "independently assessed by experts in women affected by trauma and violence.
US President Joe Biden arrives to speak about the continued support of Ukraine in its fight against Russia, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. The US announced on Jan. 25 that it will provide 31 Abrams tanks to help Ukraine repel Russia's invasion, mirroring a similar move by Germany in the face of dire warnings from Moscow.

University of Missouri Ukrainian students Vlad Sazhen and Alina Rohulia this week celebrated the U.S. decision to send 31 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, along with 14 Leopard tanks from Germany.

They spoke Wednesday in Gateway Residence Hall.

"Me an Alina also would like to say 'thank you' to every American family for the protection of democracy and the safety of Europe," Sazhen said.

The tanks were in the news when the pair talked on Wednesday, which they said also was Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's birthday. Everyone in Ukraine joked that it was President Joe Biden's birthday gift to Zelenskyy, they said.

MU Ukrainian students Vlad Sazhen, left, and Alina Rohulia talk Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023, in Gateway Residence Hall.

"It's just perfect," Sazhen said of the tanks. "Everyone was advocating for them for such a long time."

The tanks will be useful for the Ukrainian counter-attack in the spring, they said.

"The next step, of course, is F-16s" Sazhen said of the American fighter jets.

"Sooner or later - sooner is best - we will get F-16s," Rohulia said. "We waited so long for tanks."

While Ukraine will have around 50 tanks when they can be transported, Russia has thousands of tanks.

"No matter how many tanks Russia has, even if we will have less tanks, we will be more powerful" because U.S. and German tanks are superior to Russian tanks, Rohulia said.

And the American and German tanks will be operated by Ukrainians, Rohulia said.

"Ukrainian soldiers will be much more efficient," she said.

People gather in a subway station being used as a bomb shelter during a Russian rocket attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023.

Thanks to the U.S., Ukraine also has Javelin missiles, which Ukraine is using against Russian equipment, Sazhen said.

"One by one, their tanks will be destroyed," Sazhen said.

Sazhen's friend in Kyiv, Evhnii Savchenko, also messaged Sazhen about the tanks.

"Yes! Biden gave us tanks!" Sazhen read the message written in Ukrainian.

Savchenko works in a Kyiv hotel that was struck by a Russian rocket on Dec. 31.

Russia has responded, they said.

"Today, Russia launched a big rocket attack," Sazhen said Wednesday. "There were explosions in Kherson and Dnipro."

The U.S. Treasury Department has declared the Wagner Group, a militia fighting with Russia, as a "significant transnational criminal organization.

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"They started drafting prisoners long ago," Sazhen said of the Wagner Group.

Not surprisingly, the prisoners don't make good fighters, with most dying quickly, they said.

"They are just animals," Sazhen said of the Wagner Group.

Both said studies are going well.

"I'm waiting for clear skies," to view the green comet visible in the north, near Polaris at night, Sazhen said.

Sazhen's parents and sister are in Kyiv, where there are constant power and internet outages because of Russian attacks on infrastructure, he said.

Rohulia's mom and dad are in her and Sazhen's hometown Kharkiv, with her dad in the Ukrainian Army. Her brother also is in the Army, in Poltava.

The tanks will be put to good use, Sazhen said,

"The money isn't going into some hole," he said. "This will contribute to Ukrainian victory."

"Ukrainan soldiers are very motivated," Rohulia said.

Roger McKinney is the Tribune's education reporter. You can reach him at rmckinney@columbiatribune.com or 573-815-1719. He's on Twitter at @rmckinney9.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: MU Ukrainian students celebrate U.S., German tanks on way to Ukraine
At least one man has been killed due to flash floods and landslides in New Zealand, taking the total death toll to four in the countrys North Island area that is reeling under heavy rain for the third consecutive day.

Police officials confirmed that the death of a man who went missing after being swept away by floods on Friday at Onewhero village, about 70km south of Auckland.

The most horrific part of it [rains and floods] is that weve lost lives, deputy prime minister Carmel Sepuloni said in Auckland.

Newly appointed prime minister Chris Hipkins said the flood impact was unprecedented for the city in recent memory as he flew by helicopter over Auckland on Saturday and visited flood-hit homes.

New Zealands largest city  home to 1.6 million  has been battered by heavy rain since Friday, pushing the north island under a state of emergency.

Officials at the national weather forecaster MetService warned that severe weather for the region will continue onto Monday.

A property in Remuera where an a man was found dead after a landslide hit his house is seen on 29 January in Auckland (Getty Images)

A slow-moving front drifting west should pass over northern Auckland and Northland from this evening till Monday morning. Thunderstorms are possible with this front, some of which may be SEVERE, the latest warning by MetService said on Sunday.

It added that regardless of whether thunderstorms occur or not, there is the possibility of downpours, with intensities of 20 to 40mm per hour, especially between 9pm Sunday and 10am Monday, although conditions may ease slightly earlier in Auckland.

They warned of surface and flash flooding triggered by intense rainfall.

Rainfall of this intensity can cause surface and/or flash flooding, especially in low-lying areas such as streams, rivers or narrow valleys, and may also lead to slips. Driving conditions will also be hazardous with surface flooding and poor visibility in heavy rain, the weather alert read.

We know that there is potential for more adverse weather tonight, said Rachel Kelleher, Auckland emergency management controller.

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According to the state of emergency alert issued late on Saturday for large swathes of North Island, with Waitomo district  about 220km (140 miles) from Auckland  expected to receive heavy rainfall and thunderstorms.

Police officials said they were assisting with traffic management and road closures in Waitomo as heavy rain had caused numerous slips, flooding and damage to roads on Sunday.

Widespread flooding was also reported in the nearby Bay of Plenty area, police said, adding that a landslide had knocked down a house and was threatening the safety of surrounding properties.

At least thousands of these properties have been left without power and hundreds without water, officials said.

The climate crisis has led to episodes of heavy rain becoming more common and more intense in New Zealand, though the impact varies by region.

New Zealands Climate Change minister James Shaw noted the link to the climate crisis on Saturday when he tweeted his support for those affected by flooding.
Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov, head of Ukraine's infrastructure projects, said on Jan. 29 that following bilateral meetings with inspectors from the US Department of Defense, the State Department, and the US Agency for International Development, the Ukrainian side proposed creating an aid audit mechanism to ensure transparency in the use of partners' aid.

The funds that Ukraine receives for infrastructure repairs and post-war reconstruction should be monitored jointly with the U.S. Government Accountability Office, according to Kubrakov.

According to Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, Russias war against Ukraine, including recent attacks on our infrastructure, has already cost the country's economy more than $700 billion.

On Dec. 2, the government approved merging the Infrastructure Ministry with the Ministry for the Development of Communities and Territories. Kubrakov, who served as Infrastructure Minister since May 2021, took charge of the new Ministry.
Every investor in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. With 63% stake, institutions possess the maximum shares in the company. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Because institutional owners have a huge pool of resources and liquidity, their investing decisions tend to carry a great deal of weight, especially with individual investors. As a result, a sizeable amount of institutional money invested in a firm is generally viewed as a positive attribute.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Verizon Communications, beginning with the chart below.

Check out our latest analysis for Verizon Communications

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Verizon Communications?

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.

Verizon Communications already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at Verizon Communications' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Institutional investors own over 50% of the company, so together than can probably strongly influence board decisions. We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Verizon Communications. Our data shows that The Vanguard Group, Inc. is the largest shareholder with 8.3% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 7.6% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 3.9% by the third-largest shareholder.

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A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 25 shareholders collectively hold less than half of the register, suggesting a large group of small holders where no single shareholder has a majority.

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. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Verizon Communications

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.

Our information suggests that Verizon Communications Inc. insiders own under 1% of the company. As it is a large company, we'd only expect insiders to own a small percentage of it. But it's worth noting that they own US$31m worth of shares. Arguably recent buying and selling is just as important to consider. You can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 37% stake in Verizon Communications. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

Next Steps:

I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with Verizon Communications , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.

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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Phoenix police.

The victim in a Dec. 23 shooting near 27th Avenue and Indian School Road was pronounced dead at a local hospital on Jan. 17, police said.

Phoenix Police Department identified the victim as 51-year-old Shawn Hall.

The evening of the incident, Phoenix officers were told by a group of people that a man was shot near a bus stop. Officers drove to the northwest corner bus stop in the area where they found a victim with a gunshot wound. Phoenix Fire Department crews also responded and transported the victim to a nearby hospital with critical injuries, according to police.

Patrol officers contacted two people nearby who matched the description provided by a witness, police said. During interviews with detectives, police say they learned a teenage boy who was detained had shot the victim before fleeing.

A woman detained with the teen was later interviewed and released as a witness, police said.

The events that led up to the shooting remain under investigation, according to police. The teen suspect was taken into custody and referred to Maricopa County Juvenile Court Center on several felony charges.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Victim hospitalized in Phoenix shooting dies; teen suspect arrested
Amber Warrington of Aurora and her daughter Isabella, 6, get ready to take a nature hike during Frosty Fest Saturday at Red Oak Nature Center in North Aurora. (David Sharos / The Beacon-News)

People visiting the Red Oak Nature Center in North Aurora Saturday were met with something out of a Robert Frost poem during the fourth annual winter fest at the site.

Hikes along self-guided trails were available for those who purchased a ticket to attend the event, which included an illuminated Snowflake Trail as well as the centers Storybook Trail, which organizers said allowed people to reminisce about all the fun things to do on a snowy day.

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Following the hike, visitors were invited to enjoy hot chocolate and roasted marshmallows as they warmed themselves by a fire.

Rachel Schreiber of Geneva and her daughters Sabrina, 3, and Cordelia, 8 months, enjoy a moment Saturday at the Red Oak Nature Center in North Aurora during Frosty Fest. (David Sharos / The Beacon-News)

Renee Oakley, manager of the nature center, said the Frosty Fest event has drawn about 100 visitors each of the past three years and praised the recent weather by noting luckily, Mother Nature accommodated us by giving us some snow which makes it even more frosty.

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Whats neat about the event is that its for younger families. People always tell us there is always the build-up to the holidays and a lot of fun, and then theres this gap until springtime. People are trying to find things to do and this is one of them, Oakley said. Nature is putting on a show and is still celebrating with us.

Oakley spoke about the two trails featured during the event which together measured less than a half-mile of walking making the treks easy for young children or parents having to carry them.

Christy Graser, environmental education supervisor at Red Oak Nature Center in North Aurora, stands by one of the signs that directed hikers Saturday during Frosty Fest. (David Sharos / The Beacon-News)

There is a Discovery Trail where you can find out how your senses react differently in the snow and also a Snowflake Trail where kids can read a story along the trail as they walk, she said. There is actually a story called The Little Snowflake along the trail with about 15 signs and its all about learning how snow was made.

Visitors generally stay about 90 minutes, Oakley said, with younger families coming while its still daylight out but adding that things really look great when it gets dark as people get to see the snow and the twinkling lights that we put out there.

Saturdays visitors faced both snowy and cold conditions as the afternoon was ending.

Christy Graser, environmental education supervisor for the Red Oak Nature Center, said the recent snow worked out perfectly for the event.

We couldnt have asked for better weather  absolutely, it is working in our favor, Graser said as she finished her preparations for the event Saturday. Its certainly going to add to the ambiance of all the trails and the lights. We had the main components set up on the trails and our snowmen, and are just finishing the last few things.

Amber Warrington of Aurora brought her two daughters, Isabella, 6, and Aria, 5, to the event for the first time.

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I found about this from the park district and I think the snow really adds a lot. The kids are super excited and in their snow pants and everything, Warrington said. I know there is a lull after Christmas, and thats why were here. We actually made plans a month ago to come.

Isabella was clearly all-in even as she proceeded to promptly throw herself in the snow.

Im excited and I just like everything here, she said, adding that she wasnt too cold and was bundled up good. Im going to have some hot chocolate and roast a marshmallow too.

Rachel Schreiber of Geneva and her family also came for the first time saying they found about it on Facebook.

This is a nice family thing to do and after the holidays we dont have as many things going on, Schreiber said. Its just nice to have something kid-forward. It just started to snow, and its perfect.

Rachels husband Patrick Schreiber was entrusted with a stroller holding his 8-month-old daughter Cordelia.

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While waiting inside the center, he reminisced about his own experiences as a kid and what his wife and other daughter Sabrina, 3, were about to experience.

We were super excited to come and we didnt want to miss this. Sabrina had such a positive experience here last summer and so we knew she was really excited and didnt want to miss it, he said. Youve got the hot chocolate and the marshmallows, and the snow is on the ground. Its the perfect time of year, that lull between holidays, and this is perfect.

David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
Russia has claimed to have captured the village of Blahodatne in Donetsk Oblast, implying a successful crossing of a strategic river and a significant step towards the encirclement of the embattled city of Bakhmut.

Photos circulated on social media on Jan. 29 showing Wagner mercenaries in front of a sign reading Blahodatne.

The Wagner Group said on its Telegram that its units had taken control of Blahodatne, Reuters reported. In a message on the morning of Jan 29, the press service of Wagner head Yevgenii Prigozhin said that Wagner troops had reached the southern edge of the village.

In its morning briefing on Jan. 29, the Ukrainian General Staff said earlier they had repelled Russian attacks in Blahodatne, effectively a denial of Russia's claims.

Photo shared by Wagner Group-affiliated Telegram channels allegedly showing Russian troops on the southern edge of Blahodatne in Donetsk Oblast on Jan. 29, 2023.

A small village on the highway between the front-line cities of Bakhmut and Siversk, Blahodatne is located just across the Bakhmutka River from the salt-mining town of Soledar, which Russia completed the capture of in mid-January after a brutal assault that left the town entirely destroyed.

Having taken the village of Klishchiivka south of Bakhmut over the past week, further Russian progress past Soledar puts increasing pressure on Ukrainian communication and supply lines into Bakhmut itself.

Kremlin proxies in Donetsk Oblast claimed on Jan. 27 that Russian forces were inching toward capturing the strategic town of Vuhledar, 100 kilometers further south on the Donetsk Oblast front line. Both Ukraine and independent analysts have refuted these claims, saying that Moscow was exaggerating its progress in the area.

The Wagner Group is Russias most high-profile mercenary group and was founded by Prigozhin, a Russian oligarch, Putin confidant, and a former convict.

Along with the Russian military, the group has taken part in the battles for Soledar and Bakhmut in eastern Donetsk Oblast. Wagner is known for its human rights abuses all over the world.




BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP)  Brandon Weatherspoon scored 14 points and No. 21 Florida Atlantic defeated Western Kentucky 70-63 on Saturday to remain undefeated at home.

The victory extended FAUs winning streak to a program-record 20 games, which is now the nations longest. The Owls 21 victories on the season ties their Division I record set in 2010-11. Western Kentucky (11-11, 3-8 Conference USA) has lost five straight.

Were taking some haymakers from really good teams, FAU coach Dusty May said. Hats off to Western Kentucky. They played hard. They played determined. And we made the plays we needed to down the stretch.

Unlike their meeting two weeks before, FAU couldnt shake W. Kentucky. The Hilltoppers trailed FAU (21-1, 11-0) by three with less than two minutes remaining before the Owls closed them out.

Both teams shot 37% on the afternoon, but the Owls drained 13 three-pointers, compared to only two for the Hilltoppers.

FAU scored seven points in the final 33 seconds of the first half to take a 35-30 lead into the locker room.

Weatherspoons three-pointer with 41 seconds remaining in the first half started the run. Johnell Davis' steal then led to a dunk by Brenen Lorient. Alijah Martin followed with another steal, and his layup barely beat the halftime horn.

We dont panic when hard times hit, Weatherspoon said. We stick together.

Martin scored eight while grabbing seven rebounds.

Jordan Rawls led all scorers with 17 for W. Kentucky. Dayvion McKnight and Emmanuel Akot each had 16.

Florida Atlantic is really good, W. Kentucky coach Rick Stansbury said. Theres a reason why theyve won 20 in a row.

BIG PICTURE

Western Kentucky: The Hilltoppers played a second consecutive game without leading 3-point scorer Luke Frampton, who will miss the remainder of the season after tearing his ACL.  Entering the game, 7-foot-5 center Jamarion Sharps 84 blocked shots led the nation. He added one more on Saturday afternoon.

Florida Atlantic: The Owls entered the game averaging 38.3 points per game off the bench, most in the nation. ... After draining two 3-pointers on Saturday, senior guard Michael Forrest needs two 3-pointers to tie Greg Gantts FAU career record of 287. ... FAU played in front of a home sellout for the second consecutive game. Not traditionally known for large crowds, the Owls announced their remaining four home games have also sold out.

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UP NEXT

Western Kentucky: Hosts UTSA on Thursday night.

Florida Atlantic: Visits UAB on Thursday night.

___

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
US actress Pamela Anderson arrives with Soccer player Adil Rami at the UNFP (Union of French Professional Footballers) ceremony, in Paris, France, Sunday, May 19, 2019. Francois Mori/AP

In her memoir, Pamela Anderson reportedly detailed her friendship with Julian Assange, the imprisoned WikiLeaks founder.

Anderson visited Assange at the Ecuadorian Embassy and at Belmarsh Prison in London, advocating for his release.

Assange's mother, Christine, once told Anderson to post more "authentic" social media pictures to be taken more seriously, Times UK reported.

While advocating for the release of her imprisoned friend, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, actress Pamela Anderson reportedly said Assange's mother advised her to downplay her sexy facade to be taken more seriously.

Anderson became a close friend of Assange's while he lived in political asylum at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London and the actress recalled their visits, which included vegan meals, talks of the world, and some occasional "frisky" fun, according to her memoir "Love, Pamela," an excerpt of which appeared in The Sunday Times Magazine.

Anderson started working on "clever ways" to help Assange and advocate for his release, including visiting Assange's mother, Christine, in Australia. Anderson brought donations to Christine, who she described as "a big-hearted woman" who was "so distraught over her son," per Anderson's memoir.

"Christine is a brilliant woman and straight shooter. She was quick to give me advice about my life and career," Anderson wrote. "She'd spoken to Julian about me, and she knew I deserved a lot more respect than people gave me, especially in the media."

The mother of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, Christine Assange, holds up a picture of her son Julian when he was 4-years-old, during a press conference, after meeting with Ecuador's foreign minister in Quito, Ecuador, Monday, July 30, 2012. Dolores Ochoa/AP

She added: "But it was partly my own fault, she pointed out, because of the way I had utilised my image. She told me to stop posting sexy photos on social media, to post authentic ones, ones with my sons or pets, with less make-up, not retouched. She thought it would help me become a stronger and more serious activist, because my intelligence was being overshadowed."

Assange lived in the 330-square-foot residence in the embassy from 2012 to 2019, until he was imprisoned by London authorities. In her memoir, Anderson wrote that she was the first person to visit Assange at Belmarsh Prison in London.

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"By his request, I was the first person to visit Julian at Belmarsh, the supermax prison. It was a shocking experience  the five checkpoints, the shouting and screaming while we crossed through the yard," Anderson wrote. "It was the most frightening place I've ever visited. Julian is a mild-mannered person, not a physical threat to anyone, and he is being broken down, psychologically tortured."

Though she said she was "touched" by his mother's suggestion and gave the idea "serious consideration," Anderson ultimately opted to continue advocating in her own way with her own personality.

"I argued, I am who I am, and I've always believed that striving to be a sensual person, or being sexy, should not conflict with intelligence. Women have fought hard so that we do not need to limit ourselves," Anderson wrote. "And this confirmed for me that I had to use all I had even more to get attention for what was right. And so I continued the work the only way I knew how."

Read the original article on Insider
Worries in some Western countries that time in Russias war against Ukraine might be on Moscows side are behind the recent decision to step up military hardware aid, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed Western officials.

Officials in some Western capitals now fear the Kremlin can dominate any lengthy war of attrition, keeping deploying men and means into the war, according to the report.

Russia has lost over 126,000 troops and thousands of pieces of military hardware since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, according to the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces.

However, Russian forces continue offensive efforts near Bakhmut in eastern Donetsk Oblast, and southeastern Zaporizhzhia Oblast, engaging additional aviation, according to the Ukrainian military.

The U.S., U.K., and Germany have recently announced plans to provide Ukraine with dozens of modern tanks. Germany also authorized the delivery of German-made Leopard 2 tanks by other countries. Some countries, such as Poland and Canada, have already pledged Leopards to Ukraine.

President Volodymyr Zelensky, however, told Sky News that Ukraine needs up to 500 tanks to liberate the occupied territories.


COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP)  Jahmir Young had 18 points, seven assists, and six steals, Donald Carey added 16 points, and Maryland defeated Nebraska 82-63 on Saturday.

Donta Scott added 12 points, Hakim Hart 11, and Patrick Emilien 10. Emilien had seven rebounds and Hart added five assists. Young had one huge block that denied Nebraska a fast-break layup.

Derrick Walker had 16 points and eight rebounds for Nebraska and walk-on Sam Hoiberg scored 15. A series of injuries has left the Cornhuskers with nine available scholarship players.

Although Maryland led by double digits for most of the second half, a 3-pointer by Wilhelm Breidenbach had the Cornhuskers within 59-50 with 9:06 to go in the game. Maryland quickly scored the next seven points and the lead continued to grow, peaking at 74-52 on a three-point play by Hart with 5:50 left. The lead was 22 again when Carey hit two free throws with 4:02 remaining.

Nebraska outshot Maryland 55.3%-44.6%, but the Terrapins had a 15-point advantage at the free-throw line. Maryland made 24 of 26 (92.3%) compared to Nebraskas 9 of 15 (60%).

Young was 9 for 9 at the foul line and made Hart 7 of 7. The only Maryland player to miss a free throw was Edelin, who was 0 for 2.

The Terrapins shot 45.8% in the first half, had 11 points after Nebraskas seven turnovers, and made all 13 of their free-throw attempts to build a 40-30 lead at the break.

Maryland (14-7, 5-5 Big Ten) is 11-1 at home this season, including ranked wins over Illinois and Ohio State. The Terps are 11-3 all-time against Nebraska and have won five straight in the series.

Nebraska (10-12, 2-7 Big Ten) has lost three in a row while needing one win to pass last seasons total and one conference win to match last seasons Big Ten total. Cornhuskers coach Fred Hoiberg remains at 149 career wins.

Maryland players celebrated the 50th anniversary of Title IX with a 50 patch on their uniforms and their shooting jerseys had a large 50 on the front.

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Maryland's next game is Tuesday at home against Indiana. Nebraska plays at Illinois on Tuesday.

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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
(Reuters) - Ukraine needs new weapons and faster deliveries to confront a "very tough" situation of constant attacks by Russian forces in the eastern Donetsk region, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday.

"The situation is very tough. Bakhmut, Vuhledar and other sectors in Donetsk region -- there are constant Russian attacks. There are constant attempts to break through our defences," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address.

"Russia wants the war to drag on and exhaust our forces. So we have to make time our weapon. We have to speed up events, speed up supplies and open up new weapons options for Ukraine."

The General Staff of Ukraine's armed forces said earlier on Sunday that its forces repelled an attack near Blahodatne in the eastern part of the Donetsk region, while Russia's Wagner private military group said it took control of the village.

A later military statement made no mention of Blahodatne.

Zelenskiy issued his latest appeal for increased weapons shipments days after Germany and the United States led a list of countries agreeing to supply modern tanks.

Zelenskiy on Saturday said Ukraine needed the U.S.-made ATACMS missile with a range of about 300 km, which Washington has so far declined to supply. A presidential adviser said talks were under way on supplying long-range missiles and a Ukrainian air force spokesman spoke of negotiations on providing aircraft.

In his latest remarks, Zelenskiy Ukraine's command was committed to ensuring that "our pressure is greater than the occupiers' capacity to attack" and that meant "maintaining the defence support from our partners".

"The enemy takes no account of its personnel and despite the extent of the losses is maintaining the intensity of its attacks," he said.

"Confronting this requires extraordinary resilience and a full awareness by our soldiers that in defending Donetsk region they are defending all of Ukraine."

(Reporting by Ron Popeski and Nick Starkov)
President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on Twitter on Jan. 29 that he had spoken to Petr Pavel, the newly elected Czech President, and invited him to visit Ukraine.

I personally congratulated Petr Pavel on winning the Czech presidential elections. Thanked him and the Czech people for their unwavering support. Invited him to visit Ukraine, he said.

Zelensky congratulated Pavel on his victory on Twitter shortly after the results had been announced on Jan. 28. He praised Pavel for supporting Ukraine and its struggle against Russian aggression.

I will be glad to work closely for the benefit of the peoples of Ukraine and the Czech Republic and in the interests of a united Europe, Zelensky said.

Pavel, who previously served in the Czech army, emerged victorious in a runoff vote against populist billionaire Andrej Babis, seen as a more Russian-leaning candidate.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address on Jan. 28 that Ukraine needs longer-range missiles, including MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS), to stop "Russian terror."

The HIMARS missiles that Ukraine currently uses have a range of 80 kilometers and cannot reach many of the Russian-occupied areas. So far, the U.S. has refused to supply ATACMS missiles, which have a range of 300 kilometers, and GLSDB missiles, which can travel for 150 kilometers.

As an example of Russian terror, Zelensky cited a Russian missile attack on the town of Kostyantynivka in Donetsk Oblast that killed three people and injured 14 on Jan. 28.

Ukraine needs long-range missiles to prevent (the Russian) occupiers from placing their missile launchers somewhere far from the front line and destroying Ukrainian cities with them, Zelensky said.

He also said there shouldn't be any taboos in the supply of weapons for Ukraine to protect itself from Russian aggression.

We will do everything we can to ensure that our partners open up this vital supply, including the delivery of ATACMS and other similar weapons, he said.

ATACMS can travel farther than any of the U.S. weapons that have been supplied to Ukraine so far.

According to Politico, Zelensky unsuccessfully asked for ATACMS during his in-person conversation with U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington on Dec. 21.

The U.S. has been reluctant to supply ATACMS due to the fear of escalation and the concerns that they may be used to attack Russian territory. Supporters of supplying ATACMS argue that Kyiv's inability to strike targets far from the frontline results in the deaths of numerous Ukrainians and makes it very difficult for Ukraine to expel Russian troops from its territory.

Zelensky also said he had signed a decree approving a proposal by the National Security and Defense Council to sanction 185 legal entities and individuals used by Russia to transport personnel and military equipment by rail.

Their assets in Ukraine are blocked, and available property will be used for our defense. We will work to ensure that similar sanctions are applied by other countries as well, Zelensky said.




President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that Russia is trying to drag the war, and Ukraine should speed up the events and supply of weapons.

Source: Zelenskyys evening address

Quote: "We are doing everything to ensure that our pressure outweighs the occupiers' assault capabilities. And it is very important to maintain the dynamics of defence support from our partners. The speed of supply has been and will be one of the key factors in this war.

Russia hopes to drag out the war, to exhaust our forces. So we have to make time our weapon. We must speed up the events, speed up the supply and opening of new necessary weaponry options for Ukraine."

Details: Following the results of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief Staff meeting, Zelenskyy noted that the situation at the front was "very tough."

"Bakhmut, Vuhledar and other areas in the Donetsk region are under constant Russian attacks. There are constant attempts to break through our defence. The enemy does not count its people and, despite numerous casualties, maintains a high intensity of attacks. In some of its wars, Russia has lost in total less people than it loses there, in particular near Bakhmut," said Zelenskyy.

The president reiterated that Ukraine has gained significant results in relations with the United States, Germany, Poland, Canada, Belgium, Norway, Italy, and other countries.

"We have to make the next week no less powerful [perhaps, successful  ed.] for our defence," he said.

Background: On 29 January, The Wall Street Journal published an article, which said that behind the decision to dramatically increase military aid to Ukraine is concern in some Western capitals that time may be on Russia's side.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!






U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson, R-North Carolina, left, pulls U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Alabama, back as they talk with U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Florida, and others during the 14th round of voting for speaker of the House on Jan. 6. Kevin McCarthy from California was eventually selected as the new speaker. (Andrew Harnik / AP)

After intense negotiations to select a Republican leader, a scuffle on the House floor, a 15th ballot and the second most protracted battle to install a speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, the 118th Congress can finally get to work for the American people, or can they?

Not since the Civil War era has it taken so many rounds of voting to elect a speaker. And it was only after significant political compromises to the extremist wing of the Republican party that Charlie McCarthy, oops, I meant Kevin McCarthy from California became speaker of the House and custodian of the gavel that hes long coveted.

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Publicly punked and ridiculed by House members resistant to his speakership bid, some say that McCarthys yielding goes too far. Rep. Joyce Beatty, Democrat from Ohio, said, Kevin McCarthy sold his soul for the speakers gavel.

Anthony Stanford. (Anthony Stanford / HANDOUT)

In contrast, others think thats impossible because he doesnt have one. Whats clear is that in his desperate quest for power, McCarthy and the radical faction of the GOP tarnished the reputation of the House of Representatives during the three-day spectacle.

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The historic proceeding, and the question posed by House Clerk Cheryl Johnson, takes on new meaning, lingering in the minds of Americans embarrassed by the convoluted process and rowdy behavior of some House members.

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Maintaining parliamentarian order and propriety fell to Johnson. However, the immature behavior and shenanigans engaged in by some House members exposed rowdiness and disorder, prompting speculation that Johnsons repeated question to House members, for what purpose does the gentleman rise, requires substantial revision.

The height of shamelessness came when a visibly angry Mike Rogers, a Republican from Alabama, the new Armed Services Committee chairman, lunged toward fellow Republican GOP House member Matt Gaetz of Florida. Finally, the American people saw why using the word gentleman may not be appropriate for some House members. The lack of decorum isnt going unnoticed and is reminiscent of the hooliganism occurring at the Capitol two years ago.

Republican Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin had this to say about the partys direction. Only after the party purges the radicalism perpetrated by an extreme few attempting to hijack the GOP, can we return to the core party principles envisioned by President Abraham Lincoln. Theres no doubt that unity, tolerance and constitutional responsibility are our path forward, said the former Illinois gubernatorial candidate.

The Freedom Caucus, considered the most conservative and farthest-right bloc within the House Republican Conference, forced a desperate McCarthy to the most significant concessions in recent history. Of the concessions made in his bid to become speaker of the House, known as a motion to vacate, McCarthy agreed with the ultra-MAGA faction to lower the number of GOP conference members from five to one needed to start a process that could remove the speaker.

Unfortunately, the deal will likely increase turmoil, potentially making Speaker McCarthy a veritable puppet to the extreme faction of the GOP. In addition, some believe McCarthys compromises will result in a House speaker governing from a proverbial plank.

A rare glimpse of civility came when Republican House member French Hill from Arkansas rose to nominate Rep. Kevin McCarthy. First, let me express my deep appreciation, and appreciation of everybody in this room, for the work youre doing, Madame Clerk, he said, prompting a standing ovation from many lawmakers and at least one cry of Johnson for Speaker!

Anthony Stanford, named the 2014 Outstanding African American of the Year by the Aurora African American Heritage Advisory Board, is an opinion columnist, urban theorist and author of the book, Homophobia in the Black Church: How Faith, Politics and Politics and Fear Divide the Black Community.
Lynchburg City Council plans to revisit a 30-year-old financial agreement between the governing body and the citys school board.

During a work session this past week, the body came to a consensus to notify the school board of councils desire to revisit the agreement and will inform the school board of an upcoming vote on the agreement scheduled for councils Feb. 14 regular meeting.

The city will notify the school board of the decision through a letter from City Attorney Matthew Freedman, council decided Tuesday.

The agreement, originally signed Dec. 20, 1993 by then-Mayor Julian Adams and then-School Board Chair Julius Sigler Jr., lays out the guidelines on how the two bodies navigate fund balances in the citys annual budget.

The agreement states that any fund balance would be maintained by the school division, and that the school board would advise council yearly as to the amount of money left over and potentially what projects those funds would be allocated toward.

Freedman said on Tuesday, to his knowledge, the agreement came about because, the city had an issue with the school board in trying to discourage frivolous or unnecessary spending.

While this agreement has been in place since 1993, Freedman said the current council is not bound to any agreement made by previous councils, nor are future councils bound to any decisions made by this one.

On Tuesday, Vice Mayor Chris Faraldi said, I think city council would be in their right to say we want to revisit where these dollars are best served, while Ward III Councilor Jeff Helgeson added there are lots of reasons why council is in the right to withdraw the agreement.

The discussion came immediately after several councilors  including Helgeson, Faraldi and newly-elected At-large Councilors Larry Taylor and Martin Misjuns  were hesitant to appropriate the remainder of the school divisions fiscal year 2022 unexpended operating fund, which was about $1.1 million, into the divisions capital fund budget.

Most of the skepticism came around approving almost $750,000 in building envelope repairs for R.S. Payne Elementary School. Those in opposition cited the age of the building, in conjunction with the school divisions recently completed facilities assessment report, as reason to hold off on approving the money.

Ward I Councilor MaryJane Dolan argued on behalf of continuing the agreement, saying she didnt think the city should penalize the school board or the school system for being frugal with their money.

Ward II Councilor Sterling Wilder, who supported continuing the agreement alongside Dolan, implored the governing body to let the school board handle what theyve been appointed to do.

We appoint a school board to make certain decisions, Wilder said.

So we need to be able to trust the school board that we have appointed to make the proper decisions to use those one-time expenses to make sure our schools are running more efficiently, and our buildings are safe for our children.
Iowa Western Community Colleges radio station, known as 89.7 The River, keeps on rolling with a strong following in the Omaha-Council Bluffs metro.

Don Kohler, vice president of marketing and information technology at Iowa Western, presented a report on the stations year of 2022 during a Board of Trustees meeting Monday.

Officially KIWR-FM, the station holds a good share of the market during key time frames, Kohler said.

We used to be, and still are, on the cutting edge of rock, he said.

In the busy 3 to 7 p.m. timeframe on weekdays, the station tops all others in the metro among male listeners ages 12 to 24, according to Nielsen ratings, and ranks second among men 18 to 34. In the 6 to 10 a.m. period on weekdays, The River is matched only by KBBX-FM among men 18 to 34.

In other weekday time slots, the station is usually in a four-way or five-way tie with other top stations in the metro.

The River does a lot to support local and national nonprofit organizations, airing about 3,600 public service announcements during 2022, Kohler said. In doing so, it helped more than 25 nonprofits, from national organizations like the American Cancer Society Relay for Life, state services like the Iowa Radio Reading Information on Service for the Blind and Print Handicapped, local groups like the MICAH House, Midlands Humane Society, Pottawattamie County WIC program and college-related causes such as the Arts Center Performance Season, Campus Suicide Prevention Walk (Reiver Rally), Recruitment and Enrollment, Adult Education, IWCC Transfer Services and Iowa Works Career Fair, IWCC Health & Wellness Fair and IWCC Sports.

We usually air a PSA for four to five weeks so we dont use too much air time for just one organization, he said.

KIWR-FM also sponsored two concerts at Westfair: River Riot and Machine Gun Kelly, Kohler said. It finds underwriters to help with concert sponsorship.

It does help us support the overall profit of our station, he said. I think two or three concerts a year is probably enough.

It takes a lot of work, and the staff is small.

While the station can sell underwriting, it cant use call to action phrases like a typical advertisement would, Kohler said. Instead, it is limited to phrases like underwritten by or brought to you by.

In addition, the station must report all costs to the state Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Thats a little bit complicated, because the college picks up a lot of the costs for the Arts Center.

The station has a total of six staff members, Kohler said.

We have a good group, he said. They get a lot done with a small staff.

Last fall, the station rebranded, adopting a logo with an arc of radio waves over an anchor and displaying the slogan, The Anchor of Alternative and Rock. The anchor ties in with the colleges mascot, the Reiver. Contrary to some employees fears, the change did not hurt the stations ratings, Kohler said.

The station ended the year with a profit of $60,000. That was without COVID relief funds, which helped it get through 2021.

The station received an unmodified audit for the year.
Boogie on back to the 70s at the Wings of Hope Cancer Support Centers winter gala, Winter in the 70s  I Will Survive.

The event will run from 6 to 9 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 11 at the Mid-America Center, 1 Arena Way in Council Bluffs, so theres no need to take a Midnight Train to Georgia.

After being separated from so many Wings of Hope supporters by the pandemic, Executive Director Carolyn Ettinger has a message for them: Baby Come Back.

Its been three years since weve been able to meet in person, and were looking forward to reconnecting with the community while raising money for a great cause, she said. Ill Be There.

Guests can enjoy heavy hors doeuvres and drinks  whether its Brandy or A Fifth of Beethoven  and listen to hits from the 70s played by DeafAudio DJs. A dance troupe from the Adair Dance Academy in Omaha will perform to Abbas Dancing Queen, and studio owner Julian Adair will teach attendees how to do the hustle and the electric slide. So even if youre not a Dancing Machine, you can Shake Your Booty.

The fun will also include a Name That Tune contest thats sure to tickle your ears.

The evening will include the premiere of a series of Wings of Hope videos created by Right Idea Media & Creative in Council Bluffs, offering a closer look at what Wings of Hope does to support cancer patients and their families. And in case you want to Shop Around, there will be silent, oral and program auctions, with Council Bluffs auctioneer Gail Hunter holding up the merchandise and singing, I Just Want to Sell You Everything.

Mary Nelson and Zach Williamson from KMTV 3 News Now will serve as emcees for the event, and all guests are invited to dress in iconic fashions from the decade  think bell bottoms, platform shoes or colorful clothing.

In conjunction with the gala, Wings of Hope is hosting three raffles. The first is a 2023 Chiefs Experience, which includes two tickets to a 2023 Kansas City Chiefs home game, a two-night hotel stay for two in the Kansas City metro and a few surprises. Tickets are $50 each and can be purchased online at wingsofhope.org/chiefs. The winner will be announced at the gala. You need not be present to win.

The second is the organizations annual quilt raffle. Karen Krause of Council Bluffs has created a Block of the Month Quilt, and raffle tickets are $3 each or two for $5. You can purchase them online at wingsofhope.org/raffle or call 712-325-8970. Krause donates a quilt to Wings of Hope each year, and this raffle has helped the organization raise close to $65,000 since its inception. The winner will be announced at the gala.

The third is a 50/50 raffle that will be conducted at the gala.

The 2023 Wings of Hope Winter Gala is sponsored by the Scott Family Foundation, Heartland Oncology (American Oncology), CHI Health Mercy Hospital, The Daily Nonpareil, Hematology & Oncology Consultants, Hy-Vee, Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital, CHI Health, Doll Distributing, Brad & Patti Higginbotham, Iowa Western Community College, Tyson Foods, Frontier Savings Bank, Bloom Works Floral, Dallas Johnson Greenhouses, Schroer & Associates and TS Bank.

Tickets are $100 per person and include the hors doeuvres and drinks. Proceeds will support Wings of Hopes annual operating budget. To purchase tickets to the event, visit wingsofhope.org/gala or call 712-325-8970.
Morocco has once again emerged as a leader in the Maghreb in matters of climate finance systems and regulation to support climate action, according to the Climate Finance Readiness Index report

The report, published recently by the Toronto and Casablanca-based consulting firm Green For South, highlighted that Morocco is, in its sub-region which also includes Algeria and Tunisia, the first to have adopted appropriate regulations and guidelines (mostly voluntary at this stage), an interesting volume of climate finance activity (dealing with international funds and issuing green bonds) and effective awareness raising schemes.

The report also highlighted Moroccos efforts to improve its climate resilience, particularly in terms of mitigation, which requires significant investment, recalling in this regard the total cost of climate mitigation and adaptation actions included in the NDC (Nationally Determined Contribution) as published in June 2022. The amount is estimated at $78 billion, divided between mitigation measures ($38) and warning measures ($40 billion).

Tunisia also has appropriate regulation (on a voluntary basis), an interesting volume of climate finance activity, the report said, noting, however, that there has been no issuance of green bonds or Sukuk and awareness provisions are still limited.

As for Algeria, the report noted that the country has no regulation in the financial sector to support climate action and that climate finance activity is still limited, estimating that overall, the North African region is at an early stage of implementation of these actions.

For this firm specializing in sustainable finance, green and climate, Morocco and Tunisia are called to further strengthen their regulations and make them mandatory, and encourage green emissions and launch more awareness initiatives and training.

In the Middle East, Egypt is leading the way in making all ESG and climate risk regulations mandatory in the different financial sectors, namely banking, insurance, and capital markets, unlike countries like Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia, and Turkey that generally have voluntary reporting requirements.

The consulting Green for South firm, specializing in sustainable, green and climate finance, has evaluated in its Climate Finance Readiness Index report the regulations and measures taken by 14 countries in terms of climate finance. The assessment, covering 4 regions  North Africa, Middle East, Gulf and Turkey  takes into account the specificities of each territory and sets up appropriate criteria. With a score of 31.33%, the North African region shows promising results, with Morocco representing the most successful model.
On the occasion of the Dakar 2 Summit, held from January 25 to 27 in Diamniadio, near Dakar, on the theme Feed Africa: food sovereignty and resilience, the Moroccan government shared successful experiences in the agricultural field, which are the subject of cooperation with the countries of the continent, said the African Development Bank (AfDB) in a statement.

In 2016, Morocco launched, at the COP22 in Marrakech, the Initiative for the Adaptation of African Agriculture, bringing together 38 countries of the continent, recalled the AfDB, noting that the objective is to reduce the vulnerability of Africa and its agriculture to climate change.

The initiative makes South-South cooperation a key mechanism for its implementation, the statement said.

This cooperation aims to transfer to African countries the successful agricultural development experiences in Morocco, in order to help achieve food security, said the Head of Government, Aziz Akhannouch, during a panel that brought together a dozen heads of state around their vision of growth in agriculture, regional integration and public-private partnerships, according to the AfDB statement.

Another example highlighted by Akhannouch, the statement added, is the Green Morocco Plan. Launched 15 years ago, it has given a strong boost to the agricultural sector, with an investment of nearly $13 billion over the 2008-2020 period.

It has helped increase GDP in agriculture by more than 5.5% per year. More importantly, the sector has become more resilient to climate change and drought cycles. The plan has led to the conclusion of 19 program-contracts between the State and agro-industrial professionals to develop the value chains of agricultural sectors, the statement added.

The new strategy of Morocco called Generation Green 2020-2030, highlighted the AfDB, offers a framework for more resilience of the food system.

It is based on the priority of the human element and the sustainability of agricultural development, said Akhannouch. It is meant, on the one hand, to develop an agricultural middle class, encourage entrepreneurship among young people and extend social security coverage to all farmers and agricultural workers; and, on the other hand, to consolidate the achievements of the Green Morocco Plan and double agricultural GDP and exports, while implementing new solutions for the rationalization of water resources in light of new climatic challenges.

During the Dakar 2 summit, held under the theme Feed Africa: food sovereignty and resilience, amidst supply chain disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, climate change, and the Russia-Ukraine war, Moroccos OCP group pledged to actively contribute to improving agricultural productivity in Africa, and to devote to the continent more than 4 million tons of fertilizers in 2023.

This amount represents more than double the amount provided by OCP to the continent in 2021 and more than a quarter of the total production planned by the group, said the General Manager of OCP Africa, Mohamed Anouar Jamali, who was taking part in the Summit.

The Dakar 2 Summit on Food Sovereignty was held at the initiative of the AfDB, the Government of Senegal and the African Union Commission. The first edition held in 2015 had helped to draw the contours of the strategy Feeding Africa: the Strategy for Agricultural Transformation in Africa (2016-2025).
Three new African countries have signed, Saturday in Marrakech, the Solemn Appeal for the expulsion of the pseudo SADR from the African Union, known as Tangier Appeal.

During this first follow-up meeting of the Tangier Appeal former Foreign Ministers of Lesotho, Madagascar and Gambia have proceeded to the signing of this Appeal, signed on November 4, 2022 in Tangier.

The signatories are Lesego Makgothi, Patrick Rajoelina, and Lamine Kaba Badjo, Former Foreign Ministers respectively of Lesotho, Madagascar and Gambia.

With these three new countries, the number of signatories now stands at 19 countries.

The Tangier Appeal was signed by former Prime Ministers and former African ministers from Guinea-Bissau, Djibouti, Central African Republic, Somalia, Burkina Faso, Eswatini, Benin, Comoros, Liberia, Gabon, Malawi, Cape Verde, Senegal, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea and Kenya.

The signatories of the solemn appeal for the expulsion of the pseudo-SADR from the African Union, known as the Tangier Appeal, held on Saturday in Marrakech, their first meeting to follow up on this Appeal.

During this meeting, they reiterated their full commitment to work together for the exclusion of this non-state entity from the African Union.

The signatories also considered that this exclusion, which is legitimate from a legal point of view, should not be considered as an unattainable goal, as it is part of a favorable continental and international dynamic, where realism and pragmatism prevail, and because it represents an indispensable prerequisite for the return of the impartiality and credibility of the Pan-African Organization on the Moroccan Sahara issue.
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln will host the first Nebraska Soil Health School sponsored by the United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service.

The event is scheduled for 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 2 at the Prairie Winds Community Center, 428 N Main St., Bridgeport.

Increasing knowledge of soil health and putting it to practice nurtures the ground and ensures long-term profitability, the college said in a press release.

Soil health practices are a pathway to resilient soils to achieve optimum productivity and environmental quality, said Jerry Hatfield, retired USDA Agricultural Research Service plant physiologist/laboratory director. Hatfield is scheduled to give a keynote speech at this school.

The Nebraska Soil Health School is intended to enhance the technical soil-related knowledge of growers, crop consultants, ag professionals, UNL faculty and students, USDA NRCS employees and others.

Bijesh Maharjan, as an organizer of the school, is excited about this educational opportunity for all interested in the state and acknowledged the support from the USDA NRCS for funding the school that will be offered at two more venues (west central and eastern Nebraska) in summer.

Hands-on opportunities and demonstrations from Aaron Hird, state soil health specialist, USDA NRCS, will offer a deeper understanding of the foundational functions of soil.

Understanding the physical aspects of soil help us understand how management impacts these functions of soil and beyond that can allow for the rapid measurement of the indicators of soil health, Hird said. Connecting the dots via hands-on activities and with a live rainfall demonstration, we will dig in and learn a lot.

Certified crop advisor continuing education units will be offered to attendees. There is no fee to attend, and lunch will be provided.

Registration is due by Feb. 23.

For more information or questions, email nheldt4@unl.edu or call 308-632-1372.
Saturday night the new Miss Alabama USA and Miss Teen Alabama USA were crowned at the pageant held at the Gogue Performing Arts Center in Auburn.

Contestants from all over the state competed for scholarships, prizes and a chance to travel the state promoting the pageant.

Auburn University senior Sophie Burzynski, competing as Miss Auburn-Opelika, was crowned Miss Alabama USA, and a freshman from Spanish Fort High School Kensey Collins, competing as Miss Spanish Fort Teen, was crowned Miss Teen Alabama USA.

Burzynski, 21, grew up in Louisville, Ky., and came to Auburn University to double major in nutrition science and business management. After graduation, she plans to become a pediatric dentist.

Currently, Burzynski is a member of the War Eagle Girls and Plainsmen, the official hosts of Auburn University, and is a member of Zeta Tau Alpha sorority where shes served as the director over the philanthropy event Big Man on Campus. She also owns a wedding videography company called Videos By Sophie B.

Burzynski decided to enter the Miss Alabama USA pageant for the first time in hopes of giving back to her community.

I really just want to be able to inspire the next generation to be their own entrepreneurs in their own life and to be able to accomplish their dreams, Burzynski said in an earlier interview.

Collins, 15, represented her home town Spanish Fort Saturday night. After being named the winner, she said her next goal is to win nationals.

When her name was called Collins said, It was crazy! Definitely being a freshman in high school, I definitely didnt think anything was impossible, but this was such a huge dream and goal of mine and Im just very proud of myself.

Burzynski is headed to the Miss USA pageant, while Collins will represent Alabama in the Miss Teen USA pageant.

On Saturday night, the Gogue Center was crowded with family members, friends and other audience members who showed their support for their competitor by cheering, whistling and holding up posters.

After two days of competing in interview, evening gown and swimsuit/active wear competitions, the 37 Miss Alabama contestants, ranging in age from 18 to 27, and the 36 Miss Teen Alabama contestants, ranging in age from 14 to 18, were each narrowed down to the top five.

The top four runners up for Miss Alabama, from first to fourth, were as follows: Noelia Voigt, Miss Greystone; Diane Westhoven, Miss Southern Plains; Margaret Anne McNeill, Miss River Region; and Randee Hinson-McCrary, Miss Huntsville.

The top four runners up for Miss Teen Alabama, from first to fourth, were as follows: Ava LeBlanc, Miss Shelby County Teen; Jaycee Parker, Miss Mobile Teen; Georgia Busby, Miss Queen City Teen; and Halle Sullivan, Miss Camellia State Teen.

Votes were collected online for the Peoples Choice Award, and the winners were Ava Register, Miss Dothan, and Victoria Caballero, Miss Vestavia Hills Teen.

For Most Photogenic, the judges selected Carli Kim Guin, Miss Capstone, and Halle Sullivan, Miss Camellia State Teen.

The contestants voted among themselves for the Miss Congeniality award, given to the friendliest and kindest, and the recipients were Samantha Huver, Miss Northport, and Mia Pilkinton, Miss Tuscumbia Teen.
U.S. invasion of Panama left enduring scars on victims' families

Xinhua) 14:45, January 28, 2023

PANAMA CITY, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- It's poignant for Trinidad Ayola to recall the day when she claimed from the hospital the body of her husband, whose life was taken during the 1989 U.S. invasion of Panama.

Trauma still lingers for Panamanians like Ayola whose families died during the invasion, though the National Mourning Day, which was established last March and falls on Dec. 20 each year, offered a welcome occasion to mourn the loss of hundreds of lives.

"It seems the stars have aligned," said Ayola, who took part in a years-long campaign to make the national tragedy officially recognized.

Ayola's husband was a lieutenant in the Panamanian Air Force. "I could prepare a proper funeral for him, but there were at least 30 families that continued to search for the remains of loved ones who disappeared in the military operation," said Ayola.

Casualty numbers vary. The UN estimated around 500 civilian deaths in the month-long battle ending late January 1990, whereas some other organizations said the figure could be 1,000 to 3,000 in total.

"It was not necessary to kill so many people and launch an invasion to defend what they called democracy," said Ayola.

Ayola suffered from anxiety and insomnia for the following seven years, and her young daughter experienced emotional stress and trauma.

Panamanians agree that force was disproportionately used to humiliate the small country. The U.S. invasion destroyed homes and businesses, and plunged many into poverty in its wake.

The invasion, dubbed "Operation Just Cause" by the United States, was only aimed at protecting American interests, said Ayola.

That still rings true today, she continued, with Washington "blockading other nations to subdue them, inflicting hunger, lack of health care and misery on them."

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Mourners gathered Saturday at Ridge Funeral Home in Chicago for services for Connor Kaczmarski, a 7-year-old Park Forest boy who died Jan. 20 after being hit by a school bus. (Kimberly Fornek / Daily Southtown)

With tears, hugs and laughs, family and friends said goodbye to 7-year-old Connor Ethan Kaczmarski Saturday morning, sharing numerous memories that showed why they will miss the boy.

Connor, a second grader at Mohawk Primary Center in Park Forest, died Jan. 20 after police said he was hit by a school bus that was taking students home from Park Forest-Chicago Heights Elementary District 163.

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At least 100 people attended Saturdays funeral service at Ridge Funeral Home on Chicagos Southwest Side.

Photos of Connor Kaczmarski on the back of the program at his funeral service Saturday in Chicago. (Kimberly Fornek / Daily Southtown)

Nicole Watkins told the mourners every time Connor was around her, he put a big smile on her face.

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I met Connor when he was 3 years old, Watkins said. Her daughter, a year younger than Connor, saw him outside and introduced herself.

Connor promptly replied, I didnt ask your name, Watkins said. From then on, they were best friends.

He was the smartest, sweetest, funniest little guy, Watkins said.

When the children were older, her daughter wanted to know why her mother would not let her have a cellphone, since Connor had one.

Watkins recalled Connor explaining, Because Im responsible.

Kassandra Morgan, Connors teacher, said he was responsible, kind and everyones friend.

He never let anyone feel left out, Morgan said, and he spoke up for others when needed.

She said, there are definitely 22 little hearts in her class who will miss Connor. Her students have talked about him this past week and the ways he made them feel good, Morgan wrote in an online remembrance.

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A photo displayed Saturday at the visitation and funeral for Connor Kaczmarski at Ridge Funeral Home in Chicago. (Kimberly Fornek / Daily Southtown)

Mohawk Principal Lori Colbert, District 163 Superintendent Caletha White and other school staff attended the funeral service. The school district is flying yellow ribbons around the school in memory of Connor, according to the school website.

Connor was such a gentleman, Morgan said at the funeral, through tears. She recalled a dress down day at school, when she had skipped straightening her hair like she usually did and felt she was not looking her best. But Connor told her how pretty she looked and that he liked her curly hair.

Watkins agreed Connor was always quick to give compliments, such as when he said to her, Dont you look nice.

In his obituary, Connors family wrote he loved animals, especially dogs, and would pretend he owned an adoption center where people could come and adopt his pets. Connors stuffed animals were in his casket with him.

Connors 16-year-old brother, Christopher Arrington, said he wished he had more time with Connor.

I just wish I could teach him more. I wish I was with him now, Christopher said.

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Christopher said Connor was so much like him.

He walked like me, he talked like me, he said.

He was just as handsome, if not more handsome than me, Christopher said, which brought laughs from the people at the funeral.

But Connor was more imaginative and kind with no selfishness in his heart, Christopher said. Whenever Connor had a snack, he wanted to share it with Christopher.

None of my other brothers do that, Christopher said.

The front of the program at the funeral for Connor Kaczmarski. (Kimberly Fornek / Daily Southtown)

Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >

Christian Arrington, 15, said he and his little brother argued and messed with each other, and that Connor, whom he nicknamed Lil Nugget, was his enemy, but also his greatest ally and best friend.

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You made me a better big brother and an even better human being, Christian said.

He asked Connor to help him guide their mother and be strong for her.

I send all my hugs and kisses up to heaven, Christian said.

Christopher urged those gathered for the funeral service to make Connor proud and be the best version of ourselves. ... I promise Ill be the CJ you loved and looked up to.

Connor is survived by his parents, Frank Kaczmarski and Rockeal King, his three brothers, Christopher, Christian and Charles, his grandparents, Richard and Judith Kaczmarski, his grandmother Prudence Thomas, great-grandparents Harold and Stella Thomas, and a host of aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.

Kimberly Fornek is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
i mean honestly, how many lies can one person tell????

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he's going for the world record

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It is baffling to me that none of these things disqualify him from taking his seat.

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I heard this to the tune of Ariel singing "how many wonders can one cavern hold" lol

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The limit does not exist

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Its never not wild seeing grifter Tr*mps legacy play out in always the most blatant of ways. Hopefully nothing being done about it isnt also part of the legacy but Im not very hopeful tbh

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GOP is too cowardly to do anything about him, so barring an act of God, he's gonna serve out his two year term and serve on various committees.

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I wouldn't say cowardly. They don't want to lose that seat.

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The GOP only has a +5 majority, possible to go down to +4 after the Virginia special election to replace the Rep who died after the election (McEachin-D) McCarthy needs every single vote, so he will keep anyone up until the point they get perp walked out of the Capitol.

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okay but who do you want to adapt this for the screen

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Ryan Murphy probably has something in the vworks right now.

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Nothing has been made more specifically for Ryan Murphy than this.

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Shonda rimes

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Matt Spicer, guy who did Ingrid Goes West

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It HAS to be Harvey Guillen.

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Matt stone and trey Parker

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At this point, someone could tell me he doesn't exist and I'd believe them.

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I mean his name isnt actually his name, right? Sooo-

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I wouldnt be surprised if identity fraud pops up next.

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He could be three raccoons wearing a trench coat and itd be more believable than his life story.

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My eyes are messed up- I thought you wrote "macaroons" and not raccoons.



Also, macaroons would be plausible too

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Gaga wishes she could artpop this hard, suddenly the Koons is american politics!



Edited at 2023-01-30 06:49 am (UTC)

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Another week of bullshit revealed.

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Are we even 100% sure yet what his actual name is?

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Nope, definitely not

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How is this guy for real

When for real he isnt that we know

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Can anyone actually confirm he has American citizenship? If I were in Democratic politics I'd be looking into that.

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So where do we think all that money came from?

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Russians. I think he had some connection to a Cousin of a Russian Oligarch, but I could be wrong.

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The aliens in charge of the simulation are doing too much with this. Tone it down.

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you know what's impressive, it's like he looked at tr*mp's 50 years of lying and scamming and said "I can do all that in like 2 years instead of 50"

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Career destruction speedrun any %

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Does anyone know if there are been any stories about how people in his district feel about this? I mean I know he mostly represents parts of Long Island so.But maybe Ill be pleasantly surprised that theyre actually mad at him.

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Caught in the middle of the drama are the 746,449 constituents in Santoss district, which spans parts of northeastern Queens to towns along the North Shore on Long Island. In interviews with The Washington Post over several days, residents who supported Santos said they both regretted their choice and were resigned to his status as a member of Congress.



But the prevailing sentiment, among both Republicans and Democrats, was raw anger and a sense of being cheated.



And



Despite Santoss indiscretions, several Nassau County voters admitted they thought it was better to have a Republican hold the seat than open it up to another election and risk losing it a Democrat. Yeah, and it's mixed. And

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americans are so blind from politics that politicians are literally just reduced to "red" or "blue", who cares about anything else.

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That part of the Island? Yeah, this tracks.



GDI, is the NYS Dem Party really this inept to have let this guy beat the incumbent?

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I grew up in his district - I live in AOC's district now!!!- and it shames me to no end that they elected him.

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He genuinely makes me feel better about myself because at least I'm not as embarrassing as this turd

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at what point to the reps accept that keeping this one seat is not worth it

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the seat was blue before it flipped to santos in the midterms. he would just get replaced by another republican lol

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The ARC Centre of Excellence in Exciton Science demonstrated a new pathway to creating durable, efficient perovskite photovoltaics at industrial scale. The process uses the first effective use of lead acetate as a precursor in making formamidinium-caesium perovskite solar cells.

The team at Exciton Science, based at Monash University, were able to create perovskite solar cells with 21% efficiency, the best results ever recorded for a device made from a non-halide lead source.

The reporting paper has been published in the journal Energy & Environmental Science.

A miniature prototype solar panel featuring these cells achieved 18.8% efficiency. The large-area perovskite layer was fabricated in ambient atmosphere and was made via a single-step blade coating, demonstrating its potential viability for industrial-scale manufacturing.

Ammonium is the secret ingredient in stable, efficient & scalable perovskite solar cells. Image Credit:  ARC Centre of Excellence in Exciton Science. Click the press release link for a larger image.

The test devices also showed strong thermal stability, continuing to function with no efficiency loss after 3,300 hours running at 65 C (149 F).

First author Jie Zhao, a PhD student at Monash University, said, Weve been able to use lead acetate in a one-step, spin-coating process to get the perfect, high-quality formamidinium-caesium perovskite thin film. And because we dont need an anti-solvent agent, we can do this via large-scale techniques, such as blade coating, which means its viable at industrial scale.

Corresponding author and Monash University colleague Dr Wenxin Mao said, The vast majority of perovskite solar cell research uses lead halides, particularly lead iodide. The lead iodide needs to be 99.99% pure and its very expensive to synthesize cells using lead iodide.Were the first group to make highly stable formamidinium-cesium perovskite solar cells using lead acetate rather than lead iodide. We have provided the entire research community a second way to make high-quality perovskite solar cells, he added.

More about perovskites: Promise versus problems

Thin film solar cells made from perovskites have the potential to disrupt the solar energy sector, thanks to their relatively low manufacturing cost, flexibility and tunable band gap relative to silicon.

However, researchers are struggling to solve reliability issues, and they also need to find a way to create devices at a viable commercial scale. Perovskites are solution processed (made in liquid) using a variety of different ingredients.

Most approaches use lead halides and require the inclusion of strong polar solvents with high boiling points and antisolvent quenching agents to control the perovskite crystallization process. This complicated mechanism can lead to defects in the thin films, which causes the resulting device to rapidly lose efficiency. Its also hard to control.

The chemical compound lead acetate has emerged as a promising alternative precursor, because it can create ultrasmooth thin films with fewer defects. Until now, lead acetate had only been used to make methylammonium or cesium-based perovskites, which are relatively unstable and not suitable for real-world applications.

A better candidate for commercial use can be found in perovskites made using formamidinium and caesium, thanks to their superior stability. Previous attempts to synthesize them using lead acetate as the precursor failed.

To investigate and solve this issue, the researchers, together with their collaborators at Wuhan University of Technology in China, examined the underlying molecular mechanisms.

Through X-ray diffraction and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, they identified the need to use ammonium as a volatile cation (positively charged ion) at a critical stage.

Contributing author Dr Sebastian Furer said, The presence of ammonium served to drive away the residual acetate during annealing, without forming unwanted side products.

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The researchers hope their work on the fundamental chemistry governing precursor behavior can encourage a greater focus on scalable synthesis and fabrication methods of metal halide perovskite devices.

***

Perovskite based solar cells might be a step closer. So far the technology has been just as frustrating as promising. So now a team has innovated another process idea that seems to be workable both in manufacturing and in use. Perhaps this new tech will get some legs and well see.

By Brian Westenhaus via New Energy and Fuel

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
The end of 2022 marked another round of confrontation between Azerbaijan and Armenia in the Karabakh region with the involvement of Russian peacekeeping forces. The standoff began in early December, when the Russian peacekeeping contingent in the separatist Karabakh region denied access to Azerbaijani officials from the Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources and the state-owned mining company AzerGold CJSC from carrying out on-site inspections of the Gizilbulag gold deposits and the Demirli copper-molybdenum deposits to evaluate potential risks to the environment (Mfa.gov.az, December 13, 2022; Fed.az, December 16, 2022). While Azerbaijani state officials were deprived of free movement inside the separatist portion of Karabakh by the peacekeeping mission, it fueled skepticism in Azerbaijani and Armenian societies regarding Russias role in the process (Eurasianet, December 15, 2022).

In response to these restrictions, Azerbaijani environmental activists arranged a protest on the Shusha-Lachin road, where the Russian peacekeeping forces are deployed, accusing them of being overly friendly with the de facto separatist state in Khankendi (Stepanakert) (Eurasianet, December 15, 2022). As of January 2023, the eco-activists have continued their protest on the Lachin road, restricting most transportation and movement into separatist Karabakh from Armenia. Theydemand full access for Azerbaijani governmental institutions at every site in Karabakh, in acceptance of Bakus internationally recognized borders.

However, the protests on the Shusha-Lachin road sparked criticism of Azerbaijan in the West, with France taking a staunchly pro-Armenian position, blaming the government in Baku for blocking the main road connecting Karabakh with Armenia, which in turn inflamed harsh anti-French sentiments within the Azerbaijani public (Azernews, December 9, 2022). However, despite the Western pressure on Baku to re-open the Lachin road, Azerbaijan is unlikely to retreat from its position until it has ensured full control over the road.

Related: Why Oil Wont Trade Above $100 This Year



Indeed, the timing of the protests raised questions within both local and international media as to why similar protests had not occurred previously in the region (Eurasianet, December 29, 2022). The answer may be attributed to the failure of peace negotiations between Baku and Yerevan as initiated by the European Union and Russia in 2022. The EUs attempts to facilitate further talks and prepare at least a draft version of a final peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia have so far failed. Another key reason for the failure of the Brussels negotiation format was the anti-Azerbaijani resolution adopted by the French Senate in October 2022 and the French governments vocal solidarity with Armenia, which added more fuel to the current standoff from Bakus perspective (Armenian Weekly, November 22, 2022). With the diminishing role of the EU as a mediator in the peace negotiations, official Baku has started to employ alternative methodsnamely civilian proteststo bring the attention of the international community to what it considers the illegalexploitation of natural resources in Karabakh.

With the EUs failure to bring Baku and Yerevan closer to a peace agreement, the United States will likely increase its role in 2023 to prevent Russia from fully monopolizing the peace process (Commonspace.eu, January 6). US Senior Advisor for Caucasus Negotiations Philip Reeker retired from his position at the end of 2022, which gives Washington a chance to appoint a new and well-experienced negotiator with relevant regional experience, such as Michael Carpenter, who currently acts as the US ambassador to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, to head the process (Report.az, January 5).

However, the various estimates of international experts and scholars suggest that 2023 will not be a smooth year for the region. According to recent analysis, the South Caucasus will likely be plagued with other deadly hostilities, with the Iranian-Russian-Armenian grouping squaring off against the Azerbaijani-Turkish-Georgian arrangement (JAM-news, January 6). Whereas the uncertainty caused by Russias war against Ukraine promises to create new catalysts in the post-Soviet region, the occurrence of new conflicts in the South Caucasus threatens to create a deep security vacuum. Although it is hard to foresee the specifics of potential future conflicts in the region, it is fair to say that the region may witness another round of short-term fighting between Baku and Yerevan.

This prospect appears even more likely considering the recent press conferences of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev held on January 11 and 12, respectively (Armenian Weekly, January 11; President.az, January 12). Both conferences came at the peak of the standoff between Baku and Yerevan, with little chance of resuming the stalled negotiations. During the press conference, Pashinyan pointed out that the Russian peacekeepers inaction to events on the Lachin road did not give Armenia the security guarantees it has wanted but, on the contrary, has created a threat to Armenias security (Armenian Weekly, January 11; see EDM, January 19). Meanwhile, Aliyev, in his face-to-face interview with the local broadcasting service, emphasized that 2023 will be the last year for peace negotiations, declaring, If they [the Armenians] are not interested, we do not need [negotiations] either (Ayna.az, January 12). Such statements indicate that if the negotiations fail, another round of armed clashes in Karabakh will be inevitable in 2023.

Hence, Aliyevs remarks should not come as a surprise, as the lack of a final peace treaty with Armenia stirs debates at home and complicates Bakus relations with some leading Western countries, most notably France. Moreover, official Baku will likely seek a close partnership with Washington in the negotiation process, given Azerbaijans frequentcriticism of Russia and its support of Ruben Vardanyan, the incumbent state minister of the de facto separatist government in Karabakh.

Indeed, 2023 will be another uneasy year for Armenia and Azerbaijan in terms of peace negotiations. Seemingly, Azerbaijani protests on the Lachin road will continue until internal disputes within the separatist Karabakh region, namely between Ruben Vardanyan and Major General Vitaly Balasanyan, former head of the Russian Security Council sacked byVardanyan in early 2023, will heat up, enabling Azerbaijan to boost its influence and put an end to the alleged illegal mining in the region (Turan.az, January 7). If successful, such a scenario may trigger changes in Karabakh and throughout the entire region.

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Foundation One Bank is pleased to announce the promotion of Molly B. Merrell to Senior Vice President-Retail Lending and CRA Officer.

Merrell joined Foundation One Bank in August of 2014 and has over 18 years of experience in the banking industry. Ms. Merrell holds a B.A. from Hastings College, is a graduate of the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has received a Certificate of Executive Leadership from the Wisconsin School of Business Center for Professional and Executive Development. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the March of Dimes - Nebraska Market.

"We could not be more excited to promote Molly to this position. She brings great passion and professionalism that continues to enhance the culture for our employees, customers, and shareholders," said Lynn Paul, Foundation One Bank President/COO. "I am confident that she will continue to lead an already great financial institution into the future."

About Foundation One Bank:

Foundation One Bank, established in January of 2009, currently has a diverse group of over eighty-five investors who represent a variety of industries and business interests, including investments, real estate, accounting, medicine, engineering, and manufacturing. Foundation One has an experienced Executive Management Team to lead the bank in areas of lending, operations, retail, and mortgage lending. Our belief is that a bank should be a place where the customer is valued and appreciated. It is a business where financial solutions are created to enhance our customer needs.
Thousands of Nebraskans braved freezing temperatures Saturday to attend the 49th annual Walk for Life at the Capitol.

Organized by Nebraska Right to Life, local and state officials spoke at the event, including Gov. Jim Pillen, U.S. Sens. Deb Fischer and Pete Ricketts, and U.S. Reps. Don Bacon and Mike Flood.

The speakers shared excitement over the overturning of Roe v. Wade last summer.

In June 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered the ruling that abortion is not a constitutional right in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization, which overruled Roe v. Wade, leaving the legality of abortion to individual states to decide.

Dobbs was a tremendous victory, Fischer said. It was the result of hard work, heart and commitment to a noble movement.

The annual rally comes just weeks after State Sen. Joni Albrecht of Thurston proposed a bill that would ban abortions in Nebraska after six weeks. Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha has introduced two bills that would expand abortion access in response.

If it has a heartbeat, its not going to be aborted in Nebraska, Albrecht told the crowd.

Participants marched from the Capitol to the Nebraska Union where speaker Dr. John Bruchalski greeted them.

Bruchalski is an OB-GYN who once performed abortions but now leads Tepeyac OB-GYN, one of the largest pro-life medical practices in the nation.

It was your prayer, it was your witness, that helped me change my heart on performing abortions to converting to life-affirming medicine, Bruchalski told the crowd.

Bruchalski called the younger members of the crowd to action.

You are the future, he said. All these young men and women in the high schools and the colleges, its you.

Before his closing remarks, Bruchalski heralded how Nebraska was fighting against abortion and thanked the participants of the march.

Your walk today mattered. Your presence today mattered.

A group of counterprotesters gathered outside the Nebraska Union .
WASHINGTON  The top Air Force general in charge of the nation's air- and ground-launched nuclear missiles has requested an official investigation into the number of officers who reported blood cancer diagnoses after serving at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana.

The illnesses became publicly known recently after The Associated Press obtained a military brief that at least nine missileers  those officers serving in underground bunkers near silo-based Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles and responsible for turning launch keys if ordered  reported diagnoses of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. One of the officers died.

Gen. Thomas A. Bussiere, commander of Air Force Global Strike Command, which is responsible for all of the silo-based and aircraft-launched nuclear warheads, said in a statement Friday that he requested the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine conduct a formal assessment into the reported cancers.

"Air Force Global Strike Command and our Air Force takes the responsibility to protect airmen and Guardians incredibly seriously, and their safety and health is always my top priority," Bussiere said. "While we continue to work through this process, service members and their dependents as well as former service members who may have concerns or have questions are encouraged to speak with their healthcare providers."

Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek added in a statement Saturday that the review will go beyond the launch officers initially identified.

Similar nuclear missile facilities are located at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota and F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming.

Gen. Bussiere asked for an assessment of the risks to all airmen and Guardians involved with the missile community who may be at risk, Stefanek said.

The Air Force told the AP on Jan. 22 that its medical teams were looking into the issue. Bussiere's request elevates that into a formal review conducted by the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine.

"We are working together to create courses of action moving forward. We are committed to remaining transparent during this process and we pledge to maintain an open dialogue with members, their families and stakeholders throughout," Bussiere said.

Over the last week, more missileers who served at Malmstrom or their families reached out to the AP to share their experiences with diagnoses of blood cancer and other types of cancer.

Concern about the cancers was raised by a Space Force officer in a January briefing to his unit. Many missileers transferred into the Space Force after it was created; at least 455 Space Force officers, including its highest-ranking officer, new Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman, served as missileers.

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, which according to the American Cancer Society affects an estimated 19 out of every 100,000 people in the U.S. annually, is a blood cancer that uses the body's infection-fighting lymph system to spread.

105 years of military history 1918: Meuse-Argonne Offensive 1919: Treaty of Versailles 1920: National Defense Act amended 1921: The Unknown Soldier 1922: Washington Naval Treaty 1923: Warlordism 1924: First U.S. occupation of Dominican Republic ends 1925: Riots in Shanghai 1926: U.S. squashes Nicaraguan coup detat 1927: China Marines in Shanghai 1928: Lt. Schilt receives Medal of Honor 1929: Cayes Massacre 1930: London Naval Treaty 1931: Japan violates League of Nations 1932: Military collides with Bonus Marchers 1934: U.S. occupation ends in Haiti 1935: GHQ Air Force and B-17 1936: Abraham Lincoln Brigade 1937: Protective Mobilization Plan 1938: Munich Agreement inspires U.S. hemisphere defense strategy 1939: World War II officially begins 1940: U.S. prepares for war 1941: U.S. enters WWII 1942: War with Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania 1943: Eisenhower chosen to lead Allies 1944: D-Day 1945: Battle of Iwo Jima 1946: First session of the United Nations 1947: Air Force, National Security Council founded, Cold War erupts 1949: North Atlantic Treaty 1950: Korean War begins 1951: Second capture of Seoul, Treaty of San Francisco 1952: First hydrogen bomb detonated 1953: Korean Armistice Agreement 1954: U.S. Air Force Academy established 1955: Navy helps evacuate Chinese Nationalist soldiers 1956: Hungarian Revolution 1957: Distant Early Warning Sign 1958: Lebanon crisis 1959: U.S. Special Forces train soldiers in Laos 1960: U.S.-Cuba standoff 1961: Bay of Pigs 1962: Cuban Missile Crisis 1963: Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty 1965: U.S. officially enters Vietnam War 1966: House Un-American Activities Committee 1967: Operation Swift 1968: Tet Offensive 1969: Nixon Doctrine 1970: U.S. troops invade Cambodia 1971: Conviction in My Lai Massacre 1972: Nguyen Hue Offensive 1973: Ceasefire signed 1974: U.S. evacuation of Cyprus 1975: End of Vietnam War 1976: Women admitted to service academies 1977: President Carters new foreign policy for Latin America 1978: Womens Army Corps dissolved 1979: Iranian Hostage Crisis 1980: Failed attempt to end hostage crisis 1981: Gulf of Sidra Incident 1982: Lebanese Civil War 1983: Peace agreement with Lebanon 1984: Marines leave Beirut 1985: Achille Lauro hijacked 1986: West Berlin discotheque bombing 1987: Iran-Iraq ceasefire 1988: USS Samuel B. Roberts hits naval mine 1989: Bush-Gorbachev meeting 1990: Chemical Weapons Accord 1991: Kuwait liberated 1993: Battle of Mogadishu 1994: Iraq Disarmament Crisis 1995: Capt. OGrady shot down behind enemy lines 1996: Comprehensive Nuclear-Test Ban Treaty 1998: U.S. embassies bombed 1999: Kosovo Force 2001: September 11 attacks 2002: Operation Anaconda 2003: Shock and awe 2004: No weapons of mass destruction 2005: Rumsfeld announces troop reduction 2006: Saddam hanged 2007: 21,500 more soldiers to Iraq 2008: U.S. Navy takes out U.S. spy satellite 2010: Dont Ask Dont Tell Repeal Act 2011: Osama bin Laden killed 2012: Benghazi attack 2013: Women can serve in combat 2014: Slashes to military budget 2015: Iran sanctions lifted 2016: Nuclear Security Summit 2017: Transgender ban in the military 2018: Space Force 2019: Iran reveals new missile defense system 2020: Trump deploys military against protestors 2021: U.S. troops fight COVID 105 years of military history 1918: Meuse-Argonne Offensive 1919: Treaty of Versailles 1920: National Defense Act amended 1921: The Unknown Soldier 1922: Washington Naval Treaty 1923: Warlordism 1924: First US occupation of Dominican Republic ends 1925: Riots in Shanghai 1926: US quashes Nicaraguan coup d'etat 1927: 'China Marines' in Shanghai 1928: Lt. Schilt receives Medal of Honor 1929: Cayes Massacre 1930: London Naval Treaty 1931: Japan violates League of Nations 1932: Military collides with Bonus Marchers 1934: US occupation ends in Haiti 1935: GHQ Air Force and B-17 1936: Abraham Lincoln Brigade 1937: Protective Mobilization Plan 1938: Munich Agreement inspires US defense strategy 1939: World War II officially begins 1940: US prepares for war 1941: US enters WWII 1942: War with Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania 1943: Eisenhower chosen to lead Allies 1944: D-Day 1945: Battle of Iwo Jima 1946: First session of the United Nations 1947: Air Force, National Security Council founded, Cold War erupts 1949: North Atlantic Treaty 1950: Korean War begins 1951: Second capture of Seoul, Treaty of San Francisco 1952: First hydrogen bomb detonated 1953: Korean Armistice Agreement 1954: US Air Force Academy established 1955: Navy helps evacuate Chinese Nationalist soldiers 1956: Hungarian Revolution 1957: Distant Early Warning Sign 1958: Lebanon crisis 1959: U.S. Special Forces train soldiers in Laos 1960: US-Cuba standoff 1961: Bay of Pigs 1962: Cuban Missile Crisis 1963: Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty 1965: US officially enters Vietnam War 1966: House Un-American Activities Committee 1967: Operation Swift 1968: Tet Offensive 1969: Nixon Doctrine 1970: US troops invade Cambodia 1971: Conviction in My Lai Massacre 1972: Nguyen Hue Offensive 1973: Ceasefire signed 1974: US evacuation of Cyprus 1975: End of Vietnam War 1976: Women admitted to service academies 1977: President Carter's new foreign policy for Latin America 1978: Women's Army Corps dissolved 1979: Iranian Hostage Crisis 1980: Failed attempt to end hostage crisis 1981: Gulf of Sidra Incident 1982: Lebanese Civil War 1983: Peace agreement with Lebanon 1984: Marines leave Beirut 1985: Achille Lauro hijacked 1986: West Berlin discotheque bombing 1987: Iran-Iraq ceasefire 1988: USS Samuel B. Roberts hits naval mine 1989: Bush-Gorbachev meeting 1990: Chemical Weapons Accord 1991: Kuwait liberated 1993: Battle of Mogadishu 1994: Iraq Disarmament Crisis 1995: Capt. O'Grady shot down behind enemy lines 1996: Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty 1998: US embassies bombed 1999: Kosovo Force 2001: September 11 attacks 2002: Operation Anaconda 2003: Shock and awe 2004: No weapons of mass destruction 2005: Rumsfeld announces troop reduction 2006: Saddam hanged 2007: 21,500 more soldiers to Iraq 2008: US Navy takes out US spy satellite 2010: Don't Ask Don't Tell Repeal Act 2011: Osama bin Laden killed 2012: Benghazi attack 2013: Women can serve in combat 2014: Slashes to military budget 2015: Iran sanctions lifted 2016: Nuclear Security Summit 2017: Refugees turned away; transgender ban reinstated 2018: Chemical weapons in Syria, creation of US Space Force 2019: Iran reveals new missile defense system 2020: Trump deploys military against protestors 2021: US troops fight COVID 2022: Top al-Qaeda leader killed
Gov. Jim Pillens initial jump into Nebraskas perennial, thorny debate over education funding is an impressive start.

Shortly after taking office, Pillen announced his self-described compromise plan to help make the states funding system work better for more of Nebraskas K-12 schools.

And as reporting by World-Herald staff writer Henry J. Cordes showed, the proposal also demonstrated the new governors ability to be bold and open-minded in trying to solve one of Nebraskas biggest challenges. Pillens approach smartly balances a variety of different concerns and priorities across the state he now leads.

He started by creating a broad, diverse task force, then listened to all sides during several meetings. Then he came back with a decisive plan that could benefit schools across the state.

Nebraska has long struggled with school finance policy. More than most other states, Nebraska has been sticking local homeowners, farmers and businesses with much of the bill for K-12 education through their property taxes. Since schools account for the largest share of such taxes, that high reliance has contributed to widespread discontent over the size of those tax bills.

Back in 1990, the Nebraska Legislature tried to address this by setting up the basis for the states current system of aid to school districts. It was intended to pour more state money into schools as well as equalize funding and tax burdens across districts.

In short, the aid formula calculates each districts needs based on enrollment and other factors. Then it calculates how much of those needs each district would be able to cover locally, mostly through local property taxes, assuming a specified tax rate. Then the state provides enough aid, in theory, to support the remaining needs.

But as property valuations have gone up, more and more Nebraska districts  about two-thirds of them  have seen their tax bases rise, preventing them from receiving equalization aid at all. Most are small or medium-sized districts, typically in rural areas. Making them pick up most or all of the cost of K-12 education puts added pressure on their local taxpayers, including farmers and ranchers.

Meanwhile, state leaders have sometimes spent less on schools than the aid formula called for, in order to save money. Overall, Nebraska has slipped to 49th in the nation in the percentage of K-12 money that comes from state dollars.

As a candidate, Pillen complained that rural districts in particular were being unfairly treated. After his November victory, he doubled down on his criticism of the current system, saying it was time to blow it up  a comment that concerned some educators in urban areas who depend on the state aid promised under the current system.

But when Pillen came back to the school finance task force after the initial listening sessions, his plan didnt blow up the current system. Instead, it would work along with the existing system to benefit both rural and urban districts.

First, rural districts and others that dont qualify for equalization aid would receive $1,500 per student in foundational state aid  $113 million they dont get now, which could help reduce their local property taxes.

Districts in the Omaha and Lincoln areas, as well as other cities, mostly wouldnt get that extra money. But they also wouldnt lose their current state equalization aid because of it.

Additionally, all districts would benefit from $157 million in added state support for special education programs. Despite past promises, Nebraska hasnt been covering its share of special education costs, leaving local districts holding the bag.

All told, the combined $270 million boost in K-12 funding this year would work out to a 21% increase, the largest in a quarter century.

And to help ensure future funding for those two initiatives, Pillen also wants to transfer $1 billion in state funds this year into a trust fund thats intended to grow eventually to $2.5 billion. Creating a reserve that can support the states school aid commitments in leaner times is a prudent and proactive approach.

Naturally, it helps that Nebraska state government is flush with cash right now. The states surplus enabled Pillen to craft a school finance plan that smooths out difficult issues by adding more money for everyone.

But Pillens plan isnt merely throwing money at a problem. Its a matter of using Nebraskas resources wisely to develop its most important human asset: the states next generation.

Education is an essential function for the state, and putting money into it is, as the governor has said, an investment for the future.

State senators are likely to tinker with the details of Pillens proposals. There surely will be debates over possible improvements and even alternative ideas. Were not saying that the governors plan is perfect as it stands.

But we do like how Pillen got to that proposal  how he moved beyond campaign rhetoric to a strategy that seems well-grounded in the legitimate needs of all Nebraska schools.

Its encouraging that with this early policy initiative, Pillen is demonstrating leadership, a commitment to good governance and an aptitude for problem solving.

Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of January 2023
Kirby Elementary District 140 in Tinley Park plans focus groups, including interviews with current and former students, parents, teachers and community members, in part to assess how prepared students are to enter high school.

Elements of the strategic plan being created are to be put in place before the start of the 2023-2024 school year, according to Superintendent Daniel Callaghan.

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Callaghan said he and the board do not anticipate the strategic plan and its recommendations will reveal any serious flaws in how the district is preparing students, but will establish a road map for the district, with the plan being reviewed on a regular basis.

A community survey is also part of the process, and focus group sessions are planned for Feb. 7 and 8, Callaghan said. Results will be analyzed by the district with the help of an outside consultant, and a tentative strategic plan is scheduled to be presented to the school board in May, he said.

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Callaghan said the district is kind of at ground zero without an existing strategic plan, but said there is a basic framework in place and its a matter of putting it down on paper and having a common vision.

Callaghan said the districts enrollment has held steady at about 3,500 students, serving primarily students from Tinley Park but also Orland Hills and Orland Park. The district has five elementary and two middle schools.

In his 20th year with the district, Callaghan had been director of curriculum and instruction, an assistant principal and principal.

District 140 is working with Schaumburg-based Hazard, Young, Attea, and Associates to conduct the strategic planning process, with the firm responsible for conducting interviews and focus groups and presenting its findings.

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The strategic planning committee includes teachers, district administrators and community members, Callaghan said. He said the goal is to get input from a variety of sources.

I truly believe it is a community effort, not just one person making decisions or seven board members having the final say, Callaghan said.

The survey, for example, will be available to all district residents, regardless of whether they have students attending district schools.

Just because you dont have child attending Kirby doesnt mean you dont have valuable input, he said.

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There will be 26 focus groups, and the results of those sessions and the community survey information will be returned toward the end of February.

The approach we are taking is research based, which means that decisions come from data rather than intuition, Callaghan said.

mnolan@tribpub.com
State Farm got a little free advertising  sort of  on "Saturday Night Live" this weekend.

A sketch starring "Black Panther" actor Michael B. Jordan as Jake, the main character in the company's ads, in a spoof on the Bloomington-based insurance giant's typical commercials.

The sketch starts out as a typical State Farm ad: A little girl has decided to "give her toys a bath" in the toilet, and a frustrated couple played by "SNL" stars Mikey Day and Heidi Gardner are preparing to pay for repairs. That's when Jordan, as Jake, shows up, promising that "State Farm has you covered, no matter what the issue."

The adults banter. Jordan offers a warm smile and the company's slogan: "Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there." Day's character leaves for work.

That's when things take a turn.

Day's character returns home to find that Jake is still there and has started to assimilate into the family. A series of scenes with increasingly tense undertones show Jake bonding with the wife and kids over time, while the husband grows increasingly depressed and caustic.

Throughout, Jordan's character continues to offer State Farm slogans. "Save even more when you bundle home and auto," he whispers menacingly after shoving the husband against a wall.

The sketch's conclusion brings Day's character to a bridge railing, where it appears the situation is about to grow very dark  before another insurance company mascot shows up to save the day.

State Farm logos through the years 1925: The first logo 1929: Life Company 1935: Fire 1953: Tri-ovals 2012 Brand
BLOOMINGTON  Here's some good news: Rates of respiratory illness are down in Central Illinois following surges late last year.

Concerns of a so-called "tripledemic"  notably high cases of flu, COVID and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)  have mostly faltered since the fall. In Bloomington-Normal, flu and RSV cases peaked during October and November.

"Now, RSV has gone down. We saw that hit pretty hard in October (and) November," said Lynn Fulton, president of OSF HealthCare St. Joseph Medical Center in Bloomington. "We're just not seeing quite as many kids coming into our (Emergency Decision Unit) with severe illness. There still are some (and) it's still out there, but not to the levels that were there in the fall."

OSF launched its OnCall digital remote monitoring service during those peak months of RSV for families who were at home with their children, she said, and it is starting to see a decrease in interactions.

Whats next, experts say, is a new era of COVID.

We're moving toward what a lot of epidemiologists are referring to as the endemic phase, said Dr. Ted Clark, chief medical officer at Decatur Memorial Hospital. The endemic phase means COVID is just hanging around, and you've got some new variants that are popping up every year. And they're coming out, again, particularly in the winter months. So I would expect COVID to follow similar seasonal trends to what we see with influenza.

McLean County has seen confirmed COVID cases reduce in numbers since the height of the pandemic. Marianne Manko, a spokeswoman for the McLean County Health Department, said the community is handling the disease better when it comes to overall health.

But it isn't going away any time soon.

We know its moving into being from pandemic to endemic," she said. "Its something that we have to live with, and people are doing a good job of learning how to test, staying home when theyre sick, keeping up with the vaccinations, contacting their doctor and measuring their symptoms.

The opinion extends to experts beyond Central Illinois.

Earlier this month, the CEO of Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis also used the word "endemic" to describe the possible future of COVID.

"If you look over the last two years, we have populations that have built up immunity, you have a virus thats continuing to make shifts," Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan told CNBC, "but I think what were going to settle into is more of an endemic environment with respect to coronaviruses and the COVID virus specifically."

In Ohio, Columbus Public Health Commissioner Dr. Mysheika Roberts said last month that it was too early to tell when COVID might enter the endemic phase. But Roberts told The Columbus Dispatch that the virus could ultimately mimic the flu, returning each fall and winter. "Like the flu shot, I anticipate COVID boosters will be something we need annually," she said.

The possible nearing of COVIDs endemic phase comes as a new subvariant is spreading across the state.

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the omicron subvariant XBB.1.5  unofficially dubbed "Kraken" by some  made up 43% of COVID cases across the U.S. and 14% in the Midwest as of the week ending Jan. 14. Those percentages were up 12.6% and 5.8%, respectively, from the week before.

Dr. John Wieland, chief medical officer for Carle BroMenn Medical Center in Normal and Carle Eureka Hospital, said a nationwide trend of low influenza vaccination is contributing to higher case numbers and hospitalizations related to the flu.

We will continue to see flu cases in higher numbers than past years, and the new XBB COVID variant may lead to increased hospital cases, Wieland said. Our response to the community is to encourage people to get vaccinated against influenza and COVID-19, and to stay current on COVID boosters.

Though the tripledemic might not have materialized as some feared, health care workers are now left preparing for a future thats not easy to predict.

WHAT HAPPENED?

Cases of flu and RSV surge at various points every year. But in 2022, the end of most mask mandates and other pandemic-related mitigation measures resulted in a particularly unusual RSV spike.

"We had some pretty mild seasons (of other respiratory illness) over COVID, and there's common sense reasons for that because we were taking all these measures," Manko said. "There were masks and social distancing and staying home that reduced COVID, but it reduced respiratory illnesses, too."

In Central Illinois, last year's surge affected around 30 to 40% of OSF HealthCare St. Joseph Medical Center's capacity, while staffing shortages continue to be challenge for many hospitals.

"I don't know if there's a hospital in the country, if you ask that question, if they can honestly tell you they have no staffing concerns," Fulton said. "We saw a lot of nurses, techs, respiratory therapists and physicians leave the field of medicine because of the impact of the pandemic, and it takes a while to ramp that back up."

But RSV cases have been on a steady downtrend since November in Bloomington-Normal and across the state. For the states youngest patients, hospitalization rates are down, too.

A spokesman for the Illinois Department of Public Health said pediatric ICU capacity was in the single digits in October and November, but about 30% of beds were available earlier this month.

According to IDPH and CDC data, COVID case rates are declining statewide.

On Friday, the state said 20 counties in Illinois were at an elevated COVID level, compared to 28 the week before. No counties were at a high community level, down from three the previous week. All 20 counties were at a medium level.

It is good news that COVID-19 community levels are continuing to decline in Illinois, with no counties listed at high level, IDPH director Dr. Sameer Vohra said in a news release. We are seeing a gradual increase in the rate of the XBB.1.5 Kraken variant in the Midwest and Illinois compared to last week."

While concerns about the variant remain, Vohra said, it is not currently leading to an increase in hospitalizations.

Fulton said COVID will continue to "ebb and flow" over time.

"You do see some increase with cold temperatures just because people are inside more," Fulton said, "but we've also seen that increase at other times of the year. We're just always cautious that another variant could come out and we could continue to see ... the rolling hills that I described with COVID."

McLean County is currently rated at a low community level, though data from the county health department showed a December increase in COVID cases and deaths, up about 300 cases from the month before.

Various Central Illinois hospitals saw flu case rate spikes in early December, somewhat early for an average cold and flu season.

"It's not unusual for us to see spikes at given times when respiratory illnesses are going to be spreading a lot, and that's when we have holiday events and gatherings," Manko said.

Both Fulton at OSF St. Joseph and Wieland at Carle BroMenn confirmed flu hospitalization numbers have gone down since December, but Manko said it's still possible for spikes to come about in February and March, just in time for Valentine's Day and spring break.

CORONAVIRUS LOWERING

Case numbers from last year indicate that McLean County is in a steady downward trend of COVID cases and deaths, Manko said.

"I mean, it's shocking how many deaths occurred this time last year, but when we take a look at what 2023 looks like, it's very different," Manko said.

McLean County saw its biggest spikes in COVID cases and hospitalizations at the beginning of 2022 and is now seeing a stark contrast in numbers, she said.

From November through December 2021, the county saw a total of 7,168 confirmed cases and 63 total deaths, while there was only 1,982 confirmed and 11 total deaths the same time last year.

In January 2022, the county averaged 529 new cases per day. This year, the average is about 20 new cases per day, Manko said.

In total, there were 16,394 confirmed case in January 2022 and 526 confirmed cases so far in January 2023.

"We do have more cases than that because we have a lot more home tests that we didn't have last year, and with people who just are not getting those PCR tests all the time, so they don't all get reported," Manko said. "We also know by taking a look at our wastewater surveillance, how our hospitals and medical community are affected by COVID, that we're doing significantly better in January 2023 than we were this time last year."

All sources who spoke to Lee Enterprises for this story agreed that preventative measures such as vaccines help to prevent serious illness in most cases.

COVID vaccines from MCHD can be scheduled by calling 309-888-5435 for adults and 309-888-5455 for children. To find other locations offering COVID-19 vaccines and boosters, visit vaccines.gov.

Additionally, IDPH recommends all elderly and immunocompromised people regularly wear masks in indoor public places.

"I think if we can continue to be good citizens and protect our communities that we can all get through this together, just like we have for the last three years," Fulton said.
BLOOMINGTON  A Bellflower man was arrested Friday after state investigators found him possessing hundreds of fentanyl pills.

Charging documents provided Saturday to The Pantagraph by the McLean County State's Attorney's Office state Kevin L. Allen, 26, was arrested Friday on two felony charges: unlawful delivery of a controlled substance, a Class X felony, and unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, a Class 1 felony.

Assistant State's Attorney Jeffrey Horve told The Pantagraph that Allen was arrested as part of an ongoing Illinois State Police Task Force 6 investigation.

He said the Class X charge stems from delivery of 11.5 grams of fentanyl, or 100 pills containing the substance; the Class 1 possession charge resulted from Allen possessing 850 pills with fentanyl.

Horve said investigators believe the pills were illicitly stamped, or manufactured.

Additional details on what preceded Allen's arrest were not available Saturday.

Allen's bond was set at $200,000, with 10% to apply for release.

A booking photo was not immediately available.
Just a few comments concerning the extreme weather our nation has had in the past three years. Billions of dollars of damage took place in 2020 and 2021.

2022 was almost as bad. The third costly U.S. hurricane on record was Ian with $112.9 billion of damage followed by $22.2 billion from a western and midwestern drought that even halted large traffic on the Mississippi river.

Of course the climatologists think its just climate change, but hasnt there been climate change for 6,000 years?

The largest climate change happened approximately in 2349 B.C.

The wickedness of the people in the world provoked Gods wrath that caused him to cause the flood that killed all mankind and animals, except eight humans were saved in an ark that a man named Noah built, by Gods help, an ark that held a massif number of animals, and birds, two by two and Noah, his wife and three sons and their wives. Approximately 2,000 years after God created mankind and all flesh.

I was born in 1931, almost 2,000 years A.D. As a farmer we always had to watch the weather. And knew that God is in control.

My family had a log cabin at Lake Bloomington for 40 years. I remember when they added five feet to the spillway. We have not had a drought since 2012. We drove by the lake lately and the water is down at least five feet.

It is in Gods control, but in my weakness I feel that a drought could happen this summer. California had droughts for several years and it could move this way. Hope I am wrong.

John Gramm, Gridley
BLOOMINGTON  With more than a dozen Mexican restaurants, two Mexican groceries and some church services conducted in Spanish, longtime residents might be wondering how immigrant communities have coalesced here over time.

Two local institutions reach out to incoming Mexicans and other Spanish speakers to offer help finding medical, school, legal and other resources.

One is Western Avenue Community Center, which has expanded its offerings to include interpretation help in a variety of situations a Spanish-speaking immigrant might encounter. Camila Graunke, an immigrant from Ecuador, heads the Center's programs for Spanish speakers, which include GED classes in Spanish, as well as employment, legal and medical aid.

Similarly, the Immigration Project greets new arrivals with services ranging from legal assistance to removal defense. Further, the Immigration Project's aid includes mortgage, utility and food procurement.

A look at our history, however, shows that much of this is nothing new  not in a community that once had a German American Bank, a German-language newspaper and three elementary schools in which most of the courses were taught in German. While the list of government requirements was much smaller before 1900, the availability of help from other Germans was comparable or perhaps even more extensive than what Mexicans and other Spanish-speaking immigrants can find today.

In other words, the Mexican inflow is simply the latest version of something that this community, and this nation, have encountered throughout our history. Simply put, it is the American way.

A quick look at the earlier German experience might help enlighten doubters of this history. Archives at the McLean County Museum of History provide extensive assistance for this search.

Stories began to circulate of this new influx, such as the one told by 1842 visitor Charles Dickens, who encountered an encampment of German emigrants carrying their goods in carts near Belleville, Illinois, a town that already had a German political campaign newspaper. Across the Mississippi River, St. Louis counted its population in 1860, and it found that Germans formed almost a third of the citizenry.

Illinois was a major destination for German immigration. In 1854, a third of the residents who called the Illinois River port community of Peru home were German. By 1860, Chicago counted 22,230 Germans in its population of 109,260; Germans made up almost 8 percent of Illinois' total population that year.

By 1855 Bloomington had 300 Germans, many with skills and ready to workno doubt encouraged by letters such as one reprinted in a German city newspaper, reporting that the land is so 'fat' that the laborer can always count on a good harvest. There are so few workers that they have to pay them well. ... The paradise of America is Illinois.

In 1877, Bloomington's German residents had a German-language newspaper The Bloomington Journal  and by then German churches provided a chance to worship in German, and to send their children to a German parochial school.

Trinity Lutheran Church was founded in 1858, and St. Mary's Catholic Church in 1867. With Catholics, the national parish system had grown out of intra-Catholic feuds earlier in Boston, when English-speaking Irish Catholics had argued that in America everything should be in English. But Germans argued Language keeps faith, and this became the motto of immigrant arrivals who did not speak English.

Those on the losing side of the 1848 German revolution included many rationalists, and these freethinkers soon wanted their own church and school in Bloomington. The German Free School Society opened in 1863, siding with those who opposed the Protestant Bible used in the public schools. The freethinkers enrolled children of Jewish and atheist families also.

And Germans established in Bloomington an institution they had known in Germany: The Turnverein, an exercise center that soon became the newcomers' social center. At the 1883 dedication of their new building, the director said that while we love to cherish the memories, the habits and customs of our Fatherland; and cling with reverent fondness to our mother tongue, they still vowed to be good citizens of the land of our adoption.

As well as opening groceries, the Germans also built breweries. They needed these for what became known as their Continental Sundayswhen they would leave church service and proceed to restaurants where music, dancing and drinking were the norm. But controversy soon followed: Sunday was not a day for drinking, reformers argued, and the anti-alcohol movement soon targeted the Germans. Temperance meetings often produced mobs that smashed windows and bottles in beer-selling groceries.

The growing anti-slavery movement soon knocked aside this furor, however, and Germans were a dominant group here for decades. In 1913 the community held a German Days Celebration, with a parade featuring many groups, including the Irish, and witnessed by some 25,000 people.

But one year later, World War I erupted in Europe, and by 1918 Bloomington schools dropped teaching German, and the German-language newspaper was forced to publish in English only. Businesses also felt obliged to change their names to hide their German heritage.

Despite the many German families, whose sons became U.S. soldiers, the German era in Bloomington was finished.
Remember high school and its issues?

Peer pressure  grades  romantic interests  that drivers license  mulling college  angst  algebra  awkwardness 

Rosemarie Sender had one other:

Escaping Nazis.

This was in the 1930s, as Adolf Hitler set aim on an entire race.

You know how everyone you meet in life has a past that naturally you dont fully know?

Rosemarie, too.

She quietly passed the other night, triumphantly still in her own Bloomington home, after a remarkable 37,410 trips around the sun.

Rosemarie was 102 years old!

At her earthly end was realization of an amazing journey.

She was feisty and funny, with the German attribute of not suffering fools gladly, said a son, Alan Sender, at her funeral, the ex-WJBC newsman, later chief operating officer of Bloomington-based Chestnut Health Systems and today, in retirement, chairman of the airport authority that oversees Central Illinois Regional Airport.

His mom?

Imagine this in your own high school years 

In a small town in western Germany, on their way home from school one day, she and a sister were stopped in front of their dads downtown shoe store and told they could no longer enter their own store.

The government had taken it over.

Shortly thereafter, they were ejected from schools.

Their friends and neighbors turned on them, encouraged by Nazi leaders to ostracize them.

Then the Nazis seized their home.

All because they were Jewish.

Like thousands of others, they were forced to either subject or flee somewhere else in the world.

Thus, in 1938, after 18-year-old Rosemarie and her family were able to secure papers to America  it was through a distant American relative  never heard from again were many of their other relatives.

It was such a terror-filled time that an aunt and uncle, fearing the worst, one day turned on the gas stove in their own home to allow it to do its work, rather than allow the Nazis.

That was lifes backdrop for Rosemarie.

Settling with her family in Chicago, she took a job making shoes while at night taking English classes.

She showed little patience for immigrants who didnt make it a priority to learn English. She believed it a privilege to be in America, is how a longtime family friend, Don Munson, the WJBC-radio icon, puts it.

After her husband, another Jewish immigrant, passed in 1973, and their three kids were grown, she moved to Bloomington, to be closer to family.

There, in a span that itself would become a quarter-century, Rosemarie did volunteer work at OSF St. Joseph Medical Center, voted in every election and became a pillar in her synagogue, the Moses Montefiore Temple, off Towanda Avenue in Bloomington.

An inveterate baker, she delighted friends and family at holiday time with her breads and cookies, stored in gigantic empty coffee cans.

We never could imagine she could drink that much coffee, muses Munson.

While her son, Alan, toiled at his occupations and daughter-in-law, Elizabeth Robb Sender, was chief judge of the 11th Judicial Circuit Court, Rosemarie was a hands-on grandmother.

Those two girls (Jessica and Molly) and their grandmother, said another close family friend, Doug Peppers, of Bloomington, were as close as they possibly could be.

Her vitality a marvel, if not an envy by those much younger (OK, like me), even after her 100th, a senior fitness trainer came into her home a couple afternoons a week for workouts, despite the occasional moans, groans and we-have-to-do-this-again?! grouses of a quick-witted centenarian.

She also never forgot.

As recent outbreaks of antisemitism arose, she warned to those around  This is how it starts  and when shed spot an obituary of a Jew whod lived a long life, she would quip in what became a mantra: No one should die any younger.

And so it was about two weeks ago now, having taken a recent fall, she nonetheless carried out the nightly ritual  caught a couple episodes of old "Perry Masons," the news, another round of Jeopardy, then off to bed.

Then, in the words of Alan, she snored for a little bit and then she didnt.

And that, he adds, was the end of one interesting life.

Her passage coincidentally came just in advance of Holocaust Remembrance Day.

It was this past Friday.

No one should die any younger?

So agreed.

And everyone should live so long, so doggedly and so gloriously.
Founder of defunct Capital Bank, William Ato Essien, says he should not be jailed if he fails to pay GH20 million to the state by 28th April 2023.



He wants to rather be given the opportunity to explain why he has defaulted.



This plea is contained in documents filed by Mr Essiens lawyers challenging the 13th December 2022 decision of the High Court presided over by Justice Eric Kyei Baffuor.



Justice Baffuor had on the said date convicted Mr Essien on his own plea of guilty and accepted the terms of an agreement he had entered into with the Attorney Generals Office.



Under the terms of the agreement, Mr Essien who was accused of stealing admitted to the offence.



He was required to pay an amount of GH90 million as restitution and reparation to the state within one year. This would see him pay an initial 30 million (which has been paid) and refund the remaining 60 million in three instalments.



The first is due latest by April 28, 2023, while the second is on August 31, 2023.



Justice Baffuor warned that if there was any default in the payment or it even fell short of the required amount, Mr Essien was to be arrested and produced in court for a custodial sentence to be imposed.



But Mr Essien in fresh court documents, however, points out that current economic challenges make it imperative for him to be given the opportunity to explain a default before any such move is undertaken.



Background



William Ato Essien, Rev. Fitzgerald Odonkor, and Tetteh Nettey, a former managing director of MC Management Service, owned by Mr Essien, were accused of participating in a 23-count conspiracy to steal GH620 million in liquidity support that the Bank of Ghana (BoG) provided to the bank to help it pay off its maturing debt.



The accused opened a number of bank accounts with Capital Bank, according to the prosecution, through which the GH620 million BoG liquidity support was transferred, while others were transported in jute bags to Ato Essien.



Meanwhile, the two individuals standing trial together with the founder of Capital Bank, William Ato Essien, have been acquitted and discharged.

Source: adomonline.com









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South Africa's foreign minister Naledi Pandor on Friday called on mobile operator MTN Group (MTNJ.J) and the Ghana Revenue Authority to find a solution to a $773 million tax dispute.



Earlier this month MTN said the Ghana Revenue Authority issued the company's subsidiary MTN Ghana (MTNGH.GH) with a bill for back taxes after auditing it for the years 2014 to 2018 and inferring that it had under-declared its revenue by about 30% during the period.



MTN, which has a presence in 19 countries in Africa and the Middle East, said at the time that it disputed the "accuracy and basis" of the assessment and that it would fight it.



Minister Pandor was briefed on the issue this week and called "on the parties involved to do everything possible to find an amicable solution," South Africa's Department Of International Relations and Cooperation said in a statement.





Source: Reuters









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Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Wamkele Mene is urging Africa Businessmen to use the challenges confronting them as an opportunity to develop the continent.



The AfCFTA Secretary-General who was speaking at the maiden Africa Prosperity Dialogues at the Safari Valley Resort in Adukrom in the Okere District of the Eastern Region said the continents development is long overdue and this is the time for the continent to fast-track its development.



Mene explained that It is an honour for us to be part of this dialogue because we have an opportunity as Africans a positive narrative about the challenges that we confront.



Indeed, I believe that Africas challenges are Africas opportunities, he added.

Source: dailyguidenetwork.com









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The Ghana Armed Forces says it is embarking on stringent measures to deal with the unauthorized use of military uniforms and equipment by civilians.



In a statement released by the military states that The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) wishes to serve notice that it has embarked on more stringent measures in accordance with the law and its rules of engagement, to appropriately deal with the growing menace of individuals and various groups, using military pattern clothing, equipment and another accoutrement in the country.



GAF is putting in these extra measures following disclosures and investigations which indicate that some miscreants have been deliberately acquiring these military pattern clothing and equipment including guns, for diabolical reasons thereby escalating tension in some communities and also placing the Ghana Armed Forces in disrepute.



This comes after GAF recently arrested a man in Bawku engaged in the re-spraying of a vehicle in military pattern colours on Wednesday, December 21, 2022.



Also, reports indicate some persons dressed in military patterns and military colour shades of clothing, have been allegedly engaged in several criminal activities towards the end of last year and early this month. These incidents have led to unsubstantiated allegations and the circulation of false information in the media that military personnel were rather responsible for these acts.



GAF has therefore assured the public that its personnel are putting in all efforts to fish out these alleged perpetrators who wear military pattern clothing and use military equipment to commit crimes and to deceive the unsuspecting public.



These miscreants and imposters are derailing the immense role the Ghana Armed Forces is playing in order to secure the country, restore normalcy to some conflict-prone areas, and deter crime in various parts of the country.



GAF, therefore, requires the maximum cooperation of all Ghanaians as it puts in these stringent measures to curb the sale, wearing of military uniforms and use of military-grade equipment by unauthorised persons as it is prohibited under NLCD 177. Those who continue to violate this Decree and others who connive in this violation will be dealt with and made to face the full rigours of the law if found, the statement further stated.



Ghana Armed Forces have assured the general public of its commitment to protecting the citizenry at all times. It is therefore soliciting the support of all to enforce these measures in the interest of the needed peace and security for Ghanas socio-economic development.

Source: dailyguidenetwork.com









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Speak Out allows readers to comment on the issues of the day. Email Speak Out at speakout@southtownstar.com or call 312-222-2427. Please limit comments to 30 seconds or about 100 words and give your first name and your hometown.

For a man who presumably wants to be president, Ron DeSantis is sure taking an odd route to capturing his partys nomination. De-Sanctimonious has decided that his path to the White House will be determined by social issues. The way hes trying to whitewash reality may soon be rejected by the courts. This is precisely what far-right Christian conservatives truly desire and exactly why we have to keep as many of them out of elected office as possible.

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Wes, Orland Park

The elite leaders of countries around the world met in Switzerland. Their goal seems to be to have one global autocratic government that would control every country on earth. The undemocrat party is all for it. Imagine the political corruption that would then be worldwide instead of just here, China, Russia and other individual countries. The elites think that they are so smart that they can govern over the entire planet.

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Bill, Plainfield

I see where Brandon Johnson wants to tax Chicagoans and suburbanites 3.5% on city income, a city income tax for anybody who earns a $100,000 or more. What is he nuts? People from Cook County, the suburbs are going to pay the tax? If thats the case, why dont you let us vote for the mayor of Chicago. Anybody involved for this guy must live in the city.

Jimbo, Chicago Heights

We read where the Democrats want a nationwide boycott of Fox News. Ever wonder why? They just cant stand that so many millions of viewers/listeners would have access the Foxs facts rather than Bidens so-called Democratic truths that they want us to believe.

RHS, Oak Forest

I remember when I was younger, you could hop the L and go downtown, walk around, go to a show, go get something to eat. You never had to worry about anything. But now with Mayor Lightfoot, I dont care what she says that shootings are down and killings are down, every day you read the paper about this woman that is not doing anything. More businesses are leaving downtown and going somewhere else. I can see why the Bears have left and everybody is leaving downtown.

Ken, Burbank
Father Adeodatus Muhigi is among the Roman Catholic faithful in Democratic Republic of Congo's restive city of Goma who prepared to welcome Pope Francis last July, before the pontiff had to postpone a trip to Africa because of a knee ailment.



Now instead of welcoming the pope in Goma during the rescheduled trip, Father Muhigi will join dozens of other Catholics from the east, including victims of violence and natural disasters, who are making the cross-country journey to the Congolese capital Kinshasa this week.



When the plan for Francis' visit to the Central African Country, the first by a pontiff in 38 years, was revived in December, there was no longer any mention of a visit to Goma after rebel violence flared in the region.



"We were looking forward to it with great joy," Father Muhigi said. "It's not a disappointment for me, because it's understandable," he said.



"We know that it was in his heart to come to Goma, that is why he insisted that there should be a group from Goma, especially victims of the violence who he wanted to meet. So, we understand. It shows that he really wanted to come."



Eastern Congo has witnessed a resurgence of fighting between the Tutsi-led M23 rebel group and the Congolese army. The rebels have seized territories in a rapid onslaught and advanced to around 20 km (12 miles) from Goma. The fighting has displaced at least 450,000 people.



Father Muhigi said many of the people from the east who would meet the pope were those affected by the fighting.



"We have focused on victims - victims of the various wars, violence, and those who suffered natural disasters," he said.



He held a last service on Sunday before the 1,500 km (930 mile) trip to the capital, leading a congregation in prayer in a simple blue-painted chapel.



"Here we have volcanic eruption and war. He is coming so that we always know that God is here, he is with us. God does not abandon us despite our suffering," said congregant Sister Marie-Julienne Mwene Bikira, who is also travelling to Kinshasa.



In 2021, a volcanic eruption outside Goma left a smoking trail of destruction half a mile wide, burying hundreds of houses and displacing thousands of people.

Source: Reuters









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The Wenchi Municipality in the Bono Region is noted for the annual influx of cattle, particularly during the dry season, in search of greener pasture.



They come from the neighbouring Sahelian regions, led by their herdsmen in search of a favourable place to feed them.



In the process, they destroy both food and cash crop in addition to streams to the annoyance of local farmers.



The situation sometimes leads to clashes between the farmers and the herdsmen and creates a security threat in the areas they pasture.



Arrest



Last week, 13 farmers from the Buasu/Kwame Pinsang Electoral Area in the Wenchi Municipality were arrested by the police for allegedly killing 30 cattles in the area.



The farmers allegedly took the action when they accused the herdsmen of allowing their cattle to destroy their farm produce.



According to the Chairman of Justice and Security subcommittee of the Wenchi Municipal Assembly who is also the Assembly member for Koase, Acheampong Badu, the herdsmen invaded those communities with their cattle and destroyed maize, plantain and other crops.



"We had distress calls from Buasu/ Kwame Pinsang Electoral Area that herds of cattle had invaded their farms destroying crops".



Mr Badu explained that about 30 cattle were slaughtered in the area, adding that the police have commenced preliminary investigation into the matter.



According to him, two of the herdsmen have also been arrested by the police to assist in the investigations.



Affected farmers concerns



Some of the affected farmers told the Daily Graphic that they had become helpless since it was impossible for them to stop the herds of cattle from destroying their farms.



One of them, Kofi Antwi, said it was regrettable that "after taking loans to invest in our farms, these herdsmen come and destroy our crops such as maize, plantain, beans and cashew farms, among others".



He stated that for the past four years, the invasion of cattle had become a headache to farmers in the area.



"Acres of farm produce in the area had been destroyed within days. Our toil and sweat have been in vain and we are left with nothing to take care of our children," Mr Antwi lamented.



Another affected farmer, Akua Frimpomaa, added that the cattle were not only destroying food and cash crops but also streams which served as their source of drinking water.



MCE response



Speaking to the Daily Graphic, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of Wenchi, Alexander Damoah, explained that the invasion of cattle to the area seasonally had become a security concern.



He said even though he had vowed not to allow cattle herdsmen to enter the municipality, the cattle herdsmen had been able to do so through unapproved routes in the bush.



"I have held meetings with my counterparts in the neighbouring districts and municipalities to make sure that cattle were not allowed to enter the Wenchi municipality from their areas, he said.



"Why on earth should people rearing cattle use farm produce of farmers, who had contracted loans for their farming ventures, to feed their cattle," Mr Damoah stated.



According to him, the farmers who were arrested had now been released on bail while the issue was still pending.



"Even though it was very difficult to prevent the herdsmen from entering the municipality with their cattle, everything was being done to prevent them from doing so," he added.



Mr Damoah called for calm and called on stakeholders to assist the Wenchi Municipal Security Council (MUSEC) to stop the situation.

Source: graphic.com.gh









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A Senior Research Fellow of the Kumasi Technical University, Dr. Smart Sarpong has condemned the approach used by the leadership of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to make changes in the Minority Caucus in Parliament.



The NDC, in a statement, announced the removal of the Tamale South MP, Haruna Iddrisu as Minority Leader and replaced him with the Member of Parliament for Ajumako-Enyan-Esiam and a former Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson.



The statement also named a new Minority Whip in the person of Hon. Kwame Agbodza to replace Muntaka Mubarak, MP for Asawase.



The party stressed that the new leadership would be charged to recommend consequential changes in the Ranking membership to the headquarters of the party for approval.



But Dr. Smart Sarpong, speaking on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo" show, was unhappy with the NDC leadership asking why they failed to inform the caucus before announcing the new changes.



To him, the best thing that the party led by its National Chairman, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, should have done was to consult with the leaders, particularly the affected persons, to avoid turbulence and protest from the grass root level.



He cautioned the party's new national executives, specifically Mr. Asiedu Nketia, not to abuse the power given him by the members and supporters of the party.



"Let us be careful in how we use the power that people give us on those same people...In every step you are going to take from today onwards, please try and consult", he said and cautioned the NDC not to underestimate the relevance of votes from the constituencies that the two leaders, Haruna Iddrisu and Muntaka Mubarak represent in Parliament...NDC cannot afford to lose Asawase seat. The votes that Asawase gives them is equal to or even more than about two or three constituencies in the Volta Region."





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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The Chief Executive Officer of the Youth Employment Agency (YEA) Kofi Baah Agyepong has told Ghanaians that the Akufo-Addo-led government have been susceptible to the plight of Ghanaians in the face of global economic crises.



According to him, this has been done by reducing the pressure and burden on Ghanaians through the further creation of jobs, skills acquisitions and Entrepreneurial development of the Youth.



This he adds is evident in the creation of over seventeen thousand (17000) jobs in just over the last four months by the Youth Employment Agency through its Community Heath Worker Programme CHWS, Prisons Office Assistants, Community Protection Assistants, the YEA Jobcentre and partnerships with the private sector.



Mr Agyepong made the revelation when he was addressing a passing-out parade of One Thousand and Sixty Four (1,064) of the second batch of CPAs Beneficiaries drawn from the Bono, Ashanti, Bono East, Ahafo and Western North region. This represented the total five thousand and four hundred (5400), who were concurrently passing out at the various Police Training Schools in the country.



In his speech, the CEO averred that Akufo-Addo's government aligns with Ghanaians and agrees that we are not in regular times and charged YEA and other Agencies to refocus on creating employment and improving conditions of service for employees. According to him the Agency has already made over 17000 jobs since his assumption as CEO and is poised to create thousands of more jobs before the close of 2023.



Apart from rolling out the traditional modules, allowances of Beneficiaries have now been increased to 500 cedis. There is also a deepened partnership with the diplomatic community and private sector to create more private sector led jobs.



Mr Agyepong also told the gathering that, YEAs new agenda also creates a platform for people in the technical and Artisan sector with an oncoming partnership with NEIP, NVTI, GEA etc.



To the Beneficiaries under the Community Protection Assistants CPAs module, the CEO advised them not to compromise on their professional integrity in the course of discharging their duties in the communities. He added that the Agency would not hesitate to endorse sanctions to weed out any CPA personnel by the GPS for infractions in the rules of their engagement.



Mr Kofi Agyepong explained that such caution was against the background of assurance by the GPS to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (M.O.U) with the Agency to give consideration and priority to CPA personnel in future recruitment into the mainstream service.



He explained that the Agency had taken the necessary steps to clear all outstanding arrears owed to beneficiaries to disburse their minds of engaging in malfeasance.



He assured that the NPP government under the leadership of His Excellency President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo had made strenuous efforts in spite of the economic turbulence to release funds timeously to meet the monthly stipends of the Beneficiaries.



The Passing-out ceremony was concurrently held in Pwalugu Police Training School led by the Deputy CEO in charge of Operations, Alhaji Ibrahim Bashiru, in Accra by Director Technical Service Chris Arthur, Eatern Region by rhe Regional Director Jerry Adu Poku.

Source: Richard Obeng Bediako









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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:

Chilean authorities on January 28, 2023 announced a heightened alert amid growing signs of activity from the Lascar volcano, near the border with Bolivia.

Authorities in Chile on Saturday raised the alert level and limited access to the area around the Lascar volcano, after an increase in seismic activity raised fears of a possible eruption.

The volcano lies in an area near the Bolivian border that is sparsely inhabited but is one of northern Chile's most geologically active regions.

Following "an increase in seismicity," the National Geology and Mining Service has raised the alert level for Lascar from yellow to orange.

Amid heightened seismic activity, the agency predicted "eruptive pulses with columns exceeding five kilometers in height," with blocks of pumice being projected and ash spread over a wide area.

The orange alert will bring increased technical monitoring of the volcano and measures to protect surrounding towns including the popular tourist destination of San Pedro de Atacama, some 70 kilometers away.

In addition, a security perimeter around the crater will be extended from five to 10 kilometers, restricting access.

The Lascar volcano, which reaches up to 5,592 meters (18,350 feet), lies some 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) north of capital Santiago. It last erupted in 1993.

The Villarrica volcano in the south, one of Chile's most active, is also currently under surveillance.

 2023 AFP
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:

Grey wolf populations have already rebounded in Europe, growing 1,800 percent since the 1960s.

Declines in populations of big carnivores like lions, tigers and wolves may be driven more by rapid human economic development than habitat loss or climate change, according to a new study Tuesday.

The researchers hope the findings could help to improve policies for protecting carnivore populations, which have been driven to the brink of extinction in many parts of the world.

The study found that faster economic development was linked to a quicker decline in carnivore populations.

"In the midst of rapid development, people appear to become less tolerant of carnivores, conflicts explode, and we suspect that incidences of poaching and persecution rocket," lead author Thomas Johnson said in a press release.

Some carnivores are poached for their meat or for the wildlife trade, while others like lions may be killed if they pose a threat to someone's livelihoodsuch as their cattleor their life, Johnson told AFP.

"These human elements are actually having a far greater impact than the habitat loss elements," Johnson said.

Traditionally, habitat loss has been considered the primary threat to carnivore populations, but the researchers said that was "dwarfed" by human development.

The study, published in Nature Communications, concluded that as human communities become wealthier and socioeconomic growth slows, carnivore populations can recover.

The authors said this was partly due to better habitat protection, but mainly because people start to care more about the animals and have less of a desireand needto kill them.

"What you want is this growth to slow before [the carnivore population] completely vanishes, so there's at least an opportunity to recover," Johnson said.

Wolf rebound

Grey wolf populations have already rebounded in Europe, growing 1,800 percent since the 1960s thanks to an improved quality of life and slower economic development on the continent, according to the researchers from the University of Reading.

That recovery is not only happening in protected parks but also in wild areas.

Brown bears and lynxes are also starting to recover in Europe, Johnson said, while tiger populations in India have similarly started to rebound.

But several parts of Africa did not support the overarching findingsthe continent has not seen rapid development but its carnivore populations have declinedand Johnson said this may be because much of the population decline occurred decades ago under colonial regimes.

The findings present an inherent tension between prioritising human development versus protecting carnivores, and Johnson suggested that wealthier nationsresponsible for much of large carnivore declinecould support less developed nations through targeted financial support.

This could include paying communities in biodiversity hotspots enough to earn a living, while promoting conservation.

"If you lock people into poverty, people will never live alongside biodiversity," Johnson said, adding that he hopes policy will move beyond treating carnivore loss as a narrow issue.

"My real hope is we start thinking about this as a socioeconomic problem, as well as an environmental problem."

The work looked at 50 species of carnivores in over 80 countries over the last 50 years.

Carnivore populations have seen dramatic declines globally in the last century, with lions and tigers absent from more than 90 percent of their historic range.

In the United Kingdom, many local carnivore species such as lynx, wolf and bear have already been hunted into extinction.

More information: Thomas Johnson, Socioeconomic factors predict population changes of large carnivores better than climate change or habitat loss, Nature Communications (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-35665-9. www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-35665-9 Journal information: Nature Communications

 2023 AFP
A shortage of snow plow drivers is plaguing the state this winter, but Warren County is looking for solutions to attract new commercial drivers.

Warren County Public Works Superintendent Kevin Hajos spoke to the countys Economic Growth and Development committee on Tuesday about the shortage of employees.

During our Public Works meeting, we talked about the lack of CDL drivers currently. As of right now, I am down 10 CDL drivers in the county. Were lucky that we havent had a significant amount of snow this year. Otherwise our guys would be working very long hours, Hajos said. Theres definitely a shortage of CDL drivers and were trying to come up with different ways to attract more.

He added that the problem has been made worse by the New York State Department of Transportation.

The state DOT, in every single region, just increased the rate of their CDL drivers anywhere from an additional $3 to $7, depending on the location. This is making it more and more difficult for us to get CDL drivers here in this county, Hajos said.

When he took over as the departments superintendent, he said he decided drivers would not be required to have a CDL license to be hired and they would be trained in-house before obtaining their license.

However, Hajos said things changed on Feb. 7, 2022, when the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration created a new rule that all drivers going for a CDL need to go through entry-level driver training.

That entry-level training wasnt necessarily something we could do in house, so we were looking for programs where that could be done, he said.

With the help of Liza Ochsendorf, the countys director of employment and training, the department found a program offered by BOCES. Warren County could cover the cost for people interested in working for the county.

Hajos said the cost of training for a Class B CDL driver was around $1,700. Class B drivers can operate single or combination vehicles where the gross vehicle weight rating of the single vehicle is more than 26,000 pounds. The vehicle being pulled must not be more than 10,000 pounds. A driver with a New York Class B CDL can also legally operate all vehicles in Class C or D.

The cost for the Class A driver training is about $2,900, according to Hajos. Class A drivers in New York can operate any combination of vehicles with a gross combination weight rating of more than 26,000 pounds and the gross vehicle weight training of the vehicle being towed is more than 10,000 pounds.

We figured out that Liza would have some funding and we could still bring in individuals without licenses and get them into these driver training programs. The problem is BOCES is filled because there are so many people going for this entry-level driver training, Hajos said.

He said the problem is not unique to Warren County, but affects municipalities all across the state and the nation.
ATLANTIC CITY  A $3 billion 10,000-unit housing proposal for Bader Field would give people a middle class community and keep successful people from leaving the city, according to developer Bart Blatstein.

Blatsteins proposed Casa Mar would also include a new K-12 private or charter school and a 100-room hotel, he said during an editorial board meeting with The Press of Atlantic City last week.

My job for 45 years is seeing whats missing, said Blatstein, owner of Tower Investments, the Showboat Atlantic City Hotel and a $100 million indoor water park under construction that is slated to open this summer.

Atlantic City is missing population. Its lost its middle class, Blatstein said. We need that middle class.

Blatstein spoke for more than an hour about his vision to develop the 140-acre former airport site. Also attending was Casa Mar partner Michael Pestronk of Post Brothers, a Philadelphia-based property development company.

All units would be rental housing managed to keep the environment clean and safe, two objectives the city is working on but has yet to achieve, Blatstein said.

The development would also feature newly dug canals to maximize waterfront housing, he said.

Casa Mar would keep teachers, police officers, business managers and owners from leaving the city and attract others to move to it, he predicted.

Many of the citys high-ranking leaders rose through the ranks as residents, only to leave and find homes in nearby towns later in their careers. Of the citys several major department heads, only one lives in the city  Fire Chief Scott Evans. Others grew up here but left when their incomes enabled them to do so.

An ordinance on the books requires anyone who works for the city to live here, but it has not been adhered to. City Council has discussed either enforcing or eliminating it.

Blatstein acknowledged that the citys school system has lost students over the past few years and could absorb some of the students his development would attract.

The competition

Casa Mar is up against a competing proposal from DEEM Enterprises to build a $2.7 billion car-centric development there. It would include luxury housing for owners of powerful and expensive cars who would use a 2.4-mile track loop to enjoy and test their vehicles.

Mayor Marty Small Sr. backs the DEEM project and has said the state and city are close to signing a memorandum of agreement with DEEM to move forward.

Its clear to me the mayor and former council president (George Tibbitt) are all in for DEEM, Blatstein said. I trust the state to do the right thing.

That includes holding a public competitive process to choose the right redeveloper, Blatstein said, as required under a 2008 state law.

The state, however, has refused to say if an open, competitive process is required in this case. The 2016 law that provided for the state takeover may allow the state to choose a redeveloper without a competitive process.

Bader Field is now located in the citys 5th ward, said 6th ward Councilman Jesse Kurtz, who represents parts of Chelsea and Chelsea Heights across Albany Avenue from Bader Field.

Kurtz said his constituents already deal with flooding and traffic issues in that area and that any development has to be designed to mitigate those problems.

The entire site would be elevated 6 feet and designed to lessen flooding, not worsen it, Blatstein said.

Ive read through everything I can get my hands on, Kurtz said of the two proposals. The DEEM project in particular has a lot of very impressive features to it. It seems to me to have very legitimate plans for financing, et cetera.

He hasnt seen the same level of detail about Blatsteins plans, he said.

Its not like we have two equivalent professional-grade proposals submitted, Kurtz said. Weve had one, and one pretty interesting concept. It deserves to be engaged, but I wouldnt pause DEEM any further than it already has been.

He has two concerns about the Blatstein proposal.

One is that to have that many workforce built housing units, it begs (the) question  where are those jobs? Kurtz asked.

Blatstein argued that the influx of middle class people would spur job growth and further development in the rest of the city.

Kurtz also has concerns about the infrastructure such a large number of housing units would require.

There is already a tremendous strain on the drainage system and the traffic, Kurtz said. It would require a lot of infrastructure buildout. Ive seen plans for that from DEEM, but not from Blatstein.

Canals are probably not realistic, Kurtz said.

You can barely dig a hole in your yard in New Jersey  especially on a barrier island, Kurtz said. We are trying to restore land to act as a buffer, not take it away. I dont think canals are prudent when it comes to flood mitigation.

There are many permits required any time dredging, reuse of dredged materials or housing development near water is done, said Department of Environmental Protection spokesperson Caryn Shinske.

They include, but are not limited to: Waterfront Development Individual Permit, Coastal Area Facilities Review Act (CAFRA) Individual Permit, tidelands instrument(s), possibly a Coastal Wetlands permit and compliance with state water quality management planning rules.

Such a project would also require authorization from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Shinske said.

Put it in writing

In spite of Kurtzs concerns about Casa Mar, he Blatstein deserves a professional response to the proposal from the city and state. Kurtz would like to see the state be more transparent with council and the public about its evaluation of the two projects.

We owe it to people to give actual feedback and put it in writing, Kurtz said. Its all been obfuscated. Supposedly, somebody from the Attorney Generals Office and governors office are reaching out, but I dont see letters. Theres been no correspondence with the governing body. Its one of my frustrations in six years of state takeover.
ATLANTIC CITY  A city man arrested Thursday faces charges involving a stolen gun and the sale of illegal drugs linked to several overdoses in recent weeks, the police department said in a release Saturday.

Nahjajuan Ellis, 21, was arrested Thursday for unlawful possession of weapon and possession of a weapon during a controlled dangerous substance distribution offense. He was also charged with two counts of possession of CDS, maintaining a CDS production facility, two counts of possession with the intent to distribute CDS, two counts of possession with the intent to distribute CDS within 500 feet of a public park, receiving stolen property, money laundering, and possession of CDS paraphernalia.

Ellis was remanded to the Atlantic County Justice Facility, the release said.

The arrest stemmed from a court-approved search warrant. A months-long investigation led by Detective Eric Evans with assistance from the FBI Atlantic City Safe Streets Task Force revealed Ellis was illegally distributing narcotics.

On Thursday, detectives of the Atlantic City Police Departments Special Investigations Section, along with members of the Atlantic City SWAT Team, detained Ellis after seeing him exit a residence in the 2000 block of Colombia Avenue.

After searching Ellis residence, detectives recovered a 9mm handgun that was reported stolen out of Delaware, more than two ounces of heroin, approximately seven grams of suspected crack cocaine, two pints of Promethazine syrup, and numerous unused wax folds stamped White House, which have been responsible for several overdoses in recent weeks, police said.

Police also found items used for packing illegal narcotics, including scales, stamps, and cutting agents, along with $8,565 cash from illegal narcotic sales.

Anyone with information about the distribution of narcotics is urged to contact the Atlantic City Police Department Special Investigations Section at 609-347-5858 or text anonymously to tip411 (847411).
New Jersey may not have enough nurses in the coming years, as many have left or are expected to leave the industry, with not enough entering the field, a recently released study warned.

The New Jersey Collaborating Center for Nursing said the study suggests 6% of registered nurses, 4% of licensed practical nurses, and 3% of advanced practice nurses intend to leave the profession in the next three years, potentially leaving the states care centers short of needed personnel.

About 141,000 RNs, 13,500 APNs and 23,500 LPNs currently active make up New Jerseys nursing workforce, according to the report, so those percentages would be translated into thousands of fewer nurses.

The report says nursing has been battered by fading staff numbers in the past two years because of the pandemic, which hit the industry so hard that in 2021 that data showed that one of every four nursing positions in the country experienced turnover.

Katherine Birkenstock, vice president and chief nursing officer at AtlantiCare, said pandemic fatigue and other challenges have made the company examine its practices. The company is looking to give its employees opportunities to grow professionally and personally and to have work-life balance, Birkenstock said.

We especially focus on ensuring we provide our nurses and all AtlantiCare staff and providers and their families with the support, care and services they need to be resilient in an increasingly changing and often challenging healthcare environment, Birkenstock said.

New Jersey Collaborating Center for Nursing Executive Director Edna Cadmus said the studys findings should raise alarms, and that the state must promptly address the professions supply and demand.

Investing in the future of nursing is essential because the ultimate result will be better health care for everyone, Cadmus said.

Seeking solutions

To health care companies statewide, the possibility of not having enough nurses is not something new.

Anneliese McMenamin, senior vice president and chief human resources officer of Inspira Health, which has hospitals in Cumberland and Gloucester counties, said solving a nursing shortage will require a multi-phase approach from the health care industry.

We have been seeking solutions to really inspire young professionals to enter the field of health care and, very specifically, to be a caregiver, McMenamin said Friday.

Data from 2021, NJCCNs most recent information, found 50% of LPNs, 24% of RNs and 29% NPs left New Jerseys nursing workforce that year. Nationally, that year tallied a 27% turnover rate of RNs.

Last June, state Senator Joe Vitale, D-Middlesex, introduced a bill aimed at supporting nurses around the state. The bill would require programs to ensure a healthy and supportive work environment and promote the mental health and emotional well-being of nurses, as well as to provide a nurse-to-nurse peer support helpline.

The bill was approved by the Senates Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee last June and is waiting for a hearing in the Senates Budget and Appropriations Committee.

While political efforts advance, health care companies have plans of their own in place.

Both AtlantiCare and Inspira have adopted different strategies to retain current workers and attract young ones, such as offering tuition incentives to both current employees and prospects.

AtlantiCare said one of the programs they are using to help attract nurses is its School at Work program. The program is an in-house career pathway program that helps entry- and mid-level staff pursue technical and post-secondary education.

The company has also committed itself to opening hands-on clinical experiences through partnerships with local schools, a lack of such opportunities the study cited as a reason why prospective nurses are opting out of pursuing the field.

Inspira has also promoted its company as a good place to work and focused on attracting younger workers by revolutionize the industry through technological advances to help caregivers attend to their patient.

This younger generation is looking for purposeful work, McMenamin said. They want to connect to a purpose, and a reason, and a mission. They want it to be meaningful. I dont think theres a greater mission than caring for people at their most vulnerable time.

Opportunities for growth

Brian Cahill, spokesperson for Shore Medical Center, said the Somers Point hospital has felt first-hand some of the effects of the nursing shortage.

We have been aggressively recruiting for nurses and are offering generous tuition reimbursement andreferral bonuses as incentives in this effort, Cahill said.

Patient care has not suffered during that time, said Cahill, adding that the medical center has used a variety of techniques to meet the demand even during peak periods.

We will continue to staff accordingly so patients always receive the highest level of care at our hospital, he said.

Birkenstock says nursing is a rewarding field with ample chances to move upward and offer broad sects of jobs.

As we are in the midst of a national nursing shortage, it is important for the health care and educational industries in general, and for nurses and other caregivers to mentor and guide those who choose this special career that offers so many opportunities for personal and professional growth, Birkenstock said.
Andrew Batson, 15, a sophomore at Boone Grove High School, inspects an engine along with automotive instructor Mark Furry, left, and Andrew's father, Chris Batson, during an open house at the Porter County Career & Technical Center in Valparaiso on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023. (Michael Gard / Post-Tribune) (Michael Gard / Post-Tribune)

Washington Township High School sophomore Sam Stokes was settled in at the Porter County Career & Technical Education main campus in Valparaiso to hear what precision machining instructor Greg Carmack had to say, flanked by his parents.

He just said its a really good career choice, Sam said of the advice he received from his dad, John Stokes, who is a machinist at Urschel Laboratories in Chesterton.

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I was trying to tell him if you do well in school and you do well here, Dads company might hire you, John Stokes said to Carmack. The family has been helping Sam research future career options since the Career Center held its first open house in December. Sam visited the diesel technology information session at Portage High School then.

Each year about 1,000 high school students from 10 Porter County public high schools and Hobart High School take classes through Porter County Career & Technical Education that not only help them explore possible careers, but can even lead to certifications at far less cost than would be incurred once they leave high school.

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Prospective students and their parents visited the diverse range of sites that host the program Thursday evening to learn about program offerings, cost, scheduling and potential impact on their future career choices. The classes are open to juniors and seniors, with a few just for seniors, and are held in either morning or afternoon sessions that allow the students to work around their core schedule at their home high schools.

In the row behind the Stokeses sat the Gareches. Portage High School senior Robert Garech is already in the program, but his mom and dad, Judith and Bob Garech, wanted to see his class space. Robert made his mom a lovely brass bell that produces a pleasing tinkling. She loves it.

Hes one of our typical students not sure of what this is all about, Carmack said. Hopefully hes enjoying it because hes really good at it.

Sophomore Kimberley MacKenzie attends an open house at the Porter County Career & Technical Center in Valparaiso on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023. (Michael Gard / Post-Tribune) (Michael Gard / Post-Tribune)

Around the corner and down the hall Valparaiso High School sophomore Kimberley MacKenzie was listening in to the health science presentation being given by instructor Lorna Marcus with the help of two of her current senior students. The senior students plan to become a nurse and physician assistant and were direct-admitted to the Purdue University and Valparaiso University nursing schools, and the Valparaiso physician assistant program, respectively.

MacKenzie, who wants to become a dermatologist, is also back for her second open house.

I went to cosmetology last time, she said. I really like learning about skin care and I struggle with acne and its interesting learning about it.

Should she be accepted into Health Science Education I and II she has the opportunity to earn her certified nursing assistant and dementia care certifications. College is expensive and any credits we can get them are a bonus, Marcus said.

Across the parking lot in the auto technology classroom Morgan Township High School senior Jason Grieger was helping instructor Mark Furry welcome prospects. Theyre more so interested in working on economy vehicles and being able to fix their own vehicles, said Grieger, who is himself planning a career as a diesel mechanic. A lot of them had in common they dont want to sit in a chair.

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Jason Grieger, a senior at Morgan Township High School, speaks about his involvement in the automotive shop program during an open house at the Porter County Career & Technical Center in Valparaiso on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023. (Michael Gard / Post-Tribune) (Michael Gard / Post-Tribune)

Furry said his students leave with two years of automotive training with student-level ASC certification. What that does is it helps the shop owner and manager know theyre on their way, Furry said of the automotive field, that like so many others, is short on qualified workers. Furrys students can also earn certification for digital multimeter and SP2 safety certification.

If you have any type of curiosity about becoming an auto mechanic its a great place to get your feet wet, Furry said. Like most of the other classes at the career center, auto Technology has a nominal fee of $155 for the school year, which includes the textbook, a work shirt and safety glasses.

Dual college credits are possible in a wide variety of classes which are held at several different campuses throughout Porter County, each specializing in one or more study areas.

Students returning to the career center have until Jan. 31 to register for classes next school year, while new students have until Feb. 3. Visit www.PCCTE.org for more information.

Shelley Jones is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
Itll be another mild day Sunday, with rain showers not coming until later in the afternoon, when the Philadelphia Eagles are playing.

Looking to the week ahead, well be walking on eggshells to a dry forecast. A wintry shot of air will arrive late in the week.

Well start out between 35 to 40 degrees Sunday around dawn. Well see a little bit of sunshine to start. However, clouds will build in ahead of a cold front coming in from the west.

This cold front will end up splitting into two separate features on its journey to the Atlantic Ocean. The northern part will be associated with the low-pressure system thatll pass through New England. This will bring our showers late Sunday.

The second piece will wind up being the wetter and stronger of the two. However, this will stay to our south. More on that later.

Well have a light southwest wind that will put high temperatures between 50 and 55 degrees. Thats about 10 degrees above average for this time of the year.

Showers will work in between 4 and 6 p.m. The rain will be light and scattered for the rest of the evening as we stay mild. The rain will end between midnight and 2 a.m., with totals under a tenth of an inch.

Temperatures will fall into the 40s during the evening. Well stay there overnight as heat-trapping clods stay around. Monday morning lows will be 40 to 45 degrees.

That second, southern, stronger area of rain now looks to remain far enough away from us to yield a dry day. Itll be close, as the Delmarva Peninsula likely will get rain. However, for us, just expect a cloudy day for now.

Highs will be in the low 50s for Galloway Township and other inland towns. Ocean City and the shore will be in the upper 40s.

A long Arctic cold front will slow near us Monday night. As a result, temperatures will be chillier than they were the previous couple of nights. Evening temperatures will be in the 40s. Overnight lows will be in the mid- to upper 30s.

The cold front gets to New Jersey on Tuesday. A weak wave of low pressure will ride along the front. The potential for a shower will be around throughout the day, coming to an end between 4 and 7 p.m.

If your outdoor plans are very sensitive to any rain falling, then move them to another day. However, Id say at least 80% of your day will be dry. Itll be a gloomy, chilly day. Highs will top out around 40 degrees.

High pressure will build in Wednesday from the north, bringing the sunshine and the chill. Highs will be in the upper 30s. Thatll be our first truly below-average day since December, believe it or not. With a bit of a wind, itll feel below freezing throughout the day.

Finally, the potential for a Groundhog Day storm is low but still on my radar for Thursday.
Civic authority accepts it is no-development zone but says owners have got stay order from court; unlawful buildings hindrance to flights operating from the airport

PHOTOS: OSHWIN KADHAO

That Lohegaon is important in terms of security is fairly wellknown because the Air Force Station is situated in that area. And commercial flights from the airport also operate from there. However, unauthorised establishments in Lohegaon continue to grow and the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) seems to be turning a blind eye to the issue.

As per the zone certificates allotted by the PMC, survey numbers 123, 132, and 133 in the area, partially owned by individuals, are agriculture no-development zones and have a bomb dump. Therefore, no construction is permitted on these plots of land. But shops and other establishments, a ready-mix concrete plant, a warehouse, and high-voltage halogen light towers have come up there right under the nose of the civic officials.

PHOTO: OSHWIN KADHAO

According to a complaint to the municipal commissioner filed by Vijaylaxmi Madhukarrao Khandve, who is a part owner of the survey numbers, the enterprises that function illegally there are five ready-mix concrete (RMC) facilities that are located along the Pune-Nagar Highway. Besides being a hindrance to the flights that take off and land, the smoke that is emitted from the RMC may put at risk the health of citizens who live nearby.

While the PMC has not taken any action against these establishments, deputy engineer Prateek Patharkar told Mirror: The shops in survey number 123 of Lohegaon near Pune-Nagar Highway have been there even before Lohegaon came under PMC limits. We had once taken action against these shops but as there is a stay order by the court, we cannot take any action against them now. We are trying hard to get the court stay lifted.

However, he promptly added: We have issued a notice to the owners of the unauthorised constructions and businesses in survey numbers 123, 132, and 133. We will soon take action and demolish the illegal constructions.

PHOTO: OSHWIN KADHAO

It is to be noted that major land holdings in the Lohegaon region are inside the Air Force boundaries. There is a 900-metre funnel zone and a red zone where Indian Air Force planes and commercial aircraft begin descending towards the runway for safe landing.

The PMC had taken action in January 2022 against an unauthorised business at Forest Park, Lohegaon survey numbers 133, 135, and 136. The structures were demolished.

Barely a year later, these establishments have resurfaced in the red zone. While business owners are seemingly nonchalant about the law, the PMC seems to be waiting for an auspicious moment to take action against them.

According to Jeevan Madhukar Patil, another complainant who approached the municipal commissioner, fifteen sky signs and hoardings have been erected on survey numbers 123 and 133 and they are unauthorised.

The hoardings at survey numbers 123 and 133 are unauthorised and PMC is ignoring the fact and not taking any action. The land is restricted and is an agriculture no-development zone as per the zone certificates. We have intimated the civic body and given a written application to demolish the unauthorised structures. But there is still no action, Patil told Mirror.

In response to Patils letter, PMC sent a letter in December 2022 proclaiming that no permission is granted for constructions on survey numbers 123 and 132, but they house stores, warehouses, a ready-mix cement factory, a tar plant, and other establishments.

When asked about sky signs and hoardings assistant municipal commissioner Somnath Bankar said, The hoardings on survey number 133 are authorised and PMC has given permission for the same. We have received applications from part owners of the land stating that the sky signs are illegal.

We will look into the matter and act accordingly. Mirror tried to get in touch with the airport authorities but they were not accessible.
A Davenport man with felony convictions in Scott County for theft, burglary, drug possession and possessing a firearm as a felon has been sentenced to seven years in federal prison after he was caught with a firearm in Johnson County, Iowa, in 2020.

Derik Ashley Otero, 35, was sentenced Wednesday during a hearing in U.S. District Court, Davenport.

The federal weapons investigation of Otero began on June 15, 2020, when he was on parole from the Iowa Department of Corrections after serving prison time on Scott County convictions that included burglary, theft and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

According to the arrest affidavit filed by Johnson County Deputy Mark Moses, Otero was wanted on a Johnson County warrant when on June 15, 2020, deputies attempted to arrest him at a Tiffin, Iowa, residence.

Otero was located in a bathroom on the main level of the residence. He was asked to exit the room and eventually complied.

However, while deputies were waiting for Otero to exit the bathroom, clanking sounds could be heard from behind the closed door. A search of the bathroom was conducted and a loaded Smith and Wesson 9mm handgun was located in an air vent.

A witness told deputies that they had seen the outline of a handgun in the back of Otero's shirt before the arrival of deputies.

The Johnson County charges against Otero were dropped on Oct. 8, 2020, when federal authorities took over the case.

In the meantime, on June 29, 2020, Otero was returned to the Iowa Department of Corrections after his parole was revoked, according to Iowa Department of Corrections electronic records.

On March 4, 2022, Otero was released from the Iowa Department of Corrections and placed on parole. He was then taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service on the weapons charge. He pleaded guilty to the charge on Aug. 12, 2022.

In a sentencing memorandum filed by his federal defender, attorney Diane Helphrey said that Oteros mother raised him as a single parent and worked many hours, making her frequently absent and creating an absence of consistent structure and guidance. Her drug and alcohol problems created additional instability. She did not sustain sobriety until 2007, after Mr. Otero became an adult.

"She has a criminal history, predating her sobriety, which is consistent with addiction-related conduct," Helphrey said in the document. "Likewise, Mr. Oteros former stepfather, who was in a relationship with his mother until Mr. Otero was 10 years of age, also had a criminal history. Mr. Otero witnessed domestic violence within this relationship.

Mr. Otero has never had a significant relationship with his biological father, Helphrey wrote. Although he attempted to reach out to his father at the age of 11, that contact did not develop into a relationship."

Otero's first use of marijuana occurred at the age of 11, "an age at which he did not have sufficient mature cognitive reasoning to understand the magnitude of this choice," Helphrey wrote. "Many of the struggles that Mr. Otero has had later in his life parallel those patterned by the adults who were central figures in his childhood.

During Wednesdays sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger also ordered that Otero serve three years on supervised release after he completes his prison sentence.

There is no parole in the federal system.
A 40-year-old Thomson, Illinois, man has been sentenced to 29 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections after being convicted of sexually abusing an 18-year-old woman in May of 2022.

Jacob D. Keenan, must serve 85%, or about 24 years and eight months, before he will become eligible for parole.

Keenan was arrested June 7, 2022, on four counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault causing bodily harm. Each charge is a Class X felony that carries a prison sentence of 6-30 years.

He also was charged with aggravated unlawful restraint and domestic battery.

During a two-day bench trial held in Carroll County Circuit Court, Carroll County Circuit Judge Jerry Kane found Keenan guilty on all counts.

Testimony was given about Keenan sexually abusing the victim over the course of multiple days.

During a sentencing hearing Wednesday, Kane sentenced Keenan to 10 years in prison on Count 1 of the charges of sexual abuse, with a consecutive sentence of seven years on Count 2, a consecutive sentence of six years on Count 3 and a consecutive sentence of six years on Count 4, for a total of 29 years. Consecutive sentencing means the sentences will be served back-to-back.

Kane sentenced Keenan to concurrent terms of six years on the unlawful restraint conviction and five years on the domestic battery conviction. Concurrent means the sentences will be served at the same time as each other.

Kane ordered that Keenan serve a period of three years on supervised release once his prison sentence is complete.

Keenan is receiving credit for 232 days he spent in jail awaiting trial.

According to Carroll County Circuit Court electronic records, Keenans felony record includes convictions for aggravated battery causing great bodily harm in 2010 and possession of methamphetamine in 2015 and 2022. He has misdemeanor convictions for consumption of alcohol by a minor and possession of drug paraphernalia in 2000; domestic battery in 2014; possession of cannabis in 2015; and domestic battery causing bodily harm in 2016.
This week, the Doomsday Clock was moved to 90 seconds before midnight, the closest its ever been to that hour.

The origin of the Doomsday Clock goes back to an international group of researchers called the Chicago Atomic Scientists. This group had participated in the Manhattan Project (which developed atomic bombs used in WW II). Shortly after atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, these scientists initially published a mimeographed newsletter, then later a magazine, which they named the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

This magazine has depicted a clock on the cover of every issue since 1947. In that year, Bulletin co-founder Hyman Goldsmith asked artist Martyl Langsdof (wife of Manhattan Project researcher Alexander Langsdorf Jr.) to design a cover for the magazines June issue. She thought a clock, with a minute hand nearing midnight, would convey a sense of urgency. This would be the only magazine cover she ever created. Much like a rocket countdown, the clock suggests that destruction will occur unless someone takes action to stop it. At the beginning of the Cold War, the clock was set at seven minutes to midnight.

From its inception until he died in 1973, the clock was set by Manhattan Project scientist and Bulletin editor Eugene Rabinowitch. After his death, the board as a whole determined the clocks setting.

In January 2007, designer Michael Bierut, who was on the Bulletins Governing Board, redesigned the Doomsday Clock to have a more modern appearance. Two years later, the Bulletin stopped the printed edition and became one of the first publications in America to go all-digital. The clock is a prominent part of the logo on the Bulletins website, which displays the timeline of the clocks settings, and information about the annual Doomsday Clock Symposium.

A setting near midnight was chosen because people can easily relate to that hour. Members of the board deliberate twice a year to determine the clocks setting by examining how close they think humanity is to the end of civilization. Scientists consider various factors, such as politics, weapons, energy, bioterrorism, artificial intelligence and climate science, to determine the probability of a global catastrophe in any given year. The clocks setting is decided without a specific starting point. The clock is not reset in real time by responding to every crisis as it occurs. Over the years, the clocks time has fluctuated from 17 minutes before midnight in 1991, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, to 2.5 minutes in 2017. This was the first time in the clocks history that a fraction of a minute was used. The clock minute hand has been moved 25 times  set backward eight times and forward 17 times. In 2017, scientists called for action from wise public officials and wise citizens to steer humanity away from catastrophe before it was too late.

Three years ago, the clock was moved to 100 seconds before midnight. At that time, the Bulletins executive chairman Jerry Brown stated, The dangerous rivalry and hostility among the superpowers increases the likelihood of a nuclear blunder... Climate change just compounds a world already in crisis. The clocks setting remained unchanged in both 2021 and 2022.

Critics contend that the grab bag of threats represented by the clock can lead to paralysis. People and officials would be more likely to succeed if they can deal with smaller, incremental challenges.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch follows its tradition of publishing the names of donors to the Richmond Christmas Mother Fund throughout the holiday season. Your generosity helps the fund support initiatives across the region to brighten the holiday season for thousands of your neighbors.

The Times-Dispatch has sponsored the Richmond Christmas Mother program, a yearly holiday fund drive, since 1935, with some of those years in partnership including the former afternoon newspaper, The Richmond News Leader.

The Richmond Christmas Mother program receives donations from Times-Dispatch readers and advertisers, and it is building an endowment to help future services. Last year, the program collected over $323,000 in contributions.

Visit richmond.com/christmas-mother/donate/christmas_mother_donations/ to give. You can send contributions by mail to Richmond Christmas Mother Fund, P.O. Box 25864, Richmond, VA 23260. Checks should be made payable to Richmond Christmas Mother Fund.

Donations are accepted throughout the year. Publication of contributions will resume in November in The Times-Dispatch.

Previously reported  $342,152.79

Todays gifts  $1,200

Grand total  $343,352.79

James A. Young Jr., in memory of my parents, Helen and Jimmy Young of Chase City  $100

Dewey H. Sigmon Jr., in honor of, and with heavenly blessings for, my wonderful grandchildren, Lily Sigmon, Lydia Sigmon, Ashley Sigmon Lewis, Alec Sigmon, Jackson Sigmon and Cora Sigmon; and in honor of present and in remembrance of those who have passed, TJHS Class of 1949  $150

William P. and Rebecca Q. Schubmehl  $200

St. Margarets Guild of St. Michaels Episcopal Church  $100

Anonymous  $500

In appreciation for and in honor of Bill Lohmann, Jeff Schapiro and Michael Paul Williams of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, who raise local journalism to the highest levels of professional news and opinions. Thank you for sharing your gifts with the Richmond community and beyond, from Andre Basmajian and the Basmajian family$50
Richmond police are investigating the deaths of two men in shootings near Gilpin Court on Friday afternoon.

Officers responded to the 1300 block of St. Paul Street at approximately 3:10 p.m. after hearing gunfire in the area.

According to police, they located one adult male with a gunshot wound. He was transported to a hospital, where he later died.

A second adult male arrived at the hospital also suffering from a gunshot wound. He likewise succumbed to his injury.

Detectives have determined both shootings were related.

The medical examiner will determine the cause and manner of death.

Anyone with information is encouraged to contact police at (804) 646-3927 or Crime Stoppers at (804) 780-1000.

PHOTOS: Va. General Assembly, January 26
Gov. Glenn Youngkins administration is making a strong push for regulatory transparency, accountability and efficiency, creating a new process for economic analysis of all regulations issued by Virginia executive branch agencies. Other state governments and the federal government should take notice and consider adopting similar reforms.

For several decades, most federal agencies have been required to perform some form of cost-benefit analysis in connection with regulations they issue. President Ronald Reagan was the first to assign the task of reviewing agencies cost-benefit analyses to a little-known but incredibly important office known as the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA).

Though doing a cost-benefit analysis to determine if a regulation does more good than harm seems like basic common sense, the current federal process emerged in fits and starts. Even now, there are major gaps. When a full cost-benefit analysis is required, agencies often fail to calculate the monetary benefits and costs of the key regulatory alternatives.

The situation at the state level is also uneven. Most require some form of cost-benefit analysis either by state statute or executive order. Many have planning and budget offices or special commissions that oversee some form of cost-benefit analysis but, up until recently, virtually no state had a centralized, OIRA-like office for reviewing this analysis.

In June, Youngkin issued an executive order, EO 19, which was the first of its kind in creating a new office for the commonwealth that is tasked with serving such a centralized role. The new office, the Office of Regulatory Management (ORM), reviews all regulations issued by Virginia executive branch agencies, including many that were previously exempt from executive branch review. Youngkin also assigned ORM the function of issuing guidance on regulatory cost-benefit analysis and working with Virginia agencies to ensure that they do a complete analysis on all regulatory actions.

Last month, ORM issued the Regulatory Economic Analysis Manual, which provides such guidance to all state agencies. The manual sets forth the elements of a complete cost-benefit analysis, including identifying the underlying problem the agency is trying to solve, assessing alternatives, and analyzing and monetizing the associated benefits and costs. It also contains guidance on assessing the impacts on stakeholder communities that often face disproportionate burdens as a result of regulatory actions, including local governments, families and small businesses.

The Virginia manual focuses agencies attention on foundational questions. It urges agencies to begin with the question of whether regulation is needed or if market forces will address any given problem over time. It asks agencies to consider the major regulatory alternatives early in the process, before they have settled on a preferred approach. It encourages agencies to reach out to key stakeholders throughout the rule-writing process to get a boots-on-the-ground perspective on how the regulation is likely to work in practice. And it tells agencies to be flexible, recognizing that regulation is not a one-size-fits-all process and can be tailored to account for different burdens faced by different groups.

Taking a more streamlined approach to regulatory economic analysis not only saves agency time and resources but also makes the overall process more transparent. Virginia citizens can easily log onto the Virginia Regulatory Town Hall website and browse through the ORM economic review forms to get a sense of how regulations are likely to affect them. If they see a way to improve things, they can reach out to the agency contact listed on the town hall.

The Virginia process is very new, but it has already produced impressive results and promises to make the commonwealth a leader in the regulatory space. Officials in other states should carefully review the Regulatory Economic Analysis Manual and the associated ORM materials and consider whether a similar approach could improve their regulatory systems.

Justice Louis Brandeis famously referred to the states as laboratories, suggesting that a courageous State could try a new approach and, if it works, serve as a model for the rest of the country. In his first year in office, Youngkin has taken a variety of courageous and innovative approaches to addressing a whole array of issues, and his approach to regulation has been no exception. As other states and the federal government get wind of the exciting things happening in the commonwealth, ORM and other Virginia offices are eager to work with their friends throughout the nation to help build a more transparent, accountable and efficient system of state and federal regulations together.

From the Archives: A look back at the Hotel John Marshall John Marshall Hotel John Marshall Hotel John Marshall Hotel John Marshall Hotel 1027_POD_dempsey004 Bars Nancy Reagan cattle auction dinn.jpg hbyrd01.jpg lholt18.jpg John Marshall Hotel John Marshall Hotel John Marshall Hotel John Marshall Hotel John Marshall Hotel John Marshall Hotel John Marshall Hotel John Marshall Hotel
Motorists report looting of abandoned truck outside Paamul

Riviera Maya, Q.R.  The National Guard located an abandoned truck on the side of the highway near Paamul after receiving several reports of looting. The cargo truck, which was carrying dry food and other grocery store items, was reported seen with its back doors open, but no driver.

Motorists alerted police to the situation after seeing people begin to stop and help themselves. The truck was supposed to be headed for a food chain store in Playa del Carmen, however, the driver lost control of the truck and left it stuck on the highway shoulder.

By the time authorities arrived, the content in the back trailer was already in disarray from looters.
The Chinese New Year, or Year of the Rabbit according to the Chinese lunar calendar, was celebrated on Saturday in the central Belgian city of Namur.

Nearly 3,000 people participated in the festivities, which included traditional dances and other cultural performances.

Organized by the Federation of Chinese Communities in Belgium, the celebration allowed visitors to experience a wide range of Chinese culture and folklore, including gastronomy, Chinese liquor, painting and calligraphy, porcelain, Tai Chi, traditional Chinese medicine, lion dances and lanterns.

For Elise Boucher, a 23-year-old Belgian student at the University of Mons, the idea of celebrating Chinese New Year in Namur is incredible. "I discovered the gastronomy, the Chinese liquor and there is something for everyone. What I liked most about these visits was the food tasting," she said.

"It's really interesting to be able to share this culture. I liked the artist's calligraphy lessons. I found it impressive to see how in a few strokes he can express so many things in his painting," said Veronica Dakpui, an architecture student at the University of Liege, who is also taking Chinese classes at the Confucius Institute in Liege.

For 63-year-old Jean Michel Paulin who teaches Tai Chi in Jambes, not far from Namur, the celebration is "an additional discovery of Chinese culture."

"I have already been to China several times. I practice Tai Chi, I teach it. It's great to see so many people and so many Chinese," said the Tai Chi practitioner.

In his opening speech, Chinese Ambassador to Belgium Cao Zhongming hailed the relations between China and Belgium.

These relations, he said, "have maintained a good momentum of development," and the people of the two countries benefited from the cooperation in economic, commercial and cultural fields.

China is also working to make the whole world benefit from its development, the ambassador said. "This will inject a new dynamic into Sino-Belgian relations and bring new opportunities for Belgium's development."

Denis Mathen, governor of the province of Namur, noted that this occasion of the Chinese Spring Fair was an opportunity to "participate in the reestablishment of ties with China, your immense country that geographers call the 'Middle Kingdom'."
There is a gaping hole in the streetscape of Franklin Avenue in Roanoke. The former location of the Ramada Inn is dirt.

The city calls this progress. And so do people who play outdoors. Engineers are devising a new, public green space.

Along Williamson Road this year, a bulldozer will create another gaping hole  and development opportunity  when it levels the Budget Inn, which is going out of business.

Roanoke is seeing a wave of motel makeovers. With four projects in progress, both public and private entities see opportunity repurposing hospitality venues on major thoroughfares that no longer serve the original purpose for which they were built.

At 601 Orange Ave. N.E., crews have begun to prepare the former Days Inn, a motel built in 1975, for a Maryland developer to come in. The property changed hands in September for $2.95 million.

Basically, were planning to deliver 88 apartments. said Sam DiFrank, executive vice president and chief investment officer at Saul Urban, a real estate development and management company.

The company says it specializes in the acquisition, development and repositioning of multi-family projects located in the path of the major demographic trends of our times  the revitalization of our urban cores and the growth of the exurban centers ringing our cities.

Future residents will reside in walking distance of the Berglund Center and 1.5 miles from the Noel C. Taylor Municipal Building.

Motel construction flourished in the mid-1900s and catered to Americans embrace of leisure travel after World War II. According to the June 2017 issue of Smithsonian magazine, the aging motels have largely slipped from public consciousness as todays traveler prefers hotels with online booking websites and high-speed internet, set close to interstate interchanges. Where Interstate 581 intersects with Hershberger Road, a cluster of modern hotels keeps the lights on these days.

As roadside inns have fallen from favor and into disrepair in some cases, that leaves owners of old motels with a couple of options, including restoration.

The Farrell family that owns Berglund Automotive has begun preliminary work to renovate the former Colony House Motor Lodge at 3560 Franklin Road S.W. and reopen it as a boutique hotel, said Mike Farrell, project manager.

Its going to be refreshed and updated and something that is going to attract a modern traveler who expects good design and accommodations. I think its not going to be the Colony House that closed four years ago, Farrell said. But no significant changes to the outside appearance are planned.

State officials accepted the property onto the Virginia Landmarks Register in December, based on architectural and other features, including its cantilevered, folded plate roofs and swimming pool.

The motor lodge is an excellent example of mid-20th century roadside architecture designed to catch the eye of passing motorists, according to a description prepared by Kate Kronau and Alison Blanton of Hill Studio in Roanoke in connection with an application to the National Register of Historic Places.

Another option for a motel in the late stages of its life cycle is to stay in business as long as possible.

The Ramada, which opened since 1970s and thrived for decades, gradually deteriorated as time and flooding took a toll.

Toward the end, a portion of its rooms were rented as either transitional housing or emergency shelter for people without homes during the pandemic. That placed a roof over the heads of people who might have otherwise found themselves outside or in a group shelter during times of high transmission of an infectious disease.

The city bought the property in March 2022 for $3.6 million, assisted by a federal government program that pays 75% of the cost to remove flood-damaged structures. Crews have since demolished the building.

Looking to develop a game plan for the land, which must remain green space due to flooding risk, Roanokes stormwater division requested public input. In 654 public comments, the community called for creation of a thoughtfully landscaped open area.

Citizens called for the restoration of Ore Branch, a stream on the property, and developing the areas synergy with the greenway and parks, city spokeswoman Carol Corbin said.

Wetland Studies and Solutions Inc. started design work last week. City officials hope to release a preliminary drawing in late spring, Corbin said.

The city is advancing another public-benefit project on Williamson Road.

The 42-room Budget Inn has offered inexpensive lodging for decades on a busy commercial corridor. A limited liability company managed by Chirag Patel of Vinton bought the Budget Inn in 2019 and initially he planned to operate it as a motel for the indefinite future. But then a city representative contacted the company, discussions ensued, and a new plan emerged.

There is a plan to replace Fire Station 2 with a fire station at this site, Corbin said.

Patel said he expects the real estate closing to occur early next month on the sale of the property to the city. A selling price of $975,000 appears in a signed contract for sale dated in September 2022. Demolition of the motel is contemplated.

More motel rebirths could be coming.

The former Apple Valley Motel sits empty at 5063 Franklin Road in Clearbrook, graffiti marring its front. But Eric Thomas with Mountain View Real Estate said a possible interested party has examined the property. He did not know what the party had in mind for the address. The premises are for sale for $750,000 down from $825,000.
About 70 people who gathered in a conference room at the Roanoke County Courthouse on Friday counted themselves as friends, family and colleagues of Steve McGraw. The four-decade Democrat has been Roanoke County Circuit Court Clerk since 1992, following two terms on the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors.

His last day in office is Tuesday. McGraws resigning and retiring with just under a year left in his term.

Wednesday, his longtime chief deputy, Rhonda Perdue, formally assumes the reins in the clerks office, at least through the end of the year. As a Republican, shes running to succeed him.

McGraw, 72, is backing Perdue wholeheartedly. For that reason, he carefully termed Friday afternoons gathering a transition party on the emailed invitations, rather than a retirement bash.

We need to consider the future of this office and her name is Rhonda Perdue, McGraw told the assembled crowd with utter seriousness. For the past 26 years, Rhonda has been there to head up, manage and oversee many of our modern initiatives while working her way up to chief deputy clerk starting seven years ago.

Its not every day that a Democrat endorses a Republican. In the current environment of deep partisan polarization, such an endorsement can easily be seen as an unforgivable act of political heresy.

But theres another way to look at it, too.

Isnt it possible that, after working alongside Perdue for more than 25 years, McGraw believes shes the best person for the job? And that hes more concerned the office hes exiting operates fairly and efficiently than he is about the political party of the person in charge?

Thats the kind of person voters often say they want in office  someone willing to rise above partisanship, to do the right thing.

On Saturday, McGraw told me: Shes the best possible person to take my place in that office. Thats all I care about.

Before he got involved in politics, McGraw wore a number of different hats.

He grew up in Roanokes southwest quadrant, in the shadow of Virginia Heights Elementary school. He graduated from Patrick Henry High and later Virginia Tech. Even later, McGraw earned a masters degree.

For a spell he worked as a plumbers helper; in another job he managed home deliveries of this newspaper.

At some point after college, McGraw spent three years as a social worker in child protective services. On occasion, tragedies he witnessed during that day job left him sleepless and emotional at night.

In the early 1980s, McGraw owned a bar on West Main Street in Salem, The Barrel House. (Awful Arthurs restaurant is in the same location now.) And he sold real estate as an agent and broker.

All those endeavors brought him into contact with a wide range of people. So did his deep and longtime involvement with the Roanoke Kiwanis Club. Many of his closest friends are members, too.

McGraws first venture as a political candidate was an independent bid for the Catawba seat on the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors in 1979. He lost that election. But later, as a Democrat, he won it in 1983 and again in 1987.

McGraw considers former state delegate Dick Cranwell of Vinton his political mentor. Cranwell recalled McGraws losing 1979 race as the scraggly kid from Catawba area who was going to take Roanoke County by storm.

Today, Id say hes one of the best retail politicians Ive ever met, Cranwell told me. He gets out and meets people from daylight to dusk. Hes as refined and skilled a political operator as they come  And hes a genuinely good human being. I think that came across in retail politics.

Hes a fighter, said Dave Mudcat Saunders, another longtime McGraw associate. Hell, hes got three black belts in Taekwondo. Saunders added: Hes also one hell of a family man, and about as gracious a guy as you can find.

As county supervisor, McGraw formally opposed consolidation of Roanoke and Roanoke County, which county voters vehemently shot down in a 1990 referendum. Nevertheless, among his accomplishments were city-county cooperative ventures that seemed to make sense.

One was the development of the Smith Gap Landfill. Another was a local agreement among valley governments that allowed police to chase suspects into neighboring jurisdictions.

McGraw also championed construction of Spring Hollow Reservoir. To strengthen the valleys water supply, it was later merged into the Western Virginia Water Authority, another example of city-county cooperation.

In 1991, McGraw challenged then-incumbent Circuit Court Clerk Elizabeth Stokes, a Republican seeking her fourth term in office.

The clerks post seemed attractive for a number of reasons. One of them was its eight-year term, the longest in American politics. Another was the not-insignificant annual salary (now $147,200).

But as that October came around, internal polling by Democrats suggested Stokes would cruise to reelection.

Three weeks before Election Day, McGraw leaked a state auditors report to this newspaper. It had quietly come across his supervisors desk months earlier. It found financial mismanagement in the clerks office under Stokes, though not to a criminal extent. Local TV stations picked up the story and ran with it. That was unusual in a clerk-of-court election.

Stokes fought back, but oddly. Publicly, she compared McGraw to Anita Hill, a whistleblower who earlier that year had testified to Congress that Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas sexually harassed her. On any number of levels, the comparison was a wild stretch.

Ultimately, voters in Republican-dominated Roanoke County put McGraw in office by a few hundred hundred votes. Hes been Roanoke County Circuit Court Clerk ever since. (He squeaked to victory in his last election, in 2015, by 37 votes.)

At Fridays party, McGraw was humble. He told the crowd his success was due to the large number of friends, family and acquaintances who had backed him over the years. Basically, he meant the people who were in the room.

The old saying that it takes a village could not be truer when applied to my career, beginning with those early days in 1979, McGraw said. It began with my first and always my most ardent supporter, my wife Sharon.  From that we developed a really strong cadre of volunteers over the years.

The couple has two grown sons, Steven and Robert. The former lives here in the valley with his wife, Kelly, and their daughter, Penny. Robert McGraw is married and lives in southern Maryland.

Sharon McGraw, a social worker in Roanoke, is retiring as well. Leaving the rat race will give both a chance to spend longer periods in Florida, where they own a condo near Daytona Beach.

Theyre keeping their home in Catawba, though, and will be back a lot, visiting their granddaughter.

I cant say thank you enough to my village, to my co-workers, or to the voters of Roanoke County, McGraw said. Its been quite a ride.
South Carolina State Universitys Business, Environment, Communication and Transportation Institute (BECT) kicked off the Small Business Research and Entrepreneurial Accelerator on Jan. 19.

The kickoff featured 12 existing small businesses located in Orangeburg, Sumter, Berkeley and Richland counties, and a new student startup business.

Although one company is a long-standing family business looking to expand, the average age of the other companies is 4.3 years. They are a diverse group in various industries to include clothing, HVAC services, home care, real estate, farming, import, health and wellness, professional grooming and education.

According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately 20% of small businesses fail within the first year; 30% will have failed by the end of the second year; and about half will have failed by the end of the fifth year.

The accelerator project is designed to give the participating companies the assistance they need to avoid failure.

Participants will complete a 12-month training program on various topics to include risk management, cash-flow management, customer relations, human resources, sales strategies, business planning, use of technology, digital marketing, intellectual property rights, accounting and legal assistance.

Each business also will be assigned a student intern to assist in developing and implementing a marketing plan, one-on-one consulting to assist in developing a three-year growth plan, accounting and legal assistance and membership in their local Chamber of Commerce.

Financial assistance of $10,000 will be provided to those who complete the training and other criteria. They will also have the opportunity to receive additional funding dependent on need.

Some of the expected outcomes for participants include:

A marketing plan that is implemented.

A growth plan for the business for the next three years.

A website and/or social media presence.

Training sessions will be held twice per month. The marketing plan will be developed during the first six months and implemented during the last six months of the program. The businesses will also develop a growth plan and enhance social media presence during the last six months.

Twelve student scholars have been awarded scholarships of $2,500 per semester up to four semesters for a total of $10,000 if they complete the training program and intern with one of the businesses each semester.

Our goal over the next year is to provide training and resources to move each company to a new level of success to enhance the economic development of our community, said Dr. Barbara Adams, Executive Director of BECT Institute.

Companies will be tracked over a three-year period to determine if the goal has been achieved.

Another goal is to get more students to become innovative thinkers in developing ideas that can be commercialized to grow the number of successful minority entrepreneurs, Adams said.

BECT is partnering with the Orangeburg Regional Innovation Center (ORIC), Break Through Results Inc. (a business turnaround consulting firm), 1890 Extension, DESA Inc. and faculty in the College of Business on various aspects of training.

This project is funded by a Clyburn SBA Congressional Community Development grant.

For more information about the BECT Institute and the Small Business Research & Entrepreneurial Accelerator contact Dr. Barbara Adams at badams@scsu.edu.
 New year and new Congress brings a new effort to advance new EQUAL Act | Main | Rounding up some sentencing and punishment stories in an exhausting week that was 

January 28, 2023

Effective look at the many ugly realities of probation

The March 2023 issue of Reason magazine has this terrific article about probation systems authored by C.J. Ciaramella and Lauren Krisai. This lengthy piece is worth a full read, and its full title notes its basic themes: "U.S. Probation System Has Become a Quagmire: What was originally intended as an alternative to incarceration has become a system for mass state control." Here are excepts from the start and first part of the piece:

Shortly after becoming a mother in summer 2013, Jennifer Schroeder was arrested for a drug charge. Schroeder, who lives outside of Minneapolis, Minnesota, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to serve 365 days in Wright County Jail. And 40 years on probation. Probation terms vary by state. They can include curfews, restrictions on travel, submitting to warrantless searches, paying court fees, holding down a job, and abstaining from alcohol and drugs, to the point of being prohibited from even entering a bar. For Schroeder it means a near-lifetime ban on voting or owning a gun, and the looming threat of eight years behind bars if she ever violates her terms. For the privilege of being subjected to all this, there are also fees owed to the state  all to live on the edge of a life-destroying prison sentence.... While many gauge the criminal justice system by the population of jails and prisons, probation affects more lives. And while it is clearly less punitive than being locked in a prison cell, it is still a form of onerous correctional control. Probation is supposed to help people get their lives back on track while staying accountable and keeping the public safe, but in many states offenders are set up to fail in systems that can't or won't give them the opportunity to succeed. It's a scattershot array of state-run systems that, over nearly 200 years, has evolved away from its original purpose of providing public accountability and rehabilitation without punishment, quietly transforming into a secondary criminal justice system hiding in plain sight. As it has evolved, it has lost much of its original purpose, leaving even many of the system's enforcers uncertain about a fundamental question: What is probation supposed to be for?

And here is part of a section of the article about just some of the restrictions probationers face:

When a person is sentenced to probation, there are numerous terms and conditions that he or she must adhere to or face potential consequences. Sometimes these conditions are set by statute, but more often they are assigned by the judge, a state or county probation department, or an individual probation officer. According to a joint report issued by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Human Rights Watch in 2020, people under supervision across the country "must comply with an average of 10 to 20 conditions a day." In Wisconsin, a person on probation has to obtain written approval from their probation agent to purchase, trade, or sell a car. New York, Kansas, Georgia, Texas, and South Carolina require that probationers avoid "injurious and vicious habits," while New York, Kansas, Georgia, and South Carolina also require they avoid "persons or places of disreputable or harmful character." It's common to be prohibited from consuming alcohol, even if the crime was unrelated to drinking.... Beyond that, probationers sometimes have curfews imposed, are unable to cross state or county lines without first getting permission, and expect unannounced drop-ins from officers.... In addition, those on probation are stripped of otherwise constitutionally protected rights. "I live in a really bad neighborhood, and I can't carry any kind of protection," Schroeder says.... Minnesota also doesn't allow offenders to vote until they complete the terms of their criminal sentence, so Schroeder isn't supposed to cast a ballot until 2053.

And here is part of the discussion of probation's contribution to incarceration:

Over the last four years, 4245 percent of prison admissions were for probation or parole supervision violations. Roughly a quarter of all admissions to prison are for technical violations of probation or parole, such as missing an appointment. Some states and localities have introduced graduated sanctions for technical violations and more discretion to probation officers, so offenders don't have probation revoked for their first minor screw-up. But in some states, people on probation are often set up to fail. Instead of being an alternative to prison, it simply ends up delaying incarceration. For example, Idaho has a staggeringly high rate of prison admissions for probation and parole violations. According to a report this year from the Idaho Department of Correction, 80 percent of 2021's admissions had either violated probation, violated parole, or failed a rider.... The overwhelming majority of admissions to prison in Wisconsin are also for supervision violations. More than 63 percent admitted to prison in 2021 were there for such a violation, and 40 percent were admitted for a technical violation of supervision. Kansas also has a high admission to prison rate for probation violations  44 percent of admissions to prison in fiscal year 2021 were for a violation of probation.

January 28, 2023 at 10:34 PM | Permalink

Comments

If people comply with a myriad of conditions over years, then it kinda seems that those restrictions should be removed (maybe gradually). But hey, what do I know?

Posted by: federalist | Jan 29, 2023 10:33:06 AM

I wouldn't want a drug user in my neighborhood to carry a gun. So that doesn't seem crazy.

I have to wonder if 40 years of probation was a good choice by the judge. It might depend on her prior record.

I don't know what to make of the statement about "technical violations." I get it that prison for a missed appointment is severe. At the same time, the appointments may be for a reason, i.e. drug testing. It's not obvious to me how to enforce rules, allow for the human tendency to make minor mistakes, yet ensure that major mistakes are punished. But if the appointment was to include a drug test, how does one know if the person was on drugs at the time or not? I would want there to be a nonzero consequence for the first missed appointment. And I would definitely want prison to be a consequence of a pattern of missed appointments.

I think a person sentenced to a lengthy term of probation ought to eventually have a chance to apply to end it. Evidence in favor might include compliance with probation terms and evidence of useful activity such as holding a job or parenting.

Posted by: William C Jockusch | Jan 29, 2023 11:59:33 AM

Lets be clear who this woman is. Not only was she selling meth, she was smoking it while pregnant.

Posted by: TarlsQtr | Jan 29, 2023 1:05:32 PM

Tarls, my preference would be for more prison time then. 40 years of limbo just seems kinda silly.

Posted by: federalist | Jan 30, 2023 10:30:44 AM

When my state was looking at, and implementing some reforms, the data seemed to show that the vast majority of people who reoffend do so rather quickly. So forty years of probation seems to be more about punishment than rehabilitation. I have always personally seen probation as a triage system -- find out who made one dumb mistake and has learned from it and who is a wannabe career criminal. If they have learned from their mistake, give them the tools to get back on track. If they want to continue on as criminals, show them to their prison cell.

Obviously, there are different types of violations, but calling them technical is designed to make them less serious than they are. Many states require people to be employed (or at least trying to find a job) and to notify the probation officers of the change in employment. And the reason for that condition is that people who have good jobs tend to be less likely to commit offenses. Likewise, many states have conditions related to controlled substances because the need to get money to pay for controlled substances tends to be a motivation for committing offenses and because controlled substances (and alcohol) impair the user's judgment. And regular reporting allow the probation officer to track the offender's progress.

My own experience in rural counties is that isolated violations (missing one appointment or failing to immediately notify probation officer of a new residence or job or one positive drug test) do not result in revocation. There may be some sanction (e.g., a weekend in jail) or some added conditions (out-patient or in-patient drug treatment program), but the isolated violation does not lead to immediate revocation. Rather, it is a pattern of violations (missing every other appointment, testing positive for controlled substances six or seven times) or a complete disregard for probation supervision (committing a new offense or absconding from supervision entirely) that leads to revocation.

Posted by: tmm | Jan 30, 2023 11:44:17 AM

Federalist,

I agree, but Im not shedding tears for her.

Posted by: TarlsQtr | Jan 31, 2023 10:40:57 PM

Post a comment
 Effective look at the many ugly realities of probation | Main | Effective coverage of compassionate release challenges at the state level 

January 29, 2023

Rounding up some sentencing and punishment stories in an exhausting week that was

A horrible series of mass shootings and the release of awful videos defined the criminal justice week that was. But there were also a bunch of sentencing and punishment stories of note and interest that I did not have time to cover here. As is my custom, I will try to catch up with a headline/link round-up:

From the Arizona Republic, "Reformers applaud Hobbs' plans for an oversight commission for troubled Arizona prisons"

From CBS News, "Louisiana "routinely" keeps inmates in custody past release dates, Justice Department finds"

From The Crime Report, "Report: Native Americans Significantly Overrepresented In US Prisons"

From Fox News, "DeSantis proposes making child rapists eligible for execution, allowing death penalty without unanimous jury"

From The Intercept, "Oklahoma Slows Down Frenzied Execution Spree And Launches Probe Into Richard Glossip Case"

From the Marshall Project, "Giving Incarcerated People What They Want  Better News Access"

From NPR, "A man who killed 8 bicyclists in Manhattan is convicted and may face the death penalty"

From New York Daily News, "Brooklyn lawyer who helped firebomb NYPD car during Floyd protests sentenced to a year and day in prison"

From Politico, "Jan. 6 rioter who maced Brian Sicknick sentenced to 80 months"

From Reason, "Federal Inmates Suffering From Unconstitutional Medical Neglect Could Get Relief Under Rule Change"

From Rolling Stone, "Trumps Killing Spree: The Inside Story of His Race to Execute Every Prisoner He Could"

January 29, 2023 at 09:53 AM | Permalink

Comments

80 months for macing a cop? Hmmm. One year for firebombing.

Posted by: federalist | Jan 29, 2023 10:30:29 AM

Thanks, federalist, for reminding me that I initially failed to include a story on Colinford Mattis's sentencing. Now fixed with a link to NY Daily News coverage.

Posted by: Doug B. | Jan 29, 2023 10:46:36 AM

Context is everything. Are you saying that firebombing an empty car is the same as macing an offer who later died---an act that was committed in the process of attacking a venerated U.S. institution?

Not to mention, the other individual who actually firebombed a vehicle (where officers were actually present) was given a sentence of 72 months.

Posted by: Eric A. Hicks | Jan 30, 2023 7:08:00 AM

"context is everything"--why yes it is--first of all, Sicknick's death had nothing to do with the mace (and shame on the Dems for pushing that narrative). Second, look at all the charges dropped against the Portland rioters (who attacked a federal building), the DJT inaugural rioters, and the non-prosecution of those who attacked the WH.

And bringing Molotov cocktails to a riot is really really dangerous, and the woman who did firebombing, first name, Urooj, got 15 months.

Why don't we get those things right?

Posted by: federalist | Jan 30, 2023 10:29:17 AM

Well, first of all it's not a Dem narrative, it's a common sense narrative about the death of Officer Sicknick. In these very posts a week or so prior, we had robust discussion about what factors a judge should be allowed to take into account at sentencing. Do you really believe that a federal judge should ignore the fact that the officer died shortly after the responding to a riot where the defendant sprayed him with mace even if there was no medical evidence that the mace played a role in the proximate cause of his death?

Next, it's quite foolish of you to equate Portland rioters with people actually attacking the Capital of the United States while sitting members of Congress are there. This is nothing more than a foolish partisan talking point and a feeble attempt at "what-about-ism." All crimes are not equal federalist---you know that. Should the Portland rioters have been charged---yes. But did any of their crimes amount to seditious conspiracy? Lets not play that game---you're far too intelligent.

Lastly, Samantha Shader (not Rahman) received 72 months in prison for attending those very same riots and throwing a cocktail at officers in a vehicle.

Posted by: Eric A. Hicks | Jan 30, 2023 10:56:51 AM

So there's no evidence that the macing led to the death, and we should use it to add time? Wow. In any event, Dems have pushed the Capitol Police Officers died meme, and it is just untrue. And it seems weird that someone who firebombed cops gets less time than someone who merely maced one. And that does not explain the lenience shown to the two I mentioned.

With respect to Portland vs. DC--should some grandma who walked around the Capitol and left get time while a violent Antifa thug in POrtland gets charges dropped? Saying, "Well its the Capitol." doesn't really get it done. It feels like there is a serious political double standard here--let's go to the ends of the earth to prosecute anyone who set foot in the building (i.e., no seditious conspiracy), while going easy on the people I mention. That's not whataboutism--that's looking at the obvious favoritism for leftist violence vs. certain non-violence of Trump people. You know, that's not how DOJ is supposed to roll.

Lastly, how many times have crazy people entered the Capitol and disrupted proceedings or confronted Congresscritters about Kavanaugh or other cause du jour, and they get nothing or a fifty dollar fine.

Those Trump supporters who attacked cops should get time, but so should others who did, and that didn't happen. Are you saying the political doublestandards are ok in the law enforcement context?

Posted by: federalist | Jan 30, 2023 12:40:32 PM

To answer your question: No, there should not be any double-standard in the law. Unfortunately, this is the justice system that we have and we must live with it because we both know that it is by no means perfect.

It makes me uncomfortable that a grandmother walking around the Capital would be charged. One could argue that at her age, she should have known better and must be held accountable; while another argument could look at her history and characteristics which would presumably weigh in favor of not charging her.

But it also makes me uncomfortable that I've seen far too many first time offenders (in their teens) sentenced to decades for drug crimes. I could make the same arguments discussed above as pro-punishment or less time for this type of defendant. Like I said, it's the criminal justice system that we have been given. Distribution of drug is, of course, a more serious offense than any potential offense associated with a grandmother entering the Capital without permission which is why I would not advocate for no jail time for the drug crime. Still, it's not the crimes but the blatant inequities of the system that I am highlighting.

If I were a judge, which I am clearly not, the grandmother likely goes home with nothing more than a speech as to who she chooses to align herself with politically and what poison she opts to digest when it comes to politics. And the teen would receive some jail time but not the type that I have seen meted out.

And, to be clear, I am not at all saying that the judge 'should' be allowed to consider this fact (although I am sure that Bill Otis would advocate for this fact to be considered given his take on State/Federal power when it comes to sentencing). What I am saying is that I have seen judges consider facts just like this under 18 U.S.C. 3553(a) when the facts supporting any kind of upward variance of the sentence have been even more attenuated.

Posted by: Eric A. Hicks | Jan 30, 2023 1:22:00 PM

Wow--the rearguard action commences. No longer are you saying that I am engaged in whataboutism, but rather that we should live with an ideological thumb on the scale--cute little radical firebombers get a discount, but meanie Trump guy with mace gets the book thrown at him. That we may have to live with that doesn't mean I don't get to criticize it harshly and call out scum like Merrick Garland.

Posted by: federalist | Jan 30, 2023 1:36:33 PM

Eric A. Hicks --

"And, to be clear, I am not at all saying that the judge 'should' be allowed to consider this fact (although I am sure that Bill Otis would advocate for this fact to be considered given his take on State/Federal power when it comes to sentencing)."

With all respect, you have no portfolio to state my positions, and this illustrates why. My actual position is that no fact can be counted against the defendant unless it has been proved by a preponderance of the evidence. That the defendant's offense here was causally related to the officer's later death has not been so proven to my knowledge, and therefore cannot be considered.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Jan 30, 2023 2:19:51 PM

federalist,

People in the inner-city who care nothing for either political party have been making this argument for decades regarding the inequity of the criminal justice system and it has fallen on deaf ears.

These people don't care about the radical fire-bomber, Trump or the guy with mace duped by Trump to be somewhere he clearly should not have been. All they know is what they have seen and experienced in their own lives as it pertains the criminal justice system. When they have made this argument, the retort wasn't unfairness but the need for there to be more personal accountability within the home and community.

All I am giving you is another perspective. I'm sure that many folks in the inner-city would agree with you that something is terribly wrong with the system. The examples may differ but the results add up to the same thing: distrust for the system. I'm sure you would find many interesting perspectives there ad they would likewise find your take interesting.

It is your right to criticize the criminal justice system because I think you know, just like I do, that it can do better. Where the divide often comes is how we get to 'that place' of better.

Posted by: Eric A. Hicks | Jan 30, 2023 2:25:00 PM

So, because maybe there is unfairness somewhere, we need to tolerate a DOJ ideological thumb on the scale? Nice pivot.

Posted by: federalist | Jan 30, 2023 2:38:46 PM

Bill Otis,

With all respect, you have no portfolio to state my positions, and this illustrates why. My actual position is that no fact can be counted against the defendant unless it has been proved by a preponderance of the evidence. That the defendant's offense here was causally related to the officer's later death has not been so proven to my knowledge, and therefore cannot be considered."

The last that I noticed, you seemed to be quite versed in stating my portfolio on positions so just consider this me returning the favor. You spoke incessantly about OJ Simpson's guilt (and yes, I know he was going guilty by a preponderance in a civil suit) even though no finding of guilt by preponderance was made in the criminal court. I guess you're equating civil findings in a separate court with criminal findings now. You've made your position on this topic very clear---at least to me.

And while I am on the subject, I guess if the defendant in Officer Sicknick's case loses the civil case, you will change your stance on him as well regarding whether the death of the officer should be (or, should have been) considered at his federal sentencing??? Just wondering.



Posted by: Eric A. Hicks | Jan 30, 2023 10:44:22 PM

Eric A. Hicks

"You spoke incessantly about OJ Simpson's guilt..."

Not true, if "incessantly" means what the dictionary says it means.

"...(and yes, I know he was going guilty by a preponderance in a civil suit)"

It's that but more than that. He's guilty in the ordinary lay sense, to wit, he did the acts he was charged with doing. Do you disagree?

"I guess you're equating civil findings in a separate court with criminal findings now."

You guess wrong, which is while I will ask again that you refrain from attempting to re-formulate my positions for me. What I said (to Doug) was, under his theory of banning use of acquitted conduct out of "respect" for the jury's verdict, it would seem to follow that no later court in the same jurisdiction could impose a burden on that same defendant when the necessary legal predicate for that burden would be a judgment contrary to the first jury's exculpation.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Jan 30, 2023 11:22:27 PM

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SIOUX CITY -- When Lily Frank was attending graduate school for midwifery and pregnant with her first child, she would "peek" on the boy, now 18 months old and named Lux, with an ultrasound machine.

"I watched him grow from inside of me every single week, and it was fascinating to see how much they grow," Frank recalled.

That experience sparked a desire in Frank -- she wanted to give women access to more than two ultrasounds, generally the standard during a normal pregnancy. Five months ago, Frank opened The Sonography Studio at 1119 Fourth St.

The business offers high-definition prenatal imaging, IV hydration and early gender determination services in a spa-like setting, along with a baby boutique that features clothing, toys and other items.

Appointments range from 10 to 45 minutes, depending on the ultrasound options clients choose. Since The Sonography Studio doesn't accept insurance, all services are private pay.

Frank cautions that she isn't a substitute for actual prenatal care. She said she's here to let women see their babies more often.

"It's a fun, cool environment. You see the baby on the big screen," Frank said as she sat by her Mindray ultrasound system in a dimly lit room. Soft music played in the background.

Loving pregnancy

Frank has 12 years experience in nursing.

She started out in the intensive care unit and, then, moved to the emergency department. She most recently worked in labor and delivery and "just really fell in love with it."

Frank received her associates degree from St. Luke's College and, then, went back to school to get her bachelor's degree in 2018.

"I was a critical care resource nurse, meaning I went to labor and delivery, ER and ICU. I was trying to figure out if I wanted to be a nurse anesthetist or a midwife. It just kind of led to loving delivering babies and being around women and just pregnancy in general," she said.

After obtaining her bachelor's degree in nursing, Frank enrolled in a nursing midwifery master's degree program at the University of Cincinnati. She graduated in 2021.

"While I was in grad school, I became pregnant for the first time. I had access to an ultrasound machine every day of my clinical experience. So, I would just peek on my baby all the time," she said. "It's a non-invasive tool. It doesn't hurt the baby at all. It doesn't hurt the mom at all. It's just a really good way to see your baby."

After earning her master's degree, Frank flew out to Monterey, California, and took a two-day course for midwives that specializes in sonography and ultrasound.

Today, she has clients traveling from a 200 mile radius of Sioux City for her services.

"Sioux Falls women come to me all the time. I get people from Sheldon, Storm Lake, all over Nebraska and, of course, Sioux City," she said. "I would say the demand is definitely there. I've been very, very busy."

High-tech imaging

At The Sonography Studio, appointments aren't limited to the mother and just a lone guest.

Frank said she's had women come with their parents or their partner's parents, as well as the baby's siblings.

"That's been really fun to see little kids' reactions and the grandparents are just mind blown with the technology," she said. "So, that's been really fun, too, just to have that bonding experience with your family members before the baby arrives."

Frank said it's also the "little things" that she does that make a big difference. She warms up the ultrasound gel before placing it on a woman's belly and she wipes it off with a warm wash cloth at the end of the session.

The technology Frank uses, she said, is the "latest and greatest." She said her Mindray ultrasound system captures babies' faces "really well."

"Most machines, they just do 3D, which is like this more yellow color, and 5D is creating like there's a twilight, spotlight, transparency that just allows different lighting on the baby's face to appear more realistic," she said.

Frank has an app that clients can use to access photos and videos from their ultrasounds.

"It's just always on their phone, which is nice," she said.

Frank can also take a recording of a baby's heartbeat and place it inside a stuffed animal from her baby boutique.

With a membership to The Sonography Studio, Frank said women can see their babies via ultrasound twice a week. She said this option has helped many moms who have anxiety from a previous loss.

"If it's an IVF baby, there's a lot of women that experience infertility that kind of are in the dark. They don't talk a lot about it. So, when they come to me, they're just so excited, because they just get that peace of mind," she said.

Frank said she has the ability to notice when something's "off," too, and can refer clients back to their doctors.

Hydration therapy

The Sonography Studio offers IV hydration services to women who, for example, might be experiencing nausea early on in their pregnancies.

However, Frank said clients don't have to be pregnant to receive IV hydration, they "just have to be a girl."

"I have a baby drip that's really good for the first trimester for nausea and vomiting," she said. "There's just different packages that people can choose from. There's a brain drip that's really good for headaches."

Clients sit in a massage chair with a warm blanket and watch Netflix while they receive their IVs, a process that takes 30 to 45 minutes.

"A lot of people leave feeling way better," Frank said.
SIOUX CITY  Rod Earleywine has been selected as Sioux City Community School Districts next superintendent.

Earleywine is currently serving as the interim superintendent. He was previously the superintendent of the Sergeant Bluff-Luton Community School District.

The school board deliberated in closed session for two and a half hours before voting on offering Earleywine a contract in open session Thursday. He was chosen by the board in a 6-1 vote, with Perla Alarcon-Flory against.

The other candidate for the position was Geovanny Ponce, the assistant superintendent of high schools for the Houston Independent School District.

Dan Greenwell said each candidate had different experiences and both would have brought strength to the district, but needed to pick one. He said the board at the end came to a consensus.

We decided that Dr. Earleywine was our choice. Were excited to have him. Hes done great things in the last seven months with this district, Greenwell said.

Earleywine and the district will now enter into contract negotiations. Pending the negotiations he will start July 1.

Before resigning in February 2022, Earleywine served as superintendent of the Sergeant Bluff-Luton Community School District for 15 years and before that worked for 12 years as Sergeant Bluff-Lutons middle school principal. He was selected as interim superintendent in April 2022 and officially started in July 2022.

He holds a doctorate in education administration from the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, a specialist degree in educational administration and a bachelors degree in education from Drake University and a masters degree in education administration from the University of Northern Iowa.

A few of the changes Earleywine has made as interim superintendent includes rebuilding the culture and climate of the school district, putting in new discipline policies, adding reading back in the middle schools, starting to overhaul the special education program and revamping the English language learners program, Greenwell said.

Dr. Earleywine, in our opinion, deserved a chance to continue on and continue to improve and rebuild our district for the next several years, He said.

During public interviews on Wednesday, Earleywine said he officially applied for the superintendent position because of his experience so far with the Sioux City Community School District.

What Ive learned over the past seven months is this is a very, very good school district, Earleywine said. We have great staff, we have people that truly care about the students and they want to see our students succeed.

A community member asked if Earleywine saw the position as a short-term job or a long-term role. He said there is a misconception that he retired from Sergeant Bluff but, in reality, he resigned because he felt he needed to do something different.

I never retired, Im not ready to retire, Earleywine said.

Each of the board members took a moment to discuss the decision that was made.

All of the board members said both candidates were highly qualified and the board had a very extensive conversation on what the district needed and what the feedback from the community was. Each said it was a difficult decision.

Perla Alarcon-Flory said all of the board members spent hours of research to come to a decision and took into account all of the feedback from community members, students, parents and staff.

Bernie Scolaro said there was a robust discussion weighing the needs of the district and the board did they best they could in the best interest of the community.

The district received 23 applications for the position vacated by Paul Gausman in June 2022 for a job as superintendent of the Lincoln Public Schools. With the help of the recruiting firm hired by the district  GR Recruiting  the school board narrowed it down to five candidates who they interviewed, eventually narrowing it down to the current two.

Ponce and Earleywine participated in public interviews on Wednesday as well as interviews with the school board and special interest groups such as students and teachers.

The search began in the fall of 2022 with community surveys, followed by in-person input sessions with district staff, students, and the public.
The "China Today" arts week was launched in Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia, on Saturday in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Australia.

Co-hosted by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, the Chinese embassy in Australia, the Consulate-General of China in Adelaide and the Adelaide Festival Center, the arts week runs till March 19.

It features an exhibition of ceramic artwork from China's Jiangxi province and paintings and prints from the northeastern Heilongjiang province.

The 50 items from Jingdezhen, a world-famous porcelain town in Jiangxi, were created by three generations of inheritors of an intangible cultural heritage, while the 39 works chosen from traditional Chinese paintings, oil paintings, prints, watercolor and other forms of art showed the scenery of northeastern China as well as people's life there.

Frances Adamson, governor of South Australia, said in her speech that having worked in China for years, she had developed an appreciation for Chinese art forms.

"Previously as a diplomat and now a governor, I have seen the important role the arts can play in diplomacy, and strengthening people-to-people relations," she said.

Douglas Gautier, CEO of the Adelaide Festival Center, noted that cultural collaboration between China and Australia helped enhance understanding between peoples.

"Our audiences here get to see those wonderful items. And equally, the whole cultural sector of Australia over years has been taking Australian artists to China," he added. "That collaboration is a positive thing."

"Culture works as a bridge," said Song Yanqun, minister-counselor for culture at the Chinese embassy in Australia.

He believed that the exhibition, launched for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties and during the Chinese Lunar New Year, had special significance, hoping that many Australian people could visit.
SIOUX CITY -- The Greek restaurant Opa Time on Hamilton Boulevard suffered a devastating fire Sunday morning.

Fire crews were called to the restaurant, at 2129 Hamilton Blvd., at 5:53 a.m. Sunday. On arrival crews encountered heavy smoke and a fire above the ceiling of the restaurant.

The flames were contained to Opa Time and to the adjacent H & R Block, Sioux City Fire Rescue said in a press release. Two other occupants of the strip mall suffered smoke and fire damage.

The restaurant appeared to have suffered a significant degree of damage. No employees were in the restaurant at the time of the fire and none of the 26 firefighters responding to the fire suffered injuries, according to Sioux City Fire Rescue.

An investigation into the cause of the fire is underway.

Opa Time, which has been in that location for more than a decade, is best known for its gyro dishes and baklava, as well as hamburgers, French fries and other American fare.
Recently, I did the thing you are never supposed to do: I clicked on a weird Instagram link. Predictably, my account got hacked. The hackers changed the email and phone numbers associated with my account, changed my username, and started DMing everyone I know about weird crypto schemes and posting that I started a clothing line. Thanks to Slates contacts at Meta, I was able to email a real person at the company and get my account back. But for users who dont have a personal connection to Meta, there is no reliable way to get a hacked Facebook or Instagram account back. These accounts may hold a lifetimes worth of pictures of loved ones, or be the basis for an entire small business; when they get hacked, it can feel like losing an appendage. So why doesnt Meta seem to care about the issue?

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On a recent episode of What Next: TBD, I spoke with Kirsten Grind, investigative reporter for the Wall Street Journal, about why Meta makes it so hard to get your hacked account back. Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Lizzie OLeary: Facebook has almost 3 billion active users, Instagram roughly 2 billion, and all of those users like, love, or maybe even depend on their accounts. What options do users have if they lose access to their beloved accounts?

Kirsten Grind: Theres really not much you can do. You would think there would be a customer service email, or a phone line, or at the very least a chat bot. Theres actually nothing. Facebook provides some guidance online for forms that youre supposed to fill out to get your account back. Ive heard that that often doesnt solve the issue, and they just have not built out up into this point any customer service function at all.

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When I got hacked, I got a notification from Instagram saying, The email associated with your account has been changed. If you did not do this, let us know. But then I ended up in an endless loop of trying to change it and the hackers would just change it right back.

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Ive heard very similar stories where the user goes through the process, sometimes repeatedly and nothing happens, and then when nothing happens and you still dont have your account, theres literally no one you can go to for help.

What are some of the more creative ways youve heard of people getting their accounts back?

Metas virtual reality division at one point had a customer service line, so some people were buying these expensive virtual reality headsets, literally just to get someone in customer service to restore their Instagram or Facebook account. I talked to people who literally spent $300 or $400 on a headset thats just sitting in their house now just to get their Facebook account back.

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Some people have hired lawyers to send scary letters to various people at Meta, but even knowing who to email it to is kind of challenging. Some people have emailed like Mark Zuckerberg, and they just dont get a response back.

Another common one Ive heard is finding random Meta employees in your area on LinkedIn and messaging them for help.

When this happened to me, I kept thinking Meta must have teams of people whose job it is to help with this stuff. Do they?

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No, they dont, and theres a lot of reasons for that. One of the reasons is the expense: Think of having customer service for 3 billion people. The other reason is a cynical reason, which is Meta users are not their customers. We are not paying for this service, so why would they help us? Meta has said in the past that it could be a security issue if they have people on the phone talking to youmaybe theyre actually talking to a hacker? Ive heard that explanation, too, but its unclear why they have no one yet.

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What did they say to you in your reporting process?

They said that theyre now looking at building out some kind of customer service function, and they have acknowledged that its going to be hard and its going to take a while. When I recently reported that Meta employees were themselves, some of them, facilitating this hacking, they of course have said they do not stand for that. Theyve been firing these employees, investigating the issue. So they seem to be on it somewhat, but, man, theres a lot of users having trouble.

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We reached out to Meta for comment. A company spokesperson told us that in 2021, Meta formed a team to improve customer support and started building a customer support platform. They said, Our goal is to ensure the people and businesses who rely on Metas platforms every day can get support when they need it. Do we have any way of knowing how many users are having trouble?

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Ive never seen a number and Ive looked for one, maybe not super hard, but I dont think theres been one publicly reported.

When I was hacked, I made the mistake of tweeting about it, and it triggered this flood of people replying to me saying, I run a service that can help you get your account back. DM me here, message me here. Is there a weird little ecosystem of shady dealers who prey on people whove lost their accounts?

100 percent there is. There are these people claiming that they can get your account back, and Ive talked to users who have literally paid thousands of dollars to these people. However, sometimes it seems to work. So this is the part where it seems like some of these peopleand Ive talked to people who have claimed thishave some kind of in with a Meta employee. So there legitimately does seem to be some people who have some kind of connection to help you get your account back, but then theres definitely a lot of others that are just taking your money and months go by and nothing happens to your account.

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There is an internal channel at Meta that can help people get their accounts back. Its known as Oops.

Oops is a way for Meta employees and contractors to not only help get their accounts back but also their friends and family. Its supposed to be for people you know, business partners, someone on Mark Zuckerbergs team, or something like that, but its just so many people are having trouble with their accounts that the number of so-called tasks happening in this Oops channel has just risen over the years dramatically.

The very existence of a channel like that both makes total sense and is a wildly inequitable system. Like, Oh, you have to know someone whose cousin works at Facebook in order to get your name in front of a human.

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It wasnt initially founded that way because these problems with hackings seem to be more prevalent in recent years. And so I think it wasnt set up that way, the Oops channel. It was truly supposed to be just an internal system for employees and not this sort of backdoor way for all users to try and get help.

Who has access to it?

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Meta employees, but also contractors, which is very odd, like physical security guards that are stationed in Meta offices. As part of the process of working for a Meta location theyre onboarded to be able to use the system, and so that sort of opens the door for a lot more access than just employees.

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Perhaps it was inevitable given the amount of power involved that the Oops system would be abused too. You broke a story showing that Meta was investigating employees and contractors for basically selling their access to it. Can you tell us more about that story?

What some employees allegedly were doing was actually aiding the hackers, so they would accept a bribe from a hacker to get access to a users account. So basically it was a way for someone on the outside to easily access Facebook user data, which is just terrible. This is obviously a huge problem that Meta is aware of and is investigating, because you cant have your own employees and contractors improperly accessing user accounts.

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Do we know how many people had access to the Oops channel?

Most employees and a lot of contractors, so thousands and thousands of people have access to file an Oops claim through that channel. What we reported in our most recent story was that Facebook was investigating more than two dozen employees and contractors for improperly accessing those accounts.

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And they have lawyers on it. Theyve been sending these really scary lawyer letters to current and former employees and other intermediaries who are facilitating this access of accounts, so theyre definitely aware of it.

Someone could listen to this and say, Get over yourself. Its just your Instagram account, its just Facebook. This is not real life. What would the people youve talked to, who have lost their accounts, say to that?

First of all, theres the category of people that have literally built small businesses around Instagram and Facebook. Their pages are set up to advertise themselves to the world, and theyve spent years building up followers and all of this. To have that destroyed is just terrible. I personally am most affected by the people who have their lifes memories on Facebook and havent thought to save photos. These are often older people. I heard from someone whose parent had died, and all their memories were on Facebook. They could no longer access that account, and they couldnt get anyone to help them.

Is Meta making any changes to address this?

This has been an issue theyve been following for about a year now. Theyve been doing this big internal investigation, specifically into the issue of employees improperly accessing user accounts, and so they seem to be on it in that respect. Also, in regards to the Oops channel, theyve definitely tightened up access, especially among contractors accessing that channel, but its hard to say exactly what theyre going to be doing and whats going to happen going forward. In a way, it hurts users because tightening that one access is, again, the only way for a user to get help sometimes.

In reporting these stories, has it made you think at all about how tech companies think about the users of their services?

I think about that a lot. Its actually why I get interested in stories like this because strangely sometimes users get overlooked when we cover tech companies. Were so focused on like how is Facebook moderating content? or how is Elon Musk changing Twitter? You stop seeing stories about how the user is affected. And the funny thing is, none of these tech companies could exist without the user.

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society.
Have a look at which post offices will take over and which services people can arrange with postmen and parcel drop boxes.

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In a short time, the state postal firm Slovenska Posta will close two of seven branches in Petrzalka, the biggest borough of Bratislava. The post office on Pecnianska Street will be definitively closed from February 1 when the post office on Holicska Street will cease from March 1. The remaining five branches in Petrzalka - on Vlastenecke Square, Jiraskova, Einsteinova, Furdekova and Jasovska Streets remain open, while they will take over services for citizens from the two closed post offices.

Since we are seeing a long-term declining interest by clients in services at the Bratislava 51 and Bratislava 56 post offices, Slovenska Posta has asked the Office for the Regulation of Electronic Communications and Postal Services to close both branches, Iveta Dorcakova, a spokesperson for Slovenska Posta told The Slovak Spectator.
Hazel McCallion, who earned the nickname "Hurricane Hazel," died at the age of 101. (Photo by Cole Burston/AFP via Getty Images)

People on social media are mourning the death of "trailblazer" Hazel McCallion, who died at age 101.

Known for her tenacity in Canadian politics, McCallion led Mississauga, Ont. as mayor for 12 terms, up until she was 94-years-old. She was the city's fifth mayor between 1978 and 2014.

"My dear friend Hazel was an extraordinary woman who wore many hats: A businessperson, an athlete, a politician and one of Canada's  and the world's  longest-serving mayors. Nicknamed 'Hurricane Hazel' for her bold political style, she was unstoppable," Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrote in a statement.

"She inspired countless others, including myself, in her decades of tireless and selfless service. I will miss her as a friend, and I'll always cherish the conversations we had, and the wisdom she shared over the years."

Im sending my deepest condolences to Hazels family and friends, as well as the people of Mississauga. As you mourn this tremendous loss, Im keeping you in my thoughts. https://t.co/r2FrlYDsrr  Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) January 29, 2023

Ontario Premier Doug Ford shared his statement on Sunday morning, announcing that McCallion died "peacefully" at her Mississauga home.

"Hazel was the true definition of a public servant. She dedicated her long life to her community, including 36 years as mayor of Mississauga  the longest serving mayor in the city's history," Ford shared in his statement. "She led the transformation of Mississauga into one of Canada's largest cities. Hazel's mark on her community can be found in the many places and organizations that bear her name, including the Hazel McCallion Line.

"There isn't a single person who met Hazel who didn't leave in awe of her force of personality. I count myself incredibly lucky to have called Hazel my friend over these past many years. As I entered the world of politics, I was fortunate enough to learn from her wisdom and guidance, which she selflessly offered until the very end."

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Mississauga and Ontario are better places because of the amazing life of Hazel McCallion. Rest easy, my friend. pic.twitter.com/LJO4HALdRp  Doug Ford (@fordnation) January 29, 2023

Bonnie Crombie, Mississauga's current mayor, shared her own statement Sunday morning, noting her "condolences" to the city's first-ever female mayor.

"Today, we grieve the loss of Mississauga's matriarch, Hazel McCallion  a fierce and passionate leader who touched the lives of many and who served as an inspiration to women in politics across the country. On behalf of the City of Mississauga, I offer my condolences to the entire McCallion family, who are mourning the loss of their mother and grandmother today," she penned in her statement.

"Hazel lived a good life, and the truth is that even in her final days, she never stopped giving back to this great city and to the people who proudly call it home. As our first female mayor at a very critical time in our history, she helped grow and shape Mississauga from farmland and fruit trees into the seventh-largest city in Canada with a quality of life that is 'second to none.'"

Today, we grieve the loss of Mississaugas matriarch, Hazel McCallion, a fierce and passionate leader who touched the lives of so many. She lived a life of service before self - everything she did was for the betterment of our City. My deepest condolences to the McCallion family. pic.twitter.com/ttjbuucjWG  Bonnie Crombie  (@BonnieCrombie) January 29, 2023

Social media users shared in the mourning of McCallion's death. Posts from politicians, Canadians and more left her name trending on Twitter.

A business woman, an athlete, a wife and mother  and beloved mayor of Mississauga for 36 years.



Hazel McCallion was a trailblazer for women in Canada and around the world.



My condolences to her family and loved ones. #HurricaneHazel #TrailBlazer pic.twitter.com/jdxZf63W6P  Marci Ien (@MarciIen) January 29, 2023

It is with great sadness that we advise of the sudden passing of Hazel McCallion, former mayor and the Citys biggest champion. Our thoughts are with her entire family at this time. https://t.co/ncgHwO2yGi pic.twitter.com/46WumQhAib  City of Mississauga (@citymississauga) January 29, 2023

Hazel McCallion was a trailblazing icon who left an indelible impact on Canadas political fabric. Never shy to stand up for her community, Hazel made Mississauga a better place to live. I am thankful for her life of service. My thoughts are with her family & loved ones.  Anita Anand (@AnitaAnandMP) January 29, 2023

Hazel McCallion was an unforgettable force in our public life. I always enjoyed our interaction together, and deeply appreciated her commitment to the people of Mississauga. @aprae and I sending our deepest condolences to her family. She truly was a force of nature.  Bob Rae (@BobRae48) January 29, 2023

My team joins in remembering the incredible life of Hazel McCallion. I will never forget how she made me feel or what we spoke about that day. She spoke so eloquently and she knew how to knock back a buttertart like a pro. I will never forget that day. What a remarkable human.  pic.twitter.com/jWitP0tzsq  Mike Shoreman (@MikeShoreman) January 29, 2023

Hazel McCallion was a force to be reckoned with and a historic trailblazer when it came to Canadian politics. We will miss her passionate advocacy. On behalf of Hamiltonians and Council, I offer my deepest condolences to her family, friends, and her community in Mississauga. pic.twitter.com/DVUgAgo7KF  Andrea Horwath (@AndreaHorwath) January 29, 2023

Sad to hear of the passing of Hurricane Hazel McCallionone of Canadas most dedicated elected officials.



For Hazel, public service was a true calling. Her work is a reminder to all of us who are fortunate to serve...its about helping people & building community.



RIP Hazel! pic.twitter.com/FkT8awnb2J  Prabmeet Sarkaria (@PrabSarkaria) January 29, 2023

Today, we are all mourning the loss of Hazel McCallion.



She was the iconic Mayor of Mississauga for 36 years and built that city from 1978 to 2014.



To me, she was also a friend and a mentor. pic.twitter.com/iTl5ouBPly  John Tory (@JohnTory) January 29, 2023

Heartbroken to hear of Hazel McCallion's passing. The first time I met her I asked her if she had any advice for me & she said "you're short like me so stand on the table & yell if you have to, to be heard"



Thank you for your fierce leadership Madam mayor, may you rest in peace pic.twitter.com/X7Qn0fqqHf  Regional Councillor Sameera Ali (@ClrSameeraAli) January 29, 2023

Ontario is mourning the loss of Hazel McCallion. Born in Quebec, her strong work ethic began as a child during the Great Depression, shaping her legacy as a true Canadian titan and builder.



The people of Ontario will feel the impact of her work for generations to come. pic.twitter.com/d1qO2h8rWQ  Peter Bethlenfalvy (@PBethlenfalvy) January 29, 2023
Rick Barnes and No. 4 Tennessee got the better of No. 10 Texas on Saturday night in its Big 12/SEC challenge matchup. The Vols controlled the game from start to finish, cruising to an 82-71 victory.

A first-half scoring drought of nearly seven minutes put Texas in a hole early on. Tennessees top-ranked defense held Texas leading scorer Marcus Carr to just 11 points on the night.

Rebounding was the story of the game as Tennessee dominated the boards, outrebounding Texas 38-24. The Horns defense had no answers for Tennessees Olivier Nkamhoua and Zakai Zeigler. Both Vols scored over 20 points in the win.

SirJabari Rice led the way for Texas with a solid 21-point effort. Four of five Texas starters were held under 10 points for the first time all season.

Texas falls to 17-4 on the season with a difficult Big 12 stretch on the horizon. The Longhorns host red-hot Baylor on Monday night with massive implications in the conference standings on the line.

final. Back home on Monday. pic.twitter.com/bqpdph2mJz  Texas Mens Basketball (@TexasMBB) January 29, 2023

Contact/Follow us @LonghornsWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas news, notes and opinions.

Story originally appeared on Longhorns Wire
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230128/wagner-group-takes-control-of-blahodatne-in-donetsk-region-1106793358.html

Wagner Group Takes Control of Blagodatnoe in Donetsk Region

Wagner Group Takes Control of Blagodatnoe in Donetsk Region

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner Group, says the soldiers of the private military company have liberated the village of Blagodatnoe... 28.01.2023, Sputnik International

2023-01-28T22:35+0000

2023-01-28T22:35+0000

2023-01-29T05:42+0000

russia's special operation in ukraine

donetsk people's republic

pmc wagner

russia

ukraine

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Earlier this month, the Russian Defense Ministry said that the city of Soledar in the Donetsk Peoples Republic (DPR) was cleared of Ukrainian troops mainly thanks to the "courageous and selfless actions of the volunteers of the Wagner assault squads." The liberation of the city of Soledar from Ukrainian troops was completed on the evening of January 12. The Wagner Group has been participating in Russia's special military operation in Ukraine and played an important role in taking control of Soledar. The liberation of Soledar has opened the way to the bridgehead of Slavyansk and Kramatorsk, which can become a turning point in wrestling control over the entire territory of DPR from Ukraine, according to DPR acting head Denis Pushilin.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230129/after-concession-from-berlin-on-tanks-kiev-demands-german-u-boats-frigate-1106802046.html

After Concession From Berlin on Tanks, Kiev Demands German U-Boats, Frigate

After Concession From Berlin on Tanks, Kiev Demands German U-Boats, Frigate

The German government folded to months of pressure from Washington and Kiev this week and agreed to send its Leopard 2 main battle tanks east, marking a major escalation in the NATO-Russia proxy conflict in Ukraine.

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2023-01-29T17:59+0000

russia's special operation in ukraine

ukraine

u-boat

submarine

frigate

andriy melnyk

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Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Melnyk has called on Germany to send one or more of its submarines and possibly even a decommissioned frigate to Ukraine to kick the Russian fleet out of the Black Sea.In a series of tweets Saturday and Sunday, Melnyk  Ukraines former ambassador to Germany, outlined why Berlin should send its U-boats to the warzone.Germany (ThyssenKrupp) produces one of the worlds best submarines, Melnyk wrote, referring to the Type 212A diesel-electric attack sub made by German steel and defense giant ThyssenKrupp AG. The Bundeswehr has 6 such U-boats. Why not send one to Ukraine? he asked.It is not wishful thinking, but my PERSONAL experience. As consul-general in Hamburg, I was on board [a] U-212A at marine base Eckernforde in 2008. Really huge! One admiral told me: you need ONE sub to keep the Russian Black Sea fleet in check, he wrote in a follow-up tweet accompanied by a cutaway diagram of the sub.Melnyk also urged Germany to send its recently decommissioned Lubeck frigate, or at least its weaponry like [the] Sea Sparrow [shipborne short-range anti-missile system] and Harpoon [anti-ship] missiles.In another tweet, he posted a link to a ThyssenKrupp promotional video on the Type 212CD Expeditionary sub.Melnyk called on Ukraines NATO allies to come up with "a MASTER PLAN on how to DEFEAT Russia with tightly coordinated shipments of modern weapons including fighter jets and submarines instead of worrying about escalating the conflict.Reaction to the Ukrainian diplomats proposal on subs and frigates was mixed, with some dubbing it a brilliant idea, while others asked how the boats could be shipped to the Black Sea without Turkey taking issue. How about no? one critic suggested. You get nothing, junge. Report yourself [to the front] and take up arms. This disgusting begging is unbearable, another wrote. Others joked that maybe Kiev should ask France for an aircraft carrier or even go straight to nukes. Mr. Melnyk, at some point you must realize that your alleged friends are not interested in a quick end to the war. You represent foreign interests superbly, keep it up, one person commented. Kick out a fleet that has been there since the 18th century with a submarine? And I thought in the Ukrainian government only Zelensky was the comedian, another chimed in.Andriy Melnyk has been a staple fixture of the German political scene since his appointment as ambassador to Germany in early 2015. Before the escalation of the Ukraine crisis, German politicians privately characterized him as a pain in the a** and did what they could to avoid encountering him. Last May, Bundestag lawmakers asked for the diplomat to be kicked out of the country after he called Chancellor Olaf Scholz an offended liverwurst for delaying his visit Kiev. Melnyk has consistently criticized the German government for its slow approval of new weapons deliveries. In 2021, he warned that Kiev might build nukes if it wasnt allowed to join NATO.After Germany and the US approved the delivery of Leopard 2 and Abrams tanks this week, Kiev set its sights on fighter jets, with Zelensky asking NATO to realize the dream of delivering aircraft to Ukraine after Russian forces destroyed most of the countrys air force. European diplomats and Pentagon officials are reportedly already lobbying to send F-16s to the conflict zone as NATOs red line on arms deliveries continues to slowly shift in the direction of further escalation. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has accused the West of being openly involved in a proxy war with Moscow, and warned that any cargoes containing weaponry meant for Kiev will be considered legitimate targets by Russia.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230129/us-denies-facts-by-claiming-supplies-of-abrams-tanks-to-kiev-not-escalation-says-russian-official-1106794867.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230129/live-updates-ukrainian-forces-shell-city-of-donetsk-using-155mm-artillery---dpr-1106794164.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230129/group-of-pentagon-officials-secretly-lobbying-sending-f-16-jets-to-ukraine-reports-say-1106795017.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230129/azerbaijani-embassy-in-iran-suspends-operation-after-attack-according-to-deputy-foreign-minister-1106803859.html

Azerbaijani Embassy in Iran Suspends Operation After Attack According to Deputy Foreign Minister

Azerbaijani Embassy in Iran Suspends Operation After Attack According to Deputy Foreign Minister

The Azerbaijani Embassy in Iran has evacuated its staff after a fatal shooting and suspended the diplomatic mission in Tehran, Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Khalaf Khalafov said on Sunday.

2023-01-29T21:43+0000

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world

azerbaijan

azerbaijan

tehran

tehran

shooting

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On Friday, an armed man entered Azerbaijan's embassy in Tehran along with his two young children and opened fire on entering the premises. The shooting left one person killed and two others injured. According to Tehran Police chief Hossein Rahimi, interrogation established that the attack was motivated by "personal and family problems." According to Iranian news agency Tasnim, the assailant claimed that he was trying to locate his wife, who applied to the Azerbaijani embassy back in April 2022 and never returned home. The man reportedly lodged complaints to the embassy multiple times but never received information about the whereabouts of his wife. Therefore, he assumed that his wife was on the embassy's premises and did not want to communicate with him. For this reason, the assailant purchased a Kalashnikov assault rifle in advance and carried out the attack on Friday morning, according to the news agency.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230129/belarus-president-lukashenko-to-visit-zimbabwe-in-first-trip-to-sub-saharan-africa-1106795179.html

Belarus President Lukashenko to Visit Zimbabwe in First Trip to Sub-Saharan Africa

Belarus President Lukashenko to Visit Zimbabwe in First Trip to Sub-Saharan Africa

This article is about the planned visit of Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko on Monday to Harare in his first ever visit to Zimbabwe and the Sub-Saharan African region.

2023-01-29T08:41+0000

2023-01-29T08:41+0000

2023-04-06T10:50+0000

africa

southern africa

zimbabwe

belarus

state visit

alexander lukashenko

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Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko is set to arrive in Harare on Monday, this being the first time he has visited Zimbabwe and the Sub-Saharan African region, Zimbabwes Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced, adding that the aim of the trip is to strengthen relationships between the two nations.Mugejo, describing the three-day visit as historic as it will be the East European leaders first time visiting the African country, noted that during that state visit, Lukashenko is scheduled to hold talks with his Zimbabwean counterpart President Emmerson Mnangagwa.He said that several deals between the two countries are set to be signed during the visit. Mugejo also noted that the two presidents are expected to launch the second phase of the Zimbabwe-Belarus Agricultural Mechanization Program, the first of which was launched in late 2020 and saw the delivery of Belarusian farm equipment to the African country.Zimbabwe and Belarus established diplomatic relations in April 1992, but ties have strengthened significantly since 2015, in the wake of exchanges of visits by high-profile delegations to Harare and Minsk. Mnangagwa visited Belarus and met with Lukashenko as vice-president of Zimbabwe in 2015 and as president in 2019.Over the few past years, the two nations have inked more than a dozen cooperation agreements in various fields. An important milestone in diplomatic relations between the two countries was reached in January 2022 when Belarus opened an embassy in Harare.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230126/zimbabwe-to-start-exporting-wheat-1106728516.html

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lukashenko, lukashenko zimbabwe, lukashenko africa, belarus zimbabwe, emmerson mnangagwa, mnangagwa and lukashenko, zimbabwe, belarus
This aerial photo taken on Jan. 13, 2023 shows a view of the container terminal of Haikou Port in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province. [Photo/Xinhua]

China will consolidate and expand the momentum of economic rebound, accelerate consumption recovery and stabilize foreign trade and investment, according to the decisions made at the State Council executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang on Saturday.

Noting the continuing trend of economic recovery and rebound, the meeting stressed the need to implement the decisions of the Central Economic Work Conference and focus on ensuring stability in growth, employment and prices, to keep the economic performance within a proper range.

Solid steps will be taken to ensure effective implementation of the policy package for stabilizing the economy and its follow-up measures. Key projects and equipment upgrading and renovation supported by fiscal and financial policy tools will be advanced to generate more physical gains.

Policies to extend the duration of VAT relief for small-scale taxpayers and inclusive loans granted to micro and small businesses will be effectively implemented.

It is imperative to remain firmly committed to consolidating and developing the public sector, and to encouraging, supporting and guiding the development of the non-public sector, to protect the lawful rights and interests of private businesses and foster a market-oriented, world-class business environment governed by a sound legal framework. The platform economy will be supported in pursuing sustained and sound development.

The meeting underscored the need to facilitate a speedy reopening of businesses and production after the Spring Festival and to provide good services for migrant workers in returning to their work or landing new jobs.

"We need to step up efforts to deliver on the policies for expanding consumption," Li said.

Noting the pressing challenge of lackluster demand, the meeting urged timely measures to promote an early recovery of consumption as the main economic driving force, steadfastly advance opening-up, and stabilize and upgrade foreign trade and investment.

Consumption will be further boosted. Policies for supporting consumer service businesses and self-employed individuals and promoting the consumption of cars and other big-ticket items will be fully implemented. Various activities will be launched to stimulate consumption and facilitate the early recovery of contact-based service industries.

Consumer loans will be increased as appropriate. The policy toolkit will be harnessed following a city-specific approach, to meet people's basic housing needs and the need for improved housing conditions and ensure the delivery of pre-sold homes.

"Boosting consumption is a key step to expand domestic demand. We need to restore the structural role of consumption in the economy," Li said. "The greatest potential of the Chinese economy lies in the consumption by the 1.4 billion people."

The meeting reaffirmed China's commitment to the basic national policy of opening-up and called for more concrete measures to stabilize foreign trade. Efforts will be made to promote the resumption of in-person exhibitions at home, and support enterprises to participate in exhibitions overseas.

Policies concerning export rebates, credit loans and credit insurance, among others, will be earnestly implemented, and the RMB exchange rate will be kept generally stable at an adaptive, balanced level. Enterprises will be supported to further explore market opportunities by making full use of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

Development of cross-border e-commerce and overseas warehouses will be further promoted. The competitiveness of foreign trade will be enhanced. Import will be expanded as appropriate.

Active efforts will be made to attract foreign investment. The new Catalogue of Encouraged Industries for Foreign Investment will be put into effect at a faster pace. Local governments will be supported in attracting businesses and investment. The role of pilot free trade zones and other platforms will be better leveraged.

Facilitative measures on cross-border travel will be earnestly implemented. Sustained efforts will be made to improve services for foreign-invested enterprises, and promote the earlier delivery of major projects.

"We must fully leverage our competitive advantages, improve our business environment and stabilize foreign trade and investment by opening wider to the world. Opening up is in China's fundamental interests," Li said.

The meeting urged relevant departments to make comprehensive plans in early February and ensure a greater sense of responsibility at all levels to promptly start spring plowing and farming preparations, in order to lay a solid foundation for bolstering food supply and stabilizing consumer prices.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230129/blinken-to-meet-israeli-palestinian-officials-amid-tensions-between-both-parties-1106803981.html

Blinken to Meet Israeli, Palestinian Officials Amid Tensions Between Both Parties

Blinken to Meet Israeli, Palestinian Officials Amid Tensions Between Both Parties

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to the Near East to meet with Egyptian, Israeli and Palestinian Authority officials amid violence flaring in the West Bank and in Jerusalem.

2023-01-29T22:06+0000

2023-01-29T22:06+0000

2023-01-29T22:06+0000

world

israeli-palestinian conflict

antony blinken

cairo

egypt

jenin

us secretary of state

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Earlier this week, US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf said Blinken will begin his visit in Cairo on Sunday. Blinken will meet with President Abdel Fattah Sisi and Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry to discuss bilateral matters and to work with Egypt to promote peace and security in the region. Egypt helped broker a cease-fire to end fighting between Israelis and Palestinians in Gaza in August 2022. Blinken will then travel to Jerusalem and Ramallah on Monday and Tuesday, respectively. In Israel, Blinken will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, and other senior leaders to discuss the enduring US support for Israels security, particularly against threats from Iran. However, Blinken will also touch on urgent matters between Israel and the Palestinians, the Biden administration's commitment to a two-state negotiated solution, and equal measures of prosperity, freedom and security for both Palestinians and Israelis, Leaf said. In Ramallah, Blinken will meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and other senior officials to also underline the Biden administration's commitment to a two-state solution, as well as to discuss strengthening US-Palestinian relations and further bolstering Palestine's economy, Leaf said. US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Blinken will urge both Israeli and Palestinian leaders to take steps to deescalate tensions. Blinken will also discuss the importance of upholding the historic status quo at the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount in Jerusalem, Leaf said. CIA Director Bill Burns is reportedly in Israel for talks with senior security chiefs just days before Blinken's arrival. On Thursday, nine Palestinians were killed and 20 others injured as a result of an Israeli raid in the city of Jenin in the West Bank. Palestinian presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh called the raid a "massacre," while President Mahmoud Abbas declared three days of mourning. The Israeli army said it had neutralized three Palestinian militants in Jenin, suspected of preparing major terrorist attacks. On Friday, Israeli police confirmed at least seven Israelis were killed in a suspected terrorist shooting attack in the Neve Yaakov neighborhood in Jerusalem. The Israeli outlet Ynet reported that the gunman is Fadi Ayash, a resident of the Jerusalem Shuafat refugee camp. The report claims that Ayash was member of a group called the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230129/drinking-mezcal-all-night-long-pamela-anderson-opens-up-about-her-relationship-with-assange-1106800493.html

Drinking Mezcal All Night Long: Pamela Anderson Opens Up About Her Relationship With Assange

Drinking Mezcal All Night Long: Pamela Anderson Opens Up About Her Relationship With Assange

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange spent almost 7 years in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. During that time, many people visited him with TV star Pamela Anderson among them.

2023-01-29T14:10+0000

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2023-01-29T14:10+0000

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During her promotional interview with an American magazine for her soon-to-be-released memoir, Love, Pamela Anderson shared the story of her relationship with Julian Assange, while the latter was taking refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy in order to avoid extradition to the United States.The star of the Baywatch series revealed that she had met the founder of the WikiLeaks project through late fashion designer Vivienne Westwood in 2014. She visited Assange during his stay at the embassy. Of their time together, Anderson said, "It was romantic because it was so inspirational."At the same time, Anderson clarified that she and Assange were not a couple, "We don't have a romantic relationship like that, but I feel very close to him." Back in 2018, Pamela Anderson rejected hints of a romantic relationship attributed to them.Assange has been held at the Belmarsh Prison since 2019, when his seven-year asylum at Ecuador's Embassy was revoked under Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno's administration. More recently, in December 2022, Assange applied to the European Court of Human Rights to challenge his extradition. If extradited to the US, Assange could face a sentence of 175 years in prison. Earlier, Anderson herself urged US authorities to pardon Assange, thereby supporting free speech.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230121/panel-of-international-experts-demand-biden-end-persecution-of-julian-assange-1106544121.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230129/drones-attack-military-site-in-irans-isfahan-reports-say-1106794621.html

Drones Attack Military Site in Iran's Isfahan, Reports Say

Drones Attack Military Site in Iran's Isfahan, Reports Say

powerful blast at the ammunition depot in the city of Isfahan, located in central Iran

2023-01-29T06:39+0000

2023-01-29T06:39+0000

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Early on Sunday, the Iranian Defense Ministry reported several drone attacks on a military site in the central Iranian province. Later, the state news agency - citing the defense ministry - reported that an ammunition depot in the city of Isfahan was targeted by drones.As one source told to a Sputnik correspondent, the facility in Isfahan was targeted by ordinary UAVs, not by attack drones. The explosions at the military facility were caused by air defenses. Also, there is no official confirmation of reports suggesting there were strikes on 14 Iranian military sites.Nobody was injured and the military facility only suffered minor damage, the Iranian press announced.Meanwhile, several videos appeared on social media allegedly showing a series of explosions in the region.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20221225/irans-irgc-says-arrested-7-leaders-of-group-linked-with-uk-intelligence-1105787379.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230129/group-of-pentagon-officials-secretly-lobbying-sending-f-16-jets-to-ukraine-reports-say-1106795017.html

Group of Pentagon Officials Secretly Lobbying Sending F-16 Jets to Ukraine, Reports Say

Group of Pentagon Officials Secretly Lobbying Sending F-16 Jets to Ukraine, Reports Say

A group of US military officials is quietly lobbying for sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine

2023-01-29T06:50+0000

2023-01-29T06:50+0000

2023-01-29T07:27+0000

military

f-16

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According to the newspaper, the campaign for F-16s to Ukraine is gathering momentum in the Pentagon while Kiev is bracing for a planned offensive this spring. A senior Pentagon official told US media that he did not think the US Department of Defense was opposed to the idea, stressing that there was no final decision on the possible supplies yet. Meanwhile, Ukraine should clearly indicate that F-16 fighter jets are "its top priority," the source said. It may take weeks for the United States to make a decision on such deliveries, another source said, adding that the fighter jets would have to be sourced from the country's own reserves or reexported from other countries. However, US officials are reportedly more concerned with Ukraine's dwindling missile stockpiles for air defense systems at the moment. The newspaper's source said that if Ukraine ran out of its arsenal, Russia's advanced fighter jets would come to dominate the country's airspace and Kiev would "not be able to compete." Therefore, modern fighter jets could "solve this problem," US media said. Meanwhile, some Pentagon officials argue that the Ukrainian forces have a more pressing need for "traditional" air defense systems  including Patriots and National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS)  rather than F-16s, which may "take months" to arrive, according to US media. Even though Washington has not yet decided on the deliveries of fighter jets, Ukraine has already compiled a list of some 50 pilots, who are ready to start training on F-16s, speak English and have a track record of "thousands of combat missions," the newspaper said. On Wednesday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that the German armed forces would give Ukraine 14 Leopard 2 battle tanks from their own warehouses but rejected Kiev's call for jets, saying he did not want the Ukrainian conflict to turn into an armed standoff between Russia and NATO. Western countries ramped up their military support for Ukraine after Russia launched a special military operation there on February 24, 2022, responding to calls for help from the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. In April, 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.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230128/almost-60-of-italians-oppose-tanks-other-weapons-being-sent-to-kiev-poll-finds-1106783500.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230129/idf-reporting-on-shooting-attacks-in-west-bank-1106794278.html

IDF Reports Shooting Attacks in West Bank

IDF Reports Shooting Attacks in West Bank

Two separate incidents involving unidentified gunmen have occurred in the West Bank, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

2023-01-29T05:16+0000

2023-01-29T05:16+0000

2023-01-29T05:51+0000

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In a separate incident, another unidentified gunman opened fire at a restaurant in the West Bank. IDF reported of no casualties.The Israeli newspaper reported that there were clashes between Israeli law enforcement and Palestinians in East Jerusalem on Saturday night. According to the newspaper, the Israeli authorities have agreed on a number of measures, including strengthening security, following the recent Jerusalem attacks.On Friday, Israeli police reported a terrorist attack at a synagogue in East Jerusalem. According to police, seven people were killed as a result of the shooting in the Neve Yaakov neighborhood. The attacker was reportedly a 21-year-old resident of East Jerusalem named Alkam Kheiry. The attack came 24 hours after a massive Israeli army raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank, during which at least nine Palestinians were killed and over 16 others were injured.On Saturday, two people were injured as a result of a shooting in the City of David, an archaeological site in Jerusalem, according to the Israeli police. The incident was qualified as a suspected terrorist attack.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised a "strong, fast" response to the terror attacks, according to Israeli newspaper. Meanwhile, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said after a security cabinet meeting on Saturday, as cited by the newspaper, that he was going to propose a law allowing for the death penalty against terrorists.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230126/air-raid-sirens-sound-off-in-southern-israel-rocket-interceptions-reported-1106742766.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230129/kremlin-putin-has-no-phone-call-with-scholz-on-schedule-but-remains-open-to-contacts-1106798211.html

Kremlin: Putin Has No Phone Call With Scholz on Schedule, But Remains Open to Contacts

Kremlin: Putin Has No Phone Call With Scholz on Schedule, But Remains Open to Contacts

Russian President Vladimir Putin has no phone conversation scheduled with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz as of now, but the Russian leader is open to contacts

2023-01-29T10:51+0000

2023-01-29T10:51+0000

2023-01-29T10:51+0000

russia

russia

vladimir putin

olaf scholz

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"There are no phone calls on the schedule so far. Putin was and is open to contacts," Peskov said when asked if there are any plans for such a phone conversation and if the Russian president wishes or intends to speak to his German colleague. Earlier on Sunday, Scholz told German media that he seeks to continue holding phone calls with Putin, as "it is necessary to talk to each other." Scholz specified that phone conversations with Putin "are not marked by any rudeness," while admitting that their views "are completely different."The German chancellor also stressed that the Ukraine crisis was not the only topic featured on the agenda of his phone talks with Putin.Putin and Scholz held their latest phone conversation on December 2, when the Russian leader explained in detail his country's fundamental approach to the special operation in Ukraine.Several leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, among others, have held multiple telephone conversations with Putin following the beginning of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20221213/100-hours-of-phone-talks-with-putin-how-has-macrons-mediatory-foray-into-ukraine-crisis-fared-1105413444.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230129/lavrov-urges-israeli-palestinian-counterparts-to-avoid-further-escalation-1106803090.html

Lavrov Urges Israeli, Palestinian Counterparts to Avoid Further Escalation

Lavrov Urges Israeli, Palestinian Counterparts to Avoid Further Escalation

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has urged his Israeli and Palestinian counterparts to show "maximum" responsibility and avoid the actions, which may further escalate the situation.

2023-01-29T18:42+0000

2023-01-29T18:42+0000

2023-01-29T18:42+0000

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The statement also said that Moscow was "seriously concerned" about a new round of violence in the zone of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, which might provoke a resumption of a full-scale armed confrontation.The announcement came amid reports that the Israel Defense Force (IDF) will send two infantry companies to assist the police in Jerusalem and near the West Bank as part of measures to reinforce national internal security after several lethal shooting incidents occurred there earlier this week.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised a "strong, fast" response to the terror attacks. Meanwhile, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said after a security cabinet meeting on Saturday that he was going to propose a law allowing for the death penalty against terrorists.On Saturday, two people were injured as a result of a shooting in the City of David, an archaeological site in Jerusalem. The incident was qualified as a suspected terror attack and occurred less than 24 hours after a Palestinian gunman opened fire near a synagogue in East Jerusalem. Seven people were killed as a result of the shooting in the Neve Yaakov neighborhood, in what was called a terror attack. The two attacks took place after a massive Israeli army raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank, during which at least nine Palestinians were killed and over 16 others were injured. In response, Gaza-based militants fired missiles into Israel that were intercepted by the Iron Dome air defense system. The rocket attack triggered Israeli drone strikes into the Gaza Strip, allegedly targeting militant training areas.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230128/russian-foreign-ministry-deeply-concerned-by-escalation-of-palestinian-israeli-conflict-1106787096.html

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Ukrainian HIMARS Strike on Bridge in Melitopol Kills 5 People, Injures 4 Others - Official

SIMFEROPOL, January 29 (Sputnik) - Five people died and four others were wounded as a result of a missile strike on a railway bridge in Melitopol, Vladimir Rogov, a member of the Zaporozhye regional administration's main council, said on Sunday.

"Five people were killed, four people were wounded, two of them are in serious condition," Rogov said on Telegram.

According to preliminary data, the strike involved three HIMARS missiles, one of which was shot down.

The head of the Zaporozhye regional administration, Yevgeny Balitsky, noted that repair work was being carried out on the bridge at the time of the shelling.

Balitsky also expressed his deep condolences to the families of the victims, noting that the authorities would provide assistance to the relatives of those dead and injured.

The Ukrainian authorities deliberately targeted the bridge, a civilian facility, committing yet another crime against civilians, Balitsky added.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230129/north-korea-again-denies-us-claims-about-arms-deliveries-to-russia-says-nk-foreign-ministry-1106798580.html

North Korea Rejects US Claims About Arms Deliveries to Russia

North Korea Rejects US Claims About Arms Deliveries to Russia

Director general of the North Korean Foreign Ministry's Department of US Affairs Kwon Jong-gun once again denied US allegations of Pyongyang supplying weapons to Russia.

2023-01-29T11:20+0000

2023-01-29T11:20+0000

2023-01-29T11:57+0000

asia

north korea

kim jong-un

kim yo-jong

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pyongyang

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The department head also noted that undermining North Korea's image in the international arena is "a grave provocation that can never be allowed and that can not but trigger its reaction."The senior official added that Washington itself is persistently pumping Ukraine with weapons, as well as frequently transferring nuclear strike means to the Korean peninsula under the pretext of "extended deterrence" in response to someone's alleged "provocations."Kwon also called the US logic ridiculous and the supply of tanks to Kiev "an unethical crime" that destabilizes the international situation.Earlier this week, Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who is the deputy head of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, said that the US, which pumps Ukraine with weapons, provokes the escalation of the conflict, while North Korea will always be on the side of the people and the army of Russia, which protects the "dignity and honor" of the state, its sovereignty and security.In December, North Korea already denied accusations of supplying weapons to Russia. North Korea's foreign ministry spokesman said that Pyongyang had never had any arms deals with Moscow, and that any media report about this was the most absurd rumor.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230127/russia-will-turn-all-western-weapons-sent-to-ukraine-into-scrap-kim-jong-uns-sister-says-1106767360.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230129/russia-unwilling-to-hold-talks-with-tokyo-on-fishing-near-kuril-islands-1106794015.html

Russia Unwilling to Hold Talks With Tokyo on Fishing Near Kuril Islands

Russia Unwilling to Hold Talks With Tokyo on Fishing Near Kuril Islands

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Moscow has informed Tokyo that, due to anti-Russian measures taken by the Japanese government, Russia cannot agree on the holding of... 29.01.2023, Sputnik International

2023-01-29T03:14+0000

2023-01-29T03:14+0000

2023-01-29T04:13+0000

world

kuril islands

japan

russia

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"In the context of the anti-Russian measures taken by the Japanese government, which obviously run counter to the spirit and letter of the 1998 agreement on strengthening and developing good neighborliness, the Russian side has informed Tokyo that it could not agree on holding intergovernmental consultations on the implementation of this agreement," the ministry said in a statement. The ministry pointed out that relations between Russia and Japan have been deteriorating since the start of the special military operation in Ukraine and that the Japanese government has been introducing sanctions against Russia in violation of international law. Last week, the Japanese Embassy in Moscow told Sputnik that Japan continued to insist on holding talks with Russia on allowing Japanese boats to fish off the Kuril Islands after receiving a notification that Moscow cannot set the dates for consultations on the relevant agreement suspended by the Russian authorities in 2022.Moscow suspended the 1998 agreement on fishing with Tokyo in June 2022, after Japan stopped fulfilling its financial obligations under the deal. The Japanese government said it regretted Russia's decision and would like to continue consultations.Russia and Japan have been locked in a dispute over the four southernmost Kuril Islands (Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan, and Habomai) since the two countries never signed a permanent peace treaty following World War II. Japan has refused to give up its sovereignty claims to the four islands, which it refers to as its Northern Territories. Moscow and Tokyo have tried to negotiate separate aspects of their disagreements, but never signed a full post-war peace treaty.In March, Russia withdrew from talks with Japan on signing a post-World War II peace treaty, and halted visa-free travel for Japanese citizens to the southern Kuril Islands and joint economic activities on the disputed islands. The move was due to Tokyo's "unfriendly" steps over the Ukrainian conflict, Moscow said.

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You are here: China

A total of 4,100 kilometers of new railway lines were put into operation across China in 2022, including 2,082 km of high-speed tracks, data from the China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. showed.

As of the end of last year, China's railways in service had stretched to a total length of 155,000 km, within which the operating length of the high-speed network had reached 42,000 km, according to the group.

Fixed-asset investment in China's railways reached 710.9 billion yuan (about 105 billion U.S. dollars) in 2022, promoting a batch of major projects in the field of rail infrastructure construction.

In 2023, China plans to launch new rail lines of more than 3,000 km, including 2,500 km for high-speed trains, said the group.

The country has built the world's largest high-speed railway network to address people's growing demand for convenient and comfortable travel.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230129/russian-helicopter-taking-part-in-un-humanitarian-mission-fired-upon-at-mogadishu-airport-1106802796.html

Russian Helicopter Taking Part in UN Humanitarian Mission Fired Upon at Mogadishu Airport

Russian Helicopter Taking Part in UN Humanitarian Mission Fired Upon at Mogadishu Airport

A helicopter of Russia's UTair airline participating in the UN humanitarian mission has been shelled at a Mogadishu airport, nobody was injured, the Russian Embassy in Djibouti, which also operates in Somalia, said on Sunday.

2023-01-29T18:17+0000

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2023-01-29T18:17+0000

africa

somalia

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al-shabaab

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The incident occurred on January 23, but it was made public on Sunday. The embassy added that the al-Shabaab* terrorist group might be involved in the incident and that a probe into the matter was underway.*Al-Shabaab is a terrorist group banned in Russia.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230129/swedish-chief-negotiator-has-no-idea-when-nato-talks-with-turkey-will-resume-1106796981.html

Swedish Chief Negotiator Has No Idea When NATO Talks With Turkey Will Resume

Swedish Chief Negotiator Has No Idea When NATO Talks With Turkey Will Resume

The Swedish chief negotiator leading the NATO accession talks has no idea when the negotiations with Turkey will resume.

2023-01-29T10:28+0000

2023-01-29T10:28+0000

2023-01-29T10:28+0000

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sweden

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The Swedish chief negotiator leading the NATO accession talks has no idea when the negotiations with Turkey will resume.Stenstrom once again confirmed that the Swedish-Turkish dialogue had been put on hold, after Ankara postponed the talks over a series of provocations in the Nordic country, including burning of the Quran near the Turkish Embassy.My colleague and I agreed that it makes no sense to have confidential conversations and meet in person. It will probably only exacerbate the situation. Now we are working separately, Stenstrom explained.On January 21, Ankara called off a planned visit by Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson in response to the burning of a copy of the Islamic holy book outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm. Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said the scheduled January 27 visit by his Swedish counterpart no longer held any importance or point, because Stockholm continued to allow disgusting demonstrations against Ankara.Jonson, for his part, tweeted that he had met his Turkish counterpart at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, where they agreed to postpone the meeting.Turkish-Swedish relations went into a downward spiral after Danish-Swedish politician Rasmus Paludan received permission from police to stage a protest outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm, where he burned a copy of the Quran. While Swedish authorities have stressed that freedom of expression is guaranteed by law and gives people extensive rights to express their views publicly, Turkish officials have denounced the Quran burning and Stockholm for green-lighting it.Several days before that, pro-Kurdish activists hanged an effigy of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Stockholm. Ankara denounced the act as "terrorism" and summoned the Swedish ambassador, while Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson called it "sabotage" against Swedens bid to join NATO and condemned the "mock execution of a foreign democratically-elected leader."Paludan has since repeatedly set copies of the Quran alight, promising to continue with the incendiary stunt until Sweden is accepted into NATO.The bid by historically nonaligned Sweden and Finland to join NATO in the wake of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine has been held up by Turkey, which has accused the Nordic states of sheltering Kurdish militants. Ankara claims that Sweden has been a sanctuary for the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), designated as a terrorist group in Turkey, and has demanded that Stockholm extradite dozens of Kurds. Sweden, for its part, said that it would not be able to meet all the conditions that Ankara had set.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230121/turkey-cancels-swedish-defense-ministers-visit-over-disgusting-demonstrations-1106548681.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230127/paludan-pledges-to-burn-qurans-every-friday-until-sweden-gets-admitted-to-nato-1106747243.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230129/turkey-may-make-decision-on-finnish-nato-membership-that-will-shock-sweden-erdogan-1106802509.html

Turkey May Make Decision on Finnish NATO Membership That Will 'Shock' Sweden: Erdogan

Turkey May Make Decision on Finnish NATO Membership That Will 'Shock' Sweden: Erdogan

Ankara has held up Finland and Sweden's accession into the Western military alliance for months, calling on the Nordic nations to drop any association with... 29.01.2023, Sputnik International

2023-01-29T18:07+0000

2023-01-29T18:07+0000

2023-01-29T19:18+0000

turkiye

sweden

finland

recep tayyip erdogan

nato

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Turkey may take a decision on Finland's NATO membership that will "shock" Sweden, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced."They couldn't recognize Turkey. The Turkey of 20, 30, 40 years ago is not the Turkey of today," the Turkish president added.Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership in May 2022, doing away with many decades (and in Sweden's case centuries) of neutrality. Their incorporation into the Western bloc has been held up by Turkey and Hungary, with Budapest reportedly planning to ratify the Nordics' NATO bids sometime in the coming weeks. Ankara has decided to hold off on a decision until after presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for June 18.Tensions between Stockholm and Ankara on the NATO issue began rising in December after a Swedish court blocked the extradition of an exiled Turkish journalist sought in connection with the 2016 Turkish coup attempt against Erdogan. Swedish-Turkish relations soured further this month amid a series of actions by Swedish political forces which many Turks found provocative - including the hanging of an effigy of Erdogan outside Stockholm's City Hall, a satirical drawing competition mocking the Turkish president, statements by senior Swedish officials painting Erdogan an "Islamist dictator," and the burning of Qurans in front of the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm by a hard right party in protest of Ankara holding up Sweden's NATO bid.Turkish officials have warned repeatedly that ties with Sweden will take a turn for the worse if the Nordic nation fails to take action against the Kurdistan Workers' Party, while Turkey's Defense Minister has said that neither Sweden or Finland have met the requirements to join NATO. Ankara canceled a planned visit to Turkey by Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson last week and summoned Sweden's ambassador over the Quran burning issue.Last Monday, Erdogan warned that Stockholm should not expect Ankara's support for NATO membership if it continues to tolerate this series of anti-Turkish and anti-Islam behavior. Talks on the issue were put on hold on at Ankara's request, with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu calling them "pointless" under the present circumstances.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230124/finnish-foreign-minister-says-may-consider-nato-entry-without-sweden-1106641897.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230129/swedish-chief-negotiator-has-no-idea-when-nato-talks-with-turkey-will-resume-1106796981.html

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turkiye, sweden, finland, recep tayyip erdogan, nato
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230129/uk-pm-sunak-fires-nadhim-zahawi-as-tory-chairman-over-tax-row-1106796435.html

UK PM Sunak Fires Nadhim Zahawi as Tory Chairman Over Tax Row

UK PM Sunak Fires Nadhim Zahawi as Tory Chairman Over Tax Row

The prime minister ordered a probe into Zahawi this week after it was discovered that the Tory chairman had been hit with a massive fine for the late payment... 29.01.2023, Sputnik International

2023-01-29T09:10+0000

2023-01-29T09:10+0000

2023-01-29T10:03+0000

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British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has let Conservative Party Chairman Nadhim Zahawi go over the "serious breach of the Ministerial Code" caused by Zahawi's tax-related hijinks."When I became prime minister last year, I pledged that the government I lead would have integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level. That is why, following new information which came to light in recent days regarding your personal financial arrangements and declarations, I asked Sir Laurie Magnus, the independent adviser on ministers' interests, to fully investigate this matter," Sunak wrote in a letter addressed to Zahawi published by the Prime Minister's Office on Sunday morning.The prime minister suggested that Zahawi should be "extremely proud" of his "wide-ranging achievements in government," including his "successful oversight of the COVID-19 vaccine procurement and deployment program," and readying the Conservative Party for its "important work" in his capacity as party chairman."It is also with pride that I, and previous prime ministers, have been able to draw upon the services of a Kurdish-born Iraqi refugee at the highest levels of the UK government. That is something which people up and down this country have rightly valued," the prime minister wrote, referring to Zahawi's roots.Zahawi, 55, immigrated to Britain with his parents from Iraq in the late 1970s. The son of an investment banker, Zahawi made a name for himself in the world of business and politics, entering Parliament as a Tory in 2010 and reelected in 2015, 2017, and 2019. Quickly ascending through the ranks, Zahawi served as secretary of state for education, chancellor of the Exchequer, minister for equalities, minister for intergovernmental relations, and finally, as chairman of the Conservative Party without portfolio in the past couple of tumultuous years in British politics. At one point, Zahawi put his name on the ballot to succeed Prime Minister Boris Johnson after the latter's resignation in scandal last July. After being eliminated, Zahawi dutifully supported both Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak.Sunak ordered a probe into Zahawi after it emerged last week that he was forced to fork over nearly five million pounds to the tax office in 2022, including a 30 percent fine for late payment, following a dispute over the transfer of his 42.5 percent share in major UK pollster YouGov, which Zahawi had co-founded in 2000, to an offshore trust controlled by his mom and dad.Zahawi, Sunak, and the Tory government were dragged through the mud by the opposition over the tax drama, with lawmakers accusing them of looking out for their own financial and political interests instead of paying attention to the needs of ordinary Britons amid the growing cost of living crisis.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230126/uk-cabinet-heads-to-chequers-for-hideaway-day-amid-zahawi-tax-row-1106721014.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230128/uk-may-send-fighter-jets-to-ukraine-when-russia-withdraws-troops-reports-say-1106781326.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230129/ukrainian-forces-shell-city-of-donetsk-using-155mm-artillery---dpr-1106793780.html

Ukrainian Forces Shell City of Donetsk Using 155mm Artillery - DPR

Ukrainian Forces Shell City of Donetsk Using 155mm Artillery - DPR

DONETSK (Sputnik) - Ukrainian troops have shelled the city of Donetsk multiple times overnight, using 155 mm artillery, the Donetsk Peoples Republics (DPR)... 29.01.2023, Sputnik International

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russia's special operation in ukraine

ukraine

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donetsk people's republic

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According to the release, the village of Yakovlivka was also shelled by Ukrainian troops late on Saturday night using two 155mm caliber shells.In two later updates overnight, the DPR mission said that the Kyivskyi and Kuibyshevsky districts of Donetsk were again shelled by Ukrainian troops using 155mm artillery. A total of nine shells were fired at Donetsk within 15 minutes. Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, after the Donetsk and Luhansk 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, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the heads of the Donetsk and Luhansk 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.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230129/ukrainian-tank-crews-arrive-in-uk-for-training-on-challenger-2-tanks-uk-defense-ministry-1106800373.html

Ukrainian Tank Crews Arrive in UK for Training on Challenger 2 Tanks: UK Defense Ministry

Ukrainian Tank Crews Arrive in UK for Training on Challenger 2 Tanks: UK Defense Ministry

Ukrainian tank crews arrived in the United Kingdom for training to operate Challenger 2 tanks, which London plans to send to Kiev this spring

2023-01-29T13:25+0000

2023-01-29T13:25+0000

2023-01-29T13:25+0000

military

uk

ukraine

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"Ukrainian tank crews have arrived in the UK to begin training ... The UK will provide Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine alongside global partner nations - demonstrating the strength of support for Ukraine, internationally," the ministry said on Twitter. On January 15, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the country will send 14 of its Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine. Earlier this week, UK deputy Defense Minister Alex Chalk said that the tanks would be supplied at the end of March and the Ukrainian military would start training to operate them on January 30. Germany also committed to sending 14 Leopard 2A6 tanks to Ukraine, after being repeatedly pushed to do so by some of its EU and NATO allies. The United States said it would send Ukraine 31 Abrams tanks and eight M88 recovery vehicles, noting that that delivery would take considerable time. In April 2022, Moscow sent a note to NATO member states condemning their military assistance to Kiev after Russia started its military operation in Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that any arms shipments on Ukrainian territory would be "legitimate targets" for Russian forces.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230126/berlins-decision-to-send-leopard-2s-to-ukraine-historically-wrong-german-mp-says-1106729958.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230129/us-denies-facts-by-claiming-supplies-of-abrams-tanks-to-kiev-not-escalation-says-russian-official-1106794867.html

US Bends Truth With Claim That Abrams Tanks For Kiev Are Not An Escalation, Says Russian Official

US Bends Truth With Claim That Abrams Tanks For Kiev Are Not An Escalation, Says Russian Official

The US is denying the obvious by asserting that sending Abrams tanks to Ukraine is not an escalation of the ongoing conflict, said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, adding Washington seeks to bring order to NATO's ranks.

2023-01-29T06:49+0000

2023-01-29T06:49+0000

2023-01-29T07:12+0000

russia

us

nato

abrams tanks

ukraine

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On Wednesday, US President Joe Biden announced that his country would send 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine. However, US officials said that the delivery of the tanks to Ukraine's battlefields and training would take many months, certainly not in time for Ukraine's alleged counteroffensive in spring.Ryabkov stressed that the decision to send Abrams battle tanks to Kiev was "an extremely destructive step," particularly if considering it "an attempt to stage a clear-cut escalation scenario in Ukraine.""Paradoxically, US officials argue that sending a wider range of increasingly modern systems, including heavy weapons systems to Ukraine, is not an escalation. And in general, the statements of both US and NATO officials have featured a lot of quotes from [George] Orwell lately  'peace is war' is literally something that is proclaimed every day from high podiums and high offices in the West... So now, following the decision to send Abrams tanks in significant numbers, there is talk that it is not an escalation. [They are] denying the obvious," Ryabkov said.The Russian Deputy Foreign Minister also said that the US' decision on Abrams tanks was designed to "line up NATO's ranks" and pointed out that the global community was "increasingly more concerned" by such developments, instigated by "a group of irresponsible Western politicians."Western countries ramped up their military support for Ukraine after Russia launched a special military operation there in late February 2022, responding to calls for help from the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. In April 2022, Moscow sent a note to NATO member states condemning their military assistance to Kiev. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned that any arms shipments on Ukrainian territory would be "legitimate targets" for Russian forces.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230128/what-is-the-russian-t-90m-tank-and-how-does-it-stack-up-against-natos-top-armor-1106788224.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230129/why-we-fight-us-openly-salivates-over-ukraines-vast-untapped-titanium-reserves-1106799343.html

Why We Fight: US Openly Salivates Over Ukraine's Vast Untapped Titanium Reserves

Why We Fight: US Openly Salivates Over Ukraine's Vast Untapped Titanium Reserves

One heavily underreported facet of the Ukrainian crisis revolves around Kievs immense mineral wealth.

2023-01-29T12:20+0000

2023-01-29T12:20+0000

2023-01-29T13:22+0000

russia's special operation in ukraine

ukraine

titanium

metal

iron

volodymyr zelensky

foreign investment

military industry

us

russia

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Ukraine could provide the United States and its allies with the titanium they need to build the fighter jets, warships, tanks, missiles, and other weapons required to confront Russia and China, sources on Capitol Hill with ties to the military-industrial complex have told US media.Ukraine has really significant deposits of rare earth minerals, and if we play our cards right could actually be a really attractive alternative to Russian and Chinese sources, which is where a lot of dependency currently is, one anonymous congressional staffer said. As there are increasing debates throughout the West about why its in our interest to keep supporting Ukraine, I think this is one of the arguments that youre going to start hearing more, the person said.Titanium is also a key vulnerability for the US, a source with knowledge of the US defense sector said. Were talking about our ability to produce more planes, were talking about our ability to produce munitions. They all rely on titanium, and weve allowed ourselves to grow reliant on foreign suppliers for these things. Russia has previously been one of those primary suppliers, they added.The US depends on imports for over 90 percent of its iron ore, and does not maintain titanium in its National Defense Stockpile.A nascent effort is said to now be underway to study, develop, and use Ukraines vast resources of titanium and other mineral wealth. The Eastern European country is one of only a handful of nations in the world capable of producing vast quantities of titanium sponge  the basis for the metal  with others including China, Japan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Kazakhstan. India also has a fledgling titanium sponge industry, although its production is measured in hundreds of tons, not thousands or tens of thousands required to satiate the Wests thirst. In addition to weaponry, vast quantities of titanium are required for the production of commercial aircraft, prosthetics, certain paints, surgical tools, telecommunications equipment, and more.Ukrainian government officials are openly touting their interest in becoming a resource colony of the West.We today have titanium and we have lithium, both are in great demand and theyre going to be even more in demand in the future, Oleg Ustenko, advisor to President Volodymyr Zelensky, said. My understanding is that the majority of these deposits are not even tapped. The business opportunities in this sector are really hugeWe do not see our role only within the EU, but also in terms of the world supply. I do believe that its a really important role which might be played by Ukraine. But again, for that, we need to make sure we are in postwar conditions, the aide stressed.While US officials salivate over Ukraines minerals, US media also pointed to the implications of Moscow getting its hands on these resources, and the boost to Russias global influence that would be afforded by control over the increasingly strategic resource.The battle for Ukraines titanium has come up repeatedly in discussions by US business outlets and Washington-based think tanks in recent months. Last September, the Atlanticist Center for European Policy Analysis think tank proposed developing long-term contracts with Ukrainian suppliers to "create an enduring material foundation under the process by which Ukraine could become more closely integrated with the West, in terms of both defense and economics."Titanium is only one of dozens of natural resources which Ukraine has been amply blessed with, and which Western interests are looking to get their hands on. Others include the countrys vast chernozem (lit. "black soil") fields  highly fertile agricultural land rich in humus, phosphorous, and ammonia compounds, plus other metals like iron ore, coal, and uranium.US hedge fund giant BlackRock signed a memorandum of understanding with Ukraines Economy Ministry on playing an "advisory role" in the countrys reconstruction in November. Last month, President Volodymyr Zelensky and Blackrock CEO Larry Fink discussed channeling investment into the most relevant and impactful sectors of the Ukrainian economy.Zelensky has a long history of working with Black Rock  a major holder of Ukrainian sovereign debt, and other foreign investors and global banking and financial institutions. In 2020, Ukraines parliament moved to partially lift a decades-old moratorium on the sale of Ukraines chernozem-rich farmland, paving the way for foreigners to potentially be able to buy the land outright instead of leasing it, pending a national referendum. The lifting of the land sale moratorium has been a key condition of multi-billion dollar International Monetary Fund "development loans" to Kiev.Last week, Zelensky personally thanked BlackRock, JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs for their support for Ukraines war effort, as well as the US military-industrial complex. Everyone can become a big business by working with Ukraine in all sectors from weapons and defense to construction, from communication to agriculture, from transport to IT, from banks to medicine. And I believe that freedom must always win, he said.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20221223/us-faces-uphill-battle-against-chinas-rare-earth-dominance-experts-say-1105716089.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20220923/germany-says-eu-companies-should-stop-providing-funding-to-mines-in-russia---reports-1101153753.html

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The 2022 OBrien Awards presentations will be video streamed live right here, on standardbredcanada.ca on Saturday, Feb. 4 starting at 9 p.m. (EST).

The online stream, made possible by Standardbred Canada, is brought to you by Omega Alpha Pharmaceuticals ~ Effective Supplements Through Science.

Omega Alpha will also be providing the winning trainer of the Somebeachsomewhere Horse of the Year Award with a $750 Omega Alpha Gift Pack.



The OBrien Awards Gala will be co-hosted by Ken Middleton and Randy Waples.

You can tune in to see all the action from Canadas national harness racing awards event, starting with live coverage on the Red Carpet Show with hosts Kelly Spencer and Jody Jamieson, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. (EST), on standardbredcanada.ca and SCs Facebook page. The duo will be interviewing some of the finalists and special guests as they arrive on the red carpet.

Standardbred Canada will also provide live updates on the event through its social media channels. For anyone tweeting or adding photos to Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, please use the #OBriens22 hashtag.

To view the list of finalists, click here.
Hooker Berry was crowned the 2023 Prix d'Amerique champion on Sunday afternoon (Jan. 29) at Hippodrome Paris-Vincennes in France, giving Jean-Michel Bazire his fifth victory in the Group 1 stakes event that carried a purse of 1,000,000 ($1.4 million CAD).

Don Fannucci Zet went to the front around the first turn of the 2,700-metre race and led the way into the homestretch with Horsy Dream, one of the favourites, challenging to his outside. However, Hooker Berry, who tracked cover three-wide down the backstretch, stole the show when he trotted clear off the final turn with trainer/driver Jean-Michel Bazire giving a celebratory kick in the air as they crossed the wire in front of the packed grandstand.

Bazire, who followed up his son Nicolas's victory in last year's race with Davidson du Pont, has now trained three Prix d'Amerique champions and driven a total of five winners -- his first in rein to the Hall of Fame mare Moni Maker in the 1999 edition. His last win was in 2019 with his own trainee Belina Josselyn.

After the race, Bazire told French media that he knew he was going to win once he launched his charge off cover and it is an immense pleasure to be associated with such a magnificent trotter.

Owned and bred by Michel Aladenise, Hooker Berry won the Prix du Bourbonnais qualifying leg in December and had 973,520 in career earnings entering the Prix d'Amerique. Making his 51st career start on Sunday a winning one, the six-year-old son of Booster Winner-Osaka Berry now has 13 victories on his resume to go along with 19 other top three finishes.

Completing the top three finish order in the Prix d'Amerique were Ampia Mede SM for driver Franck Nivard and Italiano Vero with David Thomain in the sulky.

The field was reduced to 16 starters with the scratches of Etonnant and Honey Mearas. According to reports from France, Etonnant was diagnosed with Lyme disease.
How to follow the Unicameral

Heres how to watch the Legislatures activities and follow bills by using the Unicamerals website at nebraskalegislature.org:

 Click on the Nebraska Public Media logo and look under Streaming Now or Coming Soon for the schedule of livestreamed floor debates and public hearings by committees.

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If the bill hasnt yet had its public hearing, users may ask their comments to be included in the bills official hearing record. Such requests must be made by noon CT (11 a.m. MT) on the last work day before the hearing.

Nebraskans with disabilities as defined in the Americans with Disabilities Act can do likewise but also can attach PDF files or supporting documents.

Click on Hearing schedules on the main Unicameral webpage, choose the appropriate week and click either Submit Comment Online or ADA Accommodation Testimony, depending on whether you qualify for the latter.

The Unicameral website offers many other documents for understanding and following the Legislature, including its online Unicameral Update newsletter.

 Todd von Kampen
DETROIT  A University of Michigan gastroenterology researcher is no longer employed by the university following the retraction of five academic papers in scholarly journals due to what one academic journal called the falsification and fabrication of data involving millions of federal research dollars.

Chung Owyang  formerly chief of UMs Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, according to the Mayo Clinic, and a medical researcher  left the university as of Jan. 2, UM spokeswoman Kim Broekhuizen said. He is listed as a retiree in online UM records.

It was unclear how the purported falsifications or fabrications came to the attention of UM. But the retraction notices posted by the academic journals said the University of Michigan requested the retractions following a review by a university research misconduct investigation committee.

UM declined to answer questions about Owyang, including what the research issues involved and his length of service at the university.

The University of Michigan is committed to fostering and upholding the highest ethical standards in the conduct of research and scholarship, Broekhuizen said via email. UMs Office of the Vice President for Research employs a Research Integrity Officer responsible for addressing and assessing allegations of research misconduct. All allegations of research misconduct are thoroughly reviewed for appropriate next steps.

Owyang, 77, who was hailed as a pancreas research pioneer in a 2011 interview in the academic journal Pancreotology, could not be reached for comment.

In a Jan. 17 retraction, the American Journal of Physiology, Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology said it was retracting Owyangs article at UMs request because a university research misconduct investigation committee found that there was falsification and/or fabrication of certain data.

In 2022, the American Gastroenterological Association awarded Owyang the William Beaumont Prize in Gastroenterology, which recognizes individuals who have made major contributions that have significantly advanced the care of patients with digestive diseases through clinical or translational research.

In announcing the award, the national organization hailed Owyang as an internationally renowned gastrointestinal physiologist who has revolutionized the study of transitional neurohormonal control and behavior that can improve clinical treatments for gastrointestinal patients. During a span of 30 years, he made several seminal observations in the field of gut hormones and is considered a pioneer in gut endocrinology.

The AGA also said he had received National Institutes of Health funding for more than 30 years and had published more than 300 article and reviews in journals.

Dr. Owyang is one of the most respected physician-scientist gastroenterologists in the world, the organization wrote last year.

An academic paper co-authored by Owyang was published in the Journal of Neurophysiology in 2003, then retracted in November following an investigation by UM, according to Retraction Watch Database. It was the first Owyang paper to be retracted.

Four other papers co-written by Owyang were retracted in January that appeared in the American Journal of Physiology in 2005, 2008, 2010 and 2012.

The research involved $5 million in federal funding, said Michael Budkie, co-founder of Stop Animal Exploitation Now, an Ohio-based organization working to end animal experimentation. Budkie sounded the alarm on the retraction of Owyangs research by filing a complaint with the federal Office of Research Integrity, alerting the press and calling on UM President Santa Ono to take action.

Budkie said the organization has worked to end involving animals in research since 1996, but its mission has expanded.

We are opposed to the use of animals in experimentation because it is scientifically unjustifiable and ethically deficient, Budkie said. In this specific case, its about more than the research fraud.

Research fraud is always a very serious and, in many cases, criminal issue. But its somehow ethically worse when animals are dying or are part of highly invasive procedures and then the research is falsified on top of that.

The papers that were retracted involved research with rats, Budkie said.

Retractions of academic papers happen about 5,000 times annually, said Ivan Oransky, co-founder of Retraction Watch, which has documented scientific retractions in an online database since 2010.

This is a pretty typical retraction, Oransky said. Its pretty typical for a certain flavor of scientific misconduct in making your images look better than they are.

UM would have to report to the Office of Research Integrity if federal dollars were involved, Oransky said. The next steps could involve sanctions ranging from giving back the funding or criminal charges, which are both rare, or a ban on funding or supervised research.
Jacob Weasel was in a fight with a mountain. Hurricane-force winds bombarded him with snow and brought the wind chill down to 50 below. Standing at over 19,000 feet, staring up at the Autobahn  the 1,000 feet of notoriously icy slope between high camp and the summit of Denali  he was about to lose.

Despite pleading with his guides to let them continue, and after 18 days of sleeping on the ice, it was the closest hed get to the top of North Americas tallest peak.

But Denali, coming in at 20,310 feet, wasnt Weasels first nor his highest adventure at altitude. The spry and fit young Monument Health trauma surgeon and member of South Dakotas Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe had successfully climbed Mt. Rainier (14,411 ft.), Cloud Peak (13,171 ft.), Grand Teton (13,775 ft.) and a handful of 14-ers in Colorado. He summited Cotopaxi (19,347 ft.) and Chimborazo (20,549 ft.) in Ecuador within 48 hours of each other, and bagged Kilimanjaro (19,341 ft.) in Tanzania  checking off that continents tallest peak.

So, it wasnt for a lack of capability, training or experience Weasels group was turned around on Denali, and it wasnt a lack of grit either. In fact, Denali was not only the first time hes ever been turned around on a mountain, its one of the only times Weasels ever been turned around by any challenge  period.

But the crushing defeat set in motion another dream that only time or success can stop.

I came away from that experience, being let down to that degree and knowing that I was fully capable of summiting that mountain, he said. I came away from that experience knowing in my heart that I was going to be the first Native American to summit the Seven Summits  the highest peak on each continent.

The seven summits are a bucket list goal for many adventurers.

American businessman Richard Bass was the first person to complete the seven in 1985. However, Bass climbed Australias Mt. Kosciuszko (7,310 ft.) as the highest point in the Australasian continent, a point disagreed on by Italian mountaineer Reinhold Messner in 1986. Messner argued that the Carstenz Pyramid (now known as Puncak Jaya) was higher than Kosciuszko and should be the agreed-upon summit for that continent.

The disagreement resulted in the Messner List and the Bass List, with the one peak difference. Most mountaineers agree with Messners List, although some summit Kosciuszko as well just to be safe.

Messners generally accepted Seven Summits are: Kilimanjaro; Mount Everest (29,032 feet) in Nepal; Aconcagua (22,838 feet) in Argentina; Denali; Mount Elbrus (18,510 feet) in Russia; Vinson Massif (16,050 feet) in Antarctica; and Puncak Jaya (16,024 feet) in Indonesia.

Scalpels and ice picks

Laden with a 60-pound pack and dressed for summer amid freezing temperatures, Weasel treks up and down the hills in his neighborhood to prepare himself for the grueling, frigid, weeks-long ascent hes soon to face.

Hes already made his mark on the world by being, as far as anyone knows, the first Lakota Sioux surgeon in history. But this spring, the 36-year-old Rapid City doctor will make an attempt to be the first Native American to summit Mount Everest  the highest peak on earth, situated in the Himalayas on the border between China and Nepal.

The plan is to leave after Easter and be back by early June, climb and weather conditions permitting.

Weasel trains 15-20 hours a week with a mix of cardio and weightlifting focused on the muscles used in mountaineering  legs, back and core. Using his knowledge of medicine, he trains in cold exposure as well, going from his sauna outside to the freezing temperatures in order to activate the bodys natural adaptation ability.

But as a child, mountain climbing was never on his radar. A professor-turned-friend regaled him with his own experience of climbing Mt. Rainier in Washington state. The spark was lit and has since grown to an inferno.

For many, mountaineering is a sport of glory, a desire to push the reaches of the human body and mind for bragging rights. But Weasel wants to set an example for others, especially Native youth. He also wants to generate support for the charity he founded.

[I] really want [the expedition] to serve as an inspiration for the native kids, that whatever their dreams are for their life, theyre equally capable as anybody else to dream big dreams and see them come to reality. Thats really what my heart is through this whole thing, he said. If it werent for the fact that no native person has ever summitted, I probably wouldnt be doing this. But I feel like there needs to be somebody first to do it, so why not me?

Its the wider implications and goals of his climb that keep the support of his wife. Mountaineering is a dangerous sport, but it also requires time spent away from home  a sacrifice for both of them. For her, its equal parts excitement and fear, he said. He believes if it were just about him wanting glory, she wouldnt support it.

Life of medicine

While sitting in the pews at church dressed in his Sunday best and listening to the sound of his fathers voice fill the hall, Jacob Weasels lifelong journey into medicine began.

As his fathers sermon drifted into the hearts of his congregants and past his 16-year-old ears, Weasel began to pray. He had a vision. He was in a room shrouded in a white coat, Weasel said, he appeared to be talking to a patient, telling them he couldnt do any more for them, but said he believed there was someone who could.

He prayed for them. They were healed. He immediately told his father hed been called into medicine.

Weasel was born at the Indian Health Service Hospital in Gallup, New Mexico, a town of around 20,000, marked by a stunningly alien red rock landscape. Hes the middle child of three, with an older brother, John, and younger sister, Jordan. His father, Dobie, is Assiniboine from the Fort Belknap Reservation in Montana, while his mother, Jamie, is Lakota Sioux from the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota, where Jacob is an enrolled member.

He grew up in a middle class, predominantly Hispanic community in Albuquerque, New Mexico. When he was 12, the family moved to Omaha, Nebraska.

At 16, Weasel was selected for a summer research program at Creighton University. It was a summer break that would repel most teenagers: hours spent in the library doing research and learning lab techniques firsthand, but it was the first door opened after his calling into medicine. The studying landed him a national award and the opportunity to present his findings at a conference in Aventura, Florida.

His dedication and success that summer netted him a full-ride scholarship to Creighton for his undergraduate studies. He studied theology and philosophy with a minor in health administration and policy before landing a spot at the University of Nebraska Medical Centers College of Medicine.

Its an interesting dichotomy  theology and medicine  two fields which can seem so diametrically opposed, and yet, Weasel said, are so connected. At the heart of the matter is the search for truth. Hes had the opportunity to study medicine and the miracle that is the human body, calling our fragility and importance an intriguing paradox.

I think that theyre equally aimed at ascertaining what is true in the universe, and then come at it from different angles, he said. There are certain questions that science has a very hard time answering, and there are other questions that religion doesnt really try and address because theyre in separate fields. What I have found is that in that pursuit of truth is where that reconciliation is found.

Things werent always smooth. In the first few weeks of medical school, when the stress of getting in melted away and the enormity of the workload began to settle in, he said, his classmates began complaining. Some wanted to quit. He reminded them of how theyd fought to get that far  and how many others were behind them fighting for the same thing. Weasel didnt want to give himself an easy out, he said, and not wanting to be turned around, he dug in.

Family of faith

Jacob met his wife, Lauren, while she was in college at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Lauren began attending his fathers church, and despite being a few years older, they fell in love, he explained with a boyish grin and a star-struck flash in his dark eyes. Married for well over a decade now, the couple has three children: sons Leighton and Judah, 15 and 13, and daughter Isabelle, who just turned 12.

They built a stunning home on the south side of Rapid City and spend their free time hiking and fishing, watching movies, and enjoying family life with their goldendoodle, Kona. Theyre regulars at Fountain Springs Church and have worked to integrate themselves into the local community on all fronts.

He gets the most satisfaction in his life by being a husband and father, something he said is also his biggest challenge. The commitment and dedication to each other and their family has allowed them to invest in a healthy marriage, putting in the effort to lead a life and relationship of intention.

Nobodys going to care about what mountains I climb one of these days, he said. The things that matter are the legacy and the example and the lessons and values that I hand onto my children, and the life that I build with this woman that I vowed to dedicate my life to.

The Weasels brought their children to the Black Hills for a visit during his third year of surgical residency in Des Moines. The decision changed their future. Standing amongst the pines and looking out over the landscape, the areas sacred power drew them in.

[We] fell in love with the Black Hills, and coming here  it kind of felt like I was returning home to a place Id never lived, Weasel said.

But it was the place he was supposed to have grown up; his parents had planned to move to Gallup only briefly to have his older brother at the IHS hospital there, but liked the warmer weather and proximity to family.

They had set up housing at Lakota Homes in North Rapid, but never moved in.

Building bridges

Weasels mother would tell him stories of how she was treated as a young native woman in South Dakota. How she was followed around the mall. Its important to recognize the trauma in this community  a recognition needed before healing can begin, he said. But also not to hold on to the past at the expense of the future. Part of his goal in coming to Rapid City  aside from serving the Native community  is to be a bridge of healing between cultures.

He serves as faculty for three different medical schools, including as the assistant dean of diversity and inclusion with the University of South Dakota College of Medicine. The unique position hes in  a Native American and a surgeon  affords him a perspective not many others have.

Anytime I take a patient to the operating room, it is plain as day to me when I make an incision that the things that seem to separate us are only millimeters deep, he said.

His Native upbringing and the near-miss of growing up in Rapid City all culminated in the founding of the Wopila Project, Weasels nonprofit centered on spreading gratitude and encouraging generosity. Right now, it is working to build a playground at Lakota Homes for the children that live there.

Theres so many kids that live in that development, but they dont have a permanent playground structure. Ive talked with some of the families and they have to take their kids maybe a mile away to go and play, and thats difficult, especially in the winter, Weasel said. [Im] just wanting to show those kids that theyre seen and that people care about them.

The playground would also have seven pillars, one with each of the traditional Lakota values. The name wopila comes from the Lakota, meaning out of all youve been given and all that is, you in turn give back to others. Its a philosophy integral to his very existence.

Weasels Everest expedition is aiming to raise $100,000 for the playground, plus an additional $75,000 to fund three womens health centers in rural Nepal, a country where a staggering 90% of women lack proper OB/GYN care.

None of the funds he raises goes toward funding his climb or travels. But he is open to gear sponsorships for the trip, and is always open to any help offered.

A life of significance Lying on the operating table, a young car crash victim with catastrophic bleeding in her abdomen was about to die.

But Weasel and his team held the end off a day at a time. He repaired the near-fatal damage and allowed her to leave two days later. Hed given her more time.

In 2018, Weasel signed on to be an emergency and trauma surgeon with Monument Health in Rapid City. He does everything from consults to emergency surgeries like appendectomies and gallbladder removal, but he also sees the violent side with shootings, stabbings and suicides.

The best part of the job, he said, is connecting with people and having the privilege to walk with them through some of the most painful moments in their lives. Weasel was driven from a young age by two ideas: time and what it means to lead a life of significance.

I found that significance was only found in service to others, he said. I wanted to do something that would be able to serve people and also afford them more time  more time with those that they love doing the things that they love and experiencing all that this world has to offer.

Seeing the realities of time come crashing down on his patients motivates him to keep living life with the time in front of him.

Ive had too many encounters where I meet the greatest people that have worked their entire lives with the aim being the RV trip around the country or putting that sailboat in the water or taking that trip  whatever it is  and then getting to a point in their life where they get diagnosed with an illness that prohibits them from ever realizing those dreams, he said. Working forever towards a goal that will never be realized... seeing that dream die... [I] just didnt want to be another one of those individuals.

The idea of running from zero, a concept he learned from his pastor at church, is something everyone can apply to their own lives. He implores people not to let fear stand in the way of big dreams, but to run towards something  no matter how small.

Attitude for adventure

Jacob Weasel has no shortage of big goals.

Besides his Everest attempt this spring, hes planning a summit of Aconcagua in Argentina next January, and then wants to work on a visa to climb Mount Elbrus in the Caucasus region of Russia. He has his sights set on an explorers grand slam  reaching both the north and south poles  and wants to learn to sail to be the first native person to circumnavigate the globe.

When you experience something that elicits equal parts of wonder as much as it elicits fear  something that is as terrifying as it is awe-inspiring  that begins to border on an experience of the divine, he said. I find that God reveals Himself in different ways, and one of the ways is through His creation, both in the natural world as well as in different cultures on this planet.

He wants to do it all  bike ride across the United States, hike the Pacific Crest Trail, and ride a motorcycle from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to Ushuaia, Argentina  raising money for charity the whole way. Its getting closer to God through His creation and showing his children how to dream big dreams and live without fear.

I think that humans have this amazing ability  if we learn to believe in ourselves, Weasel said. I feel like youll learn more in a week struggling on a mountain than you would in a year otherwise being within the comfort and safety of your home.

The obvious danger, all too apparent for a trauma surgeon, is about risk mitigation, he said. Hes likely one of the few trauma surgeons who rides a motorcycle, and one day plans to take up wingsuiting (skydiving using a webbing-sleeved jumpsuit).

Denalis summit still stands on the horizon for Weasel, and though its no longer just a 1,000 feet away, he will return. But hes saving it for the last of the seven summits.

For more on the Wopila Project or to donate, visit wopilaproject.com.
A parcel of land in Statesville, Lot 30 has seen its share of history over the years. In 1790, Patrick Hugley would sell you a half-pint of whiskey for a schilling, or 11 cents. It would become a place for travelers to rest as the Iredell Hotel until 1918 when it burned down and was replaced by the Holland Building in 1920, which still stands there today. That building saw plenty of history too over the next 100 years, including the Woolworths counter where a sit-in took place in 1960 during the fight for civil rights.

And later this year, it will be the home of the Statesville Historical Collection.

We looked at different buildings but said its a perfect location, and its good for downtown, John Marshall said, the chairman of Preservation Statesville, which will be the nonprofit overseeing the operation.

The 11,000 square feet of display area downstairs will nearly triple what is currently used by the Statesville Historical Collection in its current building, and the roughly 8,000 square feet upstairs can be used for storage, office space, and perhaps other displays as well to showcase the photos, documents, models, and other selected items that make up the long history of Statesville and Iredell County.

As the collection and its organizers prepare for its future, all involved couldnt thank Steve Hill, who runs the Statesville Historical Collection, enough for so much of the work already being done.

This is an incredible gift Steve has made with his hobby for Iredell County. Not just Statesville, but Iredell County, Marshall said.

The Statesville Historical Collection and Hill have been all but one and the same as he collected, archived, and managed it since 1969 in one way or another.

But ensuring that history remains shared with the public was one reason why the late Jim Wilson made a significant donation to make sure that history wouldnt be lost in the sands of time.

I was asked, Why are you doing this? and I think it absolutely has to be done, Wilson said in November. It has to be saved. It would be horrible for it to go in storage somewhere and never come back out.

Wilson died in December.

History, legacy

Wilson said he was driven to make sure Statesville and Iredells history would be preserved in a way that the public could easily access. And while Hill and others have done that in its current space down the road on Center Street, the planned move to a newer, bigger area will be done with the hope it allows that mission to continue more in the public eye.

For Wilson, part of his motivation had been to make sure that mission was done and that he did his part. He had had a near-death experience in 2021 that made him ponder on the things he wanted to do with the bonus days as he called them. In those days he had at that point, he took his time and money to secure part of the areas history and the legacies of others, as well as his own.

Wilson said he spoke to Hill about the plans for the collection when Hill dies or cant maintain his collection of cultural artifacts, photos and reminders of Statesvilles past. And while Hill had planned to leave it in his will to the county or city, whichever would accept, Wilson said he couldnt himself risk the chance it might not be accepted and then lost.

Someones got to do it, and maybe Im that someone. The other question is it has to be done at some time, so why not now? Wilson said.

While Wilson called himself a dreamer as part of the process, its no longer just a dream though even if it isnt yet a reality. He walked through the building that Preservation Statesville has secured for Hills Statesville Historical Collection and other items that will document the past and present of Statesville and Iredell County.

Vickie Wilson said her husbands love of history was always evident.

Jimmy is a Statesville boy. His family business helped build Statesville. If you rode with Jimmy he would tell you who owned the homes first, and what business first operated in a building. It mattered that he knew the history and loved to tell the story. His High school classmates knew the stories and they all enjoyed sharing the whos who, Vickie said.

While there was still work to be done when he spoke about it last year, there was excitement in Jims voice as he said he could see in his mind how the empty building could be filled with displays, models, photographs and perhaps a few new items as the collection moves to its new space. The building where its headed is owned by Stamey Holland, who Wilson said was excited to have the collection occupy the Holland Building in the years to come.

Past, present and future

Hill, Marshall and Wilson began their different parts of the process more than a year ago for the nonprofit organization to be reorganized and to begin the process of moving forward, both figuratively and literally. While the plans for moving to a new building had been a secret for the past few months, the organization said it was ready to let the public in on its plans at the end of 2022.

Currently, the SHC is housed in another building on Center Street owned by the Gordon family. Still, the hope is that with the additional space for the collection, and a dedicated budget, the collection can grow and become a place for residents and tourists alike to stop by when they are in Statesville. Along with the changes inside the building, Preservation Statesville will look to begin fundraising efforts to make sure they can maintain the collection in its new place for at least 20 years, if not beyond that.

Its going to be a community effort, Jim said in his interview last year before noting his only input was that the fundraising arm of the project should be called the Friends of Steve Hill. And I think there are a lot of them.

I say the friends of Steve Hill is a large number of people that want to participate in doing something to help Steve Hill, Jim said. Steve gets embarrassed by me saying that, but its true.

As the fundraising is done, the logistics of a move will be handled as well. Hill, Marshall and Wilson all made sure to thank the Gordon family for ensuring the collection has had a home over the past 10 years and that it will have a home until the move happens. They said the Gordons, like many others involved, in one way or another their love and appreciation for history has made for a unified effort to preserve it and make sure it has a place for years to come.

I have met very few Steve Hills in my life that has taken a hobby and made it their lifes work, that is willing not only to share it to bequeath of it to the community, Marshall said. What Jimmy (Wilson) did was outstanding, to make this happen, and what Steve Hill has done is endowed the community with its history, and bequeathed it to it.

Steve knows where everything is, the only problem is he is the only one who knows where it is, Marshall said.

The board of Preservation Statesville now has to tackle the challenges that stand between it and turning the Holland Building into a place where residents can learn their own history, as well as that of others that have made Statesville and Iredell County what it is.

Were just slowly kind of putting ourselves together as an organization to figure out what happens and when it happens and who will be responsible for it, Marshall said. We were trying to bring in different talents to do different things and still be representative of the community. Weve got the makings of a good board and everybody is energized, sees the vision, everybody wants to make it happen.

Including Steve Hills wife Penny, who wants to get her basement back,

While Hills own basement serves as a staging area and storage for the Statesville Historical Collection, that will be changing soon and Hill said he is more than glad for that help. Hill tends to downplay his role as the caretaker, past, present and future of the collection but said he looks forward to not being the only one holding on to so much of Iredell County and Statesvilles history.

He said giving the collection over isnt a bittersweet moment for him.

Actually, its all sweetness because it does take a lot of pressure, Hill said. Our communities are indebted to a lot of people who have entrusted their heirlooms to me. Its going to be good to have a plan where those things can be protected forever now.

I have dreamed about it for many years, but it appears that those dreams are finally coming true.

Theres still the matter of finishing off the ceiling, lighting, and other finishing touches before the collection begins its move. Still, those working on it said they are excited to see what is to come and hope to grow the collection and make it more inclusive of not just Statesvilles history, but all of Iredell County.

Im really excited about the future of the collection because of the generosity of some really, really good people here in our community. The collection will have a home for many, many years and there are a lot of people working together to make this happen. People will really be excited to see the direction the collection goes over the next few years, Hill said.
Editor's Note This is the second story about Capt. Henry A. Chambers. Part one ran on Jan. 22. To read part one visit https://statesville.com/news/local/iredell-s-capt-chambers-was-at-the-battle-of-the-crater/article_0b62e4f2-9824-11ed-8d48-1769e07306c5.html

Last Sunday I gave some information regarding the Battle of the Crater, which took place during the last year of the American Civil War in Virginia, near Petersburg. Participating in the battle was Capt. Henry A. Chambers, of Iredell County, a Confederate officer.

Here follows portions of an account by Capt. Chambers of the Battle of the Crater, which took place on July 30, 1864. Capt. Chambers account was first printed in the Chattanooga Times of April 1, 1923, and was reprinted in the Mooresville Enterprise the same year. Capt. Chambers words are in quotation marks. I have deleted some portions of Capt. Chambers account, but the words, except for my remarks in [brackets], are his.

The story so far  Union [Federal] forces had made several unsuccessful attacks on the Confederate entrenchments and finally came up with a plan to dig a mineshaft under the Confederate trench line and set off a great explosion. Federal troops would then pour into the Confederate position, take the city of Petersburg and then take the Confederate capitol, Richmond, and thus end the war.

Capt. Chambers account starts with the giant explosion of gunpowder  some 8,000 pounds of it  which had been placed in a mine dug under the Confederate trench line:

The cannon and men of the artillery in the redoubt [an artillery position] and that portion of Elliotts [South Carolina] Brigade immediately supporting the redoubt and great masses of earth were thrown high into the air and scattered in all directions. An immense hole, afterwards called the crater was made in the earth large enough to easily take in and cover a building as large as the Carnegie Library building of this city [Chattanooga]. The bodies of the men were torn to pieces and scattered in all directions .

That I was appalled and terrified by the awful slaughter all around me was true enough; but I had retained my senses and was keenly alive to everything that had taken place within reach of my eyes and ears. My fathers words came to me, Stay with the line, and instead of breaking over the breastworks and running across the open field, I went down a traverse and stopped at the crater, where some of our troops were rallying.

With me were a dozen men of the regiment. We were the last to reach the crater, and the rifles of the Union soldiers were flashing in our faces when we jumped down into that fearful cavity. The Confederates were not twenty yards behind us, yelling and shooting as fast as they could. I felt the burn of a bullet on my face, but it did not break the skin.

Two hundred pieces of Federal artillery opened fire immediately after the explosion, which had destroyed the battery and killed the men sleeping near. The breach in the Confederate line was of considerable extent, and the crater was 40 yards long, 25 yards wide, and 30 feet deep.

The [Confederate] men, of course, were greatly confused by the terrific explosion and the charge by the enemy in such overwhelming numbers. They [the Federals] poured into the chasm (a tremendous one) made by their mine, and over the works on either side a resistless stream of men, both black and white, crying No quarter to the rebels!

After the battle had been raging for two or more hours, the Federals commenced breaking to the rear singly and in squads. This brought them within range of a crossfire from the Confederates still occupying the old lines and many were cut down when they had reached their lines.

[Gen. William] Mahones [Confederate troops] arrived with reinforcements between eight and nine oclock. These troops were brought into position. A general charge was ordered. With a yell and a bayonet charge, the Confederates swept everything before them and re-established the old line.

Then was our chance. Oh! But we did pour the leaden storm into the thick masses of men that rushed down the hill to their own lines. Such a slaughter! The retaken works, the main trench, eight feet wide, the perpendicular ditches, the numerous bombproofs, were literally packed with the dead and wounded. Black and white Yankees were piled and crossed and packed upon each other. The tremendous loss of the enemy made the number of our poor fellows who had been killed when the works were taken, look small.

***

Generally accepted approximate numbers for the battle are: Federal [Union] losses at the Battle of the Crater were: total 3,798 [504 killed, 1,881 wounded and 1,413 missing or captured]. Total Confederate losses were 1,491 [361 killed, 727 wounded and 403 missing or captured].

As the Union forces were unable to seize the town of Petersburg, the battle is generally regarded as a Confederate victory.
Most of us occasionally get caught up in situations we assumed were fairly simple, but find theyre far more complicated than wed anticipated. Perhaps thats where the idiom, The devil is in the details originated. Sometimes these frustrations are clearly of our own doing. At other times outside forces seem to sabotage our endeavors, and we look for someone to blame. Frequently, that someone is Murphy, and his laws appear to validate our verdict!

Other times our magical thinking results in blaming some other-world force. The late comedian, Flip Wilsons signature line was, The Devil made me do it. It usually got a big laugh, since most of us could relate it to personal experiences from both our childhood and later years.

Some folks get themselves into very serious problems they clearly do not want publicized. These situations could be embarrassing, illicit, immoral, illegal, or all of the above. During those times they maximize their magical thinking in trying to conceal and/or excuse such misdeeds. Over two centuries ago Sir Walter Scott wrote: O, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive. Just because Vegas says itll stay there, doesnt mean it will. Here are a few notable tangled webs:

The Twinkie Defense  was coined by the media during the 1978 murder trial of Dan White, whod killed two people. A psychiatrist testified that Whites excessive consumption of junk food  including Twinkies  exacerbated his symptoms (of depression) and was proof of his depressed state. Convicted of manslaughter, White later committed suicide.

Cough syrup, et al. Defenses being high on drugs or alcohol is almost never a bona fide defense, but in the past decade more than a half dozen killers have claimed that being high on cough syrup caused their heinous acts (no need cussin the Robitussin). Still others have used consumption of hand sanitizer and caffeine highs as defenses for their criminal acts.

Spitzer Scandal  Governor of New York Eliot Spitzer served barely over a year before resigning after having been caught in an ongoing prostitution scandal. Known as Client-9 by the escort service, he reserved hotel rooms under a friends name, George Fox. As Fox mightve said, With friends like that, who needs enemies?

Mark Sanford  In June of 2009 South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford disappeared to be with his mistress in Buenos Aires. As one wit surmised, Maybe what Sanford said was, Yall mustve misunderstood I said I was on the Argentinian tail, not the Appalachian Trail!

The Fall of Falwell, Jr.  Unlike his father, Falwell, Jr. isnt a minister, hes a lawyer. Instantly his credibility drops. He may personify the so-called Third Generation Curse  Wealth never survives three generations, so goes a Chinese proverb. (NOTE: Earlier this year, Liberty University sued Falwell, Jr. for $10 million). In his recently exposed sex scandal, its surprising that Junior didnt assert one of those arcane terms from his legal lexicon. Due to a momentary memory lapse (and/or an adult beverage), he forgot the term  cuckold: a man who willingly encourages his wife to sleep with other people because it brings him pleasure (Urban Dictionary). Normally attentive to every jot and tittle, Jerry evidently assumed Becki and Giancarlo were just taking a nap.

Philosopher, Eric Hoffer, wrote, Mass movements can rise and spread without belief in a god, but never without a belief in a devil. Considering the movements Jerry witnessed, its surprising he didnt say, The devil made em do it.

The Low-Country Lawyer  More recently, the sensational case of Alex Murdaugh is one of murder, fraud, theft and deception, and the corpulent lady has yet to sing! This, too, appears to be another one of those Third Generation Curses in spades. Drugs and alcohol are definitely involved, but in the fatal fall of his housekeeper, in which Murdaugh is accused of initially pocketing the multimillion dollar insurance settlement, Alex didnt blame the devil he blamed the family dog!
A Rural Retreat man is in custody and undergoing mental health assessments after he barricaded himself inside his home and threatened others Wednesday afternoon, police said.

Wythe County Sheriff Charles Foster said deputies responded to the Valley View Avenue home in Rural Retreat after receiving reports that the man had a weapon and had threatened the callers.

Foster said the man, identified as 81-year-old Jack Trivitt, then asked the other occupants of the home to leave.

Once deputies arrived, Foster said the man came out of the home, pointed a long gun at police and then returned inside his home. When deputies approached the home in an armored vehicle, Foster said Trivitt again came out of his home, pointed the gun at police and then retreated inside his home.

Foster said family members had been able to secure an emergency custody order to have Trivitts mental health assessed. The Rural Retreat Police Department was able to communicate with Trivitt by telephone to try to convince him to come out. Shortly after that contact was made, Foster said Trivitt turned himself over to police without further incident.

Charges against Trivitt are pending the outcome of an investigation after mental health evaluations are completed.

The Rural Retreat Police Department, Rural Retreat Rescue Squad and Virginia State Police assisted.
A crowd gathered to surprise and recognize Julie Brenner, assistant principal of Mary Branch Elementary School, for being named the Texas Principals and Supervisors Associations Region 6 assistant principal of the year on Thursday.

Though she is not a fan of surprises, Brenner was beaming with gratitude as Amy Bray, TEPSA Region 6 president and assistant principal at SFA Middle School, handed her a certificate and congratulatory balloons.

We are so proud of you, Bay said. Congratulations.

Brenner was thanked for her gracious service to the district when the tears began to flow and the recognition started to set in.

Were very proud of you, Julie. You do so much for our campus, so thank you so much for all that you do, Principal Amy Bruner said. We could not do this without you, and Im so very proud of you  we all are  and I cant wait to announce it and tell our staff now.

A humble Brenner said she could think of many others who are worthy of the award, but was grateful to be honored.

We couldnt have found a better person to represent our wonderful district, Ginger Carrabine, superintendent of the Bryan school district, said. Thank you for all that you do every single day for all of the students and the staff.

Having worked in education for 20 years, Brenner still considers herself a novice as an assistant principal and said she is grateful for the support of the Bryan school district and beyond.

To all of the fellow administrators out there, I admire them because I did not know what all it entails and I have so much more area to grow in, Brenner said. Im just very thankful to be recognized, to have our voices heard and to be an advocate for our students like all of us are here. Its just a really great honor.

Outside of Branch Elementary, Brenner said she enjoys meeting and recognizing Branch Bears throughout the community. Because of this, she recently established the Branch Bear Hall of Fame to honor past Branch Bears who are making a difference.

Im always looking for wonderful members of our community, Brenner said. Weve been open since 1990, so we have so many successful adults and members and now we have their children and grandchildren coming here to Branch, so this is just a wonderful school and a great place to work at.
Colombian authorities are investigating the death of 23-year-old Valentina Trespalacios, whose boyfriend, US citizen John Poulos, was detained in Panama earlier this week. He was arrested following an Interpol "alert given by the Republic of Colombia, for the homicide of DJ Valentina Trespalacios," according to Panama's National Police.

In the early hours of last Sunday, a recycler found the body of a woman inside a suitcase at the bottom of a garbage container in the southwest of Bogota, the capital. He notified local authorities, who confirmed that the body was that of Trespalacios, a well-known electronic music DJ.

Bogota Metropolitan Police officers at the crime scene contacted her relatives, who confirmed that the young woman had been with her boyfriend since Saturday, January 21.

Preliminary forensic examinations by the Institute of Legal Medicine, an agency attached to the Colombian Attorney General's Office, revealed on Monday that the young woman would have died of mechanical suffocation and that her body showed signs of having been subjected to force before dying.

"Through a special group made up of the Bogota Metropolitan Police members, in coordination with the Office of the Attorney General of the Nation, the criminal investigators will be in charge of looking for probative material elements and information to establish the person or persons responsible for the death of this young woman that was found abandoned in a sector of the district of Fontibon," Brigadier General Carlos Fernando Triana, commander of the Bogota Metropolitan Police, told CNN.

Triana also said that he is offering "a reward of up to 20 million pesos (around US$ 4,500) for information that leads to the clarification of the crime."

On Tuesday night, the National Police of Panama reported the detention of Poulos at the Tocumen International Airport, and Colombian authorities began the procedures for his deportation to the country, hoping to shed light on the time, manner and place in which the death of Trespalacios occurred.

Poulos arrived in Bogota on Thursday, according to police in the Colombian capital.

The Bogota Security Department has said that Poulos "is in the process of being prosecuted and awaiting a hearing to legalize the capture, imputation and request for a security measure," and shared images of the suspect in the hands of the authorities.

It is unclear if Poulos has legal representation. According to Miguel Angel del Rio, the lawyer for the Trespalacios family, Poulos did not accept representation from a public defender and has not hired a private lawyer.

Security footage under review

"He never showed himself as a bad person... My Valentina was a very smiling and happy young woman. She lived in the world of the rumba (party) scene," Laura Hidalgo, the victim's mother, told local media outside the morgue in Bogota.

"He lived in the United States and came to marry her, they were going to share a life together and do the paperwork for that," she added.

The Police and the Colombian Attorney General's Office are analyzing several hours of videos from security cameras of the places where the young woman and her boyfriend were from Friday night until Sunday morning, when her body was found.

These pieces of information, plus testimonies from her relatives and WhatsApp chats, will be fundamental elements in the investigation.

There are many questions that remain unanswered in this death, authorities say. But if Poulos is charged with homicide, and the crime is classified as a femicide, Colombian criminal law allows for up to 50 years in prison.

Femicide is broadly defined as the intentional murder of women because they are women. According to the World Health Organisation, "most cases of femicide are committed by partners or ex-partners."

It is a national issue in Colombia, with 612 femicides reported last year alone, according to the Colombian Femicide Observatory.

The-CNN-Wire

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Trinity Lutheran School celebrated Lutheran Schools Week by putting extra focus on discipleship.

But what is discipleship?

Discipleship is spreading God's word to people who might not know about it, or people don't have the opportunity to learn about God's word  just trying to spread goodness in everything we do, said Trinity eighth grader Abby Vanbibber. Trying to stay positive and helping everyone through tough times.

Lutheran Schools Week at Trinity had dress up days and other activities, but themes like Tourist Tuesday were eclipsed by a school-wide project.

The whole school donated a bunch of items like popcorn and made a giant Chex Mix, Vanbibber said.

We added a lot of food, said Trinity third grader Avery Bartles. We wrote Bible verses and pictures on stickers and then we put on the logo.

Students came together to make snack mix to distribute to local first responders and the veterans home.

Linda Ahrens, a fourth grade teacher at Trinity, said students embraced the project.

They really loved the fact that they could do something for the community that they live in.

Vanbibber said, Discipleship is using our gifts to help other people and to spread God's word for the better.

The bags  585 total  were delivered by Trinitys middle school students.

Students made quick work of the project, Ahrens said.

Thats what teamwork and cooperation really does, she said.

The idea of teamwork and community building can encompass all schools, not just Lutheran ones, Ahrens explained.

Even so, projects like Trinity students Lutheran Schools Week team endeavor lend themselves to strengthening faith, she added.

It ties together with making disciples and what Jesus really wants us to do. What does making disciples mean? It means going out in the community, Ahrens said.

Do I always have to talk about Jesus? No, but it's done in our words and our actions.
Main battle tanks rumble through snowfield

China Military Online) 15:03, January 28, 2023

A convoy of vehicles attached to an army unit under the PLA Xinjiang Military Command maneuver on snow-covered road to a designated area for a training exercise in mid-January, 2023. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Lin Jiayu)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
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A senior Iranian lawmaker said on Saturday the country's parliament has drafted a plan for retaliating in the "harshest possible way" against Europe's "meddlesome" behaviors.

Vahid Jalalzadeh, chairman of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, made the remarks in an interview with the official news agency IRNA.

He said the plan is aimed at imposing sanctions on the armed forces of some European Union (EU) states as a tit-for-tat measure for their "interventionist" behaviors.

Jalalzadeh added that the plan's preparation gained greater momentum following some European states' "contradictory and meddlesome" behaviors during the recent "riots" in Iran and the European Parliament's adoption of a resolution calling for naming Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) as a "terrorist" organization.

He stressed that the plan is ready to be reviewed during an open session of the Iranian parliament.

Jalalzadeh warned Europe against continuing its "irrational behavior," saying the Iranian parliament is closely monitoring the EU Council's behaviors.

If the council gives in to hardliners' demand, the Iranian parliament will immediately adopt the retaliation plan, he added.

On Jan. 19, the European Parliament approved a resolution calling on the EU to designate the IRGC as a "terrorist group."
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MOUNT PLEASANT  The Patriots Point Flight Academy will host the inaugural AviCom two-day competition and teacher professional development program on board the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown.

In collaboration with the South Carolina Aviation High School Alliance, AviCom is a statewide competition for high school students participating in aviation and aerospace education programs. Ten teams are expected to participate in the event scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 31, and Wednesday, Feb. 1.

The first-of-its-kind competition will include competing in simulated flight missions using Patriots Points state-of-the-art flight simulators. The event will test the students on aircraft operation with students having to use their critical thinking, communication, team work and math skills in time restricted and problem plagued flight operations.

While students participate in the competition, their leaders will enjoy professional development offered by the Patriots Points Education Department. The workshop will include hands-on teacher activities, lesson plan development and analysis of primary documents recently added to the museums collection of WWII naval aviation exhibits. This backstage pass to the museums archives will include a certificate of completion towards renewal credits. The experience gained by the students and teachers will be valuable as the Alliance develops a new aviation curriculum it hopes to provide all South Carolina students with an interest in the aviation industry.

Students and teachers participating in the competition will experience Patriot Points Operation Overnight Program, where guests sleep aboard the USS Yorktown in the same bunks as sailors in World War II. Students will compete for a grand prize of $1,000 flight training scholarship. Teams will also vie for first, second, and third place prizes totaling over $1,500 in gift cards and trophies.

For more information, visit https://www.scaviationhs.org/events/avicom-2023.
A Calhoun County judge requested County Council consider the construction of a county jail and a new St. Matthews magistrate office as part of its five to 10- year capital building plan.

"We are one of the few counties that does not have a jail," Calhoun County Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Bloom told council during its Jan. 23 regularly scheduled meeting. "The officers run up and down the road back and forth to the Orangeburg Detention Center taking inmates there. That is wear and tear on vehicles that is unnecessary."

Bloom said the jail runs to Orangeburg for Calhoun County law enforcement officers can often leave staffing shortages, especially during weekends when bond court is being held.

Bloom suggested the county look at Department of Justice grants to help build a new jail.

"Within four to five years, it will pay for itself to have a detention facility in the county," Bloom said.

Bloom also noted the county can receive funding from the federal government for housing federal inmates from Columbia.

"We are perfectly situated from Columbia to catch that overflow," Bloom said.

In addition to the jail, Bloom said a new magistrate office is needed in St. Matthews.

"Currently we can't hold jury trials there," Bloom said. "We hold small trials. We do use the large courtroom when it is vacant but that is also a long-term project."

In related matters, Bloom said in the past six months the county's three magistrate courts have generated about $38,000 from small claims, eviction fees and traffic tickets. The money will come back to the county. He said on average the three courts generate about $80,000 annually for the county.

In other business:

Council gave unanimous third reading approval to an ordinance allowing private ambulance services to enter into franchise agreements with the county to provide patient convalescent transport.

The ordinance will enable the county to use the private ambulance services for mutual aid response, if needed. The ambulance companies would also provide the county with data on call volume and service utilization.

County officials have said EMS cannot handle the patient load of all those needing transportation to doctors offices or dialysis transports.

The ordinance will enable the county EMS to review complaints or concerns from residents about the ambulance services and to bring the concerns to Calhoun County Council.

County officials say there is no cost to implement the ordinance unless the county desires to put in penalties or fines for any problems with the ambulance services.

There were no comments during the public reading.

County residents were asked to go to the county's website -- www.calhouncounty.sc.gov -- and consider serving on various boards and commissions. The boards and commissions link is at the top of the website.

Councilman Ken Westbury encouraged people to step up and offer their service to the county by sitting on a board or commission.

County Administrator John McLauchlin thanked Food Lion warehouse in Elloree for donating dog food to the county's animal shelter. He said the donation helps to defray costs to the shelter.

Councilman Richard Carson was appointed to the Lower Savannah Council of Governments to fill the seat left vacant by former Councilman John Nelson. Nelson did not seek a fourth term on council.

Councilman Cecil Thornton was absent from the meeting due to attending the South Carolina Association of Counties Insurance Trust conference in Hilton Head representing the county.
The directors of food banks in the Orangeburg community are preparing, though not overwhelmingly, for the impact of the end of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program emergency allotments on Jan. 31.

The assignment of emergency SNAP supplements brought all authorized households up to the maximum allotment based on household size. The United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service, which administers the SNAP program, has since approved January as the states transition month before going back to normal SNAP benefit allotments for all households.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 signed by President Biden ended the pandemic emergency allotments nationwide. As far as planning ahead, the South Carolina Department of Social Services put out the notice in advance that the program would be ending on Jan 31, 2023, so that families could plan ahead and budget their SNAP disbursements accordingly, said Danielle Jones, public information coordinator at the state DSS.

SNAP is not meant to replace a familys monthly food budget, but it is meant to supplement a familys monthly budget for food. The emergency allotments were temporary adjustments and were not meant to be permanent, according to the federal government, Jones said.

The USDA reports that emergency allotments allowed all SNAP households to receive an additional $95 in benefits or an additional benefit valued up to the maximum benefit for their household size, whichever value is greater.

A December 2022 SNAP participation report indicates that 9,266 households equaling 17,911 persons received $5,019,627 in benefits in Orangeburg County. There were 1,218 households in Calhoun County, or 2,222 persons, receiving benefits totaling $628,224 in Calhoun County. In Bamberg County, there were 1,702 households, or 3,167 persons, who received $882,980 in benefits.

Salvation Army Captain Emily Arroqui said while she cannot be exactly sure, she thinks the change in benefits would likely drive a few more people to a food bank.

We might have some new people. Im not sure, but I dont think itll be too overwhelming for us. I dont think itll get too crazy. Now I better knock on some wood as I say that, but I think that for right now, were OK. When the foods gone, the foods gone pretty much, but for right now, weve got some, she said.

Arroqui said Cornerstone Community Church does a good job of helping the Salvation Army out with food donations.

And we have a few regular people who drop off food. I think that well probably need maybe some more donations, but I think that its going to OK. ... We do have some partnerships like Cornerstone helping and just having different agencies that have done food drives.

They usually do them over the Christmas season. So we got a lot in during the Christmas season. So our food pantry is pretty stocked right now. Then Cornerstone continually does one. I believe that there are other agencies in town that we can refer people to if we needed to for food baskets, the Salvation Army captain said.

Barbara Troy is executive director of the Cooperative Church Ministries of Orangeburg. She expects requests for food will increase.

We will see a demand for food. I have met with the food staff, and we decided that because of some donations weve gotten lately, were going to purchase more food so well have food available three days a week: Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Troy said.

As far as the pandemic situation, I do see an increase in clientele since January of this year. Also, I see a decrease in our giving. We would like for the churches and organizations and individuals and businesses to please assist us as we assist clients, she said.

Troy said the agency had already been seeing an increase in requests for food among clientele, many of whom were also receiving expanded SNAP benefits.

I noticed it before Christmas, but really the first of the year. Weve had an increase in clientele. A lot of those people do get food stamps. I dont know whether its because of the high price in food. I dont know whats going on, she said.

The USDA reports that SNAP households that also receive Social Security benefits may see a decrease in their SNAP benefits beginning in January because of the cost of living increase to Social Security benefits that took effect on Jan. 1, 2023.

A lot of seniors got a raise in their Social Security, but their food stamps decreased, or were just all cut off, Troy said.

The USDA does also report that it is possible that some households may no longer receive SNAP benefits because of their Social Security increase if they are no longer income-eligible.

Brandon Charochak, deputy communications director in the state Governors Office, referred to a statement that Brian Symmes, the governors spokesman, released on Dec. 29, when the end of the emergency allotments was announced.

In the statement, Symmes said the emergency allotments were not meant to be permanent and that SNAP recipients would have time to plan.

By recently passing legislation that will end the emergency allotments, even Congress has acknowledged that they were always meant to be temporary. The governor made the decision that January will be the last month that theyre available in South Carolina after careful consideration, Symmes said.

Its important to note the recipients will have time to plan as they continue receiving the emergency allotment for another month and that there will be no interruption to their pre-pandemic benefits, he said.

SNAP recipients can view their regular monthly SNAP benefit amount and their emergency allotment online at benefitsportal.dss.sc.gov/#/eai/eaiinquiry. More information on the SNAP program can be found online at dss.sc.gov/assistance-programs/snap.
BOWMAN  Bowmans first town council meeting of 2023 started with Mayor Patsy Rhett wishing everyone a happy new year.

She further stated that council will be working on the new budget and there will be three budget meetings by the end of February before the spending plan will be accepted for the fiscal year.

Rhett met with several representatives from Orangeburg County to discuss the new park in Bowman and who will be responsible for its maintenance.

The county will pay the electric bill and will be bringing several seating options to the park to be decided on later in the month.

The town will cover the water bill and maintenance, such as lawn care and trash.

Council person Shaquetta Pelzer remarked that the Community Christmas Dinner was a success and that they had enough food to feed everyone that attended. They are looking forward to this years Community Thanksgiving Dinner.

Bowman is still searching for more full-time police officers wishing to join their force. Those interested can contact town hall.

The next meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Feb. 7 at town hall, located at 131 Poplar St.
NORWAY  The Town of Norway returned to in-person meetings for their January council meeting.

The Jan. 9 meeting was held in person in council chambers at the Old Willow School at 2750 Cope Road, but the T&D was not notified directly. The town presumably counted Monday, Jan. 2, as a holiday because of New Years Day falling on Sunday, Jan. 1. The meeting was then moved to Jan. 9.

Meetings for many months had been held the first non-holiday Monday of each month, at 7 p.m., and recorded via Facebook live. The T&D would cover the meetings via the digital recordings.

Although the T&D was not notified about the live Jan. 9 meeting and the meeting was not announced in The T&D, the meeting notice was discovered after the meeting date on the Town of Norways Facebook page. The Facebook post was dated Jan. 5. In fact, the impromptu change back to in-person meetings just happened this month.

For many months, former Mayor Tracie Clemons held town council meetings via Facebook Live. The practice continued after several other towns in the region returned to live meetings after the pandemic. Clemons resigned in a Facebook live meeting in December 2022.

During Januarys meeting, the town announced a mayoral election will happen Tuesday, March 28, at the Norway Senior Center.

Also, Mayor Pro Tem Gregg Covington appointed a new mayor pro tem, Councilwoman Almanda Holiday.

Council person Kelvin Crosby was appointed for Parks and Recreation, Councilperson Tyler was appointed for Streets and Sanitation and Councilwoman Almanda Holiday was appointed as events chair.

An executive session was listed on the agenda posted on the towns Facebook page, but no printed reason was given for the closed meeting. Municipalities, according to law, must give a reason for a council to go into executive session.

The next presumably live meeting should be held, according to the usual schedule, Monday, Feb. 6, at 7 p.m. at the Old Willow School at 2750 Cope Road.

For more information about the meeting, see the agenda at: https://www.facebook.com/1013716612050884/photos/a. 1060330744056137/5755183584570806/.
WASHINGTON  The U.S. Department of Agriculture has selected 30 university students who will attend USDAs 2023 Agricultural Outlook Forum as winners of the USDA Future Leaders in Agriculture program.

The undergraduate and graduate students from land-grant, non-land-grant colleges of agriculture and Hispanic-serving institutions will receive a weeklong trip to Washington, D.C., and attend the 99th annual Agricultural Outlook Forum, USDAs largest annual meeting. This years forum convenes Feb. 23-24 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel in Arlington, Virginia.

Kailyn Wrighten of South Carolina State University's 1890 Extension program is among the 30 winners.

These young people are the next generation of agriculture, and it is important for USDA to support their training, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said. Through the Future Leaders Program, USDA is expanding career opportunities in USDA-related fields and building an agriculture workforce that reflects the diversity of the American people.

Now in its 16th year, the USDA Future Leaders in Agriculture Program introduces undergraduate and graduate students to the work of USDA and partner organizations. The program also provides real-world learning opportunities in contemporary agribusiness, scientific research, and agricultural policy to 21 undergraduates and nine graduate students who are majoring in agriculture-related subjects, including business, economics, communications, nutrition, food science and veterinary studies.

Applicants submit essays on agricultural careers and challenges. During their visit to Washington, D.C., students will participate in a USDA briefing and discuss career development with agriculture leaders in academia, government and industry. They will tour the nations capital and attend the forum, where Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will present their awards.

I am very pleased to see such a group of promising young students showing a strong interest in the agriculture sector and USDAs work, and I am looking forward to meeting them in person at our annual Agricultural Outlook Forum next month, USDA Chief Economist Seth Meyer said.

Among the winners, Megan Cherry is an agricultural communications major at the University of Georgia. In her essay on Agriculture as a Career, she wrote Being a first-generation college student, I can faithfully say I would not be where I am today if it were not for agriculture and all the career agriculturalists who choose to invest in me. Agriculture as a career is a complex statement but ultimately, I could not imagine a more rewarding career path."
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The European Commission has launched a fellowship on China to foster strategic cooperation with think tanks and universities on China-related issues and Sinology in general.

The goal is to tap into deep expertise on China from Europe and beyond and expand the knowledge basis on China within the commission, it said in an announcement.

"It's to further deepen our understanding of China," Eric Mamer, chief spokesman of the European Commission, said at a news conference on Thursday in reply to questions from China Daily.

"China is obviously an extremely important country and partner of the European Union," Mamer said.

He added that while there is such expertise in the EU, the initiative could further reinforce it across a series of policy fields.

The commission said the fellowships will group policy-oriented scholars from world-class think tanks and universities specializing in political, social, economics, digital technology, and environmental and climate matters, as well as China-related security and historical issues.

The fellowships are based in IDEA (Inspire, Debate, Engage and Accelerate Action) - its advisory body set up by the commission president - to provide ideas for core priorities, including geopolitics.

The fellowships will have a dynamic structure with fellows joining over a period ranging from six to 12 months with the aim of bringing a specific expertise.

Fellows, who will be paid, will be selected solely based on their competence and expertise, according to the commission.

A maximum of 15 fellowships will be offered for each period.

Mamer said that the first call for applications will be announced shortly. He added that the program is open to people who can prove that they have significant expertise on China in one or more policy areas listed.

Ding Chun, director of the Center for European Studies at Fudan University, said the launch of the fellowships shows that the China-EU relationship is important to the EU."It means that their current understanding and research is still not enough and needs to be strengthened," said Ding, who had participated in EU fellowships for Chinese scholars in the past decades.

"I hope the program can help more scholars and researchers deepen their understanding of China in an objective manner," he said.

Ding hopes that the program can help facilitate exchanges between think tanks and universities represented by the two sides as well as people-to-people exchanges.

Lai Suetyi, a researcher at the Center for European Studies at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, said the launch of the program showed the EU's strong desire to resume exchanges and dialogue with Chinese academics and think tanks.

"European friends have been complaining about the halt of contact in the past three years. They worry that such lack of dialogue would lead to misunderstanding and eventually wrong decisions," Lai said. She added that although China has removed restrictions on international travel, the resumption of exchanges between researchers would be slower than that between tourists or business people.

"The EU is taking this proactive step to show Chinese researchers its eagerness to reengage and cooperate," she said.

EU-China exchanges have been stepped up in the past months, with European Council President Charles Michel visiting Beijing on Dec 1, almost a month after a trip by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

On Thursday, Fu Cong, the new head of the Chinese Mission to the EU, presented his letter of credence to Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission. Fu also presented that letter to Michel on Dec 16, six days after his arrival in Brussels.
In 2013, after James P. Clements was announced as the next president of Clemson University, he was given the opportunity for three trips to campus to meet with leadership teams and various units before he officially began work in December.

I was very intentional  and the first meeting was with extension personnel. And lot of people asked me, Why do you want to meet with extension? And I said, Thats who we are. Were a land-grant university, Clements said.

Clements relayed the tale nearly 10 years later to a crowd of Clemson Extension and South Carolina State 1890 Extension personnel at a joint conference between the states land-grant institutions. But Clements said the real point to his story was he had never lost sight of the value of extension in the decade since.

Clemson, SC State Extension Clemson University President James P. Clements speaks at the summit.

I would still take that same meeting first if I had to do it again today, Clements said.

As a testament, perhaps, to Clements emphasis on the Clemson Cooperative Extension Service and the land-grant mission, Clemson University hosted the first joint extension conference in the states history with its sister land-grant institution from Orangeburg.

While holding the first joint extension conference in the state had long been talked about, bringing it to fruition was no small feat.

Clemson Extension Director Tom Dobbins says hed long recognized the need for collaboration between the two extension services.

Now that weve got so many new faces, I thought it was time that we come together, Dobbins said. Working with (Associate Extension Administrator) Edoe Agbodjan at South Carolina State, it was just great that we could bring our brothers and sisters together here to meet and work together as a system to address the needs of the people of South Carolina.

Dobbins said in order to accomplish that goal  addressing the needs of all South Carolinians  it would take each person in the room working as hard as they possibly can.

If you work in extension, you will make a difference in a lot of peoples lives and your legacy will be built for you, Dobbins said. You dont have to worry about that.

Looking around the room, Agbodjan echoed Dobbins sentiment, saying that while there were many differences in the people he saw, one thing they had in common was passion to change peoples lives.

Clemson, SC State Extension South Carolina State University Associate Extension Administrator Edoe Agbodjan speaks at Clemson Universitys Madren Center.

We are not here just because we want to be here; we are here because we are serving a cause  the cause is to help people, Agbodjan said. We bring the university to the people. We come to you and sit across the table from you, and we try to find out how we can work together to better your life.

Agbodjan said his first experience with extension came as a child in Togo, West Africa, when an agricultural professional would come to his familys farm to offer advice to his grandfather on best practices. Agbodjan said he got to witness firsthand the effect such insight  and more importantly, the access to such insight  could have on a farms success.

I looked at him and I said, Woah, this is one of the things I can do that means I wont have to do these odds jobs; I can work on the farm without breaking my back. That brought something to me that said, I have to be in that line of work because I can make a difference, he said. So, when I finished high school, I told my grandmother that I wanted to go to America to go to an agricultural school ... because I had that drive to be that extension person.

The history of the national land-grant system is tied inextricably to the state with the Smith-Lever Act of 1914 that created the national Extension service. Frank Lever was the son of a South Carolina farmer and a trustee at Clemson University, as well as a U.S. congressman, who saw the need for a model to bring the knowledge of the university to the farmers and people of South Carolina.

That model, in 1914, became the national extension system. So, Mr. Lever, was right on that model and its impact  and the need continues for services, Clements said. Go way beyond what was there then, to 4-H to Forestry to Wildlife to Rural Health to Livestock ... I could go on and on. Everybody in this state benefits from your work.

Clemson College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences Dean Keith Belli said one of the three pillars of the Clemsons Strategic Plan is to make an impact on the state of South Carolina, and that the extension service has "got to be the poster child for that third pillar.

The impact that we have on this state, this is what its all about, Belli said. What you do, how you synch up with the research that were doing, how you help bring new students ... this is where the rubber meets the road. All of you in this room. This is what the land-grant mission is all about. I cant state it any more strongly: This group of people make up the heart and soul of this university, and for South Carolina State University, and its land-grant mission.

S.C. State 1890 Research and Extension Vice President for PSA Louis Whitesides said the real purpose of the conference was to encourage more collaboration on the ground level between the two sister extension services.

While it was relatively simple for himself and other S.C. State Extension administrators to work with Dobbins and Belli and their other counterparts at Clemson, there had not always existed such ease of collaboration on the most basic levels.

Its easy for us to work together because weve known each other for a long time, but a lot of you dont know each other  and yall are in the same counties and same regions. Thats a problem. So, thats why we integrated together to start the process to make sure we sustain our spot as the No. 1 land-grant system in the country.

Established by the Morrill Act of 1862, the land-grant system was put in place to build our nation, and thats exactly what it did. In the years following the Civil War, efforts to rebuild the economy focused largely on supporting the nations No. 1 industry: agriculture.

More than 150 years later, agriculture remains the No. 1 industry in the American economy, and the extension system continues its work in support.

They knew for us to grow our economy, we had to educate the common man. And so land-grant universities were born  to do just that, Whitesides said.

But even still, the first Morrill Act only allowed for the education of white Americans, and so 28 years later, the Second Morrill Act required states to establish separate land-grant Institutions for Black students or demonstrate that admission to the 1862 Land-grant was not restricted by race. The act granted money, instead of land, and resulted in the designation of a set of historically Black colleges and universities as land-grant universities to begin receiving federal funds to support teaching, research and extension intended to serve underserved communities.

State Sen. Thomas Alexander also commended the extension personnel on hand for their work and the impact they have on the state of South Carolina daily.

It means a lot to me to have the opportunity to address you on behalf of the people of the State of South Carolina  the 5.2 million people who make up this great state  and as I look around this room ... I am a great fan and longtime fan of the extension service, Alexander said. I grew up with individuals in the family who were involved in extension, and it gave me a great, great appreciation for the work you do.

I believe in what youre doing in the communities and the counties across South Carolina to make life better for our citizens. For these two great universities to come together and collaborate and cooperate and do all the things that make South Carolina a very special place ... I commend you, not only to the leadership for making it happen, but for everyone here to be a part of this, he added.

S.C. State President Col. Alexander Conyers addressed those gathered by reflecting on success that had already come about due to the collaboration of the two extension services, including the Joint Plan of Work  which eventually became a national model  as well as shared extension office space, the creation of a Joint Extension Advisory Committee, joint federal and state legislative advocacy and inclusion of S.C. State Extension agents in Clemsons EELI program.

We gathered in Orangeburg to celebrate the announcement of the $70 million U.S. Climate-Smart partnership grant, making us the only land-grant recipients in the country.

While both university presidents praised the historic nature of the first joint extension meeting between the two sister land-grant schools, Clements was quick to point out that the conference is just the beginning.

Its not going to be the last time. Were opening a new level of collaboration, a new level of teamwork and a new level of impact, Clements said.
An Italian fabric maker announced in March 2022 it was locating manufacturing operations in Orangeburg County.

Pratrivero USA Inc., a division of Pratrivero Nonwovens, announced it was investing $17.6 million and creating 34 new jobs in the former Mayer Industries building at 3777 Industrial Boulevard. Industrial Boulevard is near Interstate 26s Exit 145.

The investment includes $6.5 million in buildings and $11.1 million in machinery and equipment. The 34 new jobs will be realized within the next three years.

Headquartered in Italy and family-owned and operated for 14 generations, Pratrivero Nonwovens provides fabrics used in a variety of sectors including furnishings, advertising banners, footwear, packaging and the automotive industry.

Located at 3777 Industrial Blvd. in Orangeburg, Pratrivero USAs Orangeburg County facility will produce stitchbond, a nonwoven fabric produced by mechanical bonding of fiber layers with continuous filaments. The facility will also include distribution operations.

Pratrivero USA is looking forward to being part of the Orangeburg County industrial family. We are very excited about this new investment and feel by choosing such a great location and working with the wonderful people in this community, we will succeed," Pratrivero USA President Paolo Barberis Canonico said in March.

"The approach that Orangeburg County has taken to include a training program with Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College to help us find and train people specifically for our industry is a wonderful benefit for Pratrivero USA and the people we will be hiring.

Pratrivero would be the 29th international company to call Orangeburg County home. There are about 17 different countries with a manufacturing presence in Orangeburg County.

Officials locally and across the state praised the announcement.

The origins of Pratrivero S.p.A, as it it known today, go way back.

The first official reference to a textile activity by the family as fabric manufacturers is documented in a manuscript of the Municipality of Trivero, Aug. 20, 1663, according to the company's website.

Ajmo Barbero, namesake of the family's ancestors, is recorded on a payment made to the Duke of Savoy and the local feudal lord, made partly in cash and partly using a fabric, "the grey twill," as the object of the payment, according to the company's website.

The company also has a plant in Greenville, as well as two in Italy. The company's Greenville plant specializes in interior filler and exterior covers and borders primarily for mattresses.
SANTEE  The 1,324-acre South Carolina Gateway Logistics Park reached a new milestone April 24 as officials celebrated the completion of a 125,000-square-foot speculative building.

This building marks a milestone for the development of the 6 million-square-foot industrial park, DP World Group Chairman and CEO Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem said during a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the speculative building.

As one of the largest rail-served industrial parks in the state, the South Carolina Gateway will pave the way for new opportunities. The development will give customers access to a fully integrated park delivering significant benefits to the local community and enhancing the regional economy for years to come, he said.

Dubai-based DP Worlds park is located in what Orangeburg County officials call the Global Logistics Triangle, which is the area bordered by Interstate 26, Interstate 95 and U.S. Highway 301.

The companys 125,000-square-foot spec building is an expandable Class A structure with tilt walls that can be subdivided for smaller users. The building sits on about 22 acres and is expandable to 159,200 square feet, according to marketing materials.

The park's master plan projects upwards of 6.5 million square feet of building space. About 350 acres are currently available for sale or build-to-suit development.

Company officials say the park can handle industrial, warehousing, manufacturing and ancillary services.

In addition to the 125,000-square-foot building, there are also plans to build a 250,000-square-foot speculative building.

Orangeburg County Council in April agreed to provide DP World with financial incentives to develop additional parcels for the future buildings.

We will complete the transformation of the park into a multi-modal industry park shared by Orangeburg and Dorchester counties, Bin Sulayem said. We look forward to welcoming tenants that will be an asset to the county and the great state of South Carolina.

In March 2022, Georgia-based Premium Peanut announced it would locate its peanut-shelling facility in the park. The company is building its own building.

Tenants like Premium Peanut are just the beginning of this development that will attract many quality tenants, Bin Sulayem said. This will create many full-time jobs and enable the influx of capital that will benefit the community for years to come.

Bin Sulayem said as, the global supply chain continues to face disruptions, multi-modal infrastructure is essential to address pressure points.

We aim to provide our customers with options to streamline trade flow in and out of the region, he said.

DP World operates in 60 countries with 93 terminals and ports from Australia all the way to Latin America and Europe. The company handles 71 million containers a year.

Orangeburg County Councilman Johnny Ravenell said, Growth is upon us.

We are grateful and proud because any time you have a building of this sort, that means there are more jobs for the people here, not only for the Santee area but surrounding areas as well.

Orangeburg County Development Commission Chairman Kenneth Middleton said the ribbon-cutting ceremony was only the beginning.

Today is a shining example of hope for the future in struggling times. It is an example of how things should be and can be if we truly work together. We are all blessed to be a part of brighter futures for years and years and years to come, he said.

Middleton also spoke of the importance of patience.

This project will change lives for untold centuries. The best is yet to come, he said.

Orangeburg businessman Jim Roquemore, who sold the property for the project over 15 years ago, said former state Sen. John Matthews, D-Bowman, and current state Sen. Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg, encouraged him to buy the property. He did and the rest is history.

He praised DP World for its patience.

They have done a phenomenal job. It is first-class, of course  everything they do is first class and we are glad to have them in Santee, he said.

S.C. Secretary of Commerce Harry M. Lightsey III said, Being ready for prospective industry is key to sustained economic development success, and this new speculative building positions Orangeburg County for the future.

We appreciate DP Worlds commitment to the project and look forward to the positive impact of this development throughout the community.

DP World Americas, a subsidiary of Dubai World, is the property owner.

DP World was originally founded in the 1970s as a terminal logistics company, but in recent years has focused on parks and logistics in an effort to complement its terminal operations.

DP World purchased the Orangeburg County property in 2006.

According to an OCDC flyer, about 806 acres of the site can be developed.

Land at the site is valued at $18,000 to $30,000 an acre, according to the OCDC flyer.

The site has power through Tri-County Electric Cooperative, natural gas from Dominion, water from the Lake Marion Regional Water System, sewer service from Orangeburg County/Santee, telecommunications through Verizon and Frontier and fire protection from the Santee Fire Service and Orangeburg County Fire Service.

The site also has access to CSX rail.
City plans include downtown, housing

The City of Orangeburg received $6.3 million in federal coronavirus relief money with plans to spend it on downtown revitalization and affordable housing.

The money will come from the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act. The city planned to spend $1 million on downtown revitalization efforts and $1 million on affordable housing.

Projects include $500,000 for Andrew Dibble Recreational park upgrades (skate park, pump truck, pickle ball court).

Claflin has plans for Way Building

Claflin University received $3 million in federal funds to improve the Way Building on Memorial Plaza to turn it into the Claflin University Downtown Community Center.

It will house the Claflin University Center for Social Justice, Pathway from Prison program, young professionals studio housing and a business incubator site.

The building, which is located at the corner of Russell Street and Church Street, could also house some retail.

The Way Building on Memorial Plaza formerly housed S.H. Kress & Company a focal point for the civil rights movement in the 1960s.

Hospital earns Gold Seal

The Regional Medical Center received the Gold Seal of Approval for health care quality from The Joint Commission.

The hospital was reaccredited on March 16.

The gold seal is a symbol of quality that reflects a health care organizations commitment to providing safe and quality patient care, according to a March Joint Commission press release.

Accreditation is a three-year award.

U.S. News ranks Claflin among best

The U.S. News & World Report Short List placed Claflin University third among 10 HBCUs with the highest four-year graduation rates among first-time, full-time students who started in fall 2014.

According to U.S. News, The Short List is a regular series that magnifies individual data points in hopes of providing students and parents a way to find which undergraduate or graduate programs excel or have room to grow in specific areas.

U.S. News and World Report previously ranked Claflin in the Top 10 on its list of the best historically Black colleges/universities (HBCUs) for the 11th consecutive year.

Claflin is the only HBCU in South Carolina ranked in the top 10 of both categories.

OCtech to boost Early College

Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College received a $1.6 million South Carolina Department of Education grant toward its Early College dual-enrollment programs.

The grant also went toward adding more career academies to help students develop their career paths and prepare them for a skilled workforce.

The SCDE and the South Carolina Technical College System announced the three-year $11.5 million partnership.

OCtech was going to use the monies to hire a dean of the Early College as well as two additional support persons, an interventionist and a counselor.

The addition of career academies was also a part of the funding. The college plans to offer five different pathways, two in the health sciences.

One would provide students the opportunity to enroll directly into a health studies degree program at the Medical University of South Carolina.

The second health care pathway is designed for high school students to enter into a health studies degree program where they can do CNA, EMT or phlebotomy or ECG.

Three career pathways would be created within Advanced Manufacturing in instrumentation, mechatronics and engineering graphics.

Habitat receives $1 million

Edisto Habitat for Humanity received $1 million from American author and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott.

The gift was a portion of the $436 million Scott provided to Habitat for Humanity International and 83 U.S. Habitat affiliate organizations.

It was the largest publicly disclosed donation from the billionaire philanthropist since she pledged in 2019 to give away the majority of her wealth.

Edisto Habitat says its funds will be used to support its mission and local programs including, but not limited to, promoting new homeownership, cost of home advocacy, disaster preparation and recovery, and maintaining and continuing the Brush with Kindness partnership and aging in place initiative.

The EHFH ministry began its work building affordable housing in Orangeburg in 1991.

Bamberg Airport dedicated as Tobul Field

Bamberg County Airport officially took on the name Tobul Field during a six-hour dedication ceremony held March 22.

In the fall of 2021, Bamberg County Council passed a resolution dedicating the 94-acre airport as Tobul Field in memory of Joseph "Joe" Tobul and in honor of the Tobul family.

With its origins as a general aviation airport that opened to the public in 1982, the field made all the difference to Tobul Accumulator CEO Joe O. Tobul, who was seeking a prime plant location for the family business.

The small, county airport has a 3,600-foot, asphalt-paved runway.
CHEYENNE  Two bills to sweeten the income of future legislators barely survived their first big test last week.

Proposals to increase compensation for constituent services and the regular per diem pay squeezed through the house and senate.

The House bill, HB 51, would boost the constituent allowance from $750 per quarter to a $1,000 or $4,000 per year.

It failed third reading and passed on the second try, 33-28 with one excused.

The Senate bill, SF 61, would increase the legislature per diem from $109 to $150 per day. This pays for legislators lodging, meals and the like. It passed 16-15 with one excused.

There was precious little or no debate during the bills passage on the floor through the legislative process.

Legislative pay is like body odor; no one wants to talk about it.

Legislators do not want to be accused of spending on themselves when there are so many other needs in the state. If they do sponsor a compensation bill, it is interpreted as self spending.

In fact I saw an online headline recently that said the lawmakers were supporting a bill to give themselves a raise.

This is nonsense. The constitution forbids legislators and other public officials from raising pay while they are in office.

The pay raise will go to the next Legislature. Maybe some current members will be there and maybe not.

According to a Legislative Service Office report, the Legislature considered 20 bills dealing with legislative compensation between 2001 and 2021. Only five became laws.

One of the bills that passed, in 2002, created the constituent allowance plan.

This was a new way to help mainly legislators saddled with huge districts that spanned two or three counties. It paid the costs of visiting the outliers.

The initial version required legislators to produce receipts of their lodging, fuel, and correspondence to qualify for the $750 per quarter.

The next version removed the need to produce receipts but still required a legislator to request the allowance.

Some legislators never did ask for any of it. Some asked for only part of the $750.

It became a bookkeeping nightmare.

So, finally the legislative leaders voted to give all the lawmakers the $750 per quarter allowance regardless.

The House Bill would raise the total to $1,000 per quarter.

The two bills now go to the opposite chambers for votes.

Given their less than robust votes so far, the outcome is in question.

The constituent program and other steps taken by legislative leaders, like gas allowances, are intended to help offset the cost of being a legislator. They have been necessary because of the difficulty of raising legislative salaries.

The salary of Wyoming lawmakers set in 2005 is $150 per day.

It is separate from the per diem allowance The per diem rate was last increased in 2008 to $109.

Lawmakers say the $109 no longer is enough to pay for a hotel room inn some communities, let alone meals.

The average legislator earns between $15,000 to $20,000 per year, published accounts say.

Better compensation is needed to attract more and better quality lawmakers.
Earlier this month, Wyoming received considerably more attention than normal from the national media. A group of lawmakers sponsored a resolution advocating for the phase out of electric vehicles in Wyoming by 2035. The measure was entirely symbolic, but that point seemed lost in much of the subsequent reporting and discussion. Instead, many people heard something simpler and more dramatic: Wyoming wants to ban electric vehicles.

Soon, the bills sponsors were showing up in news articles and cable news. They received attention from some of the countrys biggest media organizations: Fox News and the Washington Post. On social media sites, people from across the country debated the move. The bill itself went nowhere, but its authors declared victory. Message delivered, they beamed.

And while a message was certainly sent, it wasnt the one that people outside the state heard. The lawmakers wanted to make a point that they were standing firmly behind the states fossil fuel industry. But the tenor of the discussion from outside our borders was different. People mocked the idea as inconsequential and wrongheaded.

The episode is reflective of the first few weeks of this years legislative session. Weve seen bill after bill that focuses on national issues and plays well on social media. But those measures will do little, if anything, to solve the very real problems facing our state.

Consider the wave of education bills that are advancing through the Wyoming Legislature right now. There is one modeled after Floridas Dont say gay law. It would ban classroom instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity for students in kindergarten through third grade, though that instruction isnt actually happening right now. Theres multiple bills aimed at critical race theory, even though that too isnt taught in Wyoming schools. There was even a bill that sought to roll back school rules on tried and true vaccines guarding against diseases like polio and measles.

Meanwhile, there is only one piece of legislation seeking to address one of the most worrying issues in education right now: teacher morale and retention. Last year, we learned that two-thirds of Wyoming teachers would quit if they could. We hear stories routinely about long tenured teachers leaving the profession. Why is it that lawmakers are devoting so much time to things that arent even taught here, while spending only a pittance focused on an actual crisis in public education?

Weve also seen a growing erosion in what was traditionally thought of as the conservative philosophy on liberty and personal freedoms. For a long time, lawmakers touted the rights of private business owners. Now, some prominent conservatives are arguing, for example, that small business owners shouldnt have the power to decide their own health and safety rules.

All the while, we have seen few bills focused on the future. Now is the time to quit legislating for cable news and instead focus on the issues that are ahead for our state and its citizens. Where is the innovation? Where is the plan for tomorrow?

Thankfully, there is time to change course. We have weeks to go in the session. Theres an opportunity to focus less on what will play well on social media and more on what will grow Wyomings economy and population. Gov. Mark Gordon, who is broadly popular and in his last term as governor, has the ability to push lawmakers to pay greater attention on issues that are hard but essential, like diversifying our economy and retaining more of our young people. Its time to drop the distractions, worry less about social media success and focus more on solving Wyomings real problems.
The Government needs to promote discussion and engage the public more on initiatives that have major implications for the people and society of Trinidad and Tobago.

One example is the current push towards a cashless society in a world touted as one of financial inclusion. This initiative is being led by the Trinidad and Tobago International Financial Centre (TTIFC), which heads the Governments digitalisation initiatives in the financial services sector, and Visa, one of the worlds biggest names in digital payments.
True Concord Voices & Orchestra set out to make a statement when it commissioned Jocelyn Hagen to write a choral symphony centered on women.

They succeeded.

Hagens Here I Am unapologetically reaffirms womens rightful place in society.

They earned it.

They deserve it.

And they will fight for it.

That was Hagens message, compassionately yet powerfully delivered through the words of 46 historical women figures, from Susan B. Anthony and Frida Kahlo to Kamala Harris and Toni Morrison.

Hagen curated texts that went as far back as 2200 BC (Sumerian priestess and poet Enheduanna) and as recent as 2014 (Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai, who won a Nobel Peace Prize at age 17) to create a statement that speaks to women of all races, religions and generations today and for generations to come.

But the message, delivered against Hagen's emotional soundscape of soaring strings, a sobering harp and brass and woodwinds, also speaks to men. Hagen reminds them in no uncertain terms that women will not be silent.

True Concord performed the world premiere of "Here I Am" before a nearly full house at the Catalina Foothills High School Auditorium on Saturday, Jan. 28, one of three performances over the weekend. It was a world premiere that the ensemble, under the baton of founder and Music Director Eric Holtan, had been waiting for since 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down live performances. The ensemble had to reschedule a second time after the pandemic flared up again last January.

The wait was worth it as the chamber orchestra, led by Concertmaster Benjamin Nisbet, and the choir, comprised of vocalists from around the country, many of them who have sung with True Concord for most of its 19 seasons, brought a sense of quiet urgency and import to Here I Am.

Hagen set a big chunk of the texts as spoken word, dramatically recited by women in the choir and two girls from the Tucson Girls Chorus as paintings of the women and their words were projected on a giant screen above the stage.

Other texts were sung by the choir and guest soloist, soprano Susanna Phillips. Hagen arranged the music and the tone of the texts to grow from anger and defiance early on to determination and resolve in the finale, which featured Phillips joining voices with the True Concord choir and the Girls Chorus.

Girls Chorus Artistic and Executive Director Marcela Molina led the girls from the balcony and when they sang, Phillips looked up and smiled in amazement at the goosebumps-inducing sound coming from those young voices.

The girls repaid the compliment when Phillips hit an impossibly high note in the finale that hung in the air as an exclamation point to Hagens statement.

At the end of the performance, the audience gave Hagen a resounding standing ovation.

Here I Am was part of a program that opened with Andre Thomass setting of Langston Hughes 1941 poem I Dream A World, which envisions a world where skin color is not a deterrent of justice or tolerance. That message was needed now more than ever, longtime chorus tenor Paul John Rudoi told the audience afterwards, recounting the horror of the just released video of the Jan. 7 deadly beating of Tyre Nichols, a Black man, by four Black Memphis, Tennessee, police officers. The officers were charged this week with murder.

Saturdays concert also included True Concord vocalist Emily Laus tender ode to immigrants Ive been buked  O Danny boy, which fuses Hong Kong native Laus own immigration story with the Irish ballad about Irish immigrants in the U.S.; and the world premiere of I, Lover, composed by Marybeth Kurnat, winner of True Concords Stephen Paulus Emerging Composers Competition.
When a cow-printed van pulls into the parking lot of Santa Rita Park those scattered across the park assemble in front of it, knowing theyll get hygiene items, water, clothing and maybe even a hot meal.

On Saturdays, Community on Wheels  or COW  hands out supplies at the park, a hotspot for the homeless population, partially due to its proximity to social service organizations and its accessible near-downtown location.

But on Jan. 21, COW and other local advocacy groups provided an additional resource: bright yellow signs that read This is a constitutionally protected dwelling. The signs were to be placed on tents or makeshift shelters that have been built in the park in anticipation of a displacement effort.

The warning comes after advocates say an internal city email indicated it plans to clear out Santa Rita Parks homeless population ahead of the Gem, Mineral & Fossil Showcase, slated to begin this weekend.

On Jan. 17, COW, Community Care Tucson and the Peoples Defense Initiative sued the city to halt enforcement of ordinances that ban residing in parks after hours.

The groups protested at Tuesdays City Council meeting, telling members their concerns and raising signs reading Stop the sweeps.

City Attorney Mike Rankin said the allegation that a sweep of the park is planned because of the gem show is demonstrably false. But the parks inhabitants will still have to vacate the park due to the citys new encampment protocol.

New encampment protocol

On Thursday, notices were placed throughout Santa Rita Park warning people living there that they have 72 hours to remove all personal items from the park for purpose of cleaning and disposing of trash and that Any items left behind will be disposed of. The signs also warn that interfering with cleaning crews may be viewed as a criminal offense. The notices list the number to a city resource line.

In October, the city launched a new reporting tool for the public to report homeless encampments. Based on the danger the reported encampments pose to the public, inhabitants are either allowed to stay after cleanup or forced to leave within 72 hours. The notices posted at Santa Rita are in response to the new encampment protocol, the city said.

While saying he was limited on what he could say due to the pending litigation, Rankin said in an email to the Star: Outreach at Santa Rita Park has been ongoing for years with many community partners. It includes connecting persons in the park with an array of social service organizations and attempting to assist the individuals that are unhoused obtain permanent stable housing.

While sitting at a picnic table in the park on Thursday, Daniel Delgado said hes not sure where hes going to stay throughout the day now. He tries to sleep in alleyways to avoid being cited for sleeping at the park, but has been part of the parks homeless community for about five years.

With the signage now warning him hell have to leave his daytime dwelling spot, he said, I just gotta deal with it. Take it day by day.

The need for shelter

Tucsons Mayor and Council approved a master plan for Santa Rita Park in August that includes nearly $3 million in renovations as part of the $225 million Proposition 407 bond package voters approved in 2018. At the time the council approved the master plan, the same group of protesters took to City Council to denounce the renovations, foreseeing potential displacement of the parks homeless population.

However, construction at the park isnt set to begin for another year, according to the city. The notices provided are part of the Tier 3 activation of the encampment protocol when a location is deemed high problem and exhibits Violence and crime towards the surrounding community, the encampment inhabitants themselves, and many environmental hazards, according to the citys reporting tool.

According to the protocol, the city will call out enforcement to address the criminal behavior, outreach will be offered, and clean up will be done by Environmental Services after the 72 hours vacate notice is posted. Out of 2,943 encampments reported across Tucson, 155 have been determined to be Tier 3 sites, a city memo shows.

Rosie Portillo, who lives across the street from Santa Rita Park, said shes reported the encampments at the park. Trash and drug paraphernalia frequently litter her front yard, shes seen fighting and drug use and saw a man overdose at the park, Portillo said.

She discourages her two young kids from playing outside over fear for their safety, Portillo said.

I would like to see more enforcement of having the people that are wanting to stay after 10:30 (when the park closes) just go ahead and head out, finding a different place, she said. I dont know what that place would be. But thats why the resources are out there.

Tucsons approach to addressing homelessness is a housing-first model that provides shelter without barriers to access. The city does acknowledge, however: A shortage of and lack of formal coordination among outreach and housing navigator services contributes to long periods of time spent homeless before making contact with the homeless response system, according to the citys website on the local homelessness crisis.

Tucson doesnt have enough resources to adequately handle its homelessness crisis, says the lawsuit filed against the city by the advocates for Santa Rita Parks homeless population.

According to the complaint, there are about 3,000 people experiencing homelessness throughout the city and 859 emergency shelter beds. Thats based on estimates from the Pima County Homeless Management Information System, a database for local social service providers.

Displacing the parks inhabitants, the complaint says, would violate the Eighth Amendment prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment by forcing people out without alternative shelter options and the Fourteenth Amendment right to due process by discarding homeless peoples belongings without proper notice or temporarily holding the property to give owners a chance to retrieve it.

The plaintiffs are asking the court to stop the city from enforcing its anti-camping and after-hours ordinances that prohibit people from being in the citys park from 10:30 p.m. to 6 a.m.

The only numbers that matter to me, for purposes of this lawsuit, are do you have at least the same number of beds as there are predicted unsheltered individuals? said Billy Peard, a paralegal working on the case. If the answer is no, it doesnt matter to me how many resources youre providing  our position is that you cannot cite people for quality of life offenses in parks.

Triage like an emergency room

Tom Litwicki, the Chief Executive Officer for Old Pueblo Community Services, a nonprofit with the mission to end homelessness in Pima County, said the organization has 150 low-barrier shelter beds.

The bottom line is that we have a third or so, maybe, of whats needed, and so you just have to triage like an emergency room, Litwicki said of the regions homeless shelter capacity. Weve normalized the idea that I should drive by people that the layman can tell probably hasnt cleaned up in a year, seems to be in a psychotic episode, and theyre just wandering the streets dying. Its shocking.

Nearly a week before the protest at City Council, COW member Victoria DeVasto said she stood over a homeless man who had died at Santa Rita Park due to exposure when temperatures dipped below freezing. The Tucson Police Department confirmed an unresponsive male was located at the park and that it looks to be a medical issue, and no foul play was noted.

And while the resounding message from the protest at City Council was to stop the sweeps at homeless encampments, Tucson Police have previously denied that they conduct sweeps of encampments that result in an area-wide forced evacuation.

Instead, displacement often takes place on an individual level. Many of the homeless people residing at Santa Rita Park allege theyve been woken up in the early morning hours by TPD or city staff and told to leave the park or given citations for illegally sleeping there.

Several unsheltered individuals provided affidavits of their experiences for the lawsuit against the city.

One man said that about 3 a.m. on Jan. 20, Tucson Police approached me and kicked me out of Santa Rita Park. They did not offer me any services. Gospel Rescue Mission refused me a bed. They threatened me with citation, but cited other people in the park.

Another man, who said hes been homeless for 3 and a half years, wrote: I was awakened and cited for camping at the park and had nowhere to go. As I nearly froze, I then was told as they threw my belonging away. Ive seen the police do this to myself and others. I suffer from PTSD, depression, and anxiety and suffer from this last (incident) and Im very very extremely upset and affected by it.

When asked about the citations issued at Santa Rita, or how a Tier 3 response in the park would work, the Police Department said only that it couldnt comment on pending litigation.

Plan in the works

Litwicki from Old Pueblo Community Services estimates up to 80% of chronically homeless individuals live with significant mental or physical disabilities compounded by poverty, and that the regions current homelessness crisis is the worst its ever been.

I think one thing that is critical to ever getting anywhere around homelessness is having a community-wide plan and strategy with real benchmarks, he said.

Pima County and Tucson have collaborated to create a homelessness task force that meets weekly, and at Tuesdays City Council meeting, the leaders of city housing and homeless outreach departments shared a draft version of a five-year plan.

The plan has four objectives, the first being to Increase access to critical services for the unsheltered. The city has purchased several hotels to use as low barrier housing, and has started a mobile shower program that operates twice a week.

The other outlined goals include reducing the impact of unsheltered individuals on the community, creating a data base to track integrated response and continuing to seek housing for unsheltered Tucsonans.

We want to make sure that we are supporting unsheltered people to become permanently housed, and we need to do something different than has been done for decades past, Mayor Regina Romero said at Tuesdays meeting. This is only part of the solution to solve the issues of the unsheltered and the issues that residents and businesses have in terms of being able to deal with unsheltered homelessness in the city of Tucson.

At the call to the audience portion of the council meeting, which took place after council members discussed the draft plan, DeVasto told council members more urgency is needed.

We need emergency shelter in mass now. Alternative shelters and new strategies need to be implemented now, she said, later adding, How many people will die waiting for critical services in one to five years? You will be spending millions of dollars on other projects, allocate funds here now.
PHOENIX  The Hia-Ced Oodham people were known for their nomadic lifestyle in the parched Sonoran Desert, and the Sand People often were on the move in search of water sources, surviving in the harshest of terrains.

But lack of water wasnt the biggest threat to the Hia-Ced. In the mid-1800s, yellow fever swept through their ancestral lands, which lie on both sides of the U.S. and Mexico border, and wiped out much of the population.

According to descendants, only four Hia-Ced families survived  those who had fled to neighboring Oodham land to escape the epidemic. Because their land was no longer inhabited, early American settlers believed the Hia-Ced had died out.

Today, the number of Hia-Ced is about 1,000. An exact count is difficult to determine because census forms dont recognize a Hia-Ced tribe.

In Arizona, 22 federally recognized tribes inhabit nearly every region of the state, according to the Arizona State Museum, but the Hia-Ced isnt one of them.

But some descendants of those four surviving families are working to change that. Theyre researching the history of the Hia-Ced to prove their existence and distinctions, and working to advocate for recognition with the federal government.

It isnt our fault that there was an epidemic that affected the Hia-Ced Oodham, but we still are a tribal community that deserves the federal recognition like every other tribal community here in Arizona, said Lourdes Lulu Pereira, an Arizona State University student and official archivist for the Hia-Ced Hemajkam LLC, which was established in 2015 to work toward federal recognition and reclamation of ancestral lands.

I believe the foundation of this comes down to the responsibility of the federal government  acknowledging those tribal communities that they inflicted genocide on, that they have put through hell and through disturbing, horrific actions.

The Hia-Ced Hemajkam LLC governing board, led by Pereiras mother, Christina Andrews, has seven members, who meet monthly on their quest to become federally recognized.

Hia-Ced aboriginal territory spans the west side of what now is the Tohono Oodham Nation, west to Yuma, north to the Gila River and south to Puerto Penasco, Mexico.

Andrews doesnt think it will be possible to reclaim the entire land, so the board is focusing on taking back the national park sites in Hia-Ced territory: Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge.

For the Hia-Ced, these cultural lands are sacred.

Andrews has a clear message to the National Park Service: Youre just a babysitter for us right now, and thats fine. But we want to get our home back, and thats our goal.

The U.S Fish & Wildlife Service and NPS declined to comment for this story.

Complicated history with Tohono Oodham

The Hia-Ced had established a tribal home within the Tohono Oodham Nation, with whom they share the heritage Oodham language. But internal strife led to some of the Hia-Ced striking out on their own, opting instead to reclaim their primary heritage.

Otherwise known as the Arenenos or Sand People, the Hia-Ced are cousins to the Akimel Oodham (River People) and the Tohono Oodham (Desert People).

Although the Oodhams share a common name, distinctions between the tribes vary in dialect, geographic location, migration patterns, housing type and food.

Andrews said the Tohono Oodham Nation sold the Hia-Ced aboriginal lands to the federal government for $26 million in 1976 as part of the Indian Land Claims Act  without the consent or knowledge of the Hia-Ced.

In 1984, the Tohono Oodham Nation unofficially adopted a Hia-Ced district as a part of their tribe. In 2013, the Hia-Ced officially became the 12th district of the Tohono Oodham Nation, led by Andrews as chairwoman, but the district dissolved two years later over disagreements regarding council decisions and district monetary budgets.

In an email, spokesperson Matt Smith said the office of Tohono Oodham Chairman Ned Norris Jr. isnt aware of any official efforts being made by the Hia-Ced to become federally recognized.

Lorraine Eiler, who is Hia-Ced but remains a member of the Tohono Oodham Nation, said seeking federal recognition may not be in the Hia-Ceds best interest.

Eiler led the effort to dissolve the 12th district, according to an article by ICT, a nonprofit news organization that covers Indigenous peoples.

I think in some ways, youre going to be jeopardizing individuals that dont have the means to live on very limited income, to relinquish from the tribe and try to seek another federal recognition, Eiler said, referring to the funding that accompanies federal recognition. Its going to be a hardship for them.

The path to federal recognition

An Indigenous community can become federally recognized in two ways: by an act of Congress or through the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

To become federally recognized through the BIA, the group seeking acknowledgment must submit a letter of intent to petition, then a documented petition including extensive evidence of the tribes past, according to bureau guidelines. The Hia-Ced are in the process of collecting and assembling documents that prove their existence through the years.

A tribe can also become recognized directly through Congress. Andrews has met with U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Tucson, in hopes of persuading him to introduce a bill that would federally recognize the Hia-Ced.

By becoming federally recognized, tribes are eligible for funding and services from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, either directly or through contracts, grants, or compacts, according to USA.gov. Cultural, historic and land preservation projects are among the benefits.

According to the BIA, federal recognition acknowledges your tribes status as a government with independent sovereignty derived from your historical status as a tribe before European contact and maintenance of your government without break since then.

Andrews said she wants the Hia-Ced to have a voice at the table at the federal government level and lamented the exclusion of the group in decisions regarding their sacred lands.

In 2020, the Trump administration waived regulations that would have prevented border wall construction on Hia-Ced aboriginal land.

Andrews said construction of the border wall in southern Arizona drained much of the water off Hia-Ced land and forced members to rebury three bodies from graves that had been disturbed.

A sacred human-made pond located in Quitobaquito Springs in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument also was affected by the border wall, which was built through the monument.

Andrews said educational and language barriers have prevented federal recognition of the tribe.

(The federal government) made it seem like we were extinct, but we had no idea how to navigate in this Western world at that time when (our land) was taken away, she said.

Eiler agreed that education, experience and money have been crucial factors holding the Hia-Ced back from landing federal recognition. She also said its because theyve always considered us Oodham.

But many of the Hia-Ced want to be recognized separately from other Oodham nations and to reclaim their heritage in the eyes of the federal government.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands  A Jewish group that commissioned a survey on Holocaust awareness in the Netherlands said that the results showed a disturbing lack of awareness of key historical facts about the Holocaust, prompting calls for better education in the nation that was home to diarist Anne Frank and her family.

The survey commissioned by the New York-based Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany found that the number of respondents who believe the Holocaust is a myth was higher than in any of the other five nations previously surveyed.

In the survey, 23% of adults under age 40 and 12% of all respondents indicated they believed the Holocaust was a myth or that the number of Jews killed was greatly exaggerated.

Not only is this downright shocking, its very serious, Dutch Justice Minister Dilan Yesilgoz-Zegerius said on Twitter. Almost a quarter of the Dutch people born after 1980 think that the Holocaust is a myth or that it is heavily exaggerated. As a society, we have a lot of work to do. And fast, too.

The survey also found that 54% of all respondents  and 59% of those under age 40  do not know that 6 million Jews were murdered. Some 29 percent believe that the figure is 2 million or fewer.

Its terrible, Max Arpels Lezer, a Dutch survivor whose mother was murdered at Auschwitz, told The Associated Press.

They should know their own national history  that so many Jewish people were murdered during the Holocaust and I think its a shame, he added.

Of the 140,000 Jews who lived in the Netherlands before World War II, 102,000 were killed during the Holocaust. Another 2,000 Jewish refugees in the country also were killed in the genocide.

Despite that grim history, 53% of those surveyed do not cite the Netherlands as a country where the Holocaust took place. Only 22% of all respondents were able to identify Westerbork, a transit camp in the eastern Netherlands where Jews, including Anne Frank, were sent before being deported. The camp is now a museum and commemoration site.

The survey found that 60% of respondents had not visited the Anne Frank House museum in Amsterdam. The building is where Anne, her sister, parents and four other Jews hid from the Dutch capital's Nazi occupiers from 1942 until August 1944, when they were discovered and subsequently deported.

Anne and her sister, Margot, died in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Of the eight Jews who hid in the secret annex in Amsterdam, only Anne's father, Otto, survived the Holocaust.

Eddo Verdoner, the Netherlands National Coordinator on Combating Antisemitism, said in a statement it was shocking to see that 23% of Millennials and Gen Z believe the Holocaust is either a myth or has been exaggerated.

The finding points to a growing gap in knowledge and awareness. We must do better in our schools to fight Holocaust distortion wherever we find it, Verdoner said.

More than three-quarters of those surveyed  77%  said it was important to continue to teach about the Holocaust, in part so it doesnt happen again, while 66% agreed that Holocaust education should be compulsory in school.

Survey after survey, we continue to witness a decline in Holocaust knowledge and awareness. Equally disturbing is the trend towards Holocaust denial and distortion, Gideon Taylor, the president of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, said in a statement.

To address this trend, we must put a greater focus on Holocaust education in our schools globally. If we do not, denial will soon outweigh knowledge, and future generations will have no exposure to the critical lessons of the Holocaust.

Only half of respondents said they supported recent speeches by Dutch leaders to acknowledge and apologize for the country's failure to protect Jews in the Holocaust. The number dropped to 44% among respondents aged under 40.

Three years ago, Prime Minister Mark Rutte apologized for the failure of officials in the Nazi-occupied country during World War II to do more to prevent the deportation and murder of Jews. In 2021, he opened a Holocaust monument in Amsterdam.

At the time, Rutte called the era a black page in the history of our country and said the monument also has an important contemporary message in our time when antisemitism is never far away. The monument says  no, it screams  be vigilant.

A Holocaust museum is scheduled to open near the monument next year.
KYIV, Ukraine  Ukraine and its Western allies are engaged in "fast-track" talks on the possibility of equipping the invaded country with long-range missiles and military aircraft, a top Ukrainian presidential aide said Saturday.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Ukraine's supporters in the West "understand how the war is developing" and the need to supply planes capable of providing cover for the armored fighting vehicles that the United States and Germany pledged at the beginning of the month.

However, in remarks to online video channel Freedom, Podolyak said that some of Ukraine's Western partners maintain a "conservative" attitude to arms deliveries, "due to fear of changes in the international architecture." Russia and North Korea have accused the West of prolonging and taking a direct role in the war by sending Kyiv increasingly sophisticated weapons.

"We need to work with this. We must show (our partners) the real picture of this war," Podolyak said, without naming specific countries. "We must speak reasonably and tell them, for example, 'This and this will reduce fatalities, this will reduce the burden on infrastructure. This will reduce security threats to the European continent, this will keep the war localized.' And we are doing it."

The U.S. and Germany agreed Wednesday to share advanced tanks with Ukraine along with the Bradley and Marder vehicles promised earlier, a decision that led to criticism not only from the Kremlin but from the prime minister of NATO and European Union member Hungary.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban asserted Friday that Western countries providing weapons and money to assist Ukraine in its war with Russia have "drifted" into becoming active participants in the conflict. Orban has refused to send weapons to neighboring Ukraine and sought to block EU funds earmarked for military aid.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said it would summon Hungary's ambassador to complain about Orban's remarks. A ministry spokesperson, Oleg Nikolenko, said Orban told reporters that Ukraine was "a no-man's land" and compared it to Afghanistan.

"Such statements are completely unacceptable. Budapest continues on its course to deliberately destroy Ukrainian-Hungarian relations," Nikolenko said in a Facebook post.

President Joe Biden's announcement that the U.S. would send 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine reversed months of arguments by Washington that they are too difficult for Ukrainian troops to operate and maintain.

The U.S. decision persuaded German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who had expressed concern about a unilateral action drawing Russia's wrath, to agree to send 14 Leopard 2 tanks from Germany's stocks and to allow European countries with tanks to send some of theirs.

Western weapons have proven essential to Ukraine's defense while stoking ever-higher tensions with Moscow.

Russia's Defense Ministry said Saturday that Ukrainian forces used U.S.-made HIMARS rockets to strike a hospital in the eastern Ukrainian town of Novoaidar, killing 14 people.

Novoaidar is located in Luhansk province, which is almost entirely under the control of Russian forces or Russian-backed separatists. The Russian Defense Ministry alleged the hospital was deliberately targeted. Its claim of a strike in Novoaidar could not be immediately verified.

"A deliberate missile attack on a known operating civilian medical institution is an unconditional grave war crime of the Kyiv regime," the ministry said, according to Russian news agencies.

Amid the news of the Western pledges of heavy tanks, Russia bombarded Ukraine with missiles, exploding drones and artillery shells this week. The attacks continued Saturday, when Russian missiles struck the city of Kostyantynivka in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk province.

The missiles fell in a residential area, killing three civilians, wounding 14 and damaging four high-rise apartment buildings, a hotel and garages, Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said.

Russian rockets hit a residential area the Donestsk town of Chasiv Yar on Friday night, killing of two people and wounding five more, the governor said. Photos attached to Kyrylenko's post showed a three-story school building on fire.

Russian forces continued ground attacks around Bakhmut and Avdiivka, another Donetsk city to the south, while Ukrainian troops were on the offensive in southern and northeast Ukraine, the Ukrainian military said in a Saturday morning update.

The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said that Russian troops "are defending themselves" near Lyman in Luhansk and Kharkiv provinces north of Donetsk, as well in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia provinces in the south.

In the same update, the military reported that Russian forces launched 10 missile strikes, 26 air strikes and 81 shelling attacks on Ukrainian territory between Friday and Saturday mornings. The shelling killed two civilians in Kherson, another province that is partly Russian-occupied.
(Tulsa, Oklahoma)  Wallace Design Collective is pleased to announce that A. Nicole Watts, PE, CFM, has been named a principal of the firm. Principals play an integral role in the continued growth of our firm, coupling technical know-how with an emphasis on client care, mentorship and business development.

Nicole joined Wallaces Tulsa office in May 2020 and has more than 23 years of experience in the field of civil engineering. She has been the project manager and engineer for a variety of civil engineering project types including site planning, utilities, drainage, grading and parking. Nicole received her Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Missouri - Columbia. She is a licensed Professional Engineer in Oklahoma and three additional states and is a Certified Floodplain Manager in Oklahoma. Nicole is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Oklahoma Floodplain Managers Association, NAIOP and Bixby Historical Society. She is a Leadership Tulsa (Class 55) graduate, named40 under 40by both Tulsa Business Journal and Oklahoma Magazine, and serves on the Advisory Council for the Resonance Center for Women.
If the coronavirus taught companies anything, it is that much of this nations business can be conducted in sweatpants and house shoes.

The global consulting firm McKinsey & Co. questioned 25,000 Americans in a 2022 survey and found 87% of people offered at least some remote work relish the chance and spend an average of three days a week doing so from home. Of that number, 35% reported having the option to punch a clock remotely five days a week.

Nearly three years removed from the outset of the pandemic, the Tulsa World sampled a number of local companies, including some of the largest, to determine how they are tackling the office work dynamic.

You have to have a reason for people to want to come into the office, said Williams CEO Alan Armstrong, addressing an audience last week at a Friends of Finance luncheon at the University of Tulsa. Its really important that people have a place to learn and observe others and have more ad-hoc conversation. ... I think thats incredibly important.

Close to 32,000 people work for companies located in downtown Tulsa, the citys business hub, according to the Tulsa Regional Chamber.

An energy firm that handles 30% of the countrys natural gas, Williams employs about 1,000 people at its headquarters at One Williams Center (BOK Tower), Williams spokesman Tom Droege said. Most office-based roles at Williams allow working from home one to two days a week, he said.

If I was a young person out there and I knew what I knew today, I would be asking, Do your senior people that Im going to learn from, ... do they come into the office every day? Because I want to come into the office and learn from them, Armstrong said. Thats an issue that we have to take on.

But as companies, we have to check ourselves up and say, Why is there such a fight about this? Why do people not want to be in the office? We have to listen and learn to make sure were making an environment that people see as valuable in terms of people being in the office.

Attorney Shawn Dellegar is vice president of administration at the law firm Crowe & Dunlevy in Tulsa.

The last three years have certainly proven you can work from home, you can work from a cafe, you can work in the office, he said. All of our systems now are basically in the cloud. No matter where you are, you log in and it looks basically the same. The screen size is really the only key factor.

The majority of the companys 30-35 local employees have returned to in-person work at Crowe & Dunlevy, which last year moved into 222 North Detroit Avenue, a new high-rise.

The face-to-face, collaboration and teamwork is important, Dellegar said. Here at the Tulsa Crowe office, we kind of pride ourselves on having a pretty good family-type environment. We all get along real well, know each others families and what everybodys doing.

Its been good from a personnel and attorneys standpoint to get everybody back in and talking. Were human. Were social creatures.

Giving its employees and tenants another reason to commute, Williams recently poured millions into renovating the main plaza level of the 52-story skyscraper it owns downtown. The gem of the refurbishing is Center Court, a 20,454-square-foot food hall unveiled last year.

Stacy Kymes is president and CEO of BOK Financial, home to about 2,200 employees in the BOK Tower. He said the companys leadership team spent the first quarter of 2022 examining where it wanted to be on the in-person/remote spectrum.

If you have a fully remote workforce over time, you dont have a culture that is sustainable, he said. But if youre dedicated to having everybody in the office all the time, it may limit the quality of candidate you can get from a hiring perspective.

To help in its deliberations, BOKF leaned on the writings of such authors as Malcolm Gladwell and Adam Grant, a professor at Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Ultimately, in the second quarter of last year, BOKF rolled out a hybrid option: three office days and two at home with some designated collaboration days thrown in.

You have to be in the office on these collaboration days, so you have these accidental collision points where you run into people and talk about things that are going on that you may not have thought about if you were fully remote, Kymes said. Some groups ended up migrating to four (office days) to one. That seems to have worked well. At the end of the day, were a service organization. We have to serve our customers exceedingly well to continue to earn their business.

BOKF will continue to monitor its policy, he said.

I dont know that the book is written on what the hybrid work environment looks like, Kymes said. It is still evolving. We want to make sure were doing the things we need to be doing to be successful while also giving ourselves the best chance to hire great people.

ONEOK, another large company in the central business district, began bringing its close to 1,000 employees back to the office in phases in early 2022. Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays are now mandated as office work days.

I think we have created the best of both worlds, said Janet Hogan, senior vice-president and chief human resources officer for the energy firm. Weve heard from our people that although they enjoy working from home a couple of days a week, they really, really miss the face-to-face interaction, as well as they hallway conversations, which can be very valuable to people.

To attract new employees and help keep its current ones, ONEOK also has enhanced its in-office perks.

It has an on-site physicians clinic for employees on the company health plan, and ONEOK this past summer opened The Hub, a 4,800-square-foot space where associates can socialize and grab refreshments. The company also has developed an in-house app that dispatches online food orders to specific floors at no delivery charge.

Im really proud of what we do offer, and our employees are very appreciative, Hogan said. We treat our people very well.

Video: Study supports arguments for four-day workweek
Related Content Related story: Pioneer Woman Mercantile in Pawhuska undergoing renovations after six years of booming business

Fifty years ago: Reba McEntire celebrated her graduation from Kiowa High School.

Forty years ago: She celebrated her first chart-topping song. Cant Even Get the Blues reached No. 1 on Jan. 8, 1983.

Thursday: The queen of country music helped celebrate the grand opening of a new attraction in Atoka.

With over 56 million albums sold worldwide, McEntire is one of the most successful female recording artists in history, but shes also a serial multi-tasker. Her acting career includes a self-titled sitcom and recent projects like the series Big Sky and Reba McEntires The Hammer, which premiered Jan. 7 on Lifetime. She has apparel deals with Dillards and Justin Boots. When ABC profiled McEntire in an episode of the Superstar documentary series last month, fellow Oklahoma country music superstar Carrie Underwood referred to McEntire as an empire.

The newest addition to the empire is Rebas Place.

McEntire partnered with the city of Atoka and the Choctaw Nation to bring Rebas Place to life. Its a combination restaurant, bar, live music venue and retail store built in a century-old former Masonic Lodge at 319 E. Court St. in Atoka.

Geographically, Rebas Place really is Rebas place, or darn close to it. She grew up in Atoka County and was raised on a cattle farm in Chockie.

Ideally, the opening of a celebrity-branded restaurant will give people a reason to come to Atoka. Check that. People are already passing through Atoka. Rebas Place may give them a reason to stop.

We are very excited about the economic impact and the number of visitors, Carol Ervin of the Atoka City Industrial Development Authority said in an email to the Tulsa World.

Continuing, Ervin said U.S. 69/75 is the most direct route from Houston to northern states and Atoka is in the middle of everything. Because Atoka is centrally located in the U.S., Ervin said the town is a perfect location for business and industries. Atoka certainly is a midpoint for a Tulsa-to-Dallas trek. Atoka is 131 miles from Tulsa, 133 miles from Dallas and  bonus  133 miles from Oklahoma City.

Ervin said the average daily traffic count on U.S. 69/75 through Atoka is 23,480 vehicles per day  yes, per day.

That equates to over 8 million vehicles per year, Ervin said. We just need a reason for them to stop. Rebas Place will provide that reason and will attract visitors from around the world.

Rebas Place was phased into action with a soft opening. McEntire fielded questions during the grand opening event Thursday.

At the news conference, McEntire said she was told by the manager of Rebas Place that someone from Missouri had journeyed there to celebrate a 93rd birthday.

I know its between Tulsa and Dallas on Highway 69/75, she said But there are so many people who say no, we traveled here specifically. Its people who are making it a destination.

Oklahoma country music artist Blake Shelton opened a celebrity-branded restaurant, music venue and retail space in Tishomingo (about 40 miles southwest of Atoka) in the fall of 2017. He named it Ole Red after one of his songs. Its one of four Ole Red locations. The other locations are in towns with significantly larger populations  Nashville, Orlando and Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

The populations of Tishomingo and Atoka? 3,000 and change. The headcount is similar in Pawhuska, where the Osage County town has discovered what a celebrity-branded attraction can do for a local economy.

Television personality/author Ree Drummond and Ladd Drummond opened Pioneer Woman Mercantile  a restaurant, bakery and store  in downtown Pawhuska in 2016. The Mercantile drew an average of 6,000 customers per day through its first month  nearly double the population of the town at the time  and within 13 months 22 new businesses opened in downtown Pawhuska.

It has been huge here, Mike McCartney, director of the Pawhuska Chamber of Commerce, said, indicating that city sales tax revenues have gone up substantially since the arrival of Pioneer Woman Mercantile.

Before the business opened, sales tax revenues were around $60,000 to $70,000 per month, according to McCartney, who said the figure jumped to $220,000 during the making of Killers of the Flower Moon in Pawhuska. Now he says sales tax revenues range in the average of $150,000 to $190,000.

We have had a bunch of shops open since Ree has been here, he said. We have a lot of boutiques. The Ben Johnson Museum has opened. Just different things like that have also boosted our economy around here.

On the topic of a town reaping benefits from a celebrity-branded business, McCartney said, It can have a huge impact on a community, thats for sure.

Atoka? Ervin said McEntire has built a world-class restaurant with highly trained staff.

They have hired over 120 employees and are also paying very competitive wages, she said. All this equates to economic impacts for our local retail, hotels and eateries. For example, every new dollar of payroll will turn over 1.5 times in the local economy. If a new position is paying $12 per hour, that person also needs gas, food, etc. The businesses that provide those services will also hire additional employees, and the economic impact will grow. That one position has a local economic impact of $30 per payroll hour.

Ervin said studies on the impact of Rebas Place have been based on the lowest-impact numbers from Pawhuska. She said Pawhuska has 1.2 million visitors per year and there is no ambient traffic to pull from, so it is mainly a destination location.

If we only take the 1.2 million visitors per year, based on Pawhuska, and you estimate that each visitor will spend $31 per day  tourism estimate  that equals a direct economic impact of $37 million per year into the local economy. The $37 million impact is based on the impact for all local businesses.

Said Ervin: This is life-changing for our local businesses, city and residents. Rebas Place is moving Atoka and southeastern Oklahoma to a national level for tourism.

Bonus: McEntire said having Rebas Place in Atoka will give her another reason to come home and see siblings, nieces, nephews and friends.

And now weve got a meeting place, she said. Thats what a restaurant is all about is a meeting place where people can come in and visit and eat and talk and get all their business and their visiting done, so they come back again. Its just a great place to come.

Featured video:
First out: U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin launched his career in the upper chamber with three bills that would give states more control of oil and gas regulation and make it easier to build international pipelines like the abandoned Keystone XL leg that would have linked the Canadian tar sands fields with the Gulf of Mexico.

The bills sound similar in concept to unsuccessful previous measures, including some favored by Mullins predecessor, Jim Inhofe.

This legislation will ensure regulatory certainty for domestic producers and get the federal government out of the way, Mullin said in a press release.

The bills would:

Eliminate the president from decisions about cross-border energy infrastructure.

Allow states instead of the federal government to regulate hydraulic fracturing.

Allow states to be in charge of oil and gas development on federal land within their boundaries.

Unending argument: While acknowledging the issue is largely a matter of personal judgment, U.S. Sen. James Lankford referred to abortion as a convenience in a floor speech and said, Its not just about making abortion illegal. Im working to make abortion illegal in this country.

Referring to a sonogram image of what he said was a 4-month-old fetus, Lankford said, At its most basic level, there is no difference between any one of us in this room and when we were at this stage right here in our mothers womb.

Separately, Lankford claimed a Biden administration memo OKing the use of the U.S. mail for abortion drugs is contrary to federal law.

Chinese checkers: Fourth District Congressman Tom Cole promised constituents that the House Republicans new committee investigating the Chinese Communist Party will get to the bottom of the CCPs activities as they relate to the United States.

The CCP is an adversary and cannot be trusted as a global partner, Cole said in his weekly column. It is time American leaders start acting in accordance.

Oilies: Oklahomas congressional delegation is all onboard with Republican efforts to turn President Joe Bidens use of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to lower fuel prices last year.

Biden ordered around 150 million barrels of oil sold in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and sharp rises in gasoline prices. Reports say the sale were responsible for a significant portion of the price reductions in the later half of 2022.

Republicans say the sales were a misuse of the SPR, but the real issue is domestic oil production. The GOP is mad at the administration for regulatory steps they say discourage new drilling, and which make the U.S. more vulnerable to global events such as the war in Europe.

More objective analysts point out the SPR has been raided several times over the past 20 years by both Republicans and Democrats to pay off debt and avoid supply interruptions caused by natural disasters.

The administration has begun replenishing the reserve, and making a profit in the process, but the SPR is at a 40-year low. Some think that isnt necessarily a bad thing.

One energy executive, Bob McNally, said the Department of Energy is using the circumstances to stabilize oil prices in a way that encourages exploration.

Theyre hoping U.S. oil drillers, oil executives, will say, You know what? Im feeling pretty confident that were not going to see the price collapse below $70, McNally told NPRs Marketplace.

Tit for tat: Cole defended Speaker Kevin McCarthys decision to kick two Democrats off the House Intelligence Committee while indirectly supporting the Dems claim that the move was retribution for their removal of two Republicans from committee assignments in the last Congress.

Once you set the precedent, and we warned them about that, its likely to happen in reverse, Cole said, according to NPR. This is something that Democrats, in my view, brought on themselves.

Snip snip: Some Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, are warning against cuts to popular programs such as Social Security and Medicare, but one who is not is 1st District Congressman Kevin Hern.

We have no choice but to make hard decisions, Hern told the Washington Post. Everybody has to look at everything.

House Republican leadership insists it is not contemplating cuts to Medicare or Social Security, but reports say members were shown a plan that takes $3.6 trillion out of Medicaid and Affordable Care Act subsidies over the next 10 years.

Hern, now chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee, has produced model budgets the past few years that reduce the growth of popular entitlement programs and reduces some discretionary spending.

Committees: New 2nd District Congressman Josh Brecheens final assignments are to Homeland Security and to Budget.

Third District Congressman Frank Lucas was assigned to the Financial Services subcommittees on capital markets and digital assets, financial technology and inclusion.

Senate assignments have not been formalized.

Dots and dashes: Lankford said Border Patrol union president Brandon Judd will be his State of the Union guest.  Lucas, chairman of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, and House Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer of Kentucky asked the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy for more information about recently issued Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights.  Lankford kept up his nonstop attacks on the Biden administrations immigration policies, telling Newsmax he and fellow citizens visiting the U.S.-Mexico border two weeks ago encountered chaos and discouraged border patrol agents.  Lawmakers from Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas all took bows for delaying the re-listing of lesser prairie chicken as an endangered species.  Cole again introduced legislation to end federal subsidies to presidential campaigns and transfer money in the existing fund to pediatric research.  Lucas was among seven returning Republicans to drop their sponsorship of the Fair Tax Act, a long-running proposal to federal income taxes with a national sales tax in place of income  Watchdog OpenSecrets.com said the National Association of Realtors and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce were by far the biggest spenders on lobbying in 2022, with both exceeding $80 million in reported expenditures.

 Randy Krehbiel, Tulsa World

Featured video: Memorable Tulsa World election and political stories of 2022
13 years ago today, President Obama declared a state of emergency in Oklahoma as the state continued to dig out after a late-week winter storm and in Tulsa where 7 inches of mainly snow accumulated.

Then-Gov. Brad Henry had asked for federal help less than 24 hours before. Statewide seven deaths and 1,200 injuries were recorded in the storm. More than 180,000 homes mainly in western Oklahoma did not have power. The Tulsa National Weather Service reported 6 inches of snow topped with  inch of sleet.
He ordinarily sat at the table with the rest of the Planning Commission. But with angry homeowners flooding into City Hall for the groups September meeting in 1943, Mayor Clarence Veale remained conspicuously in the audience.

The commission was scheduled to vote on a seemingly routine request to split a residential lot, allowing a local developer to put two or maybe even three homes on property that was originally intended for just one house. Lot splitting, however, had become hugely controversial in Tulsa since the outbreak of World War II.

The mayor somewhat dramatically recused himself from officially taking part in the decision and positioned himself instead with more than 60 protesters who had come to oppose the lot-split.

The public comments part of the meeting descended into what the Tulsa World described as a hot fight. But the room fell quiet as Veale stepped forward to speak, not as the mayor, but as a homeowner himself.

War rationing and supply shortages had brought most development projects to a standstill. But the federal government was subsidizing the construction of small, inexpensive homes known as defense housing, intended mainly for factory workers. Tulsa saw hundreds of such homes built in the early 40s for workers at the Douglas bomber plant.

Defense housing became the only way for some local home builders to make money. But to turn a profit on cheaper homes, they had to split lots, which sparked controversy in several neighborhoods.

The most vocal opposition came from White City, a middle-class area near 11th Street and Yale Avenue  now part of midtown, but at the time considered the east side of Tulsa.

Homeowners complained that lot-splits were hurting their property values and forever diminishing the character of the neighborhood. And in July 1942, they organized the White City Civic League to pressure city officials with an avalanche of petitions and protests.

When the city responded by denying requests for lot-splits, developers filed a lawsuit. And by fall 1943, as Mayor Veale stood in front of the Planning Commission instead of sitting with it, the White City case was pending at the state Supreme Court.

That days meeting put commissioners in an awkward predicament. Homeowners  that is, voters  overwhelming opposed lot-splits. But local builders desperately needed the work. And given the restrictions on construction projects during the war, undeveloped lots seemed almost worthless if they couldnt be split in to smaller pieces.

On top of everything else, city officials didnt know which side the court would take.

The mayor, however, pleaded with commissioners to uphold the sanctity of the homes of the White City residents, according to the Worlds archives.

Veale even evoked the name of an Army captain who had been deployed to Europe, leaving behind a wife and four children in White City.

He is not here today to defend himself, the mayor said. He is looking to you gentlemen to do that.

The commission voted 7-2 against the lot split. And less than a month later, the Oklahoma Supreme Court sided with the homeowners, too.

Nobody knew it at the time, but the entire saga established an important precedent that would help shape Tulsas mid-century development.

City officials reserved the right to protect older neighborhoods during the post-war building boom, preserving the historic charm that still characterizes much of Midtown. On the other hand, restrictions in older parts of Tulsa helped push investors to the suburbs, contributing to the economic decline of some historic neighborhoods.

Of course, eight decades later, lot splits still happen and can still be controversial. And city planners are still struggling to find the right balance between in-fill development and preservation. But homeowners at least have a voice in that process, thanks to White City.

Featured video: Memorable Tulsa World development stories of 2022
Mayor G.T. Bynums task force on homelessness will spend the next few weeks hearing from the people on the ground caring for the unsheltered.

They are an important voice. Tulsa, like many cities across the country, relies almost exclusively on nonprofit service providers to do the hard and thankless work. And, like most municipal governments across the country, Tulsas financial contribution to that effort has been almost exclusively in the form of federal pass-through dollars.

In the last two years, the city dedicated an unprecedented $14.1 million to address the issue, much of it funded through one-time federal COVID-relief programs. An additional $6.5 million in federal dollars will be awarded later this year.

We have to have it, Mack Haltom, executive director of the Tulsa Day Center, said of the funding. We need it to get people off of the streets and out of the shelters.

The Day Center was one of more than a dozen organizations to receive federal dollars through the city in the last two years, according to the city. The funding paid for programs big and small. Nearly $3 million went to City Lights to operate a low-barrier shelter during the pandemic, and the Day Center received $19,000 for a free nurses clinic.

Most of the recipients received multiple allocations to pay for a variety of work.

Haltom said the funding the Day Center receives helps pay for rapid rehousing and permanent supportive housing programs.

This year we ended up rehousing almost 400 individuals, which equated to about 70 families, I believe, Haltom said.

The City Lights Hotel operated under the radar during the COVID crisis, providing housing and services to hundreds of people from May 2020 to April 2022. One hundred and thirty of the hotel guests ended up in permanent housing.

Sarah Grounds, founder and executive director of City Lights Foundation of Oklahoma, said the federal dollars were key to providing safe, dignified housing for people who were COVID-positive with no place to heal.

I think we learned a lot of things out of that. We learned how vulnerable that community is, how underserved that community is, Grounds said. We learned a lot about what it looks like to provide truly, truly dignified shelter and to move from that temporary mode into a permanent housing situation.

In his State of the City speech in November, Bynum said it was time for the city to become a more active player in addressing homelessness and announced a number of initiatives, including the task force and a two-year, $500 million housing challenge, to back up his words.

The task forces charge is to look long term at what else the city can do, and to come up with a strategy to do it.

We are just glad to be at the table and appreciate them convening this task force, and well all certainly be vocal, said Kate Neary, chief executive officer of Tulsa Cares. The organization provides housing assistance for low-income people living with HIV and Hepatitis C.

We need more funding for after-care case management, Neary said.

That can include everything from purchasing furniture to having someone available to help tenants understand their leases and maintain their apartments.

Neary said she would also like to see the task force explore what can be done to prevent landlords from retaliating against tenants while at the same time ensuring that tenants know their rights.

The city must also provide more inpatient mental health services, she said.

Getting someone stabilized in a home is extremely difficult if they are having mental health issues and landlords are very reluctant to to accept them, Neary said.

Mental Health Association Oklahoma received approximately $3 million in federal pass-through funds over the last two years. The money paid for the operation of a temporary shelter and a rapid rehousing program.

Terri White, MHAOS chief executive officer, said she would like to see the city amplify its financial investment by pairing it with city, county, philanthropic and private investments. And, like many service providers working with people experiencing homelessness, she believes the key to addressing the problem is more affordable housing.

The answer to homelessness is housing, White said.

Grounds of City Lights wouldnt disagree. But she said data collected in last years Point In Time count showed that truly addressing the issue will take much more.

It showed the causes. It showed breakdowns in relationships, she said. It showed 18% of our people who were surveyed had come through the foster system.  It showed all of these things. We showed 67% were reporting disabilities.

We have to remember that it is not just throwing somebody into a house, but it is creating a community around them. Because people need community. We were just built that way. They need a support system.

The city, meanwhile, said it plans to make available approximately $20 million in housing development incentives later this year that will be funded with local public and private dollars.

City homeless funding by agency since 2020 Mental Health Association Oklahoma $2,980,879 City Lights $2,963,670 Housing Solutions $1,411,084 Day Center $1,286,369 Housing Partners $1,082,000 Salvation Army $964,869 DVIS $937,387 Youth Services $701,745 Community Service Council $657,000 Legal Aid $329,412 Family Promise $318,333 Tulsa Cares $95,249 Family Service Center $65,121 Revitalize T-Town $63,666 Lindsey House $54,571 Community Share House $50,000

Homelessness in Tulsa: What was 'shocking' to officials from 2022 survey
Heavy rainfall hit New Zealand's north island again on Sunday, causing landslides, flash floods and knocking out roads, with the death toll rising to four after a person who had been missing was confirmed dead. Battered by rain since Friday, Auckland, New Zealand's largest city of 1.6 million people, remained under a state of emergency. The nation's weather forecaster, MetService, warned of more severe weather on Sunday and Monday for the north island. Intense rainfall could also cause surface and flash flooding, it said. The focus of the emergency has since moved south, with Waitomo District - located about 220 kms (137 miles) from Auckland - declaring a state of emergency late on Saturday. Police confirmed that a man missing after being swept away on Friday in Onewhero, a rural village about 70 kms (43 miles) south of Auckland, had died. "The most horrific part of it is that we've lost lives," Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni told reporters in Auckland. Climate change is causing episodes of heavy rainfall to become more common and more intense in New Zealand, though the impact varies by region. Climate Change Minister James Shaw noted the link to climate change on Saturday when he tweeted his support for those affected by flooding. On Sunday, police said they were assisting with traffic management and road closures in that region after heavy rainfall "caused numerous slips, flooding and damage to roads". In nearby Bay of Plenty there was also "widespread flooding", police said, as well as a landslide that had knocked down a house and was threatening neighbouring properties. Thousands of properties remained without power, while hundreds were without water, authorities said on Sunday. But Air New Zealand said the airline's international flights in and out of Auckland would resume from noon on Sunday (2300 GMT on Saturday). On Saturday, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, less than a week in office, flew by helicopter over Auckland before touring flood-hit homes. He described the flood impact in the city as "unprecedented" in recent memory. People made more than 2,000 calls for assistance and 70 evacuations around Auckland - the nation's largest city - due to the inundation, the New Zealand Herald reported Saturday.

Heavy rainfall hit New Zealand's north island again on Sunday, causing landslides, flash floods and knocking out roads, with the death toll rising to four after a person who had been missing was confirmed dead.

Battered by rain since Friday, Auckland, New Zealand's largest city of 1.6 million people, remained under a state of emergency. The nation's weather forecaster, MetService, warned of more severe weather on Sunday and Monday for the north island. Intense rainfall could also cause surface and flash flooding, it said.

The focus of the emergency has since moved south, with Waitomo District - located about 220 kms (137 miles) from Auckland - declaring a state of emergency late on Saturday.

Police confirmed that a man missing after being swept away on Friday in Onewhero, a rural village about 70 kms (43 miles) south of Auckland, had died.

"The most horrific part of it is that we've lost lives," Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni told reporters in Auckland.

Climate change is causing episodes of heavy rainfall to become more common and more intense in New Zealand, though the impact varies by region. Climate Change Minister James Shaw noted the link to climate change on Saturday when he tweeted his support for those affected by flooding.

On Sunday, police said they were assisting with traffic management and road closures in that region after heavy rainfall "caused numerous slips, flooding and damage to roads".

In nearby Bay of Plenty there was also "widespread flooding", police said, as well as a landslide that had knocked down a house and was threatening neighbouring properties.

Thousands of properties remained without power, while hundreds were without water, authorities said on Sunday.

But Air New Zealand said the airline's international flights in and out of Auckland would resume from noon on Sunday (2300 GMT on Saturday).

On Saturday, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, less than a week in office, flew by helicopter over Auckland before touring flood-hit homes. He described the flood impact in the city as "unprecedented" in recent memory.

People made more than 2,000 calls for assistance and 70 evacuations around Auckland - the nation's largest city - due to the inundation, the New Zealand Herald reported Saturday.
A grade-9 schoolgirl in Yen Bai Province, northern Vietnam has succumbed to her critical condition after drinking liquor at a party during the past Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday, local authorities reported on Saturday. The girl, identified only as M., died on Thursday, the last day of the seven-day Tet break, after she attended a drinking party at her friends house two days earlier in Ban Cong Commune of the provinces Tram Tau District. As the party was taking place, M. stepped out of the house and then fell down, Hang A Hanh, deputy chairman of the Ban Cong administration, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper. The girl was unconscious when being found by her friends and was taken to a local hospital immediately for emergency treatment, but she died two days later at the age of 15, Hanh said. Local police are investigating the actual cause of the death, the official said. M. drank alcohol at the party, and police officers are probing how much alcohol she had drunk, Hanh added. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Colonel Vu Tuan Dat, chief of Ban Cong police, confirmed that M. vomited while drinking alcohol at the party, according to Suc Khoe & Doi Song (Health & Life) online newspaper under the Ministry of Health. While vomiting, the victim suffered from pulmonary aspiration and died later in hospital, the online newspaper cited Lieutenant Colonel Dat as saying. Local authorities have visited and offered condolences to the family of the victim, whose funeral was held on Friday. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

A grade-9 schoolgirl in Yen Bai Province, northern Vietnam has succumbed to her critical condition after drinking liquor at a party during the past Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday, local authorities reported on Saturday.

The girl, identified only as M., died on Thursday, the last day of the seven-day Tet break, after she attended a drinking party at her friends house two days earlier in Ban Cong Commune of the provinces Tram Tau District.

As the party was taking place, M. stepped out of the house and then fell down, Hang A Hanh, deputy chairman of the Ban Cong administration, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

The girl was unconscious when being found by her friends and was taken to a local hospital immediately for emergency treatment, but she died two days later at the age of 15, Hanh said.

Local police are investigating the actual cause of the death, the official said.

M. drank alcohol at the party, and police officers are probing how much alcohol she had drunk, Hanh added.

Meanwhile, Lieutenant Colonel Vu Tuan Dat, chief of Ban Cong police, confirmed that M. vomited while drinking alcohol at the party, according to Suc Khoe & Doi Song (Health & Life) online newspaper under the Ministry of Health.

While vomiting, the victim suffered from pulmonary aspiration and died later in hospital, the online newspaper cited Lieutenant Colonel Dat as saying.

Local authorities have visited and offered condolences to the family of the victim, whose funeral was held on Friday.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
A male security guard at the Yen Tu national relic in Quang Ninh Province, northern Vietnam has been suspended for jumping onto the hood of a tourists car after the car owner had failed to follow his instruction to move to a parking lot. The suspension of Cu Manh Hung, the security guard in question working for Tung Lam Development JSC, which manages the Yen Tu complex, came after a video capturing the entire incident drew public attention on Facebook. According to Tung Lams report, Hung gave instructions to a tourist to drive his car to a designated parking lot on Wednesday, or the fourth day of this lunar year, but the latter refused to obey, opting for another already-packed lot. Hung then lost his temper and climbed onto the hood of the tourists car to argue with the latter. Hungs superior arrived at the site shortly after to handle the situation and apologize to the car driver and his passengers, who later agreed to park their car at the lot Hung had guided them to earlier. After the incident, Tung Lam decided to suspend Hung from work, pending more punishment. Located at an altitude of 1,068 meters in Uong Bi City, Quang Ninh Province, the Yen Tu national relic is famous for its relics, landscapes, and spring festival which attracts many Buddhists and tourists nationwide. It is estimated that nearly 100,000 people visited the complex in the first week of this lunar year. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

A male security guard at the Yen Tu national relic in Quang Ninh Province, northern Vietnam has been suspended for jumping onto the hood of a tourists car after the car owner had failed to follow his instruction to move to a parking lot.

The suspension of Cu Manh Hung, the security guard in question working for Tung Lam Development JSC, which manages the Yen Tu complex, came after a video capturing the entire incident drew public attention on Facebook.

According to Tung Lams report, Hung gave instructions to a tourist to drive his car to a designated parking lot on Wednesday, or the fourth day of this lunar year, but the latter refused to obey, opting for another already-packed lot.

Hung then lost his temper and climbed onto the hood of the tourists car to argue with the latter.

Hungs superior arrived at the site shortly after to handle the situation and apologize to the car driver and his passengers, who later agreed to park their car at the lot Hung had guided them to earlier.

After the incident, Tung Lam decided to suspend Hung from work, pending more punishment.

Located at an altitude of 1,068 meters in Uong Bi City, Quang Ninh Province, the Yen Tu national relic is famous for its relics, landscapes, and spring festival which attracts many Buddhists and tourists nationwide.

It is estimated that nearly 100,000 people visited the complex in the first week of this lunar year.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
The North-South Railway was disrupted for two hours and a half on Saturday after a train hit a tractor-trailer in Hanoi, injuring a railway guard and damaging the locomotive and the tractor. The collision occurred at 9:24 am when the tractor-trailer was crossing the railroad in Hanois Thuong Tin District. CCTV footage showed that there were barriers at the level crossing but they were left open for the trailer truck to finish its move. However, it took the trailer truck driver more than a minute to steer a major part of the heavy vehicle carrying steel past the railroad before the train traveling from the Vietnamese capital city to Ho Chi Minh City crashed into its trailers end. This CCTV footage shows a collision between a train and a tractor-trailer in Hanoi, January 28, 2023. After the crash, a railway guard was sent to hospital sustaining injuries, while the locomotive and the tractor were damaged. The train resumed its journey two hours and a half later. Police are further investigating the accident. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

The North-South Railway was disrupted for two hours and a half on Saturday after a train hit a tractor-trailer in Hanoi, injuring a railway guard and damaging the locomotive and the tractor.

The collision occurred at 9:24 am when the tractor-trailer was crossing the railroad in Hanois Thuong Tin District.

CCTV footage showed that there were barriers at the level crossing but they were left open for the trailer truck to finish its move.

However, it took the trailer truck driver more than a minute to steer a major part of the heavy vehicle carrying steel past the railroad before the train traveling from the Vietnamese capital city to Ho Chi Minh City crashed into its trailers end.

This CCTV footage shows a collision between a train and a tractor-trailer in Hanoi, January 28, 2023.

After the crash, a railway guard was sent to hospital sustaining injuries, while the locomotive and the tractor were damaged.

The train resumed its journey two hours and a half later.

Police are further investigating the accident.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty

Drivers who break traffic laws risk penalties. But innocence did not protect Mario Rosales when a police SUV pulled up behind his Ford Mustang at a red light on June 17, 2022, in Alexandria, Louisiana.

Mario signaled and turned left on green. He did not speed, litter, swerve out of his lane or drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol. He had done nothing illegal.

Neither had his girlfriend, Gracie Lasyone, who was in the passenger seat.

The Mustang was equally clean. It had current tags, working equipment and was not linked to any criminal investigation. The only thing conspicuous about the car was its red color and out-of-state plates, from New Mexico.

Cops Love ImmunityUntil Theyre the Ones Abused by Police

Officers had no good reason to initiate a traffic stop. Yet they flashed their emergency lights before the Mustang cleared the intersection. Dash-camera and body-camera video shows that Mario pulled over promptly, spoke in a respectful tone and obeyed all police orders. So did Gracie.

Nothing helped. Claiming that Mario had failed to activate his blinker, despite clear video evidence to the contrary, the officers ordered Mario and Gracie out of the car. Then the officers frisked Mario, took his phone, put it in the cab of the police vehicle, forced him to empty his pockets, and grilled him for 20 minutes about his personal life.

They also interrogated Gracie. When she askedtwiceif she could record the encounter on her phone, they refused to allow it. Ultimately, they cited Mario for three alleged infractions that the city eventually dropped.

The entire encounter was bogus, despite police assurances that everything they did was by the book. One officer actually called himself a constitutionalist, while violating the Constitution in multiple ways.

Rather than accept the abuse, Mario and Gracie fought back with a civil rights lawsuit. Our public interest law firm, the Institute for Justice, represents them.

The litigation highlights a nationwide problem. Cases in Georgia, Nevada, Oklahoma, Texas, Wyoming, and elsewhere show a similar pattern. Officers use pretexts to conduct traffic stops, then show cavalier disregard for motorists constitutional rights.

Story continues

The Supreme Court Put Politics Above Law and Surrendered Its Legitimacy

Sometimes the goal is fines and fees. Dozens of Louisiana municipalities receive more than half their revenue from citations. One village near Alexandria relies on traffic enforcement for 93 percent of its budget.

Other times the goal is revenue through a process called civil forfeiture, which allows the government to take and keep assets without proving wrongdoing in criminal court. Many law enforcement agencies cash in without arresting or prosecuting anyone. The process works with factory-like efficiency in Detroit.

With Mario and Gracie, the officers seemed to hope the couple were big-time criminals. Theres more to this than meets the eye, one officer said. He later expressed disappointment when dispatch informed the officers that Mario and Gracie do not have criminal records.

Regardless of the motive, the practice is the same from coast to coast. Officers dont wait for legitimate reasons to stop drivers; they stop drivers to find a reason.

The Constitution forbids this mode of policing. The Fourth Amendment requires officers to have reasonable suspicion that motorists did something wrong before detaining them. Officers cannot detain someone to find a crime.

Even if officers have legitimate reasons to make a stop, they cannot unnecessarily prolong the interaction while hunting for additional violations. Yet all too often in Alexandria and elsewhere, officers and their departments escape consequences when they disregard the Constitution.

One reason is simple economics. Holding the government accountable for violating rights is expensive. It does not make financial sense to sue an agency unless its officers inflict serious harm. Yet two problems emerge when casual violations go unpunished.

Heres Why Legalized Marijuana Wont End the War on Due Process

First, officers can grow accustomed to ignoring the Constitution. Without fear of reprisal, individual liberties disappear. Second, if rights are enforceable only when the government commits gross violations, then no one is secure from unreasonable searches and seizureswhich often start as minor inconveniences.

Mario and Gracie drove away from their police encounter, but others leave in the back of a squad car, ambulance or hearse. No one should have to wait for the worst to happen before insisting on accountability.

If motorists must follow traffic laws, then the police must follow the Constitution.

Marie Miller is an attorney and Daryl James is a writer at the Institute for Justice in Arlington, Va.

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A 16-year-old boy has been charged with the murder of 15-year-old Holly Newton, who was stabbed to death in Hexham, Northumberland, on Friday (Peter Byrne/PA) (PA Wire)

A man arrested after barricading himself and his partner and six children in a wine cellar in Austria has been revealed as a former London IT worker-turned conspiracy theorist.

Tom Landon, 54, was arrested after he pepper-sprayed a pair of government officials called out to inspect the cellar in the Austrian village of Obritz.

Neighbours called police after hearing childrens voices coming from the cellar.

Officers found Landon inside with his 40-year-old partner and their children aged between seven months and five-years-old, as well as several guns.

Erich Greil, deputy mayor of the village, said Landon had only lived there a short time.

He told the Sunday Times: Before that, he apparently lived in England. I think he worked in the IT sector.

Landon is the author of several books, including two with the titles Red Sow and Dirty Justice.

One gives his 2019 address as East Finchley in north London.

Landon was arrested by police and later released but is expected to be charged with resisting state authority.

His partner reportedly speaks both English and German but her background is not known.

The family is thought to have lived in the cellar for the past nine months. It was fitted out with water and power supplies as well as doors and windows but was deemed unsuitable for human habitation.

Local journalists said Landon was linked to the Austrian offshoot of the German Reichsburger movement which rejects the legitimacy of the state and is drawn to various conspiracy theories.

Late last year, dozens of its members in Germany including a prince, a serving soldier and a former MP were arrested and accused of conspiring to overthrow the countrys democratically elected government.

The Kronen Zeitung reported that Landon was known to officials and was firmly convinced of bizarre conspiracy theories.

Stefan Loidl, of the Austrian police, said the children had been taken to hospital and examined in the presence of their mother then released. They appeared to have been born in Britain and were not registered in Austria.
A woman wearing a face mask sits on a train at the Atocha Station in Madrid (AFP via Getty Images)

Spain is set to end the mandatory use of face masks on public transport, nearly three years after the Covid pandemic broke out.

Health minister Carolina Darias said she would recommend the government remove the health regulation when the cabinet meets on February 7.

Masks will remain obligatory inside hospitals, health clinics, dentist offices and pharmacies.

Face masks first became mandatory in Spain in May 2020, when the country was reeling from the first wave of coronavirus.

A couple wearing face masks walk along a beach in Cadiz, south of Spain, in July 2020, when masks were mandatory outdoors (AP)

Unlike in the UK, face coverings had to be worn both inside and outdoors.

That was eventually rolled back in April last year, when they became mandatory onto on public transport and in healthcare centres.

Spain was able to recover from the pandemic thanks to vaccinating more than 90 per cent of its population.
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP)  So much for all that worry over No. 9 Kansas falling toward a low point under Bill Self.

Especially given the Jayhawks' cool, poised response to several gut checks against fellow basketball royalty.

Jalen Wilson scored 22 points, including one in a series of huge 3-pointers down the stretch, and held off Kentucky 77-68 on Saturday night in an SEC/Big 12 Challenge.

We had some good, short runs and kept them from going on like a 10-2 run, Self said. We kept them out of transition and off the glass.

The Jayhawks (17-4) seized the lead for good midway through the first half before withstanding every Wildcats challenge in this tense marquee matchup of college basketball blue bloods. Gradey Dick and Wilson provided two of their biggest shots with consecutive 3-pointers for two-possession edges, with Wilson's 3 making it 70-64 with 4:13 remaining.

Oscar Tshiebwe made two free throws to get Kentucky within four, but Kevin McCullar Jr. sank another 3 for a 73-66 advantage. Wilson then answered Jacob Toppin's jumper with one of his own to make it 75-68 with 1:52 left. Kansas, which won the national championship last season, avoided its first four-game losing streak under Self.

Not to mention, avenging a blowout home loss to Kentucky a year ago.

We didn't think about it like that, Wilson said about Kansas' recent losses to No. 5 Kansas State, No. 11 TCU and No 17 Baylor.

It was three games against three really good opponents like tonight. It was important to get the train going again. It was important knowing what they did to us on our home court last year, Wilson said.

Tshiebwe had 18 points and nine rebounds, and Jacob Toppin and Cason Wallace each added 14 for Kentucky (14-7), which had won its previous four.

The Wildcats certainly had their chances despite shooting 2 of 13 from long range and starting off 4 of 11 from the free throw line. They seemed to have grabbed momentum when Antonio Reeves hit two free throws and Toppin followed a jumper to twice get within a basket.

Story continues

Dick, Wilson and McCullar then followed with 3s to snatch it away for good.

It was a hard-fought game, Kentucky coach John Calipari said. They deserved to win the game. They hit three 3s, and you have to do that to win games like that.

Wilson made 9 of 18 from the field and grabbed eight rebounds for Kansas, which finished even with Kentucky at 49% shooting. K.J. Adams Jr. added 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting, Dick had 13 despite making just 4-11, and McCullar 11 with 12 rebounds as the Jayhawks edged Kentucky 34-29 on the glass.

That included limiting Kentucky to just four offensive rebounds while shutting out the Wildcats 11-0 in second-chance points.

We were physical, but not physical enough, Toppin said. Every game we won, we dominated on the boards and we didn't do that tonight.

TOUGH ROAD AHEAD

Kansas certainly needed this win with more league challenges ahead in the next week. After facing K-State, the Jayhawks play No. 12 Iowa State, No. 10 Texas and Oklahoma, which blew out No. 2 Alabama 93-69 in its Challenge matchup.

It also puts their slump in context.

Our league is such a monster, Self added. Our next three games are top-10, top-10, top-10, so it doesn't get any easier.

BIG PICTURE

Kansas: The Jayhawks were outshot by Kentucky much of the night but consistently made crucial baskets and big defensive plays to keep an edge. It was just what they needed after their slide amid a seven-game Big 12 gauntlet featuring five ranked teams.

Kentucky: Poor first-half free-throw shooting dug another hole that the Wildcats managed to overcome. They got close, but couldn't get even, and finishing 16 of 23 from the line ultimately hurt them even with making all 12 attempts after halftime.

UP NEXT

Kansas hosts No. 5 Kansas State on Tuesday, seeking to avenge its 83-82 overtime loss on Jan. 17.

Kentucky visits Mississippi on Tuesday night in search of its fifth consecutive SEC win.

___

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
HCM CITY  HCM Citys annual Tet Book Fair, held from January 19 to 26, welcomed more than 585,000 visitors.

Lam inh Thang, director of the Department of Information and Communications, said: The Tet Book Fair has become a familiar attraction in HCM City in the last 13 years, and this years event was the largest ever.

He said the fair had various activities to promote the reading culture in the community and create an impression on foreign tourists visiting the city.

Held on Le Loi Street in District 1, the fair had 38 stalls that displayed more than 50,000 books in various fields from major publishers and distributors such as the HCM City Book Distribution Joint Stock Company (Fahasa), Phuong Nam Books and the HCM City General Publishing House.

Visitors bought 41,285 books, stationeries, and souvenirs for more than VN6 billion (US$254,600).

The biggest sellers were ac Nhan Tam, the Vietnamese translation of How to Win Friends and Influence People by American writer Dale Carnegie, Cay Cam Ngot Cua Toi, the Vietnamese version of My Sweet Orange Tree by Brazilian author Jose Mauro de Vasconcelos, and Vo Van Kiet - Tram nam mot chu Dan (Late Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet  Contributions to the Country).

The event also featured discussions between authors and readers, and puppetry shows for children.

There were exhibitions on President Ho Chi Minhs cultural space, President Ton uc Thang to mark his 135th birthday, the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Paris Peace Accords, and publications to celebrate spring and the Tet holidays.  VNS
HA NOI  Chairman of the National Assembly (NA) Vuong inh Hue made a new-year visit to the State Audit Office of Viet Nam (SAV) yesterday, the first working day after the week-long Lunar New Year holiday.

Minister of Finance Ho uc Phoc, Minister of Justice Le Thanh Long, and Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung, along with leaders of the parliaments committees, accompanied Hue on the trip.

The top legislator praised the efforts and initiatives of the audit sector to fulfil its tasks last year, saying that it contributed to the outstanding achievements of the country and the NA and the Government in particular.

He noted that the SAV had done a good job in assisting the NA's supervision work, especially in inspecting the implementation of policies and laws on thrift practices and anti-wastefulness.

The NA leader also commended the SAV on its external activities. The agency has maintained cooperation mechanisms with the state audit agencies of Laos and Cambodia and made essential contributions to the Asian Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI) and the ASEAN Supreme Audit Institutions (ASEANSAI).

The top legislator said the Party and State expect the SAV to play a more crucial role in the fight against corruption and negative phenomena and promoting thrift practice and wastefulness prevention, contributing to strengthening financial and budget disciplines.

Pointing out that the most important thing is still the professional qualifications and ethics of each auditor, the NA Chair noted that the State Audit must always sharpen its two 'weapons': openness and transparency.

"Transparency and compliance with the law will strengthen financial and budgetary discipline and discipline," said Hue.

He said he hopes that the SAV will have a more prestigious voice in the community of ASOSAI, ASEANSAI, and the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI).

The NA chairman took the occasion to wish the staff of the agency good health, happiness, and success in the Year of the Cat.  VNS
HA NOI  Eighty-nine people were killed in 152 traffic accidents across the country during the Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday, from January 20 to January 26, according to the Ministry of Transport, a decrease of 12 cases compared to last year.

The total number of deaths decreased by three on last year's holiday, while the number of accidents fell by 12. However, 111 people were injured, up by eight compared to the last Tet holiday.

The majority were road accidents, though there are four railway and one waterway accidents.

An illegal motorbike racing event was shut-down in HCM City on Sunday  the third day of the holiday. The municipal traffic police arrested 33 people and seized 21 motorbikes.

Road traffic police nationwide punished 21,967 violators with fines totalling VN50.4 billion (US$2.1 million).

They temporarily confiscated 639 automobiles and more than 9,910 motorbikes and withdrew approximately 4,950 driving licences of different kinds.

Of all the violators, more than 7,726 people were fined for high blood alcohol content, an increase of more than 6,600 people compared with the last Tet holiday.

On waterways, police punished one person with an administrative fine of VN1 million ($42).

Railway police fined four violators VN8 million ($340).

Hospital admissions

Hospitals nationwide gave emergency care to more than 242,000 patients during the five-day holiday, an increase of 35.6 per cent compared with the same period last year, said the Department of Medical Service Administration under the Ministry of Health.

As many as 113,869 patients needed to be hospitalised, up by 37 per cent.

At least 3,137 newborns were recorded across the country during the holiday.

A total of 377 people needed emergency aid due to firecrackers of different kinds, an increase of 129 cases compared with last year.  VNS
LAI CHAU  With more than 57 per cent of natural forest areas, Lai Chau is using this advantage to attract businesses to collaborate with people to invest in forestry. One of the industries aiming for a billion-dollar market is ginseng.

Lai Chau ginseng is an indigenous and rare plant of Lai Chau province that grows in high mountain areas. The potential planting area for ginseng is about 40,000 hectares. This is a precious opportunity for Lai Chau to develop ginseng and its related products by promoting their quintessential values given by nature.

Ethnic people in Lai Chau province have long used locally-grown ginseng to improve their health.

In recent years, Lai Chau province has directed research and preserved the precious genetic resources of Lai Chau ginseng, creating favourable conditions for the conservation, investment and development of ginseng, creating opportunities for households to grow ginseng.

Culturing techniques and sources for seeds have been exchanged and shared to help ethnic minorities and border people of Lai Chau province and other neighbouring provinces grow ginseng and other medicinal plants. These plants are their hope in getting out of poverty and making a fortune.

At the Lai Chau Ginseng Fair held in November, President Nguyen Xuan Phuc praised the favourable conditions of Lai Chau to grow ginseng.

Lai Chau has a neutral and temperate climate range, with six out of ten of the highest mountains in Viet Nam. Lai Chau also has many sub-climates, specific type of soils and extremely rich vegetation where natural forest coverage is nearly 52 per cent.

The President is hopeful that "Lai Chau ginseng, Ngoc Linh ginseng and several other precious ginsengs are worthy of the name 'Quoc Bao' (National Treasure) of Viet Nam and their role must be significantly focused to ensure the people's livelihood".

To achieve this vision and goal, a lot of work needs to be done soon, so localities don't feel left out. Stronger, more comprehensive support from the Government, ministries and sectors is needed.

The President asked government agencies, especially the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, to pay attention to the conservation and development of ginseng plants, including Lai Chau ginseng, Ngoc Linh ginseng and several other ginseng plants in some localities.

According to Tran Tien Dung, Chairman of Lai Chau Provincial People's Committee, many directives, resolutions and projects on socio-economic development and poverty reduction issued by the Provincial Party Committee, the People's Council and the Provincial People's Committee have been issued, especially those focusing on agricultural development. In villages with their own local advantages, developing indigenous tree species with high economic value is paid great attention to.

Since then, many efforts have been made to research and conserve medicinal herbs through national and provincial science and technology tasks.

Research has shown that Lai Chau ginseng - a particularly rare plant for Viet Nam and the world, is endemic to Lai Chau Province. All plant parts have medicinal properties.

Lai Chau Ginseng belongs to the ginseng family of the ginseng genus (Panax), which is an endemic species distributed in the Pu Si Lung mountain range and neighbouring Muong Te district; Pu Sam Cap mountain range is located between Sin Ho and Tam Duong districts. Lai Chau ginseng is distributed at an altitude of 1,400m-2,200m above sea level, with a cool and foggy climate.

This climate has great potential to help expand large-scale cultivation. Initial research results show that Lai Chau ginseng has a very high total saponin content, up to 21.34 per cent.

Kim Suk Bum, Director of BRIDIA Company in HMC City, said that Lai Chau ginseng contains strong medicinal qualities.

Unlike Korean ginseng, Lai Chau ginseng contains ocotillo-type ginsenosides such as majornoside R1 (MR1), R2 (MR2) and vina-ginsenoside R2 (VR2), which account for more than 50 per cent of the total content.

The Lai Chau Ginseng Fair drew in a significant number of businesses to the field, with the province looking to promote the development of ginseng growing areas and establish a processing plant to diversify products and focus on sustainable concentrated commodity production, providing livelihoods for residents. Memorandums of understanding were also signed between Lai Chau and various units and businesses.

Aham inh Huynh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of ai Nam Son Group, announced that following the memorandum of understanding between the People's Committee of Lai Chau Province and ai Nam Son Group, the company would be working with the province to cultivate ginseng and other medicinal plants such as tea trees as part of the development plan for Vietnamese medicinal plants. This partnership is crucial in establishing a strong brand for Lai Chau ginseng and Vietnamese medicinal herbs.

Vu Van Manh, Director of Dai Viet Import-Export Co., Ltd., said that Lai Chau Ginseng Fair is a bridge connecting the central government's investment promotion policies with businesses.

"With the advantage of exporting agricultural products and medicinal plants, we see this as a great opportunity to proactively diversify the company's core products. The company has now signed an investment commitment to plant 20 hectares of Lai Chau ginseng in Muong Khoa commune, Tan Uyen district, and build a factory to process products from Lai Chau ginseng with a scale of 2 tonnes per year," Manh said.  VNS
BINH PHUOC  The Ministry of Transport has green-lighted upgrades to the Hon Quan military airport in the southern province of Binh Phuoc and conversion into a specialised airport.

It will be used for transporting equipment to hospitals, machinery to construction sites and experts and skilled workers to companies and projects.

Formerly called Tecnic, it was built for use during the French resistance war and is managed by the military.

The Binh Phuoc Peoples Committee had called for upgrading it and using it also for certain specialised purposes.

In January 2021 the Government instructed the province to send in the proposal to the defence and transport ministries.

The Ministry of National Defence gave approval last year.

The airport will be expanded to 400-500ha from its current 100ha under a public-private-partnership model.

The defence ministry will collaborate closely with the ministries of Construction and Transport and the province to draw up the construction plan.

Situated around 130km from HCM City, Binh Phuoc borders Cambodia and is expected to become a major industrial hub of the southern region.  VNS
Nancy Grayson wrote a book. The longtime owner and operator of Lula Janes restaurant and bakery on Elm Avenue, now closed, penned Buttermilk Pie! Secrets from Lula Janes, a cookbook filled with stories.

It is selling like hotcakes.

I believe were right around the 1,000 mark in sales, Grayson said by email.

She held a book signing at her home around Christmas and recently had another at the Fabled Bookshop & Cafe on South Fourth Street.

Her publicist, Sinai Wood, said Grayson will talk about her book, provide treats the public may remember from Lula Janes, and answer questions at an event scheduled 2 p.m. Feb. 18 at the East Waco Library, 901 Elm Ave. A limited number of books will be available at $40 per copy.

It is also available from Barnes & Noble in Waco and online, Walmart.com and Amazon. Wood said Friday that Fabled had sold out but may be ordering more copies for sale.

Internet service grants

Good news for advocates of bringing high-speed internet service to as many Texans as possible, including those in outlying areas.

Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced Friday the agency will receive $364 million in federal grants to increase access to affordable, reliable high-speed internet to more than 150,000 homes and businesses in Texas.

Money will go to the Bringing Online Opportunities to Texas competitive grant program, which will start accepting applications in the spring, according to a press release.

The most recent U.S. Census Bureau data indicate that almost 2.8 million Texas households  including 7 million people  lack broadband access, Hegar said in the press release. Twenty-three percent of Texans are unable to attend online classes, see a health care provider from their living room, fill out a job application online, start a business or access online marketplaces from their kitchen table.

Gas prices

Combine increased demand with oil prices north of $80 a barrel, and gas prices will surge. They did that during the past week, as AAA Texas reported the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded rose to $3.13 during the week ending Thursday, which is 14 cents more than a week earlier.

The Waco average also pushed past the $3 threshold, checking in at $3.13, a 16-cent increase from $2.97 a week earlier.

Of the major metropolitan areas surveyed in Texas, drivers in El Paso are paying the most on average at $3.39 per gallon while drivers in Houston and Beaumont are paying the least at $3.08 per gallon, according to a AAA press release.

Building permit roundup

Building permits issued the past week include one for $1.2 million at 720 S. Fifth St., Suite 100. Crews will renovate and make alterations to tenant space for a Chase Bank retail banking center.

Another valued at $140,630 went to remodel a Starbucks at 2609 S. Jack Kultgen Expressway.

Information about building permits is provided by the local Associated General Contractors of America office, in its newsletter.

Formal at Fimfo

If you notice Camp Fimfo filling up with well-dressed professionals around noon Thursday, do not be alarmed. The Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce will host a networking forum at the new facilities there, where cabins, RV spots and amenities hug the Bosque River between North 19th Street and Lake Shore Drive.

Attendees are asked to prepare a 60-second commercial to present at the gathering beneath the trees, giving insight into their businesses.

More information is available at wacochamber.com.

Food Truck Showdown

Tuesday is the deadline to participate in the Texas Food Truck Showdown scheduled April 1 in downtown Waco. The event will include an open-air market designed for boutique vendors and 25,000 expected visitors to meet throughout the day, according to the event sponsor, the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce. Vendors pay a $200 fee and keep any profits.

More information is available at wacochamber.com.

Applications are due by Feb. 10 for vendors wanting to sell items other than food.
Not only did Waco go more than six months without a new murder investigation last year, but overall violent crime also dropped by 8% compared to 2021, Waco police reported.

A Waco Police Department strategy of relational policing, combined with community collaboration and judges setting high bail for repeat violent offenders, are helping reduce violent crime, said Gregory Fremin, a Sam Houston State University instructor and retired Houston police captain. Part of the community effort comes from Heart of Texas Behavioral Health Network launching an initiative to reduce gang activity and violence by improving relational skills for youth and families.

Fremin is a 34-year veteran of the Houston Police Department and a former colleague of Waco Police Chief Sheryl Victorian. He retired honorably as a Captain and became a lecturer in victim studies at Sam Houston State University.

What were seeing in select smaller- and medium-sized cities is very professional police chiefs embracing proactive policing strategies and relational policing, Fremin said.

Victorian said it is an overall cooperative effort by the whole community reducing violent crime.

The police department is the community, and the community is the police department, Victorian said at a Monday NAACP meeting.

According to Waco police monthly crime reports, in 2019 the city averaged 150 assaults per month. Assaults increased as the pandemic started in early 2020, rising to 203 in May 2020, then hitting a high of about 230 in July 2021, October 2021 and May 2022. November and December 2022 each saw fewer than 150 assaults reported, the first two-month span with fewer than 150 per month since the end of 2020.

Overall violent crime numbers generally follow the assault trends.

Anecdotally, I would say the community is cooperating with us on more incidents, Victorian said in an interview Tuesday. Those in the community who own firearms, I believe are doing a better job securing them.

Enforcement also has driven the improvement, she said.

Most of all, our officers have identified the individuals wreaking havoc, and judges set their bonds high enough that they stayed in jail, Victorian said.

Fremin also said judges in McLennan County are playing a role in reducing violent crime.

Judges in some cities, after police arrest a career criminal, will set a low bond, and the criminal will go back out on street to reoffend.  In McLennan County, the judges are setting high bails for violent repeat offenders, Fremin said. Theyre locking them up and theyre staying locked up. Then the offenders cant keep hurting people.

Fremin also said Victorian has implemented strategies to reduce violence.

She has found the areas of Waco that are high risk, Fremin said. She saturates those areas with patrol and practices relational policing to strengthen the community and police ties.

It is not just the police and judges who are working to reduce violent crime, said Waco Police Commander Jared Wallace, who leads the departments community services division. To bring violent crime down as happened in the second half of 2022 the police department and the whole community have to build trust, he said.

The police department has increased its legitimacy in the eyes of the community, Wallace said. They are reporting criminal activity.

He said area schools, Prosper Waco and the Heart of Texas Behavioral Health Network are among community organizations cooperating with the police department.

The Behavioral Health Network has numerous programs and efforts to help people in the criminal justice system learn nonviolent ways of solving problems and also to help families and children learn to have healthier relationships, said Ron Kimbell, director of the networks Klaras Center for Families.

Klaras Center counselor Katie Chadwell led a new initiative over the summer for families and children at risk for gang activity to learn better coping and relationship skills.

After a trial meeting in November among community partners and law enforcement officials, the first official quarterly meeting of the Gang Awareness Prevention & Safety initiative will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Feb. 7 at South Terrace Youth Center, 100 Lyndon Circle in Waco. It will include door prizes, free dinner starting at 5:30 and child care available for younger children.

The meeting will have guest speakers on two topics: gangs and substance use disorder, Chadwell said.

The speaker on gangs will be an adult who has left the gang life to tell how that life impacted himself, his friends and his family. The speakers on substance use will be a teen in recovery and the teens mother. Both will share their perspective how drug use affects a family and on the recovery journey.

Waco Independent School District police work together with Waco police and many other agencies in McLennan County to address gang activity, dating violence and other safety concerns, Chief David Williams said.

Just as relationships with our fellow Waco PD officers support safety, our Waco ISD PD staff prioritize building relationships with students and families in our district to reduce and ultimately prevent violence within our community, he said.

Waco ISD also has initiatives to educate students on identifying and preventing violent or risky behaviors, said Yolanda Williams, the districts executive director of student support.

For example, training sessions for ninth graders address topics including consent, intimate partner violence, ways to not be a bystander and get help, and other abuse prevention measures, she said.

Responding to an uptick in youth gang activities in the area in 2021, the Texas Juvenile Justice Department and the McLennan County Juvenile Probation Department formed a steering committee that has evolved into the McLennan County Gang Collaborative, Juvenile Justice Department spokesperson Barbara Kessler said.

Juvenile justice authorities were detaining several youthful gang-affiliated offenders who had been adjudicated for violent crimes, Kessler said.

The group now meets monthly and includes a range of law enforcement agencies and nonprofits.

TJJD Parole staff members participating in (the collaborative) believe the collaboration is deepening the understanding of the underlying issues and note that it has already prompted community events that are keeping the issue of gang violence prevention at the forefront of local concerns, Kessler said by email.

For youth in Juvenile Justice Department custody, there are programs aimed to reduce violent and antisocial behavior, with specialized programs for violent offenders and individualized therapeutic plans for all youth at the point of intake, Kessler said.

Once on parole, a youth may be required to attend counseling or perform community service, she said.
A Baylor University physics professor who was part of the team that confirmed the existence of the Higgs boson, nicknamed the God particle, recently told the story of the decade-old discovery to a Waco group who regularly gather to indulge their intellectual curiosity.

Professor Jay Dittmann was one of many scientists who designed, built and maintained the Large Hadron Collider at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, known by the acronym for its French name, CERN.

Dittmann worked on a particle detector called a hadron calorimeter that was instrumental in confirming the existence of the subatomic particle known as the Higgs boson. This team of scientists, along with many others working on CERNs Large Hadron Collider, confirmed the Higgs boson on July 4, 2012.

During a Jan. 20 lecture on the discovery organized by the Lifelong Learning at the Mayborn Museum group, Dittmann said that for every equation included in a piece of writing, half the readers disappear. So, he tried to explain the discovery of the Higgs boson without writing any equations on the board.

A member of the audience, one of about 125, asked why it is called the God particle.

Its more like the god-blank particle, Dittmann said. Why cant we find that god-blank particle?

Dittmann said physicists believe the Higgs boson gives rise to mass in material objects. No technological or engineering application has been thought up yet for the Higgs boson, he said.

But, medical scanners such as the MRI and the CT scanner, commonly used in medical imaging today, are based on physics discoveries of the early 20th century, Dittmann said. It may be years or decades into the future before an application for the Higgs boson can be developed.

He said physicists spent decades searching out the Higgs boson to gain a better understanding of the fundamental workings of the universe. He said he is both a physicist and a Christian.

I believe God created the universe to be understandable by us, Dittmann said.

Peter Higgs, a physicist at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, theorized in 1964 that certain subatomic particles must exist that would give rise to the property of mass. For the next 48 years experimental physicists built bigger and bigger particle accelerators and smashed protons into each other at higher and higher speeds, but they could not find the particle that came to be known as the Higgs boson.

The Higgs boson turns into a couple of pions, other subatomic particles, in the tiniest fraction of a second, Dittmann said during his lecture.

So, when the protons crash together and two pions emerge, was that a Higgs boson that became the pions, or was it just two pions?, Dittmann said he and other scientists asked themselves for decades.

To understand the minuscule size of the particles involved, Dittmann compared them to viruses.

Viruses are made up of molecules.

Molecules are made up of atoms. Water molecules, for example, are made up of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom.

Atoms are made up of subatomic particles. Some subatomic particles, including the protons smashed together in CERNs particle accelerators, are made up of multiple smaller subatomic particles.

A hydrogen atom is the smallest and simplest atom, being composed of one proton and one electron. The next smallest atom, helium, is commonly known to fill childrens balloons that will float away without a string to hold on to them.

Dittmann said at CERN, the electrons would be stripped off of hydrogen atoms leaving the protons to be accelerated and slammed together. It takes an enormous amount of energy to accelerate any material particle to near light speed.

Until we could smash the protons together at a high enough energy that the Higgs boson would emerge from the collision travelling fast enough to make it to the detector before it turned into the pions, we couldnt observe the Higgs, Dittmann said.

To do the job, CERN had to build the Large Hadron Collider, a particle accelerator 110 yards underground, 5.38 miles across and 16.9 miles around. It accelerates protons to nearly the speed of light in two streams, one going clockwise, the other counter-clockwise, and then smashes them together.

And then the actual protons, all being positively charged, do not want to smash into each other, any more than the north pole of a magnet wants to touch another magnets north pole.

One out of every billion or so collisions will produce a Higgs boson, Dittmann said.

In a year of experiments, CERNs particle accelerators, detectors and other instruments use about as much energy as would power 300,000 homes over the same time span, according to its website. The particle accelerators by far use most of the energy.

So, Dittmann said the researchers first had to build the collider capable of accelerating protons to nearly the speed of light. Then they had to run the experiment over and over to get the protons to collide and then to get a Higgs boson that traveled far enough to reach the detector.

Planning for the Large Hadron Collider started in 1984, and construction started in 1998. The first proton streams were accelerated in October 2008. Tens of thousands of scientists from hundreds of universities in more than 100 countries collaborate on the project.
Area Methodists have a new year ahead full of hope and challenge, as most new years are, but with a different wrinkle.

The year will be the first since churches began leaving the United Methodist Church, many for a newly formed organization, after years of debate over LGBTQ ordination and marriage, church polity and discipline.

Some of the disaffiliated churches are joining a newly formed Global Methodist Church, which is more conservative in doctrine, less bureaucratic and has a motto of making disciples of Jesus Christ who worship passionately, love extravagantly, and witness boldly.

For the others that remain, particularly smaller congregations, the year ahead may have a more pressing challenge: how to recover attendance and engagement lost over two years of the pandemic, all the while continuing their missions of following God and caring for others.

Senior pastor at Wacos Central United Methodist Church, the Rev. Dave Brower, whose church is remaining in the United Methodist Church, said members believe it is more important to continue the work at hand rather than choose sides.

Our mission is still following Jesus and helping people, Brower said. It doesnt change who we are.

Exactly where Waco-area Methodist churches are settling during this time of disaffiliation is hard to determine.

Pastors of seven area churches on both sides of the split did not return phone calls for this story, including First Methodist lead pastor the Rev. Ryan Barnett, a regional leader in the Global Methodist Church and head of Wacos largest Methodist congregation, averaging more than 1,200 people in Sunday worship.

Other churches referred queries to the United Methodist Central Texas Conference for any comment, but conference spokesperson J. Vance Morton said the conference would not release the names of any churches requesting disaffiliation until the conference formally votes on their requests.

The conference approved disaffiliation requests Sept. 17 from 81 churches, about a third of the conference at the time. The next announcement on disaffiliations is expected during the conferences annual gathering June 4-7 in Waco.

The conference website lists 15 Waco-area United Methodist churches: Central, Cogdell Memorial, Lake Shore, Lakeview, Revelation Church, Sparks Memorial, the unchartered One Fellowship Church, Wesley Chapel in Gholson, Woodway First, China Spring, West, McGregor, Elm Mott, First Methodist Crawford and Perry Chapel in Crawford.

Waco-area churches whose disaffiliations were approved in September include First Methodist Waco, Lorena Methodist, Hewitt Methodist, First Methodist of Mart, Waco Korean, Bosqueville Methodist, Perry Methodist, Meier Settlement Methodist in Riesel and Mount Calm Methodist.

Waco hosts conference

Several have since affiliated with the Global Methodist Church, which had several hundred people packing the sanctuary of First Methodist Church of Waco at its inaugural Mid-Texas Conference Jan. 20-21. The new conferences leadership featured several pastors and leaders previously active in the Central Texas Conference. Barnett served as executive officer for the recent Global Methodist conference in Waco. The Rev. Leah Hidde-Gregory, a former district superintendent for the United Methodist Central Texas Conference, served as president pro-tem, and Lorena Methodist pastor the Rev. Chris Rowe and Mart Methodist pastor the Rev. Amy Anderson served as presiding elders.

Texas, North Carolina, Indiana and Alabama account for 57% of churches departing the United Methodist Church, according to a Jan. 23 story by Religion News Service reporters Yonat Shimron and Emily McFarlan Miller. They also found 6.1% of the about 30,000 United Methodist churches had been approved for disaffiliation over the last four years, considerably lower than the percentage experienced by Texas conferences.

Global Methodists inaugural Mid-Texas Annual Conference drew an enthusiastic audience of about 600 attendees eager to move forward in the new organization, reported writer John Lomperis, who covered the conference for the Institute on Religion & Democracy on its blog juicyecumenism.com. The institute defines its mission as reaffirming Christianitys biblical and historical teachings, strengthening its role in public life and renewing democracy.

Conference speakers stressed the importance of making disciples and called for a spirit of renewal built on sound teaching in the new organization, Lomperis wrote. Part of the conference dealt with Global Methodist administration, with lower rates of financial support asked of member churches than the United Methodist Church and changes in pastoral appointments.

Lomperis reported an absence of LGTBQ criticism or discussion during the conference. He quoted former United Methodist Bishop Mike Lowry telling attendees This is NOT a church for those who hate LGBTQ people  (but) it is a church for people who love the Lord Jesus.

The conference also introduced some attendees to the Wesley House of Studies at Baylor Universitys Truett Seminary. Truett Dean Todd Still provided an overview of the Wesley program, which the seminary founded in 2020 as a way of supporting students with a Methodist or Wesleyan background and exposing students from other evangelical traditions to Methodism.

In an interview last month, Still said about 50 of the seminarys 366 students were involved with the program, which offers courses in Wesleyan theology and doctrine, history and polity. The program takes its name from 18th century English evangelist and theologian John Wesley, who with his brother, Charles, founded Methodism and shaped its theology.

Truett Seminary named Methodist scholar Jason Vickers last year as professor of Wesleyan studies and Wesley House leader, and First Methodists Barnett chairs the Wesley Houses local advisory committee. Though Vickers and Barnett both are affiliated with the Global Methodist Church, Still said the founding of the Wesley House of Studies predated the Global Methodist Church, and several denominations also are based on Wesleyan belief.

He said students who hold to a more traditional Wesleyan theology may find more affinity with the theology taught in the Baptist seminary than some United Methodist seminaries.

Attendance declines

For some local Methodist ministers, the more pressing concern is a general decline in church membership and attendance, one that accelerated during the early months of the pandemic when many churches paused in-person worship and fellowship.

Nationally, the United Methodist Church numbers 6.4 million members, a drop of more than 1 million followers over the last 10 years. The majority of Methodist churches in the Waco area count 200 or fewer members in regular worship attendance.

When First Methodist Waco announced its intent to disaffiliate in June, it was the conferences fourth-largest church, with more than 4,000 members and an average worship attendance of 1,200, far larger than other area Methodist churches. First Methodist, in fact, had absorbed Austin Avenue United Methodist and Robinson Drive United Methodist in recent years due to declining attendance at those churches.

Two United Methodist ministers in Waco pastor two churches each, and a fifth church is contemplating its future as its worship attendance has dropped into the 20s.

When Central United Methodist pastor Brower posed the question of disaffiliation to his churchs elders, they decided the church could lose more than it could gain in a vote of its approximately 125 members, he said.

They felt (a vote) creates division and a sense of winners and losers, Brower said.

A suggestion of what that division might mean surfaced on social media last week when First Methodist Waco member Greg Salter, who is gay, shared on Facebook his recent experience at a church small-group Bible study. The passage studied was Romans 1, in which the apostle Paul lists homosexuality as behavior condemned by God.

The study leader went on to say gay people who wish to remain in the church should repent, become celibate and not seek marriage or ordination, which prompted a member to affirm the Global Methodist Church and its stand, Salter said.

Though he had been an active member at Austin Avenue United Methodist, then First Methodist for several years, the fact that fellow members and a church minister in the class failed to defend him or differ with the speaker deeply wounded and angered him, leading him to question publicly whether he could feel comfortable in what had been his home church.

At China Spring United Methodist, the Rev. Jannette Miller said her church, which numbers 125 to 150 in weekly attendance, has not had any conversations about disaffiliation. Church attendance is recovering from the impact of COVID-19 with the church working to build Gods kingdom and make disciples, Miller said.

Who knows whats ahead? Its difficult to tell at this moment. Were excited about (Central Texas Conference) Bishop Ruben Saenz and the leadership hes bringing, Miller said. We want to stay focused on the mission in front of us and care for the people who are here.
Valentines dance

Historic Waco will have a Valentines Sweetheart dance from 1 to 4 p.m. Feb. 11 at East Terrace House, 100 Mill St.

The event will include refreshments, a chance to learn some ballroom steps, and dancing to the music of years past. The Baylor Ballroom Dance Society will be in attendance to help teach the basics. The event will take place downstairs and upstairs in the East Terrace Ballroom, and vintage clothing is strongly encouraged. Admission is $10, and an RSVP is required.

For more information, call 254-753-5166.

La Vega free tax help

Students from La Vega High Schools business program will offer free tax-preparation help from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Feb. 6 at the Waco-McLennan County Central Library, 1717 Austin Ave.

Participants should bring all tax documents, ID and Social Security cards for everyone on their tax return. No registration is required.

Couples painting class

The Bledsoe-Miller Community Center, 300 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., will host a Paint Talk event from 6 to 9 p.m. Feb. 11.

It will include a couples painting class and dinner for two. Cost is $60 per couple, which includes painting supplies, step-by-step instructions and a dinner of steak, loaded baked potato, salad and iced tea.

To register, call 254-750-8684.

Cultural bazaar Saturday

New Hope Baptist Church, 915 N. Sixth St., will have a Cultural Bazaar on Saturday. For more information, call 254-744-5800.

Koresh book signing

Bestselling author Jeff Guinn will make an appearance from 11 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Waco-McLennan County Central Library, 1717 Austin Ave., to promote his new book, Waco: David Koresh, the Branch Davidians, and a Legacy of Rage. Guinn, a two-time Edgar finalist and two-time winner of the Texas Book Award, is the bestselling author of numerous books and the co-executive producer alongside Leonardo DiCaprio on the TV docuseries Terror in the Jungle.

Guinn will be interviewed by local reference librarian Sean Sutcliffe, who provided research assistance for Waco, and take questions from the public.

Document shredding

A free community shred event will run from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Saturday at PointWest Bank, 420 N. Hewitt Drive.

A notarized certificate of destruction is available upon request.
Haitian police officers on Thursday blocked streets and forced their way into the country's main airport to protest the recent killing of officers by armed gangs expanding their grip on the Caribbean nation.
LINCOLN  Jisa Farmstead Cheese, a Nebraska dairy located in Brainard, is one of 31 dairy companies and cooperatives in an 11-state region selected to receive a Dairy Business Builder grant. The grants were made available through the Dairy Business Innovation Alliance (DBIA), a partnership between the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association and the Center for Dairy Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The Dairy Business Builder grant program encourages small- to medium-sized dairy farmers, entrepreneurs, and processors in the Midwest to pursue innovative projects such as diversifying on-farm activity, creating value-added products, enhancing dairy byproducts, and creating or enhancing dairy export programs. The reimbursement grants of up to $100,000 each are awarded following a competitive review process.

Were focused on supporting dairy growth, innovation and development in this state today and in the future as dairy products are one of Nebraskas top 10 commodities, said Nebraska Department of Agriculture Director Sherry Vinton. If you are a Nebraska dairy or dairy processor looking to expand and improve your business, consider applying for a Dairy Business Builder grant in the future. The program is designed to encourage growth in the dairy industry.

DBIA is supported by funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Since its inception as part of the 2018 Farm Bill, DBIA has administered approximately $7 million in grants to 88 dairy businesses within its 11-state service area of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin. The program also offers technical assistance and education to dairy farmers and processors in the region.

To view the complete list of DBIA awards to the 31 dairy companies and cooperatives, visit https://www.cdr.wisc.edu/dbia-awards-december-2022. The Dairy Business Builder Grant program will open for its next cycle of grant applications in February 2023. Questions on the grant program may be directed to Allissa Troyer at 531-220-9211 or allissa.troyer@nebraska.gov.
CEDAR FALLS  Outside, the weather was frightful. But inside the UNI-Dome, as snow fell across the Cedar Valley, thoughts turned to warm, sunny days ahead.

The 35th annual Iowa Boat, RV and Vacation Show returned to Cedar Falls this weekend to showcase campers, canoes, pontoons and other products from more than 50 vendors.

The show continues from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Most of the vendors are promoting sales as they try to make room for 2023 inventory.

Steve Miller, sales manager for Paines RV in Waterloo, said most of his camper models on the floor are from 2022, and hes offering the best pricing.

Something new buyers will notice this year is the amount of solar panels on the campers. Miller said solar energy can power the battery, interior lights and various outlets  depending on how much power they generate.

Most people have never been to a dealership, he said. This helps them understand whats inside the campers.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, he noted, many people became first-time campers to spend time with family while social distancing.

It was a perfect storm for the industry, Miller said.

Sales during the pandemic were also great for Hartwick Marina Manager Greg Vance. Hartwick Marina is based in Delhi, southeast of Manchester. His family bought the marina in 2020 and they rent and sell boats and pontoons, service boats and sell related products.

At the show, the marina is featuring four brands of watercraft, each offering rebates of $2,500 to $3,000. He said this year large tritoons are popular. A tritoon has a third tube beneath its deck, whereas a pontoon only has two.

Vance said his goal is to make one quality sale at the show and to create a lot of connections.

We can teach people to have more fun in the outdoors  and help them enjoy life more, he said.

Photos: The 35th annual Iowa Boat, RV and Vacation Show at the UNI-Dome Boat Show 1 Boat Show 2 Boat Show 3 Boat Show 4 Boat Show 5 Boat Show 6 Boat Show 7 Boat Show 8 Boat Show 9 Boat Show 10

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WATERLOO  Two disparate exhibits on display at the Waterloo Center for the Arts converge to create a dialogue between portraits of largely unknown Black suffrage heroines and artwork created by Black contemporary artists.

Freedoms Daughters, a series of 24 portraits by Cedar Rapids artist Kathy Shumacher, features unsung Black heroines from suffrage to civil rights. We Still Rise showcases several sculptural, two-dimensional and performance art pieces from the centers permanent collection. Both exhibits will be displayed until March 19.

As a curator, I feel strong about presenting artwork that intersects, that the community can experience, ideas and narratives to grapple with, and we dont shy away from that, said WCAs Chawne Paige, noting that the exhibits further conversation about Black determination while highlighting Black artists contributions and perspectives.

Shumacher, a largely self-taught artist, originally planned to focus her artwork on the 100th anniversary of womens right to vote in 2020. Then COVID, and everything was canceled. I started looking into suffrage more deeply, thinking about painting portraits of unknown suffragettes in Iowa. As I did the research, I learned that many African-American women were very active in suffrage, but were pushed out of the movement. I didnt realize that, said the artist, who is Caucasian.

She has studied portraiture in workshops with nationally-known artists and taken art classes at Mount Mercy and Kirkwood Community colleges. She prefers working in large format using charcoal, oil and acrylic.

These portraits focus on Black heroines from the 19th century to modern civil rights activists. Shumacher credits the collections title to a book of the same name by author Lynne Olson which was influential in developing the exhibition.

The public recognizes the names of such important historical figures as Sojourner Truth, Harriett Tubman and Rosa Parks. But many impactful Black women are largely unrecognized, including Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin, co-founding editor of the first national newspaper published by and for Black women; Nannie Helen Burroughs, founder of the first Black owned and operated girls school; Unita Zelma Blackwell, the first Black woman elected major in Mississippi; and Daisy Bates, the force behind the first high school integration in Little Rock, Ark.

Initially, she was uncomfortable about possible backlash from the Black community that theres this white woman who has taken it on herself to do something on this piece of history. So the artist spoke with officials at the African American Museum of Iowa in Cedar Rapids.

Kathy didnt know the history and educated herself about these women and elevated their stories for a broader audience, said Paige.

Freedoms Daughters also features quotes from each woman read by Cameroonian-American artist Akwi Nji, who is also director of school and community relations for Waterloo Community Schools.

The portraits were first exhibited in 2022 at the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art.

Shumacher has been gratified by the mostly positive public reaction. I feel like Ive accomplished something by getting these names of these women out there.

The WCA companion exhibit, We Still Rise, features a life-sized sculpture by Lori Ann Dale, Dig Deep, as well as a series of silver gelatin prints, Million Woman March. The march took place Oct. 25, 1997, in Philadelphia, with the overarching theme of family unity and what it means to be an African American woman in America.

Madai Taylors One Hundred Years of Lynching in the American Spirit, made from cotton cord and Iowa earth on roofing paper, dates from 2015 in the WCA permanent collection. The final piece is a recording of a 2022 Vertigo performance at WCA related to branding and slavery, along with items used for the performance piece, A Seed of Empathy, by Isaiah Patton.
An Iowa police officer who resigned because of a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl has lost his bid to regain his certification as a law enforcement officer.

Jacob Smith, 32, who worked as a police officer for the cities of Sumner and Carroll, filed a court petition last year seeking judicial review of the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy Councils decision to strip him of his law enforcement certification.

Smith argued his termination was not for good cause and so his subsequent decertification was unwarranted. District Court Judge Joseph Seidlin rejected that argument, ruling last week that that the evidence supported the councils decision.

Smith first began working as a law enforcement officer when he was hired by the city of Sumner in January 2014. He remained employed there until May 4, 2015, when he was fired for actions unbecoming of a police officer.

The firing was tied to a video, posted to social media, that indicated Smith was drinking in the company of underage individuals while at a friends home. It was also alleged that he had sent inappropriate private messages on Facebook to a 16-year-old girl, according to a report by the Carroll Times Herald.

In September 2015, the city of Carroll hired Smith as a police officer. He remained there until July 2017, when he resigned amid allegations that he had engaged in a sexual relationship with a 17-year- old girl he had met while on duty.

After the Times Herald published an article about Smith, he filed a libel lawsuit against the newspaper and reporter Jared Strong, who now works for the Iowa Capital Dispatch. District Judge Thomas Bice dismissed the case, ruling that the newspaper article was accurate and true, and the underlying facts undisputed.

In October 2021, the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy initiated steps to decertify Smith. A hearing was held in December 2021 and January 2022, an administrative law judge proposed that Smiths certification be revoked. On June 2, Diane Venenga of the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy Council affirmed the judges decision.

In appealing that decision to district court, Smiths attorney argued the age of consent in Iowa is 16 years of age, and there was no cap on how much older one can be when having sexual relations with a 16- or 17-year-old.

In ruling against Smith, Judge Seidlin noted that Smith met the 17-year-old girl while interacting with her in his professional capacity as a police officer, then began an intimate relationship with her, with the girl moving in with Smith during her senior year of high school.

In his ruling, Seidlin also stated that the Carroll Police Departments code of conduct requires officers to conduct their professional and private life in such a manner as to reflect credit on the department. Smith himself, Seidlin noted, had conceded in a deposition tied to the libel case that his relationship with the teenager looks like s and wasnt right.

The judge found the evidence in the case fully supports the councils application of the law to the facts in finding Smiths conduct to be sufficient grounds for discretionary discharge.
Arizona officials refer to a notoriously congested stretch of desert highway through tribal land as the Wild Horse Pass Corridor, a label that's less about horses than the bustling casino by the same name located just north of where the interstate constricts to four lanes.

With the Gila River Indian Community's backing, the state allocated or raised about $600 million of a nearly $1 billion plan that would widen the most bottleneck-inducing, 26-mile section of I-10 on the route between Phoenix and Tucson.

But its bid for federal grant money under the new infrastructure law to finish the job fell short, leaving some advocates for road construction accusing the Biden administration of devaluing those projects to focus on repairs and mass transit.

"Upset would be the right terminology," Casa Grande Mayor Craig McFarland said of his reaction when he learned the project won't receive one of the law's first Mega Grants the U.S. Department of Transportation will announce this week. "We thought we had done a good job putting the proposal together. We thought we had checked all the boxes."

The historic federal investment in infrastructure has reenergized dormant transportation projects, but the debate over how to prioritize them has only intensified in the 14 months since President Joe Biden signed the measure.

The law follows decades of neglect in maintaining the nation's roads, bridges, water systems and airports. Research by Yale University economist Ray Fair estimates a sharp decline in U.S. infrastructure investment has caused a $5.2 trillion shortfall. The entire law totals $1 trillion, and it seeks to not only remedy that dangerous backlog of projects but also build out broadband internet nationwide and protect against damage caused by climate change.

Some of the money, however, has gone to new highway construction  much of it from the nearly 30% increases Arizona and most other states are receiving over the next five years in the formula funding they can use to prioritize their own transportation needs.

For specific projects, many of the biggest awards available under the law are through various highly competitive grants. The Department of Transportation received around $30 billion worth of applications for just the first $1 billion in Mega Grants being awarded, spokesperson Dani Simons said.

Another $1 billion will be available each of the next four years before the funding runs out. Still, the first batch has been closely watched for signals about the administration's preferences.

Jeff Davis, senior fellow at the Eno Center for Transportation, said it's already clear that the Biden administration plans to direct a greater share of its discretionary transportation funding to "non-highway projects" than the Trump administration did. However, with so much more total infrastructure money to work with, Davis said, "a rising tide lifts all boats."

For example, one of the projects that the administration told Congress it had chosen for a Mega Grant will widen Interstate 10  but in Mississippi, not Arizona. Davis said the department likely preferred the Mississippi project due to its significantly lower price tag. This year's Mega Grants combine three different award types into a single application, one of which caters specifically to rural and impoverished communities.

Some of the winning grants are for bridges, while others are for mass transit  including improvements to Chicago's commuter train system and concrete casing for a rail tunnel in Midtown Manhattan.

Along with the nine projects selected, transportation department staff listed seven others as "highly recommended"  a distinction Davis said makes them clear front-runners to secure money next year. Arizona's I-10 widening effort was part of a third group of 13 projects labeled as "recommended," which Davis said could put them in contention for future funding unless they're surpassed by even stronger applicants.

But such decisions remain largely subjective.

Advocates for regions such as the Southwest, where the population is growing but more spread out, argue that their need for new or wider highways is just as big of a national priority as a major city's need for more subway stations or bicycle lanes.

Arizona state Rep. Teresa Martinez, a Republican who represents Casa Grande at the southern end of the corridor, said she was livid when she heard from a congressional office that the administration might have turned down the I-10 project because it didn't have enough "multimodal" components.

"What does that even mean?" she said. ".... They were looking to fund projects that have bike paths and trailways instead of a major interstate?"

Testifying in March before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg assured Arizona Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly that he understood the state's unique highway needs and that his department wouldn't "stand in the way of a capacity expansion where it's appropriate."

Some Republicans, however, remain skeptical, in part due to a memo the Federal Highway Administration distributed in December 2021, a month after Biden signed the bill. The document suggested states should usually "prioritize the repair, rehabilitation, reconstruction, replacement, and maintenance of existing transportation infrastructure" over new road construction.

Although administration officials dismissed the memo as an internal communication, not a policy decision, critics alleged they were trying to circumvent Congress and influence highway construction decisions traditionally left to states under their formula funding.

Last month, the Government Accountability Office concluded the memo carried the same weight as a formal rule, which Congress could challenge by passing a resolution of disapproval. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, the ranking Republican on the Environment and Public Works Committee, pledged to write one.

How car infrastructure is changing cities How car infrastructure is changing cities Rochester, New York Buffalo, New York Little Rock, Arkansas Houston, Texas New Orleans, Louisiana St. Paul, Minnesota Syracuse, New York Nashville, Tennessee Miami, Florida New York City, New York
After much hesitation about how to deal with small and medium-size private enterprises it authorized in 2021, the Cuban government is turning to Russia for help with market reforms on the island through a partnership with a Russian think tank headed by sanctioned oligarch Oleg Deripaska, as the two countries vow to take their relationship to a new level.

The creation of a Center for Economic Transformation, in partnership with the Moscow-based Stolypin Institute for the Economy of Growth, came during a recent meeting between Cubas leader, Miguel Diaz-Canel, and a delegation of Russian officials and businessmen in Havana.

The head of the delegation, Russian politician and champagne company owner Boris Titov, told Russian news outlets Interfax and Sputnik that the institute, under Deripaskas control as chairman of the board, will help Cuba carry out economic reforms involving the private sector. Deripaska was sanctioned in April 2018 as part of the U.S. response to the Russian governments annexation of Crimea, Ukraine. He was indicted last September for violating those sanctions.

Titov, whose official title is Commissioner for Entrepreneurs Rights, said the aid Russia can provide through the new center includes sharing technological expertise.

Russia has experience in creating digital systems for companies. Our task is to share with our Cuban friends the digital technologies successfully applied in Russia, he said.

Titov also told the Russian news agency Tass that his government intends to expand commerce with the island and has proposed opening a Russian trading house in Havana in partnership with Cimex, a Cuban government company that is part of the military conglomerate GAESA. Both Cimex and GAESA are under U.S. sanctions.

The Russian side is now working very hard to take our economic relations (with Cuba) to a new level, Titov was quoted as saying.

Our proposal is to create a Russian trading house here, in Havana, with the participation of Cimex, which would become the sole wholesale importer of products and independently determine prices on the retail market. In the coming days, we are expecting a reaction from the Cuban government, Titov said.

Tass reported that Cubas deputy prime minister and foreign trade and investment minister, Rodrigo Malmierca, promised government support for the proposal.

We are working to ensure that Russian investments in Cuba are subject to special protection, Malmierca said, according to the report.

After being named head of the Russia-Cuba Business Council earlier this month, Titov told Tass that the two governments were working together to find ways to evade U.S. financial sanctions.

As both countries are under sanctions, it would be necessary to develop new mechanisms for mutual settlements, which will mitigate the fallout from restrictions, Titov said at that time. Such options as ruble-denominated settlements, cryptocurrencies and clearing schemes are being explored.

Russia and Cuba have been steadily getting closer in the past few years. Vladimir Putins government has extended loans to Cuba and offered to delay debt payments till 2027. The two nations have launched cooperation projects in several areas, including energy and transportation.

But the level of political contacts since the beginning of the war in Ukraine last year has increased, with both governments vowing to strengthen the relationship.

Diaz-Canel traveled to Moscow in November and met with Putin, looking for economic aid, as the island experiences the worst economic crisis since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The head of Cubas National Assembly, Esteban Lazo, also traveled to Moscow.

Diaz-Canel and Putin talked again on the phone in late December. At the time, the Russian foreign ministry said the two leaders talked about reinforcing the strategic Russian-Cuban cooperation.

Trade between the two countries also grew last year, when Cuba ramped up imports of Russian oil. Commercial trade between the two countries was valued at more than $633 million, just behind trade with China, Venezuela, Spain and Canada, according to official Cuban data. Six years earlier, in 2016, that volume was $223 million.

Russia is seeking new markets for its products, especially among countries willing to maintain economic ties despite Western sanctions punishing Putins invasion of Ukraine.

Both Russia and Cuba are under U.S. sanctions, and Cuban authorities have parroted the Kremlins propaganda about the war in Ukraine while failing to condemn Putin in international forums. The two governments also maintain close military ties.

But experts point to the irony of Cubas seeking guidance on capitalist reforms from Russia, a country plagued with corruption and an economy driven by oligarchs seeking the Kremlins favors.

They are seeking help from a government that knows how to make money and create a private sector that has a lot of money concentrated in a few hands, and wealth derives from connectivity to the government, said John Kavulich, the president of the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council. The Russian Federation has some very wealthy people. Perhaps the Cuban government prefers it that way.
The purpose of this essay is two fold: decry the attempted linking of interracial marriages to homosexual unions, and excoriate Sen. Joni Ernst for betraying the Iowa Republican Party platform last month, by voting to sanction same-sex marriages.

The union of man and woman has throughout world history been the solid standard. And it is the reliable building block upon which stable societies exist and prosper.

Wikipedia cites the Pew Research Center in noting that 19% of U.S. marriages in 2019 were interracial ones. I am in an interracial marriage.

These were ruled to be constitutionally protected by the Supreme Courts 1967 Loving v. Virginia decision. Such marriages enjoy protection under the 14th Amendments equal protection and due process clauses.

The Obergefell decision also cited the 14th Amendment, wrongly, in my view. It did dirt to legitimate man-woman interracial loves.

It is to be hoped that the Trump-impacted court will revisit Obergefell.

In 2021, Gallup found 94% approval of interracial marriages. Popular sentiment should not dictate individual choices like marriage. But this attitude is noteworthy.

There are today no serious efforts to restrict interracial marriages, nor can such be reasonably envisioned.

It is deceitful to seek to establish legitimacy for homosexual marriages by linking them with interracial ones  the time-honored unions of man and woman. I call that surfboarding to unwarranted status atop others struggle.

For me, as well, there is a religious component to opposition to homosexuality. My church, the Roman Catholic one, teaches in its catechism that homosexual acts are intrinscally disordered.

They are contrary to the natural law, the catechism continues. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuinely affective and sexual complimentarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.

No such admonitions are made regarding interracial acts; indeed, racial justice is a Catholic church value.

The language in the Iowa Republican Party platform is unambiguous, as observed by The Iowa Standard.

Liberty Section, number 13. We believe that traditional, two-parent (one male (XY) and one female (XX)), marriage-based families are the foundation of a stable, enduring, and healthy civilization. We encourage the repeal of any laws allowing any marriage that is not between one natural man and one natural woman.

As The Iowa Standard further notes, Ernst voted in support of the (Dis)Respect For Marriage Act no fewer than three times. (Twice for cloture, and then for the legislation.)

Each of those votes was a slap at the Iowa Republican Party platform and Bible-beliving Iowans.

Shut up, hick, peasant Iowans, the Standard wrote Ernst essentially said with her votes. Youre backward. Youre on the wrong side of history. Quit being bigots, homophobes.

Reps. Ashley Hinson and Marionette Miller-Meeks also voted for homosexual marriages and stood against the Iowa Republican Party platform. They, too, merit vigorous criticism on this substantive point.

Like Hinson and Miller-Meeks, Ernst went against not only the platform but the citizens she represents and who elected her to office.

Their shameful votes may play well at Washington woke cocktail parties, but they do not accurately represent the good people of Iowa.

Nor can interracial unions legitimately be linked to homosexual ones. The former should not be made vulnerable by association with the faulty latter.
A survivor of six heart attacks and a brain tumor, a grumpy bear of a man, whom has declared Russia as his new and wonderful home. His wife is a true Russian Sweet Pea of a girl and she puts up with this bear of a guy and keeps him in line. Thank God for my Sweet Pea and Russia.
Very important:

On January 28, the Ukrainian armed forces, using US-made HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems and intelligence information provided by NATO countries, including satellite, attacked a hospital in Novoaydar, Luhansk Peoples Republic of the Russian Federation. 14 people died. Another 24 received injuries of varying severity.

 The deliberate shelling of existing civilian medical facilities and the targeted killing of civilians are grave war crimes of the Kyiv regime and its Western masters.

The lack of reaction from the United States and other NATO countries to this yet another monstrous trampling of international humanitarian law by Kyiv once again confirms their direct involvement in the conflict and involvement in the crimes being committed.

 There is a clear double standard. Western countries, together with Kyiv, threw tantrums in connection with the provocative staging of the crimes of the Russian army in Bucha and Irpen, which in fact did not exist, but stubbornly do not notice the blatant barbaric actions of the Nazi Kyiv regime, which kills civilians from the American, British, French and German weapons. They rush about with the idea of creating an illegal tribunal against Russia, but say nothing about the need to try the Ukrainian leadership and the military for their everyday crimes that are obvious in fact. Behind such clumsy tactics is a clear attempt to divert attention from ones own responsibility for their accomplishment. It is clear that the Westernizers and Kyiv have neither a formal nor a moral right to the mentioned absurd accusations against us.

 All these acts of criminal lawlessness perpetrated by Kyiv armed groups under the auspices of the West will not be left unpunished. They are carefully fixed. Organizers and performers will suffer inevitable punishment.

WtR
Weather Alert

.Warming temperatures this weekend will bring renewed snowmelt and streamflow rises, especially for snow covered terrain below about 7000 feet. Creeks that brought impacts this past week are likely to be problematic again and potentially reach higher levels, especially by late Sunday. ...FLOOD WATCH FOR SNOWMELT IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH MONDAY MORNING... * WHAT...Flooding caused by snowmelt is possible. * WHERE...Portions of California and western Nevada, including the following areas, in California, Greater Lake Tahoe Area, Lassen-Eastern Plumas-Eastern Sierra Counties and Surprise Valley California. In western Nevada, Greater Lake Tahoe Area, Greater Reno-Carson City-Minden Area and Mineral and Southern Lyon Counties. * WHEN...From Saturday afternoon through Monday morning. * IMPACTS...Creeks and streams will be running high and fast. Low-water crossings may be flooded. Minor mainstem flooding along the Susan River, Forks of the Carson River, and the East Walker River below Bridgeport Reservoir cannot be ruled out. Anyone participating in outdoor recreation this weekend should use caution as water will be running high, fast, and potentially out of banks for some creeks and streams. The water will be extremely cold as well, quickly causing shock. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS... - http://www.weather.gov/safety/flood PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... You should monitor later forecasts and be alert for possible Flood Warnings. Those living in areas prone to flooding should be prepared to take action should flooding develop. &&
A (Jan. 11) story in the Albuquerque Journal focused on how Presbyterian is working with an independent physician group to provide emergency and hospital-based care at Santa Fe Medical Center.

Whether in radiology, laboratory or anesthesiology, Presbyterian has long partnered with other medical groups and providers to create timely, consistent access to care in our facilities. This collaboration is separate and apart from continuing to build and support our own medical group  Presbyterian Medical Group  which currently employs 1,200 physicians and advanced practice clinicians throughout the state.

Partnerships with other medical groups represent a joint commitment to deliver care to more New Mexicans and bring additional providers to New Mexico so more patients can be treated in our community. In Santa Fe, our partnership will provide approximately 12 providers. These partnerships are important but do not replace our own provider recruitment efforts for Presbyterian Medical Group.

As a not-for-profit health system, were committed to recruiting more providers to meet the growing health care needs of those we serve. In fact, this focus meant we were able to recruit more physicians in 2022 than 2021.

We know that, like health systems across our country, the provider shortage is a real and long-term challenge for us. Fixing this problem requires efforts on multiple fronts, including recruitment and efforts to keep more clinicians in our state.

Weve appreciated the ongoing support through the governor and Legislature to build pipelines for physicians and other medical professionals like nurses and medical assistants. This continued focus on programs that provide a strong pipeline of talent is critical. At Presbyterian, weve expanded our clinical rotations to allow approximately 2,000 health care students to learn in our facilities. Through private and public sector collaboration, we can grow talent in New Mexico to help fill the clinician shortage gap were experiencing today.

New Mexico has also opened many pathways for advanced practice clinicians to deliver care in more extensive ways than in other states. Weve appreciated the path paved to help physician assistants and nurse practitioners work at the top of their licensure.

In addition to recruiting and retaining excellent clinicians, Presbyterian is exploring and implementing ways to augment how we provide care  such as creating more virtual care options and offering more consults between clinicians to ease the way for patients.

Our purpose is to care for New Mexicans. It is through efforts such as partnering with independent providers, building a strong talent pipeline at a state level and creating more virtual care options that we can address the clinician shortage and ensure access to care for more New Mexicans.
SANTA FE  Kurt Steinhaus  New Mexicos third public education secretary in four years  announced his retirement Saturday, accelerating an unusual burst of turnover during a legislative session.

Steinhaus is the third Cabinet secretary in four days to reveal plans to leave the administration of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. His last day was Friday.

Three other high-level officials outside the Cabinet also announced their departures in the last 10 days.

The turnover comes amid a 60-day legislative session in which lawmakers  with plenty of revenue to spend  are examining ways to boost academic achievement in public schools.

In a written statement, Lujan Grisham said Steinhaus is leaving public education in a better place and deserves a happy retirement.

I am deeply grateful to Secretary Steinhaus for his lifelong and tireless service in pursuit of improving educational outcomes for every New Mexico student, the governor said.

Steinhaus, a retired Los Alamos schools superintendent, also drew praise from legislators Saturday for his performance. But some pointed out that he served for just a year and a half.

Lujan Grisham will be looking for her fourth PED secretary in four years.

It sounds like shes a little hard to work with, Senate Minority Whip Craig Brandt, a Rio Rancho Republican and member of the Senate Education Committee, said in an interview.

Lujan Grishams predecessor, Republican Susana Martinez, had just two public education secretaries in an eight-year period, one of whom served six-plus years.

But the Lujan Grisham administration has noted that her tenure coincided with a pandemic, adding to the stress of what are already high-pressure jobs. Changes during a governors second term are also normal.

These are not your average 9 to 5 jobs  they require a high level of dedication and come with the highest level of responsibility, Lujan Grisham spokeswoman Nora Meyers Sackett said Friday.

Steinhaus, for his part, said in a written statement that he was honored to have worked on behalf of Lujan Grisham and public educators.

I am deeply proud to have given my best to this job, he said, but at this time I have a critical need to focus on my family and health.

As PED secretary, Steinhaus oversaw the implementation of new social studies standards and helped lead the states response to a 2018 court ruling that found New Mexico was violating the rights of some students by failing to provide an adequate public education.

Results last year from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as the Nations Report Card, put New Mexico students just about dead last in proficiency out of the over-50 states and jurisdictions that were sampled, for fourth and eighth grade reading and math.

Childrens Cabinet Director Mariana Padilla will fill in until a permanent appointment is made.

Learning curve

Sen. William Soules, a Las Cruces Democrat and chairman of the Senate Education Committee, said the volume of leadership changes at the Public Education Department is a matter of concern.

Every time theres a new one, he said, theres a learning curve for them to catch up. That turnover certainly matters.

But he also said the retirement of Steinhaus wasnt necessarily a surprise, given that hed come out of retirement in the first place to take the job.

Brandt said he, too, had expected Steinhaus to retire at some point to spend more time with his family.

In June, Steinhaus announced that he was giving up some of his day-to-day duties as he handled a personal health issue.

But the timing is unusual, with lawmakers about two weeks into a 60-day legislative session that will shape education policy and spending priorities.

Leading the Public Education Department is a really tough job, Soules, a teacher, said of Steinhaus. I think hes done admirably.

Rep. G. Andres Romero, an Albuquerque Democrat and teacher who serves as chairman of the House Education Committee, said the departure of Steinhaus wont deter legislators from pursuing effective policy initiatives this session.

Our working relationship was really good, Romero said of Steinhaus. It was nice to have a local teacher, a local administrator in the position of secretary of education.

Ellen Bernstein, president of the Albuquerque Teachers Federation, a union, said Steinhaus was accessible. We could talk about issues even when we didnt agree.

Teachers, she said, have been frustrated by the number of vacancies in the Public Education Department and that continuing turnover at the top is a concern.

Bernstein said it may prompt some questions about whether New Mexico has the right governance model for public education. Before the public education secretary became part of the governors administration about 20 years ago, the state had a schools superintendent who was chosen by an elected statewide school board.

I think its part of a larger debate, Bernstein said of the turnover.

Succession of secretaries

Lujan Grisham hired Karen Trujillo as her first public education secretary in January 2019. She dismissed Trujillo six months later.

In August 2019, the governor appointed Ryan Stewart, the first African American to hold the states top education job. He stepped down about two years later, citing the health of a family member.

Steinhaus joined the administration in 2021.

The administration is seeing turnover outside PED, too.

Since Wednesday, three Cabinet secretaries have announced plans to leave the administration  Steinhaus, Human Services Secretary David Scrase and General Services Secretary John Garcia.

Since Jan. 20, the state also has announced the departures of the deputy superintendent of regulation and licensing, New Mexico Medicaid program director and Behavioral Health Collaborative chief executive.

In addition, the secretaries of the departments of Finance and Administration, Indian Affairs and Veterans Services have also stepped down over the past several months.

Lujan Grisham, herself a former Cabinet secretary, won reelection to a second, four-year term in November.
Glenn Lewellen was a dirty cop. Thats a direct quote from an unusually blunt federal court opinion.

In his role as a narcotics officer with the Chicago Police Department, Lewellen busted a marijuana dealer named Saul Rodriguez, who agreed to work as an informant.

Rodriguez was handsomely rewarded for snitching. Over the years, Chicago Police paid him more than $800,000 for his tips, according to court records reviewed by the Chicago Tribune.

Lewellen saw an easy way to make even more money than that. After Rodriguez identified drug dealers, Lewellen would rob them. Often, Lewellen would pretend to conduct a traffic stop or arrest and would confiscate the dealers drugs and money to share with Rodriguez, according to a 2016 opinion by the federal Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

With time their organization grew in size and audacity. Lewellen and Rodriguez brought in at least thirteen more participants Robbing drug dealers eventually escalated into kidnapping them for ransom money or even murdering them for money and drugs.

Lewellen didnt participate in the murders, but he made a lot of money from the crews activities. The government was able to trace $388,000 in cash purchases he made.

In 2009, the crew was taken down in dramatic fashion, the Tribune reported. They hatched a plan to steal 600 kilograms of cocaine from a rival gang. It turned out to be a sting. The Drug Enforcement Agency filmed the whole attempted heist.

Before everything went south, Lewellen allegedly abused his authority as a cop in other ways, too. Rodriguez, having switched his cooperation to the feds, testified that he had planted drugs on at least one unwitting person at Lewellens behest, according to a 2019 opinion by the Seventh Circuit.

One person convicted on the basis of Lewellens testimony, Refugio Ruiz-Cortez, served 10 years in prison before prosecutors moved to vacate his conviction. Once he got out, he filed suit against Lewellen for violating his civil rights.

During the civil trial, Lewellen testified in his own defense via video from prison. When asked if he had lied in his police reports and at Ruiz-Cortezs trial, he refused to answer under my Fifth Amendment. But he added that, if not for his pending appeal, I would love to testify.

The jury found for Lewellen, concluding he had not violated Ruiz-Cortezs constitutional rights. But his victory was short-lived. The appeals court ordered a new trial because Lewellen misrepresented the nature of the Fifth Amendment privilege and the trial judge failed to correct the misrepresentation.

A pending appeal is not a legitimate basis for invoking the Fifth Amendment. The only valid reason to invoke the Fifth Amendment, the appeals court explained, is a reasonable fear that truthful answers may incriminate the witness. Lewellen had a valid Fifth Amendment privilege only because he faced possible prosecution for perjury and filing a false police report.

Self-evidently, witnesses cant be required to explain in detail exactly why answering a question truthfully might subject them to a criminal prosecution. That would defeat the purpose of the Fifth Amendment.

But a witness, or the witnesss lawyer, must be able to articulate some plausible theory by which a truthful answer might potentially lead to prosecution. Saying I have an appeal pending doesnt cut it. It doesnt come close.

In America, a person under criminal suspicion has a constitutional right to remain silent, as the Miranda warnings promise. In criminal cases, a suspects silence cannot be used as evidence of guilt.

But Ruiz-Cortezs lawsuit was a civil case. And in civil cases, the federal Constitution allows the jury to assume that when a witness invokes the Fifth Amendment instead of answering a question, its because honesty would be a confession. The judge in Ruiz-Cortezs case should have instructed the jury on that crucial point but didnt, necessitating a new trial.

All this is particularly relevant these days because weve had such a raft of public figures taking the fifth. No fewer than 32 witnesses did so before the January 6th Committee, according to Talking Points Memos tally. Im sure you can think of other recent examples.

A person who asserts their Fifth Amendment privilege against answering a question under oath is saying, Any truthful answer I give could be used as evidence against me in a criminal prosecution. When a person says that about themselves, we should believe them.

As for the dirty cop Glenn Lewellen, the judge presiding over his criminal case gave him a shorter sentence than federal sentencing guidelines indicated, then ordered his early release after he served a little over half of it. She was concerned he might catch COVID if he stayed behind bars.

Joel Jacobsen is an author who in 2015 retired from a 29-year legal career. If there are topics you would like to see covered in future columns, please write him at legal.column.tips@gmail.com.
Copyright  2023 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  Before this month, Patrick Allen had been in New Mexico only once while passing through the state on a long road trip taking his daughter to college.

Now, hes the head of New Mexicos Department of Health, a key agency on the front lines of the states COVID-19 pandemic response, after leaving behind a lengthy state government career in Oregon that ended with him stepping down amid political pressure.

Less than four weeks into his new position after being hired by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, Allen described the move as more of a reset than a fresh start but acknowledged he still has much to learn about his new home state.

So far, nobodys brought me anything Ive never heard of or seen before, so I think that means I know how to run a health agency, he said in a recent interview in his Santa Fe office. I just need to learn how to do it in New Mexico.

While Allen said he plans to travel the state more once the ongoing 60-day legislative session ends, he said hes already aware of key differences between Oregon and New Mexico  including the two states respective population demographics.

Hispanic residents made up roughly half of New Mexicos population as of last year, compared to about 14% of residents in Oregon, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates.

In addition, the average annual per capita income for Oregon residents was $37,816 during a recent four-year period  the figure was $29,624 in New Mexico.

There are challenges here around income levels and poverty, he said, citing his experience in Oregon working on health equity issues.

He could also play a key role in carrying out Lujan Grishams push to create a New Mexico health care authority, as he led a similar agency in Oregon.

Lessons learned

Allen began his career as a banker before rising through the ranks of Oregons Department of Consumer and Business Services, which regulates health insurance companies.

He eventually was appointed by former Gov. Kate Brown as director of the states Health Care Authority, but submitted his resignation last year after gubernatorial candidates suggested they would replace him.

He said the New Mexico job offer came about due to a mix of political and personal connections, while adding he ultimately settled on the position after weighing other opportunities.

I think a little of this and a little of that led to the Governors Office reaching out to me, Allen said.

Allen is not a doctor and said he relies on physicians and other health care experts to help shape his views.

When it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic, Allen said its important to learn lessons from the challenges state health officials have encountered over the last two-plus years.

That could include expanding the use of mobile health units to reach vulnerable state residents, including homeless individuals.

He also said the approach to dealing with the risks of COVID-19 has largely shifted from a state-level response to more of an individual assessment.

Whatever it is were in now, its not what we were in a year-and-a-half or two ago, he said.

The tools that we have available are significantly greater than they were at the time, Allen added, citing COVID-19 medications, vaccines and widely-available face masks.

New Mexico has had a public health emergency order continuously in place since the first COVID-19 cases were reported in the state in March 2020. The order has been extended more than 30 times, with the most recent renewal signed by Lt. Gov. Howie Morales this month. It runs through Feb. 3.

Significant turnover

Allen is one of several new faces in Lujan Grishams Cabinet, which has seen significant turnover in the last year with several agency directors stepping down or resigning.

Since starting his new $169,600 per year job on Jan. 3, Allen said hes been in frequent contact with state Human Services Secretary David Scrase, who served as the Department of Healths acting secretary for more than a year after the previous agency secretary stepped down in July 2021.

With the agencys vacancy rate currently hovering at around 30%, bolstering staffing levels will be among his priorities going forward, Allen said.

While challenges loom, Allen said hes energized and ready to learn.

I think if you stop learning, theres something wrong, he said. So its a great opportunity to keep doing that.
SANTA FE  New Mexico legislators have introduced a bill that would prohibit local governments and state agencies from entering into contracts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and private detention facilities to detain immigrants in civil cases.

The bill introduced Tuesday could unwind contractual arrangements at the Otero County Processing Center in Chaparral in southern New Mexico and spur closer oversight at others. The Otero County facility is operated by Utah-based Management & Training Corp. on behalf of ICE, and typically holds about 600 male and female migrants seeking asylum or legal status in this country.

The bill as presented would not directly compel changes at two other immigration detention facilities in New Mexico that are owned and operated by Nashville, Tennessee-based CoreCivic. Those facilities are the Cibola County Correctional Center in Milan and Torrance County Detention Facility in Estancia.

The proposal was sponsored by Democratic state Sens. Jerry Ortiz y Pino and Moe Maestas, both of Albuquerque, with the backing of advocacy groups that are critical of U.S. policies and practices in migrant detention.

Sophia Genovese, an attorney at the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center, said the bill has the potential to halt immigration detention at the largest holding center in the state at Chaparral. It also would inspire closer oversight of detention conditions at two privately owned facilities  if the federal government chooses to contract directly with CoreCivic at its Estancia and Milan sites without involving county governments.

Were hoping that by demonstrating at the state level that New Mexico does not want ICE detention in our state, that helps at the federal level get rid of these contracts, Genovese said.

The Torrance County Detention Facility was the focus of a scathing inspection report after an unannounced visit in early 2022 by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General. The inspector general found unsafe and unsanitary conditions and recommended the relocation of detained migrants.

The findings were disputed by CoreCivic and ICE. A follow-up inspection by the inspector general showed compliance with 10 of its 14 recommendations.

U.S. Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Lujan last year urged the federal government to terminate its contract with CoreCivic at the Torrance County Detention Facility.

It was unclear whether Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham supports the newly filed legislation. Innovation Law Lab and New Mexico Dream Team are among the other supporters of the proposed legislation.

The bill resembles recently enacted legislation in New Jersey, Virginia and Illinois aimed at ending detention in civil immigration cases in local facilities.

Californias 2019 ban on privately owned immigration detention facilities was rejected last year by a federal appeals court that cited interference with the federal governments authority to enforce immigration law.
Native American leaders said creating a special $50 million trust fund to help finance educational programs within tribal communities in New Mexico, where there are the lowest rates of reading and math proficiency in the country, would be a big step toward improving outcomes for their students.

The leaders packed a legislative committee room Friday at the state Capitol, with many testifying that the proposed trust fund would be an investment in their people and a signal to students that the state believes in them.

Laguna Pueblo Gov. Wilfred Herrera Jr. pointed to a landmark education lawsuit that centered on the states failures to provide an adequate education to at-risk students, including Native Americans, English language learners, students with disabilities and those from low-income families. Those groups make up a majority of the states student population.

In the nearly five years since the court ruled the state was falling short of its constitutional obligations, Herrera said legislative efforts and funding allocations to address the public education systems deficiencies have been piecemeal.

I liken this to putting away resources for our children for the future, he said of the proposed trust fund. If we do things right and manage it, administer it, let it grow, we stand to achieve things.

New Mexico ranks last in fourth- and eighth-grade reading and math. The most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress revealed just 21% of fourth-graders could read at grade level and fewer than 1 in 5 students could do grade-level math. For eighth-graders, proficiencies in reading and math were even more dismal.

Supporters also pointed out when asked by lawmakers that Native American students have the lowest graduation rates among their New Mexico peers.

Democratic Rep. Derrick Lente of Sandia Pueblo, one of the bills sponsors, said the trust fund would be established with a one-time allotment of state money. After a couple of years of earning interest, annual disbursements starting with the 2025 fiscal year could help tribes build their own educational programs.

Siting New Mexicos financial windfall, Lente said: This is the time to do it.

The idea is for tribes to put the money toward programs they believe would have the most benefits for students, he said, rather than have the state dictate how the money is spent.

Many of the Native American leaders and librarians who work with tribal communities said one focus would be on revitalizing Native languages and weaving cultural heritage into lessons.

A separate measure that also won the committees approval Friday would amend the Indian Education Act to funnel 50% of the states Indian education fund to New Mexico tribes. Tribes would be able to carry over unused allocations.

In the landmark case known as Yazzie v. Martinez, the court pointed to low graduation rates, dismal student test proficiencies and high college remediation rates as indicators of how New Mexico was not meeting its constitutional obligation to ensure all students were college and career ready.

The court suggested public school funding levels, financing methods and oversight by the state Public Education Department were deficient. However, the court stopped short of prescribing specific remedies, and deferred decisions on how to meet obligations to lawmakers and the executive branch.

The education department last year shared with tribal leaders a draft plan to address the ruling, but many leaders said at the time it would not be enough.

In recent weeks, education officials with Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grishams administration confirmed they still were working to finalize the plan.

Supporters of the Native education bills say the intent is to encourage tribes to plan, design and implement their own community-based education programs to complement what children are learning in school.

The proposed trust fund comes just after U.S. Interior Secretary Debra Haaland visited New Mexico, where she grew up and is an enrolled Laguna Pueblo member, on the yearlong Road to Healing tour for victims and survivors of abuse at government-backed boarding schools.

Tribal communities have the experts and I think we owe that to the pueblos to decide how they want to implement their programs, said Rep. Yanira Gurrola, who has worked as a bilingual teacher. And I think hopefully this will be something that sets a precedent for communities.
Copyright  2023 Albuquerque Journal

From the governor to education officials to lawmakers, momentum is growing to extend class time in public schools.

Top education decision-makers tout the measure as one that can expedite the process of catching up New Mexicos most at-risk students  those with disabilities, Indigenous students, English learners and economically disadvantaged students.

There is compelling evidence that one of the quickest ways to address whats in Martinez-Yazzie is providing better use of the time weve got, but also providing additional time for learning, state Education Secretary Kurt Steinhaus told the Journal, referencing a landmark decision in a consolidated lawsuit finding the state wasnt providing a sufficient education to at-risk students.

As a state, he said, were going to have to address that.

Three competing proposals are on the table to increase the amount of time students must spend in class  each settling on increasing to at least 1,140 hours per year, an amount that would catapult New Mexico near the top of the list of states in terms of class time, according to national 2020 data.

As of right now, first through sixth graders must go to school for at least 990 hours per year, and secondary students for 1,080.

Two of the three proposals have been introduced in bill form  House Bill 194,the Legislative Finance Committees, and House Bill 130, the Legislative Education Study Committees  with the latter having already sailed through the House education committee on Friday.

The executive branchs bill, Steinhaus said, has been written and should be introduced in the coming week.

While all of the proposals appear to meet in the middle on how much class time to require, theres dispute over how to get there  and, of course, if its a good idea.

Not all parents or teachers are on board.

There is no clear evidence that an extended school year improves student learning, one parent told lawmakers Friday. On the other hand, it would increase student absenteeism and fatigue.

How the proposals differ

Each committee or agency puts a different total price tag on their proposals. The LESC says its proposal would cost over $302 million, the state Public Education Department and the governor say theirs will cost about $311 million, and the LFC says its will run about $391 million.

Extended class time  which could shape up to be one of the more expensive measures on the table this legislative session  is one that states dont often go for because its too expensive, but which New Mexico can currently afford, analysts have said. The state is enjoying a historic oil and gas revenue boom.

Both the PED and the LESC have said the amount the Legislative Finance Committee sets aside to bring all students up to speed on 1,140 hours might not sufficiently fund everyone.

LFC staff, on the other hand, said the committee put in more money than was needed, also pointing out that a sizable chunk of their plan would go to incentivizing students to go even beyond the new minimum class time.

Where schools are

The vast majority of schools and districts abide by the current instructional hour requirements. And some hit the new 1,140-hour mark, according to LESC data, but many dont. Right now, the average yearly instructional hours of 21 of New Mexicos 89 school districts meet that new threshold for both age groups. Sixteen more hit 1,140 hours for one of the age groups.

That said, districts average out around 1,098 hours for younger students and around 1,138 for older ones  not terribly far off in either case  making for an average of only about 25 minutes and 12 minutes, respectively, that could be added to each school day.

The proposals differ on how many hours of professional work time to provide staff, whether that time would be included in instructional hours and how much money to distribute for extra class time past the minimum.

Instructional hours, under the LESC bill sponsored by Reps. Joy Garratt and G. Andres Romero, both Albuquerque Democrats, can include time spent in class, enrichment programs or even breakfast while teaching is happening.

But the key difference of the LESC bill, the committees Director Gwen Perea Warniment said, is that up to 60 hours of professional work time could be embedded in school days  an important part, she said, of supporting teachers.

Sometimes youll hear the (term) More is not better, better is better. And thats certainly true in terms of affording educators the opportunity to improve their practice, she said. We dont have the time in the schedules right now to allow them to do that.

The LFC bill, sponsored by Rep. Nathan Small, a Las Cruces Democrat, and Senate President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, would require at least 80 hours of professional work time for teachers of schools and districts that exceed 180 days.

That work time would come on top of instructional hours; the PED plan also would require its minimum of 80 hours of professional time to come in addition to instructional hours.

Opposition

Analysts say having students spend more time in school has a modest  but still significant  impact on reading and math scores, even when accounting for students economic disadvantages.

Still, some are questioning if more does indeed mean better  like Claire Love, a first grade teacher at Nina Otero Community School in Santa Fe.

It (is) a good intention, but the method of just adding a couple more days to a school year, or a couple more minutes to each day of the school year  thats not going to get us to see the change, the drastic change, of student achievement levels, she said. Thats not going to get us to where we need to be.

Love drew a line between simply tacking on more time and programs like K-5 Plus  a current state program that adds up to 25 days, but which Love said focuses less on grades and more on learning. At least two of the bills, in their current forms, would repeal the program along with the current extended learning time program.

Both programs have seen diminishing participation in recent years, but Love said K-5 Plus works well for many, better preparing students coming into new school years and better preventing teacher burnout.

Since all of the proposals are in early stages of making their way through the Roundhouse, superintendents were hesitant about commenting on them.

Still, some voiced early thoughts and concerns about what they hope the proposals, in general, include.

For example, Silver Consolidated Schools Superintendent Will Hawkins is worried about the impact that increasing class time could have on transportation for students in rural areas, some of whom in his district take 45-minute bus rides each way to get to school.

Hawkins also said he hopes the proposals take into account all of the little implications that come with extending class time, like making sure that everyone, including staff such as custodians, are covered for the longer hours they work.

Fully funding the measures, in one way or another, was a sentiment echoed by several districts.

Theres a lot of little implications when youre looking at these elements. They seem small, but all these little bitty bites trickle down, Hawkins said. As good as it is that we want to increase learning opportunities and improve learning, it also creates more stress on an already stressed system.

On Friday, Albuquerque Public Schools spoke in support of the LESC bill, adding that the district hopes its fully funded. Still, Superintendent Scott Elder told the Journal there are some things to bear in mind, including the impact they could have on younger students.

You really do run into some issues with the littles, the kindergarten kids and everything, he said. Although we have seen some real success at our TOPS schools, which are the schools that have the extended day that builds in professional development for teachers, as well as the Genius Hours for the students.

Others have suggested requiring less than 1,140 hours for younger students, citing issues with transportation.

Elder also said the legislative proposals could take away some choice from districts and communities over whether they want to send students to school longer.

Last year, the APS school board attempted to implement extended learning time districtwide, but was met with thunderous opposition  eventually turning to community surveys to let schools decide what they wanted to do.

At that point, we had the ability to have some local control, and so we did allow the community to vote and there were some schools that chose to take it on, Elder said. But we only have 29 schools total (out of over 140) in that model. The rest have not selected to go that route. This would remove that local control option.

Support

Many proponents also showed up Friday to voice their support for the LESC plan, which has thus far made it the furthest through the legislative process.

Jeri Lyn Salazar, another teacher at Nina Otero, said she supported the bill and any other legislation that supports intentional and rigorous programs that will help our students with learning loss, especially learning loss that they experience due to the pandemic.

The respective presidents of the American Federation of Teachers and the Albuquerque Teachers Federation, Whitney Holland and Ellen Bernstein, both spoke in support of the bill, arguing that it benefits both teachers and students.

While change is often hard and school calendars are incredibly complex, I wholeheartedly believe that we can and should do this because at the end of the day, it is what is best for New Mexicos kids, Holland said.

The idea that extending student time must include adult time is crucial, Bernstein added later on.

In a written statement to the Journal, Rio Rancho Public Schools spoke to the advantages of extra class time, which the district has had in place for three years.

This program has allowed our district to offer multiple afterschool enrichment activities free to our students and additional professional development opportunities for staff members, the district said, noting it would like to see the class-time requirement for younger students lightened.

The LESC bill unanimously passed the chambers education committee, with a couple lawmakers giving the bill high marks for its emphasis on increasing hours instead of days.

I am historically strongly opposed to (extended learning time)  so my support is contingent on the fact that it has hours instead of days  Its an enormous deal to our small schools, Rep. Jack Chatfield, R-Mosquero, said during the meeting Friday. Its a big deal to me that it has flexibility, and that we can count and set up a program that fits our school.

Much remains to be seen on the proposals. So far, the LESC bill hasnt been scheduled for its next committee assignment, and the other bill hasnt yet been scheduled to be taken up by a committee.
Hes old enough to rent a car. Hes old enough to run for Congress.

Theres just one problem: hes a llama.

One-eyed brown llama and Albuquerque resident Dalai Llama turned 27 on Friday. His owners, Andrew Thomas, Kee Straits, and their daughter, Samibah Sami Straits, celebrated what they hope is a world record-setting birthday for the oldest llama in captivity on Jan. 28.

Party guests dined on ribs, burgers and chocolate cake while Dalai noshed on alfalfa cake complete with candles reading 27. Dalai wore a festive string of felt pom-poms and his best friend, a Nigerian dwarf goat named Gelato, donned a jauntily-askew party hat.

This llama is bringing everyone together, said Shannon Fleg, a family friend of Thomas and Straits.

Fleg brought a sign and a carton of apples for the birthday boy.

The last record was set in 2020 by Rapper, a llama in Olympia, Washington. At the time of certification, Rapper was 26 years and 258 days old.

Dalai was born at the Dorsey Mansion Ranch in Raton in 1996. Straits and Thomas got Dalai in 2007, years before 13-year-old Sami was born, when Dalais original owner, a 4-H member, went to college.

Sami grew up riding on Dalais back around the bosque and the Sandia Mountains  until she grew too big. Thomas said that Dalai has always been surefooted navigating mountainous terrain.

He was so proud when he put on the saddle, Sami said.

Like Dalais original owner, Sami is active in 4-H. Ribbons and awards for prize-winning animals line the walls of her room. She wants to become a vet, and even recently shadowed at a veterinary clinic.

Thomas and Kee and Sami Straits raise several animals on their northern Albuquerque property, QD Farm, including guinea pigs, Navajo churro sheep and chickens.

Kee Straits is Peruvian and Quechua. Thomas is Navajo. Among all the animals on the farm, Sami said, both cultures are represented: Peruvian with the guinea pigs and llamas, both of which are indigenous to Peru, and Navajo with the Navajo churro sheep.

Weve grown up so interdependent with each other, Kee Straits said. In Peru, our llamas are part of our ceremonies, and we celebrate them  theyre a livelihood.

Dalai lives with fellow llama Dali, named after the surrealist painter, and his best friend, Gelato. Thomas said that Gelato cries when Dalai leaves the pen, and the pair often sleep and cuddle together.

Its the cutest thing, Thomas said.

No representatives from Guinness were in attendance at the party. Thomas and the Straits collected photos from Dalais life and his International Lama (sic) Registry certificate  a birth certificate for llamas  to prove that he was, indeed, turning 27. Several witnesses from the community attended the party to verify that they had seen proof of Dalais age on behalf of Guinness. It can take several weeks or months for Guinness to certify a world record.

Llamas generally live between 15 and 20 years. Llamas del Sol founder Lynda Liptak, who served as an official witness for Guinness, said that llamas in captivity generally live longer than those in the wild.

Kee Straits said her familys two llamas have different personalities.

Dalai has always been a spitter, like, more fiesty, more of a leader  hell boss the other ones around, Straits said.

Dali is a bit more shy  but Thomas said the two llamas are inseparable. Thomas said if they get a third llama, itll be named Obama Llama.

Kee Straits said Dalais old age is a miracle, especially after a close call last year when his eye had to be removed following an infection.

But Thomas attributes Dalais good health to the love the family gives him and all their animals. Dalai isnt their only long-lived animal  they had a hen that lived 15 years, far above the average lifespan.

That means that were taking care of them, Thomas said. They have a special feed  when you take care of someone, it takes care of you in return.

Dalai Llama turned 27 years-old on Jan. 27, and is a waiting confirmation of being recognized by the Guinness World Records as the oldest llama living in captivity. (Chancey Bush/ Albuquerque Journal) Dr. Kee Straits and Andrew Thomas give Dalai Llama attention at their home in Albuquerque, on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. Dalai Llama turned 27 years-old on Jan. 27, and is a waiting confirmation of being recognized by the Guinness World Records as the oldest llama living in captivity. (Chancey Bush/ Albuquerque Journal) Shandiin Fleg, 8, leads Dalai Llama after taking a photo with the llama during a birthday celebration at QD Farm in Albuquerque, on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. Dalai Llama turned 27 years-old on Jan. 27, and is a waiting confirmation of being recognized by the Guinness World Records as the oldest llama living in captivity. (Chancey Bush/ Albuquerque Journal) Dalai Llama, 27, enjoys his alfalfa birthday treat at QD Farm in Albuquerque, on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. Dalai Llama turned 27 years-old on Jan. 27, and is a waiting confirmation of being recognized by the Guinness World Records as the oldest llama living in captivity. (Chancey Bush/ Albuquerque Journal) Sami Straits, 13, and her mother Dr. Kee Straits share a moment with their 27-year-old llama, Dalai Llama, at QD Farm in Albuquerque, on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. Dalai Llama turned 27 years-old on Jan. 27, and is a waiting confirmation of being recognized by the Guinness World Records as the oldest llama living in captivity. (Chancey Bush/ Albuquerque Journal) Dr. Kee Straits attempts to light birthday candles in the wind with her daughter Sami Straits, 13, center, at QD Farm in Albuquerque, on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. Dalai Llama turned 27 years-old on Jan. 27, and is a waiting confirmation of being recognized by the Guinness World Records as the oldest llama living in captivity. (Chancey Bush/ Albuquerque Journal) Dr. Kee Straits, Sami Straits, 13, and Andrew Thomas celebrate their llama, Dalai Llama, at their home at QD Farm in Albuquerque, on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. Dalai Llama turned 27 years-old on Jan. 27, and is a waiting confirmation of being recognized by the Guinness World Records as the oldest llama living in captivity. (Chancey Bush/ Albuquerque Journal) Dalai Llama enjoys his alfalfa birthday treat as Sami Straits, 13, opens his birthday gift at QD Farm in Albuquerque, on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. Dalai Llama turned 27 years-old on Jan. 27, and is a waiting confirmation of being recognized by the Guinness World Records as the oldest llama living in captivity. (Chancey Bush/ Albuquerque Journal) Rae Tittmann, 5, looks up at Dalai Llama as she leads hi around during a celebration of the 27-year-old llama at QD Farm in Albuquerque, on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. Dalai Llama turned 27 years-old on Jan. 27, and is a waiting confirmation of being recognized by the Guinness World Records as the oldest llama living in captivity. (Chancey Bush/ Albuquerque Journal) Dr. Kee Straits admires her llama, Dalai Llama, at her home at QD Farm in Albuquerque, on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. Dalai Llama turned 27 years-old on Jan. 27, and is a waiting confirmation of being recognized by the Guinness World Records as the oldest llama living in captivity. (Chancey Bush/ Albuquerque Journal) Dr. Kee Straits and Andrew Thomas give Dalai Llama attention at their home in Albuquerque, on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. Dalai Llama turned 27 years-old on Jan. 27, and is a waiting confirmation of being recognized by the Guinness World Records as the oldest llama living in captivity. (Chancey Bush/ Albuquerque Journal) Dr. Kee Straits leads Dalai Llama out of his enclosure at their home at QD Farm in Albuquerque, on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. Dalai Llama turned 27 years-old on Jan. 27, and is a waiting confirmation of being recognized by the Guinness World Records as the oldest llama living in captivity. (Chancey Bush/ Albuquerque Journal) Dr. Kee Straits admires her llama, Dalai Llama, at her home at QD Farm in Albuquerque, on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. Dalai Llama turned 27 years-old on Jan. 27, and is a waiting confirmation of being recognized by the Guinness World Records as the oldest llama living in captivity. (Chancey Bush/ Albuquerque Journal) Prev 1 of 13 Next

Editors note: A previous version of this article misstated Dalai Llamas color. He is a brown llama. It has since been updated.
KALYNIVSKE, Ukraine (AP)  When night falls in Tatiana Trofimenkos village in southern Ukraine, she pours sunflower oil that aid groups gave her into a jar and seals it with a wick-fitted lid. A flick of a match, and the make-do candle is lit.

This is our electricity, Trofimenko, 68, says.

It has been over 11 weeks since Ukrainian forces wrested back her village in Kherson province from Russian occupation. But liberation has not diminished the hardship for residents of Kalynivske, both those returning home and the ones who never left. In the peak of winter, the remote area not far from an active front line has no power or water. The sounds of war are never far.

Russian forces withdrew from the western side of the Dnieper River, which bisects the province, but remain in control of the eastern side. A near constant barrage of fire from only a few kilometers away, and the danger of leftover mines leaving many Ukrainians too scared to venture out, has rendered normalcy an elusive dream and cast a pall over their militarys strategic victory.

Still, residents have slowly trickled back to Kalynivske, preferring to live without basic services, dependent on humanitarian aid and under the constant threat of bombardment than as displaced people elsewhere in their country. Staying is an act of defiance against the relentless Russian attacks intended to make the area unlivable, they say.

This territory is liberated. I feel it, Trofimenko says. Before, there were no people on the streets. They were empty. Some people evacuated, some people hid in their houses.

When you go out on the street now, you see happy people walking around, she says.

The Associated Press followed a United Nations humanitarian aid convoy into the village on Saturday, when blankets, solar lamps, jerrycans, bed linens and warm clothes were delivered to the local warehouse of a distribution center.

Russian forces captured Kherson province in the early days of the war. The majority of the nearly 1,000 residents in Kalynivske remained in their homes throughout the occupation. Most were too fragile or ill to leave, others did not have the means to escape.

Gennadiy Shaposhnikov lies on the sofa in a dark room, plates piled up beside him.

The 83-year olds advanced cancer is so painful it is hard for him to speak. When a mortar destroyed the back of his house, neighbors rushed to his rescue and patched it up with tarps. They still come by every day, to make sure he is fed and taken care of.

Visit again, soon, is all he can muster to say to them.

Oleksandra Hryhoryna, 75, moved in with a neighbor when the missiles devastated her small house near the village center. Her frail figure steps over the spent shells and shrapnel that cover her front yard. She struggles up the pile of bricks, what remains of the stairs, leading to her front door.

She came to the aid distribution center pulling her bicycle and left with a bag full of tinned food, her main source of sustenance these days.

But its the lack of electricity that is the major problem, Hryhoryna explains. We are using handmade candles with oil and survive that way, she says.

The main road that leads to her home is littered with the remnants of the war, an eerie museum of what was and what everyone here hopes will never return. Destroyed Russian tanks rust away in the fields. Cylindrical anti-tank missiles gleam, embedded in grassy patches. Occasionally, there is the tail end of a cluster munition lodged into the earth.

Bright red signs emblazoned with a skull warn passersby not to get too close.

The Russians left empty ammunition boxes, trenches and tarp-covered tents during their rapid retreat. A jacket and, some kilometers away, mens underwear hangs on the bare branches. And with the Russians waging ongoing attacks to win back the lost ground in Kherson, it is sometimes hard for terrorized residents to feel as if the occupying forces ever left.

Im very afraid, says Trofimenko. Even sometimes Im screaming. Im very, very scared. And Im worried about us getting shelled again and for (the fighting) to start again. This is the most terrible thing that exists.

The deprivation suffered in the village is mirrored all over Kherson, from the provincial capital of the same name to the constellation of villages divided by tracts of farmland that surround it. Ukrainian troops reclaimed the territory west of the Dnieper River in November after a major counteroffensive led to a Russian troop withdrawal, hailed as one of the greatest Ukrainian victories of the war thats now in its 12th month..

The U.N. ramped up assistance, supporting 133,000 individuals in Kherson with cash assistance, and 150,000 with food. Many villagers in Kalynivske say the food aid is the only reason they have something to eat.

One of the biggest challenges is that the people who are there are the most vulnerable. Its mainly the elderly, many who have a certain kind of disability, people who could not leave the area, and are really reliant on aid organizations and local authorities who are working around the clock, says Saviano Abreu, a spokesperson for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

The shelling is constant.

Ukraines Defense Ministry reports near daily incidents of shelling in Kherson city and surrounding villages, including rocket, artillery and mortar attacks. Most fall closer to the river banks nearer to the front line, but, that doesnt mean those living further away feel any safer. On Friday, a missile fell in the village of Kochubeivka, north of Kalynivske, killing one person.

Kherson managed to resume most of the essential services, but the problem is the hostilities keep creating challenges to ensure they are sustained, Abreu says. Since December, its getting worse and worse. The number of attacks and hostilities there is only increasing.

Without electricity, there is no means to pump piped drinking water. Many line up to fetch well water, but a lot is needed to perform daily functions, residents complain.

To keep warm, many forage around the village for firewood, a task that presents danger post-occupation.

Everyone in Kalynivske knows the story of Nina Zvarech. She went looking for firewood in the nearby forest and was killed when she stepped on a mine.

Her body lay there for over a month because her relatives were too afraid to go and find her.

___

Follow APs coverage of the war in Ukraine: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
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The 'Spectre' actress was 'scared' about portraying the late icon in a one-woman show but she assured herself she had nothing to fear because she gave 'love' on the stage show.

Jan 29, 2023

AceShowbiz - Monica Bellucci was jittery about making her stage debut playing opera legend Maria Callas in a one-woman show. The "Spectre" star plays the soprano in the play "Letters and Memoirs" in which she reads Callas' previously unpublished writings to tell her life story in her own words - and Bellucci admits signing onto the project was incredibly daunting.

"I was scared, of course. First time on stage! I couldn't say no because when I read the letters and the memoirs, everything was full of emotion and vulnerability, and it's like if I could touch her soul," she told People.com.

She added, "Theatre is a big risk ... [But] beauty deserves risks. With this project, there was something so human, so poetic, that I said, 'Oh my God, it's going to be a big risk, but I think it's beautiful to give this to people'. And even though I was scared, when I was scared, I said, 'Okay, I give love, so nothing can happen to me.' "

The play debuted in Paris, France back in 2019 and was a huge success. Bellucci went on to perform around the world in cities such as London, Rome, and Los Angeles before taking the show to New York on Friday, January 27, 2023 for a one-night only performance at the Beacon Theater.

Bellucci says bringing the show to the Big Apple feels special because it is the city where Callas was born 100 years ago. She added, "It's such a sign that we came to New York because Callas was born in New York in 1923, and we finish the tour in 2023, 100 years later when she was born. So it is a beautiful sign for me."

Callas died in 1977 at the age of 53.

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